(A/N: Well, whatever was wrong with my computer seems to have fixed itself. I don't know what it was, but I'm glad the problem is solved. Anyway, about last chapter, I seemed to have confused a few people. You see, I like to make small crossovers with my Studio Ghibli fics. Castle of Caliostro is a Lupin the Third move written and directed by Miyazaki. Great movie, you should see it if you haven't. And now, on with the story.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 9: The Chase
Pazu groaned as he rubbed his head. "Ow!" he cried. "That really hurt."
Dola, who had landed on top of him, rolled off. "Oh, my head. This is why usin' explosives was a bad idea. Those idiots. When we get back, I'm gonna-"
A piece of the rocky ceiling fell on her head, stopping her from saying whatever she was going to say. Pazu winced at the sound of the loud thud of Dola's head being hit.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt. You ok, Dola?"
Dola curled up, rubbing her forehead. "I'll be fine." She looked around the room. "Where in the heck are we?"
Pazu looked around. He hadn't been in here the last time he had been to Laputa, he definitely would have remembered it if he did. The room was filled with, what appeared to be, family heirlooms worthy of the royal family.
"Jackpot!" Dola cried. "This stuff has gotta be worth a fortune!"
"Dola, focus!" Pazu snapped.
Dola stumbled to her feet, dusting herself off. "Can't help it. Piratin' is in my blood. Ooh, what's this?" She wandered over to a statue of a priest that was holding a red pillow with a ring resting on it. "This'll fetch a pretty penny."
"Dola!"
"I wonder if this diamond is aetherium."
"It's not." Pazu snapped, spotting the ancient writing on the wall beside the statue; Sheeta had been teaching him the Laputan language. "It's just…" His eyes widened as he read the inscription.
"And look at this!" Dola ran over to the sculpture of a man and a woman's head wearing golden crowns. "I think these are the crowns of the royal family. Maybe the diamonds on them are aetherium too."
Pazu looked at the crowns, spotting more inscriptions. "They're the king and queen's crowns. Whether the diamonds or crystals or whatever those jewels are aetherium or not doesn't matter. We have to go find-"
"And feast your eyes on this!" She hurried over to a table covered in jewelry. "I bet this was the queen's jewelry."
"DOLA!" Pazu yelled. "Sheeta's still in trouble. We need to go."
Dola shook her head, coming back to reality. "Right, sorry. Lets go."
They hurried out of the room, into a hallway that seemed to go on forever, doors on each side, going all the way down the hall.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Pazu shouted in frustration.
"Keep your voice down!" Dola snapped, talking even louder than Pazu. "These halls echo. Do you want Avalon to know we're loose?"
Pazu covered his mouth. "Sorry, but this ridiculous. How are we supposed to know where to go?"
Dola looked to the left and right, tapping her chin. "Hmm, we'll have ta split up. Pazu, you take the left, and I'll take the right."
Not seeing any other way, Pazu nodded. "Ok, be careful."
"You be careful!"
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Sheeta ran, wanting to get as far away from Avalon as possible. She needed to find Pazu and the others. She hoped that the explosion she had heard was a good thing, meaning that Pazu and the others had gotten away, or were at least fighting back.
Pausing to catch her breath, Sheeta looked behind her to see if Avalon was chasing her. She knew that the door had sealed shut behind her, but Avalon had that built in cannon. Was the wall strong enough to hold that back? Probably not, yet the explosion had yet to come. Perhaps Avalon had decided not to cause anymore explosions, at least not while they were in a place that could cave in.
Convinced that she wasn't being followed, for the moment anyway, she glanced at the aetherium crystal in her hand. This was the last one; she and Pazu had dropped the other one six years ago when they had used the Spell of Destruction to defeat Muska. If worst came to worst, she would use the spell again to save Pazu and the others, but only as a last resort. Besides, Laputa might not withstand the use of that spell again.
"Even if I do get caught, I can't let Avalon get her hands on this crystal." She said to herself. Right now, the crystal was the only reason Avalon had kept Sheeta alive. Sheeta swore never to allow Avalon to use her, but she was terrified that she might do something to Pazu if she didn't cooperate.
The ground shook as an explosion went off. It looked like Avalon had decided to use her cannon after all. The ceiling cracked and pieces fell. They would have hit Sheeta had she not used the aetherium crystal's power to shield herself.
'That was close.' She thought. 'I have to leave before Avalon finds me.'
She took off again, getting lost in the labyrinth that was Laputa.
Avalon screwed her hand back on, an angry scowl on her face. How dare that brat push her and take the crystal. She would pay for it. That crystal belonged to her, and Sheeta was meant to obey her.
"I'll just have to teach her a lesson." She seethed as the blade popped out of her wrist. "Maybe I'll carve my name on her back so she knows that she belongs to me." Her fists clenched. "If only I could work the crystal without her, she'd be dead."
She stormed through the hole she made in the wall, sending sparks flying as she dragged her blade along the wall. If that girl thought she could escape, she had another thing coming. She had known that the brat was hiding something, she should have forced the truth out of her earlier.
"I'll find you, Sheeta, and when I do, I'll make you pay."
An evil grin crept up her face as she thought out Sheeta's punishment.
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Lui sighed as he leaned against the Wind Rider. He looked over at Charles, who was returning from his inspection of the room Avalon's gang had been in. "Well?" he asked.
Charles gave him a thumbs-up. "Completely sealed. There's no way they're getting out of there. Avalon's gang is finished."
