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Falkread

The way Tiny put things for me before we put our plan into action was this: keep Nyx as our ally while Erebus blanketed us from the sight of the priers. I was never much of a believer of those old Greek or Roman myths, but I was ready to believe anything was possible if we managed to pull this off. The fact that Tiny did though told me a little bit more about him. He had to be superstitious in order to believe such things, or maybe he was just polytheistic. I don't know, but I did know that he believed in more than one god or goddess.

He told me to wait for his signal for the all-clear and asked that I wait for David since he was the real reason I was here in the first place. The man asked me why the boy was so important that I was risking my life and the lives of my soldiers, but I only told him that if we got out of here, I would tell him the truth. I was lucky he didn't beat it out of me since he had such a short fuse, and I was one lucky man to still have all my teeth in tact before midnight.

With what little supplies we could muster without being seen, we prepared ourselves for the break out. This was our one and only shot for escape and there was no room for error at this point. Everything had to be flawless until the time called that flawless was out the window and we could do whatever we wanted, which I doubted was ever a place in this plan. David packed as many books as he could, yet I told him to pack light if we were going to make good time. He looked at me with pleading eyes that I had to deny, only making him more ad as I saw him part ways with many of the books he cherished.

Jeez, I couldn't stand to see the little guy get so sad about these things. To me, they were just books that contained things to read in one's spare time, but to him they were memories of a place that he could go whenever he wanted to, and I was taking that away from him. He had already suffered seven years being a prisoner here and probably balled his eyes out countless times, so the least I could do was help ease the pain for him.

"Hey," I crouched to his level. "I'll tell you what: if we manage to get out of here, I'll buy you all the books you can't take with you, okay? They might not be the same, but I'll make sure your collection stays with you even if they aren't the same books, okay?"

His eyes almost sparkled. "You...You'd do that? For me?" he asked with the emotion returning to his voice once more.

Well, I can't now since I told you I'd buy you those books back, I thought to myself. I was a man of my word after all, and since I knew more about him than most others here, I was ready to help him out in any way I could. He was getting back to his father, that I was going to make sure of, and I was going to make sure he got all those books back even if I had to sell my arm in order to do it.

I nodded. "Just write the list down of the ones you can't take and give it to me. I'll try to make an acquisition back at the fleet once we arrive, okay? But I need you to be strong or else we might not get that far."

He nodded quickly, smiling brightly. "Okay, okay. I understand." He turned around and began to write the list, stopping and pausing for a moment before turning to look at me. "I really am going to meet my dad, aren't I Falkread?"

Without hesitation, I nodded. "One way or another, I'm getting you back to your dad even if I have to take a bullet to do it."

The hare dropped his pen and jumped into my arms, wrapping his thin, scrawny arms around my back and rubbing his cheek against my shoulder, sobbing softly. "Thank you so much, Falkread. You just don't know...how much this means to me."

It took me a few moments before I returned the friendly hug, rubbing the young teens back as gently as I could, allowing him to hold onto me to his heart's content. We had time, and I was going to allow him this time since he deserved it after such a long time of waiting. Since we had met, I don't think I had ever seen him cry like this even if those tears were just welling up in his eyes, almost about to overflow onto my shoulders. I couldn't imagine how tough it must've been to be a slave to someone else for so many years and never be able to see some sort of light until now. We were almost in the home stretch, and all we needed to do was escape onto the ship without being killed and finally get the hell out of this place.

"Aw, don't mention it," I chuckled. "You've suffered enough and now it's time we gave them a piece of our mind."

He finally pulled away and took a few of the books out of his bag, traveling lighter rather than heavier. Once he gave me the list, we closed off the lights in our cell and turned to see Tiny standing in the doorway.

"You two ready yet?" he asked in an annoyed tone. "I've been waiting for the past ten minutes for you fuckers to give me your clear."

Though I wanted to tell him off, we still had a mission to do and I didn't want to die just yet. "Yeah, we're finished. Is everything ready?"

He nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. Remember, we only get one chance at this, alright? So I got two things to say before we go." He walked right up and stared me down. "Don't fuck this up and don't get in my way. Clear?"

I bit back the urge to retaliate, glaring back at him. "Crystal."

The Doberman nodded. "Finally. Let's get out of this hellhole for god's sake."

We were at the point of no return, though I felt like I had been there for the past day or so. If this didn't work, I might as well make a tombstone in this prison for myself since either Tiny will kill me for messing things up or Xavier will kill me for trying to escape this place.

