~Chapter 14~

Kirby felt the searing jolt course through his body painfully for the third time that day. Wheezing, he sped up his clip, although his lungs and muscles screeched a protest.

After the voice had tranquilized him nearly a day ago, two humanoids had come to him and taken his cage to this place. The room was large, and dim. There was a long treadmill track nearly touching both ends of the room. Walls were built on either side of the treadmill, keeping Kirby from jumping off. A moniter was hooked up on the outside, but Kirby could not see what it saw.

When Kirby had awoken to this scene, he was immeadiately ordered to start running. At first, Kirby let the brunt of his anger on them, along with a few colorful choice words, before one took out a remote and sent a startling shock through his body. Turns out he had something stuck to his back, between were his wings would be, that responded to the remote. After much struggling, they managed to throw the warrior into the treadmill tunnel, and everytime he slowed down or stopped to catch his breath, they would issue a shock to his small pink body, forcing him to keep running.

Kirby's breathing sounded like glaciers grating against one another, and his running was starting to turn to limping. He would have started another violent spurt of curses, but his lungs wouldn't spare him the oxygen.

He heard incoherent murmurs from the two scientists as they examined the moniter, and Kirby let himself slow, hopeful that they were too intent to notice him. But as soon as his pace dropped in speed, another electrocution wracked his body, and he kept running. Tears ran like streams down his face, expressing his exhaustion and anger. He began limping, and felt the jolt again. But the poor puff's body was shutting down from over-exertion. Kirby felt his vision narrowing, going gray, then darker gray, then black. The world turned dark and spun away, and he dimmly felt his body hit the treadmill track. He felt the stinging electrocutions again and again, but they began to feel fainter with each shock...

...

Fumu was also straining for oxygen. After several long, uncomfortable hours of laying strapped down to a metal table, a scientist, humanoid in appearance, unstrapped her and took her to a very large room. She was told to run through a maze until she found the exit, but no one had told her that she had a time limit. Everytime she slowed down, she felt a searing shock from the chip strapped between her shoulders, where she couldn't reach. And when she got lost, the metal panels beneath her feet heated up until they burned her, making her run faster.

Tears ran down her face freely, wishing she could escape the horrible, burning pain that had claimed her lungs and feet. You are safe now. That was what the voice had told her. Now Fumu wanted the voice who lied to her to go to hell.

Finally, she saw the exit, and pushed her way out, collapsing on the floor as she lept clear of the hot floor. Her breathing was rough and loud with exhaustion, and she heard a thump as someone threw a half-filled water bottle toward her. Eagerly, she snatched it up and drained the strange orange contents inside, ignoring the sickly-sweet taste that made her stomach flinch. She was just happy it was cold, and soothing to her sore throat.

A scientist stood over her, writing busily on a clipboard, "Mmm-hmm. Fourty-six point two seconds. A new record. I think the heated panels are a help to the speed, since it orevents it from slowing down at all." He pointed at Fumu, "We should make it run on the heated panels the whole time, and see what happens." Several of his cohorts nodded in agreement, to Fumu's horror.

"Actually," piped up a younger-looking man, whose large glasses made his eyes look huge, "I think I have a better idea." Fumu felt herself grow anxious as the scientists urged him on,

The man pushed his glasses into his face and replied, "You have seen the pink thing that came with this one yesterday, right?" they nodded, "We have noticed the pink one has wings, and this one carries the Pestilence. Why don't we see what happens when we put them in the Dark Room together?"

An older man grinned, "Actually, Sherman, that's not such a bad idea. It could possibly be the makings of a new species, winged and immune to the galaxy's most dreaded virus." he said.

Fumu blinked, eyes wide. Kirby was alive? Why did they say he was dead, if they were only going to meet up a day later? More unsettling thoughts breached Fumu's mind. What was the Dark Room?

But someone had grabbed her roughly and pushed her into a large cage, barely much taller than she was. The cage was strapped to a dali, and the one who was at the handles propelled her through the lab halls like luggage. Fumu tried her best to take in all the sights around her, catalouging escapes and dead-ends, but the rooms and corridors passed her by quickly, making it nearly impossible to remember what it looked like. She then heard the man steering her speak. She looked up, and saw him talking into a transceiver, something about "the pink thing." Fumu sighed with relief. She would see Kirby again, at last.

