Ok, one note so that CyberTigerAngel doesn't kill me. He often makes up these great puns for cards when he duels, and I used one for this chapter. He'll know what I mean… point being, now that I've given him credit, he won't kill me! Yay!
Captain Obvious: LOL, nice user name.
John: Sure you aren't…
Chapter 26: Deliverer of Torture
"Now, the question is, how are we going to get in?" Miles muttered as he stared at the front door.
"We'll need to take the guards out from a distance," Hope stated. "Any suggestions?"
"Be ready to bolt for the door," Will said, bringing forth two kunai.
"You can hit them?" Hope asked.
"Yes; I've been practicing over the last month." Will looked over to the Soul Monsters. "Gaston, Neo, and Gen should enter their Soul Cards, to attract less attention."
"You'll call us if needed, right?" Gaston asked.
"Of course," Hope assured. "We'll tell you how it goes later, once we make it out of that place."
"Why does Daine get to stay with you?" Neo inquired.
"He will be much more helpful in there," Gen answered. "Think about it. The only thing you and Gaston could do is kill any guards that we see, but Will, Fell, and Zack can do that too. I can open locked doorways, but Miles can too. Daine will be needed for his sense of smell and hearing, to alert them of things that are coming."
"I guess you have a point," Neo agreed before vanishing. Gaston and Gen followed.
"Is everyone ready?" Will asked.
Their silence answered him. Will picked up the kunai and expertly threw it at the guard to the left of the door.
It struck him in the throat, causing him to fall without a sound. The other one looked over at his companion in surprise, but before he could do anything, he was hit in the throat as well.
They ran to the door, Will stopping to collect his kunai.
Miles eyed the door in disgust. "An electric lock. It requires a number combination. Sorry guys, but we've just found the one kind of lock I can't get by."
"So you mean that we can't go on?" Hope said. "Fell, is there another way in?"
"…I do not think so."
"Damn it," Miles groaned. "Then there's no way we're about to get in. We might as well get out of here before we're caught."
"Wait. There might be a way to get in," Zack announced.
"Really?" Miles looked over at him. "And how do you suggest we get through this door?"
"Remember, many of my body parts have been replaced with machine parts. Just give me a few seconds." Zack went up to the device and placed his left hand on it. It began to glow blue, the color of his electricity. His eyes were closed as the device too began to glow slightly. For several seconds that seemed to stretch into hours for the impatient onlookers, he stayed in that position. Then he suddenly broke his hand away from it, the glow automatically vanishing. He quickly typed in a code on the panel, and the door slid open.
"Cool. How did you pull that off?" Miles inquired as they walked in.
Zack seemed a little tired from what he had done, but he kept up easily with the others. "I searched the database of it to extract the correct code. It's a simple procedure, but it also exhausts me somewhat. If necessary, I can do it again, but if I'm forced to keep doing it then I won't have much energy left."
"Let's hope you don't have to then," Hope stated.
-----
Larka slowly came to on a familiar place, one that she was not in the least bit happy to be at.
A metal examining table.
Her arms and legs were constrained by metal clasps, making it impossible to move. She still felt tired as well, but the drug that had caused her to fall asleep was wearing off quickly.
What… happened? I was at the back door in Hope's house... and someone leapt in. That's all I can remember…
Where am I? No… this can't be… Viken's laboratory? That just can't be…
Her sensitive ears picked up the sound of someone approaching. She didn't have to see him to know who he was.
I know those footsteps so well…
"Well, it seems you are finally conscious," she heard the man hiss.
"You…" she whispered.
"Yes. I'm glad that you still remember who I am." She heard him walk around the table, but still refused to look at him. "Stubborn as always, aren't you. I must say that I did not expect such a bold move as running away though. I thought it wouldn't be much of a problem, but I had forgotten how idiotic my assistants could be. So I've decided to try another tactic. 'If you want something done, do it yourself'… how I agree with that."