Three other prisoners took our bags from us, telling us to turn around for the handcuffs. I questioned this move beforehand yet understood it when I gave it some thought. Why allow to prisoners aboard without any sort of restraints keeping them from becoming a threat and risk them causing trouble? We were lucky enough that Fleck managed to get a good sum of the guards into the meeting room, along with Xavier. The three prisoners lead us to the meeting point where we would meet the captain of the supply ship who would then take us aboard the ship. We had to wait for Fleck though or else we wouldn't obtain clearance for the supply ship.

David stayed close to me, which saved me from having to tell him to stay close to us for the duration of this mission. If we could, I was going to have to find him someplace on the ship to hide while we took the beast for ourselves, and I would free him once everything was all over. There had to be somewhere on that ship to hide the poor hare, else he was going to watch as we took the ship like brutes.

We passed by many prisoners on our way up to the courtyard, each one meeting our eyes with sinister smiles aboard the faces. A few managed a pat on my back and shoulder, telling me that both Tiny and I were heroes and that they were looking forward to getting out of this prison as well. If I could, I'd shake their hands and tell them that we weren't far from escaping from this place. The guards who usually patrolled at this time of the night were nowhere to be seen, automatically telling me that they were inside the meeting room as well.

Few of the prisoners had guns, loading their weapons with as much ammo as they could. I only hoped that they didn't use those dangerous tools on me else we were going to be in more trouble than we were in right now, and I did not want to deal with them after all of this. All we needed was Faction A right behind us once we stormed the ship and a set of guns to defend ourselves while we take the ship.

From behind me, I felt two more prisoners join in. I looked over my shoulder and found them both in guard uniforms, each holding a key and a gun that they placed in my hands that stay cuffed behind my back. Tiny smirked, gripping his weapon with lust while I kept my finger on the trigger with mine. The fake guards led us out to the courtyard where only a small number of the prisoners remained, chatting up with each other to stay out of suspicion of any rouge guards. As we walked by, they turned to look at us before returning to their flat conversations, only shooting us more glances as the fake guards took us onto a platform and brought us up to the top of the wall. There was only one way to get supplies from the sea, and that was the dock down the cliff that brought supplies up to the prison via trolley. My group was brought in on plane, which was a different way to bring in supplies and people, but since we were dealing with a ship, we were going to have to work with the trolley. We hopped onto the squeaky and rusty machine and switched it on, waiting as it slowly took us down to the docks.

I could see the ship in the distance. Its size rivaled that only to our transport ships back at the fleet, and I spotted guns positioned on its flight deck down for the night. In case things turned bad, I had an idea for those, yet I kept it to myself just in case Tiny tried to stop me.

The captain and his two guards stood at the end of the dock, standing tall and erect as if a pole had been shoved up his ass. The man wore a red suit with a captain's hat covering his face and eyes. Once the trolley stopped at the docks, we filed out and made our way to the supplier. All we needed to do was keep up the act until the last possible second and we could storm the ship. I still remembered my training in Special Ops, so I knew a thing or two about staying in the shadows before striking my enemies.

As we neared them, David stayed extra close to me, almost rubbing his body against my side and leg. It didn't take Einstein to figure out he was scared, but I tried to reassure him as much as I could before we reached the men or else we were going to look even more suspicious.

"Stay calm," I whispered to David. "The less nervous you look, the better off we are. Just keep close to me and we'll be fine, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay."

The man in the expensive red suit stared at us as we stood in front of him, waiting for him to say something to us. Was he inspecting us? I stood as normally as I could, making sure to match the posture of Tiny since he apparently knew what he was doing. Maybe this wasn't Tiny's first time trying to escape from this place. If so, he was holding out on me.

Finally, the man spoke in a deep, monochrome voice. "Where is your adviser? Shouldn't he be overseeing this transaction up front?"

"He'll be here momentarily, sir," one of the fake guards who I soon figured out was one of my soldiers, replied.

The man looked at the guard and sighed. "Seems as though Xavier is getting lazy around here. No matter, I suppose. Though I am a busy man, I still have a bit of time before we must be underway to our next destination." He looked at the three of us. "Are these the prisoners that Xavier is trading off?"

"Indeed they are," a new voice joined in.

I turned only to see Fleck walking right up to our small group. He wore the standard gray uniform and cap that left just enough of his eyes to see while he walked and spoke with strict diction in his tone that made the act only that much more believable. He saluted the red-suited man before continuing, only to be saluted back out of respect.

