The Zoldyck Estate, Saturday Afternoon
Ringo
Silva hadn't actually said a word after he'd turned and walked out of the butlers' mansion. He'd simply headed up the mountain, through the trees toward another large compound that was more felt than seen through all the trees. He moved as if he didn't much care if they kept up with him, though they did. It wasn't like they were going to stop when they were so close.
The Zoldyck mansion proper was huge, but kind of old-fashioned. It gave off the feeling of having been where it was for a really long time. Which should have meant that it wasn't actually all that secure. After all, the stone walls looked easy enough to get over.
Once they were through the doors and into the mansion proper, Ringo rethought her position. The security inside was insane. Cameras everywhere. Steel-reinforced doors. The poor lighting should have theoretically made it easy for someone to sneak in, but Ringo rather got the impression that if anyone did any sneaking around this place, it was the Zoldycks.
She swallowed nervously as Silva led the way down a long, narrow staircase.
Jono
Of all of the things that they'd seen on the Zoldyck compound, between the fights and the giant dog and the auras that Jono had sensed, this, he was fairly certain, was the thing that made him the most nervous.
Places like this, with security that could rival any maximum-security prison, with dim lights and stairwells that seemed like they were put there mostly to give intruders plenty of time to think twice about their life choices, were places that he tended to steer clear of when he could help it. They screamed at him of past lives, of camps and cults, of things he was just as happy to leave behind.
He managed, at least, to keep from making some blithe comment about liking what Silva had done with the place.
That didn't mean Jono wasn't going to reach blindly for Hannibal's hand in the dark. Walks like this brought out the Weapon X, the Fortress X in him. Sharpened the jagged edges in his mind.
He didn't dare speak, though. He could sense Alluka more strongly with every step. That would have to be enough.
Hannibal
Hannibal took his hand and squeezed it. He personally had only admiration for the place, though. It might not all be to his taste, but still. It was lovely and deadly, and weighted with history.
Anders
As much pity and concern as he felt for Alluka, and as eager as he was to get her out of there, this was not a good place for Anders.
Not that he thought it was a good place for anybody, of course, but anything that looked this much like a dungeon was bound to remind him of the worst bits of the Circle. The lock-up-the-rebellious-mage bits. He had to focus hard on his breathing to remember he was here and not there, and no one here wanted to lock him up.
(At least not yet. He wouldn't put it past Silva if he ran his mouth again.)
Seeing what Jono and Dr. Lecter had done, he groped for Kathy's hand. It was easier to get through this when he remembered she was with him.
Kathy
Anders' hand found Kathy's already reaching for him. She didn't have any personal issues with dungeons, but she could imagine all the memories this was stirring up for Anders. And her own imagination was whirling into overdrive about what could happen to them down here. This wasn't the kind of place meant to set anybody at ease and she remembered only too-clearly how easily they'd been subdued the day before.
"It's okay," she murmured, stepping close so that she could whisper in his ear and no further. "I've got a got a plan if they try anything. I'll call Cassandra, tell her you were talking smack about Andraste, then sit back and wait for her to bust through every wall between us and the island."
Maybe if she could relax Anders a bit, her own nerves would stop jangling so loudly.
Ringo
That left Ringo as the only one with no hand to hold. But that was okay, she was actually relatively comfortable with tight spaces. Riding the Sonia Road, she could flat-out own this hallway.
Except that Silva was still striding silently down the hallway, and she wasn't sure she could even stall him for more than a second to if things went wrong. It made her clench her fists. And her teeth. She hated feeling so helpless.
But at least he was taking them to Alluka. She reminded herself that that was what mattered.
Mabel
Hey, Ringo didn't have a hand to hold, perhaps, but she absolutely had a magpie in a similar situation who was thinking that maybe Silva should get a better interior decorator.
So, that would be Mabel, coming to rest on her shoulder, trying to be as bold and reassuring-looking as a magpie could possibly be.
There were little clucking sounds now and again. Sort of like a 'there there, it'll be fine,' if you pretended you could speak bird.
Ringo
Ringo glanced over at Mabel and smiled. She reached up and lightly ran a finger along one of her feathers and mouthed the word 'thanks'.
Silva
It was many minutes later that they reached the first steel door that signaled they were close to Alluka. There was a keypad for a code, which Silva punched in absently--it didn't matter if they saw it; the code was changed after every use and pad responded only to his fingerprints--and the doors parted to show that they were fully a foot thick, and not fifteen feet in front of them...
Was another steel door.
Silva strode towards it and punched in yet another code.
Then, beyond that door, which was fully as thick as the first, was yet a third door, a fourth door, and a fifth door, all the same.