"My brother…"
"Ah, him. No, I had no chance to take him as well. But I've left something that will be sure to point to me as the one who has taken you. In all due time, he will be here… and I will be ready to capture him. But in the meantime, I can begin a procedure I need to take care of soon." Without a word of warning, he thrust a needle into her left arm. She just lay there, knowing what he was doing. He had often taken blood samples from her, and compared to other things he did, this was absolutely nothing.
She heard him walk to the back of the room, where she knew a computer and microscope were. The stand equipment he used to test blood samples.
"Hm… intriguing. A small change, but not very significant… it must be as a result of being exposed to the outside world," he murmured, more to himself than to Larka. "Not to mention being exposed to the moon in a much more natural way… yes, very interesting. Maybe I should try to use outdoor areas for experiments more often…"
The quick typing at the computer informed Larka that her captor was writing up some more information he had discovered. She forced herself to steady her breathing.
Relax… Fell will come. He'll save me… But remembering what the scientist had said, she felt hesitant. Then again… it would be better if he did not come. But I know that he will. Oh Fell, please be careful!
"That will be all for now," she heard the man announce, before walking over to the door. "My other experiments will have to wait until I take a blood sample from the other specimen…" His voice trailed off as his cell phone rang. He picked it up. "Yes?" After a pause, he replied, "They are dead, and the intruders are inside? I see. Is it ready? Good. Call me back when you know what the results are." Then he hung up.
"He is already here. There is nothing to do but wait for now."
Larka closed her eyes, silently praying.
-----
They proceeded down the hall cautiously, but with no difficulty. They soon arrived in a room with three doors. All of them were locked, except for the center door.
"Drat. Which door do we need to take?" Miles asked.
"…The one to the right."
"I'm on it!" Miles quickly drew out a lock pick, and set to work on the door. "I'll be done pretty quickly…"
"I wonder what the other doors are for?" Hope thought out loud.
"One for the guards, one for equipment?" Will suggested.
"Most likely," Daine agreed.
Miles turned to them, still holding the lock. "Success!"
"Then let's get moving," Hope suggested.
"Freeze!"
"A little too late for that," Miles muttered as several guards leapt out from the center door.
Almost instantly, one of them brought a gun forth, and fired. Hope would have been hit if Zack hadn't jumped in the way, taking the shot in the arm. Everyone else instantly ducked, dodging the other shots narrowly.
Zack pulled the object out of his arm. "A dart?"
"Tranquilizer darts perhaps?" Will said, hurling a kunai at one of the guards. His target fell to the floor, having been hit between the eyes.
"So they want to take us alive?" Hope inferred.
"Seems like it," Miles stated. "They'll have a hard time with Zack though-he can't be hit in the veins since he doesn't even have any."
By this time, five officials lay on the floor, dead from kunai hits. Two others had fallen as well from Zack's switchblade. Daine had ripped the windpipe out of another, bringing the total number dead to eight.
Miles yelped as he was struck in the shoulder by one of the darts, and he pulled it out. "Annoying things. At least it missed a vein."
"We won't be able to keep this up!" Hope exclaimed. "We are way too outnumbered!"
Hope, Will, Miles, and Malon had fallen to the back of the room. They could not call out their Soul Monsters, due to the lack of room to fight, but Will continued to toss kunai. Zack and Daine continued to attack. Fell was nearby the front too, but he hadn't made any move to attack yet. Instead, he looked over to Zack and Daine.
"Move out of the way."
Daine instantly obeyed, charging over to the others. Zack soon followed, leaving another guard lying on the floor with a slashed throat.
Then Fell leapt at them. He sped at the first guard, and in less than a second he and two others were dead, slashed to pieces.
It was extremely hard to even see Fell now, he was moving so fast. Guards collapsed left and right, cut down so swiftly that he was already elsewhere before their corpses landed on the ground.
It was over before the others could grasp what had happened. Fell calmly cleaned his hands on one of the dead guard's shirt while everyone else tried to understand what had occurred.
"What… the HELL… was THAT?!" Miles said in disbelief.
"Larka wasn't kidding when she said that they could run incredibly fast speeds if necessary," Hope realized.