"And who might you be? Where is Xavier?" the man asked.

Fleck cleared his throat. "My name is Lieutenant Spark Craft, my esteemed sir. My apologies on Sir Xavier's regard. He's currently suffering from pneumonia and is being treated by a few of our many qualified doctors in order to renew his most pitiful state. Until he has recovered, he has enlisted me with the charge of running his prison. I hope these documents are sufficient enough to prove my role for the time being."

From the inside of his uniform, he produced a set of documents that he immediately handed to the man. Mister Red Suit took the papers and opened them, looking through the contents for anything that matched up to Fleck's story and proved his words to be true. Tiny elbowed me in the side, throwing a quick smile my way as the man sighed once more and folded up the papers, handing them back to Fleck.

"Everything checks out, lieutenant," he approved. "Even though these documents validate your story, I must speak to Xavier myself."

I saw Fleck bite his lip before replying. "If I might be so inclined to ask, why must you speak with him? His sickness is contagious and I would not be a very good man of honor if I allowed you to enter his chambers and catch his sickness as well."

"Be that as it may, I must still speak to him before completing this transaction," he replied groggily. "I am pleased that you stay concerned for my health though. It is not usual that I meet a man with such honor as yourself, and I must say that you have proven yourself to be a capable man even with such duties as this. Even with your temporary rank, Xavier still has the final say on these transactions, despite the fact that I have a tight schedule and I cannot stay for much longer."

Fleck held up a finger and turned us around, leaning in close to us. "Don't worry; I have a plan to keep him at bay. If I can't keep him away for more than ten minutes, I'll do something to keep him here."

"Just give us enough time to take the ship and he shouldn't be much of a problem," Tiny replied.

He looked at the man and nodded. "You'll get plenty. Just take the ship, get rid of the men, and leave him to me."

We all broke away and left Fleck to handle things. "Very well, sir. I don't trust these slaves alone out here, though. Who knows what might happen if they are left alone? Could they stay on your ship until the transaction is made? It would help ease the pressure of watching over them until finals are made. I'll even send my own men to keep watch if you would like?"

Red Suit looked at the three of us with stern yet exhausted eyes. David's unnerving shuddering had me biting my lip just trying to keep the act up as long as possible. Tiny stared coldly at the man, yet not menacingly enough that he might kill him or anything, even though that's what I felt Tiny was about to do if we didn't keep things going. I kept my own mad stare at the man, making sure that I didn't look like a psychotic killer like Tiny but enough to show that I was pissed off about being "sold".

"Very well," the man sighed. "Guards, take these slaves into the cargo room and keep close watch on them. Four men should be enough to keep these three in line, and if they prove to be more of an annoyance than a profit, subdue them to whatever extent you choose but keep them alive. Am I understood?"

The guards who stood behind him stood up tall and saluted. "Sir, yes, sir!"

He nodded. "Excellent. Go ahead and take them in if you please, just make sure not to tamper with anything that you find in there, am I clear?"

My own men hesitated before saluting. "Yes, sir." I could hear the bitterness in their tone, but I could only pray that the red suited man didn't hear it as well or else we might be caught.

With that, Fleck and the man walked away and left us to follow the guards onto the ship, into the cargo hold. He was a brave man for doing this. Incredibly balls-y, but I couldn't help but admire the fact that he was putting his life on the line in order to help hundreds of prisoners and slaves escape from this nightmare. Even though I hated that man in the red suit, he was right about Fleck having more honor than one would think.

The walk there was filled with dreadful silence, aside from the light crashing of the waves against the shore, the gust of the wind that swarmed around the prison, and the rustling of the ammo the guards carried. My troops from behind shoved us forward, telling them that it was part of the act so they would look better as guards rather than just silent men. Tiny didn't appreciate being shoved forward a few times, but he and I knew that going along with the act was better for us, and we couldn't afford to break character now.

He lowly growled as we walked along the flight deck, soon entering the lower levels of the beast. I couldn't help but notice things about this ship that seemed all too familiar, almost as if I had walked on it before. The material that spread out across the runway was strikingly identical to the same material used for our jets to take off back at the fleet, the command center that stood in the center of the ship stood proud and tall exactly where it would be back at our fleet, and I noticed skid marks across the runway that told me that jets once raced across these parts before taking off.

