Hels Rebellion

Chapter 14: How's it going down there?

Things had not been going that well in Hels either. 

Grian's lovely little prison cell had been upgraded to a shiny quartz cage on the floor. One with chains tightened around his wing restrains and ankles, keeping him boarded to the ground. His wrists were also chained to one another and a large metal collar was placed around his neck. 

That would teach him to escape again. 

He had only been in the first cage for two days before snapping. He had hardly had any sleep, anxiety gnawing at his unconscious mind. Bad, however, was asleep on the chair, snoring softly and twitching on occasion. Grian had used the opportunity to try a plan that definitely would not work. 

He slowly scooted over to the side of his cage, eyeing the knife Bad had used to open his wine. The cork was still stuck in the serrated edge, balancing tediously on the edge of the counter. 

He pressed his shoulder against the bars of the cage, eyeing the tool. His arm fit through easily, but the bars were just thin enough to block his shoulder from moving forward. His fingers graced the edge of the cork, barely scraping the rough surface. 

The hermit narrowed his eyes and reached further out, his face against the cold, metallic surface of his prison. He was just within range, he just... couldn't risk... knocking it off. 

His hand grasped the cork surface, and he let out a sigh of relief, pulling back and securing it in the cage with him. 

At least if this doesn't work, I'll have a weapon. 

He popped the cork of the edge of the knife, dropping it to the side of the cage with a huff. He leaned forward to the front end of the cage where the lock was. It had been sealed on one side - rather than actually locked. 

He took the serrated knife and pressed it into the small latch between the cage and the seal, sliding it with a jarring metal sound between the metal pieces. He glanced up to assure Bad was still asleep. 

Once the handle of the knife pressed against the metal. He pulled back, trying to snap the metal- but it didn't budge. He huffed and shifted the knife before pushing it forward, bending the handle past the bars of the cage to the outside. 

The blade bent slightly, but with a metallic crackle, the seal snapped, along with knife. The metal broke cracking the knife into three different pieces; the handle in one, and the blade shattered to the floor. 

Grian flinched at the sound, and looked up sharply - seeing that Bad was still asleep. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, before looking down at the cage's small opening. He smiled slightly, pushing the gate open with a soft creak. 

Just as he was about to step out, Bad slammed his arms into the gate of the cage - knocking Grian to the back of the cage. 

"What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled, holding the cage closed, his arms stretched out as white knuckles gripped the bars. 

After a moment, Grian pulled himself together, eyes widened before narrowing, "What do you think?!" he snapped. 

He leaned back against the wall, kicking against the gate. Bad's grip tightened and his boots slid along the floor. "Stop!" He yelled, "You're gonna get us both killed you idiot!" 

Grian ignored him, pushing back one last time before letting all the force he could out. The gate popped open as Bad fell back from the force. The helsian's head hit the chair behind him and he let out a grunt of pain - Grian took the opportunity to jump feet first from the cage, landing on Bad's chest. 

"Sorry!" He yelled out, flexing his wings against the restraints as he tried to take off. Bad simply held his chest in pain. The hermit moved forward, running towards the door. Right as he reached out for the door - a tight pain shot through his wrist and he yelped. 

He was dragged to the floor by his wrist, falling to the tiles with a thump. 

A boot rested on his shoulder blades, pushing all the air out of his lungs. He tried to look up, but couldn't turn his head. 

"Now, that could have gone poorly," Xelqua's voice rang out in the room. Grian's eyes widened. 

"BadTimes," the man addressed the other as he scrambled off of the floor. "I thought I told you to stop him." 

"I thought you said the cage would hold." 

Xelqua hummed, taking his foot off of Grian's back. The smaller man took a deep breath and coughed, trying again to lift himself with his arms. 

Xelqua only pushed him back down with his foot, "Don't do that." 

The hermit let out another weak breath before the man spoke again, "Bad, hold him. I've got a better cage." 

Bad sighed, stepping forward as Xelqua moved his foot away from him. Bad bent and picked up the smaller man by his arms, holding him tight enough that despite Grian's kicking - he couldn't break free. 

"Knock it off," Bad snapped, "You're just making this worse." 

Grian let out a growl before sighing, his lack of energy catching up to him. He simply glared at Xelqua who nodded the two into another room. 

That's how he had ended up chained to the floor like an animal. His anger hadn't subsided but for a small lapse where he had fallen unconscious, his lack of sleep kicking him down even further. 

Bad was awake, his sword drawn and a lack of any alcohol in his system. He was watching Grian, standing by the door. 

Xelqua was still there, between them, typing away at an admin screen in a language Bad couldn't read and Grian was too far too see. He was seated at a desk, not bothering to look at either of the men. 

Grian let out a sigh and leaned back against the bars of the cage - it wasn't comfortable, but neither were the chains scratching against his skin. 

He glanced to Bad who looked back at him before looking away, tightening the grip on his sword. 

The hermit frowned, folding his knees up to himself, and laying his head across them. 

He thought about the hermits. 

He desperately hoped they were doing alright.