Video.

[flynnrider]

[ The video flicks on and off a couple of times to reveal a nose before the owner of the new NV realises what he's doing, a breathless yelp behind the feed as it finally slams On.]

- unzel! Rapunzel, are you there, can you hear me? Great, stuck in a new city and even Max is gone. Where could she be?

[ Running a hand through his hair, the handsome

Comments

[Video]

[vw_coyote]

[Mercy's on her couch, enjoying a morning of petting her two cats.]

... Did you just ask after Rapunzel?

[flynnrider]

Yes, do you know her? Where is she? Did you take her?!

[ SHAKES THAT LITTLE NV BOX SO HARD. ]

Give her back or I'll drop you down the nearest well!

[ Still hasn't fully taken in the whole Video thing, even after explanations. ;; IT COULD BE A TRICK! ]

[vw_coyote]

[Mercy bursts out laughing. She can't help it.]

I didn't take her, as far as I know she isn't here, and I didn't think anyone trying to look after someone like her would threaten a fair maiden with being dropped down a well.

[flynnrider]

I'll threaten you with a lot worse if you're lying.

[vw_coyote]

Hey, hey, hey now, Prince Charming, start with the charming and not so much with the threats. I'm not lying and wouldn't.

[flynnrider]

I think you landed on your head when you fell out of bed this morning, lady.

[ But he is charming, when he's not angsting over wonderfully crazy helpless girls. Likes to think so, anyway. ]

If you really don't have any idea, then fine, but don't hold me up because I've got a lot of ground to cover and I don't know where I am in this port of sirens or whatever.

[vw_coyote]

[A sigh and a headshake.]

She's not here. If you're on the playing field, with the large metal fences, you're not too far from the tower apartments. You can stay there for a little while until you get a job, or until you go home.

[flynnrider]

[ Isn't loving all this anticipation he's about to join the Minimum Wage team, what even. ]

I'm not going to sit tight and play nice, I've been kidnapped!

[vw_coyote]

[Mercy moves Medea off her lap. The other kitten is asleep on her shoulder.]

You are not the only one. There's a lot of us here. We're working on a solution. Until then, working yourself up into a frenzy is just going to make you freeze to death because you don't realize how cold it is out there.

[flynnrider]

I don't care about the weather.

[ The strain in his voice would be obvious enough if the video wasn't on, but hey, it is and all of this paltry talk about cores and jobs and temperatures is starting to get to him. There's only one person he's concerned about enough to waste an entire transmission on, and she's not here. He lost her. ]

If you see the girl I'm talking about, throw me a line.

[vw_coyote]

Don't worry, I will.

[A pause and she removes the kitten from her shoulder. The kitten makes a mewling protest, but settles back down.]

Why don't I come out and help? I've got a spare coat here, and if nothing else, I can help you set up in starter apartments.

[flynnrider]

I don't plan on living here. As soon as I find Rapunzel, I'm heading for the gates and leaving this freaky city behind.

[vw_coyote]

There aren't any gates. This is an island.

My name is Mercy, by the way.

[flynnrider]

Okay, Mercy, be merciful and tell me where the port is.

[vw_coyote]

[She sighs and hauls herself off her couch, getting a coat, and then a spare.]

It's through the warehouses and factories in sector eight. It's completely abandoned at night, and guarded in the daytime very heavily. But there's no boats.

[flynnrider]

And why would that be?