Chapter 4

Time was moving at a snail's pace. It seemed like it was hours until the masks hit the ground, but fall they did. It seemed as though all three masks - Sora's, Anya's, and Ryoko's - fell together.

Somewhat anti-climatically, as soon as they hit the ground everybody started to fight again like nothing happened. The only thing that changed was that the teams were fighting together. This battle was very difficult because, when one team was winning, almost instantly, the tables turned so the other team had the upper hand. This went on for quite awhile, neither team getting a good hit in. Everybody knew that this could not go on for much longer.

That's when it happened. The detectives saw an opening and took it. In a flash they had the three thieves cornered. But just that moment Kuwabara decided he wanted to do something stupid and throw the knockout gas. The gas landed right between the two teams. And it was true what Botan said that it was very strong. It knocked everybody out.

"Oh man, now how am I going to get them all back?" Kuwabara asked himself. He sat down thought for at least 20 minuets. A beeping sound shot through the silences.

"What the hell!?!" Kuwabara screamed. Then he heard it again and again.

"It's coming from Urameshi's pocket," he finally figured out. He then went in Yusuke pocket and pull out the thing that was making that noise. It was the communicator! He opened it and saw Botan's face.

"Yusuke, what is taking," Botan asked stopping in mid-sentence.

"Kuwabara, what are you doing with Yusuke's communicator?" She asked worried that something bad happened to him.

"Don't worry he's just passed out," Kuwabara explained. He told her everything, (A.N. I don't feel like typing all that. I know I'm lazy).

"But Kuwabara if what your saying is true than why didn't you just call me to open you a portal?" Botan asked, with a huge sweatdrop.

"Um, I forgot about that," Kuwabara confessed. Botan did an anime fall.

"Whatever, I'll just open you a portal so you can come through," Botan said with a sigh. True to her word, in about 10 seconds there was a portal right in front of him. Not only that but out came a few ogres. The one that looked like the leader, an ugly, puke-green fellow with nothing on but a leopard print loincloth, stepped up to Kuwabara and said, "We'll take it from here." He then got a few other ogres to take the detectives back and the rest of the ogres got three huge cages with wheels for the three girls. They put glowing handcuffs on them and roughly through them in the separated cages. And when they wake up? Oooh, forget a crack in hell's gates, the whole damn thing will come tumbling over.

::Ryoko's POV::

Someone was shaking me. "Nnnhh...." ::Where am I? What happened? Oh yeah, now I remember. We were fighting those dumb detectives. But I still don't where I am all I see is darkness. Maybe I should call out to Sora and Anya.::

::Normal POV::

"Kami-sama," Sora muttered, "Wake up, Ry!" Ryoko shot up.

"Wha? Huh?" she mumbled incoherently. "'Ra? Where are we?"

"We've been captured," Sora told the younger girl grimly, "I have no idea how."

"Kuso!" Ryoko swore.

"Wait, don't...!" Sora began, foreseeing what her rash friend would do. And, indeed, Ryoko tried to shoot out a flame to vent her frustration, but the flames didn't come, and she felt like there was a 100-volt current racing through her veins. Sora looked at her worriedly.

"Are you alright, hermanita?" Sora asked, plainly concerned.

"I'm fine, Sora," Ryoko said, not wanting to make the tall redhead worry too much. "But, damn! That hurt worse than that time I learned what ningen electrical sockets were for the hard way." Her plan worked. Sora let out a surprised giggle.

"You look worse too," the kitsune teased, "Your tail's even poofier than last time!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ryoko grumbled, stroking the abused appendage. She looked to the still slumbering blonde. "We'd better wake up Sleeping Beauty."

"You'll excuse me if I don't do the conventional way?" Sora demurred, carefully crawling to the sleeping girl so as to not open any of her barely healed wounds. Ryoko simply snorted.

"Anya," Sora murmured, gently shaking her nearly comatose friend. "Anya?" The girl stirred.

"Five more minutes, 'Ra," the girl mumbled in her sleep, "Don' wanna go t' school t'day..." Sora and Ryoko sighed gustily.

"Should have known that wouldn't work," the kitsune muttered under her breath. She sucked some air. "Anya Mary Alice, WAKE UP!!!!" she yelled. Anya jumped up into a battle stance. She sat back down seeing who was it was.

"Bitch!" she screamed, angry at being awoken.

"She's the bitch," Sora pointed out gesturing towards Ryoko. "I'm the vixen."

"Whatever! Who was the fuck do you think you are, waking me up like that, and—Wait," the blonde paused in her tirade, "Where the hell are we?"

"Captured," Ryoko responded disgustedly.

"DAMN!" Anya cursed, though she wasn't foolhardy enough to randomly send out her powers. She could sense miko's sealing magic on the chains, and, strangely, it felt strangely familiar. She discarded the idea. The only two mikos she, or any of the girls had met, for that matter, were dead. ::I am not going down that path again. Focus, girl!::

"Huh?" she said eloquently, realizing Ryoko's last statement had been directed at her. Ryoko sighed gustily.

"I said, do either of you have any plans?" Anya shook her head. Sora rubbed her chin.

