Still working through the block. This is also a cliffhanger sorry.
Don't own any of the characters.
Six brought out one of his magna blades and sliced open the door. He kicked it open. Both he and Aimi ran to the next room.
They were not safe yet. The gas was coming in through the opening. The room was full of bunk beds, probably the sleeping quarters.
"Quick, grab the mattress and block the door!" Six coughed.
Aimi pulled the mattress from one of the bunk beds and hauled it over to the door.
Six helped her push it against the small frame blocking off most of the gas from coming in. Some still seeped through the sides.
"We'll be safer if we move away from here." Aimi wheezed.
"Agreed." Six pushed the mattress firmly against the door frame to try to seal off more of the gas. Then they made their way to the next room.
"What is ZAG-RS doing in a sunken oil rig?" Aimi looked at Six.
"I don't know." He admitted. "We thought we took care of it."
"Well, apparently not." Aimi said dryly.
Six try to reach Holiday again but was met with more static.
"Well, what now?" Aimi looked at her brother.
"We know what is causing the disruptions now. So we take care of it." He unsheathed his blades.
"So we go kick some computer chaise? Sounds like fun. Count me in." She drew out her katana.
"Don't you take anything seriously?" Six glared at her.
"Are you kidding? This is me, serious." She gave him a wide smile. "You should see me when I let my hair down."
"Heaven forbid." Six rolled his eyes and turned his attention to finding where the wayward computer was located. "Watch your step. There might be traps."
Aimi snorted in a very unlady-like manner. "Watch yourself."
0o0
Holiday was frenetically trying to hail Six and Aimi.
"Come in, Six? Aimi?" Holiday slammed down the receiver. She put her face in her hands. Think, girl! She told herself. They were still hours away from getting enough planes protected from the signals. Anything mechanical would automatically become disabled or worse. What could she do? She knew they were in trouble and needed help. Wait! When she was wandering around the castle, she had seen something in the waters on the side. She had vaguely thought it looked impressive but because she was preoccupied with finding Six, didn't stay to admire it. Holiday ran to where she hoped was where she'd seen it.
Sure enough it lay gleaming in dry dock. It was a 15 or 16th century Japanese warship… an atakebune. Actually, they were floating fortresses rather than real warships, and they were usually only used in coastal fights. But they had oars to propel them because their bulk impeded wind-based propulsion. Holiday had seen one in a museum once. This looked like it was in perfect working order. She saw a maintenance worker walk past below.
"Hello, sir!" Holiday called down to him.
Startled the man looked up from his clipboard. "Yes' am?"
"Does that thing work?" She pointed at the ship.
The man looked to see where she was pointing. He grinned and nodded.
"Of course, Ms. Hondo only has the best."
"Can you get a crew together immediately?" Holiday asked.
The man looked thoughtful and scratched his head with his pen.
"Don't see why not. Just needs a bit of elbow grease to get it going. Why?"
"Ms. Hondo and Agent Six are in trouble." Holiday explained.
"Well, why din't ya say that before?" He huffed. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and announced, "Gamma unit to dry dock asap!"
Rex was playing in the arcade when he heard people run pass the arcade. He peeked out and saw a bunch of men in uniform running down the hall. He frowned. Something's going down and he didn't like being left out. When the last man ran by, Rex followed after.
0o0
Rex gaped as he stood in front of some sort of ship.
"Rex, what are you doing here? I told you to rest." Holiday's annoyed voice brought him back.
"What's going on?" He asked eyes still glued to the ship.
Holiday sighed. "We lost contact with Six and Aimi…."
"What?" Rex spun around to look at Doc. "What happened?"
"I don't know but the last thing Six said was that the receiver for the satellite TV was warm, which means it's working, which means that someone or something is down there with them."
"What satellite TV?" Rex looked confused.
"Oh that's right. You weren't there when I found the location of the signals. Six and Aimi discovered an underwater oil rig at my coordinates."
"You mean to say they are trapped underwater with some sort of monster?" Rex wrinkled his brow.
"We're not sure what it is but it was able to cut communications." Holiday looked at her watch impatiently. "Nothing mechanical can get near the area. We need something that is a little more primitive."
"Cool, we're going to save them on this boat?" Rex looked at the ship again.
"It's a Japanese warship, Rex. Didn't you do the assignment on Japanese naval history I gave you last week?"
"Uhh, I was busy?"
"Mmm-hmm, when we get back, remind me to check your homework." Holiday said, "And who said we were going. Only I'm going with a skeleton crew of Aimi's men."
"Awww, come on. I can help." Rex pleaded.
"Rex, I don't want anything to happen to you. We don't know how your nanites will react to these signals." Holiday said exasperated.
"I won't make any builds. I promise. I'll use my old fashion awesomeness to help." Rex grinned. Then he got serious. "Please, Doc? I wanna help. It's Six out there."
Holiday struggled. She didn't want Rex hurt but if she didn't let him go then he would be more apt to do something stupid. "Okay, but you have to do exactly what I say. Do you understand?" She looked at the boy sternly.
"Don't I always?" Rex grinned as he ran up the gangplank.
Now Rebecca was very worried.
0o0
"How big is this place?" Aimi wondered out loud as they headed down another corridor.
"Big enough that we should stay focused." Six snapped.
"Boy, you must be loads of fun at parties." Aimi said disdainfully.
"I don't go to parties." Six growled.
"Well, who'd invite you? You're such a stick in the mud." She retorted.
"And you're a spoiled brat." Six muttered. Aimi suddenly laughed. Six frowned and glanced at her, "What's so funny?"
"Us, we're fighting like we're related." She smiled.
"I'm glad it amuses you." Six said gruffly.
" It does. I've always wanted siblings... but I actually wanted a younger sister, so we could play girl stuff." She looked thoughtfully at Six.
" Holiday has a younger sister." Six said unexpectedly. He had no idea why he shared that with her.
"Really? Are they close?" She asked now curious.
"Very." Six replied.
"I think Rebecca would make a great sister-in-law." She said teasingly.
Six almost stumbled. "Don't say that." He snapped continuing to walk down the never ending hallway.
"Why not? Don't you think about stuff like that or are you scared?" She asked.
Aimi didn't know how close to truth her words were. It left Six feeling vulnerable. He didn't say anything. After some silence except for the sound of dripping water and the groaning of the metal, Aimi spoke again. "I offered to tell her about you."
Six spun around fiercely and walked menacingly toward her. "I told you that if you ever..."
"Relax, you know what she said? She told me no thanks. She wanted to hear it from you. Six, if you're so blind that you can't see how much she loves you, then you don't deserve her. She's got the patience of a saint. In fact, she should be canonized. But even she's not going to wait for you forever." Aimi snapped.
Six froze. Emotions he had been holding down came bubbling up. Holiday... Rebecca, who is the quintessential scientist, who is naturally curious, who had been for years trying to learn about him, refused information because... she loved him? Wanted to hear about his past from him?
Aimi looked at Six as he stood motionlessly with an expression she couldn't read. "Umm, Six? Are you okay? Don't kill me again." She joked weakly.
Six then just as abruptly turned around and began walking again. Aimi let out a breath in relief. She allowed him several feet of space before she followed. She had her katana at the ready... in case. Just as she was about to make a joke to lighten the mood something grabbed her arms and lifted her up. Her torch clattered to the floor.
"Ahhh! Six!" She yelped as she struggled to free herself. Six spun around.
"Aimi!" Six's magna blades slipped from his sleeves as he ran to her. But by the time he reached her, she had been pulled up through the vents.