[F01] Rescue Quest!

[Luke Pendragon 0]

Well, there Luke was, on a quest to go rescue someone. He'd paired up with some other players to help finish it. When Luke finally reached the stronghold where he was supposed to go, the robed man came to a stop in front of the armored guards outside. A warm wind blew and kicked up a small cloud of dust in front of them. Moments passed in silence, Luke waiting to see how long it would take the goons to react to his presence. The guards eventually pointed their staffs at the newly arrived loiterer. The way Luke saw it, this would end one of two ways. Peacefully, in that he would be able to trick the NPC guards into letting him in… Or violently, in that he would force his way in. He wasn't opposed to either plan of action. 

If it meant getting through, then the lives of the guards was but a small price to pay. As if that wasn't enough motivation, this little encounter would also serve as a test of his more recently acquired abilities. Not that it made a difference at this point, Luke knew full well what he had to do and was prepared to do it if necessary.

"Hey there, I’m Luke. You're going to let me in," Luke demanded. He hoped, not for his sake but theirs, that these guards were simple enough to simply let him in to the stronghold. Luke was concerned that his late arrival might have gravely impact the outcome of their little mission here. He didn't have much in the way of time to waste on petty obstacles such as security, not when the others were already on the other side of this door. 

The leftmost guard quizzically tilted his head, lowered his weapon, and beat on the door with a rhythmic pattern that signaled for it to be opened. It seemed Luke had succeeded, at least with the leftmost guard, the rightmost guard was another story entirely. As the large door slid open, the rightmost guard gritted his teeth and charged toward him. Without hesitation, Luke threw his right hand out and LUke rushed towards him, then smashed him with his sword. 

The guard was defeated and so Luke proceeded inside the stronghold. He was in, now he just had to find Aisha and Norio, which he suspected wouldn't be hard. From what he understood, Aisha had a rather elaborate ruse planned to fool Nagato. He thought what they had planned was fairly ingenious and hoped it went as planned. If it did, it would make Wato's rescue and the escape that followed that much easier.

Amidst the raucous festivities and the numerous enemies, Aisha and Norio were slowly escorted to see Nagato. Nagato was perched high on the second level of the large open room, looking down on everyone below. This was his world, they were all just living in it, Nagato liked it that way. This was his dominion, where all of his interests converged, both business and pleasure alike. Otherwise enraptured by the always entertaining world of his making, Nagato's attention was suddenly captured by the new entrants to his chamber. It seemed he had a visitor, one that looked like a bounty hunter. If he was correct it was perhaps meant to be even. He was itching to contract a new bounty hunter, as his current one was on thin ice.

As they navigated the sea of guests to get to Nagato, Aisha saw someone all too familiar out of the corner of her eye. It was Minnat, the bounty hunter. Her suspicions were confirmed. The towering scoundrel was tucked in the shadows, clinging to the far right corner of the large chamber. There was something different about him though, something had changed. Then it hit her, his arm was gone, instead replaced with a new one. 

She thought Norio had mentioned blowing his arm off in their duel, but it must not have clicked with her because the sight was throwing her for a bit of a loop. She felt lucky she was disguised, it was bad enough that Minnat was inevitably going to recognize Norio. Losing an appendage wasn't exactly something that was easily forgotten. Chances were he still harbored some hostility toward Norio for what he did.

When they finally reached Nagato, the massive guards bowed to the seated crime lord and made their way back to the entrance of the large stronghold. It seemed they weren't much for words and any they did say, were in some other language mixed with grunts and growls. There they were, Aisha and Norio left to their own devices in front of the terrible Nagato. They had made it this far, now it was time to deliver the goods. 

Aisha let go of Norio only to kick him down onto the ground, causing him to land uncomfortably on his knees, right at the feet of the menacing crime lord. Nagato looked on, keen on what he was seeing but curious what this was all about. He had asked his last bounty hunter, Burgundy, to eliminate Norio ages ago, only to learn from a distant relative of the ruffian that his hunter had been killed. The relative hadn’t let on as to who it was had done the killing. That said; Nagato wasn't born yesterday, the second he heard Burgendy was dead, he knew exactly who had done it. Who could it be but Norio?

"I must say, this is a pleasant, albeit unexpected surprise. I didn't count on Norio falling at my feet until I hunted him down myself. It seems his fate was always sealed, it was just a matter of time before he finally found his way to me. This might be an even greater justice than what I intended originally. I intended him to die but now, here he is, in the flesh. Now I suppose I can do whatever I like with him. You've saved me quite the headache. Do tell, what is your name, bounty hunter? How ever did you acquire this scoundrel? What is your name and what is your price?" 

