The Mutated Amagi Chronicles

Chapter Eleven: Rescued

Harry was dashing for his life. His body, after the ordeals it had faced, was close to collapsing.
Yet still he ran, fueled by fear and adrenaline rather than energy and stamina. He could smell the breath of the Shadow monster behind him... He gasped for breath, knowing all too well that soon, the chase would be over.

Sirius could feel the footsteps getting nearer... It was coming from his left. Without any hesitation, he ran on, sniffing the air expectantly.

Harry, looking for ways to save his life, suddenly found his opportunity. He had come up this way once, when he was then tracking Shadow. This passageway split into several forks here. With any luck, he might be able to lose his pursuer for a while.
He could see the first fork right ahead... it was a four-way. What you can't see from this position, however, was another fork that led back... to the tower. If he could make an emergency turn at the fork, he would be able to get to the tower and escape before the Shadow monster could manage to turn and follow him.

Here it comes...

As he approached the fork, Harry leapt. Pointing his wand behind him, he began peppering his pursuer with a hail of random spells, distracting it from his goal. He was going to attempt pushing off on that rock that marked the center... Theoretically, by doing so he could do a U-turn and turn towards the tower. He had to time the landing just right...

Ready...

He prepared to spring, his body stiffening in anticipation. Sweat gleamed on his furrowed brow.

Almost there...

His feet connected with the rock. He pushed off, twisting in midair as he did so, in order to see where he was going.

Yes!

Unfortunately, the rock shattered after only holding for a fraction of a second, sending pieces ricocheting everywhere. Harry, still in mid-air, began to spin uncontrollably as he fell towards his cold, hard landing.

NO!!

However, luck decided to smile upon him. Strangely, as if he had a cat's instincts, instead of slamming on the rocky tiles that was the floor, Harry found himself landing gracefully on his feet. The instinctive magic that had served him so well in the past had made itself known once more.
Little good did it do him now. Completely worn out and too exhausted to move, Harry collapsed. He could now only watch helplessly as his doom charged inexorably in his direction, blades extending as it prepared for a slaughter.

Harry tried to bring up his wand in defense, the Sword proving too heavy for his current condition. The creature roared in defiance, the pure power behind the sound causing Harry to pause in apprehension. Unable to defend himself, he was sure he was doomed.
But fate decided otherwise. In answer to the roar, a howl burst from behind Harry, as a large, black dog streaked over his head. He rammed headlong into Harry's pursuer, stunning a very surprised Other Shadow and knocking it off-balance.

Sirius Black knew for sure that he was going to feel the mother of all migraines in the morning. Why the hell did that monstrosity have to be covered in spikes?!
Silently, as he tossed Harry onto his back and made tracks towards the exit, Sirius burned a mental note into his subconscious: "Next time, don't charge brashly into danger, 'cause it's just too hard to stop a charge..."
His paws complained about the outrageous rate at which he was going, as he hotfooted it as fast as he could through the catacombs. But he didn't have time to stop now. Because that abnormality had infused so much of its magic inside the fort, the fort responded to its beck and call... Yet because the monster was in such a rage, he assumed, the fort was disintegrating. Of course, it could be due to the age of the fort... or because the monster had infused too much power... But who cares about that? Ignoring the shooting pain from his raw, aching paws, Sirius urged himself to go faster, to burst into the fresh air of the outside world... and to get out of this nightmare.

Harry was straddling Sirius's midsection, desperately trying to hold on to his godfather as the latter was on the verge of breaking records for speed. He could only guess at how Sirius had found him, but he wasn't wasting time pondering the possibilities. He was grateful that Sirius had arrived like he did, but he groaned inwardly as he thought about the tongue-lashing he was bound to get...

Outside, Madam Yi was the first to spot the duo charging out of the fort and across the moat, barely clearing the collapsing structure before the gate toppled and the entire fort caved in, trapping anyone who was unfortunate enough to be left behind.
"Herm, look! There's Harry and Sirius!"
"OH MY GOD!! It's them!" Hermirone squealed in delight. "They're alive! They're alive!"
"Umm... Herm?"
"Yes, Hilary?"
"While I am very glad that they have made it out alive... Would you please let go of me? It's very... unsettling." Madam Yi said awkwardly.
"Oh! Sorry, Hilary..." A very red Hermirone turned back to wave at the approaching survivors. "But wait... Where's Ron?"

Yea! 3 readers!

might as well answer a few recent reviews...

Poe: Ok... Your opinion is your own. However, my region has been suffering drought lately, so I can't "dunk your head in a bucket of rain"... Sry... ^^U

SoshilaDove: Thx for your review! Hopefully you'll see this and continue reading my little fic...

QueenOfHearts: Finally, thx for my most loyal reader, for her continuing support of this fic... I'm unworthy!

Random Quote:

Bert: YOU MAY OPPRESS MY CORPOREAL SELF, BUT MY SPIRIT-CROTCH IS SOARING!

Random quote from www.sluggy.com (one of the most excellent online comics. You must visit this nifty comic!)