Yue winced at the sound, too, and she understood. She would be just as upset if anything happened to Ryan. She relayed the information to her rider, and Ryan in turn translated it into something the humans would understand.

I am sure the humans will find her, she said to Calypso. She also moved closer to offer comfort. The loss of a rider, even temporarily, was hard.

Faith sat on one of the bunks, but she fidgeted every few seconds. She couldn't sit still.

Faith? Lapis sounded upset and worried. Faith, I miss you, I want you here so we can go back home.

I miss you too, Faith replied. Just stay calm, my lovely, we'll get out of this soon enough.

Promise?

I hope so, Faith said. She couldn't promise, so that was the best she could do. Finally, she went over to the 'mirror' and knocked on it gently. If it was a window, great. If not, she was the only one who would see her foolishness.

"I want to see Lapis," she said to the mirror, and whoever was on the other side. "I need to see her, I need to make sure she's okay, and she needs to see me."

Corey looked livid. "I bet Faith's there, too," he said. "They shouldn't have gone into town. You realize we have to get them back, now."

Which would be hard. Considering riders couldn't get into the town, and the government had weapons. Sure, not everything would work against a dragon, but if you put enough bullets in one the dragon was going down. This was very bad.

Someone on the other side pressed a button, turning on an intercomm system.

"That's not possible at the moment," the woman said. "Just stay in there, and stay calm. Someone will be in shortly to be sure your friend is alright."

The intercomm turned off again, leaving silence in the room.

Ryan nodded.

"I'm sure Faith and Xander would have stuck together, so they're both probably there," he said. Getting them back out would definitely be hard, if others couldn't even get into the city to help them.

Faith shook her head.

"No, I really need to see her," she insisted. "I don't know what might happen otherwise." Which was true. For all she knew, Lapis might get upset enough to start an earthquake or something.

Corey sighed. "Well, I guess we could try diplomacy." His tone of voice suggested what he thought of that idea, but he hadn't thought of anything better yet.

He briefly thought about sneaking in and taking them back, then dismissed that. Although maybe if they could get Lapis out first...

Vyren, try to find Lapis.

The dragon blinked but obeyed. Lapis? Where are you?

"I'm sorry," the woman said over the intercomm again. "That is not currently possible. Please sit down and remain calm."

Xander started stirring as the intercomm clicked off again, groaning quietly. "Ow..."

Vyren? Lapis looked in the direction of the weyr. Vyren! They have Faith, I don't know where she is, I can't get to her, they have me tied down with something, I don't know what it is, but it's stronger than rope-- She was rambling, but she didn't care. She was scared, she was worried, and she desperately wanted to get to her rider and make sure Faith was safe.

Faith looked over when she heard Xander waking up.

"Hey," she said, going over to sit next to her friend. "I'm guessing you kind of feel like crap." She sighed. "They won't even let me see Lapis, and she's practically upsetting herself worrying... We've only been in here for a little while."

"Because that's worked so well up until now," Ryan said dryly. "I doubt they'll even listen to diplomacy. I mean, the girls have been gone, what, a few hours at the most? I doubt the people who took them are really into listening to reason."

"Agreed," Corey said. "But we can't just go charging in there, either. They do still have guns, and I know they'll shoot at dragons. I'd rather not lose anyone doing this."

Whoa, calm down, Vyren interrupted. We're working on a way to get you out, don't worry. First, tell me where you are and we'll come help you. We can't help you if we don't know where you are.

"Putting it mildly," Xander said, putting one hand over her eyes. "If I ever see that sonovabitch again, remind me to tase him."

Oh yes. Xander was pissed and focusing on revenge so she wouldn't flip out.

"I'll even hand you the taser," Faith replied. She felt no mercy for these people anymore, and wouldn't stand in Xander's way.

I'm where I let Faith and Xander down, Lapis replied. She was still freaking out and keening softly. I was waiting for them, and these humans pinned me here... I can see the city from here, but it's still a ways away.

"We need to figure something out, though," Ryan said. "I doubt they'll just let the girls go."

"If they do, I'll be amazed," Corey muttered cynically. "Alright. Maybe we can knock out some of the guards and sneak in?"

Okay. Stay there and try to stay calm, Vyren instructed. Keep talking to me. We're coming to get you loose.

