"What to do with you five then," Kaede muses as she walks around the Scarves' improvised prison. "Mamushi would want me to ship you straight to him, but I think I could make better use of you here… " Kaede sits at the end where Hanna, Rob, and Maria lie; her eyes fix on the lynx. "Well, hello there! My, you're a cute one! What's your name?"

"M-M-M-Wood," Maria stammers, almost revealing her real name out of fear.

"Don't be afraid," Kaede coos. "In fact, you're the lucky one; you are to be my companion! Your friends will live in servitude, but you will live a life of uninterrupted pleasure!"

"P-P-Pleasure?" Maria asks; her fear is mixed with confusion and intrigue.

"The nights can be quite lonely down here," Kaede sighs. "I'd dearly love some company."

"She's playing you!" Hanna warns.

"Silence!" Kaede barks; she grabs Hanna's ankles and pulls hard, slamming her groin into one of the bars in the grille. Hanna yelps loudly in pain; she flops flat, breathing heavily through gritted teeth. "Now, where was I?" Kaede continues, her voice soft and melodious again. "Oh yes, my lynx!"

"I… " Maria begins.

"I would never do that to you," Kaede assures. She unlocks the top of the grille and opens it halfway; the gap is big enough for Maria to get out, yet small enough to keep the others in. "Leave the blades," Kaede requests. "You won't need them."

Maria slowly unclips her belt and slides the combined belt and baldric off; she then moves to the grille and climbs out, sitting on top of the ducting.

"I love the dress," Kaede comments, closing and securing the grille. Once done, Kaede climbs atop the ducting; Maria slides further along, staying just out of reach. "How about a kiss?" Kaede propositions, halting on her hands and knees, her expression innocent; she applies what appears to be standard lip balm.

"I… J-Just a little one," Maria responds; she shuffles forwards slowly, and when close enough, begins to lean in for the kiss. Maria reaches to remove her black scarf mask; just as she's about to take hold of it, she suddenly switches and grabs Kaede's ears as hard as she can, sinking her claws into the soft flesh at their bases.

"I know your type all too well," Maria hisses into Kaede's ear as the pika screams in agony; the lynx then slams the pika's head into the ducting as hard as she can. Kaede stops screaming; she starts to sway, staring into the mid-distance, heavily dazed. "That is for hurting my best friend!" Maria yells. "And this is for trying to play me!" She slams Kaede's head into the ducting a second time; Kaede loses consciousness.


Kaede awakes twenty minutes later to find herself mummified head-to-toe, with only her eyes and nose exposed; the sight of the malevolently grinning vixen causes her to panic and struggle fruitlessly.

"Welcome back," Hanna purrs menacingly. "You woke up just in time. We're ready to leave; we thought you might want to come with us. Not that you have a lot of choice in the matter."

Kaede's reply is unintelligible.

"Oh, not to worry," Hanna continues. "You'll survive. That is, assuming your fellow Jades find you in time."

Kaede attempts to respond again; the only noise is a muffled murmur.

"Yes, we did find your secret escape route!" Hanna boasts; she sits up, wincing a little as she does so. "I'm going to be walking funny for a while," she sighs; she then reveals a nearly-empty roll of sports tape. "Do you think this is enough for a blindfold? Let's find out!"


By the time the Scarves and their recalcitrant captive reach the surface, night had fallen; after taking a moment to get their bearings, they relocate their ATVs and trikes, and speed away from Tsuchidokutsu with their captive securely held in Hanna's trailer.