Ryoko let out a sigh, and glared down at Gavin with disdain. He had just sacrificed himself to save his comrades. At least, that must have been what he believed he had done. She felt insulted by the boy's impromptu gambit, for as dire as his circumstances were he thought he could pull one over on them. "We're not killing him, not yet." Ryoko said, looking to the palace. "We can let the general do as she pleases with him later. Right now, he's our bait. We go to the palace, and use him as leverage to draw the rebels out. If my hunch is correct, they plan to have an encore of what happened in Hollow Bastion." She walked up to Gavin and patted his head as if he were a puppy. "You're going to be the stone that kills quite  a few birds."

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Shizuka leaped to her feet, moving her head around like a bobblehead in a monster truck. "What, where!?" she exclaimed. One moment she was fighting some Empire jerks, the next she had been teleported to what looked like the top floor of a building. One side of the room had no wall, giving occupants a not so brilliant view of the slums below. There were various odds and ends placed about, a single bed, some scraps of food, many signs that someone had made this their makeshift home. She recognized this place.

"Aladdin?" She calmed down, and looked towards the door. Standing there with a tired cocky grin was a local young man wearing a tattered vest and patched pants. Shizuka gasped, then running up to him to give him a tight hug. She let him go and brushed his shoulders off. "Where have you been? Osa didn't know where you were, I thought you might have been killed."

"Who, me? Don't count on it. I've been looking for Genie, but it seems he's taken a really secluded vacation, maybe he wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to visit the polar ice caps..." Aladdin shook his head and moved out of the way of the door's entrance. "Everyone else is waiting for you, come on sleepyhead."

The two of them walked down a flight of steps to enter a nearly barren room, the only thing worth noting was a large table in the center of the room. Shizuka blinked as she counted off everyone that was here. Acesto, Lin, Osa... Gavin was missing. She opened her mouth to comment, but she knew better. The last time she saw him he was sending them away, leaving him in the hands of the Empire.

"Shizuka, I know what you're thinking." Ace spoke up from the other side of the table. "But there's something else we need to focus on right now. Rika has infiltrated the palace, it's only a matter of time until she reaches-"

"Jasmine!" Aladdin cut in. "I've been looking for her for so long, I can't believe you guys found her!" He pauses for a moment, looking at Ace. "Ah, right, go on." 

"When Rika saves Jasmine, the machine will likely cause an explosion similar to the one in Hollow Bastion, We need to secure an exit for her. Aladdin and Carpet can keep watch from above and act accordingly, the rest of us will cover her most likely exit point and make sure it's clear." 

"What about Gavin?" Shizuka finally asked, no longer able to hold it in.

"I don't know if he's even alive. The most we can hope for is that they're keeping him alive for some reason..." 

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Asahina flattened her lips, trying not to make a scene. She hadn't noticed how loud her breathing was, her heart was beating too quickly for her to care at the moment. She let out a slow, steady breath and continued following Rika and Alem. They stopped before entering the floor at the end of the stairs, assuming it was because they saw someone coming she pressed herself against the wall. There was no one coming, and she looked silly. 

They stopped because they heard voices in the dungeon below, and it was unlikely they belonged to the prisoners. Asahina tensed as she heard her companions discuss what to do if they were seen. She was sure she could fight, but she had never willingly killed anyone before, and she would prefer to keep it that way.

She made her way into the dungeon, where the light was dim and the air was musty. The voices were coming from further in, in what she assumed was the hall containing the holding cells. She quietly made her way to a door, and slowly opened it. It was the warden's office. Closing the door behind her she started to scan the room for anything useful, but found nothing. She was about to back out of the room when she heard footsteps from just outside. She clenched her teeth and backed into the wall, something jingled just above her head, prompting her to quickly grab the object to quiet it. It was a club, probably used to discipline inmates. The door opened, pinning her in the corner for a moment. A large man adorned in the garb of the palace guards walked in. 

Asahina gripped the club, and bashed the man in the back of his head. He fell to the floor with a thud, which thankfully wasn't loud enough to be heard outside the room. Awkwardly stepping over the man she went to put the club back, but noticed something on the end of it, there was a ring of keys. That explained the jingling, but not the warden's poor choice in accessories. She stepped back out of the room, and joined Alem and Rika. "I uhh, found keys... Not sure if we'll need them, but still..."