"Well, we've seen him do it before, just not to kill such a large group of men," Will pointed out.
"The only person I've seen move that fast is Brandi," Hope recalled. "I wonder which person is faster?"
"I believe Brandi is slightly faster," Will stated. "However, she has the disadvantage of having her leg muscles torn when she does so. Fell, on the other hand, has no problems like that, so he gets to run quickly, but not as fast. Maybe we should discuss this later though. Let's get moving before we're ambushed again."
They went on, through the right door.
-----
"It failed?" he snapped, listening to his observer as he explained how the attack had gone. "I told them to specifically aim for the specimen, damn it! Do they even listen to instructions?" Another pause. "Oh well, it should not be a problem. I'll take care of him myself." He pressed the end button. "So we will finally confront each other. This should be a remarkable match…"
-----
"And here folks is yet another nice, metal door," Miles commented. "Without a lock, which we should all be happy about."
Malon growled as Daine perked his ears.
"Someone is in there."
"…It is him," Fell said. And without further hesitation, he opened the door, and stepped in, the others following. Miles, being the last one to enter, was considerate enough to close the door behind him.
The laboratory had a long, metal table with several sharp instruments, none of which looked pleasant. Hope was aghast to see that a few still seemed to have blood on them. Another table had several beakers and test tubes, with a different liquid in each. There was a computer that was hooked up to a microscope nearby. Two other locked doors were there, one on the left side of the room and the other straight ahead from the hallway that they had left.
There was also a metal examining table, with someone attached to it. Hope instantly recognized who it was.
"Larka!" she exclaimed.
Larka looked over at them. "Get out of here! Don't worry about me, just go! I'm not worth risking yourselves over!"
"As if we would leave you in some mad man's lair," Miles snorted. "We aren't about to leave until that freak is dead, especially if Fell gets to rip him apart as he wants to."
Fell cast a quick look over at his sister before turning his attention to the other person. A man who wore white clothes that were covered in a lab coat. His black hair seemed uncared for, and hung to his shoulders. His eyes were also a surprising black, which caused Hope to shiver mentally.
"Viken," Fell said, staring at him. "I knew we could not leave you alive."
"But obviously, you did not take precautions," Viken told him. "Now you are in a rather inconvenient position, wouldn't you agree?" He brought out a knife. "One wrong move, and I could easily slay this specimen. But I am in need of you two, and it never hurts to have more specimens."
"Sicko," Miles muttered.
"So, I have come up with a logical solution," Viken announced. He threw a metal collar over to Fell, who caught it easily.
Viken attached an identical one to his neck. "Put yours on as well."
Fell did so. It snapped on easily.
"Here is what will happen. We will duel, and the winner's collar will immediately detach itself. The loser's, however, will have needles come forth from it to inject themselves into the victim. Yours will cause you to instantly become paralyzed. The poison inside of mine will release itself into my blood stream, and I will die."
"You're a duelist?" Will inquired.
"I don't play often, but when I do… I win. Whether you call my method of winning cheap or not is your decision."
"I have no Duel Disk," Fell stated.
"I expected that." Viken tossed him one, and put on his own. "Did you at least bring your deck?"
As an answer, Fell brought forth his deck, sliding it into the Duel Disk.
"Whoa, wait a minute! You aren't accepting this, are you?" Miles said.
"It's a little too late for him to back out," Will pointed out. "We can only hope that he will pull this out."
Daine leapt to Fell's side, snarling at the scientist.
"I have no Deck Master," Viken told him. "I have never needed one… well, shall we begin?"
Malon whined, looking over at Larka.
"It'll be ok," Hope assured him. "Fell will win. He's come too far to lose now…"
-----
"So, do you have any eights?" Rue asked.
"Go Fish," Draken replied.
"Damn it." Rue drew a card.
Claire looked over at them. "How can you two be playing a game at a time like this?"
"It beats sitting around worrying, like you are," Draken pointed out. "Any threes?"
"Did I ever mention that I hate you?" Rue muttered, handing over the cards.
"Only a few million times," Draken told him, accepting the threes.
