Quintia did not know what to expect when she had heard footsteps outside the chamber that she was confined in. Nothing had been definite for the last few days, nothing had been certain, not after the brutes had stripped away her senses of observation from her; making it impossible to tell what they were up to next.

She could not stop herself from tensing when she sensed a hand upon her face, ripping off the blindfold that the Templars had never bothered to remove ever since - how long ago was that? She had all but completely lost track of her time in here -

There was no mistaking that singular visor with the crosshairs on it, the way it almost seemed to glow in the darkness.

"Secundus?"

The name had fallen from her lips almost far too quiet for a normal human to hear, if it was not for the close proximity between Quintia and the Armada spy.

Secundus simply nodded once, before moving to undo the shackles around her wrists with a golden key, the shackles falling away and against the wall.

Quintia rubbed the area on her wrists where the metal had irritated the delicate synthetic flesh, although it was an absentminded movement, as it was only registered a second after she had once more felt the burning pain of the multiple lash wounds ripped into her back.

While it was almost relieving, as how humans would have said, to have her sight restored to her, along with her powers of observation, it did not change how this situation was still a grave one.

What will happen now?

The Armada spy made a singular gesture, putting a gloved finger up to his lips. It was a simple gesture that needed no words to explain, and Quintia nodded; trailing behind the blue - clad spy as they threaded their way down the hallway.

They were still in the ancient tunnels, but strangely, there was no guards patrolling the midst of this barren hallway of stone, and even with her advanced senses, Quintia could not pick up a single sign of human activity: the lighting may have been damnably bad with the few dying torches in their steel brackets, but it was still possible for a clockwork to at least hear the footsteps of nearby guards.

Still nothing.

Pulling herself out of her internal observations, Quintia stopped just a few feet behind Secundus as he finally stopped before another curtain covered chamber.

The spy glanced around before pushing the surprisingly light fabric away and stepping in.

And in that very moment, it was possible to say that Quintia had instantly felt another surge of what the humans would have called 'relief', the sensation that could only be described as having a massive boulder that had been crushing down on her chest being lifted away -

Virtually unscathed, save for a few dents in his armor, was Sentus Optimus, chained in a similar position to what she had been only a few minutes before, until Secundus brought out a different key and undid the shackles as well.

While the lieutenant of the Supreme Commander was quiet as he was released from the chains, the cyborg marine captain's single human eye spoke everything for him.

I trust you are unharmed, Captain?

Quintia nodded once: it would be rather unwise to speak up at this time, knowing Templars, she would not put it past them to have some sort of security system set up -

Secundus held up one hand, jabbing his index finger down the empty hallway a few times, mouthing out four words.

No time to waste.

Quintia was certain that if she had a heart, the more they crept down the ancient hallway of stone, the louder its beats would have become with each step they took. All was too quiet for her, much too quiet, and when it was this way with the humans, it was almost guaranteed that they had something planned.

Turning around a corner, the spy's lips twisted into a visible scowl of displeasure before he pivoted sharply on his heels to face both of them; the flames of the singular torch about five feet behind them painting dancing shadows across his face. Even before he had spoken, Quintia found herself able to hazard a guess as to what had brought it on, really, it was not exactly that difficult to do so, not with the almost clear as day sound of human voices just around the corner.

A welcoming thing, after being in the silence for so long.

"The chamber in which they kept your weapons are heavily guarded -"

Secundus mouthed out each of the words with an expression of clear displeasure upon his face, glancing around the corner and back to them once more, his face fading into something akin to... nervousness? The expression was a fleeting one, so Quintia could not exactly say she was certain of what she saw, especially more with the fact they were in a darkened tunnel.

"We cannot afford to raise the alarm, those damned Templars would be on us in an instant."

It would not be surprising if they did, considering how well they seem to know this pyramid.

From the moment she had stepped out of the chamber and followed Secundus through the tunnels, Quintia had been paying attention to each and every path they had taken:

With a tunnel network this complicated, it is virtually impossible to not get lost among it if one does not know it well. But if someone is to know it well enough...

