Fall With Me [Prinxiety/Loceit]

Chapter 20 - Prison Break

Janus was flying.

He'd flown before, of course. He'd tried it a couple times in the time between getting his scales and coming to the base. But now that he was in the air, almost able to touch the clouds, it struck him just how incredible this was.

And just how high he was. Falling from here would mean certain death.

His ear buzzed. "Copy?"

"Copy," he answered. 

"Great. Do a one-eighty." Janus turned his dragon around, the wind brushing through his hair as they raced across the earth. "A bit to your left, now." He did so. "Straight on. You'll reach the stronghold in twenty minutes."

"Ten-four."

He heard Virgil's voice come over, quiet and overrun with static. "How the hell does he know ten- codes?" 

"I can hear you, Virge," he muttered. "And my older brother's part of the guard. Of course I know it."

He heard a faint 'damn you' and chuckled.

"So, thanks to Remus, we know some of the layouts of the strongholds." Percy's voice came back, loud and clear. "They're generally the same. We'll need you to check every cell for each of the four."

"Copy that." He knelt down a bit, trying to find the spot of air that wasn't rushing by him as fast. "Do we have a general idea, or...?"

"Chances are he's in one of the cells." He heard some faint clicking noises. "They might have transferred him, since it's been a week, and he might be somewhere else if they're questioning him or-" Percy cut off for a second before clearing their throat and starting again. "Just check the prison block, alright?"

"Got it."

A couple of minutes later, Janus was dropping onto the roof of the stronghold. Krilo would stay above the cloudline, out of sight but close enough to be of assistance if necessary. He crept along the top, avoiding the sparse skylights. He found a panel. "Percy?" he asked quietly.

"On it." There was the faint sound of typing and he heard the panel click. "Hold on." he waited amidst the sounds of even more soft clicking sounds in his ear. "Go ahead."

He used the edge of his arm guard to pry up the end of the metal cover, pushing it to the side and dropping in.

The hallway was brightly lit. "Go left," a voice muttered in his ear. "Keeping going straight until-"

"Good luck with that," he said quietly, which earned the rest of the sentence being mixed with slight laughter and a background of giggling. 

"-until you see a stairwell. It shouldn't be closed off."

Janus followed the instructions, quickly finding a staircase leading down. He went down, wincing as the silence was replaced with static. "Hello?" he said quietly. No response. "I don't know if you can hear me, but all I hear is static," he muttered, glancing back. "I'm guessing there's some sort of block." Still nothing.

He quickly checked all the cells, shivering slightly from the lack of heat. There was no movement.

He started working his way back until he heard the telltale sound of hooves clopping against the ground. He opened one of the doors, sighing quietly as it made no sound, shutting it behind him and pressing himself into the back corner.

He felt open without someone there to guide him. Exposed.

Voices came into range. "Please, let me go, I have a family-" someone pleaded. Janus narrowed his eyes. That voice sounded familiar, but there was no way-

"A family that attends the Drarias Academy, yes," someone answered back coldly. 

"I don't know where Janus is-" 

He bit his lip, withholding a gasp. So it was  Thomas.

He watched as a centaur dragged his older brother past the cells, wanting to do something but knowing he should run. Their first priority was Roman.

He stood there trying to decide long enough that he just barely had time to hide on the other side of the cell as the centaur came trotting back, leaving quickly.

Janus pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no way he was leaving his brother here.

He crept out of the cell, going deeper into the passageways again, checking the cells. He saw a form sitting against the back wall. "Thomas," he hissed. 

They raised their head, fear shooting through their eyes. "What do you want," he answered, doing a wonderful job of not letting his voice break. Janus could tell he was absolutely terrified, though.

"It's me," he answered quietly, studying the lock. "Your dear brother, who is incredible and amazing and just happens to be willing to get your ass away from here on the back of a dragon."

Realization and a smile slowly collected on his face. "You're a Rider?" he asked in awe.

"Yeah, I am, and you probably shouldn't say it so loud," Janus muttered dryly, hooking the lock onto one of the separate bars after managing to undo it and swinging to door open, beckoning Thomas after him. "Now come on."

The brothers snuck out of the cell block. Janus had managed to tune out the static, but it quickly went away by itself when they emerged from the staircase. He could hear mixed voices from the mic.

"What if he's dead-" Virgil shouted loudly.

"He can't be dead," two people yelled back. Janus guessed that it was Logan and Remus. 

"Calm down, guys, I'm not dead. Yet." 

There was quickly silence until Percy's voice came back. "Janus?" 

"That's me." He ran along the halls, ignoring Thomas' confused look. "I found my brother."

"Your brother was missing?" Virgil asked.

"Apparently." He glanced back at him as they raced along the halls. "Is it possible for me to come back to base and drop him off before we check the next one?"

"Yep." Percy again. "No Roman?"

"Nope." The two reached the point where Janus had dropped in. He made a small platform with his hands, motioning for Thomas to step up before straightening and lifting his brother towards the edge. Thomas lifted himself up before turning and reaching down a hand. He went to take it before an arrow whizzing by caused him to look away, down the hall.

A centaur stood there with a crossbow, aiming towards Janus. "You have got  to be shitting me," he groaned, leaving Thomas and sprinting down the hall. He kicked the weapon out of their hands, catching it and shooting them in the leg. They howled with pain and crashed to the ground. He ran back, dropping the crossbow halfway between the centaur and his brother, and jumped up, grabbing the hand and tumbling onto the roof. 

He saw Krilo land, and he swung up, motioning for Thomas to follow. His brother sat semi-awkwardly behind him.

"Just hold on, okay?" he said before quickly flying into the air. 

One down. Three to go.