My computer screwed up with the description (saying it was chapter 19), decided not to title the chapter (leaving it chapter 20) and pressed send several times before I was done. Forgive my piece of shit technology lol
Locked Away
Kai
Everything happened so fast, I wasn't entirely sure if I could fight my way out of this. With sudden force from Finn to stand up on my own, Finn looked at me for the next move. My instincts told me to save the swinging girl but I knew it was already too late—from the looks of it, her neck had been broken. The only justice those damned Talons did was blindfold her.
I knew, somehow, from the moment she left after we planned that the Cyclonians had captured her and got her to confess. Ravess knew who I was, they knew who Finn was… We were screwed.
"Kai, run! I'll go get your things. Somehow, we'll make it out of here." Finn bolted in the opposite direction.
Instead of running, I remembered a 'plan B' that I had stored in my uniform's pocket. Pulling out an energy gun, I aimed it directly at Ravess. And before I could pull the trigger and fire, a familiar hand rested on my shoulder.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A charged blast sounded behind me. I knew there was a weapon and any wrong move I made would kill me.
I froze. I knew that voice… Turning around, I met the only reason I'd stayed at the academy any longer than I needed to.
"Turns out I shouldn't have saved you," Dark Ace shrugged. "But, hell, at least your life will make for an interesting game." He held a single energy blade up, shelved on his shoulder. "Let's take a little walk, since you're so fond of me."
Finn
"Get your hands off of me! Put me down, asshole!"
"Sit tight, princess, you'll be in here for a while."
"God, I swear, I will murder you next time I get the chance!"
"Murder... You know, I get that a lot."
These voices...
"You better hope that commander of yours protects your sorry ass 'cause you're dead!"
"His commander, huh? Well, I'm sure you wouldn't want to hurt me..."
"Not so tough now, huh, princess?"
They're... so familiar...
A loud, piercing scream could be heard, along with a dull thud on cement floor.
The room was so blurry... only faint, shadowed figures stood before me, one of them looked concerned and afraid, the other, proud and confident. One of them was definitely younger, and, surprisingly, the older one was the one that was cowering.
"Urghhh... what a head ache..." I rubbed my forehead, then my eyes. Somehow, between the time I ran, grabbed what little of her supplies I could, and bolted for my life, they got me.
"Oh, Finn. Good, you're awake. Now, princess, you'll have someone to keep you company," the younger one laughed.
"Don't call me princess!" I heard Kai shout back. It's all so confusing…
I knew the older one was Dark ace, the other must be a talon—then there's Kai, next to me in this barred-up cell.
The cave-like room was dimly lit by an oil lantern , giving me enough light to see Kai was bleeding badly in several places, very deep. If she didn't get her wounds cleaned soon, she could be at risk for a terrible infection, or worse, a fatal immune system attack.
"Well, you are a prisoner. You'll take whatever the hell we throw at you. Complain all you want, princess," with that, the young talon walked away.
"If you're going to keep us here, you should at least get us some water!" I demanded.
"Alright," he agreed, surprisingly.
I blinked. "Well, good. Get us some rags, too."
"How many?"
Okay, now it's sounding to be too good to be true. "...Four," I told him, still unsure of it all.
He nodded, then turned to leave.
"Okay, Finn, maybe you're not the only one who's insane," Kai's voice was shaking.
"Are you alright?" I slid over the broken and cracked cement, trying to help Kai off the ground. She winced in pain, and just as soon, I knew she couldn't stand up. "Hey, it's okay. Just take it easy, alright? They got you pretty bad."
"That's easy... for you to say. You made it out with barely a bruise."
"I know, that's what strikes me as strange. Why are they picking on you?"
"Take a guess," her voice was shaking even more, her face was red, and stray tears were falling down her face.
"Well," I breathed, "Don't worry about that now, just... try to relax. You're bleeding pretty bad."
She looked down, then around her arms and legs, bringing a hand up to feel the wound on her chin and forehead. Blood dripped down her hand and past her wrist almost the instant she touched her face. "Oh... shit."
"You have to keep your heart rate slow, or you'll bleed more," I told her. "Just try your best to keep calm until Dark Ace gets back with the water."
She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "How long do you think we'll be in here before they finish us off?"
"Don't think like that, okay?" I said, trying to make light of the terrible situation we're in. "Someone'll come and get us. They'll have to."
"You know...," she laughed, "Sometimes it takes a bit of shock to bring a man back to reality, and boy, was I thinking you were going to go insane in that academy. You seem fine now, though," she smiled.
"Well, yeah, imagine how I felt when my best friend got hurt..."
"Best… friend?" she glanced at me.
