[Episode] The Secret & The Recipe

Although the Briss Kingdom should look familiar to Noah, the bombing here undoubtedly changed the atmosphere. Knights and marines joined forces to tighten security, which only spurred the Revolutionaries to act more vigorously. Their information network was robust, allowing many of their sympathizers to enter the country if necessary.

Noah, after meddling in the affairs of the mafia on Baterilla, was one of the individuals sent to strengthen the NRA's presence in the kingdom. Unlike other personnel, though, Noah had an easier time entering the kingdom. While the island might not be where he was born, it was still the place he lived in the past years. His parents were still operating their family’s smithy, which he used as a cover story by claiming to return from his journeyman's travel to attend to family affairs. Naturally, he kept his true intentions hidden: keeping a watchful eye.

While he had already spent a while on the island, this time was mostly used to catch up with his parents. As sympathizers for the NRA, they frequently gained intel. Similarly, as they tried to stay on good terms with other shop owners in Bleu Fontaine, they managed to hear about many a rumour naturally. It was just a matter of time until Noah felt up to date with the events that happened during his absence.

However, while Noah might have heard about the bombing resulting in the death of multiple civilians in the news, as a citizen of the kingdom he naturally felt a connection to the victims of said bombing. While he could not do much, he could at the very least light a candle in honour of the dead at the erected mural.

As such, the redhead could not but notice the actions of a local guard. Initially, Noah tried to ignore it as best as he could to honour the dead properly. However, as time went by, it became increasingly difficult to turn a blind eye to the scene. Realizing how some of the faces looked familiar, Noah walked over and attempted to intervene.

"Mister Myers, what a pleasant surprise to run into you here! I wanted to inform you that your order is completed- whenever you have a moment to spare, please visit our smithy and verify if the blade satisfies your needs." Without waiting for any reaction from the guard, Noah quickly shook the Knight’s hand. Looking at the paint on his clothing, the redhead soon continued, hoping to de-escalate the scene any further.

"You know what, why don’t you go right about now? I’m sure my mother would have a trick up her sleeve to remedy the paint on your uniform. Unless you want to continue working in this getup, but I’d be pretty sure the crown would dislike you representing them in this state, right?"

Afterwards, he turned around to offer Sabian a helping hand, as well as check in on both Kathy and the blond man. "Everything alright with you both?"

Before Noah could properly process what happened around him, the blond man already attacked the guard. One moment Noah thought he would get an answer, but the other Myers went down. The attempt to solve the situation without further escalation seemed destined to have failed. As a result, Noah stood perplexed for a moment, thinking what he should do.

"Yeah, totally cool." Noah was not happy with the way the situation went by and as such spoke with a hint of sarcasm, though it could easily be missed. There goes his plan of not attracting attention. Not that he was unfamiliar with getting on peacekeepers’ bad sides.

At the same time, Noah could not deny that the blonde’s energy rubbed off on him. As far as he could tell, the knight did get what he deserved. While Noah did not necessarily sign up for attacking island peacekeepers so soon, his metier somewhat expected him to do so. Thus, it was just a matter of time until the redhead warded some of the peacekeepers off, his sword in hand.

When Kathy showed them a way into an alleyway, the revolutionary did his best to keep her safe, giving her the time she needed to address Sabian. "If you want to keep her safe, get back before this place is swarmed with guards! Right now, it’s so easy to label her an accomplice in whatever we are doing here." Upon seeing how the blonde finally did retreat, Noah felt relief, though it did not last long.

Noah would soon learn the name of his partner in crime- Sabian. Unfortunately for the young man, it happened exactly in the way he least expected. So much for discretion. Turning to his group, he took a moment to introduce himself. "Why don’t you announce your affiliation more loudly? Always nice to run into a comrade, though I would’ve preferred more peaceful circumstances. Noah Lacroix, by the way."

After a moment, Noah continued. "Any ideas about what we should do now?" Not knowing what he got himself into, Noah tried not to worry too much about what would await him.

With introductions out of the way, the trio soon navigated through the capital’s streets. For Noah, the scenery belonged to everyday beauty, given how long he had lived here. As such, Noah looked around, focusing more on the people they passed and saw. Reinforcements for the guards should be on their way to the mural and Noah could imagine more pleasant people to run into right now.

