Hey! I'm back! :D Okay, so no one got the question. The three numbers are significant because my oldest sister, 3VAD127, was born on the eighth of December. My older sister, KiminatorXII, was born on the fifteenth of February. And I, my darlings, was born on the seventeenth of June. I thought that maybe one or two of you might get it because I've told a few of you when my birthday was, but, hey, I'm usually wrong anyway. :)

Disclaimer: SugarQueen8490 doesn't blah blah blah; you guys know the drill. Now on with the story! xD

~L~

Running in the dark wasn't one of the easiest things in the world especially when you're running around in an underground labyrinth with nothing but a flashlight with dying batteries to guide you. Julianna stopped for the umpteenth time to check the map of the maze that she had in her pocket. She scrutinized the page, muttered to herself a bit, put it back in her pocket, and kept on running.

After what seemed like a century, the medic finally motioned for them to stop and take a break. Both of them put their backs against the wall and slid into a sitting position. "We're close," Julianna stated through gasps for air.

"To what?"

"Well, have you noticed that there haven't been any people at all down here?"

Ian motioned the affirmative. "Well, let's just say that's all about to change soon, and you're going to need a disguise."

He nodded, and they took off running again into the darkness. They ran for about ten more minutes until they came to a door on their right. Julianna took a key from a keyring on her belt and unlocked the door. Once they were both inside, she turned on the lights. The room was packed with Vesper uniforms, handguns, sniper rifles, swords, and a couple hand grenades. Hanging on the walls were maps of various portions of the labyrinth. The medic picked out a uniform and tossed it at Ian.

"Put these on over your clothes. Hopefully they'll hide your wings as well as they did mine."

He did as he was told and marveled in a mirror at his lack of extra appendages. If he hadn't known for a fact that he had wings, he wouldn't have known it at all. "We need to go before someone catches us. They might be suspicious, and a suspicious Vesper is the last thing we need," Julianna pointed out.

Ian nodded, and they both walked calmly out into the tunnel. They passed a few people along the way, but none of them seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary. Julianna and Ian, however, would tense up every time and try not to attack at first sight of another human being.

They traveled through the tunnels in peace until they passed a group of people. The leader narrowed his eyes as they passed and caught Julianna on the arm, pulling her back to face him. "I don't remember ever seeing you around here," he snapped, still keeping a strong grip on her arm.

The girl wasn't phased, though. She'd dealt with harsh words before. "Well, it's a fairly large camp, and I'm a fairly new Vesper. I wouldn't be surprised in the least."

The man scowled and harshly let go of the medic's wrist. "State your name and business in the labyrinth."

"My name is Jessica Smith, and I'm afraid my business is classified."

His dark eyes flickered with annoyance and rage. "I am your commanding officer! State your business, Jessica," he spat angrily.

Julianna's eyes lit up with uncertainty and fear. What was she supposed to say next? How was she supposed to answer to that?

The man punched her in the face, sending her sprawling out on the floor. She looked up at him with utter hatred glittering in her blueish green eyes. He stared back with a neutral expression and strutted to where she was propped up on the floor. He bent down and grabbed her wrist again, suspending her above the ground. He reached up and pulled down a part of her left sleeve. His eyes filled with rage when he looked at her bare skin.

"Liar! All Vespers have a mark on their left wrist! You're a spy, an infiltrator!" he screamed as he flung her down as hard as he could to the ground. Her head pounded on the ground as she fell, knocking out the ribbon that held her braid together with the impact. Her hair fluttered around her like a long, golden waterfall. Ian looked at her forehead and saw a large gash near her right temple where her head had hit the floor. She was his friend! He couldn't just let her take this kind of abuse!

"Hey! Don't you treat her that way!" he yelled at the wicked Vesper. The man laughed evilly.

"And what are you going to do about it? I could simply kill you if I wanted to."

