Disclaimers: Not mine. Theirs. Pairings: 1+2, 3+4

Shivers Part 4 Kitana Bradford Warnings: Yaoi implications, angst, Duo torture, ickiness

"We are in deep shit, aren't we?" No one disagreed.

"Yay." I said without emotion, throwing my arms open and slumping against the books. Something gave behind my back and a statue about a foot away from my head caught my attention as it swung silently around to reveal a secret compartment within. Sitting inside was some kind of earthenware pot. I gave it a preoccupied, puzzled glance then turned back to Wufei. Heck with the stupid pot. I wanted to know what I could do to prevent our deaths.

"Wu, please tell me you have some good news after all that." I said hopefully, hopping off the latter. Wufei shook his head.

"Crud."

"Wait," Quatre cut in. "It does mention some kind of pots. talisman, he called them. Part of that picture he drew in there looks awfully like that top Duo found earlier. Why don't we just collect them and catch the Ixupi. Then, if that professor person was right, we should be safe."

Oh yes. Q-man to the rescue. I could have kissed him then. that is, if Trowa wouldn't have ripped me limb from limb.

As it was, a light went off in my head and I went scuttling back up the latter to retrieve the pot I had discovered mere minutes before. The others looked at me curiously, probably thinking I'd gone insane or something. That is, until I jumped down, proudly displaying the pot in my hand.

"Ta daaa!" I said with a dramatic flair. I don't think they were very impressed.

Quatre smiled and came forward to gently take it from my hands. "See? How hard can it be? We just find the pots and tops then match them together. Now, it would probably be faster if we all split up, but since the Ixupi seem to be everywhere, It would probably be safer to stay in groups." Quatre Raberba Winner: he natural-born leader taking charge. I chuckled to myself.

"I'll go with Trowa," I'd felt that one coming. "and Heero, you, Wufei, and Duo can go together."

Wufei squawked in protest. Heero merely grunted.

I couldn't decide whether to be glad or disappointed that Wufei was going along with Heero and I. After a small mental debate, I settled on glad. With Wufei around I could concentrate on pestering him and not worry about getting sidetracked by Heero's unconscious little nuances. Poor Wu-man. This was gonna be bad for him.

"Pul~leeeezzzeee, Wu-chan! It'll be fun!"

Wufei snorted. "Only Maxwell could call a situation like this 'fun'."

"Oi," I said in defense of myself. "You should try it. Great stress relief. It's the only way to live."

The truth was, if I let down my mask and started looking at the bad side of the situation and all the possibilities of things that could go wrong with Quatre's plan I would probably become depressed, get myself killed, and drag everyone down with me. I couldn't do that to them. I really love the guys. Even if they can't stand me at times.

"Kisama. Well come on. If I have to be stuck with you I want to get started already." He said, heading for the door.

I hurried to reach the door before Wufei, holding it open for him and giving him such an exaggerated bow that my braid went flying over my head and smacked me in the chest.

Wufei's eyes widened for a second before he glowered at me, stomping out the door, and muttering under his breath. It sounded like Chinese.

I felt more than heard Heero come up beside me and felt a tingle run up my spine. I ignored it and turned to him.

"What's he saying?" I asked. Heero would know. He made a point of knowing every major language ever used in the history of the colonies.

Heero gave me an unreadable look. "You don't want to know."

I chuckled ominously and flounced out the door after the Chinese pilot. Ninmu Ryoukai.

***

I'll spare you the details of the next couple of hours. Mostly they were spent solving puzzles, looking for pots, and scouting out the "battleground"; which is what Wu-man had taken to calling the museum.

I'll tell you one thing, though. That Professor Windlenot was a looney. This hulking museum was friggin' HUGE! Rooms everywhere. And there was at least one puzzle in each. Not to mention the ones you had to solve just to get INTO the damn rooms. I would never have guessed it was this big from the outside. No way.

And, man! There were ALL TYPES of puzzles. Everything from a typical jigsaw puzzle to things like a clock tower puzzle with the museum's real clocktower.

The hardest (at least in Wufei's opinion) was the Chinese checker puzzle -- Wu had loads of fun with that one. Not!! Heh heh heh heh!! He insisted on doing it alone. (He was mumbling something about honor and being able to figure out a puzzle from his own country.) Wufei spent nearly twenty minutes trying to figure out the damn thing and ended up just giving up and bashing the hell outta it with his sword, cursing at me in Chinese as I rolled on the ground, almost crying from the force of my laughter, with Heero looking disdainfully down at both of us all the while. It was a good thing that it was small and made out of wood which broke quickly or I think Wufei might have abandoned the puzzle and turned his sword on me. It was a lucky break that the pot inside wasn't shattered.

So, for the next two hours or so, Wufei, Heero, and I really had our work cut out for us. Solving puzzle after puzzle after puzzle after. well, you get the point. It was enough to drive a Gundam pilot crazy! And not just me. Wufei was going nuts. I think they were even beginning to get to Heero.

To make matters worse, each room was dedicated to some strange, ancient exhibit. Every one of the exhibits had some kind of freaky music filtering softly in the background. Windlenot really wasn't kidding when he named the museum Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange and Unusual.

