Lubbock and Syura’s lifeless corpse started descending toward the ground. Lubbock took in his surroundings. He was about one thousand feet up in the air and there seemed to be no way of escaping falling to his death. He reflected on his time as part of Night Raid and was overcome by the good memories that he shared with each of its members. He would miss them dearly, but Najenda was the one he cared for most. He admired her in every way and would always love her. He was about to accept his fate when suddenly he thought of all he had left to do.
“No.” he said aloud, “I won’t die here. I can’t. I have to get Tatsumi and make it back to Najenda. I have to continue fighting for all the people oppressed by the emperor. I won’t fail anyone! Not while I still have crosstrail!” Lubbock had to act fast or he would fall right into multiple spears, which would certainly kill him. He thought of something that could work. He never tried it before but he had few options left. He swiftly crafted a small cushion for himself, which provided enough protection to crush the spears and break his fall. ‘That was a close one’ Lubbock thought to himself. He unwove the cushion he made and retracted the thread back into Crosstrail. ‘Now, to save Tatsumi.’ Tatsumi looked up to see what all the commotion was about.
“Lubbock! You’re alright!” Tatsumi exclaimed. Lubbock looked to his right to see a tied up Tatsumi and two imperial guards standing on either side of him.
“It’s a member of Night Raid!” One of the guards cried out. “Get him!”
Lubbock rushed towards the guard who had just spoken. The guard ran to meet him but was taken aback when Lubbock flipped over him. Lubbock then wrapped a singular piece of string around the guard's neck and sliced through it making the guard cough out blood and fall to the floor. Lubbock had to catch his breath. ‘Shit’ He thought ‘That stab wound hurts more than I thought. Hopefully I can take out the second guard.’ The second guard readied his spear. Lubbock extended his string and dodged the guard’s first attack by sliding between his legs. The guard attempted to stab Lubbock in the chest but Lubbock was quick to roll over and kick the guard’s leg. The guard was helpless as he fell right into Lubbock’s string, cutting him in half.
Lubbock pushed the body parts off him, retracted his string, and got up as he grunted. “Did you really think I was gonna be taken out that easily Tatsumi.” Lubbock smirked. Tatsumi smiled at his friend but then was quickly overtaken by dread. “Lubbock Lookout!”
Lubbock quickly turned around to see the immense General Budo towering over him. “Oh shit” he said aloud. Before Lubbock could do anything, the two parts of Budo’s imperial arms collided, creating a shockwave that electrocuted Lubbock while sending him flying. He collided with the ground and fell limp.
“Lub! No!” Tatsumi called out in desperation.
Budo walked over to Lubbock and checked for a pulse. “Hmph. Your friend is alive. I’m surprised that he is only unconscious and not dead. But no matter. Neither of you will be alive for long. As members of Night Raid, both of you must be executed to weaken the resolve of the ones who threaten this great empire.”
Four more Imperial guards arrived at the scene. “You, Take both of these revolutionaries into custody. I will inform the minister about this incident and about his dead son.”
“Yes, General Budo.” The Guards said in unison. They grabbed hold of Lubbock and Tatsumi and dragged them to a prison cell. They were both thrown to the ground as the guards laughed at their misfortune. ‘Lubbock’ Tatsumi thought 'How the hell are we gonna get out of this?’