Could this...No, that's impossible. This couldn't be one of our vessels, could it? I don't know if it had been a part of our fleet or another fleet but it resembled our ships more and more as I took in all its details. Even as we went lower into the beast, I noticed that the different rooms had beds pulled from the wall, completely matching our own back at the fleet.

If could, I would've investigated more about the ship but I couldn't unfortunately. It didn't take long to reach the storage in the lower levels of the ship, matching the storage area back inside the ship Arthur, Zoey and I watched over I might add. Various crates containing who knows what lined the walls of the vast open space, many of which had 'FRAGILE' and 'DEADLY' written along the side in big, bold letters. From what I could see from the dim lighting, small crates also housed firearms and ammunition, yet those items remained clasped shut by a thick lock. I could see some less threatening things though, like jugs of water, crates filled with many different fruits, and ordinary food. Apparently this is also where they stored their meals for the day or possibly week.

The guards showed us to the long line of shackles that stayed clasped to one of the five walls. From those shackles, I saw three men wearing only old, torn, ragged pants while they laid against the wall with their wrists bound to the wall by thick metal clasps. They looked deathly ill and thin, all of them groaning in pure agony while I saw only one--a drake who looked around my age--just tugging away at the restraints. His scales were black as the night, yet his secondary scales were crimson, almost glowing in the low light. He seemed to have more energy than the rest of them, but I wish he didn't try to break free while the guards were here.

One of the guards noticed him and quickly surged over. The drake grunted before the guard slammed the butt of his rifle against his face, getting a pained groan from the man before the guard punched him right in the stomach for added measure, telling the man that he was beginning to become more trouble than he was worth. The drake turned away from the guard and spat blood onto the ground away from him, only angering the man more. I saw the guard nearly hit the drake once more with his gun but the second guard stopped him, telling him that the man wasn't worth the hassle.

I almost fought against my restraints, surprised to find them loose and unlocked as I freed both of my wrists, keeping my hands behind my back until the right moment to strike. The drake looked weaker now as the guards strode away, shaking his head while he tugged a few more times at the metal clasps. I looked at him and sighed, sympathizing with his pain and frustration. Being a former slave myself, I know how he felt to have little to no power over anything, and I had to suffer the consequences of my actions from time to time. I had been restrained countless times to the point where I cracked and began my escape, running away from my buyer's home and getting as far away as I possibly could, waiting until the Revolution found me.

This man needed to see the brighter side of life, a side filled with freedom, equality, and justice. Something told me this wasn't the first time dealing with being sold then being shipped across the sea to an unknown master who could do anything he or she wished to the poor man. All three of these men needed to see the better side of things rather than the dark latter. I looked over my shoulder to my men, gesturing over to the shackled slaves suffering from pure pain and agony. He closed his eyes and sighed, nodding my way to tell me that he and his partner were on board with what I had in mind.

While I was distracted by the shackled men, the guards opened three sets of metal cuffs and gestured for Tiny, David and I to come and meet the same fate as the men not far away from us. Tiny didn't budge an inch from his spot, and neither did David and I. My men stayed exactly where they were, stolid with the best poker faces I had seen in a while.

"What's the hold up?" one of them asked. "Get your asses over here now!" He tried to sound powerful and strong, yet I could only hear him whimpering and begging us to do what he wanted. There was no authority in his voice but just pure laziness and fake superiority. We still didn't move from our spot, yet I could tell that only angered him and his partner more and more by the second, which was part of my plan.

The second guard grunted, storming his way over to us. I gripped the gun in my hands, keeping my finger on the trigger as he stood tall and erect in front of us. He was only about an inch or so taller than me, yet he had the same build as I.

"Okay, no more mister nice guy then," the man growled, gripping the extendable baton strapped to his waist, sending the pure electrified metal stick right at Tiny.

I sprang forward, slamming the butt of my pistol against the man's head, watching as Tiny ducked below my swing and rolled forward, missing a swing from the second guard. With the first one confused and pained from my attack, I slammed my fist against his face with quick and clever timing, giving him a few quick jabs to his ribs before finishing him with a hard kick to his stomach, sending him sliding back against the smooth floor. I looked over and watched as Tiny slammed the second guard against the wall, punching him in the face one time then sending him skidding across the ground into a set of full barrels. They both laid on the ground, still alive but too injured to even make a move against us.