-----
Max walked over to Ms. Gales' room. He had decided to take a break from thinking over his situation, and wanted to talk to her.
She was currently debating with Amy about the event that had occurred downstairs.
"-and I will NOT put up with it! I just can't take this any more! I only need one more thing-just one-to drive me completely insane!"
"So you blame it on your daughter?" Max stated dryly.
Neither Ms. Gales or Amy had heard him come in, and jumped when they heard him speak.
"Geez Max, give us a warning next time!" Amy exclaimed.
"What do you mean, I'm blaming my daughter?"
"Well, you started yelling at her, saying she was grounded. Why her? It wasn't even her idea. Besides, would you rather that she get arrested by the officials for something she did not even do, including others who are innocent?"
"…You're right," Ms. Gales sighed. "I'm just overwhelmed… and in the need of new kitchenware. That boy had better pay for everything when he gets back!"
"I'm sure he will, rather than face your wrath," Amy commented before leaving, Max following.
When they were in the hall, Amy turned to face Max. "How did you do it? How did you manage to make her listen to you?"
"It's called a direct approach," Max said simply before going back to Hope's room.
"…Interesting. I have no idea why I haven't tried that," Amy thought out loud. "Note to self: give it an attempt in the future."
-----
Fell: 8000
Viken: 8000
"How will we decide who goes first?" Hope questioned.
Miles put a hand behind his back. "Mad scientist guy, pick even or odd."
"I hate gambling," Viken muttered. "Even?"
"You fail!" Miles told him. "It's three. I chose an odd number, because it suits you!"
"Just a suggestion; do not make the insane guy who could stab us to death angry," Hope suggested.
"Good advice," Viken smirked.
Fell drew. "…Two cards, and Executioner Makyura. (1600/1200) End turn."
Viken looked at his hand, and sneered. "I have already won. First, I play Tempest, destroying both of your face down cards."
"…Activate Destruction Ring, destroying Executioner Makyura. Attack Nullification is destroyed."
Fell: 6400
Viken: 6400
"Using Destruction Ring on your own monster? How sad! But the cards I hold in my hand make that play a better one than you might think. First, I summon Cannon Soldier. (1400/1300) Next, I play Will. When one of my monsters is destroyed this turn, I special summon a monster with 1500 attack or less from my deck to the field. I also play another Will! Now I will get two monsters. I sacrifice Cannon Soldier to activate his effect. You take 500 damage, and my Wills activate!"
Fell: 5900
Viken: 6400
"I will choose to special summon Magical Scientist and Catapult Turtle. (300/300) (1000/2000) Now, I activate Magical Scientist's effect. By paying 1000 Life Points, I can special summon a Fusion monster that is level six or lower from my Fusion deck. So I call forth Crimson Bird! (2300/1800)"
Fell: 5900
Viken: 5400
"Then I pay 2000 more to get two more Crimson Birds!"
Fell: 5900
Viken: 3400
"That means Fell is dead!" Miles exclaimed. "He doesn't stand a chance against all of them attacking at once!"
"Oh, it looks like I forgot to mention something. Any Fusion monsters that come from Magical Scientist's effect cannot attack directly."
"Then what's the point?" Hope asked.
"You obviously do not know what Catapult Turtle's effect is. By sacrificing one monster on my side of the field, the opponent loses Life Points equal to half of the monster's attack. So offering a Crimson Bird will do 1150 damage, for example."
"Then he's lost anyway," Will realized. "After he offers all three of his Crimson Birds, he will still have enough Life Points to bring out enough monsters to sacrifice to his Catapult Turtle."
"Correct! I will sacrifice one of my Crimson Birds to activate Catapult Turtle's effect!"
Suddenly, white light shot out from the Magical Scientist and Catapult Turtle. The Scientist fell to his knees, grasping his chest in agony, while the Catapult Turtle snarled in pain.
"What the hell happened?!" Viken shouted.
Fell gave him a small smirk. "I have activated Skill Drain. I pay 1000 Life Points, and all monsters on the field have their effects negated."
