Chapter 17

"Where do you think they could be?" Aoi whispered to her comrades. They were sneaking down a hall staying close to the wall. Luckily, they were all wearing dark colors so they blended in.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling that we need to find them fast." Yume replied. "I don't know about this place... It has a creepy feel to it."

"I agree." Emi chimed in.

Chichiri stopped. He was in front so everyone else bumped and stumbled over each other.

"Hey, what's up man?" Tasuki asked in a hushed voice.

"Footsteps." They listened and heard steady footsteps tapping down the next hallway, getting closer and closer.

Everyone panicked.

"What do we do?" Tamahome asked. Emi looked back at him, patting him on the chest.

"Don't worry." She suddenly had a fighting suit on and was protectively standing in front of Tamahome. "I will protect you more than your worthless- I mean, more than Miaka ever could. You'll be safe with me around my darl- I mean Tamahome." She snuggled up against his chest.

"Somehow, I think I'm in more danger with you around..." He said pushing her away.

"What do you mean?" She wailed. The footsteps were growing unbelievably closer, faster than before. The person had broken into a run.

"Calm down and shut up!" Yume hissed.

"BUT...BUT!!!" Emi rambled on. Yume placed a hand over her mouth and signaling for her to be quiet. Emi started fighting back against Yume. Chichiri and the others couldn't just stand there so Chichiri cloaked them all except Yume and Emi as the guard turned the corner.

"You two! What are you doing here?" The guard boomed.

The girls stopped gazing up at him and looking behind him or her to find no one. They looked at each other and then at the guard. "Us?" They asked.

"I don't see anyone else here." He said, arms crossed. Emi and Yume popped up off the floor.

"Oh! Well you see, we're just starting as maids here and we sorta got lost..." Yume started.

"Yeah, yeah! Can you help us find our way?"

"I would love to." The guard answered. He sprayed the girls with a tranquilizer. "If I didn't already know that you girls were lying." He piled the girls on each arm and carried them down the hall.

"Are you awake yet?" A voice asked her. Usagi opened her eyes to find a boy's head in view. She jolted awake.

"Ow!" She looked down to find herself restrained by some chains. Of course when she saw the chains, she saw the outfit. "WHAT THE CRAP AM I WEARING?!?!?!?!?!" She cried. She had on a long black dress that was quite revealing in the front. The cut went all the way down to her stomach and was a halter outfit. She had on red gloves with red heart earrings to match. Her stone was now shaped in a heart.

"Oh, you don't like your outfit?" Her tormentor asked. She got a closer look at him.

"Are you Suboshi or Amiboshi?" She asked.

"I'm Suboshi! Don't ever get me mixed up with my brother!" He came at her like a rabid dog. He raised his hand high in the air and Usagi closed her eyes. When she didn't feel anything, she slowly opened them. To her surprise, she found Amiboshi holding Suboshi back.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"She asked us not to hurt her, so why do you insist on doing so?"

"You're actually going to listen to that girl?!"

"Suboshi, she will soon help rule our people, we should listen to her."

"What? Rule our people?! Since when did she become so important?!"

"Just except the fact, okay?"

"Um, excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt this little, family bonding thing, but may I ask where my friend is? What is she wearing?"

"What is she wearing? Do you hate your outfit that much?" Said Suboshi.

"She's in the other room having a micro-chip being placed in her brain. She's wearing the same kind of outfit like you, except its blue velvet with star jewelry."

"What?! A chip?!?!" Suboshi inject her with a tranquilizer.

"Sorry honey, but I don't want you feeling pain when you get one as well." Suboshi and Amiboshi laughed evilly, leaving the room.

"OMG! What do we do?" Aoi panicked in a hushed voice.

"What can we do? Nothing. We have to go find Usagi and Izumi first; they are probably in more trouble than Emi and Yume. We'll save them all, don't worry about it." Chichiri replied.

"Why didn't you cloak them as well?" Tasuki asked.

"I couldn't, the guard would get suspicious and I couldn't cloak anyone else anyways."

"So you just decided to not cloak them?!" Aoi exclaimed.

"I saved you didn't I?"

"At the cost of my friends!" She shot back. He looked angry, about to fight back but he just looked away. Tears welled up in Aoi's eyes. "Of course, you just don't get it do you, Chichiri? Why would you?" With that, Aoi ran off down the hall. Chichiri watched her run in slow motion. Afraid of losing her, he ran after her.

"Jen! Come back here!"

"Leave me alone!" She cried. She tripped and fell hard to the ground. Throwing herself back on her feet and holding her side to ease her pain, she ran on. Unfortunately for her, Chichiri had almost caught up with her by the time she started running again.