Ian charged him and tried to land a punch, but the man dodged his attack and pushed Ian into the wall. There was a loud smacking noise at the impact, and he could feel blood trickle down his chin from his lips. Julianna was on her feet by this time and attempted an assault on the leader, but one of the females from his posse caught her loose tresses in her hand and shoved her to the ground, still keeping a grip on her hair.

"My, my," the female Vesper purred. "What long and lovely locks you have. Maybe if you would've spent less time doing your hair and more time practicing your fighting technique, you wouldn't be in this messy fix."

"Good job, Jaycie," the leader rewarded. Jaycie's blueish purple eyes glinted with pride.

Through the fog in Ian's brain, he could barely register what the people were saying. He had hit his head far harder than he originally realized. Suddenly, the leader pulled a gun out of his holster and pointed it at him. "All imposters must be eliminated," he stated coolly.

Julianna's eyes widened in shock, and she began to thrash about in desperation. There was no way she would let someone's Guardian die! No one else should have to go through what she did. She slipped the switchblade out of her shirtsleeve and unsheathed the blade.

Jaycie laughed cruelly. "Do you really think that'll work on me? You're at too awkward of an angle to get me."

The medic gave her a sly smirk. "It isn't for you."

Then Julianna swung the blade in a wide arc behind her head, slicing her hair short and setting her free. Jaycie stumbled backward in shock, dropping the excess hair. The medic charged the leader, landed a strong kick on his back, and caught him by surprise, knocking him off his feet. She quickly hopped on top of him and pinned him down using her mutant strength. A revived Ian took Jaycie and the rest down easily. They tied up the leader with some rope they found in a nearby room, dragged the bodies of his unconscious posse into the room, and locked them all inside.

After all of it was over, Julianna collapsed on her knees and held her head in her hands. It felt as if someone had sliced open her head and inserted and giant metronome in between the two sections of her brain. Every single sound wave that existed in that tunnel crashed against her eardrums and echoed deafeningly in the depths of her mind.

Ian hauled her to her feet. "Come on. We need to keep moving. All that commotion probably alerted some surrounding people. Sound travels quickly in an echoing tunnel such as this."

She nodded and took a look at her map. They were getting close to their exit. It was only a matter of time before they would come face-to-face with the wickedest woman in the universe.

~L~

Ian crouched in the shadow of one of the Vespers' tents. The chilly night air made him shiver every once in a while. He could see Amy. She was tied to the same post that her brother was. The sight of her gave him an almost irresistible urge to run to her, to hold her in his arms. He knew he couldn't, though, not yet anyways.

"Okay, so here's the plan. You're going to go up there and unlock Amy and Dan's handcuffs with this key—she handed him a key from her keyring—while I take care of Isabel," Julianna said.

"Take care of her?"

"I have a paralysis serum made from a special type of spider venom that I'm going to inject in her."

"That sounds kind of Lucian of you," he joked.

She chuckled quietly. "Have you forgotten that my grandfather was all Lucian?"

Ian smiled. "Okay we should get moving."

Julianna nodded in agreement, and they both covered most of the ground separating them from Amy and Dan. "Oh, and, Ian. I can't stress this enough. Don't. Make. A sound."

He nodded, and the medic slithered through the flaps to Isabel's tent. Ian kneeled down and started undoing Amy's bindings and unlocked her handcuffs. The movement caused her to wake. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, and her eyes glittered with unshed tears. She mouthed his name but didn't utter a word. He felt happiness and relief flood his mind and body. She was safe. She was okay.

Julianna rushed out of Isabel's tent, her face ashen with shock. "What is it?" he whispered.

"She wasn't there. She wasn't there. She's just...gone!" she mumbled urgently.

"Well, then where-" Ian was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. He heard someone scream, but he couldn't place who it was. Blood splattered on his face, and he heard a body fall to the ground.

~L~

Oooo. Big cliffie. :P Who got shot? I'll mention you if you get it right. All I'm saying is that it might not be who you'd think it is. *mysterious grin* I'm so, so sorry for not updating soon! And for making this chapter kind of short, but I wanted to leave you in suspense! :) Heehee. I'm mean like that...

~Sugar