A.N. Well, I'm back again with more. I know the wait was longer than usual, but then again, the wait has been extremely short on all of these chapters. So I suppose it evens out. I do not own Hocus Pocus, by the by. And now I give you… Chapter Nine! *Cue game show reveal music!

OooOooOooOooO (Binx POV)

I felt Lacy slide past me. "Well then, I'm going first," she informed me. I rolled my eyes but let her go ahead. 'What's the worst that could happen?' I continued on for a few minutes in silence, but then my foot crashed into something malleable and I went sprawling. I landed on something warm and soft that grunted as I hit it. 'Lacy,' I realized immediately.

"Sorry," I muttered as I lay there on top of her. 'And that brings the count up to three,' I thought sarcastically. 'At least this time she's on her stomach.'

"S'okay, Binx. Not your fault. By the way, think I found the book. It's currently digging into my shin," she revealed. 'I'm guessing that that's what she tripped over,' I thought.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I dragged myself to my feet. I heard Lacy lift her legs out of my way, so I felt around the floor near where the noise had come from. After a moment, I found and scooped up the ghastly book. Right away, the sound of her sneakers hitting the ground again reached my ears. I didn't give it a thought at first as I located and grabbed my satchel from where it was lying. Once I had it slung over my shoulder and the book safely ensconced, I shuffled back to where I was pretty sure Lacy was lying.

"Lacy?" I called as I slid my feet along the ground to avoid tripping. For a moment, the crypt was silent except for the scratching of my feet on the gritty floor.

"I'm over here, Binx. I haven't moved," she informed me. I hurried in the direction of her voice, and I soon touched something soft with my bare foot.

"Why didn't you get up?" I settled down next to her. "Are you okay?" Trying to get a response, I reached out and brushed her fingers with mine.

"I'm fine. I just… can't move," she replied calmly. I slid my hand into her motionless one.

"What do you mean?" I questioned confusedly. "Are you hurt? Are you having a… wardrobe malfunction?"

"No. My body is just… numb. From the neck down, there's just nothing. The only thing I can move is my head, and I don't know why. As soon as you took the book, everything just froze." My heart stopped to a standstill for a moment before continuing double time. I attempted to sound calm so as not to freak Lacy out.

"Winifred must have put a spell on the book at some point, I guess," I deliberated. "That could be a problem."

"You think?" The girl inquired sarcastically. "No, I'll just use my head to drag myself along the ground."

"Oh, shut up; I'm thinking out loud," I notified her. I could practically feel her rolling her eyes. "Well, I guess I'll just have to carry you."

"Of course you will," she said with a sigh. "This will be the third time tonight, you know."

"I'm sorry. It's not exactly under my control. Quit getting hurt, then," I teased. "Now, up we go," I grunted as I lifted the redhead into my arms.

"Great. Can we get out of here now?" She complained.

OooOooOooOooO (Lacia POV)

I lifted my legs at the knees so that Binx could pick up the book and to get the sharp corner away from my tender shins. I could hear him feeling around for the book, and then the noises stopped. I had a moment to assume that he had found it before my whole body went numb.

My feet slammed back to the ground in a way that I'm sure would have been painful if I could have felt it. I only knew that they had hit the floor because of the sound they made. 'Great. And now I'm stuck here on the filthy, slimy, gritty floor,' I thought in irritation.

"Lacy?" I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't register right away that Binx was calling for me.

"I'm over here, Binx. I haven't moved," I replied. I heard him making his way over to me and sitting next to me.

"Why didn't you get up? Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I just… can't move," I explained. I sounded much calmer than I felt; it was a good thing considering Binx's worry.

"What do you mean? Are you hurt? Are you having a… wardrobe malfunction?" I blushed slightly, but he couldn't see it in the dark.

"No," I denied quickly. "My body is just… numb. From the neck down, there's just nothing. The only thing I can move is my head, and I don't know why. As soon as you took the book, everything just froze."

"Winifred must have put a spell on the book at some point, I guess," he mumbled. "That could be a problem."

"You think? No, I'll just use my head to drag myself along the ground," I snapped sardonically.

"Oh, shut up; I'm thinking out loud," he growled. I rolled my eyes. 'Well duh. Of course you're thinking out loud.' "Well, I guess I'll just have to carry you," he decided.

"Of course you will," I groaned. "This will be the third time tonight, you know."

"I'm sorry. It's not exactly under my control. Quit getting hurt, then. Now, up we go." I felt my head pull downwards, and I guessed that he had picked me up.

"Great. Can we get out of here now?" I begged. 'It's so creepy down here, and it's even worse because I feel helpless,' I considered.

"I second that motion," Binx agreed. My head began bobbing up and down, and I assumed that he was walking. I couldn't tell. Even from this close, it was still too pitch black to see him or anything else. If I could have moved, I would have tested it, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to see my hand in front of my face. After a while, the movement stopped. 'Wait; there's a ladder at the end of the tunnel. How are we going to get out of here if Binx has to carry me?'

Apparently Binx had the same thought. "I'm sorry, Lacy. You're gonna hate me for this," he told me. My heart dropped. 'What does he mean? What's he going to do? Oh boy,' I wondered nervously. I heard a ripping noise, and my hair swung around my face; I could tell because it brushed my nose. 'What's going on?' Then my face was pressed against warm soft cloth, and I could hear a heartbeat. 'Am I pressed against his chest? And where are his arms? How am I hanging here?'

I heard a clanging noise on my right, and another on my left. The sounds were repetitive, and they always alternated. 'He's climbing the ladder,' I realized. 'But how is he not holding me up?'

Then light pierced my eyes, and I flinched into Binx's chest for protection. 'Is a car going to hit us?' I wondered in terror.

"Lacy? Are you okay? What's wrong?" The blonde inquired. I slowly turned my head. The light hit my eyes again, but it was much less painful. 'I was just sitting in the dark for too long,' I comprehended.

"Nothing. I just wasn't expecting the light," I elucidated. I looked up into his brown eyes; he was staring at me with such concern and worry. "Really. I'm fine, Binx," I added.

"Really? Because as I recall, you can't move," he retorted.

"Alright, fair point," I admitted. "Other than that, I'm fine." He nodded with a small smile of victory. "So how are you carrying me?" I questioned.

He blushed. "I'm sorry. Your wrists are probably going to hurt when you get feeling back in them," he apologized.

"That didn't answer my question," I pointed out. "Are you going to tell me or not?" He blushed a deeper shade of red, but he reached behind him. After a moment, he pulled my hands from behind his neck. A strip of white fabric tied my wrists together. I glanced over to see that Binx was missing a portion of his sleeve. 'So that was the tearing sound I heard.'

"Like I said, I'm sorry. I understand if you're mad at me for this. I just couldn't think of anything else, and I wanted to get you out of there." He replaced my hands so that I wouldn't fall, and I found myself looking up into his chocolate eyes again. Butterflies filled my stomach.

"Binx, it's fine. You did what you had to do to get us out of the crypt. Now we have the book back and we can get somewhere safe. I'm sure that I'll have aches and pains later, but I'll deal. Thank you for taking care of me, Thackery. I forgive you, and I'm grateful," I assured him.

The smile he gave me sent the butterflies in my stomach into a fit. "I'm glad, and you're quite welcome, Lacia." I blushed at his use of my full name and at the meaning behind his words. I decided that a subject change was in order.

"Will you untie me now?"

OooOooOooOooO

A.N. Sorry that this chapter took longer than usual. I had a very busy weekend, and I ran into a minor writer's block. I hope that it was worth the wait. Please, as always, review!