The man drove her cage through a black door, and beyond it were black hallways. He walked down it a bit and turned, facing Fumu toward a cage-shaped indent in the wall. He bent down and unhooked her cage only enough for her to squeeze into the indent. No sooner had she made it in, when the man closed a shutter on the indent, trapping Fumu in a dark, small room as big as the cage she had been in. Frightened, and growing horribly claustrophobic, she pounded against the walls, her eyes flowing tears as they refused to yield against her force. Finally, the opposite wall lowered into the floor, letting her escape into a slightly bigger room.

The room was very dark, save for a few dim, flickering lights from the ceiling. Fumu stepped in, feeling the floor turn to cushion as she headed toward the room's center. It felt nice against her feet, which were burnt and sore from running, and she let herself fall into the pillowy flooring, easing her heart slowly.

For a moment she rested, and heard a sliding sound. She looked to the far side of the room, opposite of the wall she had entered in, and saw a splash of pink emerging from the antechamber. Joy and relief welled up inside her, "Kirby!" she cried, but her body refused to let her get up. The pink warrior saw her as well, and came limping toward her,

"Fumu...I knew...it..." Kirby gasped, and Fumu stared at him in horror as he came close up. His pink body was bruised and bleeding from lashes and cuts, and he looked pale from lack of oxygen, his blue eyes, usually so alight with radiance, were dull with fatigue, "I knew...they were lying...about you." he said, relief in his voice.

The two teens exchanged a long hug in celebration of their reunion, and when they seperated, Fumu ran her eyes over his injured frame, "What happened, Kirby?" she asked softly.

Kirby sighed, "Those damn bastards happened. They told me you and Meta Knight were dead, drugged me, and made me run nonstop. They then proceeded to shock, beat, and curse at me." he said, "What wimps..."

Fumu was still feeling emotional with the knowledge her friend was still alive, "They told me...you were dead too." she said, "But why tell us, when we're to meet the day after?" she asked, curiously.

Kirby shrugged, although it caused his bruised shoulders pain, "Who knows? Perhaps they just wanted to mess with our heads." he replied, "And now...we're in trouble..." he added. Fumu blinked at him,

"What do you mean? Why'd they put us in this Dark Room?" she asked slowly. Kirby fixed a serious, pain-glazed gaze on her,

"They said they take two experiments to the Dark Room, so..." he broke off, almost embarressed, and went on again, "This is the Lab's breeding room, it seems." he finished.

Silence.

Fumu gasped, "But...! We're too young!" she stammered. Kirby shook his head despairingly,

"Not to them. And my guy said if we're not 'done' in three hours, they'll be trouble." he groaned, and nodded at a cut on his arm, indicating what he meant.

Fumu winced, but decided to change the subject, "Where is Meta Knight, anyway?"

Kirby looked happy to be off the subject, "Not sure, but I haven't heard anything about any 'blue puffball' over the PA." he replied. He suddenly yawned, and seemed to teeter on his feet. Fumu blinked in alarm,

"Kirby, sit down." she told him, and the pink puff collapsed to the cushion floor beside her, sighing in pleasure as if cradled his aching body.

Kirby looked at her, "So what do we do?" he asked, and Fumu understood her meant their situation.

Fumu nodded determindly, though her eyes shone with fear, "We don't do 'it,' that's for sure." she said firmly, "When they come in three hours, we'll be ready for them." She made a fist, and tried a grin, but it came out strange. Kirby groaned again, feeling pain,

"We're gonna fight them...?" he asked uncertainly, and Fumu realized how weak and injured the puffball must be. Not in much condition to fight. Fumu sighed, and petted his head in comfort,

"We'll get out of this. I promise." she vowed, and felt her own body weigh her down with fatigue. She let herself sink into the cushions next to Kirby, so that their foreheads touched. She grabbed Kirby's paw in consolation, and he smiled gratefully. Too tired to talk anymore, they dozed, and soon drifted to sleep, still holding each other's hands.