Once again, I wrote this chapter in one evening...I must really love you guys as I rarely do that unless particularly inspired xD
But what can I say, you guys inspire me! And I love you all for it :)
Enough chit-chat...who kidnapped Hope?!
When Hope came to, it took her a moment to reel in her memories and grow used to the dull ache that had settled in her body; and then she remembered. Her eyes snapped open, locking onto a wooden ceiling...she was definitely not in her room any more. Taking a deep breath, Hope braced herself to look around and take in her surroundings.
As she sat up slowly, she realised she was lying on a low bed, crude in structure and thoroughly uncomfortable. Wincing, she rolled her shoulders in an effort to ease her aching muscles, her eyes widening as she glanced about her. The floor and walls, like the ceiling, were wooden, but looked to be specially treated since they seemed more hardened and secure than ordinary wood. There was no other furniture except for her bed, and a small trapdoor on the ground no bigger than her head. What she saw next made her heart turn cold; metal bars cut her off from the rest of the room, a solid-looking door beyond them firmly shut, locking her in. She was in a cell.
"Oh!" a surprised voice cried and Hope jumped, not having noticed another presence in the room. Turning to her right, she realised that another set of bars halved her own cell, creating another adjacent to it. In the cell next door...was a Lombax. Hope blinked. "I didn't hear you wake up," the Lombax muttered, a female, middle aged going by her greying blond hair, "how are you feeling, kid?" Hope's brow furrowed, half wondering if she was dreaming. And yet, there was something about this Lombax that reminded her strongly of someone...but who?
"Ok," she finally got out, still eyeing the Lombax with a thoughtful frown. The older female offered her a warm smile,
"The name's Angela," she held out her hand politely. Hope reached through the bars and shook the offered hand, still trying to place the Lombax...
Then it struck.
"Angela Cross?" she blurted, eyes widening. The other Lombax looked at her quizzically,
"Yeah, how do you know that?" Hope smiled in relief; this was Angela Cross! Her father had told her about the clumsy Lombax, and how he hadn't seen her in decades but still held out in the hope that she was alive and well someplace. At least she was alive.
"My dad's told me about you," Hope explained. Angela raised an eyebrow,
"Your dad?" she looked at Hope thoughtfully, "who's he?" Hope was about to reply, when Angela gasped. "What? No way!" she leaned closer, nearly falling off her own bed as she studied the grey Lombax intently, "Ratchet?" she murmured in disbelief. Hope nodded,
"He's my dad." Angela shook her head in disbelief,
"Well I'll be a cylophic monkey's uncle! I thought I recognised those green eyes...your Ratchet's daughter?!" Hope smiled, already having clarified this, letting the other Lombax take a moment to let the news sink in. "So..." Angela frowned, "who's your mum? Because you're not a cross-breed, I can tell."
"Skyla," Hope answered, "she's a Lombax too...she used to be kept as a slave until she busted out and found my dad." Angela laughed,
"Good for her! And good for him! Doing their bit for the survival of the Lombaxes, eh?" Hope gave her and odd look, her mouth twitching in amusement at the older Lombax's quirky attitude.
"I guess you could say that," her frown returned as she remembered more of her father's stories, "dad said you'd disappeared." Angela winced, looking away,
"It's a long story," she muttered, and Hope didn't press her for details. She didn't have time as the cell door clicked and swung open, three figures marching into the room. The grey Lombax shrank against the wall as one of them slid a key into one of the bars, three of them sliding down into the ground to grant them entrance.
Panic and fear clogged her veins; she knew this figure! It was the one who'd kidnapped her in the first place. They still wore a cloak and mask, their identity remaining a secret. The other two figures were a Snivelakian and a rough-looking Rilgarian, an unpleasant leer on both their faces. The cloaked figure gestured for Hope to stand.
"Where are you taking her?" Angela snarled, and Hope was surprised at the venom in her voice, her eyes spitting with fiery anger. Did Angela know the cloaked figure? They made no reply, starting towards Hope when she didn't immediately comply. The grey Lombax tried to fend them off, but she was backed up into an awkward position and could do little as they wrenched her away from the wall, pinning her arms behind her back and cuffing them none too gently.
"That's none of your business," the Rilgarian sneered at Angela. The blond Lombax shot him a fierce glare,
"Can it, you good for nothing piece of..." The Snivelakian cut her off with a cruel laugh,
"Always the pretty mouth, eh, Angela?" Fuming, the older Lombax turned on the cloaked figure who's successfully restrained Hope and shoved her from the cell,
"I swear if you hurt a hair on her head..." she began, hissing like a cat.
"Relax, Angela," the Snivelakian waved a hand at her dismissively, "Zak knows how to treat a young lady," he leered at Hope, nudging the figure in a lewd gesture. The cloaked figure remained silent, though they seemed to stiffen and move away from the reptile.
