Gauntlet

The sun rose slowly in the distance as red orange ripples filled the horizon. Trees swayed gently as a light breeze filtered through them, and fallen leaves crumpled beneath their feet as they walked. Matilda's pace was much faster than in the beginning; she was anxious to reach their destination. She stared at the trees they passed on the way with a satisfied smile. Hao was finally setting his plan into motion. It was no longer necessary to impatiently wait for the uprising. Things were going to change soon, and she was ready.

Hana fell several feet behind. He was carrying Mei on his back since she fell asleep and was slowing them down. Her arms were wrapped securely around his shoulders, and he held her legs as tightly as he could. He knew dropping her would be disastrous; he wanted to prove he was strong. Mei rested her head on his neck, using his thick hair as a pillow, and whispered something indecipherable into his ear. He didn't respond, assuming she was talking in her sleep, and quickened his pace to catch up with Matilda.

"What time is it?" Mei mumbled suddenly.

"I don't know," Hana replied with slight surprise. "Maybe after six?"

She closed her eyes. The silence irritated him.

"If you're awake you can walk," he said. "You know how heavy you are?"

She didn't answer, and her breathing increased, signaling she was no longer listening.

"Good grief."

"We're here."

Matilda's declaration came as a great surprise, especially since they were still in the woods. Hana spanned the trees and blinked his with hesitation he stared at her with a frown.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"Right over there," she replied with an excited grin and pointed.

Hana didn't notice until that moment the path they were on emptied into a small cave near a clearing. The blocks of stone were neatly stacked around the opening, and as he studied it carefully he noticed there was a hill behind it.

"That is so cool," he whispered, dropping his arms to his sides.

Mei could feel herself falling off of his back and awoke quickly before planting her feet onto the ground.

"What happened? What's wrong?"

"We're here, Mei," he said cheerfully. "We're finally here."

"He lives in a cave?" Mei replied after rubbing her eyes. "In the middle of the woods?"

"Let's go." Matilda ignored Mei's question and disappeared inside.

Hana followed her quickly, forcing Mei to comply. He entered the cave with unparalleled excitement and Mei with sudden uneasiness. The darkness surrounding them didn't help her discomfort at all, and they walked slowly without the aid of their sight for several moments. Mei grabbed Hana's hand, and he didn't resist her. He knew she was afraid of the dark and needed to be sure she wasn't alone.

The dark tunnel lead to a small clearing dimly lit with a torch of fire. Mei stared at the large wooden stick for several moments as her eyes adjusted, and she squeezed Hana's hand, signaling to him her discomfort was still intact.

"What is this?" Hana asked softly. The opening was empty, and there didn't appear to be an exit anywhere in sight.

"It's a security measure," Matilda explained as she stepped forward and ran her hand over the stone surface. "We don't exactly live in this cave."

"Security from what?" Mei's question was only heard by Hana, and he didn't react.

"Our home is underground. This is sort of a decoy."

"So..." Hana scratched his head with a confused frown. "How do we get there?"

Matilda took a step back. After a few seconds of silence there was a large portion of the stone that moved. Hana stared at it with narrowed eyes as Mei gasped a few times, and when they blinked again the stone revealed another tunnel.

"This way," Matilda said quickly.

"I'm not going in there," Mei replied firmly.

"Mei," Hana sighed, "you have to. You don't want to stay out here all alone, do you?"

"You'll leave me?"

"Yes."

She bit her bottom lip and briefly closed her eyes. Hana's excitement was making her nauseous, and every moment they spent inside the cave increased her regret for coming.

"Fine," she mumbled reluctantly.

They entered the new tunnel very slowly; Mei squeezed Hana's hand as he increased his pace to catch up with Matilda. Dim light illuminated the surroundings, and Mei wondered what source supplied it. Hana didn't care about such details. He wanted to get to the hide out and was excited with the idea of them even needing one.

"This cave is man made," Mei said randomly.

"What?" Hana replied. "What are you talking about?"

"Who did all of this?" She addressed Matilda with her question.

"Hao built it," Matilda replied proudly. "He wanted us to be safe."

