Dion put his hand on his chin.
"It really would be better for you all to wait. I can sneak out just fine, but having you all with me would be much more troublesome."
Zephyr shook his head. "Sorry, no backing out. We're getting out of here now."
Dion turned around and continued to think.
Ray shuffled. "Um... can't we just run really fast?"
"Whatever 'fast' is won't be fast enough. If Kaelthar finds out were leaving before he anticipated, he'll crush us before we have a chance to run."
Lyra's eyes jutted open. "Then what if it wasn't just us? Do you know how many other prisoners are here?"
"W-well, this floor was only occupied by you. There's a few above us for members of the guild who were misbehaving and several below for other, more dangerous prisoners."
"Then what if we let them out too and used that as a distraction to escape?" Lyra looked smug.
"Did you miss the part where I said dangerous? And besides, we wouldn't be able to break them all out before we get caught."
"But I'm a fast runner, I could be in an out before they can even do anything."
Ray's hand shot up. "I could help! I could make her faster!"
Velocis' hand shot up. "Woah! Hey! I'm all for this plan but are you able to control how fast someone can go, Ray?"
The boy's hand slowly lowered. "U-uhmm... I can try."
Dion scratched his head. "Look, I don't know about this. I don't see the point of being so eager you can't even wait a few hours."
Serendelle quickly stepped into the conversation. "You're going back to Eyrndria, right? Lady April could help us get to Sachi, but her Zone..."
Dion seemed surprised by Serendelle's guess. "...It's my fault there's a war in her city. I'm just going to go stop it."
"And what about getting Sachi? She can take us there!"
From Dion's neck, Loki butted in. "She can take us there if she wants her whole Zone to get annihilated. He's likely in the Eternal Flame's realm of Hell, the moment any major god steps in there, he will know."
The group fell silent for a moment.
Dion spoke. "No, he won't. April still has one bargaining chip, doesn't she?"
It seemed like Loki remembered something. "...I suppose she does."
"Damn... Alright. Lyra, can you handle Ray's power?"
She was already stretching, and her bow was now in Zephyr's hands. "Of course I can."
Velocis waved his hands. "I think we're all forgetting the part where Ray said he can't control his speed!"
Ray stepped in front of him. "Velocis... I... I want to help!"
Velocis saw something new in Ray's eyes. Ray seemed determined.
Velocis stepped back.
Dion tossed Lyra the keys. "Here, each level has its own key. We're on four now, so keep up numbers each level down."
Lyra counted through the keys. "Ten... Eleven... Twelve!? There's that many floors?"
Dion nodded. "Be careful."
Lyra nodded. Truthfully, she wasn't sure that she could do this, but she didn't feel like she had time to waver. If she wanted to get Sachi back, she was going to need to take some risks.
She lowered herself down to give Ray a piggyback. "Ready?" Ray found a strap to sling the buckler around his back.
He gulped. "Y-yeah."
Ray climbed onto her back and wrapped his arms around her neck, bracing himself and clinging on for his life. The boy's arms felt suffocating, but the pressure was worse.
"I'll be waiting on the first floor, look up to the roof and I'll be perched on support beams of the ceiling. If you aren't out in five minutes... I'll meet you in Eyrndria. The Gods who can fly can come with me. You can wait at the top of the stairwell." He pointed to Velocis.
He rolled his eyes.
"C'mon." Dion began to move towards the stairs.
Everyone but the two followed him.
Lyra lined up in a running position like she had back in her days in track. She wondered if she'd feel that same rush.
Small bolts of lightning began to crackle across her body, and her foot smacked the ground. The force of her dash slammed the prison doors shut behind her.
The stairwell had been in the shape of a cube, meaning as she flew past the stairs she only had a moment to react before slamming directly into the wall. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough.
Her shoulder barreled right into the stone wall, knocking herself and Ray onto the floor.
They both winced in pain. "I-I'm sorry, Lyra!"
She could barely feel her arm, much less move it. But she still had one left.
She squat back down. "Don't worry, that was my fault. It won't happen again."
Hesitantly, he climbed back on her back. Once again, the cracks of lighting bounced over her body and she leapt. She was able to crash through the wooden door without much trouble and pulled out the keys from her pouch pocket.
Each cell held an occupant. An old man, a young orc, a strange looking fish creature, a harpy, and a frail young woman.
Despite getting up and walking towards Lyra, her eyes looked lifeless. Lyra stared back for a few moments. The door to the cell clicked.
"You can do this."
One by one, each cell clicked open. She turned around and sped back down the hall. She crossed the stairs and landed with her feet against the wall. She sprung back down the other set of stairs, crashing through the door again, and again.
"Ten..."
Each level down was filled with more restless individuals.
"Eleven..."
They looked at the blur that appeared in front of their cell for only a moment before disappearing down the hall again. Their door's slowly opened.
"Twelve!"
Shouts filled the halls and restless the prisoners only became more so. Her heartbeat drowned it all out.
The last cell clicked. When she looked up, she saw no one inside. Only a skeleton with a lab coat holding an open notebook. Even from a distance, she could make out the words that lined the top.
"To my sweet daughter."