Nagato spoke with a smile before finally asking the real questions. Impressed as he was with the personal delivery, he wanted to know exactly who he was dealing with and how much he was about to spend. Nagato used to be more careless and freewheeling with his investments, but these days he had more serious partnerships to take into account. He didn't get to be the crime lord he was without making a few deals.

"I am... Nande," Aisha replied, haphazardly coming up with a name on the fly. For all the preparation they did going into this ruse, she couldn't believe she forgot to come up with a name. She hoped it sounded real and wouldn't raise any suspicion. "I was east of here looking for someone else. Upon investigation, I learned this man had dispatched of my target months prior. His good fortune ended then and there. I found him and strung him up - he never saw me coming. I had a feeling someone of your stature would be interested in him." 

Aisha continued fabricating a history for her bounty hunter character. A history at least partially based on true events, at that. No one had come after him but Norio had in fact dispatched of one of her targets. "As for a price...I'm sure we can come to an arrangement. Are you open to negotiations? Perhaps even a trade...?" Aisha suggested, dropping a subtle hint that Nagato may have something or someone she wanted.

"Most impressive, Nande. Esteemed as you may be, I'm surprised I've never heard your name. Unfortunate that we've only just now crossed paths. Any hunter who could acquire the likes of Norio is well worth a contract," Nagato replied, curious how a talented bounty hunter like Nande could've gone unnoticed. That said, the world was a big place. He couldn't be everywhere at once. Hell, between his various strongholds, he was spread thin enough as it was. Don't even get him started on the obligatory trips abroad he had to make at least twice a year. 

All of this said, he liked that even a stranger knew to come to him with a bounty, it was a testament to his far reaching sphere of influence. Any reminder of his dominance was a welcome reminder indeed. In a place where strong people were a dime a dozen, it was satisfying to have a different kind power. "I'm open to negotiations. What do you have in mind, bounty hunter? If it's a trade you're after...my possessions, in terms of items and people, are unmatched. However, before you name your price, I insist I take Norio off your hands," Nagato demanded, motioning the cronies behind his makeshift throne toward Norio.

"Perhaps now you see, to contend with me, is to lose. Escort Mr.  to the prison, gentlemen. There's so much I could do with my new possession, that I need time to weigh the possibilities," Nagato ordered, pondering all the things he could do with Norio as his cronies took him by each arm and dragged him away. 

This was where things started to get muddled, as Norio and Aisha had only briefly discussed this point in the plan. Headed for prison, Norio was to look for Wato, that was clear. That said, it wasn't clear how he was supposed to break out or escape. He supposed that's where Luke could come in, Aisha too if Nagato didn't figure her out first.

"I'm in need of a guy that’s good with science and rumor has it, you're in possession of one of the best out there. A man named Wato. In exchange for Norio, you give me Wato, do we have a deal?" Aisha brokered, making it known what she wanted in return for Norio. She didn't expect such a forward approach to work but it was worth a shot. She was really just buying time so Norio could nose around the place looking for Wato. 

In addition to that, she was also eagerly awaiting Luke's arrival as well. She hoped he wasn't too far behind, one too many wrong moves and they could get in too deep. If that happened, then it would be on Luke to arrive and break all three of them out of Nagato's stronghold. While he was perfectly capable of doing so, Aisha wasn't about to burden Luke like that.

"Hmm... I know Wato all too well, a talented scientist for sure. Though, talented as he was, he should've known better than to make the mistakes that he did. He's been a prisoner of mine for quite some time now. The better part of a year, I'd say. He's repaying me for a mistake that caused me to lose a lot of money. You could say he's working off a life sentence. So unfortunately, I'll have to insist on another arrangement. Perhaps I could interest you in one of my other prisoners? Or perhaps one of my more loyal workers? I know you bounty hunter types get lonely out there in space. I have a brilliant smuggler that I could part with for a while. Far be it for that to be her only talent, though. She's a gifted dancer too. I'd hate to see her go but for you, I'll make an exception. Interested?" 

Aisha didn't immediately respond, both frustrated and disgusted that Nagato had the gall to deny her request. She didn't like this creep one bit, if Luke showed up and brought this place down around them, she sure wouldn't mind. 

