When Zhang returned outside, Holly and the others waited for him to leave the premises and caught him again before he had the chance to run away. They tied him back up and left him in the tank for now. "Stay put" Holly tells him. "If all goes well, and if you didn't feed us a bullshit location for this Chao character; if he even exists; then we'll be back for you."
"Wait, if all goes well?" Zhang panics. "You better come back for me! You hear me? I swear I'll pay you back if you-"
Suddenly, Zhang's voice is muffled by Holly closing the hatch of the tank as the crew begins walking towards the prison. "Southwest wing, third building on the west side. So, to our left" Haru repeats to make sure the crew remembers. "Third floor out of four total floors above ground. Seems like floors three and four are reserved for maximum containment for the special guests, according to the info Zhang gave us. How do you supposed we begin entering there?"
"Don't suppose the ventilation is strong enough to hold all of us?" Mikoto asks sarcastically.
"Not even close" Haru says. "Besides, there are several measures they take to keep living things out of the vents. That only works in movies."
"We need to get onto the rooftop" Holly says. "I want everyone to get up there, and we'll use digital magic to cut off all noise as we cut into the center. When we drop into the middle of the fourth floor, patch up the ceiling with either magic or illusion magic. Then, we head to the northeast wing of the fourth floor, just until we get close to the officers. When we do that, we can carve a path to Chao, leaving plenty of extra space between there and our exit."
"Why not go straight for him?" Satomi asks. "We can get in and out faster."
"I'll admit, I don't get it either" Blake says.
"We're in a maximum security prison" Holly says. "there will be measures to countering people when they're discovered breaking out, the moment they get their eyes on that someone whom is breaking out. But, if we utilize plenty of illusion magic as we literally carve a way through their own walls, making it seem like the prisoner vanished when they finally check on him to give him his meals, they will have a much harder time figuring out how and when he escaped. Of course they can lock down the prison, but we already have our escape route at that point. This will buy us lots of time to make it back to the tank. It's valuable and Zhang is there too, I guess... So, we should also probably take care of that guy too, maybe."
"And if they find us?" Tanya asks.
"It'll be fine, we can improvise" Holly adds. "We will be taking extra steps in doing so, but a precautionary measure every now and then wouldn't kill you, you know..."
"Right..." Blake says. "I still don't get it, but, alright."
"She's saying" Haru adds, "that it'll help us use their home advantage against them. They gave us space to mess around in, and if we take advantage of that, they likely won't be able to corner us, even if they had found us immediately. We'd have routes to run through and holes to slip through to gain footing. Even if we don't think so now, we may need it when we're in there!"
"Okay, okay!" Blake says. "I get it now. Happy?"
"No" Haru says. "Not really."
"... Buncha nerds" Blake complains.
"So, Felicia" Zia asks, "You have always had a weird habit of collecting old and new newspapers... You've even read two at a time and re-read old ones tons of times. Is there like... a reason behind all of it?"
"Intel gathering" Felicia replies promptly. "Former FBI agent. Old habits die hard."
"How so?" Zia asks.
"Well, when you do something so often" Felicia replies, "it just feels like a normal thing to do, and your body grows accustomed to doing it. So it makes it hard to stop sometimes."
"No, I meant how is it intel gathering?" Zia asks.
"Oh..." Felicia replies. "Well, I'm comparing the consistency of events reported between then and now. Sometimes, history repeats itself. Sometimes, they would like you to believe history is repeating itself to distract you from what's really happening."
"They, as in?..." Zia asks.
"Who do you think?" Felicia asks. "Anyone in power. Everyone in power. It's a constant power struggle. In the case you stop and think just about any of these people in power actually have a single concern about the lives they're stepping on by selling propaganda to the people, in order to turn a blind eye to their current inhumane works, then you're simply fooling yourself into believing a lie!"
Zia paused for a moment. It seemed like this kind of topic had personal roots in Felicia's mind. "Are you going to be alright?" Zia asks.
"Yeah, yeah... sorry" Felicia replies. "It's just... I worked for those people. I've been there. I know what they're all about. It's not good to live in fear... I try not to, but I always find myself trying to dig up any single thing I can find, in hopes that something has changed out there, that they'll no longer care about hunting us, and we can finally start a family..."
"You've been waiting to start a family?" Zia asks.
"Sure we have" Felicia replies. "We've been too scared to. What if they get dragged into this mess?"
"You can't let fear guide your path in life!" Zia shouts as she gets angry. "They took something from you and you're going to just accept it and wait for a change? Somewhere in the future, there will be a kid, your kid, who you'll look at and wonder why you put it off for so long, and why you let fear stop you from finding your happiness! But that won't happen until you stop being so damn scared, and stand up for yourself!"