As soon as he relayed the information to his rider, Corey looked at Ryan and some of the other riders. "Lapis is tied up where she let the two girls off. Anyone up to go wreak a little havok and get her loose?"

Xander grinned at the thought, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. Then she sighed and sat up carefully, still holding her head.

"Never get tased. It's like having a massive hangover. It sucks."

They won't let me see Faith and they won't let her come out here and I don't know what's going on because they weren't causing any trouble so there's no reason for them to be IN trouble... Lapis was getting more upset, and the ground started to rumble slightly. It wasn't much, it was barely even noticeable, but it was there. And Calypso is going to be upset at me for letting Xander get taken.

"Yeah, note to self," Faith replied, grumbling a bit. She could feel Lapis getting upset, but she couldn't calm her dragon down when she wasn't even all that calm herself.

"A little havoc sounds like a good idea," Ryan replied. He knew Yue would appreciate the chance to really stretch her wings, and she hadn't used her natural ability in quite some time. He was sure she'd like the chance to do so.

We are coming now, Lapis, Vyren told her. Calypso is not mad at you. She wishes to eat the humans who took her rider, but she is not mad at you.

Corey nodded. "Good," he said, climbing up swiftly onto VYren's back. "Let's get going then."

Vyren took off, flying towards Lapis so he could help her calm down and get her loose.

Xander put her head down, pulling her knees up to her chest as she noticed where they were. "We're underground aren't we?" she asked, her voice very quiet.

Calypso is going to be so mad at me, Lapis insisted. I wasn't there to protect them. The faint rumbling in the ground started to get worse, and a few loose pebbles began to jump around.

"Yeah," Faith replied. "Not far, there's only about a foot or two above us, but we're underground."

Ryan nodded and quickly climbed up onto Yue's back. The white dragon spread her wings and took off after Vyren. She had no trouble keeping up with him; her wingspan was wider and she was more slender than he was, so she was able to move faster than he was if she wanted to.

Vyren wasted no time in finding Lapis, zeroing in on her and landing near her. He moved over and nudged her.

Look, you're making the ground shake, he said, a hint of approval in his tone.

Corey got off and started working on the ropes holding Lapis down. The knots were complicated, so he pulled a knife out of his boot and started sawing through them.

"Oh. Damn." Xander sighed and pressed her forehead into her knees, focusing on her breathing.

Ryan tapped Corey's shoulder and nudged him to the side as Yue came over and cut through the ropes with her claws. The ropes didn't stand a chance against claws designed to grab onto icy cliffs.

The rumbling in the ground faded as Lapis immediately stretched and shook out her wings.

I don't know where they took Faith, she said. She was still upset, but not quite as badly now that she wasn't tied down.

"Talk to me, sweetie, what's wrong?" Faith asked Xander. She didn't much care that they were underground. As long as Lapis didn't cause an earthquake bad enough to collapse the place or anything, she wasn't too worried about it. She was far more worried about getting out to get back to her dragon again.

That's okay. We can find them, Vyren said. We'll find them and take them back to the weyr and everything will be fine again.

Corey started looking around at the city. He could see most of it from his vantage point, and he knew all of it by heart, having walked it so many times. "There aren't many places they could have taken them," he said quietly. "There's a lot of residential, and then a lot of shopping areas and businesses. I don't think they'd go somewhere they'd be seen."

Xander had to swallow twice before she could speak. "Claustrophobic," she muttered. "When I was in the orphanage they used to lock us in closets as punishment."

"I don't know the area at all," Ryan said. "I'll follow you with Yue. Where else do you think they could have been taken?" Corey made good points. It wouldn't make sense to take the girls somewhere populated.

I'm never letting her come here again, Lapis vowed. Never. We have everything we need at home, there's no reason to come back here, and I'm not letting them take her from me again.

"Think about your room back home," Faith suggested. "Back in your home weyr. Or even back at the mountain weyr. There's not as much space there, but it's high up in the mountains."

Corey frowned. "The only place I can think of is the industrial area. I walked through there a couple times, unfortunately, and it was never very busy. They could have taken the girls there and not been seen."

Okay, Vyren agreed. No more trips to the city, for any rider. Think we should spread the word and tell the others?