"Ha!" Chichiri jumped, tackling her to the ground. She pounded, screamed and yelled, fighting as hard as she could to get him off of her. He pinned her down, trying to calm her down.

"Jen! Calm down! Calm down!" He grabbed her into a warm embrace. Slowly, she stopped fighting. She eventually just sunk into his arms, breathing in his scent.

"Jen," He whispered. She blushed.

"Let me go, please." She pleaded. Reluctantly, he let her go and stood up.

"Lets go find Izumi and Usagi now, okay?" Aoi just stared up at him.

Before she could say a word, ear-shattering screams were heard.

"Usagi! Izumi!" They yelled. Aoi flew from the ground to an opened door nearby, Chichiri following her all the way there. Aoi gasped for air, covering her mouth. Her friends were lying lifelessly on two slates of stone high off the ground. She ran to her friends' sides.

"Usagi! Izumi! NO!!" She cried. Chichiri checked their pulses. "Are they... Please tell me they aren't..." Aoi couldn't bring herself to finish.

"No, they're alive, but they're pulses are very weak..."

"Well fix it!" She demanded. Chichiri looked away.

"I, I can't... they have to come back on their own." Aoi's face was stricken with fear and anger at the same time.

"What do you mean?! Of course there's something you can do! Save them!" She clung to Chichiri's arm gazing up at him with big eyes watering. "Save my friends, please!" She begged. Over and over, eventually sliding to the ground. Chichiri was about to embrace her when something caught his eye.

"I don't need to..." Chichiri replied to her pleas. Aoi glared up with a look of anguish on her face. He motioned over to the bodies. Aoi turned her head to see her friends alive and looking at her.

"Guys...? Guys!" She ran up to them both, hugging them at the same time. "I'm so happy you're alive!" They looked at each other and then at her.

"We're you really that worried about little old us?" Izumi asked with a country accent and a huge smile plastered on her lips.

"OF COURSE I WAS!!!!!!!!" She exclaimed, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"Aw......" Didn't know you loved us that much, but I can't return your feelings, I'm afraid." Usagi replied.

"What?" Aoi asked confused.

"JEN! GET AWAY FROM THEM!!! FAST!!!" A voice echoed.

"What's going on?!"

"I mean, an enemy, caring for us so much, its just so touching. Be easy on her Izumi."

"Alright, alright." Izumi pulled out her ninja swords, her stone dangling from her neck.

"Guys? What are you doing? What's wrong? Did I make you angry? I mean come on, we're best friends!" Aoi said backing up.

"In what life time?" Izumi asked.

Aoi couldn't figure out what was going on. All her happiness of them being alive slowly slipped away from her. Her heart was being clutched by an unidentified fear of her friends. Emi and Yume came running into the room with marks all over their bodies.

"Aoi, that's not them." Yume explained.

"Are they Dead?" Fear was ripping her heart apart, scrap-by-scrap.

"Well not exactly dead, but brainwashed." Emi answered.

"By who?"

"By us." The twins stepped out of the shadows.

"Suboshi and Amiboshi." Chichiri said.

"That's right, we're back." Amiboshi bowed.

"See, they are no longer your friends, they're our queens. They only see you as obstacles to marrying us. Enemies if you will."

"No! That, that can't be possible! You're lying!!!"

"Am I really? Would you care to see for yourself?"

"I'm down with that. I'm ready for a fight. How 'bout you Usagi?"

Usagi threw herself off the slate and landed with a long sword in her hand. "I've been itching to have a fight with them for a while now." Aoi couldn't believe it. They were really ready to fight?

"Wait a second. You can't fight without good luck right?" They reminded the two girls. The girls squealed and ran over to them. The boshi twins pulled them in for long kisses that lasted what seemed like 2 hours.

"Okay, okay, that's really enough of that!" Emi said covering her eyes.

The girls pulled away from their make out session and did back flips onto the fighting grounds.

"Good luck girls." The twins called. Izumi and Usagi blew kisses.

"That's just plain nasty."

"I'd watch what I was saying if I were you." Izumi said.

"Yeah, we might have to give it our all if you don't."

"Give it your all, we could beat you even if you did!" Yume yelled.

"Yeah! We'll kick your Asses!" Emi yelled.

"Heh." Izumi bared her teeth. "This might actually be fun."

Aoi stood next to Chichiri watching the flames and lightning bolts engulfing each other. 'Why? Why is all this happening?'

TO BE CONTINUED

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I know I know. You all are coming after me with fire and pitchforks for ending it this way...(especially jen-chan...--;) But I just couldn't fit anymore in this chappy! My hands hurt and I have a headache... I'm tired too so I'm going to bed. RR please. Oyasuminasai.