The sixth door was different.
Kathy
"I'm sure glad they don't believe in anything like overkill," Kathy muttered to herself. In Spanish, because she wasn't taking any chances with Mr. Touchy and his Murder Goons.
Hannibal
Hannibal raised an eyebrow at her. There was a slight smirk in the corner of his eyes, but still - there was no guarantee their host didn't speak Spanish.
Jono
//Sweet shitting Christ,// Jono muttered, careful to keep his voice to the group he had come with, and not, say, the man who was about to let them through the door. //All this? Is it to keep Alluka in, or other people out?//
Both. It was both, wasn't it?
Jono was going to keep his temper in. It would be hard. But he was going to do it. They were here to get her out, after all.
Anders
"Yes," Anders said, bitterly, and left it at that.
He was holding Kathy's hand so hard by now that he was probably leaving nail marks. That was all he could do to control his temper.
Hannibal
More the latter than the former, I should think, Hannibal thought back at Jono. Alluka is well constrained by her own loyalty and enforced naivete.
It did rather seem a bit much. He'd have gone with more psychological barriers himself.
Ringo
Ringo fell into a ready stance. Her guess, her hope, was that Alluka was on the other side of the door. And that they'd be able to take her back to the island without any problems.
But she'd run into enough unpleasant surprises on this trip that her body was subconsciously prepared for trouble.
She was really, really hoping there wouldn't be trouble, though.
Silva
He released the locks on this final, normal-sized door and pushed it open. But not before giving Kathy a glare that suggested he was 'this close' to turning her into a smear on the ground.
It opened into a huge, brightly lit room. The walls were painted sky blue and covered with flowers, and clouds, and a sun. And there were copious amounts of toys everywhere.
Alluka was curled up at her vanity, straightening the bow-tie on one of her toys.
Kathy
You know what? That was fine. Kathy was just about fucking done with this entire place and everyone in it anyway. She'd been beaten, threatened, and afraid since they'd arrived, she was pretty sure she was going to need Anders to fix the damage he'd done to her hand, and then she'd listened to this self-important blowhard constantly misgender Alluka and talk about having the family's best interest at heart while keeping her isolated and alone beyond six fucking doors.
Like a pretty mural and stuffed animals could make up for all that.
He could take his super-scary looks and shove them right up his ass--assuming he could fit it in with his head. Giving him a thoroughly unimpressed look right back, Kathy swept through the doorway, running over to Alluka. "Hey, sweetheart," she said, holding out her arms. "Hey. Did you miss us?"
Alluka
Alluka's huge blue eyes went wide with surprise as Kathy ran towards her.
"Ka, Kathy?" Alluka asked, bewildered. She reached towards Kathy--
But she was looking at her daddy for permission to do so.
Jono
//Thank you,// Jono said, turning a look of genuine gratitude toward Silva. He didn't like the doors any more than the rest of them, and the way in had been a nightmare, but it would have been so damn easy for the man to just leave them all between two of those doors and wait for them to all starve to death or worse. And instead, here they were, looking into Alluka's room.
Looking at Alluka.
He lingered back for a moment, partly to let the girls have their moment, partly to survey their surroundings. The room was much brighter than the hallways leading to it, and while he loathed it for the prison that it was... there was a lot to be learned from it.
This prison had a lot of care put into it. It was a prison that was still trying very hard to be a home.
Ringo
Ringo wanted to rush in right behind Kathy and have a big group hug, but her body wouldn't move. With their goal right in front of them, everyone's guard was down. She did shift closer, wanting to get a good look at her friend, and make sure Alluka could see her, too, but other than that, Ringo stood absolutely still.
If this were all some elaborate plot or something, this moment would be one of the absolute best for an ambush. It's how she would have set it up, anyway. So she simply stood there. Ready. Even if she'd much rather be hugging her friend close and sniffling back tears for how scared she'd been when Alluka had first disappeared.
Hannibal
Alluka seemed physically fine as well, which was good to see.
Hannibal put a hand on Jono's shoulder in comfort and approval of his handling of Silva now.
He still had any number of questions himself, but he knew when not to ask them.
Alluka
It was Jono's 'thank you', more than anything else, that was the reason that Silva granted Alluka permission to go to her friends with nothing more than a slight nod of his head.
Alluka, permission given, flung herself at Kathy.
"Kathy, Kathy! You have to look at all my toys! I told you I had lots and lots! And you too, Ringo! Come and see!"