Unaware of the gathering of marines, the trio found shelter in Kathy’s bakery. Entering through the backdoor might not be the most glamorous entrance, but was nonetheless a pleasant surprise for the senses. As soon as Noah passed the shop, he noticed how the smell of freshly baked pastries lingered in the air, saw glimpses of skilfully decorated cakes, and when he walked into the kitchen, the scent of different spices mixed to invoke nostalgic images of his childhood when his mother was baking with him.

"No need to apologize." Looking around, the messiness was hard to overlook, but natural where one worked. Subduing his desire to roll up his sleeves and start cleaning a bit to distract his mind, he rather wished to focus on more urgent matters at hand. "That’s already a thing of the past, Sabian, don’t worry too much about it. It might have happened suddenly, but if that Knight would’ve been an even bigger pest, I’d probably have done the same." As the stress left his body, Noah’s mood brightened.

Shortly after, Kathy served some sweets and Noah gladly took some after the extra invitation. After the first bite, he could say that they did not just look good but had the taste to go along. "I guess I don’t need to say how good they are when looking at a certain someone's appetite?" For now, his mood was still good, but something was occupying Noah’s mind, which made him worry.

"Kathy, Mr Myers happens to know where you are living, right?" Noah disliked thinking about it, but the perceived peace they had here right now might just be the calm before the storm. "I don’t want to be a party pooper, but maybe we should think about our next move? I wouldn’t be surprised if some marine would knock on your door sooner or later."

Upon thinking of possibilities, Noah quickly came to one idea. "It might not be ideal, but I guess we could crash in my parents’ place. This could at least give us some breathing room." It might not be the best possible outcome, especially if Myers remembers what Noah had said or somebody else of the guards recognized who Noah was, but his family did house revolutionaries in the past and was thus used to covering for them. If Noah could name somebody who could easily coax guards, it would be those two.

But as Kathy was raising her voice, Noah intended to listen. Sabian asked what the redhead wished to know as well.

Kathy was preparing some tea and Noah decided just to watch. How she moved as if she was in a trance made Noah decide not to pry further. Whatever had happened to her father still seemed to weigh on her mind. The young woman would answer whenever she would be ready to.

A short while later, Kathy simultaneously started talking about what happened and continued in her preparation of the tea. After Noah heard what she had to say and was offered a cup of tea, a simple “thank you” was hard for him to formulate. Instead, when he grabbed the cup of tea, he tried to change his expression to a short but cheerful smile even though it did not manage to reach his eyes, before his head went down again, as did the corners of his mouth.

In the time Kathy described some of the news happening here over the past few weeks, the redhead was quiet. His eyes rested on the cup of tea in his hands, watching the waves he created with his gentle blowing to make the drink cool down faster. As he watched those small waves, he almost managed to put himself in some form of trance while he tried to process the information he was given.

For him, the bombing which the authorities blamed on the NRA was already old news. He would not believe the official version, as the revolutionaries he knew simply operated differently. He would only accept this story as true if some of his superiors would say they ordered it. On the island, there were other targets his companions could have targeted. Nevertheless, the senseless loss of so many human lives was just depressing, especially when meeting somebody of the bereaved. Sabian said what Noah had in mind, which made the redhead continue to listen instead.

Hearing about Jacq, then, was news for Noah. Maybe this was common knowledge for supporters of the revolution or local business owners like his parents, but at least in the time he had spent here recently, nobody had briefed him about this scheme yet. At least when it came to his parents, Noah could understand this. They knew him well and could tell that he would attempt to confront Jacq, even if he would lack the power alone to change anything.

After a moment of silence, Noah ultimately raised his voice. His eyes were no longer glued to the cup in his hands and rather looked at his companions, with focus returning to the young man. "I’m so sorry for what happened, Kathy. Sabian pretty much said whatever I had on my mind, but let me still add one thing." For a moment Noah paused, now managing to produce a genuine and heartfelt smile. "I don’t know if you need it, but I’m sure my parents would gladly take you in if you ever feel the need to back down for a while."

Meanwhile, Kathy managed to smile in response. "Thank you, Noah. I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need an asylum." Afterwards, Noah took a piece of paper he saw lying around and quickly tried to design a crude map of where his family’s smithy would be, while also explaining the way, especially for Sabian as he might not be as familiar with the capital’s streets as Kathy. "In case we end up being forced to part ways: This would be where I live and where you could find shelter. I’m sure you can convince my parents that I send you if you mention me."