"I might be able to come up with something," she said introspectively. "I'll need to meditate on it, though." Sora crossed her legs Indian style, and began to meditate. The other two girls sat in silence, not wanting to disturb their meditating friend. Straining even their demon ears, they barely managed to make out what the kitsune was saying. "Είμαι ­νας με τα νεματα. Τα νεματα είναι ­να με με. Με ετε να δω ÏŒως βλ­ουν, μ­σω των ματιÏŽν ου δεν καλτονται αÏŒ τη θανάσιμη ία. Με ετε να ακοσω ÏŒως ακονε, μ­σω των αυτιÏŽν ÏŒι αÏŒ τα ­ματα. Μιλστε σε με, μεγάλα νεματα ο. Αστε τις ­ς μας να συνδυάσουν!" the meditating girl murmured. (It's in Greek. Translation: I am one with the spirits. The spirits are one with me. Let me see as they see, through eyes not clouded by mortal greed. Let me hear as they hear, through ears not deceived by lies. Speak to me, o great spirits. Let our souls combine!)

The other girls stopped listening when they realized she was doing her Greek meditations. She only used that when she really needed to clear her mind. Other times she spoke in Spanish, or Japanese, or even English, so they could meditate with her. The girl on their thoughts opened her eyes and knelt, bowing seemingly to the air even as she said "Σας ευαριστομε μεγάλοι, για σας δÏŽρο της γνÏŽσης. Έτσι ο κÏŒκος αυτÏŒ είναι!" (Translation: Thank you great ones, for your gift of knowledge. So mote it be!) Sora turned to her friends, her previously cloudy eyes regaining their usual luster.

"I've got it," she announced. "We'll use Plan Z."

"Plan Z?" Anya questioned, nervously. "But Sora, we've never had the chance to practice that one. If we screw it up, we've lost our chance."

"Si, Anita," Sora answered grimly, "But none of the other plans will cut it and we'll lose our chance anyway. At least with Plan Z we have some hope. We'll just have to try our bests." Sora sighed helplessly, Anya glared at thin air, and Ryoko punched the ground. None of them liked being helpless.

With the Tantei, Botan, and Koenma

"Sir," Botan began, tearing her gaze from the TV monitor from which they were watching the girls. "We've determined that Seigyokinu is, apparently, called Ryoko, Shoujouhigitsune is called Sora, and Shirubakaze is called Anya. Also, they seemed to be planning a breakout. They spoke of something called Plan Z." The small prince turned white with anger.

"I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF!!!" he roared, "YUSUKE, TAKE YOUR TEAM OUT THERE AND STOP ANY PLAN THEY HAVE BEFORE THEY CAN START IT!!!" Everyone shrank away from the fuming prince. Even Kurama and Hiei seemed subdued. Yusuke hurried, for once, to follow his "employer's" orders. Just then the monitors went black.

"Oh, of all the times for the cameras to malfunction," Botan muttered under her breath, turning to them, eager to get her angry boss out of her line of sight. Speaking of the prince, he heard what she'd said. Needless to say, he didn't take the news well.

"WHY MEEEEEE!!!!!!!"

With the girls

The monitors loosing power was no accident. Sora had gone into her secret stash of weapons she kept hidden—ahem!—down the front of her shirt, if you know what I mean. She'd pulled out her anti-miko ofudas, or scrolls, once Anya had told her of the origin of the spells on the chains. She then pulled out a seed—from the same place, of course; they had emptied her hair; it seemed as though they were taking no chances—and sent it into the cameras' mainframe to cut a line or three, just to be on the safe side. She then pulled out an explosive plant, and blasted a hole in the wall of the cell. Perhaps Reikai had not been so careful. They had foolishly placed them in the outermost cell, the one which, right outside the wal, led to the outside. The girls wasted no time in running out. Their portal opener only worked in open space. As they ran out, whom did they run into but our favorite Tantei? (A.N. I was going to end it here, but I'm not evil.)

"So, muchachos," Sora began.

"D'you," Anya continued.

"Want to play?" Ryoko finished. Yusuke smirked.

"That's what I was going to say," he drawled. Ryoko smirked back at him.

"Well, that's too bad," she remarked.

"Yeah," Anya chimed in, "We were just leaving."

Ryoko pulled out the portal opener from, well, down the front of her shirt. She ripped open a portal to their hideaway in Makai.

"So long!" Ryoko said, jumping through the portal quickly. "Sayonara!" Anya called to the boys over her shoulder, jumping through next.

Sora turned to the boys, specifically Kurama. "No se preocupe, pelirojo, don't worry," she demurred. "This won't be the last time you'll see us." She blew him an innocent seeming kiss before jumping into the portal. A small object came towards him, growing bigger and longer by the second, and not just because it was rapidly approaching. Kurama reflexively caught it and stared.

"Well, what is it?" Yusuke asked growing impatient. Slowly Kurama looked up.

"It's a white rose," he replied quietly. "The sign of friendship."

Taira: What do you think, amigos?

Me: They love it, don't you?

Sora: If they do, they'll R&R, or Rate & Review!

Anya: ::sugar rush wearing off:: Hey that rhymed!