Kathy
"You'll have to introduce us," Kathy said, enfolding Alluka tightly in her arms. "And say hello to everyone else who's here. There were a lot of us who came out to--to see you." Kathy stumbled over the terminology, assuming that Silva wouldn't appreciate use of the term 'rescue.' And Alluka might not, either. "But it's so good to see you, sweetheart. We were worried."
Mabel
Oh! Oh, hey, were they doing the grand tour? Mabel had only heard of most of these toys in Alluka's stories of grand adventures they'd all had together, here in The Room! But here she was now, and there was no better time than the present to get to know them.
Mabel fluffed up her feathers, and then flew over to join Alluka. Hey! She'd been worried! How goes it? Nice place you have here, but you're missing a roomie, aren't you?
Ringo
"Hey, Alluka," Ringo said softly as she moved a bit closer to the door. But she didn't go in. Too risky. Of course if this was a trap, her being ready for it was unlikely to actually matter, but old instincts were hard to fight.
"Sorry, but I left a box of chocolate chip cookies back at the dorms." So if Alluka wanted some, well, there was only one place to go.
Anders
Anders wasn't sure what to say, so he hung in the background as his eyes took in everything.
It was a nice room for a little girl, if you ignored that it was a prison.
Finally, he managed, "Hi, Alluka. It's good to see you."
Alluka
Alluka squished Kathy tighter, then kissed her on the cheek and said, "I have to hug other people, Kathy!"
But she was going to hold Kathy's hand and drag her along as she bounced over to Ringo to fling herself at Ringo too.
Look, Alluka was getting her group hug on, and no one else could stop her.
Not even the adorable birdie that was fluttering around!
... Okay, her daddy could stop her, but he only glanced at her when she slipped past the boundary of her room to hug Ringo with Kathy.
Kathy
Group hugs were pretty much the best things right now. Kathy had no problems being dragged along after Alluka and wrapping her arms around both girls.
Ringo
Ringo was trying to be on-alert, but even she couldn't keep that up in a group hug. So she just leaned into the other girls and squeezed tight.
"Hey, you," she murmured to Alluka. "We've missed you."
Alluka
Alluka snuggled into them both happily.
"And, and you came," she said, sounding surprised. "You're all visiting my room, because you missed me."
She buried her face against Ringo, since honestly, that left her overwhelmed.
Jono
Jono wanted to leave the girls to their moment. He really did. But so help him, he'd been worried and frightened for her, too, and he couldn't just keep hanging out in the doorway watching. He'd go mad.
//We missed you,// he agreed, his tone warm. //And we weren't about to let you take off without even a hug and a farewell, Sunshine.//
Not without coming to fetch her back, at least.
Alluka
Alluka didn't look up at him, but she did free one of her hands from where it was wrapped around Ringo to reach out for him.
Papa! Papa was here!
Hannibal
Hannibal chuckled and nudged Jono closer. "Go on," he murmured. 'Papa,' he added mentally, not wanting to set Silva off.
Jono
Jono gave a little almost-smile at that, tired and still on edge as he was, and nodded a bit before making his way over to take her hand in his.
...
And then, because so help him, he wanted to hug Alluka as well, he was stepping into the group hug. Which would have been weirder with this pack of high school girls if one of the girls in question didn't consider him her papa.
He was hugging Alluka, mostly. She was his baby girl, dammit.
Kathy
Kathy stepped to the side to give Jono more room to hug, though her hand didn't leave Alluka's shoulder. They'd all gone through a lot to get her, and she just needed a little more time to assure herself that they'd succeeded, that Alluka was here and safe.
Her other hand went flailing about behind her, looking for Anders one more time.
Anders
Anders was a little tentative as he joined the hug; he wasn't sure he had been invited. But in the end, he couldn't think of anything he wanted to do more.
The way Kathy had been checking for him gave him the last bit of encouragement he needed.
Alluka
There were so many people here that she loved! And she wanted to hug all of them! She did her very, very best to do that.
"You all came to see me!"
She was... still pretty surprised about that!
Mabel
Well, of course they had! They weren't going to let Alluka just get taken out of their lives so easily!
Mabel couldn't articulate as much, really. Though she could fly up and land on Alluka's shoulder, cooing and burbling a conglomeration of noises that were rather of matter-of-fact about the whole thing.
Alluka
Alluka blinked. Then blinked again.
Because the noises might be weird but the tone definitely wasn't.
She finally looked at the bird.
"Mabel?!" she squealed. "Mabel, you're a bird! How did that happen? Can I do it too? Mabel, look at you! You're the cutest!"
Mabel
She was pretty darn cute, wasn't she? Mabel gave a little coo in thanks, preened one of her shiny iridescent tailfeathers for a moment, and then leaned up and started preening at Alluka's hair, too.