Shortly after, when Noah wished to address Jacq, destiny seemed to have other plans. At the shop’s main entrance, rhythmic knocking of fists on wood, paired with shouting, disturbed the pause. It looked like the marines had caught up. "Great, so much for planning in peace. Unless you want to confront them here and now or have other ideas, I’d offer to buy some time so that you two can relocate. I know the area here and should be able to shake off some pursuers."

Noah moved downstairs, mentally preparing himself for the confrontation at hand. He did not plan to actively battle every soldier the authorities had sent to deal with the trio. If anything, he would try to keep them busy for a while so that the other two could escape, before trying to surprise the soldiers to start his escape soon after. But, as Sabian soon declared, he had no intention of running away.

[npc=navy]”Open the door! This is your last warning!”[/npc] Just when Noah got ready to respond, Kathy declared how she would be the one to deal with the authorities at the front door. As time was starting to run out, Noah complied and grabbed Sabian. "Just don’t be reckless, okay?" Before leaving through the backdoor, he once again heard Kathy. "Don’t worry, I will. Just look after each other for me, will you?" Her words were accompanied by a quick smile before she turned to the front door. "I’m coming, alright? Gosh, could you please be careful and not damage my door?"

As the redhead left the shop behind him, he quickly lost track of what Kathy was saying. For now, he had to keep trust in her. Noah led the way through desolate streets to reduce the risk of encountering patrols. After a short while, he said a few words. "Sorry for dragging you away, but I’m sure we can still bail her out if need be." After a short break, he continued. "Which Sea are you from, by the way? While I wouldn’t say that any noble-run country is a tyranny per se, I still have to hear of the odd one out. So, I guess you have a point?"

After a few more minutes in which Noah carefully looked around, he eventually stood before his home. "Here we are." Noah quickly entered the shop, announcing his return with a quick "I’m home!", before he ran into his mother. From the smithy, Noah could hear how his father was working. "That’s perfect. You never know who’s listening in. If you would follow me, please?" Before his mother could answer or react in any way, she was already gently pushed forward. "Oh, that’s Sabian McQueen, by the way, also working for the NRA.” For a short moment, she was given the chance to welcome the guest. "Now, about what happened…"

Soon after, Noah reported about the events he witnessed today while watching his parents’ reactions. Both were relatively old, in their late fifties, with their hair slowly turning grey. His father was still in good shape thanks to all the manual labour he did, while his mother was usually the more talkative one, as she was running the shop. At first, Noah thought his father’s hammering would make it easier to talk openly about what happened, but the more he heard what his son had done, the slower he started to smith. "So, that’s about it."

"You don’t happen to know anything about this Jacq, do you?" Noah could see how his parents were unwilling to talk about this topic, but his mother was ultimately the first to break the silence. ”Oh, honey, what have you gotten yourself into now? That’s nobody you want to deal with.” As a response, Noah was just smiling. "Well, you could maybe manage to convince me to stay low, but I’m sure somebody here will go if you warn him or not." While talking, he pointed towards Sabian. "Everything you can tell us could make our work easier. Oh, and could you please contact someone to see if everything’s okay with Kathy? This would take another burden off our shoulders."

"Oh? Guess I didn’t make it apparent enough." Noah started speaking in a short moment of silence. "I was pretty much raised by supporters of the revolutionary movement. I guess after they found and took me in as their child, growing up with their point of view, it’s natural that I took up arms." The redhead did not make it explicit, but technically he was adopted as well. With no idea who his biological family might be, Noah probably had a more cheerful upbringing than other children in similar situations.

"Though I’m technically still a newbie. I started working in the field a few weeks ago and today’s events may shape to be one of my first missions. So, you may very well be much more experienced than I am!" To undermine his words, a cheerful smile stretched from ear to ear on his face. While it was just a short gesture to lighten the mood, Noah quickly turned serious again when his father talked about Jacq. The more the boy heard about this figure, his dislike for him just continued to grow.

"I’ve got your back, Sabian. I’m sure that I will be able to find some fancy descriptions to report whatever will happen to Jacq." One of the corners of his mouth went up in a grin to undermine the statement, just to quickly go down again when an uninvited guest entered the shop. A marine officer confronted the group. Intuitively, Noah tensed up, his hand moved to Kanshou, while molten anger rolled through him. Noah would not hesitate to confront a marine if he had to, but, if possible, he would prefer to keep his family out. Thus, if glances could kill, Sweetwater would already lay dead on the ground.

