A groggy morning below deck

The sounds of churning gears and a distant whistling finally pulled Robin back into consciousness. Her entire body was sore, aching from head to toe, and when she say up she immediately realized just how nauseous and tired she felt.

Robin had had a hangover before, of course, and she reached for her rapier to cast a quick little enchantment that would lessen the strain only to feel her hand slap against the bare skin of her thigh, weapon and clothes nowhere to be found. She blinked her eyes open and began to take in her surroundings.

The space was dark, illuminated by sparsely situated gas lamps that cast and even, reddish glow over her and her comrades. As Robin counted them, all seven of the Bravos were present with her, though most of them seemed to still be ****. Each of them lay on a threadbare cot, little more than a handful of blankets folded over on themselves, and the floor beneath them was made of a dull, coppery metal. Robin idly wondered just how much of her soreness was from last night's events and how much was the result of sleeping in such uncomfortable conditions.

Three of the walls were solid sheets of that same metal, partitioned into sections by wood and screws, while the fourth was a series of vertical bars. The connected together with pipe-fittings and lug nuts, making the cage seem rather makeshift, though the even spacing left no gaps. A burly looking man with a shaved head and a generous mustache and beard stood across from the closed cell door, and he met Robin's gaze when she looked up at him. His face was serious and sturdy, but something in his eyes felt like it was staring right through her, and Robin found herself placing an arm over her bare chest and turning away with a blush.

While most of the other Bravos were still ****, Fuu, it seemed was already awake. She sat on top of her mess of blankets with her legs crossed beneath her, and her hands on her knees--a look of serene patience on her face, despite the circumstances.

Liv was awake too, or at least she seemed to be. It was hard to imagine that the way she had sat herself, crooked in the corner of the room, arms crossed over her legs would be a particularly comfortable way to sleep.

Turning her back on the guard, Robin approached Fuu and sat down in front of her, waiting patiently for her leader to recognize her presence and say something. When nearly a minute had passed with no response, she waved her hand in front of Fuu's face, then spoke in an urgent whisper. "Fuu! Are you in there? Pssst! What's the plan?"

Fuu's eyes opened instantly, and a gentle smile crossed her face. "Good morning Robin. How are you feeling?"

"Not the best," Robin said with a shrug. "I think I slept funny."

The amused snort that came from Liv assured her that the sniper was, in fact, awake.

"Anyways, what's the plan? How are we gonna bust out of here!" Robin tried to keep her voice down, but she had never been particularly good at containing her enthusiasm.

"I'm not sure we are," Fuu said. Her lips curled down in just the slightest hint of a frown, though her eyes showed more concern for Robin than they did sorrow or fear.

"What do you mean? We just have to kick open the door and go all hero on them!" Robin said, though a bit of her confidence was lost to Fuu's unwavering expression.

"I am not certain. But it is possible that this is exactly where we are meant to be." Fuu said.

"What do you...?" Robin started, but tapered off when it was clear that Fuu had more to say.

"We must recover the book, correct?" Fuu said. Robin nodded. "It is possible that being here in this chamber, captured by these pirates is simply a necessary step along the path to recovery."