See? They were both pretty darn cute, if she did say so herself.
Jono
//Maybe,// Jono said, easing back from the group hug as best as he was able, between the mess of arms and the mess that his ribs were currently in, //you'll get a chance to find out, at some point. We aren't just here to visit, luv.//
He gave a quick glance back at Silva, and then looked back down at Alluka again.
//We came to get you, to bring you back.//
Alluka
It was nearly visible, the way Alluka's brain ground to a halt.
"Huh? What?" She looked confused, rather than excited, since--Alluka looked at her daddy for confirmation.
Because, because this was... she got to leave her room??? And not by accident???
Silva
"He tells the truth," Silva said, his eyes focused on Alluka. "You may return to your school."
Not that he was particularly pleased about it, but if Nanika killed everyone, he'd rather it happen on the island...
"We expect you to return to us, once you're done playing at school. You are still our son."
Alluka
Alluka's brain skipped right over the last word her daddy said as she lit up like a sunrise.
"Yes, Daddy! Yes, I will. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Kikyou
Well, wasn't this... adorable?
Kikyou didn't think so. And she didn't agree with her husband about letting Alluka leave--they'd just gotten him back! And now they were giving him back to the kidnappers in the first place?
Yes, yes, she'd heard them claim they weren't, but they'd come after her, to take her back, and if that wasn't kidnapping... and Silva was letting them!
The intercom crackled to life.
"But the price of stealing our child is a high one," Kikyou said. "In fact, I'm not sure you can manage to pay it. If Alluka is not off our property in an hour, then all of you die."
Except Alluka, of course.
She laughed into her fan and the intercom cut off.
Hannibal
Hannibal gave the intercom a very unimpressed look. "I'll call Portalocity." He bowed properly to Silva. "Thank you."
Jono
//One hour?// Jono pulled out of the hug entirely, then, crossing his arms over his chest. //We'll have Alluka out by then, no problem at all.//
After all, Hannibal's Portalocity relationship (or their healthy fear of him) had never let them down before. Right?
...
Right?
Silva
Because one base-line human serial killer was scarier than a small army of super-powered assassins?
Please.
Portalocity wasn't going to open a portal into the Zoldyck compound. They'd already taken care of that the moment they'd realized Portalocity existed.
Silva simply looked at them all expressionlessly and didn't bother to enlighten them about the time they were wasting.
Anders
Anders looked from Hannibal to Silva and realized his stomach was sinking like a stone.
"You aren't going to let us get a portal, are you."
Silva
He raised one eyebrow.
"That would be a breach of security," he said blandly, and turned to walk away from them.
"Remember what I said, Alluka."
Then he was gone.
Kathy
"That's, uhhh..." Kathy bit down on the rest of what she was going to say. The room was probably still bugged and she wasn't taking any chances until they got Alluka home and safe.
This place counted as neither.
"About how long would you say the trek down the mountain is?" she asked. "Not factoring in the butlers or the tour bus?"
Jono
//Longer than an hour,// Jono muttered, reaching up one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. //Significantly.//
They'd walked for hours and hours to get to the butlers in the first place, after all.
Kathy
"That's about what I thought," Kathy said, nodding. "But the woman said that Alluka had to be off the property in an hour. Nothing about the rest of you. And while there's one easy way to do it..." She let her eyes slide back to Alluka, before shaking her head, "...I think I'd rather not take our chances with that one."
There was an old saying that Kathy had learned to be wary of, even before she'd met Nanika. Thanks for that, Gaunt.
"The rest of you want to pack up everything she has? No reason to send her back to school without all her clothes and friends. I'm going to get Alluka off this damn mountain." She was already stripping the sheets off the bed to make a sling.
Ringo
Ringo nodded firmly. "Be careful," she said softly. "We'll take care of things here."
Kathy
"I will," Kathy promised. "Hey, Alluka, you ready to go? It's going to be you and me together at first. We're gonna go fast."
Make it sound fun, make it exciting, hide that her mother was going to murder them all if she didn't get Alluka out in time.
Alluka
Things had gotten serious--she'd noticed that--and Alluka had just checked out of the conversation entirely. Alluka was good at that.
She refocused, blinking up at Kathy.
"We're, we're going to have a race?"
Kathy
"Something like that!" Kathy said, fervently hoping that that this wasn't going to include a chase by those crazy butlers from earlier. "So, I'm going to need you to hold on tightly piggy-back style and not let go, okay?" Kathy slung the sheet over a shoulder to provide a sling for Alluka to sit on. Thank goodness she was still a tiny thing.