Felicia was frozen in shock. "Whoa..." She eventually says. "Where'd that come from?"
"I'm sorry" Zia says. "I have no idea... It just- I suddenly... I don't know. I don't know why that made me angry."
"Are more of your memories coming back?" Felicia asks.
"I'm not sure" Zia says. "I think so, but... I don't exactly feel any new memories."
"In due time" Felicia says. "Here, take this."
Felicia tosses a small, black leather wallet to Zia. Zia catches it and stares down at it.
"What's this?" Zia asks.
"It's yours" Felicia replies. "We found it on you when we found you with your injury."
"But..." Zia says. "I don't remember ever having this. Why only give it back to me now?"
"I tried giving it back to you several times when you just woke up from your coma" Felicia says. "I'm assuming you couldn't see straight and never recognized it when waking up. After you mentioned not knowing who you are, and making it clear you can't seem to remember anything, I thought I should probably take this for a while and give it back when you're ready."
"What do you mean?" Zia asks as she held onto the wallet, too afraid to open the wallet.
"Forcing too many memories to come back can cause serious damage to your brain" Felicia says. "I wanted to be careful. Besides, I learned a little bit about you. Normally I wouldn't take care of strange people, what with me trying to hide and all... But you. You were a special case."
"What made me so special?" Zia asks.
"Try not to freak out" Felicia says. "For the love of God, take deep breaths too. Don't force anything if it hurts to remember, but take a look at this paper." Zia looks down at Felicia's hand and sees her own wanted poster from over 20 years ago. "You are a Six Gun, Zia."
"I'm... a... A Six Gun?" Zia asks in shock.
"And I still want to thank you, for helping us and getting rid of those mages" Felicia says. "Sit down, I can see you need to think about this. Remember last night when you said The Six Guns sounds familiar? It's because you were one. And not just any one... from what I gathered, you're one of the leading members of the outlaw group, and a member of the Mahina Clan on top of that. The last surviving member of the Mahina Clan..."
"The last?" Zia asks as tears form in her eyes.
"Well, second to the last member" Felicia says. Felicia then gestures with her hands as if her hands were covers of a book opening, as if to tell Zia to open her wallet. As Zia opened her wallet, she found a photo inside with her and a teenaged boy next to her, with a man by her other side. Tears started rapidly rolling down Zia's face as Felicia explains. "That's your son... and your husband. Your husband, who happens to be the leader of The Six Guns. Don't try to think too hard on it now. Just take a moment and breathe, and let it sink in slowly."
Tears kept falling from Zia's face faster and faster. "Why?" Zia asks. "Why am I here? Why can't I be with my baby? Where is my son? Who am I? Why show this to me now when I can't remember anything still?"
"Zia, I know it's hard" Felicia says. "I'm here to help you. You've lost your memories due to physical trauma to the brain. But the lost memories can come back. I'm going to help you, Zia. I'm going to help you get your memories back and find your family." Zia couldn't say anymore words. She simply began to cry louder as she held onto Felicia and cried. "It's okay" Felicia adds. "You've helped provide me a chance at a new life, let me help you get back yours."
After a couple of hours, Felicia's husband came back home from watching some nearby territory. "Bad news" he says. "We have to leave."
"What? Now?" Felicia asks.
"No, tomorrow!" Henry replies. "Yes, now!"
"Is everything okay?" Zia asks.
"No it isn't" Henry says. "It's McNamara. He's sent his goons to come find us!"
"Zia! Help me pack some things!" Felicia adds. "We're leaving!"
"What about the house?" Zia asks.
"Leave it" Henry says. "With enough luck, it'll be here if and when we return."
"So what's so important about this guy anyways?" Blake asks as they move quietly through the prison.
"Well, he's got a connection to Ying" Siran answers. "It's in our personal interest to help out one of our own. Moreover, he's also got some kind of link to Xiaobai. The more resources we have to drawing him out, the better. If we're going to end the attacks on Japan, we'll have to make it swift so we can move on and find the rest of our crew."
"Alright, but why go this far?" Blake asks.
"Because intel is always a top priority" Haru replies. "We may not be prepared for whatever Xiaobai has in store. Every step taken to put this man down is a step in the right direction. However, seeing as how war has already broken out, it may be too late to gain ground. We don't have the luxury of waiting, we have to grab whatever assets we can along the way."
"It isn't much further now" Holly replies. "Stay on your toes and be careful."
"Stay on my toes?" Zia asks. "We're not here to rest?"
