Tuesday, August 31, 2004

   I finally got the new chapter done!
It took a really long time, but here's chapter eight! sorry it took me so long. i wasn't sure what to make happen next! well, here it is! enjoy!

Chapter Eight
Search and Rescue


Skye, Chie, and Tai climbed the stairs carefully and quietly. "I hope we're getting closer to Teru-chan," Chie stated. "I miss her." "I'm worried. Who knows how long they'll decide to keep her alive," Skye remarked. "Don't say that," Chie squealed, nervously. "If they do hurt a hair on her head, they'll have to deal with me!" Skye exclaimed. He looked up as he said this, knowing that Aishiteru's captors were most likely watching their every move.

"Your friends underestimate me and my crew," Haki commented. "How do you know? They easily beat your other losers. They might be stronger than you think," Aishiteru reminded. "No one has ever defeated me before or even come close, so I doubt that you kids will be able to," Haki replied. "Well, there's a first time for everything," Aishiteru snapped. She slapped on a confident smile and jerked around, but deep down she felt a little worried.

The trio reached the top of the dark stairwell and Skye swung open the door. They were flooded with light and had to squint. They had just become accustomed to the dimness of the staircase. They cautiosly stepped inside the room. When their eyes adjusted to the light, they gasped to see their new opponent.
"Welcome to my chamber! Then chamber of Kichimaru!" a man declared. The door behind the kids slammed shut. "Get used to this room for you will never be leaving it again," Kichimaru warned. All of a sudden, Chie burst out into laughter. "What is so funny?" he demanded. "You! You're trying to scare us! You can't even compete with Tai and Skye. You're just a bookworm!" Chie exclaimed. She examined him in his plain blouse and plaid pants. He wore overalls and thick-lensed glasses.
"I may seem weak, but I am far more strong than your friends in wits," Kichimaru voiced. "Well, wake me up when this fight's over. I don't think you guys are going to need my help with this one," Chie insulted Kichimaru. The room had a a few pieces of furniture and Chie plopped down on the couch. Kichimaru smirked suspiciously.
"If you really want to relax, than drink this," Kichimaru offered. Chie grinned. "I am a little thirsty," Chie retorted. Kichimaru sauntered over to a table and picked up a glass pitcher of a red liquid. He poured it into a glass and handed it into Chie. "Chie! Wait! Don't drink..." Tai started, but it was too late. Chie was already gulping down the drink. "No!" Tai shouted. "Oh my god!" Chie voiced. "What is it?" Tai congectured, worriedly. "This is delicious!" she replied. "You had me worried a little there," Tai stated.
Then, Chie's eyes went blank. "Stop kidding," Tai spoke. Chie toppled to the ground. Tai and Skye raced over to check on her. "Chie-san, are you ok?" Tai inquired. She groaned and a look of relief filled both their faces. They each took an arm and helped Chie back onto the couch. Kichimaru smirked. Skye raced over to Kichimaru and extracted his weapon. He held the blade on their opponent's neck warningly.
"What did you do to Chie-san?" Skye demanded. "I poisoned her," Kichimaru answered plainly. "Well, you better fix her before I..." Skye began. "You can't do anything to me," Kichimaru interrupted. "Watch me," Skye remarked, bringing up his weapon. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have your friend's life in my palm," Kichimaru reminded. "If you want to see her alive, do what I say and follow by my rules," Kichimaru instructed. "What rules?" Tai asked. "Just solve my puzzle and you'll all be fine," Kichimaru assured them. "Fine," Skye agreed, putting away his naginata.