"You hold onto me, and if I tell you to close your eyes, you do it, okay? And we're gonna see how fast we can get off this mountain."
She was already aware of just how quickly the minutes were ticking by.
Alluka
"Are other people getting piggy-back rides too?" she asked curiously, doing what she was told and clambering onto Kathy's back. She wrapped her arms around Kathy's shoulders trustingly.
She giggled.
"But I get to go with you! Do I have to do anything else?"
Kathy
"Nope!" Kathy said, turning around to give Alluka a V-sign. "They're going to be boring and pack and then leave here as safely as possible."
Everyone heard that, right? The emphasis on safety?
"Ringo, I hate to ask, but--do you think it would be possible for me to even wear--?" She knew the Thorn Road Regalia was incredibly powerful and important, but there was a lot on the line.
Ringo
Ringo chewed her lower lip for a second, but only for a second. Then she sat down and began unlacing them.
"Take some time to get used to them, don't start off at full speed." Her eyes were serious as they locked on Kathy's. "You're good enough to figure them out, but they're like nothing you've ever tried before."
"And they're not Tuned for you, so everything's going to feel at least a little off." Which would have been true just based on their different builds, not even considering their different ways of moving.
"And don't try to fully activate them," she warned. Which would probably end up cutting both Kathy and Alluka up pretty badly.
Kathy
"I won't," Kathy said. There were no guarantees that the Zoldycks wouldn't send butlers after them to make it even less likely they'd make it out on time, but if Ringo hadn't been able to fend someone off with her Regalia, there was no way in hell Kathy would.
Her plan in that case was just to fling them down the mountain and hope for the best, honestly. They might be able to match her speed, but she hadn't seen any of them bouncing.
She took the ATs when Ringo handed them over, lacing them up quickly and stood, hitching Alluka up to where her weight rested most comfortably. Her balance quickly compensated for both the new equipment and Alluka's presence on her back and within seconds she was able to stand steady and skate in small circles.
"I think we're as good as we're going to be," she said, looking around at the group. "I'll get her off the mountain in time."
I won't let you all down. I won't let you die.
Anders
"Kiss for luck," Anders offered, and went to kiss them both -- Aluka briefly on the cheek, Kathy much more thoroughly. "We'll meet you just as soon as we can."
His eyes told Kathy, I know you have this.
Kathy
"Next time, dinner's on me," Kathy promised, then hitched Alluka up. "Ready, sweetheart?" she asked. "It's time we see if we can fly."
One good thing about the creepy long corridor hallway maze? It gave Kathy a straight shot to practice using the Regalia. The difference between her regular pair and Ringo's was indescribable. Even just getting the hang of it, they were shooting through the house at a pace almost too fast for Kathy to match at a run.
Making sure Alluka was holding on tight, Kathy burst through the door to the mansion, hurtling down the path, past trees, past giant dog, past insane butlers with far too many weapons and few compunctions about hurting people. As she got more and more comfortable with the ATs, she poured on more speed, breaking into triple digits almost by accident.
She really, really hoped that having Alluka on her back would make the butlers open the gate for them. Smashing into a four-ton wall at 100+ miles per hour was not how she wanted this adventure to end.
Hannibal
Hannibal watched the girls leave, then turned to look around the room, finding a toy chest and opening it to pack in whatever they could that Alluka might want.
Jono
//Clothes first and foremost,// Jono murmured, rummaging about through her things to grab what he figured she'd need more than what she might want. The going was slower than he would have liked, but he could only do so much, considering he was still bearing the brunt of his injuries from earlier. //Then some of her lighter toys, perhaps. We'll need to be careful. We can only carry so much, and no matter how quickly Kathy gets out of here, I don't think we want to overstay our welcome.//
He really, really didn't want to have to tangle with those butlers again.
Hannibal
Hannibal smiled and shook his head, putting a hand on Jono's. "Toys and things that might have sentimental value first. Clothes are easy to replace." They could take her to a tailor, even, if the store on the island didn't have the right things.
Anders
"She's been dressing herself on the island all year," Anders said, by way of agreement. "So I think Hannibal's right. Toys, jewelry -- anything she can't replace easily."
Jono
Jono paused a moment, his hand hovering just above a dress that looked... well... appropriately princessy, for Alluka.
He grabbed that one, anyway. Alluka deserved all the familiar ruffles she could get. But he nodded all the same, and started poking through the toys. There was a set of them, one of which looked startlingly like Silva, so he could only assume they were of the rest of her family.
Those, he was gathering up, and tucking them away in the chest. Whatever everyone else's feelings on Alluka's family might be, she clearly loved them. So, that much, he would make certain she had.