"You wanna eat now?"
"..."
There was no way Jean could even try to respond. He had to try to understand that woman he was trapped in. Why was she doing all this? From what Jean could observe, Grandis didn´t have anything to gain out of all this. At least not in the way Jean would have expected her to. She even seemed to be reluctant to kidnapping Nadia and stealing Blue Water. When he first saw this woman and experienced her temper, he thought she was an arrogant woman, doing everything to achieve her own goals. But it seemed that there was something else behind all this. No. It was obvious that something didn´t feel right about the entire situation. It appeared that Grandis was being forced into doing all this. It would have explained her reluctance and her talking about these strange reasons. Although he felt sorry for Grandis, it was not her he was worried about. Instead, he realized that Nadia was in grave danger, and it seemed to be worse than he originally thought. Much worse. It was clear that someone was behind all this. Someone dangerous. Someone merciless. And this person obviously hired Grandis and her gang in order to get the girl and Blue Water. Jean shuddered at the thought of her being in this enigmatic figure´s grip.
"HELLO! Are you listening to me?! I told you to get back into my stomach!"
"No."
"What?! No?!"
"I´m much rather die inside you instead of receiving food from you out of pity. From a foul person like you."
"WHAT?!"
What seemed like an impudent behavior of Jean was instead a clever attempt to play a trick on Grandis and to make her change her mind. Yet these weren´t mere words. Jean really meant what he said, at least everything concerning Nadia and what he would do for her.
"I thought you were a good person. But obviously, you are a vile and evil beast."
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
"Me? It´s not me who should be afraid of daring too much. How dare you to do such terrible things to an innocent girl like Nadia? I know that someone is behind all this. And I know that this person is your employer, and he certainly won´t treat Nadia properly. I don´t even want to think of what this person could be doing to her..."
"..."
"I see. So I was right. There really is someone else behind your attempts to kidnap Nadia."
"..."
"Whatever. No matter who this person is, he will never get his dirty hands on Nadia. Never."
Grandis didn´t answer at Jean´s words. She was even impressed by his speech. Despite him being weakened so much, he was still able to put up such a convincing and passionate speech, with a firm voice. It was obvious to her that he loved this Nadia more than anyone else. And Grandis really would have wanted to let them alone. But she couldn´t. She had no choice but to fulfill her duties. If she failed...Grandis didn´t even want to think about what could happen then. Not only to her, but to Hanson and Sanson as well.
"I will never forgive you for what did to Nadia and for what you´re planning to do. It doesn´t matter what your reasons are or whether they´re valid. Nothing gives you the right to act like that. No matter what the circumstances are or what situation you are in. The way you´re acting remains selfish and wrong. And I´d much rather starve and die in here than being part of your fiendish plot. I won´t be your hostage, trust me. As I told you earlier, I´d choose death over me being part of a plot to harm Nadia. Living on and knowing that it´s my fault that Nadia had to suffer is far worse than dying."
So this young geeky boy would have much rather died than playing the hostage as Grandis had intended. Of course she was surprised that a 14 year old boy was so strong minded and determined. But not only that. His love for Nadia easily surpassed anything she had ever experienced. And she was able to sense Jean´s honesty. He didn´t say these words just like that. He was willing to do everything for Nadia, even if this meant his death.
And Jean´s love for Nadia that let him overcome his physical weaknesses and resist Grandis´ plans. Yes, his doubts about Nadia might have been terrible, but they actually made his feelings for her even stronger in the end. So now, even losing his life in order to protect Nadia seemed to be the least thing he could do for her.
"But...you can´t do that! You...you..."
Grandis was far too confused to answer the boy inside her intestines. Imagining that this brave person might actually die inside her own body brought up feelings of guilt within her soul. That would have been a sin she could not have lived with. And the situation became even more problematic for her.
"I´ll never...let you...use me...as a tool...to harm Nadia..."
With these words, Jean, who was on his knees before, fell onto the ground entirely, having lost all his remaining energy with his emotional speech. With his face lying on the soft, pink ground and his body being in terrible pain, he thought that his end would come soon. It looked like his frail body couldn´t take all this anymore. Come to think of it, falling down Grandis´ throat, being thrown around inside her stomach and being washed into her intestines was just the tip of the iceberg. Ever since his shrinkage he had been exposed to all kinds of dangers frequently, and he clearly underestimated a tiny body´s frailty.
