𝕻𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖔'𝖘 𝕰𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙 || 𝖗1999

𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢

HE NEVER EXPECTED TO GET CAUGHT.

...Along with Foundation Investigators.

...Fuck.

[name] groaned, dipping his head as the ropes dug into his clothes. On either side of him were St. Pavolv Foundation Investigators; he could tell by their uniform. He knew that they couldn't recognize them, but... his heart still raced. Normal for somebody who ran away...

Their kidnapper, a young lady with a British accent, grabbed her microphone. "Say your names, you British government stooges! You Manus Vindictae robbers!"

She nows Manus Vindictae...?

So... an arcanist. But by the looks of it, she's not affiliated with the Foundation.

Well, she's not the only one.

The said woman yelled louder in glee. "Our lips are sealed and we wandered, but nothing's going to change our love for freedom forever! We-!"

She was interrupted by a deafening roar and a boom, resulting in the ship rocking. He perked his head up, but he couldn't see farther than the ruined walls of the ship.

"What's wrong?!" The girl panicked, almost dropping her bag. "What's happened?!"

A floating, talking apple with a collar and tie floated around her. "It seems that we're under attack! There's a huge black ship behind us."

"Bloody hell! Turn off the microphone!" She rushed to the back of her ship, looking over. At this point, [name] had tried to get out of his restraints, but ended up elbowing the other hostages, causing them to grunt uncomfortably. He didn't want to use his arcane skills, especially in front of them. He can't risk them finding out.

The woman rushed back to her hostages. "Get them to hold fire now, or else-"

Another bomb hit the ship, almost knocking her off her feet. More smoke arose from the air; even some pieces of wood started to catch on fire.

"No... no no no...!"

The floating apple bobbed. "My captain, we're sinking. Please be ready to abandon the ship."

Ignoring it, she turned back to her captives, removing the incantation. "Please... I-I'll hand you guys over, but please... don't break my ship...

"My records, my treasures... please, no violence!"

One of the investigators, another woman, coughed due to the smoke. "W-we tried to tell you, we don't know them."

Her partner agreed with a grunt. "We're investigators from the foundation. Well... the two of us. I don't know who he is."

[name] sighed. "Don't worry about it. I'm not with them either. They're right, you got the wrong people."

The woman's glasses almost slipped. "Oh...OH!"

Another bomb hit the ship, causing more instability. "Please, protect the records!"

He finally broke out of the restraints, hesitating but helping the investigators up. "It's futile. Your ship is going to sink any moment. The most we can do is save ourselves."

"I agree with the young man," The apple said. "My captain."

"... Fine. Fine. Just let's go!" She pushed the group to the side that was not enveloped in fire. One of the investigators casted a spell, and they ran back to land. The woman kept looking back forlornly, watching her beloved ship sink.

"Watch!" The male Investigator cautioned. "We got trouble!"

The two of them and the woman started using their arcanism to fend off the enemies, but [name] hesitated. Heck, even the apple was fighting!