"I'm afraid that won't do. It's Wato, or me and my prisoner walk. Allow me to retrieve my prisoner and I'll be on my way." Aisha said, an audible change in her tone. It was clear that Nagato had rubbed her the wrong way with his bargaining. She couldn't say she expected it to be easy to get Wato back, but she would concede that she had already spent more time than she liked conversing with Nagato. She would sooner figure out another way to rescue Wato than continue this needless interaction. In a hasty move, the woman in disguise broke for the area behind Nagato's chair.

Before she could make it to the hall behind his massive chair, two of Nagato's guards stepped in front of her, blocking her way with their weapons. The cold metal pressed tight against her arms as she tried to push beyond them. Strong as she was, these guards seemed immovable. So intent on pushing forward, Aisha hadn't realized that Nagato had followed close behind her. She had only realized her grave error as her helmet was yanked from her head, which in turn caused her to turn around, only to find Nagato himself looming over her. 

Aisha didn't know but Nagato remembered her all too well. Nagato's suspicions were confirmed, he was the victim of an elaborate ruse perpetrated by this woman and Norio, evidently to rescue Wato. How pleasant. Evidently they were all friends, unbeknownst to him.

"Now, isn't this an interesting development. You're the one Burgendy kidnapped to get Norio's attention and now you're both here for Wato no less? It's a small world after all, isn't it? I must say, I admire the effort you must have put into crafting this plan of yours. Waiting the better part of year, so as to not draw suspicion I assume? Disguising yourself as a bounty hunter? Delivering that man as a prisoner? All so you could get access to my stronghold in an effort to rescue Wato? Did I forget anything? Elaborate, elaborate indeed. Although, in the end, you've still failed. Though I suppose you'll get what you wanted all along, a reunion with Wato, as my prisoner." Nagato started waving the guards to take her away. It was easy to be blinded when one was as greedy as Nagato was, lucky for him, he was also quite intelligent.

The lighting in the prison were dim ` Aisha could barely make out the other occupants of the cells as she was pushed forward against her will by Nagato's guards. When they finally arrived at an empty cell, one guard swung the door open and the other pushed her inside. As her cell door shut, she quickly realized she was lucky enough to have been placed next to Norio. This was a massive oversight on Nagato's part. 

At least the two could talk and figure out what to do from here. As it turned out`  Luke would need to break all three of them out. Exactly what Aisha would've rather avoided, if she could. That's not how things went, though. She knew better than to fret over it. She had to focus on the task at hand - finding Wato, wherever he was in this god forsaken place. Judging by how far this hallway of cells seemed to stretch, she had her work cut out for her.

Aisha pressed her face against the bars of Norio's cell. "So, there's been a change of plans...I got locked up." her words hung in the air as Norio shuffled across his cell to meet with her. "I make one wrong move and Nagato gets the bright idea to take my helmet off. Once he saw me, he knew exactly who I was, although not for the reason I thought. He remembered me because he was working with Burgendy when that son of a bitch kidnapped me."

"You don't say," Norio replied, remembering what happened with them all too well. After a labored sigh, the rugged rogue leaned against the bars of his cell, face to face with Aisha. "So, what's next, beautiful? I didn't see any sign of Wato when they put me in here, but that's not sayin' much. Place is huge." 

"Well..." Aisha started. "Frankly, I don't know. We've got to get out of here, that's for sure. Worst case scenario, at least we've still got Luke in the pipeline, right? He can break us out of here and we'll track down Wato together. He's got to be somewhere down here, we know that much." Aisha was unsure how to efficiently move forward. That said, she was thankful that she had at least one more ace in the hole.

"Heh." Norio laughed. "We sure we can count on him to come through for us? Who's to say he won't end up right where we are? You know I love a good reunion, but I don't think this is what any of us had in mind," Norio said snidely, his sarcastic tone cutting through every last word. As much as he wanted to believe that the Luke was every bit the badass Aisha thought he was, he clearly had his doubts.

"Bite your tongue, or I'll bite it for you." Aisha teased, squeezing Norio's face through the bars between them. For whatever reason, Norio liked to pick on Luke behind his back. Generally, she tolerated it and played along, but she hoped it was all in good fun. The last thing she needed was an uneasy alliance between the three of them. They had to be able to work together, trust each other, and play to each other's strengths and weaknesses if they planned to succeed.

"Easy, Aisha... Don't threaten me with a good time," Norio replied, albeit muffled through his squeezed faced. He was mostly ribbing her. He didn't fully understand why, but he tolerated it because he had such a great respect and affection for the woman. Who knew, maybe this Luke would win him over. It had been a long time and he was sure they were both different people than when they first met.

Luke wasn’t far away – no doubt he was already in the stronghold… they just needed to bide their time until he got there.