Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I still don't own GB.

Notes: It just occurred to me that this fic is supposed to be in the Action/Adventure category, so I've changed that :-)

Ban slowly gained consciousness. His head ached. A LOT. As he stirred, he could feel the thin mattress pressing against his back. He was not in his car, he was sure of that. He opened his eyes. A flourescent light was on the ceiling. He looked around and saw that he was in a small room with walls that looked like metal. The door also seemed to be made of metal. A camera was up at one of the corners of the room. He couldn't see any windows, holes, or other openings of any sort, which made him feel like he was inside a metal box. Good thing he wasn't claustrophobic.

He tried to get up, but a sharp pain on his right leg made him groan and drop back on the cot. He pulled his pant leg up to check his leg and saw that it was wrapped in bandages.

What the heck happened?, he thought.

He remembered going into the Karekawa mansion with Ginji. And he remembered going out of the mansion with Ginji, having successfully retrieved their target. They were successful in their mission, right? So what was he doing in this place?

Wait a minute. He didn't leave the mansion with just Ginji. There was another person. A girl. What was her name, again? Oh yes, Iarra. He and Ginji found her bound and gagged inside the storage room and they rescued her. He remembered being chased by Karekawa's guards. He remembered encountering the guards in the woods, where he and Ginji easily took care of them.

He also remembered a guard firing at Iarra's head, and Iarra easily ducking to avoid being hit. His eyes narrowed. Pretty quick reflexes for a maid, huh? He should've known. Her appearance was too convenient, and she seemed to be too eager to help. He shook his head at himself, which made the world spin. He groaned.

"Ginji, where the hell are you??"
Ginji woke up with a start. "Ban-chan?"

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the flourescent light on the ceiling. He blinked.

Where am I?, he thought.

He was in a small metal room, the only piece of furniture being the cot that he was lying on, and a camera at the corner. His head was throbbing with pain. He tried to get up, but couldn't.

His leg was still a little numb. He glanced at it and noticed that it was bandaged. He remembered pulling a dagger out of it, then he remembered the events that happened before being attacked.

His eyes widened. "Iarra-chan." She disappeared just before he and his partner got hit by the daggers.

Daggers. Ban-chan said that the Silver Claw used daggers. Did this mean that the Silver Claw was the one who attacked them? Maybe. But he didn't want to think about it right then. His head hurt REALLY bad.

"Ban-chan, Iarra-chan, where are you?", he wailed.
I have to get out of here, Ban thought. Wherever 'here' is. He guessed that he was probably in one of Dark Fleet's headquarters.

This whole thing did not make sense to him. Dark Fleet already had the Mikazuki Munechika. What did they want with him and Ginji?

Well, he didn't want to wait to find out. As soon as his drowsiness subsided and he felt he could move without the world spinning around him, he got to work.

He hit the door with all his might, but succeeded only in making a small dent.

Damn, he thought. Time for Plan B.

He turned to the camera, leaped at it, and pulled it out of its cradle.
A guard was watching the screen monitoring Ban's room when he saw Ban hit the door, then leap at the screen. The screen went blank. He stared at it for a few moments, then reached over and spoke into a communicator.

"M-01 to 27th squad. There's a problem with the prisoner."
Three guards slowly opened the metal door to Ban's room. They saw that Ban's bed was empty. One of the guards cautiously walked in. Just as he stepped inside, the door suddenly moved and hit him hard, bringing him down on the floor.

Before the stunned guards had a chance to move, Ban quickly appeared from behind the door and banged the guards' heads together. They both dropped down with a thud.

Ban looked out of the door and saw that he was in a long corridor. He turned left and started running. The corridor had several doors on both sides. He had no idea where he was and how to get out, but he had decided to play it by instinct, and hoped to find Ginji along the way. He knew it was a long shot, but he felt better trying to escape than waiting around for whatever Dark Fleet had in store for him.

Up ahead, the corridor was at a dead end. Ban opened the next door to his right and entered. He surveyed the room while trying to catch his breath. The room had a long black table in the middle, and round black chairs surrounding it. It was probably a meeting room of some sort, Ban thought. He noticed another door at the far end of the room. He started to walk toward it, when it opened and four men wearing business suits entered.

They stopped walking and stared at Ban. Ban charged at them. After a few seconds, all four men were down at the floor.

Yep, this is so much better than waiting around in that damn metal box, Ban thought.

He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. He still felt a little groggy, and that only worsened his mood. The sooner he got out of this place, the better. He entered the door where the men came from and continued running.

As he ran, he passed through several more rooms and corridors. Along the way, he also encountered some more people, which he easily took care of.