My men made swift work tying them both up and gagging them. While they did that, I went over to the shackled slaves and burst their restraints, making sure to lay the two who looked weaker than the drake down before moving over to him. He looked excited to see me, yet he stayed calm as I fiddled with the lock for a few seconds, hearing a click and watching as the clasps opened and allowed him to fall onto his knees.

He didn't miss a beat, rubbing his red wrists as I went over to David and undid his own shackles. The drake quickly followed me, grabbing me by the shoulder.

"My gratitude to you and your men," he thanked me, his accent heavily Spanish. I noticed that he had crimson colored lines flowing down from his eyes, stopping at his cheeks while another set did the same at his chin. "I'm sorry to say that all I can do is thank you for your wondrous justice to me and my friends."

I waved my hand aside, patting him on the shoulder. "Think nothing of it, my friend. Your thanks is more than sufficient for me."

He smiled, bowing in front of me. "Once again, thank you for your valor. Perhaps one day, I will be able to return the favor to you."

I shook my head. "There are no favors when it comes to someone else's freedom, friend. You were a man who needed liberation from these tyrants, and I was going to help you one way or another."

The one shackled drake smiled brighter, patting my hand. "You are truly a man of men. My name is Emilio Dante, and I would be more than honored if you would take me with you as an equal."

He shook my hand vigorously, almost too much that it began to hurt my nerves. I braced the slight pain until he was satisfied, even though I had little feeling in my hand afterwards.

"You should stay here then," I replied, placing my unharmed hand on his shoulder. "You need rest, and I wouldn't be much of a friend if I allowed you to fight in the state you're in." I looked over his shoulder towards David, instantly getting an idea. "You'd really help me if you watched over the hare over there. He's very important, and I have to make sure he doesn't get hurt on this trip or else things are going to look bleak for the future."

I can say I liked that I had to trust this guy to look over David, but I literally didn't have any options at this point. David had the pistol that I used to incapacitate the guard from earlier, and he was a smart and strong kid who wasn't afraid to shoot that gun if the opportunity arose. Besides, I felt I could trust this man, even briefly, to look after the kid until everything was finished. If he so much as hurt David when our work is done, he was going to wish he wasn't on this ship.

Emilio looked at David then at me. "How important is he?"

I looked at him. "Important enough to change the tide of this war for the better."

He looked shocked, and then did a double-take. "Amazing. Do not worry then. No harm will come to the boy while you are away. You have my word, friend."

I smiled, patting once more on the shoulder. "Just call me Falk."

"I don't mean to interrupt your buddy-buddy moment," Tiny cut in, sounding very annoyed, "but we still have a job to do, and I'm not going to wait until we get caught doing it. So c'mon."

David looked at me, and I looked back. I nodded to him and then sprinted away, hoping that things stayed well when I'm finished. Tiny already had a head start on me, but I eventually caught up to him, stopping him as we reached the barracks where the men who lived on this ship stayed.

"We can't just stop every five fucking seconds, kid!" Tiny hissed.

I shook my head, gesturing to the doors. "Even if we take the ship, what are we going to do about the men on board? They're not going to just let us take what they have! We need to block the doors to make sure they can't get out and warn their friends!"

He looked at me and sighed. "God dammit, kid! You won't leave anything to chance, will you?"

"Oh, coming from the guy who doesn't want this plan to fail!" I hissed back. I ran back to the cargo area and grabbed a few things that we might need. Luckily, one of the guards carried a bolt cutter, so I quickly clipped the locks on the gun and ammunition crates, gathering up all that we might need in case things grew too tense for my taste. Tiny joined up with me not long after, grabbing two assault rifles and a few packets of ammunition, not to mention a thin-bullet proof vest that resembled the ones Special Ops wore. I quickly grabbed one for myself and took one of the last assault rifles, looking deep into the crate as I saw a flag inside it. Turning over all the ammunition and leftover guns, I finally confirmed all of my suspicions.

It was a Revolution flag. It wasn't from the American fleet though, and I knew because our symbol stood in front of the colors of the flag where the ship hailed from. I made sure to look at the colors closely, finding that the ship had to have been from Great Britain as one of the English cargo ships. My guess was that this ship was transporting goods and was overcome by pirates to some extent and all the crew became slaves and were sold off. That was my guess, but I knew that there could've been another reason behind this.

I wasn't going to let them use this ship for their nefarious purposes anymore. Even though we were taking this ship in the name of liberty and freedom for the slaves and prisoners inside the prison, I had to get this ship back to our fleet then send it to the English Revolution just because it was the right thing to do. I had an obligation to make sure this ship didn't fall into wrong hands.

