Here we go for the chapter 21 !

"Perfect. I will have some fun in this part.", Zodiak answered.

"Don't tell me you're not tired after all that trip...", I told him while sitting against a wall.

"I'm not carrying a 9-years-old girl, Gar'", he added.

"Your sword is not too heavy ?"

"I'm used of carrying it, so... I can't make the difference when I have it or not. But no, you can check if you want, it's a simple sword." He slid his sword on the floor and I had to use my both hands to carry it. He laughed at me.

"Good joke, Zo', good joke..." Ib stood up and tried to carry the sword, but it was way too heavy for her. Zodiak took his sword back.

"Keep your strengths for later, cutie, we're almost out of here." Ib smiled at him and went in my arms again. "Maybe we should continue now, besides, Ib can walk again."

"Let's go.", I said, standing up with Ib, and taking her hand. Some stairs were separating us from the orange zone.

When we entered, we were surprised by the view of a huge sleeping snake. We continued silently in the same corridor, and saw a hole. Zodiak jumped at the other side.

"It's easy to cross, that's alright." When I was about to jump, something said :

"For you maybe, but not for me !"

"Who was that ?!", Zodiak asked, looking everywhere.

"Look on the floor before looking in random directions, you silly !"

"Oh, it's a white ant !", Ib said, and knelt down.

"I can't go home because of this hole, I'm stuck here. Could you do something, cutie ?"

"I'll try." Ib stood up and took my hand. "Maybe something can help in the room behind us."

"Let's go take a look. Zodiak, you stay here ?"

"Becoming crazy with another ant ? No, thanks." He jumped again and followed us. In the room on our left were 5 paintings. A red, a blue, a yellow, a purple and a green one.

"Garry, you smell this like me ?", Zodiak asked. I didn't understand what he meant until I smelt the smell of tea.

"The purple painting makes some smoke, Garry !" Ib pointed at the painting, and we walked forward to check this.

"It's strange, huh ?", I said, looking at Zodiak.

"Too much for me...", he answered, shaking his hands, while Ib was touching the green painting.

"Ib, did you found something ?"

"We can take it to help the white ant." It seemed like a good idea. I picked up the painting and we went back at the hole. I placed the painting to cover it.

"Thanks a lot ! Bye !", the ant said, moving into the painting to go down.

"Okay let's go." We ignored the door behind the mobile plants on our right, and walked in a corridor on the left, and another. "Seems to turn around.", Zodiak added.

"We just have to check these two rooms now." Zodiak opened the first and closed it again.

"We can't see anything in this one..." And we tried the other one. It was a room full of boxes, with a painting of a man, head covered with ink, and titled Mistake. A message was written on another wall but we didn't mind, and the snake's tail was laying on the floor. Ib approached it and called me.

"If we pull his tail we can open the way outside.", she said. I looked at Zodiak to ask :

"Won't it wake up ?"

"If we are careful, it will be okay. Let me do it." Zodiak went to pull the snake's tail. As he said, the snake was always sleeping, so we continued in the room. A trapped corridor blocked our way. When Zodiak walked forward, Ib pulled his sleeve.

"Zodiak..." He turned over and pat her head.

"It's too easy for me, don't worry." When Zodiak disappeared in a corner of the corridor, a sound of something falling on the floor came out from behind. Ib hid herself in my coat and covered her mouth. I sat down.

"Don't make any noise, Ib... he can't see us, but maybe he can listen." Zodiak went back with a butterfly around him, and saw the Mistake moving. "Let's move silently." I told him, and carried Ib.

Out of the room, the butterfly flew away. Ib decided to follow it, and we arrived in front of the candle painting. The butterfly put itself on the painting and it made light.

"Light !", Zodiak said. "We could use this in the dark room."

"I don't want to go in it, that scares me..." Ib said, hiding into my coat.

"We'll stay behind the door." Zodiak was ready to do it. He took the painting in his right hand and his sword in his left one.

When he entered the room, he shout :

"Garry, can you tell me how many numbers have the code of the clock's panel ?"

"Yeah, wait." I checked the clock. It was a 5-digit panel. "5 !", I shout to Zodiak.

"Okay so, here I have a 7, colored in red."

"Red 7." Ib repeated. Was it to calm her down or just to remember it ? I didn't know, but was listening to Zodiak.

"A blue 2, a green 1, a violet 9. Oh, what is it ?"

"What did you found ?"

"It's the alarm of the clock, apparently. It's on !"

"Turn it off, we don't want the snake to awake !" I looked at the snake, always sleeping.

"Okay and here is the last number, a yellow 3." Zodiak came back and closed the door, making the butterfly fly away and the candle light down. Zodiak put the painting on the floor and hid his sword. I stood up with Ib in my arms, and we checked the clock.

"In which order do we have to put the numbers, now ? There are no colors on it."

"Maybe the colors were in the other room." I told Zodiak, and Ib pulled my sleeve. "Yes Ib ?"

"The colors were in the first room, there were 5 paintings in it." Zodiak and I looked at Ib with a big grin and nodded.

"Sure it's that !" Zodiak said. "So... what's the code, already ?"

"Did you already forget that ?!" I was about to face-palm but Ib saved the situation one more time.

"7,2,3,9, and 1." Zodiak tried that and surprisingly, it worked. Zodiak looked at me and pointed at Ib to say :

"This girl is amazing." Ib giggled at that. Algebra was definitely one of her specialities. The lights of the whole orange zone went half down, like if it was night time in the place. The Mistake went out of its room and we ran back in front of the flowers, which were sleeping. Zodiak couldn't break that door, it was a metallic one. We had to find the key but didn't know where we could search... until we saw the white ant. Ib knelt down and asked :

"Mr white ant, did you see a key somewhere nearby ?"

"Maybe, but I can't remember now, I'm too hungry ! I love stardust, if you can found me some, I'll make an effort...", it answered.

"A stardust ? Star, sky... oh, I saw a picture of a sky in the room of the Mistake. Stay here, I won't be long !" Zodiak ran at the opposite of the orange zone. He took advantage of being alone to slice the poor Mistake... a few seconds later, he was back with the stardust, and put it on the floor.

"It's a gorgeous one, thank you sir. I'll be back." The ant brought the stardust in the hole, which was apparently his house, and gave us the key in reward. Now we could proceed.

To be continued...