Disclaimer: I'm not smart enough to own spiral…

Kousuke POV

Ryoko, Kousuke, and Eyes stood outside the apartments they had been told to come to, each waiting for one of the others to make the first move. It was Eyes who finally opened the door to the corridor, revealing several very obvious traps.

"Tripwires." Kousuke observed. "And clumsily set up." Whoever had done this was an amateur.

"Here, we can use this." Ryoko called from off to his right somewhere. She was trying to rear off a section of the rain gutter to use to trip the wires before they went in. Kousuke nodded and went to join her. It may not be the most genius plan ever, but it was effective. As they dragged the metal gutter into position, he wondered what the trap might try to hit them with. Would it be little harpoon things like he'd been hit with before or a bomb like Rio might make? Or maybe something would fall from the ceiling, or they'd be chased by a giant rolling boulder like in Indiana Jones. He highly doubted it would be the last one; after all, it wasn't like they were in a movie. But the thought of it still almost made him laugh as he pulled back the gutter-piece, ready to trip the traps. Together, he and Ryoko brought the gutter back forward, pushing hard enough to break the first couple of wires and bend the others back. They waited…

…And waited, and waited some more. Nothing. No flying darts, no pillars of flame, no nothing. The three Blade children stared at the serene hallway in bewilderment and disbelief. Behind him, Kousuke heard Rutherford snap his fingers in agitation.

"I knew it. The damn wires are just a distraction; the real threat is hidden." Kousuke looked over and raised an eyebrow; it was rare for the British boy to curse.

"So what's the new plan?" he asked. He was a little disappointed that the opponent wasn't the amateur they had first thought, but then again, it was more fun if it was a challenge. He watched as the pianist stood looking down the hallway calculating.

Finally Eyes said simply, "We have no way of figuring out the traps ahead of time, so just go quickly and step lightly." Kousuke sighed and took a step forward. This plan was the most disappointing he'd heard in a long time. Not like he could have come up with anything better, but still. The other two joined him and they started walking. Suddenly, a tile beneath him sunk into the floor, causing him to trip and almost knock over the other two. A rumbling noise came from behind him, by the door. He glanced backwards as something landed on the floor with a hard "Thud". Kousuke's only thoughts were you have got to be kidding me.

Hunter POV

Shala gazed at the two monitors in front of her, both showing different scenes. One was the feed from the camera in Rio's room; the image was grainy and cheap. The other had a much sharper image; she had had to get more sophisticated equipment for it to travel the greater distance. This second screen showed the other three blade children in the apartment she had sent them to. A different apartment than the one she and her prisoner were staying in. The logic in this was simple. If they died there, bested by her traps, then they were dead and all had ended well. If they made it through, they still wouldn't have found her and Rio, so she could try again without too much trouble. In separating herself from the apartment, she had corrected one of the mistakes her father had made. The mistakes that had gotten him killed. She glared hatred at the people on the screens, as though she could reach them that way, kill them, and bring her father back somehow.

Eyes POV

If Eyes had been any less dignified than he was, the sight of a giant boulder rolling towards him might have made him laugh; it was just too cliched. Instead, he just smiled as he sprinted down the hall with his friends. His red-haired companion, on the other hand, was cackling maniacally and kept looking back as if to make sure it was real. Or as if he shared a private joke with the huge rock. Ryoko seemed to be smiling too, although Eyes couldn't tell if she was more amused by the rock or by Kousuke's reaction to it. Neither one of the others seemed to realize the dangers the rock presented. Anything could pop up in front of them and they would have no way of avoiding both it (whatever it turned out to be) and the boulder at the same time. They would be crushed. (Or impaled or fall down a hole or whatever other traps the hunter could have thought up.) Kousuke's crazy laughter finally stopped. In front of them stood the only thing Eyes hadn't considered running into: a wall. No other traps, then, they would simply be crushed. Ick.

"Doors!" shouted Kousuke, and the pianist saw that for once, the other boy was right. There were two, one on the wall to the left, one on the right; Eyes quickly tried the one on the left.

"This one is locked." He stated with his usual formality.

"This one too," Ryoko added. Kousuke fished around in the pocket of his cargo pants for a second, and then tossed Eyes a lock pick, keeping one for himself.

"We'll use whichever one opens first." He said, then smirked, "probably mine"

"Quit implying stupid challenges and get to work." Eyes retorted, already starting on his door. Generally he preferred less crude ways of opening doors, using his celebrity status or good looks to get into just about anywhere, but he had to admit those things wouldn't do much good here. He glanced over his shoulder to see the boulder hurtling toward him and realized he didn't have much time. Why wouldn't the damn thing open?? But just as he thought it, the lock gave a soft "click" and the door swung open. He looked over to see Kousuke's door opening at the same time, then his view was blocked as the giant rock thundered into place between them. Eyes quickly jumped through the door to avoid being turned into a pancake. The boulder slammed against the wall, shaking the walls and the floor and nearly knocked Eyes off his feet. When the walls finally stopped reverberating, he walked up to the rock and tried to push it away. No use. "Kousuke, Ryoko!" He called, waiting for an answer. No reply came from the other side…

Author's note:

AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I took an entire summer to update once!!!!!!!!! I'm a horrible person!!!!!!!!!!! bangs head on computor Cries

Anyway, thanks phoenix of hell, MewIchigoPrincess, EvilGenius Koji, and Sono Kurushiitokinokamidanomi for all your reviews and I'm sorry I never replied to ya'll individually. I'll get around to it, I promice!