Putting the flag back, I closed the crate and followed Tiny back up the stairs towards the barracks once again. He stood beside one of the doors, holding what appeared to be a thick pipe.

"I already checked most of these rooms," he stated. "You were right. There are about four men inside each of these rooms, and there are probably a lot of rooms on this level."

I nodded. "This is a Revolution ship. There are around fifty rooms that fit different amounts of men. There are more than a hundred men on this ship ready to battle against us if we screw up."

He grunted, shoving the pipe into the wheel that stayed in the center of the door. This was an old-fashioned ship by the looks of it, so the doors had to be opened manually I guessed. By shoving the pipe in-between the slots, no one was getting out unless it broke the pipe or the drilled their way out, and I doubted that any of these men had means to get out like that.

We both split up in order to cover more ground, encountering very few guards on our mission to block off as many doors as we could, making sure that if the men found out we were taking their ship, they were going to have a hard time getting help from their friends. I took out the guards on my end and hid them away in the small storage rooms, searching through them afterwards for anything that might help us later. Since each room was a bust, I returned to plugging as many rooms as possible. Eventually, I ran out of pipes and resorted to just sealing the doors shut with my newly acquired concrete-gel which basically left a seal as tough as concrete that lasted for seven hours. We didn't need seven hours to take this ship, but I wasn't a man who took risks that could jeopardize the entire mission as a whole. By room ten, I had exhausted all of the gel and met up with Tiny at the first room we blocked, sealing it for added measure before we set off for the rest of the ship.

From the front, he tossed me a silencer for my rifle. Quickly placing it on the barrel of my gun, I caught up to him and stood flat against the wall, hearing faint voices down across the hall not far from us. Even with my trained ears, I couldn't figure out what they were talking about, but I knew that it didn't matter to Tiny either way. He jumped out from his hiding place and aimed his gun right at the guards, firing two silent rounds that took down the talking guards at an instant. Though I had a distaste for him for doing that, we still had a job to do and those guards would've only been a pain to us later.

We made our way back up the stairs to the flight deck. I showed him the rest of the way to the command center of this ship, taking a few more set of stairs up the tower before reaching a set of thick, metal doors that were tightly shut. Tiny tried his best to pry them open to no avail. If there was one thing every Revolution ship had in common, the doors to our command centers could not be pried open with brute strength alone.

I knew down to the right of the door and tapped a few buttons on the scanner, only getting myself denied almost instantly. "Well, shit. These guys changed the passcode that every Revolution ship uses for emergencies. I'm going to have to hack it, but it'll take some time."

He grunted, keeping his rifle pressed against his shoulder. "Fine, just make it quick. I'll keep watch for anything suspicious."

I took the panel apart as fast as I could, rerouting the wires connected to the security system with deft fingers. "Once we have full control of the ship, we'll need to send a signal to the rest of the prisoners."

Tiny smiled. "That shouldn't be a problem." He dove into his pocket and produced a small flare gun.

I raised my eyebrow. "Exactly, what didn't you get from that crate?" I asked, continuing the rest of the hacking procedure, making sure that no wire or component was left unchecked.

The man merely chuckled. "Well, an RPG would've been nice."

"In your fucked up dreams," I muttered under my breath, really hoping that he was just joking with wanting an RPG.

A few minutes passed by while I continued to bypass all the security measures, breaking through the firewalls without detection, and leaving no trace of us on the cameras. Eventually, I finally took control of the system, reworking my password back into the system before closing everything off. I put the panel back together and typed the passcode back in, this time watching as the door slid open without any trouble. I wiped my forehead clear from all the sweat I accumulated during the hacking, but at least we were almost home free.

The only problem left was to break into the main computer inside the command center in order to have full control over the ship and his self-defense system. Now that I was refreshed with my hacking abilities, breaking into the main computer's system shouldn't be much of a problem, unless they altered the code to it as well. I could only hope that the system was still in good shape and that it wasn't re-coded, else we were going to have a hard time cracking into this thing.

Inside the command center felt cold and dark. The two dozen computers located inside were unmanned and were turned off, aside from the one that kept the ship fully functional. Tiny guarded my back while the door behind us shut then locked. The lights then turned us, blinding the two of us for a few seconds before our vision returned, leaving us with only one thing left to do. The rest of the computers buzzed to life as well, most of them showing a sonar scanner of everything within a hundred miles of us. The main computer flashed a few times until I sat down in the seat in front of it, tapping away at the holographic keyboard until it asked me for my password.