"Thank goodness." One of the boys remarked. "Now only Avalon is left." He tapped his chin. "Why is it that the big bad bosses are always the last ones to go?"
Henri jumped to his feet. "Speaking of Avalon, we should tell Mom that she's the only one left." He looked up at the window that the control room was behind. "Hey, Pops, toss us down our walkie-talkies!"
Pops, who had been in the Wind Rider's control room, trying to learn how to work the controls, poked his head out the window. "What?"
"The walkie!" Henri repeated. "Toss it down! We wanna tell Mom that everything's alright!"
Pops nodded. "Yeah, sure, hold on!"
He disappeared inside before tossing down the walkie-talkie. Henri fumbled with it, nearly dropping it before his hands closed around it. "Phew, nearly dropped it. Mom, come in. Mom."
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Dola hurried through what had once been the inside of a beautiful city. She tried to remember which turns she had taken so she could get back to that room with the Laputa heirlooms, but it was impossible; there were just too many twists and turns. If only she had something that she could use to mark the path she's taken.
'Don't worry about treasure right now.' She scolded herself. 'Sheeta's in trouble, not ta mention that my boys might be in a bit of a fix.'
No sooner had she thought this, the walkie-talkie attached to her belt spoke. "Mom, come in. Mom."
Dola jumped at the unexpected voice. "What the, who's there?" She unhooked the walkie-talkie and brought it to her mouth. "Yeah, who is it?"
"Mom, it's Henri. You there?"
Dola blinked. "Of course I'm here, you nitwit! How else would I be talkin' to you?"
"S-Sorry, Mom. Just thought I'd tell you that we beat Avalon's gang."
Dola's eyes widened. "What? You did? Really?"
"Really."
"That's great!" Dola shouted, regardless of having been the one to tell Pazu to keep quiet. "How'd you beat them?"
"They were in the room filled with treasure and we used the dynamite to seal them in." He snickered. "They're gonna die rich."
The walkie-talkie fell from her hands as pure shock registered on her face. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she picked it up again. "That's all fine and dandy, but tell me something, HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GET TA THE TREASURE IF YOU SEALED THE ROOM!"
There was no response from the other end, indicating Henri's stunned silence. "I… that's… we just… darn, didn't think of that."
"WELL, YOU'RE SURE THINKIN' OF IT NOW, AREN'T YOU! I SWEAR, WHEN I GET BACK, I'M GONNA BEAT THE STUFFIN' OUT OF YOU!"
She hooked the walkie-talkie back on to her belt and continued on her way, fuming the whole time. This was just her luck; they got to Laputa not once, but twice, and she'll still never be able to lay her hands on Laputa's treasure.
She shook her head. 'There are more important things. Sheeta, Pazu, I really hope you're ok. I don't want ta lose anymore of my children ta that monster.'
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Avalon's threats echoed through the halls, reaching Sheeta's ears. She had no idea where she was going. Anyway was good, as long as it led away from Avalon, and hopefully closer to Pazu. If only there was some way she could be pointed in the right direction.
'That's it!'
She clenched the aetherium crystal in her had, wondering how to word this. She settled for 'point me to the one I love', speaking the words in the Laputan language. A red beam of light shot out of the crystal, showing her where Pazu was. Unfortunately, the beam of light was pointing to a stonewall. The crystal was showing her where Pazu was, but not how to get to him.
"Well, it's better than nothing." She murmured.
"Sheeta!"
Avalon's angry voice sounded too close for comfort. Sheeta began running again. She followed the beam of light as best as she could, taking the turns that led her in the direction Pazu was supposedly in.
"Sheeta!"
'This better be the right way.'
"Get back here!"
'If not, I'm a goner.'
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"Hang on, Sheeta, I'm coming." Pazu whispered as he ran through the halls of Laputa.
He prayed she was all right. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. If only he had seen through Avalon's lies. If only he hadn't let her be taken away. He had to rescue her, at all costs.
"Sheeta!"
Pazu skidded to a halt as he heard Avalon scream Sheeta's name. Did that mean Sheeta had escaped? From the tone of Avalon's voice, he had a feeling that she just might have. Now if only he could find her before Avalon did.
He paused for a moment, listening for the direction Avalon's voice was coming in. It didn't come. She had stopped calling her name, but another sound reached his ears. It was the heavy thump, thump of Avalon's metal foot stomping on the ground as she ran. It echoed through the halls, letting Pazu know that she was close by.
'That might mean that Sheeta is near.' He thought, though he didn't dare to call for her.
He hurried down the hall, listening as the heavy echoing footsteps of Avalon got closer. He turned a corner and-
Pow!
"Ow!" Pazu and Sheeta cried. They blinked and looked at each other.
"Pazu?"
"Sheeta?"
They embraced, beyond relieved that the other was all right.
"Oh, Pazu, I was so worried, especially after that explosion."
"Me? It was you I was worried about after Avalon took you away."
Reality came back to Sheeta. "She's coming now." She held out the aetherium crystal. "I took the crystal, if we can get away, maybe we can leave her here."
Pazu nodded. "As mean as that sounds, I agree with you." He grabbed her hand. "Come on, we're leaving."
He pulled her along as they ran, Avalon close behind.
(A/N: Reunited, but still in danger. Pazu and Sheeta are still on the run. Can Dola find them before Avalon catches up? And talk about a stupid mistake on Dola's Gang's part. Obviously, they hadn't thought about getting any treasure when they were sealing off the room. By the way, there is an important part in this chapter that will come into play later. Lets see if you can find and remember it.)