Fell: 4900
Viken: 3400
"But you have no traps!" Viken protested.
"Oh, now I see!" Hope said. "Fell destroyed his own Executioner Makyura so that he could use his effect! On the turn that Executioner Makyura is sent to the Cemetery, Fell is allowed to activate trap cards from his hand!"
"Damn set backs," Viken snarled. "I'll have Magical Scientist and Catapult Turtle attack directly!"
Fell: 3600
Viken: 3400
"I lay two cards down, and end my turn. That causes the monsters I special summoned to go back to the Fusion deck."
Fell looked at his new card for a second, before summoning it. "Blood Vors. (1900/1200) Activate Cyclone on your left card."
"I'll chain it. It is an instant magic card called Toxin Tubes." Two tubes appeared. The one in his left hand had a vile, purple liquid that bubbled and smoked. The green one looked just as atrocious, and was bubbling as well, with smoke coming from it.
He eyed them. "Hm… I believe the green one will suffice." He drank it quickly.
"My disgust in this guy has just gone up a whole lot," Miles stated.
"As has my impatience for your arrogant mouth," Viken replied. He threw the purple test tube at Miles.
The explosion caused everyone to cover their ears. When they looked up, they saw that Miles' clothing had become charred.
"That was not cool," Miles growled, eyeing his clothes.
"Look on the bright side; you weren't wearing your bandana!" Hope pointed out.
"Toxin Tubes has two effects to choose from. I chose to gain 1200 Life Points. While I could have done 800 damage to you instead, I find that it would be too weak."
Fell: 3600
Viken: 4600
"Attack Catapult Turtle. Lay one card down."
Fell: 3600
Viken: 3700
"My turn, I assume? You never were one who liked to talk… even as a child, you preferred to hide your emotions. I could always tell what the other one was thinking… she couldn't help but betray what she was feeling, just from her face. But you were a strange one… no matter how much pain was inflicted, your cold personality didn't change. Maybe that's why I prefer comparing the two of you; with such different characteristics, I get so many unique results."
"…"
"Enough rambling. I will activate my trap card, Careless Avarice. This allows me to draw two cards, but I will be forced to skip my next two draw phases. Ah, very good. I will play Raise Dead on my Catapult Turtle, to put it in defense mode. (1000/2000) After that, I switch Magical Scientist to defense mode, and lay one card down. It's your turn."
"…Summon Mad Dog of Darkness. (1900/1400) Equip it with Demon Axe, raising its attack by 1000. (2900/1400) Attack Catapult Turtle."
"I'll activate Holy Barrier-Mirror Force. That destroys your two monsters."
"…End turn."
"I'll summon Fleet-Footed Gilasaurus. (1400/400) It attacks!"
Fell: 2200
Viken: 3700
"Why on earth would you use a Gilasaurus in a Magical Scientist deck?" Miles inquired.
"It's another combination to bring out Magical Scientist and Catapult Turtle at the same time. Special summon Gilasaurus with his effect, and activate Will. Then play Black Hole, and special summon Catapult Turtle. Finally, summon Magical Scientist."
"Interesting way to do it," Will commented.
"I will also activate another Toxin Tubes!" Viken took the green tube and poured it into the purple one, causing it to turn into a very dark, sick looking greenish-brown potion. He threw it at Fell. When the smoke cleared from the explosion, Fell's skin was slightly blackened from burns, but his black clothes and hair showed no signs of looking any different.
"I chose to do 800 damage to you this time," Viken stated.
"We never would have guessed," Miles said sarcastically.
Fell: 1400
Viken: 3700
Fell looked at his card, and then at Daine. "Now."
"Right away, master." Daine's loud, eerie howl echoed through the room, bringing forth another Mad Dog of Darkness. (1900/1400)
"How did you do that?"
"Once per duel, I am allowed to special summon one Dark Main-Type that is level four or lower from my master's deck," Daine explained.
Fell laid one card down, and then beckoned to the Gilasaurus. It was torn apart by the Mad Dog.