Grandis was able to hear an almost insignificant *plop*, and with Jean being silent from then on, she realized that Jean´s state was getting more and more alarming.
"Oh my God! Jean, what´s going on?!"
Jean smiled faintly at Grandis´ worried voice. This was unexpected to hear from her.
"Jean, please, you must..."
As Grandis tried to contact Jean and convince him of eating something, she went silent as she heard a noise, coming from the room next to hers. It sounded like something fell onto the ground. That alone wouldn´t have been worth worrying, but the sounds that followed actually shocked her.
"Ah! Boss it´s...!"
That´s all she could hear from Hanson. Then she could perceive the sounds of several kicks and punches, followed by painful screams.
Grandis was not a dumbass. She knew what this meant. The moment to use Jean as her hostage was near...but she wasn´t so sure anymore whether she could really do this. Jean had been suffering so much already, he was in fact near death.
The the door to her room slammed open, and Grandis swallowed hard as she saw Nadia entering. The dark skinned woman had taken care of her two henchmen rather quickly, and now she was staring directly into the red haired woman´s eyes. Grandis was surprised to see this mix of anger and determination in Nadia´s eyes. She only knew her as the kind and innocent girl she saw at the circus and confronted on top of the Eiffel Tower, and seeing her like that made her shudder, realizing how strong her feelings for Jean actually were and how much they affected her.
Grandis stood up from her chair slowly, trying to maintain her view on Nadia. Walking toward her, she took a deep breath.
"Where is Jean?" Nadia asked plainly, with a certain impatience.
"The...tiny boy..."
That was all Grandis could utter at that moment. She was too perplexed because of Nadia´s sudden and powerful appearance.
"Is he still inside your stomach? Answer me!"
Deep inside Grandis, Jean could perceive his girlfriend´s firm voice. Although having almost passed out, he rose his head slightly from the slimy surface of Grandis´ innards.
"Na...dia..." he whispered. He was ashamed as he heard her voice. Ashamed that he had doubted her arrival here and her intentions to save him. With all of his remaining strength, he yelled her name, trying to make her notice.
"NADIA!"
This was powerful enough for Nadia to hear.
"Jean?!"
Nadia realized immediately that his voice came from inside Grandis´ belly. So he was still in there...andhe was suffering.
"NADIA...I´m...in her intestines!"
"Oh my God..."
"Nadia, listen..."
Grandis tried to explain everything to Nadia, but she didn´t gave her a chance.
"You will let him out of your belly now. If you won´t, you will suffer the consequences. And I swear you, you will pay for every second he had to suffer because of you."
Nadia actually was quite surprised that she said something like that. She sounded like a cold-hearted female super villain herself, although this was only because of Jean.
"I will let him out. But only if you chose to come with me."
"What?"
"Don´t ask. Your friend is suffering in there, so you better do as I say."
Grandis tried to sound calm and determined, but she ultimately failed. Nadia wasn´t in the least bit impressed.
"How stupid do you think I am? I don´t know why you want me or Blue Water, but one thing´s for sure: Jean is doomed if I leave him. Who would take care of him if I were gone? Either way, Jean will lose. No matter if he stays inside your belly or if I come with you and leave him all alone, helpless. And I will not allow him to suffer like that."
"..."
Nadia certainly was right, and Grandis wouldn´t have thought that Nadia would be so rational about this.
Jean on the other hand was overjoyed. He was glad that Nadia didn´t fall for Grandis´ deal.
"That´s my girl..." he thought to himself.
"Jean, I´ll get you out of there, you hear me?"
"YES!" he tried to shout as loud as he could.
Nadia smiled slightly as she heard his voice, but it disappeared quickly as she looked at Grandis again.
"It´s your choice, Grandis, but I warn you not to underestimate my powers, as well as my will. I will do anything to get Jean out of his prison. Heed my words, Grandis."
That girl was simply spooky. Grandis was frightened at how far Nadia would go for Jean´s sake. And she was worried about these consequences she mentioned. So, what to do...