Typing the password I used earlier, I found it to be cohesive with the rest of the system, the ship almost under our full control. I smiled to Tiny who smiled back at me.

"We're in," I said, taking a little time to get the security measures under my control.

Tiny nodded. "Excellent. You have control of the ship now?"

I nodded back to him. "Just about. Before we do anything reckless, I'm going to lock all the doors below us to make sure the men on board don't get any bright ideas." My fingers flew across the keyboard, the computer responding to me without delay by announcing the procedure via the intercom.

Engaging security lockdown. Defensive turrents are now online. Any armed or unarmed personal not authorized will be immediately terminated if he or she has not reached the designated safe room within the allotted time of thirty seconds. Floors A-E are now under lockdown.

_ _ "Okay, now I just need to make sure the system doesn't attack the prisoners when they get onboard," I stated. "Go ahead and give them the signal while I make sure the system doesn't tear them apart."

"Alright, gimme a minute," he replied, walking through the doors.

I looked out the window and watched as the automated turrents demolished the guards keeping watch on the flight deck. They all fell in a matter of seconds while the monitor showed me the rest of the crew banging against their locked doors, begging to be released. They didn't seem to comprehend that they were now the prisoners of my ship. It sure serves them right for trying to cage those men in the cargo area like wild animals.

"Ah, finally," I sighed with relief. I could finally rest easy knowing that nothing else could possibly happen to jeopardize the mission, unless Tiny and the rest of the prisoners decided to kill me and my soldiers. I doubted they would do that seeing as how I was probably the only one here who now knew all the passcodes and could actually pilot a ship like this.

The sound of gunfire and explosions then caught my attention. I bolted from my seat and looked out the window that overlooked the prison. From what I could see, fire began to engulf the walls of the building, explosions and gunfire thundering in accordance with the clasp of thunder. Out of all of that, I almost felt like I could hear the rampant cheering of the prisoners inside, each one releasing their own type of emotion which contributed to the ongoing riot. Whatever they were doing, I decided not to partake in it seeing as how I might cause more trouble than actual aid. They deserved this though, and I wasn't going to be the ass to stop them from releasing all their pent up anger.

So, I waited and reclined against my chair once more, watching the "fireworks" ignite the sky.

We set off as soon as everyone was onboard.

I knew it was best not to take any chances, so I set the ship on the exact location of the Revolution fleet and had it put on autopilot so I could oversee what we needed to do.

The prison was left in ruin by the time we left. Its walls were crumbling while fire reduced everything within it to ash and dust, leaving little close to nothing left alive. Personally, I had no idea if the guards or Xavier were still alive or were clinging to life by a very thin thread, but I could care less honestly. They showed no mercy towards us, so I knew it was time we gave them a taste of their own medicine after all these years. I'll admit, that was pretty harsh even for them, but I knew for a fact that they would do the exact same thing to us if they had the chance, and I wasn't looking to take any chances right now.

Still, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Though they were cruel and unjust to us, I don't think anyone deserved to suffer before they died. If anything, I'd rather put someone out of their misery rather than let them suffer excruciatingly before they let Death capture their souls. I knew better though. If it had been us in their spot, they would rather spit on us and let us suffer as long as possible before Death whisked us to his realm. I wasn't ready to die just yet because I still had friends to return to and a world left to fix.

I knew I was going to die, but I wasn't going to die soon.

Anyway, other than that, we didn't have many problems. I was sure that the crew we locked in were going to be a pain in our ass, but I was wrong by the looks of it. I went down to the levels that were locked down only to find the prisoners locking them up in cuffs and placing them against a wall. I was more surprised that the prisoners hadn't killed them yet. Tiny would've been a part of that without a second thought, but he was nowhere to be seen. Wherever he was, he was away from all the action and that was something out of place especially for a psycho maniac like himself.

I decided to put him aside and focus on the more pressing matters. David was one of them. I searched the entire ship looking for the kid, nearly losing my mind. Please tell me they didn't kill him and throw him overboard! My mission and all this would just lose its importance if that happened. We'd lose Lucian's support which was vital for our cause, and I'd never hear the end of it from Damien either, or from Arthur and Zoey. If I knew those three, they'd never let me live it down.