"What do you think you’re doing here?" The redhead did not even try to hide his animosity while spitting these words out. The boy just waited for the right moment to strike. However, the captain did not seem to take the bait, barely showing any interest in Noah. “Oh, please. If I had any ill intent in mind, I wouldn’t be talking to you here, but interrogate you in some marine dungeon.” To further rub salt into the wound, Sweetwater just waved in Noah’s direction, signalling he was interested in Sabian. He didn’t even look in Noah’s direction.

Before Noah could commit any form of stupidity, his father acted and just placed one of his hands on Noah’s shoulder. Seeing his father’s eyes formulating the simple ”don’t” without it even leaving his mouth, was everything the redhead needed to snap out of his rage. For now, he settled down to observe. Watching the marines’ every move and listening in to the conversation between Sweetwater and Sabian. Mentally, he prepared to strike whenever he heard something he actively disliked.

The next time Noah raised his voice was when the conversation between both men came to a temporary end. "Let’s assume that we would cooperate. How can we be sure that this won’t be an elaborate trap?" After what felt like an eternity, Sweetwater finally gazed at Noah. “That’s the neat part. You have to take my peaceful arrival as a sign of my good intent. Remember, cooperation can be beneficial for both of us.” An allusive smile crept over Sweetwater’s lips, which Noah tried to mimic to the best of his abilities. Imagining how the officer’s head rolled over the floor certainly made it easier.

After Sweetwater’s proposal had time to sink in, the situation, at least from Noah’s perspective, started to calm down. His lips were not moving, eyes fixating on the soldiers, but Noah stopped being on edge. When he was offered a handshake the boy responded, but kept quiet. He might not be fully happy with the circumstances leading to this cooperation, but he definitely did not need to rub more salt into the wound. Shortly after, the conversation focused on Jacq again, which the redhead did not want to miss.

Apparently, Jacq moved his base into the remains of the embassy which was the target of the recent bombing. Of course, bribing or recruiting enough officials seemed to ensure that his plans could work undisturbed. "And it’s not as if he has to fear that some unlucky passersby walk into his territory, given how tightly supervised this area is." When Noah heard about the precautions Sweetwater initiated, regarding Kathy, the redhead felt at ease. He just hoped that this would be no ruse.

Shortly after, a plan was made on how the alliance would handle Jacq. Noah just wanted to explain the plan to Sabian again, when a duo of soldiers entered the shop. As Noah should soon learn, they had bad news to tell. Kathy was kidnapped and brought to the embassy’s grounds- so much for her being safe. Hardly any time passed before Sabian already stormed away. A sigh of resignation left Noah’s lips. This rash temper was definitely something Noah would need some more time to adjust to.

"I better go after him and try to convince him not to do something he will regret later!" Before someone else could say anything else, Noah started to already leave his family’s shop. The only thing he could still hear was a ”Stay safe!” his mother quickly sent his way.

Guessing Sabian would directly run to the embassy, Noah quickly sprinted in the same direction and soon managed to close the gap to the blonde. "Hey, Sabian, calm down! If you just storm through the front door, we have no idea what they’ll do to Kathy! Any plan would be better than none right now!" Noah temporarily paused to catch his breath, before he continued. "I want to save Kathy, just like you. But if you have to charge head first into trouble, wait at least a few minutes so that I can try to reach Kathy via another way. If we both run into the trap, we do exactly what they want- allowing them to use Kathy against us. And I assume you don’t want to do as they tell you to, right?"

Noah did not know what he should expect after starting his chase, but the fact that Sabian was not listening was no surprise. After running his chest widened and shrank in quick succession as his lungs hastily tried to supply his body with oxygen, small droplets of sweat formed on Noah’s forehead, but the boy did not intend to show a sign of weakness. As soon as the blonde grabbed Noah by his collar, he simply returned the look, unfazed.

"And what do you plan to achieve like this?!" Trying to keep his cool as best as possible, Noah started one last attempt to reason with his companion. "Comply and you invite them to do with Kathy whatever they want. Rob them of the illusion that they have a trick up their sleeves, take back control, and you can win the upper hand." While talking, Noah had to try to ignore the irony he found in his words- the 101 he heard about frequently on how to deal with terrorists, a principal some marines might use when dealing with his companions. "The moment you charge through their front door you start to threaten Kathy’s life- not sooner!"