"Here's the rules," Kichimaru explained. "I'll give you an hour to solve my riddle. Each fifteen minutes you'll get a new clue. At the end of the puzzle, if you solve it that is, you'll find the antidote and the key to the next room. You'll be one step closer to save one friend and save another one at the same time. It'll be like killing to birds with one stone." "If you hadn't poisoned Chie-san, than we'd only need to kill you," Skye snarled. "Temper," Kichimaru chuckled. "Let's just get this over with. It sounds easy enough," Tai stated. 'We'll see about that," Kichimaru retorted. He waved his arm and their surroundings morphed. The next thing they knew, they were in a wide dome with green hedges all around.
"What happened and where are we?" Skye demanded. "Do you think my only power was my wits?" Kichimaru asked. "And where we are? Well, this is were your challenge will take place. This is a human maze. You must listen carefully to my clues if you want to solve the puzzle and ever make it out of my maze alive," Kichimaru warned. Skye scoffed,"I can solve any riddle that you can think up." Kichimaru just grinned. He waved his arm again and a clock appeared in his hands. It chimed the top of the hour and a bird popped out from a door on the top.
"When this bird comes out again, you're time will be up and so will the lives of your two friends. You'll be lucky if you survive," Kichimaru growled. "Don't worry. We'll finish with time to spare," Tai assured the villain. Kichimaru shrugged and waved his arm again. The two boys disappeared. When they materialized, they were in the maze, each in a different area.
"Go!" Kichimaru shouted. "Let's do this!" Tai exclaimed, setting off. Skye nodded his head and ventured off too. "Well, now that we're started, I'll give you your first clue," Kichimaru conversed. "Clue 1: Up, down, here, there, this can go anywhere." "What does that mean?" Tai quizzed. "Maybe... its moving," Skye guessed. "In this huge maze? How are going to find it?" Tai questioned. "I guess we have to try," Skye replied. 'Why do I have to work with this amateur?' Skye pondered, annoyed.
For minutes, Tai and Skye wandered around the maze for minutes. They both knew they were getting nowhere.
"Time for your next clue," Kichimaru conversed. "Here it is: It is fast, but also slow. If it will stop, nobody knows." "What's that mean?" Tai questioned. "You're asking me?" Skye quizzed. "Well, you are Mr. Kmow-it-all," Tai replied sarcastically. Skye scoffed.
A little while more past. Tai let out a yell of frustration. "It's like we're walking in circles!" Tai exclaimed. "I know. I mean, I swear I've seen this place before, but it's changed somehow," Skye shouted back. Skye turned a corner and heard a weird sound. It sounded like a door slamming. Skye jogged back sround the corner to see that the corridor he just walked through had changed! Now, there was an extra hall coming out. Skye raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Skye walked back around the corner and heard the sound again. He returned to see that his assumptions were true. He smiled.
"Tai!" Skye called. "What?" Tai answered. "The maze is moving around us," Skye informed. "What does that mean?" Tai asked. Skye kneeled and began to investigate. He inspected the area around where he had turned the corner. He grinned. "There are switches on the ground. When you step on them, the maze changes. Like a wall will move or something," Skye explained. "I knew something fishy was going on!" Tai exclaimed. "Now we know their little trick, there's no way we'll lose! We're not even half way done yet. We have like 40 minutes." Tai beamed. 'We're coming for you Aishiteru!' Tai thought.