Fell: 1400
Viken: 3200
"Blast it all," Viken snarled. "There's only one thing left to do. I sacrifice Magical Scientist for one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
"…Emissary of Obliteration. It removes your face down monster from the game."
"Damn it to hell… my Catapult Turtle…"
"Also activate Enemy Controller from my field. It switches your other Catapult Turtle to attack mode."
"What?!"
"Attack Catapult Turtle, and end my turn."
Fell: 1400
Viken: 2300
"Fell sure has the upper hand," Hope commented.
"It could still go either way," Will reminded her.
Malon whined softly.
"I activate Shallow Grave! This special summons one monster from each of our Cemeteries to our fields, in face down defense mode."
Fell quickly selected one and put it face down, while Viken chose one of his own.
"And that ends my turn."
Fell stared at his next card for a minute.
"…I have won."
"What?"
"Flip summon Mad Dog of Darkness, and then summon one final Mad Dog."
The three Mad Dogs growled at the scientist.
"And what good will that do?"
"I activate a magic card, Delta Attack."
"Delta Attack?"
"It can only be activated when I have three normal monsters on my field that share the same name. They are allowed to attack you directly for this turn."
"No!"
"Attack directly."
The three Mad Dogs leapt at Viken, biting, scratching, and snarling as they tore at him.
Fell: 1400
Viken: 0
The collar around Fell's neck detached itself and hit the floor with a clang. Viken gasped, and suddenly fell to his knees. Wincing in pain, he said, "So you've won… that is the problem with Magical Scientist decks; you either win instantly, or lose almost as quickly. You may have defeated me, but remember that I have still done several things to alter your lives forever." He sighed. "How I would have loved to see how it turned out… oh well. The point is, you do not yet know what either of you are completely capable of. Neither do I. And I am afraid it will remain that way. But I will extract my revenge, even if I have to wait in Hell for eternity, until you come to join me!"
"Maybe I, but not my sister," Fell stated.
Viken sneered. "If you even believe in that kind of stuff. I personally do not-after all, I am a scientist. I only believe… solid facts… and I know, for a fact… that my time is now… up… and I was… so… close… yes… one day… I will have my vengeance… on you and your sister…" Then he collapsed.
Will went over to him, and picked up his arm. "No pulse. That poison must have done its work well." He closely examined the scientist's neck, and shook his head. "Blood. Yeah, the needles must have entered his blood stream, just as he said."
Fell ignored his foe's corpse, moving over to where his sister lay on the examining table. He pressed a button on the side of the table, and the clasps that held her down were released. She barely had time to sit up before she was tackled by Malon, who was yipping as his tail wagged furiously. He began rapidly licking her face.
"Hey, stop it! I'm ok!" Larka laughed, prying the puppy off of her. She looked over at the others. "Thanks for coming for me."
"Are you alright?" Hope asked.
"Yeah. All he had time to do was take a blood test from me." She showed them her arm, where the bleeding had already stopped. She managed to stand, putting Malon back on the floor. Then she walked over to her brother, who was eyeing her, apparently not satisfied with her answer.
He was rather shocked when she suddenly hugged him, and immediately stiffened. He could not remember ever having been embraced, and he didn't really feel comfortable with it.
To his hidden relief, she let go of him quickly, to examine his face. "Are you hurt? Your face looks somewhat burned."
"…I am fine."
She smiled at him. "I somehow knew you would come. You may try to deny it, but you do care about me."
"…" He couldn't really think of an answer to that.
"Hey, that's great and all, but can we discuss this later?" Miles requested. "I doubt those guards will be congratulating us for killing their boss."
"That's true," Hope nodded. "Alright, let's get out of here."
Daine took the lead, Malon right behind him. The two dogs suddenly halted before the door to the next room, where they had been ambushed.
"There are about two people outside," Daine announced. "Let me handle it."
He burst out into the room, and instantly slaughtered one guard. The other one went down as well before he even had time to cry out.
They swiftly ran out before any of the other guards were alerted. Meeting no resistance outside, they found it easy to get back under the cover of the trees.
"Well, that wasn't too bad," Hope said. "At least we won't have to worry about him anymore."
