Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 42: The Hephaestus Sea

 On the twenty-fourth of November, Hedges began hatching his plan to escape from house arrest. By the thirty-first, all the pieces were in place and all he had to do was say the words.

Hedges was reading the newspaper, as per usual, when he flipped the pages, yawned, and said "Today's looking like it'll be quite painful for people on guard duty."

Outside of his room, one of the guards sarcastically replied before both heard thuds coming from downstairs.

"What was that?"

"I wouldn't go down there if I were you," said Hedges.

The guards dismissed him and went downstairs anyway.

"You're supposed to be guarding me!" yelled Hedges, in a mocking tone. He then mouthed the words "Three, two, one," before wincing at the sound of two more thuds coming from downstairs. The room then began to shake, and the fireplace moved upwards to reveal a secret elevator.

"We rigged this thing to collapse as planned, now come with me," said the man in the elevator, otherwise known as Swingarm. "We also captured the hostages you wanted."

Hedges and Swingarm escaped the building into a secret tunnel network that had gone largely unused, and was once thought to connect to the caves currently being used by Jeof and the Martyrs Gang.

There, the two seafarers Sir Quarantine and Palm Trees found themselves at the mercy of the Motorcycle Gang.

"What did I tell you, Palm Trees, this place is overrun by a gang of motorcycle enthusiasts!"

"You know, I've had just about enough of your attitude, Sir Quarantine. You can't keep denying reality to make yourself seem right."

"Oh, yes I can. It's called a running gag."

Over the next day, the Motorcycle Gang planned their escape from the island, and their commitment to becoming the Motor Pirates. They gathered their valuables, hijacked a ship, and set sail towards the Hephaestus.

"Let's go on an unprecedented adventure!" said Hedges.

On the twentieth of March, Hedges and the Motor Pirates crossed paths with Redbeard and his crew. Redbeard, thinking fairly lowly of all other pirates except himself, struck the first cannon ball. It almost hit, but mysteriously fell short. Redbeard was intrigued by this, and so called for his first mate, Ethan 'The Gallant' Shirtman.

"Hey there, Gallant. That ship over there seems to be dodging our cannon fire."

"Want me to board their ship and investigate?"

"Nothing so grand. You are my Vice Captain, this is above you. Perhaps we should send the new guy."

"The last person to join our crew has been on it for two months now."

"Just send him. I'd like to see him show off his abilities, if we get lucky."

"I understand, captain."

The newest recruit stood tall, dressed in a robe and carrying an old-looking staff. He went by the moniker 'Fallen One'. His face was obscured by the hood of his cloak as he looked down and stared into a puddle, musing about darkness.

"Fallen One, the captain has a task for you," said Ethan, snapping the man back to reality. He looked up quickly and his hood slid off of his head. He was Cain Douglas. Granted, his face looked a lot worse for wear, but there could be no doubt.

He asked what his task was, and once he learned of it, he began to levitate. He flew over to Hedges' ship, and knocked on the deck. A dark green energy flowed through the ship and up through everybody on it. Their bodies began to turn towards Cain. "Attention, everyone," he began.