"Ha!" Aishiteru yelled. "I knew you couldn't trick my friends!" "Even if they know how the maze works, they won't be able to solve Kichimaru's puzzle," Haki replied. "He's a master at things like this." "Well... my friends are masters at being there for me! They'll save me no matter what," Aishiteru responded. "Even if they can get past Kichimaru-san, they won't be able to beat him in time to save your other friend," Haki pointed out. "They'll help Chie-chan too!" Aishiteru insisted. 'I really hope Chie-chan stays safe!' Aishiteru thought, 'I'm more worried about her than me!' Aishiteru gulped and continued to cheer on her friends, trying to be confident.

"Time for the next clue!" Kichimaru told them. "We're at 30 minutes already?" Tai inquired. 'Chie-san's going to be dead soon if we don't figure out his stupid riddle!' Tai stated to himself.
"Clue # 3 is: It is always moving and will likely never stop. If we reach the end though, we'll probably all drop," Kichimaru spoke. "Now, I might know something," Skye hollered out to Tai. "What?" Tai asked hopefully. "It's at the end of the maze!" Skye realized. Tai sighed. "Well, that was obvious," Tai retorted. "At least I'm trying," Skye defended himself. "I could've pointed that out myself, but I assumed it was so obvious that we'd both know," Tai snapped. "Anyway, if I had said something like that, you would've said that I was being stupid." "Well, you are STUPID!" Skye shot back. Tai tried to suck up his anger. "This isn't the time for this. We have to save Chie-chan and Teru-chan," Tai stated calmly. "After this, me and you are finally going to settle this," Skye stated, turning another corner. "I hear ya loud and clear on that one," Tai told him, but he was more interested in talking to Aishiteru. 'I wonder what Skye-san was talking about when he said something about him and Teru-chan. I hope she hasn't fallen for his "I'm tough, but gentle at heart" routine,' Tai wished to himself.
"I think we're getting closer!" Skye shouted, knocking Tai out of his thoughts. "How do you know?" Tai asked. "I can feel Kichimaru's prescence. He's most likely at the end waiting," Skye answered. "How far does he seem from you?" Tai questioned. "Maybe, about 5 minutes if I go straight there, but I have to go around the traps and find my way through the maze," Skye pointed out. Then, Tai could also feel an evil aura. "I can feel him too," Tai stated. Then, he sensed someone else. It was a familiar feeling and didn't feel evil, but strong. 'It must be that Know-it-all,' Tai realized. "Hey!" Tai hollered to Skye. "I can feel you too! We're all close to each other." "I'll follow your prescence and you follow mine. Finding each other is a big priority. It'll make finding the end easier," Skye instructed. Tai nodded in agreement. Even though he hated Skye telling him what to do, he knew that Skye's idea was their best bet yet.
"Well, here's your final clue! Only 15 minutes left now," Kichimaru told them. "Your last clue is: At the end, all will tell. It will let you know well." "In other words, we have to reach the end to figure out what's going on, which we already know," Tai spoke. "Wait!" Skye exclaimed. "I can hear you!" "No duh. We've been talking back and forth the whole time," Tai reminded. "Yeah, but you're so close!" Skye replied. "Yeah! You do seem closer. Let me follow yoru sound. Keep on making noise," Tai told him. Skye began to hum very loudly. Tai recognized the tune. It was a song that Aishiteru hummed and sang all the time. "Aishiteru, I will save you," Tai whispered. He shook his thoughts of her out of his head and began to search for Skye.
2 minutes later, Tai halted. "You're like right next to me! I can hear you perfectly too," Tai told him. "Me too. Why can't I see you though?" Skye questioned. Tai glimpsed around. Spontaneously, an idea popped into his brain. "You must be on the other side of this wall," Tai realized. "Probably," Skye replied. "How do we get through?" Tai asked himself. "I'll try my weapon," Skye tried. He extracted his naginata and slashed at the wall between them. "My weapon!" Skye exclaimed. "It's chipped! It's totally ruined now!" "Oh well. That's not important now. You can get a new weapon, but we can't get Chie and Teru back once they're gone," Tai reminded. "I guess..." Skye sighed. "I've had it for my whole life though..." "Be a man!" Tai shouted. "Right!" Skye replied. Tai grinned.
The 2 thought for a minute, knowing that their precious time was running. "I know! I'll jump this thing!" Tai tried. "It's more than twice your size. How can you jump it?" Skye inquired. "Hmmm..." Tai pondered. "Ah ha!" "What?" Skye quizzed. Tai didn't reply, but pulled out his weapon. He backed all the way back into the opposite wall and charged. "What are you doing?" Skye demanded. Tai just smirked as he dug his kendo stick into the grass. He used it like a pole-vault stick and pushed himself over the wall. He landed right beside Skye. "What the..." Skye exclaimed, startled. He jumped back in surprise. Tai guffawed at Skye. "I thought you were always cool, calm, and, collected!" Tai laughed. Skye smoothed back his hair and trudged on. Tai followed, still supressing giggles.