"Yeah…" Larka sighed. "I kept worrying about him. I'm glad that he's gone now."
"What do you mean, it wasn't too bad?!" Miles exclaimed. "My clothes are completely ruined, all because I mouthed off some whacked out scientist freak!"
"You only have yourself to blame," Will pointed out.
"That's true… hey, wait!"
-----
After they got a safe distance away from the laboratory, Hope, Will, and Miles let their Soul Monsters emerge. They spent the remainder of the trip to Hope's house explaining what had happened inside the building.
When they finally arrived, Hope knocked on the door. Amy answered.
"Hi!" She caught sight of Larka. "I'm glad to see that you're ok!"
"Same here," Larka replied.
"Hey Hope, Max convinced your mom to let you get off of being grounded," Amy told her as they stepped inside.
"Really? That's great, but why would he do that?" Hope wondered.
"Ask him yourself," Amy shrugged. "Miles! What on earth happened to you?"
"A mad scientist threw a test tube at me, and it exploded."
"Do you have any spare clothes?" Amy asked.
"I brought many extras," Miles assured.
"That's good, because your old ones are ruined. That Robin guy had sliced up your shirt a little bit too much. Claire did wash your bandana though, so be sure to go get it from her."
"Alright."
"Same with your cape Neo," she said.
"About time," he muttered.
"Claire's inside the family room," Amy told them. "I'm going to go help your mom make dinner."
They went inside the room, stopping to watch Rue and Draken. They were so caught into their card game that they didn't even notice the visitors.
"You've got to have a king!" Rue snapped.
"Nope. Go Fish."
"Oh my gosh!" Rue snarled, picking up another card from the pile.
"I'll take your sixes."
"Go to hell," was Rue's reply as he forfeited his cards.
"I already have, and I didn't like the place much." Draken looked over and saw the others. "Hey guys. Glad to see that you made it out alright… well, except for you Miles. What happened to you?"
"I'll explain later," Miles sighed. "Claire, do you have my bandana?"
"Yeah, it's right here. Oh, and here's your cape Neo."
"Thanks." Miles went upstairs, and was soon back downstairs. He now had on a dark red t-shirt and dark black shorts.
"You seem to like dark colors," Hope commented.
"Yep."
Neo had also put on his cape, and Miles had tied his bandana back on. Rue and Draken soon ended their game (Draken won, of course). After telling of what had happened in the laboratory, they asked about Max.
"How is he?" Hope inquired.
"He hasn't come down here at all," Claire replied. "Brandi is up there too."
"Why don't you go and get them?" Amy suggested. She had come in to listen to the tale. "Dinner's nearly ready, and they should be down here to eat too."
"Alright," Hope agreed. She ran upstairs, and knocked politely on the guest room door.
"Who is it?" Brandi called.
"Hope."
"Come in."
Hope walked inside, to see that Ruecian was still asleep, while Mana was awake. Brandi had been talking to her, but now she stood up.
"So, did you find Larka?"
"Yes."
"That's good. Is there anything else you wanted?"
"Dinner's ready."
"I'll be right down."
Hope left, walking towards her room. She halted when she saw Olympion though. He hissed softly, looking over at her.
"I need to speak with Max. Can I come in?" she asked somewhat nervously.
Olympion seemed to consider, and then moved out of the way of the door. She knocked before walking in.
She found Max lying on the lower bunk.
"Max?" When he didn't respond, she knelt down. "Are you asleep?"
She looked into his face and saw that his eyes were open. "Ok, so you aren't. Hey Max, come on, say something!"
He didn't respond.
She sighed. "And I wanted to ask you about why you asked mom to not ground me."
"Because I felt like it."
Hope jumped as she heard Max suddenly speak. He stood up.
"Sorry. I was a little bit distracted."
"Um… no problem. I just wanted to tell you that dinner's ready."
"Alright, I'm coming."
"Can I also… ask you a question?"
He turned to her. "Yeah?"
Hope blushed slightly. "Remember when we told you about Zack nearly killing me when you had amnesia?"