I laughed, leaning against the wall, closing my eyes. I reopened my eyes, seeing Dark Ace walk back in. His expression was grim, almost depressive. It was as if he didn't want to be here, doing what he's doing. So strange... Whatever managed to happen between the two of them during her short training with him must've put this awkwardness in the air.
He shoved an iron tray through the door, grinding against the ground with a few sparks as it slid to a stop. "Don't waste it," he sighed, walking away.
"What an asshole," Kai laughed, another tear rolling down her cheek.
There was a period of silence where neither of us said anything. I moved around a bit, trying to clean her wounds with what little water he did bring us. Even the rags were filthy, but it's better than what's already biting at her cuts and gashes.
"H-hey, Finn... I..."
"Huh?"
"...I can't... move my arm."
I laughed quietly, thought it probably was inappropriate for the situation. I looked around her left arm, then her right, but nothing was tying or pinching them down. "Does it feel numb?" I knew close to nothing about anything medical-related, but I knew I couldn't just sit there and do nothing like normal. Kai needed me. I didn't know how long it would be until help arrived and I refused to think we would die here. Kai's wounds needed to be cleaned and this was how I knew to do it.
"...Sort of, but it's not like it's asleep. It burns."
"Shoot, that's not good... Here, let me look at it." I'm still unsure as to which arm it is in the first place, though I'm sure she'll point it out.
She lifted her left arm, pointing out her right.
"Alright, hold still for a minute," I picked her arm up, holding it in my left hand. "Ah, found it. Take a deep breath...," I picked up the damp rag from the metal bowl, holding it carefully onto her wound. "The pain's overwhelming, huh?"
She nodded slowly.
"Don't worry. You'll be able to move your arm again by morning," I reassured her, unsure if it was the truth, myself. "Your body's just trying to center everything on healing the wounds, so it's probably hard to move anything."
"Morning...," she grumbled, drifting off with the searing pain.
"You'll be fine, Kai... I promise."
I promise... You're not going to die on me. Not while I'm still alive...
Kai
Morning...
So, it's morning already?
Aughh... so much pain. How could he hurt me, anyways? Right… He didn't care in the first place. "Stupid...," I grumbled, reaching over to itch my arm, though something stopped me.
There was a clean, dull white bandage wrapped snuggly around my upper left arm, my left wrist, from my right shoulder to my right wrist, both my legs, and just about anywhere else that had been cut or ripped open. Each was only slightly soaked with blood in a few spots. Finn couldn't have done it. He wouldn't have done it. He didn't have the supplies...
Freaky.
"Awake already?"
"Huh? Oh... yeah...," I responded, not bothering to see who it was. I knew to be careful. I knew not to give anything away, no matter who it was.
"I hope you're feeling alright...," with that said, the man walked out.
Finn groaned, sitting up. He looked like he was half-dead, himself. "You up, Kai?" he groaned.
"Yep. I am now. Look," I stood up, trying to readjust the adhered bandages.
"Huh?" he winced in the dim light, looking at me. "Hey, at least you can stand, right?"
"Finn, that's not the point. Someone bandaged me up."
"You must've been out cold last night," he smiled, struggling to stand up.
I nodded.
"We have to get out of here, Kai..."
I held out my hand, helping him up. "Of course we do."
"No, I mean, we have to get out of here, now. I can't live like this."
"We can't, but we'll have to. It's not like we can just run!" I sighed. "Finn, here," I held my arms out.
"What?"
"Give me a hug."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Look, we both need a hug. Trust me," I pulled him close to me, though he was reluctant. This better work... "Finn, I need you to listen closely, okay?" I whispered.
"Kai, I—"
"They're going to let us out of here. You boys at the academy learned how to watch after prisoners, right? Well... they had to have let prisoners out at some point..."
"For like... two seconds," he tried to back away, but there was no way I'd get another chance to tell him what I thought was really going on, and how the hell we're actually going to escape from all this.
"That's our chance. We'll take down who we can, and I know a few of Dark Ace's key weaknesses, so we'll get our chance that way," with that, I pushed him back, walking up to the bars. Someone was close by, they had to be.
"Hey, Dark Ace! If you know what's good for you, you'll get your ass in here!" I yelled.
Within a split second, he walked in. His armor was in pristine condition, along with the weapon sheathed on his back. "What do you want?" his tone was droll and serious.
"I'm sure you know the rules of incarceration. You have to let your prisoners get some sun. After all, if you don't, they'll die before you've finished making them suffer," a devious smile appeared on my face.
"Let you out? Aw, but you'll kick one of my teammates off the cliff...," I missed seeing him smile, and I had to admit that.
"That's not the point, stupid," I sighed. "Now, do you really want to see me get any paler?" I pointed out my light complexion, trying to hit some raw nerve with him If he ever did have feelings for me, at any time. I'll find something. I'll hit some kind of nerve.
