Holding a hand over his eyes, Acesto looked off into the distance of the city. The royal palace could be clearly seen, it's rotund architecture looming over the citizens below. The Palace was once a symbol of the royal family, however, the Sultan had been stripped of his power by the Empire, and the Princess had vanished. He had always thought the Princess was dead, but what he knew now made him question that.

"You think Jasmine's in one of those machines too?" Shizuka stepped in front of him, from the look on his face she knew what he was thinking. "I think she's alive too, but how do we tell Aladdin? The girl in Hollow Bastion... What happened to her was terrible, Ace." Ace lowered his eyes from the palace to Shizuka. 

"One thing at a time, we still don't fully understand why there was a human being in there in the first place. For all we know anyone could be a victim stuck in one of those things." Ace said. He looked back to the others, seeing Lin carry half a dozen apples over to them. In spite of the troublesome situation they were in, she maintained her cheerful demeanor and helpful attitude. "Try not to worry about it, Lin's fine isn't she?"

"Lin didn't see what I did. When the darkness from that machine hit me I-" Shizuka stopped talking as Rika huddled in between the two of them suddenly. Ever vigilant, she wished to know what their next move was. Shizuka looked to Ace for the answer.

"You're right, we do need to get off the streets. Luckily we have a place nearby. We shouldn't go there as a group, so we'll split up. Rika, you come with me, Shizuka, you lead Lin and that other guy to the hideout." Shizuka nodded her head, and walked over to Lin and Gavin. "Alright, let's go this way, Rika." Ace said, moving away from the others down the market streets.

Putting her worries on the sideline for the moment, Shizuka took an apple from Lin's small stockpile, thanking her as she did so. She pulled out a potato peeler from her pocket, and began to peel the skin from the apple. "So um, we're gonna get off the streets and go to a secret base we have here." She said, much of her attention on the boy with the red hair, he didn't seem to be holding up very well. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked. "I'm Shizuka, and this is Lin." She told him their names in good faith, hoping he would tell them his own."

Still walking through the street, Ace led Rika down an alley on their way to the hideout. Even between buildings, the area was still bright and smoldering hot. "So you hate me, huh?" Ace said plainly. "You're awfully frank with your feelings, aren't you? Well, I'd just like you to know that I appreciate what you've done for us, you didn't have to come back, after all."