"So he can manipulate elements?"

Hana considered the question for a few moments and sighed. He remembered a conversation he had with his father about Hao and wondered if he told her about it. This possibility was quickly dismissed, however, and he frowned.

Mei was just incredibly observant.

"That's right." Matilda turned around and smile at her. "You don't miss much, do you?"

"He moved the stone so we could pass." Mei's statement didn't sound like a question. Her tone was blank, and all uneasiness seemed absent from her eyes.

"Cool," Hana whispered eagerly. "That is so cool."

"Do you two live here alone?" Mei asked as if switching gears.

Matilda continued down the tunnel in silence. Hana stared at her back and waited for a response; for some reason he was interested in knowing the answer as well.

"No. He has accomplices."

"That's an interesting word choice," Mei said.

"He has a gang?" Hana continued but was ignored. "That's so awesome!"

"It's complicated," Matilda said abruptly and quickened her pace.

"You don't like them being here?" Mei was determined to pry open Matilda's shell, and she didn't need the aid of her ability to know the woman seemed tortured.

"It's not my place to have an opinion like that. It doesn't matter."

"But, you would rather be here alone with him?" She ignored Matilda's drastic change in mood as she spoke.

Matilda stopped her pace suddenly and stared at her feet. Hana and Mei followed suit, and Mei released Hana's hand. He was very uncomfortable with the sudden tension. This was obviously a girl talk he didn't want to get into. Mei stepped forward in front of Hana and tried to soften her voice when she posed the next possibility.

"Is it love?"

Hana gasped when he heard the question and began tapping his foot on the ground. Mei had a way of making people very uncomfortable, and this situation was no exception.

"I will not talk to you about adult concepts," Matilda replied angrily and abruptly walked away.

"Why not?" Mei asked in slight confusion.

"Because you're a child. Now come on."

Hana jogged a few paces to catch up with Matilda, but Mei walked slowly behind them with her arms folded tightly over her torso.

"Love is not an adult concept. It transcends age and is an emotion baffling even the wisest of men."

"Come on, Mei," Hana whispered. "Stop it."

"You have an obvious problem, Ms. Matisse," Mei said as they reached the end of the tunnel, "and, I don't have to be an adult to see it."

"Who told you my name?"

The question caught Mei visibly off guard, mostly because it ignored her theory, but she didn't respond.

"Answer me." Matilda leaned quickly into her face.

"You did."

"No, I didn't. Stop lying."

"Uh, is this really important?" Hana asked sheepishly but was again ignored.

Mei paused to stare into her stressed eyes and bit her bottom lip. Matilda was right. She never mentioned her last name at all. A new revelation filled her brain quickly, and she tried desperately to hide a smile.

Matilda was unaware of her ability to hear thoughts. This was perfect.

"Hana told me," she replied after several moments of silence. "Please know that I meant no harm, nor did I have any malicious intent. I wasn't aware that this was such an important issue."

Matilda took a step back, suddenly realizing she was more angry than necessary and sighed. She smiled at the girl and scratched her arm. "It's...no big deal. But, anyway, we're here."

Hana was first to notice the tunnel they had been walking down was actually a long hallway, branching off into different directions like a large house.

"He made this?" He held his mouth open. "So...cool."

"I thought you said it was underground," Mei said. "This is behind the cave."

"No," Matilda replied with a giggle. "We're underground. It's a trick on the mind. That tunnel wasn't level."

"Awesome," Hana whispered, "So...awesome."

Several voices were heard in the distance as they continued walking down the hallway. There were rooms disguised beneath the rock along the way; the stone was used as a sliding door, sealing off most of the light when it was closed. One large room was open as they passed, and Mei caught a glimpse of several adults laughing and playing some kind of game.

"You'll meet them later," Matilda said. "The most important thing we need to do right now is take you to Hao."

Mei didn't protest, and they allowed Matilda to lead them down an adjacent hallway. The light and sound quickly faded as they came closer to the end of it, and Mei's discomfort returned immediately. She didn't want to appear unnerved, but her fear of the dark was very real. When she reached around for Hana's hand, she panicked silently when realizing he was too far ahead.

