Chapter 10! Another more dramatic chapter and a change of POV. And that POV would be Yakko's. ;) Let's see what's been going on with him lately. Also, if you're unfamiliar with the Greek myth of the Labyrinth of Crete and the Minotaur, you may want to Google that real fast; otherwise the beginning of this chapter won't make much sense! XD
Ancient Greek myths are public domain, so you can't sue me for alluding to one! HA! :P
There he was. That man who kept himself so well hidden in shadows. He was walking around, dressed like he had been on that night, carrying the mallet and those damn handcuffs, the DIP sliding off them.
Yakko hid himself on the edge of a brick wall at the beginning of an alley way. He waited for the man to leave his line of vision, then he'd run and find his sibs. He hadn't seen them in a bit; he just had to hope they were still okay.
The man turned right, and walked out of Yakko's line of vision. Yakko looked farther down the alley he'd been hiding in, expecting to see a wall or another street. Instead, he saw the end hidden in darkness. Rather than risk running right in front of the man, he turned toward the black, hoping it'd hide him better.
He ran until he saw a brick wall and two paths, one going left, and the other going right. In a split second decision, Yakko went right, then took the first left he saw, and ran straight into a brick wall. He walked out of the alcove, still slightly dazed, and saw more paths and alcoves, all twisting and turning.
"It's a maze," Yakko muttered aloud. "I'm in a maze." He felt like he was trapped in the mythical labyrinth of Crete. As if on cue, he was suddenly wearing an Ancient Greek toga. He smirked slightly at his wardrobe change.
Suddenly, a pair of heavy footsteps materialized from behind him.
"If you're in the labyrinth, you gotta have a Minotaur," Yakko muttered, knowing exactly who his Minotaur was. And it wasn't some half-human, half-bull monster.
Yakko sprinted forward, trying to evade the heavy set of footsteps behind him. He wished he had some string, or a map, or a bright, neon sign pointing him to Vegas and showgirls, grow!
Instead, he made random sets of twists and turns, even hiding in alcoves until the man passed, then backtracking, hoping to throw him off. But somehow, the man always figured out Yakko's tricks, and began going after him again.
Yakko made a quick left down a path and saw an alcove branching off that. He hid in it and waited for the set of footsteps to pass. Once they did, Yakko would continue down this new path, hoping that the man would think Yakko had simply backtracked.
It seemed to work. The footsteps stopped for a second outside the path, then ran away from it. Yakko got ready to continue down the new path.
"Yakko!" A female voice called out suddenly.
"Dot!" Yakko yelled back, recognizing his sister's cries. His hands quickly flew to his mouth as soon as he said them. The footsteps stopped, then started up again, only this time coming closer. Yakko sprinted down the path
Crap! I gave away my position! Stupid!
"Yakko!" This time, it was Wakko's voice, the British accent ringing across the labyrinth. This time, though, Yakko didn't respond, learning his lesson.
I'm still here, Wakko. I'll find ya soon, sib. You and Dot.
He kept going, blindly taking random paths, and never stopping. The footsteps kept growing closer and closer.
Yakko suddenly found himself at the center of the labyrinth, which was one big black hole. He stumbled, nearly falling in, and then turned around. And found himself face to face with the man, his grey eyes emotionless.
Yakko backed away, and nearly fell into the black hole behind him. He had two options; either be kidnapped or fall. He still had no idea where his sibs where, as he hadn't heard from them since their cries. What would be best for them, what would keep them safe?
The man got closer, a menacing grin growing on his face...
Yakko gasped as he woke up, his breathing heavy. He hadn't had a nightmare than intense in a while. Yakko sat up and looked around the basement, double checking to make sure that everything was still there, that he wasn't blanking.
Well, the good news is I'm not blanking. The bad news is I'm still stuck in this darned basement!
Yakko slowly pulled the thin sheet off of him and got off of the folded comforter that he had folded to make something soft to sleep on. He stood up, double checked to make sure he was still in his normal brown pants and not a toga, and stretched.
This basement had been his home-scratch that-prison for the last three weeks. It was what you would call "finished", as it had carpets and dry wall, but was empty of furniture, save his makeshift bed and an old ladder sitting in the corner.
He went back to that night, right after he had gotten Wakko to run off.
Yakko continued to back up, getting his mallet ready to swing. The man was now extremely pissed off and making his way towards Yakko.
Yakko was beginning to wonder what was taking the help that Dot had obviously gone for so long as he dodged a mallet swing from the man. As they dodged each other's swings, Yakko racked his brain for something that could point to this man being angry at them. He couldn't come up with anything, however. They'd never seen or messed with this man before.
Due to being lost in his thoughts, Yakko realized a split second too late that the man was aiming the handle of the mallet right at Yakko's stomach. Yakko attempted to doge, but fell over onto his stomach as the wind was knocked out of him. He attempted to get up, but was stopped when the mallet swiftly collided with his back.