"...I'll let you two out, but I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Oh, I've been through hell worse than this, Dark Ace, and you know that all too well. Now get your head out of your ass and unlock the door."
He quickly rolled his eyes, walking over to the bars. I saw Finn back up, tripping over the metal bowls that had sat there overnight. The rags he'd used to clean my wounds were just barely beginning to change color, and the bacteria in the water was reacting with the metal in the bowls, giving of a metallic smell.
The gate-like door was stubborn to open, but the screeching metal sound told me he finally managed to make it give way. "You know me, Dark Ace. I won't run," I said as I gracefully. "I'm not afraid of you." And as if nothing were wrong, I walked out the door.
"Oh, you're not the one I'm worried about," he said, almost laughing. His gaze never left me, though, even when he was binding Finn's wrists. Everything about this capture was off. Finn, of course, was taking it all as expected, if not better, but Dark Ace was acting very strange.
I only saw Ravess and Snipe for a split second before that damned talon tossed me in the jail cell, and that's what scared me the most. Snipe knew he could do just about anything he wanted as long as I was in his grasp. And as long as I'm here, I'm in his grasp. All that is going to change the instant I got the chance.
I knew Dark Ace had some kind of grudge against me. He locked me up in a dark room for hours, trying to beat information out of me. I was smarter than that. I knew almost nothing about anything he wanted to hear—Storm Hawks battle tactics, their next few mission points… Aerrow was careful not to give me any of that information.
"Kai, don't say anything! I don't want you getting any more cuts or bruises," Finn warned.
"I can handle myself, Finn."
He grumbled something completely unintelligible, though Dark Ace said something back. I knew it had sunned Finn, or had scared him badly enough to keep him quiet the entire time I kept them walking. The journey wasn't pointless, however. I was looking for something, or rather, someone.
Somewhere along the way, I'd lost Finn and Dark Ace, though that didn't matter. They didn't have to worry about me running this time. They should be more worried about how I could possibly undermine everything they're doing. I had to look happy. I had to look like I was keeping myself entertained, and I had to do anything to make them think they weren't making me suffer. I had to enjoy myself here. I had to do anything to screw with their heads.
"Hey...," I smiled, finally finding the one person I needed to talk to. "I need to ask a favor of you, Snipe."
"Oh, really? Well, I have one, too. Would you mind getting back in your cell?!" The large man charged toward me but I leaned away as he lurched his hand toward me.
"You shouldn't be asking me. Go ask Dark Ace. He's the one who let us out, silly," I smiled. This was more entertaining than I'd previously thought.
"I'll have to," He grumbled.
"Now, about my favor...," I smiled. "Do you have a radio?"
"A radio? What do you mean 'a radio'?" Snipe asked.
"You know... transmissions come through, calls go out... blah, blah, blah...," I waved my hands through the air.
"Of course we have one of those, stupid girl. It's not like I'm going to let you use it, though," he chuckled.
"Hey, I don't want to use it, I was just going to see if yours was better than the one I've got," which was a flat out lie.
"You sure are a strange one...," he grumbled, taking my hand. He dragged me around for a good three or four minutes before we reached what looked like the communications and resources room.
Four iron, crystal-powered CB radios were scattered across the room, at least two of them being used for parts. Two young talons were controlling just about every piece of equipment in there, then another much older talon was fixing a few of the weapons that were sitting nearby.
"I'm sorry...," I walked up to the mechanic. "You're doing that all wrong. All wrong, all wrong, all wrong," I took the weapon from him.
"I'm sorry, but you're not the one getting paid to fix them!" he took it back, his expression aggravated and unforgiving.
"Look, if she says she knows better, let her have a go at it!" Snipe took the weapon back, shoving it my way. "The second I find out you're ruining our weapons, you're dead. And don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're a woman!" the large man pushed his way over to one of the radios, sitting in a nearby chair.
I tore open the weapon, tossing aside the metal 'scraps.' It looked like a crystal had shattered in the system, leaving shards stuck in every possible place, probably causing the weapon to malfunction. "Clean it out, and screw the metal plates back on, get a new crystal, and it'll be back up to par," I tossed it back to him, walking over to the radio. I sat on the desk-like counter, kicking my bandaged legs though the air.
I smiled, looking around the room. "You know, for a bunch of guys living down here, it's pretty clean. I'd expect bunch of dirty laundry thrown in random places and God-knows-what lying everywhere else... either that or a bunch of rotting corpses."
"Flattery wont lessen your sentence, girl."
I clenched my fists. I swear, the next one that calls me 'girl' is going to get it. I think, actually, that 'princess' gets on my nerves just as much! Lovely...
"That wasn't a compliment, dipshit," I growled, readjusting my position on the counter so I was almost facing him, my legs pinned against the side of his chair. "But, that's beside the point!" I smiled once more. "Move, I want to see the radio," I jumped off the counter, trying to, though unsuccessfully, push him out of the chair.