"What about it?"
"Afterwards, I asked you why you did." Her blush deepened. "You said it… was because you thought you loved me. Do you have any idea why you said that?"
Max turned away quickly. "Um, no. I don't have any clue. See you downstairs." He hastily opened the door and ran out.
Hope sighed. "I knew it was just his amnesia… there's no way he could mean anything like that. But why do I feel depressed about that?" Trying not to think about it, she went downstairs.
She was the last one to arrive, except for Zack. Since he didn't need to eat or drink anything, he had gone back to the living room to recharge. The Soul Monsters were in the family room, not needing to eat either. Hope took her place at the table, and eyed some of the kitchenware.
"These aren't ours, are they mom?"
"I borrowed them from neighbors, thanks to a certain someone who decided to break ours," Ms. Gales said, glaring at Miles.
"Um… why are you looking me like that?" Miles said, looking in another direction to avoid her stare.
Will looked over at Larka, who had just devoured a chicken leg and was now gnawing at the bone. "I noticed that you ate meat yesterday, too. In fact, every time you and your brother have eaten, it has been meat. Why?"
"Side effects from being part wolf," Larka explained, putting aside the bone and picking up another leg. "We have picked up a few habits, one being the fact that wolves only eat fruit and vegetables if they're on the point of starving. So yeah, if we have a choice, we'll always choose meat."
Will looked over at Fell, who was occupied by a thigh. "I see."
Dinner passed uneventfully. When they were done, Hope finally decided to say what had been bothering her.
"Why did the officials suddenly leave? Their leader said something about new orders?"
"Yeah, I don't get that either," Draken admitted.
"Maybe the news will have something on it?" Amy suggested.
"Good point, let's go look," Claire agreed.
They went to the family room, and Amy turned it on.
"Can you hear me now? Good!"
"I hate Sprint commercials," Rue muttered.
Amy changed the channel, and this time there was a news reporter.
"-the little girl has been safely returned home, much to her parent's relief. Now, onto our top story. The officials, as they are called, are a group that run Teknisk Wereld and make sure its rules are followed. But lately, they seem to have been abusing their powers. The people that were previously wanted were apparently set up by one of the official's highest leaders, a lady called Malady Stillwell. She was ordering all officials to capture or kill the group of innocents. A teen named Matt Leo discovered enough evidence to show us of the plans that Malady Stillwell was making. However, she was already dead, or so the officials claim. While this case is still being looked into, the officials have been stripped of all previous powers given to them. The ones previously wanted are now confirmed innocent. More information will be given later. Now, onto weather."
Amy shut it off as the others stared at it.
"Matt saved us?" Rue said in disbelief.
"Great. Now we owe him big time," Miles joked.
"We'll have to thank him later," Hope commented. "But I suggest we get some sleep now. We've had a long day, after all. As for tomorrow… let's discuss what we'll do then."
"I'll second that," Will agreed.
"Alright folks, here are the sleeping arrangements," Amy announced. "The boys get to sleep in the living room, and the girls here in the family room."
Hope turned to Max. "Do you want to continue to sleep in my room?"
"You don't mind?"
"Not really," Hope shrugged. "You are still injured, after all."
Brandi came over to them. "Do you mind if I sleep on the floor in your room, Hope?"
Poor Brandi. She was without Max for a whole month at least… no wonder she doesn't want to leave him for very long.
"Sure, it isn't a problem."
"Thanks."
They drifted off to their sleeping areas, while Fell went outside again.
"Man, he's such a weirdo," Rue complained. "Why does he always go outside to sleep?"
"He prefers to sleep in higher areas, such as the top of the roof in this case, for three main reasons, although there might be others I don't know about," Larka said. "One is that he likes to be higher for the better view of the area, and another is that he can't be ambushed as easily. He also prefers to be alone, and as you can guess not many like to sleep in such tall areas!"
"But it's safe enough in here."
"It's just instinct for him."
Soon everyone was in deep sleep, even Fell, who often had a difficult time relaxing enough to close his eyes.
To be continued…