The Captain of the Royal Guards allowed her thought to trail off there, for if it was allowed to continue, she was quite certain, the fear that would no doubt follow would have wrapped its icy grip around her even stronger than the chains that had been holding her prisoner, tightening like the holds of some unseen snake.

And in this situation, the last thing that she needed to happen was for the fear to wreck her like it already had before.

Her thoughts were interrupted once again, by the hold of the marine captain Sentus Optimus around her wrist, almost dragging her into one of the many dark niches that seemed to line the tunnels at almost even intervals.

Quintia winced slightly as her back, the wounds only barely having sealed up, connected with the wall of the chamber: though this was soon ignored, her gaze turning to Sentus in a silent question.

Despite the chamber they were currently in being almost just as ill lit as the tunnel outside, the singular cybernetic eye that had long replaced Sentus Optimus' right eye had a sort of otherworldly glow, as did his remaining human eye. The marine brought a single finger up to where his mouth was hidden by the mask, in the same gesture as Secundus had done merely a few minutes ago.

"I thought you said you heard something!"

In that very moment, Quintia felt the blood in her entire system turn to ice.

"I really did, trust me!"

"Heh, probably just a rat or something, those tunnels are full of those little bastards. What? Did you think those prisoners would actually escape? The Grand Master locked those chains around them himself, idiot...!"

So those Templars did not leave the place unguarded, after all.

This opened up an entirely new plane of possibilities and outcomes, so many it was almost impossible to calculate them all as they flew through her processor: what are their patrol routes? How are they to avoid them if they are to get out of here still in one piece and functioning?

And most important of all, how long would it take for the Templar soldiers to realize that their prisoners had escaped?

All those questions persisted, even after the footsteps of the Templars outside faded away and soon into nothingness when they were too far away to be picked up by even the advanced senses of a clockwork.

Quintia's gaze turned to the other shape in the room, the just barely visible form of the Armada spy. Secundus had been the first one to raise to his full height, carefully venturing toward the entrance of the chamber and peeking outside for several seconds, until the spy finally seemed to deem the area clear; signaling for both her and Sentus to continue to follow him.

"Almost there."

The spy had mouthed those words out just before rounding another corner in the tunnels, after what felt almost like eons of inching along with careful, controlled steps.

So close to freedom.

Some part of Quintia had once again felt the emotion known as relief flood through her veins, though a greater part still felt nothing but apprehension, that dread that seemed to have taken root within her core ever since the blindfold had been placed around the voids that were her eyes.

It was almost certain the Templars would have either destroyed or disabled her ship, and definitely the other soldiers in her squadron she had brought along with her.

How would they return to the Supreme Commander...?!

Shaking her head slightly as though this would help her clear her mind, the Captain of the Royal Guards allowed herself to exhale as the three of them finally emerged through the door that blocked the ancient tunnels off from the rest of the ruins of Skull Island; able to feel the slight spray of the water from the waterfall upon her face -

"SOUND THE ALARM, THE PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED."

"Merda!"

Secundus had vocalized the thought within her mind, spinning around as his gaze flew from the door to Quintia's own.

"Run, I'll keep them occupied and distracted from your tracks as long as I can, RUN."

The logical part of the Royal Guard was screaming at her by this point. Where could they run, in this ruin of the pirate haven? The entire island was virtually crawling with Templar soldiers!

Sentus Optimus, on the other hand, seemed to have other thoughts. His hand had flew out to close around her wrist once more, almost pulling her along as the former pirate rushed along the path that would lead back to the ruins of Horace Avery's court, his footsteps audible now that neither of them was caring to be quiet.

They raced up the steps that would have led to the front of the pirate king's mansion, before the marine took a sharp turn to the right and onto the bastion that bore a bridge of rope and wood.

After so long, it is uncertain if this structure is still stable -

The thought was wiped from her mind, as they both all but ran across the surprisingly sturdy bridge, kicking up clouds of dust as Sentus lead the way into the landmark that had once given this island its name.

Skull Mountain.

We finally turn our attention back to Quintia and Sentus Optimus, as well as get to see Secundus finally back in action. But would their escape be successful? ;) Check back later to see, of course.

Reviews are much appreciated! Until next time, my dear readers! :D

-Hades