The one and ONLY good thing about the museum was that; once you solved a puzzle, it stayed open as long as you didn't mess up the solution. All except for the elevators, that is. We avoided them. Which, fortunately, was possible because of the secret passages all over the place. As long as you knew which passage to use, you could get just about anywhere in the museum without ever needing the elevators.

So I guess it's kind of a given that I was getting all wound up. Hey, I was expecting those damn Ixupi to come outta nowhere and rip another piece out of me at any moment. And the atmosphere wasn't helping. But, surprisingly enough, there was no trace of the entities. No kidding. Nothing. Almost like they never even existed.

I knew better, though. The hollow aching feeling in my chest wore on me constantly. Since I have nothing better to do at the moment I'll try to describe it to you so that you know I'm not being a sissy and whining for no good reason.

Do you know that feeling you get in your chest after about three straight hours of hard aerobic workout? You know, where you're winded and your chest burns, yet you can't seem to catch your breath because it hurts so much to breathe you can barely wheeze? Combine that with the same lonely feeling you get when you've been away from someone you love for a long, long time and one MONSTER of a stomach-ache and you have about what I was feeling. And it only gets worse every time you get hit.

Two hours passed. Three. Four and till no sign of the Ixupi. I was in the middle of getting all worked up about it when the answer about hit me in the face. When it did, I wanted to kick myself for being so stupid. I was standing at the top floor balcony -- as far away as I could get from any kind of organic object - and eying the small crystal chandelier which hung above the landing warily when a small square of swirling grey caught my eye.

I turned and found myself staring out a tiny window at the menacing grey clouds outside. Okay, yes, there was a window and the clouds did look pretty spooky to my poor little overtaxed mind, but that's not the point. The clouds were grey. Not the inky black of nighttime clouds, the light tones which meant only one thing: it was day outside.

I must've lost track of time. Or, more accurately, not registered the passing of time. I know it sounds stupid, but, oi, in here, there was no way of telling night from day. Except for that little window which, in my defense, was virtually invisible unless you were practically staring at it.

Now that I had that piece of information it all made sense. My lips twitched and the corners rose in the beginnings of a smile. The Ixupi probably couldn't hunt during the day. The smirk became a grin. Which meant I was safe until sundown. I laughed.

Wufei and Heero chose that very moment to walk out the door to the room they had been investigating on my right. They both eyed me as though I was off my rocker, cocking their heads slightly and raising an eyebrow at me simotaniously. They just looked so kawaii.

Before I knew what I was doing, I glomped Heero. Thank Shinigami that the sudden move towards him alone didn't earn me his instinctive punch. I landed against his body with a thud and he merely grunted. I realized what I was doing and jerked away from him, hiding my mistake by moving on to Wufei.

Wufei glared fit to crack diamonds and held me at arms length.

"What's gotten into you, Maxwell?"

"It's light out! I was wondering why the Ixupi weren't attacking and I just realized that they can't come out during the day! Which means we have a whole." I checked my watch. "Nine hours to get our sorry asses outta here!"

***

Four hours and three pots later our progress was agonizingly slow and I was just about ready to fall asleep on my feet. I was exhausted beyond anything I had felt for years. I guess getting eaten alive really wears on a person.

Heero and Wu-man moved from room to room, solving puzzles that would hopefully yield a pot or its top. I tottered sluggishly after them, hard- pressed to just keep up the pace and trying my best not to get in the way. I get the feeling Wufei was becoming a little bit impatient with me but was holding his tongue. He's a good guy, really. He takes my teasing in stride and none of his constant complaints ever ring with true sincerity.

So when I felt Wufei's hand on my shoulder as I was attempting to solve the puzzle on my lap in between nods, I was hardly surprised. I looked up at him from under eyelids that were turning to stone and attempted a grin. It came out more as a yawn.

"Go get some rest, Maxwell. You can't make any progress in your current state."

"You sure, Wu?" My body screamed at me to say 'yes!' but I wanted to make sure the guys would be okay without me first.

"Affirmative." Heero answered from where he stood behind Wufei before Wu could even open his mouth. Oh great. Two against one. Usually when they do this double-teaming thing it kinda pisses me off, but at this point, I couldn't really care less. I was on my last leg and my body was about ready to shut down around me.

"Fine. I'll be--" My words got broken off by a great yawn and I rubbed my eyes before continuing. "--in the library. Don't you guys DARE let me sleep past sundown, okay?" They nodded curtly and I felt satisfied. There was no way that I was going to be caught sleeping by one of those things. I was kinda hoping that I'd run into the water Ixupi again, because one of the three pots we had managed to match together with their tops was the one that could trap the water. Attack me again and that little SOB was gonna get it up the ass, compliments of yours truly.

I stood, rather proud of myself at how steady I managed to appear, but then fate decided to throw in her two cents and ruined the effect as I yawned hugely; wobbling precariously as my equilibrium was thrown off kilter. I suppose it was a testament to my imminent, utter physical collapse that I didn't even blink when a warm, strong hand gently took hold of my elbow and held me steady.

I couldn't have deciphered the look Heero gave me then if it meant my life, as he bent forward and his strong fingers pried the puzzle out of my grasp, then gave me a soft shove towards the stairs. I only grumbled in incoherent sleepiness and obediently trudged down the spiraling staircase and headed in the direction of the library, muttering to myself the entire way.