To her abrupt dismay, Hope was pushed from the room without another word, and she had barely enough time to glance back at Angela before the cell door slammed shut, cutting off the older Lombax's cry of reassurance. The figure shoved Hope down the hall unceremoniously, and she stumbled slightly, just catching herself before she was pushed again. She wasn't so lucky this time and went down, and with her hands restrained, she could do nothing as her cheek smacked against the floor, a jolt of pain shooting through her whole body. Gritting her teeth, Hope tried to roll over, only to be hauled up by strong arms, back onto her feet.
Without thinking she lashed out, aiming to kick back at them with her feet while they were occupied, but she missed and connected with empty air, falling backwards onto them, colliding with their chest. Hands grabbed her arms, pulling them down painfully so she winced and tears sprang to her eyes.
"Do not try that again," a cold, masculine voice muttered in her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. Releasing her arms, the figure set her back on her feet, gently nudging her back to indicate she should start walking again. Hope swallowed, trying to calm her frantic nerves and draw on her Lombax bravery...with little success. She was guided down several corridors, pushed every now and again as a reminder of her captor's presence, though she didn't fall again.
Eyes flicking all over the place, she guessed they must be on some sort of ship, judging by the low hum in the air and the feeling of artificial gravity. Her suspicions were confirmed when they passed a window, circular and small, but big enough for her to glimpse the endless stars beyond. She breathed out slowly; she was on a ship...and there were good and bad sides to that new piece of information. On the one hand, she wasn't confined to one planet and every ship came equipped with escape pods that she could perhaps commandeer...on the other hand, a ship could move a great deal faster than a planet, and unless her parents found out the tracking signal of this specific ship, it'd take them a lot longer to find her.
Without warning, they went through a door and emerged into open air. Hope's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. The stars stretched out endlessly in all directions, and it was like being in a planetarium...only this was real. She barely had time to marvel at the sight before she was herded on, pushed across what could only be the deck of the ship. Her heart fell when she noticed several crew-members doing various lines of work about the place, one of them scouting from the crow's nest atop the central pole. Not only was she on a ship, but she was on a pirate ship. She huffed in irritation; great, as if things could get much worse. She herself had never been in direct contact with any space pirates before, but she knew for a fact that her parents had dealt with them on multiple occasions...usually with the pirates ending up on the losing side, and badly so.
The crew-members leered at her as she passed, a motley mixture of species ranging from Kerwanian to Snivelakian. A young female Blargian only a few years her senior glared fiercely at her as she went by, and Hope almost felt as if the Blarg had found personal fault in her, from the way her blue eyes glowed with anger. Having little time to dwell on it, she was shoved through another door at the end of the deck, and then stopped before a particularly grand-looking door with detailed carvings of strange creatures.
The figure rapped sharply on the wood, waiting a moment in brief silence before a voice from beyond called "come in." They entered, and Hope blinked.
It was a medium sized cabin, decked out in full finery, complete with matching four-poster bed and wardrobe. The whole room exuded a dignified, gentlemanly aura, like that of a proud elder, treasuring the finer things in life. A Blarg sat at a desk strewn with scrolls, pouring over them with obvious intent. He looked up as they entered, rising to his feet politely. To Hope's surprise, he was dressed very formally, for a pirate, a long emerald coat falling to his knees and fine black boots. His black hair was tied back into a slick ponytail, spectacles balancing primly on the end of his unusually sharp nose.
"Ah, Miss Hope, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person," the Blarg bowed elegantly, his voice educated and genuine, "I am Captain Kratos Lachesis, and may I be the first to welcome you aboard Alecto, my humble ship." Hope gaped in slight surprise. He was the Captain? She'd expected someone a lot more...rough.
"Thank you," she frowned uncertainly, unsure how to react...was this all a ploy? But he seemed like such a gentleman, with no trace of false-giving.
"Please, sit down," Lachesis gestured a chair before his desk, "I do hope you'll forgive the restraints, I'm sure you will agree that they are necessary." Hope had little choice in the matter as a hand forced her to comply, wincing slightly at the bruises that were no doubt forming all over her body from her rough treatment. Lachesis frowned ever so slightly at the figure before returning to his desk, sweeping the scrolls to the side to clear a space.
"Where am I?" Hope asked calculatingly, her eyes narrowed in thought as she tried to assess her situation; she wasn't feeling threatened by Lachesis, but something about him set her on edge nevertheless, and the figure behind her had already proven himself to be unfriendly. The Blarg gave her a small smile,
"I'm afraid I cannot reveal our location to you at this moment." Hope made no reply, her mind whirring in thought as more questions arose...why had he kidnapped her? Why was Angela Cross here, of all places? And why was the Captain so gentlemanly?!
