Crossover Escape: Gotta be more than Lucky to survive

2.46 Night Vigil

About an hour latter a triumphant twitter heralded Blue’s return. In their claws they clutched a bunch of fruit. They were grouped like grapes but looked more like apples. The big question was whether they were safe to eat. Shade sat up at the noise and turned his head to look at the fruit that was dropped into Luca’s lap.

“Graples? Where did they find that?” Shade at least recognised the fruit which was a good start.

“No idea. Are they safe to eat?” Shade nodded and while that wasn’t wholly reassuring Luca had already experimented with food from here before on the airship so it would probably be fine. If they were stuck here much longer, they would need to figure it out anyway and it wasn’t like they’d bought a food analysis lab with them. Luca didn’t even bring anything to check food, he had been planning to just eat his rations after all.

Cautiously Luca picked one of the fruits and carefully sliced it open. It looked safe enough. With a shake Luca took a bite chewed and swallowed. Luca waited for several minutes and when no pains or other symptoms appeared Luca shrugged and finished the fruit. After two he felt like he’d had a full meal. After giving Blue some attention as thanks Luca tossed two to Shade who ate them quickly before going back to sleep.

Luca settled in for a long night vigil. As the storm raged outside Luca monitored Ghost’s vitals. While he showed no signs of waking, he at least showed no signs of immediately falling off the perch either. Lucas relaxed marginally to think about their next approach.

Despite what had happened Luca still intended to rescue the others. He just wished he had a way to send them straight to Declan’s group if they wanted to act like a mob then they should take it all the way. It some ways Luca considered that intention worse than if he’d just left them to rot. Still he could say with a clear conscience that he’d rescued them their survival would then be on Declan’s shoulders. It was a bit petty, but Luca didn’t think anything could beat literally stabbing someone just because they hadn’t been hurt much so far.

[Rӓv: Lucky what’s happening his vitals just spiked and now they’re plummeting.] Luca jerked his eyes open. He didn’t even remember closing them. Luca looked at Ghost who seemed perfectly peaceful the dressing on his neck was clear of fresh blood. Luca reached out and checked for a pulse. Nothing. No wait it was just very sluggish and dropping. Luca checked his breathing. Nothing. Luging to his knees Luca started CPR. At some point Help woke and started applying magic.

Luca tried everything he could but by the time Rӓv finally flung herself into the cave he was gone. Luca looked out at the falling rain with a blank face as he mentally went through what he could have done differently. In the end he didn’t find a solution that didn’t get someone else dead. It was a cold comfort though. As he no longer had any desire to sleep Luca turned to Rӓv and started discussing tech and logistics.

Rӓv brought two very nice things with her that topped Luca’s current preference list. Not that other things weren’t nice. They just couldn’t beat a solution to sending people to Declan and an expedient ride. With the rain still pouring Luca checked his map while Rӓv settled in. Lil’ Miss and Blue were both fast asleep with Help passed out again between them. They’d worked hard that day and then into the night, they deserved the rest. Rӓv had promised to send Shade after him once the man woke. Luca wasn’t sure if he should commend or be concerned that he’d slept straight through everything. Still at least someone was getting some sleep tonight. At the very entrance of the cave sat the ride.

Sleek and spotted Luca would have taken it for an above size leopard if it wasn’t for the distinct metallic sheen to the fur. Its head turned as Luca approached. It eyed Luca for a time before giving a soft chuff. Luca reached for the coat and helmet Rӓv had left beside it. He’d given Rӓv’s original coat back to her when she’d said there was one specialised for the trip. Luca pulled on both coat and helmet and felt the temperature increase marginally. He now had to wonder what on earth she’d sent the other four to do. She’d been cagy about it and Luca hadn’t had the heart to chase it down. Especially since she’d been equally cagy about the when.

Luca slipped onto the leopards back and leaned forward. Handlebars formed from the ears and the seat adjusted. Just like a bullet bike. With a carful lean forward the leopard started out. The motion was surprisingly smooth it was like he was riding on a highway not going all terrain. As he grew more comfortable Luca just upped the speed. The leopard was supposed to be running the same operating system as Aran so it could theoretically drive itself. Luca just felt more comfortable steering based on the map and the marker for Declan’s friends’ location. Rӓv’s little transporter was magic operated so if Luca snagged the sorcerers, he could use them to send everyone else to Declan since the end location was the ship. Just nice.

According to the map Gallant and partner were being held in the Shifter territory. Luca wasn’t sure how he was going to manage a quick withdrawal if there was more than just the two that Shade could take but his talk with Rӓv had led them to the conclusion that they couldn’t make any real plans until the saw where they were held. Thus Luca had decided to set out now to try and get a good look first thing in the morning. Luca didn’t even feel the rain on him, so he wasn’t worried about his health at this stage. If nothing else the ride would give him a few quite moments. While the destination would give him a clear distraction. He needed to save his mourning till he wasn’t in danger of losing anyone else. They’d all learned that lesson the hard way once and had no interest in a repeat course.

[Rӓv: Lina’s a good ride, right?]

[Lucky: Tell me you didn’t use letter sequences for all the names.]

[Rӓv: Alright I won’t tell you.]

[Lucky: It would have been better to stick to celestial bodies.]

[Rӓv: Couldn’t think of a set I liked enough.] Right because matching names was the most important thing to consider for a revolutionary animal shaped robot. Luca fell into a bit of a bicker with Rӓv on the matter of names keeping both their minds from dwelling as much as possible.

[Rӓv: I really regret not taking Tails more seriously. Just because it wasn’t your instincts, I dismissed his concerns, and this is what happened.]

[Lucky: Stop that. The odds are good that based on the circumstances you wouldn’t have been able to avoid someone being captured. As long as they got one person the situation would be the same. If you had gone confrontational at the start, we wouldn’t have gained what you have. We would likely still be trying to figure out how to go home.]