CHAPTER 11: I'VE BEEN CAPTURED

A short time earlier…

"Are we there yet?" Epel asked skeptically.

"How can we possibly be there?" Ace asked. "Look around—there's no isles or islands or anything out here!"

"Don't despair, Monsieur Heart," Rook chided. "We're getting close, I can feel it!"

"Wonder if we have to go underwater," Deuce thought aloud.

The four rescuers were flying across the ocean at a breakneck pace, sharing two brooms to do so. Over the last few hours, they had been in pursuit of Styx, only stopping twice for the occasional break—first at a lake, and then near an empty home belonging to Rook's extensive family. During this time, Rook had explained that he was the perfect guide for the group, regardless of how far away their foes were. Because of his special talent.

"Your signature spell… does it fade away after a distance?" Epel wondered.

"Non, 'Arrow Afar' allows me to pursue my quarry no matter what," Rook said, tapping his temple. "I'm truly thankful that I cast it on Vil before he was taken away. Where he'll go, I'll also go, just as the Huntsman followed the Fairest Queen."

"That's a seriously creepy power," Ace said. "Useful in this case, though."

"Thank you!" Rook beamed. "Now then, as we approach our enemies' headquarters, we need to go over our plan."

"Fighting those guys one-on-one didn't work out for any of us," Deuce said. "You mentioned on the way that you wanted to trick them, right?"

"In a sense," Rook said. "The best ploy would be to put up a fight, let them defeat us, and then surrender. They'll take us in because we will know too much to be released. From inside the belly of the beast, we can find a way to save our friends."

"That's risky, though. What if they torture us?" Epel asked.

"This might sound weird, but… I don't think they would," Ace deduced. "Those soldiers only fought because Riddle, Cater, and Trey were attacking out of self-defense. Styx stunned us to get us out of the way, then when Riddle surrendered, they just took him and left. None of them went out of their way to hurt us."

"Exactly. They show no sadistic qualities, which means they may listen to reason." Rook nodded, then stopped his broom, making Epel sway a bit behind him. Deuce stopped the other broom, and Ace almost slammed into him from the force.

"What's up?" Deuce asked.

Rook held his hand out, and it stopped too soon, touching an invisible wall.

"A barrier in the middle of the sea… this is it," he said. "Everyone, please help me break this wall!"

Rook and Deuce veered their brooms to the side so that Epel and Ace could get a clear shot. All four mages casted their strongest cosmic spells straight ahead, and…!

CRASSSHHHHH!

There was a blinding flash of light, and a mid-sized crack appeared in the air. Rook flew into the new opening, followed by a shocked Deuce. On the other side, it was revealed that the flat ocean surface was a mere illusion.

They were now inside a gigantic circular town, its ancient buildings reminiscent of once-prosperous times. The town was deserted, and far beneath the ocean surface; the barrier around them kept the water from flooding the area. When the barrier was dropped, like earlier when the prisoners were being transported, the ocean waters would drop into a wall around the town, still kept at a harmless distance by a secondary barrier. When Jill was here, all she could hear was the loud roaring of the water.

But when these four intruders landed in the old town, all they could hear was the blaring of sirens and the clomping of footsteps.

INTRUDER ALERT, a loud automated voice cried. INTRUDER ALERT. APPREHEND THREATS.

Charon soldiers suddenly came out of hiding from every building, quickly swarming the gang. The mages drew out their pens, ready to battle.

"Oh, you didn't like it when we put a hole in your barrier? Now you know how we feel!" Ace cried.

"Get ready for Round 2!" Deuce seconded, sporting a cocky grin.

"We won't go down so easily this time!" Epel claimed.

"You shall pay for what you've done! En garde!" Rook announced.

The Charon soldiers slowly drew their weapons, waiting for the students to make the first move. Ace, Epel, Deuce, and Rook all banded together with their backs to each other, launching as many spells as they could. But just like before, the soldiers' anti-magical armor repelled the spells like they were nothing. As expected.

Once the students had exhausted themselves, the soldiers simply drew their glowing staffs and unleashed the invisible force that knocked Ace and Deuce out last time.

The four suddenly lost their balance, and their legs could no longer hold them. They were forced onto their knees, their muscles weakened, panting for air.

"N-Not again…!" Deuce struggled to stay on his knees, determined not to fall over.

"Goldarnit!" Epel cursed. Ace couldn't speak; he was too busy trying to keep his balance.

"What power!" Rook huffed. "What is this…?"

"It's a technomatic wave that uses vibrations to attack your body. It causes temporary paralysis. Very useful when dealing with sneaky troublemakers, whee hee…" Idia chuckled.

The soldiers parted, making room for Idia Shroud.

"Idia?! You're in charge of Styx?!" Deuce cried in alarm.

"Yep, that's me," Idia said. "How did you four SR-clowns get into the Isle of Woe?! And why?"

"People do crazy things for the ones they love," Rook said. "You've taken our dear companions away from us, and we refused to stand for it."

"Ugh, why are all Pomefiores such drama queens?" Idia asked himself.

"Hey, not all of us!" Epel protested.

"Look, we just want the people you captured!" Deuce said. "Please just give them back, and we'll be on our way. We won't ask any questions or tell anyone, honest!"

"You expect me to listen to you?" Idia argued. "You interrupted my schedule, broke our barrier, and gave me a lot more work than I needed today!"

"Oh, you poor thing," Ace said dryly, rolling his eyes.

Idia turned to the nearest Charon soldier. "Confiscate all their things, then take them down to HQ," he ordered. "I want these guys questioned. At length. We also need to send some specialists up here to repair the barrier."

"Understood," said the soldier, and the army moved closer.

"Wait a moment!" Rook said. "I have but one request before you take us in." The paralysis was already wearing off. He slowly removed his backpack and rummaged through it, and the Charons tensed up, expecting a weapon. But Rook held up his index finger the whole time, cautioning them to wait, and took out Vil's skincare kit as well as a matching makeup kit.

"What's all that for?" Idia questioned.

"Please give this to Vil," Rook said. "His skin will suffer if he's inside for too long."

"I know Vil likes to look his best, but isn't this excessive?" Idia asked irritably.

"When you aim to be the fairest of all, no amount of work is excessive," Rook answered serenely. "I know we've caused you plenty of trouble, but I hope you'll honor this request for Vil's sake."

Idia rolled his eyes and took the skincare and makeup. "We'll analyze this to make sure there's nothing sus in here, and if it's clean, then we can give it to Vil."

"Thank you," Rook said with a nod.

The next thing Ace knew, he and the three others were swarmed by the soldiers, handcuffed, and deprived of their personal belongings. He wanted to fight back with all his power, to make them pay for all this strife, and it was all the more frustrating when he knew that his best efforts wouldn't be enough. Wasn't there anything else he could do?!

Ace had to remember that he wasn't the only one captive. A lot of his schoolmates were in the same boat: Riddle, Jamil, Azul, Leona, Vil, Grim… and Jill, too. He needed to make sure everyone was okay. And he wanted to have Jill in his arms, to console her, to pleasantly lie to her until she felt like things would turn out alright.

It will be okay was Ace's favorite lie of all.