"Yeah, but there's an open doorway," Xander said, keeping her head down. "I can see out, I know there's a way to get out, even back at the ocean weyr." She tried to take deep, calming breaths.

"Then we should go look there," Ryan said. "It's a starting point, at least, and it's not like we have any other leads."

Yes, Lapis agreed with Vyren. We have everything we need at home, there's no reason for anyone to come to the city, and I'm sure the others will agree with us about keeping their riders safe.

"The mirror is a window," Faith offered. "They're watching us through it, so there has to be another side." She wasn't sure how far away the door to the outside was, but she knew they weren't all that far underground.

Corey nodded. "How do we want to do this? Fly in, or try to sneak our way in?" He looked over at Ryan. Since he was the older rider, Corey would trust his judgment on that issue.

Precisely, Vyren grumbled. We should be getting Faith soon. You won't have long to wait.

Xander shook her head. She knew these things, logically, but fear wasn't logical, and she couldn't shove the fear in a little box and keep it there. So she just keept breathing, in and out, reminding herself that she still had Calypso, and she'd be out of there soon.

Ryan thought about it for a moment.

"Normally, I would say try to sneak in, to prevent anyone from noticing," he said. "But I think this time, it would be better to fly in. That way, we have Vyren and Yue with us. It would be counter-productive for us to get caught as well, and that's less likely if we go in with them."

There wasn't much more Faith could do for Xander at the moment, so she just settled down on the bed. She couldn't help but bite her lower lip in worry, though. She knew that Lapis would be frantic by now, and she hated worrying her dragon.

Corey nodded and passed the message on to Vyren, getting ready to go again.

We're going to get Faith and Xander, Vyren told Lapis. Would you like to come with us? He already knew what the answer was, but he extended the invitation anyway.

Xander wasn't quite curled up in a ball rocking herself back and forth, but it was close. She was waiting to hear something, anything, from either her dragon or the outside.

Lapis stretched her wings out, eager to get going. She needed to get to Faith, and nothing was going to stand in her way.

"Are you able to talk to Calypso?" Faith asked softly. "I was able to hear Lapis, but she's a mountain dragon, it might be easier to hear her through rock."

Ryan climbed back up onto Yue's back and settled between her shoulderblades.

Follow Lapis, he said. She can lead us to Faith and Xander.

Yue nodded and got ready to follow the mountain dragon.

Vyren followed Lapis as soon as she took off, not quite getting too close to clip her wings but close enough that they both looked bigger and more threatening. He didn't mind scaring the humans a bit.

"I can hear her, but only faintly." Xander shivered. "She sounds so much farther away..."

Are we close now? Vyren asked. He could see the humans below them, and he could faintly hear them running around like a herd of startled deer.

"It's probably the rock," Faith decided. She scooted a bit closer to Xander. "I can hear Lapis just fine, so it must be the rock and dirt interfering. You can probably hear Calypso just fine underwater, right?" Discussing the differences between the dragon breeds seemed to be a safe enough distraction for the time being.

We're close, Lapis replied, looking around frantically for a way to get to Faith. She wasn't sure if she could make the eath move again, but she would damn well try if she had to.

Ryan and Yue stayed fairly close to the two younger dragons, but nowhere near close enough to clip wings or anything. He didn't see anything yet, but he was pretty sure he'd know the industrial district when he saw it.

Xander nodded. "Yeah. Anywhere if I'm on a beach or near the water, I can hear her just fine. She's tested to see how far down she can go, and I can still hear her, even when she's a couple hundred feet down."

There. Vyren spotted an open door, almost directly above where the two girls. He didn't see any people around, but he figured they were close. He flew farther down, looking for the girls, any place they could be hiding.

"And I can hear Lapis just fine even when she's in her weyr in the mountain," Faith said. "We can ask Ryan and Yue if the same thing happens for them like in a glacier or something. It's an interesting theory."

Faith! Lapis called. She just knew that Faith was underground somewhere, she just needed to find her.

Faith jumped slightly and looked up at the ceiling of the room.

I'm here, she called back. They have us underground, Xander's here with me. That was all Lapis needed to hear; she immediately went to land. She would figure out how to get to her rider from there.