Alas, as luck would have it, Sabian decided to follow his instincts and not listen to reason. Noah suspected that the blonde would act this way, but it nonetheless damped his mood. While his body had some time to regain stamina in this short quarrel, the burden that was placed on Noah weighed all the more. "If you think kamikaze is the way, then so be it…", mumbled Noah after Sabian was already gone while gently massaging his temples.

When Sweetwater signalled Noah to follow, the revolutionary simply complied. Right now, he felt too exhausted to show resistance. While he still felt some resentment regarding the officer for entering his home uninvited, Noah tried to cooperate as best as he could. Right now, the enemy of his enemy was a friend. "With the clock now ticking, anything you can tell me about their base layout?" If possible, Noah would rather not search aimlessly through the enemy's base. While he assumed most of the forces would try to deal with Sabian, the few men left behind could still stall Noah.

Instead of answering immediately, Sweetwater started to unfold a plan on a table in front of the men. “While I am unable to offer a guarantee on the layout, that’s roughly the information we could gather so far.” In the time Sweetwater was talking, he started to mark a few places. “This should be where Sabian will most likely end up in his rampage. I suggest that’s precisely where you avoid to be for now and focus on other tasks.” The officer was now pointing to two points next to each other. “This should be somewhere you could enter discretely, based on our research. In addition, I heard how that’s roughly where they imprison people, so you could probably find your friend there.”

"And I guess that’s where Jacq’s office is and where I should place the faked evidence?" Noah tried to speed up the process a bit. Sweetwater simply nodded and handed a small bundle of documents over. The redhead took a quick look at it, before storing it away. “Store those somewhere we can find it and as soon as the signal is sent, we will make our move. Just be safe and keep your friend at bay, will you?” Noah nodded before he was on his way. While he only knew Sabian for a few hours, keeping the blonde at bay might be easier said than done.

Feeling how time was working against him, Noah soon hurried to where he should find a tunnel to enter Jacq’s base. While the redhead did not sprint to save energy, as soon as he entered more desolate areas of the city, he transformed into his hybrid form and moved over the rooftops. Up there, he could avoid running into knights, while simultaneously using his wings a bit more easily to move from rooftop to rooftop. Similarly, he could catch a glimpse of the chaos Sabian was creating- at least that was the conclusion Noah reached after seeing a dino near the embassy.

Shortly after, Noah arrived at his destination. When he saw two guards watching over the entry point he wished to use, the revolutionary concluded that he was at the right place. Catching his breath one last time, Noah soon charged down, knocking the guards out before they realized what happened to them. "Let’s see what awaits me inside."

The two guards in front of Noah’s feet had different clothing, which prompted Noah not to change his outfit. He concluded that it would be at least possible not to be identified as an intruder immediately if he walked into the base now. Well, assuming there was no other form of identification the redhead was not aware of. A transformation into his human self later, he opened the door.

The first few steps Noah could take were uneventful. Luckily for him, the way forward was relatively straightforward and security surprisingly thin- probably thanks to Sabian’s rampage. A few moments later, one last door was all that blocked him from his destination. His hand wrapped around the door handle, Noah took one final breath and hoped he would not run into a trap. With a swift movement, he swung the door open and quickly passed, fully entering the enemy’s base.

Noah looked around and tried to find any oddity, but soon the silence set in around him. No guns aimed at him and no shouting inquired what he was doing here. "Good, where to now?", mumbled Noah. He took a moment to orient himself before he found his way. [npc=misc]”Hey, you, boy. What do you think you are doing down here? Forces are required at the entrance!”[/npc] Great, as luck would have it, somebody had to run into Noah.

"Oh, I’m sent to fetch more supplies. We don’t want our gunners to run out of ammunition now, don’t we?" Noah pointed with one thumb in the direction he wished to go, while slowly walking towards the man. He doubted his little trick would work, so he wanted to close as much of the distance to his target as he could right now in peace. [npc=misc]”Wait, isn’t the storage-“[/npc] When Noah realized how his lie started to bust, he quickly moved forward and overwhelmed the man. Calming down for a moment, he quickly continued his trip.