My heart raced for what felt like an eternity. I soon saw him walking with one of my soldiers on the flight deck, only making a vein throb against my forehead to the point where I thought it was going to burst. I was so angry I wanted to tear apart everything I saw but knowing that he was okay and not dead had my anger simmering down to the point where I could approach him with a leveled head. I was still mad that he freaked the hell out of me, but I could lighten up now that I knew he was fine.

I made my way over to him with a light jog, passing a few other prisoners who were enjoying the fresh air and the new sights. My heart still beat like a drum against my chest, yet I could feel the intensity lightening up with every second.

"David!" I shouted to grab his attention.

The hare turned around and jumped when he saw me, immediately running towards me, hugging me once we reunited. "Oh, Falk, you're okay!"

I let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I knelt down and looked him in the eyes. "But are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?"

He pressed a finger against my lips, shutting me up. "I'm fine, Falk. Don't worry about me, okay?"

It took everything I had not to get angrier with that statement. He was my responsibility ever since this mission began, and he was going to tell me not to worry about him? Did he completely disregard everything that happened? Was he blind that he could still be in danger? If he did, he definitely wasn't showing it. His face stayed innocent and stolid, void of any emotion that could possibly be worry or anxiety. I still couldn't understand how he could stay so calm in the situation he was in, and frankly I didn't want to know.

He watched as I stood up and let out another sigh, rubbing more exhausted eyes. "Please, don't say that to me. I've been worrying about you ever since we first met, David."

"I don't see why," he replied. "I'm not dead yet."

I stopped him before he could go on. "That's the keyword. Yet. You have no idea how many soldiers have told me that exact same line."

"And?"

I paused. "And...they're not here with us anymore."

That got his attention. He flattened his ears against his head, looking away from me, rubbing his arm as if all the courage and bravery had been knocked out him all at once.

When I first saw him, he was confident and strong. Nothing could worry this kid. He never seemed to have a worry look on his face whenever I saw him. Now, he looked scared and nervous. I could tell that he was starting to feel uneasy after what I had said, and I was glad for once. He needed to realize that anything was possible and that even someone like him--even me--could die at any given minute. I could die right now and so could he. We weren't invincible beings who could take on the world without consequences because I had been dealing with stuff like that for years and knew what it felt to have little to no power.

I looked at him and shook my head, kneeling to his level. "Kid, listen. I'm not a god, and you're not a god, and no one on this ship is a god. No one on this planet is a god. If I died right now, what would you think then?"

He remained silent.

"Exactly. You can't just think you're invincible just because you haven't been through some serious pain or suffering or something. I've had my share of battle scars, so I can't be invincible. You're not either, alright? It's okay to worry and its okay to be afraid sometimes, just not all the time. If I wasn't afraid of something, I'd try to put the world on my shoulders and guess what? I could end up getting myself killed. That's why is okay to have a little fear when you think about something. Just don't let it consume you."

He still looked away from me, but I heard him reply. "It's just...for the last seven years, I've felt that if I ever showed fear that I would get hurt or...get killed, and I wanted to see my dad again so bad. That's why I acted so confident. My dad was always calm, but he did have plenty of things to fear. I thought that if I didn't fear anything then I'd be even calmer than him."

"But you were wrong," I cut in.

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess I was."

I patted his head and smiled. "It's okay, kid. You're still learning. At least you can take what I've told you and apply it to the rest of your life. Just don't get cocky, alright?"

"'Cause that's your job?" he joked, snickering.

I chuckled. "Oh, I'm not as cocky as you might think." I stood up and smiled. "Go get some rest, alright? When we get you back to your dad, I want him to see you've still gotten food and sleep despite all this."

He smiled and nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Falkread."

"No problem, now get going," I joked as he jogged away.

I watched as he disappeared into the depths of the ship, staying safe I hoped. I shouldn't worry much, though I had every right to. He was still precious cargo on this ship, and I would be damned if he returned home with a few scratches. I couldn't deny the fact that he was a good kid with a kind heart, but I could only hope that his kind heart didn't get him in trouble.

Still he didn't as much about me as he thought.

"If only you knew what I had to give up getting where I am now, David," I sighed to myself.

My gaze drifted towards the dark pool surrounding the ship. The wind continued to howl and beat against my body while the clouds opened up and revealed the golden sun that rose over the horizon. The salty air of the sea cleared my thoughts, allowing me to concentrate on the task at hand, stalling my pent up anxiety from growing worse.

It was a new day.