So You Wanna Take Over The World
Chapter 6
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Lien did stay with me that night, well, most of the night. After Dende and Popo went to bed, I went outside to meditate and Lien decided to explore a little. We had a mind link, so there was no worry about her getting lost. And I needed the solitude, not to mention the quiet
'Piccolo?' Children seem to know when any adult in the vicinity does not want to be disturbed… and that's when they choose to talk. I sighed, and sent back an answer.
'What is it?'
'You… might wanna see this.' Lien gave a little shriek and then I heard giggling. 'Quick, you have to come and see!'
'Okay, kid. I'll be right there.' I stood, stretched and decided meditation would have to wait for another night. Lien's energy signal was now easy for me to pick out, so I followed into deeper into the lookout. I knew this place pretty well, having lived here when Dende was first appointed guardian. But, this place didn't seem very familiar… As I walked down the second flight of stairs, that same cold feeling rushed through me again. Kami, how I hate the way it feels… Each step I took made me more and more uneasy. Something was definitely different about this place.
'Lien? Lien… Whichever room you're in, you need to get out… right now. Come back up to the top of the lookout.' I stopped halfway down the stairs with bated breath. Though I could still feel Lien's energy, I was half expecting no reply. But finally, one came.
'But, Piccolo… you didn't even see the lights yet! They're so pretty… come and see. I promise I'll leave right after you come look.' Lien tried to reason. Wind ruffled my cape, though we were far from the surface. Sweat began to bead on my forehead, despite the chill in the air.
'No, Lien. Get out of there… right now.' I replied, my voice a little louder. No sooner had the words left my lips then the stairs under my feet gave a lurch and tipped me forward. I barely managed to avoid toppling over. After regaining my footing, I rose a foot or so off of the steps and looked down at them. The separate steps molded into one and gave an angry roll towards the bottom. Lien, I don't care what you're doing! Get out of there right now!' Now the walls and ceiling were shifting, twisting to form odd, grotesque shapes. A hand formed out of the liquid like wall and reached for me. I whirled away from it, only to be grabbed at by more hands that had sprung from the other side of the room.
'Piccolo… I… I can't! I'm stuck! Help!' Lien's voice high and panicked. While dodging the thin, gray hands I focused harder on Lien's energy signal. I had to find her… we had to get out of here right now. I was just about to reach the doorway when I let my guard down and, quick as lightning, one of the desperate, reaching hands snagged my foot. I growled and shot a blast at it. The hand seemed to feel nothing at all and it pulled hard on my foot, dragging me through the air and towards the wall through which it had been groping.
'Kid? Lien? Try to fight. I'll be there as soon as I can!' I received no reply to this, and didn't have time to wonder why. The hand had now disappeared back into the wall and so had half of my leg. I through another ki blast, but the liquid like wall closed over it like it was a snack.
"Don't fight it, alien. You want the girl, don't you? She's in here with me. Come join us." A raspy, hideous voice whispered. It sounded as though it were right next to my ear, but I was the only one in the room. The wall was closing over my midsection. It felt disgustingly cold and thick. My heart thumped faster as another hand flew from the muck and grabbed my right arm. I tried to grab at it with my remaining free hand, but it went straight through with a sickening 'thwock' sound. Disgusted, I ripped my hand away only to have it now stuck in the wall as well.
"What the hell is this!?" I growled, now struggling with every bit of energy I could muster. Cruel laughter reverberated through my mind as the rest of me was pulled through to whatever was on the other side of the wall.
***
I can't say how much time has passed since that happened and when I awoke in the dark. Some of the liquid gunk had found its way up my nose and into my mouth. I gagged and spat it out while furiously rubbing at my nose. It fell out with a plop and slithered away into the dark. Breathing heavy, I tried to stand, only to realize that there was not room enough to stand up. My heart rate picked up again, and I felt my way around on my hands and knees. The ground on which I was crawling was wet and spongy. And I could sense no other life forms in here with me. I thought of Lien as kept on moving. Was she in here? If so, why couldn't I sense her? Perhaps she had found a way out and was alerting Dende to what had happened. I doubted that very seriously, but could think of nothing else to explain this. The girl was already dead… what was left that could harm her now?
I bumped into something that was as equally squishy as the floor and slowly came to realize with growing horror, that it was a wall. My mouth went dry.
"Where am I?" I asked no one. Another wet, warm something slipped down from the ceiling and onto my neck. I yelled in surprise and felt the thing sliding along the side of my face, toward my mouth, which I quickly closed. I held my breath and soon, it slithered away back onto my neck, down my arm and onto the floor. I was rather glad that I couldn't see anything in here. I'm not so sure I wanted to know what had just tried to slip into my mouth. But at least I now had a clue. And it only made my blood run cold.
I was not in a box of any kind…
…
…
I was inside of a creature.
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A/N - Whoa. Talk about weird. I was not really into this chapter, so sorry if it's lacking quality. I might take it down and add more detail later. Let me know what you think.