"Only 7 minutes left!" Kichimaru hollered out into the maze. "Don't worry. We'll be there before then," Skye growled. "It's right around here!" Tai nodded as Skye led him around the maze. They raced around two left turns and went straight for a few meters. Then, they turned right and another left immediately. Tai gazed forward, seeing a bright doorway. "It's the exit!" Tai exclaimed happily. "3 minutes left!" Kichimaru yelled. "Hurry!" Skye screamed, speeding up to his limit. Skye and Tai reached the end of the maze in a matter of seconds. Tai grinned when he saw Kichimaru staring at them in shock. "How'd yo get here in time?" he demanded. "And together?" Tai and Skye ignored his questions. "Where's the key?" Skye asked. "And the antidote?" Tai continued. "I didn't say it'd be waiting for you at the end. It's here, but you have to find it in only 2 minutes," Kichimaru informed. "What?" Skye demanded. "We don't have time. We've got to look!" Tai exclaimed. They were in an a traditional-looking room. There were tatami mats on the floor and fancy furniture. Tai glanced up at the clock. He knew the bird would pop out in only minutes, signaling both Aishiteru and Chie's deaths. He gulped and began to rummage through everything.
"This can't be what we have to do," Skye reasoned. "Why would he give us all of those confusing clues if it was just hidden regularly? There has to be the specific place inside of the clues. Like the first, second, and third clues have parts in it that have nothing to do with it being about being at the end of the maze. I've got to think. I have to think for not only my sake, but for those I care about; Aishiteru." He continued to brood while Tai dug in and out of every nook and cranny he could. "Only a minute left!" Kichimaru sung happily. "I know you're going to fail. When that bird sings, you're all dead!" "I wish we could stop time or something! I've got to remember that old saying: Time stops for no one," Tai stated. "Time stops for no one?" Skye considered. "...I've got it! Time stops for no one!" "You don't have it! No one's ever gotten it," Kichimaru replied, but he was obviously nervous. "You have 45 seconds to find the key." "Thanks Tai. Your clue was really helpful," Skye remarked, walking forward. "What?" Tai quizzed. "Time stops for no one! In a bunch of the clues, it kept on repeating that it never stops! Like time! Time can seem fast and slow! It said we'll drop if it stops. If time stops, so will we!" Skye explained quickly. "So how are we going to find it? Time isn't a place," Tai reminded. "But, he also says it moves and can go up, down and all around and that when all is done, it will let us know," Skye reminded. Skye halted when he reached his destination. "It's in the clock!" Skye exclaimed. "Where? You can see inside the clock," Kichimaru told him. "Yeah, but not in here," Skye replied, reaching for the clock. He dug his hand inside the clock, but not in the face of it. He reached inside the hole where the alarm bird was hiding. He grinned as he extracted his hand, the key and antidote inside. "Well... time's up anyway in only 5 seconds!" Kichimaru exclaimed. Skye jerked around and hurled the antidote bottle at Tai who caught it and fed it to the unconscious Chie. As soon as she gulped down the liquid, the bird popped out of the clock, signaling the end.
"Nooooo!" Kichimaru shrieked. "I can't be beaten! Not by you kids!" "Well like Aishiteru believes, there's a first time for everything," Skye beamed. Kichimaru crumpled on the ground and began to weep. Tai gazed at Skye, amazed at his wits. Skye just grinned happily, but not because he had solved the puzzle, but because he had just saved two of his friends' lives.

"Oh yeah! Go us!" Aishiteru chimed happily. Haki growled. "They're almost here. I guess I have to take care of them myself," he snarled, standing. "You're going to leave me alone?" Aishiteru asked hopefully. "Of course not! You're coming with me. It'll be much more fun to watch you see your friends die in person," Haki replied evilly. He yanked Aishiteru out of the room, but she was not worried this time. After witnessing the impossible missions they'd accomplished, she knew they could do anything.

Well, that's the end of chapter eight! I'm glad to know that it wasnt just my computer that was acting out yesterday. Well, I hope you guys liked it even though it was kinda long. Watch out for the next one. I'll try to have it out Saturday! It'll hopefully be the finale of the rescue!

i have to admit though, that i got all my inspiration from conan from cased closed. i tried to make skye solve the puzzle with the types of clues he'd probably use. and remember everyone, only one truth will prevail ^-^

Another Aishiteru pic!

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