"Hana?" she whimpered, clenching her teeth quickly for allowing the frail tone to escape.

A stone door opened suddenly, disappearing into the ceiling and revealing bright light. Mei entered the revealed room quickly, greatly relieved it was so well lit. Hana slowly followed her. Matilda didn't move from her position.

"You're not coming?" Hana asked timidly.

"I can't," she whispered. "Go. He's eager to meet you."

As soon as she made the statement, the large door closed, leaving him staring at a large wall of stone. A sudden rush of discomfort overwhelmed his senses. He wanted Matilda to be with him in case this meeting went badly, and now that she was gone his confidence severely waned. He turned around slowly and noticed Mei rummaging through a small cabinet on the other side of the room.

"Mei, what are you doing? Stop it!"

"There's nothing in here anyway." There was disappointment in her voice. "If this is his bedroom, he probably doesn't sleep much."

Hana surveyed the large room silently, noticing the cabinet and a few books resting on top of it. There was no bed, but he assumed the man was sleeping on the floor since there were blankets neatly folded with a small pillow on top. Although the room was mostly empty, the surrounding air was surprisingly warm, allowing Hana to relax somewhat.

"Where do you suppose he is?" Mei asked as she paced slowly in front of him.

"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe he's—"

A smaller door opened suddenly, startling them both, and they stood closer together as their eyes remained fixed on his entrance.

The man was tall, wearing a plain black t-shirt with a pair of over sized denim jeans, and black socks adorned his feet. Mei noticed his outfit immediately; he looked much younger wearing those clothes. Hana's attention was directed mostly at his hair. Thick auburn strands fell heavily down his back with a few of them falling over his shoulders. The length had to be past his hips, but because he was facing them Hana wasn't sure. But, this wasn't the very first thing they noticed. The man standing in front of them looked exactly like Hana's father with no variation except for the length of his hair and his outfit. Hana stared in shock with his mouth agape. His body was frozen, and he was unable to speak. Mei seemed caught in the same trance and was only able to whisper one word.

"Twins?"


Tamao almost fell against the table when she ran into the dining room. Ren and Lyserg were sitting with Yoh there for several minutes talking when they saw her. Ren stood immediately as his paranoia surfaced, and Anna entered from the kitchen holding a towel in her hand to see what caused the commotion.

"Tamao, what's wrong?" Yoh asked with a frown.

She rested her hands on her knees for a moment in an attempt to catch her breath, and Yoh's facial expression shifted from slight confusion to worry.

"The kids are gone," she finally managed to say.

Anna frowned immediately but didn't speak.

"What do you mean gone?" Ren demanded as his voice elevated slightly.

"They're not here," she elaborated weakly. "They're not in the house."

"Well," Yoh replied calmly, "they probably just went to the park. Hana likes to go and chase the birds in the morning. Weird habit."

"They'll be back soon then," Lyserg seemed to agree with Yoh's assessment and smiled.

Ren exited the dining room and headed outside. He was dissatisfied with the theory, and anger flooded his thoughts. Tamao quickly joined him on the front steps, and they sat slowly without speaking.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I have a pretty good idea."

She reached in her pocket and pulled out something concealed. He held out his hand as if demanding it, and she placed it gently into his palm without looking at him.

"I found it lodged in one of the trees in the back."

Ren stared at the object briefly and closed his eyes. The dagger was small but incredibly sharp. A new emotion flooded his senses quickly, and he dropped it into the grass. The dagger was familiar. He'd seen it before.

"She took them," he said finally through clenched teeth.

"Not by force," Tamao said. "There was no struggle."

Ren rested his elbows against his thighs and buried his face in his hands. He lingered in this position for several moments, and Tamao nervously bit her lip.

"We have to find them. You know what this is about, Ren."

"She'll take them to Hao. And, if they went willingly..."

He paused for a moment and rubbed his face with his hands before continuing his thought. Tamao knew what he was going to say. The possibility scared her to death.

"They don't realize they're stepping into a trap."