" Hehehe… "

Kate woke up with a start. " Honey, please don't nudge me like that, I can get myself up now and then… wh-what ? " She sat up and stared around in the thick darkness. " Where am I ?! I swear, if you're messing with my head… "

A robotic, high child's voice answered her. " You're not with your dear hubby anymore, sweetie. You're in my world, now. "

Something about that voice, it sounded familiar. It made her want to puke onto the checkered floor that was seen because of the single interrogation-style light beaming down.

" Who are you ?! And what did you do with him !? " she demanded.

" I have my own game planned out for him. You might not be able to see each other again. But in the meantime, how about a game of hide'n'seek ? 'Cept, the goal is NOT to find me. " From behind the shadows, Kate could see a pointy-toothed smile. Seriously, though, they were like perfect triangles..

" It'll be extra fun 'cause you don't know what to look for ! I could be a human, object, do- I mean, monster… you have to choose carefully. " He paused for a few seconds, then continued on. " Some places will have fun little surprises for you, one will have me, and then one will have freedom. Don't bother trying to find it, though, you'll never guess. "

" But.. What did you do with Skips ? "

" He, and some of his friends, will do something kinda like this. Don't try to find them. The other ones will be kept for something else." Another pause as he thought of toying with THEIR minds. " Hehe…" he chuckled.

" WHAT else ?! "

" Get ready! " the voice said cheerfully. " On the count of twenty. Ready ? One… two… threeee…. " The voice wasn't coming from a specific point in the room, maybe not even in the room at all. Then Kate realized… it was speaking in her mind. Or she was just hallucinating. She didn't have much more time to wonder, the lights turned on, making a black wooden door visible.

" …ten… eleven… twelve.. " the voice droned on.

Outside of the room was a series of seven hallways, one for each color of the rainbow. Behind Kate was an eighth one, with black walls, ceiling, and floor. Even the flames from the Gothic torches were composed of a dark fire.

Kate thought about this for a minute. If the kidnapper was smart enough, he would have made the eighth hallway unappealing because it was the only safe hallway. But he might be trying to make her pick that tunnel for that reason , unless…

" … sixteen…seventeen… eighteen… "

Kate's mind stopped functioning.

" …. nineteen…. "

Kate froze.

" TWENTY ! " he screamed out obnoxiously. " Now… choose ! "

Kate closed her eyes and blindly ran in a random direction. When she opened them, she saw that the walls were no longer a solid color, but checkered with red and white. " Wait. " she said to herself. Something wasn't right. Behind her, a wall blocked her way.

" That's not possible ! " she screamed. She turned and ran down the endless hallway, setting off arrows at heart level as she did. Fearing to slow herself down, she kept from looking back at the whizzing arrows. She threw her head back and ran fast enough to win a 100-yard race, but she didn't see the end right in front of her. Her head snapped forward against the wall hard enough to tear the wallpaper. Kate slumped to the ground and coughed up some blood.

In the shadows, in his very own tunnel, the kidnapper chuckled at his victim. " Surprise. "

Meanwhile, inside of a metal chamber, a blue jay slowly rubbed his eyes. " Ugh… crap, wasn't this road kill Friday ? " Once he opened his eyes, though, he saw something far worse than any job his boss had to offer him. " What ? What's this ? " He got up and knocked on the metal side, causing the whole chamber to echo. " Rigby ! Is this one of your stupid pranks ?! " He pressed his beak up to the wall and cupped his wings around it. " Dude, let me out ! "

Something shifted behind him, making him whirl around. " Oh geez- "

" Ugh… is it Friday ? "

It was just Rigby.

" Where are we ? "

" I don't know, looks like some sort of chamber. "

The raccoon sprang up and started banging on the sides. " Let us ouuuuttt ! " He turned toward his friend after a few minutes of screaming and said flatly. " We've been kidnapped. "

Mordecai rolled his eyes. " Nooooo… "

" Obvious or not, there's like no way out of here ! "

" Well come on, there has to be some way to get out. " Up on the ceiling were two switches, a red and blue one. " He first noticed when he rolled his eyes. " There's a way. "

" Awright ! " Rigby climbed up and reached for a random switch.

" Dude, no ! " He slapped his hand away. " One might trigger something dangerous. "

" Pfft, yeah right ! " He yanked the switch down with his free hand.

Immediately, the entire room started to fill with a purple gas.

Mordecai snapped his head towards his friend and grabbed him by the shoulders. " What did I tell you ?! Now we're gonna die or something in this stupid place ! "

" I-I'm sorry. Let go, man… " As his head was jerked upward, he remembered the second switch. " The other one ! "

" What ? "

" The other SWITCH ! " he repeated. " Pull it before we both die !"

Mordecai started to gag as the poisonous effects of the gas started its work. Slowly he reached for the life-saving switch, but he collapsed to his knees before he could grab it. Then onto his face.

" No, man, don't die ! " Rigby slapped him a few times to make sure he was completely unconscious. " Crap… guess I gotta do it myself. " He climbed up, regardless of the gas's weakening effects. He pulled the first switch back up with one hand, then cranked the second one down. This time, a greenish yellow gas leaked through a vent.

" You have to be kidding me. "

But instead of killing him like he thought it would, everything in front of him looked fuzzy, distorted, and out of proportion. Most likely the effects of a vision-destroying formula…

Suddenly, he felt the urge to vomit onto the cold floor.

" Congratulations. "

" Wh-what ? Who said that ? " Rigby panicked. " Are you the one that's been screwing with us ? "

" Hehe.. I'll never tell.. " the voice replied with a light chuckle.

" Seriously, man, you gotta let us outta here ! "

The voice went silent for a moment. " You didn't see the door ? "

" What the- "

There most certainly was a door, right behind him, but in their panic they hadn't realized it.

" I would suggest you run, little rat. People don't usually last very long with poison in their bloodstreams, " the mechanical voice warned.

Rigby stumbled over to his friend's body and drug him along the ground an inch per second toward the door. Not only was he nauseated and disoriented, he was started to feel a sharp pain in his lower intestines.

" Don't worry, man, " he whispered in Mordecai's ear. " I'm gonna get you through this. "

He only groaned quietly in response.