Without any further obstacles, Noah managed to reach his destination. He soon entered a room full of cells and found a group of men attempting to take a woman away. Not just any woman: Kathy, though the young lady did her best to resist. "Oh no I won’t. Hands off me, creep!" Still standing in the doorway out of sight, Noah could see how the pastry chef kicked one of the men who tried to enter her cell. ”Calm down, girl. I’m just doing my job. Stop resisting!” When Noah looked more closely, he thought that this voice sounded familiar, just to realize that he run into the man already today: Jonathan Myers.

As it seemed, Sweetwater was not lying when he had said that Myers was working for Jacq. And it seemed that he still was not done with Kathy. Before the situation would end in unnecessary harm for her, Noah started to quietly walk into the room, placing his hand on his sword. When Kathy happened to realize that Noah was on his way, she visibly panicked when yet another man entered the room. However, Noah quickly smiled and put his other index finger in front of his mouth to signal that she should be quiet, before seeing how she quickly calmed down after comprehending how help was coming.

When Kathy pushed a guard away once more, Noah started to strike. "Hands off her!" Drawing his sword and swiftly starting an attack managed to not just surprise the group of guards but was already enough to send the small fry flying. In the end, Myers was the only one who managed to draw his sword in time to parry. ”Who do we have here now?” Visibly annoyed by the sudden change in circumstances, Myers’ gaze sent daggers in Noah’s way. ”Wait, I know you! You are one of the punks I’ve run into today!”

Noah pushed Myers away. Luckily for them, the room was spacious enough to allow both men to swing their weapons. "Yes, me. It’s called customer service. I still got a blade to deliver." Noah charged forward, starting a barrage of strikes which Myers still managed to parry, but failed to immediately counterattack. "Where should I put it? Any preference?" For a moment, a coltish smile crazed Noah’s lips as he did his best to mock his opponent.

A short while later Myers was enraged enough and started his attack. Now, Noah was the one on the defence, having to take a beating. Being indoors was something which hindered Noah more than he would like to admit. In other scenarios, he could simply turn into his beast form to overwhelm many opponents he had had in the past. Unfortunately for him, a closed base was not the ideal setting for a giant bird to manoeuvre in. ”Is that all you got? Ha! Thinking of challenging us with that pitiful performance. Time to put you in your place!”

The next time Myers attacked Noah did not parry but jumped back. Deciding to quickly end the battle, he switched to his hybrid form. "Of course that’s not all. Why should I start with my trump card?" He disliked the idea of reinforcements arriving, so he hoped this change would quickly end this battle. Now, as a human-falcon hybrid his attacks packed a bigger punch but, more importantly, his appearance now additionally intimidated Myers. He could not only focus on Noah’s blade but had to be aware of his talons now too, as they could easily tear through flesh as well. A few combos later, the battle came to an end when Myers was sent flying into the wall behind him.

Noah looked around, checking if any more attackers arrived and when he was sure that none were there, he turned back into his human self. Barely a moment later, Kathy hugged him. "Are you alright?" The young lady looked Noah up and down, worrying about the wounds he received in the clash. "Don’t worry about me, I’m used to it. Are you hurt?" Now, Noah was the one checking her, just to realize that she might be in better shape than he was. Both quickly updated each other on what had happened, before they were already on their way again.

Noah took the lead to handle the occasional enemy they ran into, as they still had a mission to fulfil. Well, one other than escaping successfully. They now headed towards Jacq’s office to plant the evidence as requested. As Noah had feared, resistance increased the nearer they got to the office. But, as he immediately switched into his hybrid form, barely any of the grunts managed to withstand an attack if they even engaged him to begin with. A short while later, they reached their goal.

"If you find any suspicious-looking documents, take them. I don’t fully trust this Sweetwater and want something up our sleeves if need be." As instructed, Kathy quickly looked around, while Noah did his part. In front of the desk, he first took a moment to one more time inspect the faked evidence he was given before putting it in a container. In this hurry, he could not find anything suspicious and thus hoped that it would simply end well. Fetching his Den Den Mushi, he quickly contacted Sweetwater. "Your turn’s up, we’re getting out of here." Before the officer could respond, Noah hung up and signalled for Kathy to follow him.

"Sorry in advance already, I’ll probably grab you soon. If I do this, hold on tight- I plan to fly as soon as we’re outdoors. Sabian was alone long enough." Heading to Sabian might not be the brightest idea, but Noah wanted to make sure that the blonde was still alive. And it was not as if Mr. McQueen had a monopoly on making dumb decisions, right?