He gave me a meaningful glare before standing up, walking around the chair. "I swear, you touch—"
"Calm down, silly," I smiled, "I won't break your precious radio."
Now, I have four seconds to think about this. The radio has a fixed frequency as to how it receives transmissions, correct? So, I can change the outgoing frequency to... to the Condor's frequency! I sighed, trying to think of the numbers Finn told Elle.
"What's this thing do?" if I was going to do this, I better play dumb. The large knob in the center was the easiest thing to mistake, yeah right, but I better make that as convincing as possible. My tone was unmistakable, convincing enough, and the look on Snipe's face was priceless.
I twisted and turned the knob in the right directions, changing it directly to the Condor's exact frequency, and seeing Snipe's unchanged expression told me he thought I was just fumbling around.
"D-d-don't touch that!" he demanded, not bothering to change it back. "It's one of the most important parts of the entire radio..."
Good. He thought I was a total retard.
"Ahh... so, I'm guessing this is the receiver, then? Or... microphone... whatever the hell you call it," I picked up the corded handset, pressing the button a few times. "Helloo, hello, one, two, three," I laughed, holding the button down.
I was going to make sure Stork, or Piper, or anyone on the ship heard me, and make sure Snipe had no idea. I couldn't screw this up, or I'd be in deep shit in a matter of seconds.
Even better, the volume control was closest to my left hand, and with a subtle movement, I could make sure no one, not even me, heard their replies, if anyone does reply.
"Hey, don't do that!" he reached out, trying to take the handset from me, but I leaned back, pulling it out of his reach.
"What's your damage, Snipe? I'm just having some fun. It's not like anyone important can hear me, anyways...," I shrugged. "Hey, uh... we've got two prisoners from the Storm Hawks squadron down in an underground 'lair'," I laughed.
"Hey, I said don't do that!" he reached over again, but I kept it from his grasp, spinning the chair around.
"Well, I'm not done yet!" I whispered, releasing the button. I pressed it down once more, speaking again, "They're being quite uncooperative, can you send in reinforcements?"
"You bitch, give me that!" he forcibly spun the chair around, taking the microphone from my hand. He hung it back up before looking at me. His stare was piercing, and it burned, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, sending chills through my spine.
For a moment, everything was fine. Then, suddenly, Snipe brought his hand across the right side of my face quickly, leaving a large red mark as the blood rushed to the injured surface.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
Dark Ace had seen the whole thing; or part of it, at least.
The second I'd looked over, the worst possible expression sat on his face. It was as if someone' had ripped his heart out, smashed it to pieces, and yet he was still alive to feel all the pain.
Of course, I was too busy coddling my wound to notice everything that was going on around me. I know that Ace barged in one way or another, pinned Snipe to the ground, and yelled. Really loud.
Then, the audio kicked in.
"Why the hell did you hit her?!"
"I had no choice! She was refusing to cooperate!"
"That gives you no right to hit her!"
The entire control room was up in flames. Ace had pinned Snipe to the ground, the three talons had run off somewhere, and I was still sitting in the chair. Though, I pulled my legs up, crossing them, making sure not to get caught up in the fight.
I wasn't going to run. This was just getting interesting.
After all, he was making my plan all the more easy. With the Storm Hawks hopefully on their way, Ace tearing down the chief, and Finn hopefully taking out some of the reinforcements (wherever the hell he went to) life just got ten times easier.
"L-look, Ace, I meant nothing by it!" by now, Snipe was fearing for his life.
"You hit her!"
"Hey, look at it this way. If it were any other girl, you wouldn't be doing this, correct? After all, if I'm not mistaken, this is the one you were forced to train with, right? Did something happen between you two I should know about?" Snipe jeered, laughing. And, of course, the smart-ass comments find their way in.
"You bastard! Shut up, or it means your life!"
"You'd like to kill me, wouldn't you?" his smile was evil.
"You know damn well I've never shown restraint in my life!"
"Then this'd be the first for you, now wouldn't it?" now, he was laughing.
"Ace...," I breathed.
Finally. He's back. Whatever did happen to him, whatever strange thing got into his mind, Dark Ace rose to reality. "What?!" he yelled, hearing me. His head jerked in my direction, his stare glazed over and confused.
Now, even I was scared of him.
For a moment, he looked down, still holding Snipe down. Nothing was said, only the quick, faint breathing from Snipe and myself. Soon enough, Ace stood up straight, and stormed out of the room. "Oh, shit!" I heard him groan, followed by a loud thump. "Don't even think about moving, Storm Hawk! I told you not to move, damn it!"
Hell was beginning to look like peace and quiet compared to this.