AN: a panic-stricken author brings this chapter to you. My Japanese Final is in two days! Arrgh! Wish me luck and enjoy the story.
Where Do We Wander"Fire in the hole!" Duo leaped away from the homemade bomb he'd just planted and, with only a second to spare, managed to dive into the hollow space between his two friends behind a low ice wall before the blast occurred. Earlier they had discovered that the ice doors regenerated too fast for Makoto or Duo's attacks to be helpful and that Ami's water-based attacks seemed to encourage the ice to redouble its strength. After a quick study with her mini-computer, Ami declared fire to be the only agent to fight the magic laced ice. Duo had smiled and offered his less-than-legal expertise to build a bomb from parts they'd found in the storage area. "I just resemble a priest at times. I never said I was one."
"Now," shouted Ami. Just as she predicted, the fire from the bomb had worked, but even as the heroes raced through, the doors were swiftly re-knitting themselves. By the time the three had reached the next bend in the passage only the shiny newness of the ice showed that the doors had been touched at all.
"Mind telling me just where we're running to," panted Makoto as the made another turn in a series of such moves. If Ami hadn't been directing them, the ice labyrinth would surely have defeated them.
"I had my mini-com lock onto the strongest source of mechanical energy. If our luck holds out, that's going to be whatever is propelling this ship." Duo, more familiar with sabotaging large military targets, caught on first.
"Take out the engine, you take out the ship." He flashed the normally reserved Senshi a grin. "You're pretty good at this commando stuff." Makoto snorted at the embarrassed blush that stained Ami's cheeks.
"Stop, Duo. Good girls aren't supposed to be complemented on their skill at mayhem and destruction." Makoto's teasing made Ami blush even harder. Sometimes being a genius was a pain in the ass. Despite her feelings, Ami found herself smiling as she led the others closer to what she hoped would be the engine room.
* * * *
Oh, my god! Rei managed to keep from yelling her disgust, but she couldn't remove the grimace that seemed to be chiseled into her face from deepening as she raked her hand through yet another disgusting slime mold. It was either touch the goop or risk sliding down the ventilation shaft into who knows where. Her gloves protected her from skin contact, but she could still tell how disgusting the stuff was through the fine fabric. After this crisis was over, Rei planned on soaking in a purifying spring for a long, long time. She was so busy slinging off yet another gooey mass stuck to her fingers that she failed to see where she set her foot. Instantly, she realized her mistake, but it was already to late. As if they were in some cheesy eighties movie, her slip up set disaster into motion and Trowa, Heero, and Rei found themselves sliding on the world's fasted slime propelled ride straight down a ventilation shaft. Had it been anyone else, the shaft would have been filled with terrified shrieks and yells, but the three made their way in total, but terrified nonetheless, silence. Only a quick reaction on Trowa's part to blazing light that appeared at the end of the tunnel kept the three from serious injury. He more sensed than saw the release lever as they raced by and he managed to catch it with his out flung hand. With a nasty jerk that nearly pulled his arm from its socket, the lever gave and the grate that had blocked the tunnel's end lifted. In a soaring arc, the three warriors were shot from the ventilation shaft to land in a groaning heap. Stunned crewmembers stared as the slime-crusted pile untangled itself. The security guards recovered their wits first and raced to encircle the now standing invaders.
"Hands up," ordered a gruff alien voice. Rei sighed and wrinkled her nose in silent apology to her friends. The two men with her didn't seem too upset, but sometimes one couldn't really tell with Heero and Trowa.
"Don't worry about it," was all Heero said as he slowly raised his hands into the air. Rei could have sworn that something in his expression twinkled. "We're just the diversion."
"What?" A moment later, the room behind the guards exploded inwards. Before weapons could be fired, Trowa and Heero moved behind the aliens and disarmed them with a few simple moves. The unconscious guards slumped to the floor quietly. The rest of the engine room crew, more like trained slaves, took this distraction to disappear into the workings of the ship.
"Isn't that just like underpaid, maltreated slaves," joked a voice from behind the smoking remains of the imploded wall. "Good help is so hard to find these days." Duo, followed by Makoto and Ami strode into the room with big smiles. "Miss us?" Rei and Duo politely turned their backs as the two reunited couples kissed their hellos. Heero cleared his throat to signal when they finished.
"Anybody seen the rest of the team?" Negative from both groups, but optimism still clung to them. Ami turned to a monitor and began to type furiously at the terminal. With her mini-computer's aid, she managed to understand the alien writing system and began to search for signs of their friends. While she did that, the rest of the group began to examine the engine set up to see how to effectively take it off-line. Despite the happy reunion, everyone could feel time slipping and urgency building. The situation had yet to hit critical mass, but the conditions were getting closer.