"No doubt you are riddled with questions, young Lombax," Lachesis told her, as if reading her mind, "so allow me to clear up a few facts for you. You are here because the Fates deemed this the right act of revenge, and I intend to use you for my own gain. It is nothing personal, I assure you, I merely wish to settle a dispute that myself and others have had with your parents for a great many years. You will remain on my ship as my prisoner until an agreement is made. Once I feel the matter is successfully dealt with, you will be released to your family unharmed and unhindered. Is that understood?" Hope gave him a dubious look,
"You want to ransom me?" she asked, a little incredulous; he seemed a little too...sophisticated for ransom. Lachesis looked thoughtful, removing his glasses and folding them neatly,
"Not so much ransom, per say," he mused aloud, "it is much more than that. But essentially, yes, in a way, you are to be ransomed." Hope couldn't stop the scoff that escaped her lips and the smile that gave away her humour,
"Mum and dad will never agree," she muttered, more to herself than the Blarg. The Captain shook his head,
"On the contrary, they will have no choice in the matter." A chill swept over Hope at his words, the distinct feeling that the Blarg had more than a few tricks up his sleeve creeping over her. Swallowing, she tried to stay strong,
"It won't work," she told him bluntly. Lachesis smiled gently,
"We shall see."
"They'll find you," Hope blurted, wondering how on earth the Captain thought he could evade the two most prominent freedom fighter's in history. The Blarg kept his smile, but ignored her comment,
"While aboard my ship you will be looked after with the greatest care. Zak," he gestured the figure behind her, "will be responsible for your meals and safety." Hope refrained from glancing back at her captor, feeling his presence loom over her like a great tree. She felt him shift slightly at the Captain's words, but he made no objection and settled again, though Hope could feel what felt like irritation ripple off him. "Have you any questions?" Hope thought a minute,
"Do you honestly think you will succeed?" she asked, curious as to how confident he was.
"While I am aware of a great many details that could go wrong...I keep the faith that my plan will go ahead smoothly and no-one need get hurt over the matter," Lachesis replied, his voice candid and honest. Hope felt a flicker of respect for him; he might be a pirate, but he was obviously intelligent and level-headed, unlike most stories she'd heard of his kind.
"Why's Angela Cross here?" she asked out of the blue. Lachesis nodded in thought,
"Yes, I wondered when that would crop up," he gave her a studious look, "Miss Cross is here on private business, and is currently being moved into another cell so as not to disturb you." Hope frowned,
"Private business?" she echoed dubiously.
"It is no concern of yours," Lachesis replied firmly, his eyes locking briefly with hers to emphasize his sincerity. Without waiting for her to speak again he nodded to the figure behind her, "you may return her to her cell, Zak." Hope was hauled to her feet, and Lachesis rose also, bowing once again, "it has been a pleasure, Miss Hope."
"I wish I could say the same," the grey Lombax grumbled as she was pushed from the room, getting more than a little irritated by the way the figure, Zak or whatever his name was, kept on feeling the need to shove her everywhere. Lachesis chuckled lightly, and then the door closed.
The walk back to the cell was uneventful, though Hope had gained a little confidence from her encounter with the Captain and she held her head high, ignoring the looks from the crew-members and striding purposefully so Zak had little chance to push her around. Only when they reached the cell door did she hesitate, the rash part of her mind screaming at her to make a break for it while Zak was occupied. But before she could come to a decision, Zak had yanked her into the room and shut the door, opening the inner cell with smooth ease.
Hope backed away from the bars, eyes darting around the room as she looked desperately for a way out; Angela had gone, so she wasn't going to get any help, but that didn't mean she couldn't try. Zak stood by the open bars, giving her a chance to enter the cell of her own free will. When she remained rooted to the spot, her eyes wide and wary, he let out a small noise of frustration and approached her with irritated steps. The grey Lombax tried to lash out with her legs, but he sidestepped her feet and pried her away from the wall by her shoulders, shoving her towards the cell. Hope tried once again to shake him off, but as her hands were still restrained and he was clearly stronger than her, her actions were futile.
A harsh push sent her staggering into the cell, nearly colliding with the wall as she wobbled to retain her balance. By the time she'd righted herself and turned around, the bars were closed once more and Zak stood looking at her, his eyes hidden behind his mask. Hope scowled at him, feeling anger bubble up within her; who did he think he was, shoving her about the place like a rag doll? And why was he hiding behind a mask?
Zak raised a small device and pressed it once. The cuffs on Hope's hands fell off, flying out of the cell and into his waiting hands. Hope rubbed her hands, stretching her fingers as she continued to glare at him.
"Why won't you show your face?" she growled at him, taking a few steps forward in an attempt to look menacing; not that it worked. Zak just looked at her, then turned on the spot opening the outer door and making to leave. "Coward," Hope muttered after his retreating form, feeling bitter for her situation and angered by the mute stranger. Zak froze and stiffened, turning back to her ever so slightly. But then the moment passed, and he was gone.
She was alone.
Yay Space Pirates! For those interested, I'm still working out if Captain Slag and Rusty Pete could make a cameo...so keep your eyes peeled :P
As usual, reviews are nectar to my soul...so feed me if you want more story!
PS - Competition still stands...and even if you don't have an OC, I'll make sure the prize is a good 'un! There are more clues in this chapter...that's all I'm saying :P