Outside the warehouse, Kaede Himura waits impatiently for Tsubaki Moto to emerge. What on Avalice is she doing in there?
A few moments later, Tsubaki emerges, wearing a look of smug satisfaction. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"What were you doing in there?" Kaede demands. "It doesn't take that long to kill two people!"
"Oh, I didn't kill them," Tsubaki explains.
"What‽" Kaede gasps. "What if they escape? They'll hunt us down and kill us for sure!"
"Trust me, Hanna and Rob Skarlett are no longer a threat to us," Tsubaki assures. "Their predicament is inescapable, and by the end of the day, they will both be dead at their friends' hands."
"You're psychotic," Kaede comments disapprovingly.
"Simply staying focussed on the important tasks," Tsubaki counters. "Let's move," she commands, walking away before Kaede can respond.
I'm having second thoughts about this whole endeavour… I can't pull out now: I'm too deep in, and we've come too far to stop. With a resigned sigh, Kaede follows Tsubaki in their search for a way into Kasai‑dojo.
Inside the warehouse, Hanna and Rob are finally able to get a good look at their surroundings. They analyse everything they can see for any possible method of escape, but there is nothing that can help them. Unwilling to accept their fate, desperation sets in. For several moments, they thrash violently, trying vainly to do something, anything to escape. But soon the pain is too great, and they surrender to their fate, swinging gently back and forth.
Grimacing heavily, Hanna starts trying to ungag herself. Alternating between trying to hook the scarf off with her stretched arms and hammering the nunchaku to try and slide it sideways, she slowly makes progress until, with one final hook, she gets the scarf off the end of the nunchaku.
The sound of the weapon clattering to the floor is drowned out by a full thirty seconds of Hanna's screamed profanities, ending with "I will fucking murder that fucking psycho!"
A moment later, the other nunchaku clatters to the floor. "Feeling better?" Rob asks.
"Oh yes, because I sure enjoy hanging here with my arms being pulled out of my fucking shoulders!" Hanna snaps sarcastically. "Also, I can't feel my hands anymore, my feet feel like they're about to be torn off, and soon I'm going to be killed by my best friend. How do you think I fucking feel‽"
Rob remains silent.
"Yes, the swearing helps," Hanna admits. "Still hurts more than anything I've ever experienced."
"Normally, I'd try to comfort you by saying 'We'll get out of this' or something, but I really don't see a way out," Rob admits in turn.
"This certainly isn't the way I imagined going."
"Well, there is one thing we can be sure of: when Kathy hears about this, she'll come straight here and kill Tsubaki and Kaede with her bare claws."
Hanna can't help but chuckle at the thought. "I can totally see her doing just that," she smiles in amusement. "Hideyoshi won't be safe either. I wonder if he'd take his own life rather than face mother?"
"To be honest, I'd rather not think about it," Rob admits.
For a few moments, the couple remain silent.
"Do you think our friends will be merciful?" Hanna asks quietly.
"I hope so," Rob answers equally quietly. "If only we knew more about the Shade Virus…"
"Wait… Didn't Yoshi say something about the virus being neutralised by a suitable stimulus?" Hanna recalls.
Rob thinks a moment. "Hmm… Maybe there's hope yet. After all, seeing your friends in mortal peril is a pretty strong stimulus."
"I just wish we could be sure…"
For the next few minutes, Hanna and Rob hang in silence, waiting for their friends to arrive, doing their best to ignore the excruciating pain they're feeling.
Hanna's ears twitch at an unexpected sound. What was that? Hanna looks up to see the chain the railroad tie is suspended from is quivering alarmingly. "Rob, odd question, but how heavy is a railroad tie?"
"Over a couple hundred pounds," Rob answers. "Why?"
"One's about to land on our heads."
Rob looks up to see the quivering chain. "Swing!"
Working together, Hanna and Rob slowly build a swinging motion, knowing that if the chain snaps, the railroad tie would land on them and kill them. However, the chain doesn't snap: the ratchet fails instead.
The drop is sudden and violent. Hanna and Rob hit the floor hard, their legs slamming onto the wood tied to their ankles. Instinctively, they screw their eyes shut as the railroad tie falls towards them.
A quarter mile away, Tsubaki halts suddenly.
"Something the matter?" Kaede asks.