"We are here to rest" Henry answers as he tosses a backpack to Zia. When Zia opens the backpack, she saw it was full of dried food and water bottles. "This is one of our hideouts, just in case we needed it. However, there's no guarantee that it'll keep us hidden long. Worst case scenario, prepare to hit the ground running within the hour."
"I'll keep that in mind" Zia replies, "but what if-" and suddenly Zia feels a sharp pain behind her white eye, suddenly falling to her knees and wincing, sweating and grinding her teeth in pain, but in too much pain to scream for help. "A-a-a... a" Zia tries to speak but couldn't get any words out.
"Zia! What's wrong!?" Felicia asks as she rushes to her side.
"No no no, not now!" Henry says. "I think some of her memories are coming back, but it's causing her to relive some of her pain!"
"What do we do?" Felicia panics.
"We pray" Henry says. "That's all we can do."
As Zia remains kneeling on the ground, a memory comes back to her, but something totally unfamiliar to her. "I don't have much time left" a female voice calls out to her in an endless white void. This voice was Gaia's last time she ever spoke. "I'm already dying, I don't have anymore power to save anyone."
"But what's going to happen to the world when you're gone!?" Zia asks. "How can we save you?"
"You can't, I'm afraid" Gaia replies. "But I'm ready to face God. My job has come to an end. All but one thing. I can't save you as you are now, and I don't have time to explain anymore, but I can give you this." A shimmering light comes up from below Zia and floats before her.
"What is it?" Zia asks as she reaches out.
"We don't have time." Gaia says. "It's my last gift, and my last message. Tell Sudan I said I'm sorry."
The light flies into Zia and vanishes, as Zia panics. "You can't go now! We need you! Why give this to me!?"
"Because I already gave him my final gift to him." Gaia says. "I have this for you. More than anything, I do this out of my duty of being a mother. But I'm also giving this to you to get you out of this mess."
"What do you mean out of this mess?" Chao asks as the group finally opens up his cell, ready to escape. "If you came to break me out, you're wasting your time. There's nothing for me out there anymore." Chao was covered from his head to toes in scars, cuts, burn scars and scrape marks, all violently carved in to nullify his many many tattooed charms.
"This isn't a door to door freedom salesmanship, we're busting you out now." Siran replies.
"Do you even know who I am?" Chao asks. "Why I'm in here? Why would I go with you?"
"We know you're someone who is somehow connected to Ying and President Xiaobai" Hari says.
"Somehow?" Chao asks. "You really don't know a thing. I'm not somehow connected to those two. I'm directly connected to those two."
"We can play Twenty Questions later." Siran adds.
"Li Xiu Ying." Chao interrupts. "Birthplace, Hong Kong. Birthdate, January 16th, 2160." The team stopped in confusion as Chao continued. "Then there's me, Li Xiu Chao, and then Li Xiaobai... have you ever considered why we all have the family name Li?"
"Wait... you don't mean-" Mikoto says.
"I am Ying's father, and the brother of President Li Xiaobai." Chao answers. "Imprisoned for life in maximum security for reasons of treason. I led a militia against my own brother after he took a seat in the leading socialist party cabinet and took office as president. For trying to once again force Hong Kong to be part of China again, against our wishes, tearing families apart, forcing people to live under fear, for pushing and imposing his will over the people's, I fought my own brother and current president of the peoples republic of China. In turn, we lost Hong Kong, we lost our family, I lost my daughter, and I lost the right to live. Leave me and go on your way. I have nothing to give you out there."
"Even if it meant you had one more chance to free Hong Kong?" Holly asks.
"What do you mean?" Chao asks.
"This time, the people are fighting harder than ever before" Holly says. "If you really are a fighter, if you're a man, then why would you run from this opportunity?" As Holly speaks, she holds out some obsidian charms and holds them out for Chao to take.
Chao looks down for a moment, then asks "You, long haired one. Are you some kind of devil?"
"I've been called worse things" Holly replies.
"Well, devil lady" Chao says, then firmly grabs the charms, "you sure know how to pull an old man's strings."
"Good, now we gotta go" Siran says. As they start to move back through the way they came, a siren suddenly goes off. "Sssssshit!" Siran exclaims.
"We gotta go so soon?" Zia asks, holding an ice pack to her head.
"We've had enough time to rest. If we stick around too long, we will be in danger." Henry says.
"Remember anything yet?" Felicia asks Zia.
Zia looks down and thinks for a minute. "It's my last gift, and my last message" from Gaia rings through her head for a second, but the memory ends there. Shortly after, Zia shakes her head.
"Don't worry." Felicia says as she stands up and helps Zia to her feet. "It'll come eventually."
"Hm" Zia replies, unsure.