The man kneeled down beside him and yanked his arms up. "Hey, hey, easy with those! I only have two of 'em!" Yakko yelled, but was silenced when the man unclipped a pair of handcuffs from one of his belt loops, which were wet with something. The man quickly slapped them on Yakko's wrists, and by the burning sensation he suddenly felt, he realized the liquid coating the cuffs was DIP. Yakko let out a scream of pain, but it faded as he felt himself start to black out.
"I was hoping for all three of you, but you will do for now," The man's gruff voice was sinister, and yet it gave a bit of hope to Yakko. His sibs where safe, and would hopefully stay that way. He had been able to keep them safe, and this thought comforted him as he slipped into the black.
The fact that he was still alone down here after three weeks meant that Wakko and Dot were still safe, which made Yakko hopeful. They had to have contacted the police at this point, so Yakko also hoped that there were people out there looking for them. He held on to these positive thoughts as he was stuck down here.
He had, of course, tried to get out, but this man was good. The door leading upstairs to the rest of the house-Yakko assumed it was a house by the size of the basement-was locked and the door, the knob, and the hinges were coated with DIP. The same held true for the small windows that sat where the wall met the ceiling. Yakko's hands were still burnt slightly from times he tried to escape.
Yakko's pockets had also been emptied. He assumed that this had happened after he was unconscious, as he had woken up in the basement the next day with all of his things gone. Not only did it make Yakko completely unaware of his location, but it left him without his mallets, anvils, pianos, and plot holes, which where his black circles he'd place on any flat surface and use to teleport. Even his regular items were missing, like his community college textbooks and even that bologna that never seemed to go bad. Apparently, he couldn't have any food source down here that wasn't given to him.
Well, there was one thing that had been left in Yakko's pockets; one of his paddleballs. The rest of his collection had been taken, save this one. It was also Yakko's oldest, and his first. Despite it being a toon paddleball, meaning he couldn't use it to open any doors or windows without the DIP melting it, it showed some signs of age. The wood was worn down slightly around the handle, and the red color of the ball was faded.
Though Yakko was grateful that he'd been allowed one possession, and that it was one that could be used to pass time, the fact that he had it confused him slightly. Being allowed to keep this had been only one of three humane acts this man had done for him, the other two being kept alive and fed.
But, why? Why allow him this? The other two things made sense; this man obviously wanted him alive, considering he had enough DIP to kill him, and because of that, he was keeping Yakko fed. But there was no benefit for the man to allow Yakko his paddleball. Though it held meaning for Yakko, it was just a toy to the man. He might have even gotten some evil glee out of keeping it from him. But, he had denied himself that possibility to give Yakko something that gave him a bit of joy. Why on Earth would he give Yakko joy?
Yakko started to play with his paddleball, when the door opened. Footsteps slowly descended down the stairs. Yakko knew what this meant; the man was bringing him food. Sure enough, once the man got down to the bottom step, he placed a tray that had a glass of water and a bowl of something that was steaming, which Yakko assumed was soup. The man stood back up and waited, staying behind the stairwell walls. After the night he'd been kidnapped, the only time Yakko ever saw the man's face was in nightmares. He'd stay there on the bottom step until Yakko got close enough to the tray, then he'd bolt back upstairs. Yakko couldn't figure out why he kept himself hidden; he'd already seen his face.
The first week or so, Yakko would bolt to the tray with almost the same ferocity as Wakko would, and wouldn't realize the man was gone until he was about half way thought the meal. So, he started waiting for the man to leave before he'd grab the tray. Sure enough, the man wouldn't leave until Yakko took the food.
So, Yakko again hung back, while the man stood on the steps. Recently, Yakko had been trying to get him to speak, but the man remained silent. After about ten minutes, Yakko decided to speak up.
"So, you're a strong, silent type, huh?" Yakko said, but the man didn't reply. "You're not much for small talk, are you?" Again, nothing. "I'll take that as a yes.
"Can I ask just one question, then I'll leave you be to go do whatever it is you do," Probably kick puppies or something. The man still didn't say anything. "Again, I'll take that as a yes.
"What's your name? I do like to know that names of my hosts, even if I didn't take the guest label by choice."
Yakko waited a few minutes in silence, then sighed. I guess today isn't my day. Perhaps I'll try again tomorrow, if I didn't just ruin my chances of getting food. Yakko made his way towards the tray and the man began going up the stairs. Yakko heard him get to the top of the stairs when he stopped suddenly. Then, he spoke up, in the same gruff voice that Yakko remembered.
"You can call me Mr. Sanders."
Now, I really hate to leave you guys on a cliff hanger like this, but there's not gonna be an update next week due to the fact I'll be out-of-town for Thanksgiving weekend. I'm so sorry! D: Chapter 11 will be posted on Saturday, December 1st. Again, I'm super sorry, but I won't have internet access during my trip. So, see you in two weeks and have a Happy Thanksgiving! :D