Before Duncan could point her out, Minerva made her presence known. [b]'Well, yeah. There she is. Bit of luck we found her really. Don't suppose there are any other captives we need to find?'[/b] At this point he doubted they could make another run down to the prison levels; they had well and truly stirred the hive down there. [b]'Please say no.'[/b] He laid Kein down next to Ashton as she started summoning something, most likely her GF; presumably she had a way down? Oh yes, yes indeed. [b]'Oh rather... Griff, do  us a favour and fly this one down too. He's one of ours, but they've hurt him pretty bad. Probably won't make it if he tries the same way down I'm taking.'[/b] He looked up at the taciturn SeeD and gave a thumbs up, not really expecting a reply.

He trotted back over to Xerox, grinning inanely to cover the fact that he had practically ignored everything he said. [b]'Cheers my dears.'[/b] Duncan felt an indescribable feeling of fortitude and relief flow over him as he buckled up his junction drive, once more feeling Artio's reassuring weight in his mind. He could also feel the effects of her junctions bleeding through; his wounds no longer stung and he could think much clearer. Much relief was felt. [b]'Plan is to jump ship. Literally.'[/b] He spared an amused glance at the two naked prisoners. [b]'They'll be fine and if they're not, I won't shed any tears.'[/b] That did leave the Galbadian soldiers, but they would have been trained on aerial insertions anyway. Just like the SeeDs, they would have magic spare for the fall. [b]'Anyone who doesn't know how to get down or is out of Floats, start thinking outside the box. Make a pool of Water, a bed of Aero, anything.'[/b] His lips twisted into a sadistic grin. [b]'Remember your training and you will make it back alive.'[/b]

He finally turned his attention back to Jake as he got an answer for his second question and, oh shit, his blood ran cold. [b]'E-Eika's here..?'[/b] He slowly turned to the open doorway as people started jumping, suddenly quite afraid to make that step. Maybe she had forgiven him for sending her away from Deling City..? Maybe... probably not. For a brief moment he wondered if his chances would be better downstairs with the Galbadians... [b]'I, uh... I-in any case! Let's go. Gotta get out of the base, then we can worry about... other... things.'[/b] He struggled to regain his momentum after that shocking little revelation. He had to move, or else emotion (mainly fear) might root him to the spot. [b]'Alright, I'm diving.'[/b] He took a moment to quickly junction a few Floats to the two prisoners, knowing he had precious few left, before sprinting toward the ledge. He dragged the poor, confused and now terrified Fresno with him over the edge and the two of them fell face-first toward the sand far, [i]far[/i] below. The soldier screamed wordlessly, taken utterly by surprise by Duncan's sudden action. Barely a second before they impacted, the SeeD cast a tripled Float on himself, holding onto Fresno with an iron grip as they gently floated down the last few metres. Their feet gently touched the ground and Fresno promptly fell to his knees, vomiting. For his part, Duncan took a deep breath of free air, grinning like an idiot. [b]'There, that wasn't so bad, was it- oooh, nasty...'[/b]