Guardians of Tokyo Chapter 42:

The Labyrinths

Dire Bite teleported to Ayame. She appeared to be in a daze, so Dire Bite grabbed her arm and snapped his fingers in her face. She came to with a jolt.
"Where am I?" she asked Dire Bite.

"You're in a labyrinth created by the Midori no Kishi, and we have to teleport out before it's too late," Dire Bite told her. They both teleported out and reappeared on top of Tokyo Tower, just as the labyrinth closed up. "That was too close," Dire Bite said. "How did you get in here, anyway?"

Ayame thought, then said, "I don't know exactly, but the last thing I remember before you woke me up was seeing Hideki. It looked like he was flying."

"What did you say? Hideki FLYING?" Dire Bite asked, then remembered something. "Oh yeah- Mew Ichigo said she couldn't find him earlier after the gigantic bat left. Maybe he joined the Midori no Kishi, or was forced to."

"I don't think he'd join on his own," Ayame said. "But I don't know him as well as Aunt Pudding does. We should ask her."

"That will have to wait," Dire Bite said. "Your parents are trapped in labyrinths as well."

"NANI! Why didn't you say so sooner?" Ayame asked.

"I thought Pai, Mew Lettuce, Taruto and Mew Pudding would be here by now," Dire Bite said. "Pai sent me out to find you, and said he'd find the others."

"Let's split up," Ayame said. "I'll go to Uncle Taruto, and you go to Uncle Pai. We'll meet back here." Dire Bite nodded, and they both teleported.

When Ayame found Pai and Lettuce, however, they were unconscious at Ichigo's house. Dire Bite walked in, and said, "It looks like we found ourselves in the same place. Mew Pudding and Taruto are unconscious in the next room. Mew Ichigo, Aoyama and Kenji are downstairs. I guess we won't know anything until these guys wake up. If this has something to do with them trying to rescue your parents, we could be in greater danger than we thought."

Ichigo came in, saying, "Dire Bite, I thought-" she broke off as she saw Ayame. "Ayame, it's good you're here. I received a message from Akasaka-san, saying that the Midori no Kishi have a new ally. I asked him to bring Mint and Zakuro here." The doorbell rang. "That's them now," Ichigo said, leaving the room. This left Ayame and Dire Bite alone.

"Ayame, I swear we'll save your parents, so don't worry," Dire Bite said. Then Ichigo called them downstairs to hear what Akasaka-san had to say.

Akasaka-san said, "I was looking at some video footage taken near Tokyo Tower, and besides the labyrinths, something caught my eye. Here, look."

Everyone looked, and were shocked to see Hideki, who now had bat wings and was flying over the labyrinths.

Akasaka-san continued, "This is the boy who was training with Pudding. His DNA has been altered, like the Mew Mews, and he can now transform into a combination of a human and a vampire bat. It appears he has switched sides. This could be a real danger, especially if he actually created those labyrinths. We need to be careful."

Ichigo said, "Pudding is the only one who might know what he's thinking. I was going to let her and the others rest, but maybe it's better to wake them up." She left, then came back a few minutes later, saying, "I can't wake them up. Ayame, can you help?"

Ayame went to each of them and tapped their foreheads. They slowly woke up, and Ayame and Ichigo took them downstairs to hear what Akasaka-san had to say. Then Ichigo said, "What happened to you guys? You've been unconscious for over two hours, and that's after I found the four of you lying on my lawn."

"Lettuce and I found Kisshu in a labyrinth, and he wouldn't respond to any of our calls. Then I felt someone behind me, but whoever it was was too fast, and I was knocked out. The next thing I knew I was in a bed in your house. I have no idea who knocked me out." Pai then turned to Taruto. "Did the same thing happen to you and Pudding?"

Taruto nodded and Pudding said, "Yep, and we found Emiko in the same condition you said Kisshu was in."

"This is getting freaky," Ayame said, and Dire Bite nodded.