"Just thought I heard… Never mind," Tsubaki dismisses.
Hanna opens one eye just enough to see with. I'm… I'm not dead… I'm alive! A colossal wave of relief crashes over Hanna, and she starts laughing as the tension of near‑death bleeds away. "Thank the Ancients!"
"For a moment, I thought that was it," Rob admits, also laughing with relief.
After a few moments, the laughter dies away. "I ache so much right now," Hanna sighs. "Shoulders, hips, ankles, wrists, arms, legs, back… and I've got insane paraesthesia in my hands," she adds, flexing her fingers stiffly to increase blood circulation.
"Same here," Rob replies, also flexing his fingers. "Are your wrists still pinned?"
Hanna tries to lift her arms, but they don't move. "I think so," she answers. "Then again, it may simply be my arms don't work anymore."
"Mine too, but the railroad tie took quite an impact, so maybe…" Rob takes a deep breath, then attempts to lift his arms. Inch my inch, he gradually works the yoku of his sai out of the wood enough to slide his hands through the gap. "I'm free!" he announces, panting heavily.
"That makes one of us," Hanna replies. "Fancy helping me out a bit?"
"I need a few minutes… to recover," Rob explains. "I'll help you… as soon as I can."
Rob gets his breathing under control, then slowly lifts his arms up and over his head to rest by his sides, taking care to avoid injury while also loosening his stiff shoulders. After a brief rest, Rob slowly pushes himself into a seated position, then, with feeling restored to his hands, he massages his legs to loosen the muscles, and unties his ankles. With care, he stands up and gently stretches his stiff joints.
Eventually, Rob has restored enough mobility to help Hanna. Bracing against the damaged railroad tie, he pulls the sai pinning Hanna's arms down out of the wood and discards it, then kneels beside his wife. Massaging each shoulder in turn, he slowly moves Hanna's arms from above her head to by her sides, then unties her ankles.
"Ah, that feels good," Hanna purrs as Rob massages her legs.
"Don't get too excited," Rob flirts mischievously.
"I can't help it," Hanna flirts back. "You have a magic touch."
When the massage over, Rob helps Hanna to her feet, and together they retrieve their weapons.
"As much as I want to hunt down Tsubaki and Kaede, I must admit, I'm too weak to fight," Hanna reveals.
"Me too," Rob agrees. "We need to find somewhere to hide until we get our strength back."
"Anywhere but here," Hanna insists. "I know Maria and Danny are on their way, but there's no knowing how far gone they are."
"Agreed."
Ten minutes later, Hanna and Rob find a place to hide: an abandoned convenience store just two blocks from the warehouse. After raiding the shelves for nourishment, the couple retires to the storeroom to eat, rest, and recuperate.
"My capris are ruined," Hanna remarks through a mouthful of granola bar, her fingers playing with one of the many tears in the garment.
"You've suffered a few cuts too," Rob observes. "Good thing this place has bandages and disinfectant spray."
"Does it also sell scissors?" Hanna asks.
"I'll go look," Rob answers, disappearing back into the shop and returning a few moments later with a sturdy pair of kitchen scissors. "Will these do?" he asks, handing them to Hanna.
"Perfect." Hanna takes the scissors, then after finishing her granola bar, stands and removes her capris. After treating her wounds with disinfectant and bandages, she trims most of the legs off her capris, fashioning them into shorts before putting them back on. "What do you think?" she asks, posing in her improvised outfit.
"At this rate, you'll be naked before this war is over," Rob teases. "I could see if this store sells volleyballs," he quips.
"This is more suited to the beach," Hanna admits. "I look like a surfer who's landed in a pile of broken shells. And for the first time ever, my boots look stupid. At least I've stopped shedding body parts."
"You still look gorgeous," Rob compliments.
"With legs like mine, could I be anything else?" Hanna boasts.
"You should show them off more often," Rob suggests.
"You could do with a wardrobe change yourself," Hanna suggests in return, noticing the numerous tears in Rob's trousers.
"Now you mention it…" Rob removes his trousers and hands them to Hanna to modify while he treats his wounds. Once the tasks are done, Rob puts his shorts on. "And now I look like you do."
"Only less fabulous," Hanna teases.
"Since we have enough food and drink, I'll barricade the door so we can rest," Rob decides.
"Good idea," Hanna agrees.