Plans and Ideals

In my last post, Otto was captured as a hostage. Now, it is past the anniversary of my first story (yesterday was the anniversary), and it is time for the Alphas to make plans about what to do...

 Plans and Ideals

 by Amy Jiao

 All the alphas sat at a round table, careful not to crush their seats. One seat was empty, however, and that was Otto's immense chair. All the alphas liked  him, and without him they felt empty.
" We must rescue him!" Marco shouted, pounding the table and spilling his clam chowder. Graham was eating alphabet soup, and shook his head wistfully.
"Marco, that was an ideal, and we do not do ideals in this case. We have made today Soup Day to clear our minds, not to discuss such a crime as ideals." Graham said. He had his own ideals to purse, but to rescue Otto so quickly was a betrayal of what they had planned. That, was simply an ideal to wipe out the emptiness. Lisa poured plenty of soy sauce and Kung Pow Yow! sauce on her Ramen. 
" We could melt his bonds with the proper spell..." she muttered, paying more attention to her cane and noodles than what she was saying. Lisa's suggestion was good, but Greely shook his head, his armor jingling.
"As far as I know, they've put up metal casing around Otto. We would have to melt it from the inside to melt his bonds, but that would roast him. Besides, they also put him to sleep to properly torture him. They could just freeze him again." Greely was an expert on dark magic, and knew how to turn the phantoms against each other. However, he apparently was befuddled.
" Tsk, tsk. I am not trying to be sassy but to be nice. We could just leave him there to rot. Otto isn't as powerful as Lisa or Greely, maybe even Amelia, who usually is with the phantom rebels. After all, it IS hopeless." Sophia muttered through a mouth full of barley noodles. Cornelius shook his head.
" Anyone who can call on the wisdom of dragons knows this: a host of a deity is a host of power. We cannot leave him to die, and it is very likely that they will ask a ransom for him. Otto is one that we indeed not intend to lose." Cornelius said.
" And I can feel the phantoms skimming his memories for intelligence on our whereabouts. Blood and dust shall spill on our lush land if they gain any more information," Harper whispered. The tufts of fur behind her head were raised, which meant Cithara helped her choose her words. Just then, as everyone finished their soup, the ground rumbled.
"W-what is happening?" Amelia cried, trying to finish her Marie's Chicken Pot Pie. A fissure opened up below them, and the Alphas fell into darkness.

 Amelia and Harper awoke to find themselves in two, black cages made from pewter. The other alphas were down below, encrusted in bronze and a thin layer of bubble, with phantoms sucking on the metal. They all were in positions of sleep, as if the phantoms had put them to sleep before putting the case on them. It looked like they were next, so they muttered some charms to protect themselves.
" Is this the phantom castle Otto and I spoke of?" Harper muttered to herself. Amelia nodded.
" Must be, since there are aplenty phantoms and obsidian in here." Amelia said, remembering the raid she and the rebels had done on the phantom stronghold. They groped with their minds for Otto, and found him in a gruesome spot, in Apophis's gullet. He was a bronze statue frozen in ice, inside the transparent belly of Apophis. Apophis was in a giant straw basket his minions had made for him, and apparently asleep, to torture Otto in his dreams.
"That," Harper whispered in a more hushed voice than normal, "confirms my question."

 The End Of The Beginning And To Be Continued...