Ban entered another door, and stopped. This room looked different from the others. It looked like a small warehouse, with boxes stacked up on the sides of the room. There was no ceiling, so he could see the beams supporting the relatively high roof. He saw a door at one side of the room.

If that door leads to another corridor or another room, I'm gonna break through the roof, Ban thought, since he figured it would be easier to see where he was up at the roof.

He ran to the door. As he was about to open it, a dagger flew by his ear and hit the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ban smirked. "Well, well, well", he said. "If it isn't the Drama Queen herself."

He turned to the sound of the voice. He saw Iarra up at one of the beams of the warehouse, sitting on it with her ankles crossed. She was wearing a black skintight jumpsuit with knee-high boots. Instead of pigtails, her hair was up in a bun.

The dagger was a giveaway. If he wasn't sure before whether Iarra was the Silver Claw, well, he was sure now. "I gotta hand it to you", Ban continued. "That Academy Award-winning performance had me fooled."

"Oh, sorry about that", Iarra said. She shrugged, almost apologetically. "It's part of the job."

Ban chuckled. "You know, I never really expected the Silver Claw would be a girl."

Iarra stared at Ban, then laughed. Her laughter was not condescending or anything like that. She was laughing like she really found something funny. Ban looked at her with a confused expression on his face.

When her laughter subsided, Iarra said with an amused smile, "You think I'm the Silver Claw?" She laughed again. "What makes you think that? Is it 'cause I use daggers?"

Ban continued to look at her, not sure where she was going with this.

"Well", she said, still smiling. "So does a hundred other Dark Fleet agents."

Ban raised his eyebrows. "Really."

"Yes. Really. But you don't have to believe me if you don't want to."

"Right. I don't. Forgive me if I find it hard to believe anything you say."

Iarra just smiled.

"You know", Ban said. "I'd love to stay and chat, Dagger Babe, but I gotta go."

He turned to the door. Another dagger flew by Ban's head and landed next to the one already at the door.

"I don't think so", Iarra said. "I don't want to fight you, Mido. But I guess asking you to come with me won't do the trick."

Ban turned back to her and grinned. "Well, I don't want to fight me, either."

"Fine. You're asking for it." Iarra jumped from the beam and did a front flip. She landed on one knee. She reached out, and the two daggers at the door flew into her hands.

Ohh-kay, Ban thought. How the hell did she do that?

As she caught the daggers, she turned her position into a battle stance.

"Get ready, Mido."
Ginji's headache had subsided. As he lay on the cot, he could feel the charges tingling through the metal walls surrounding him. He smiled inwardly. Remembering the camera aimed at him, he pretended to sleep as he let his fingers touch the wall next to him. Careful not to create sparks, he started to absorb the electricity pulsating through the walls. Little by little, he felt his energy level go up. Even the wound on his leg was starting to heal rapidly.

Once he felt that he was fully charged up, he opened his eyes and grinned. He stood up, walked to the metal door, and held the handle. He absorbed the electrical currents from the walls, and mustering up all his energy, hit the door with a bright flash of lightning.

An explosion erupted, and the lights in one section of the building went out.
Iarra and Ban eyed each other, each waiting for the other to attack first.

After a long moment, Ban said, "Are you just gonna stare me to death or something?"

Iarra said nothing.

Ban was starting to get impatient. He REALLY wanted to get out of this place. Fine, if she didn't want to make the first move, then he would.

He charged at her, aiming at her shoulder. She dodged easily, leaping into the air. While doing a somersault, she threw her daggers at him. Ban turned to avoid them just in time, and they flew back into her hands.

They heard an explosion in the distance. The lights flickered. Ban saw Iarra glance at the lights, then grinned.

Iarra, seeing Ban's grin, said, "Guess your partner's getting busy, huh?"

Ban answered, "Guess so. Time for me to get busy as well."

Using his full speed, he charged. Surprisingly, he only managed to grab a chunk of her suit. As she flipped, she hurled a dagger at him. He dodged, but he felt the dagger graze his cheek.

Iarra saw the translucent image of a serpent when Ban attacked. What the hell was that??, she thought, frowning at him.

They stood in fighting stances looking at each other, panting. There was now a hole in Iarra's jumpsuit by the left side of her waist. She reached out, and the dagger flew back to her hand.

Ban brushed the blood trickling down his cheek with his finger. Damn, he thought. This is more difficult than I thought.

He cursed. His head still ached. In his full form, he knew he could beat her easily. But he was NOT in his full form. It looked like he was going to have to use his Jagan.

She threw her two daggers at him, then knelt down and took two more that were hidden inside her boot tops. She threw those at him, too. She reached out and into her hands flew two of the daggers, which she threw at Ban. She continued throwing daggers two at at time. Ban leaped and dodged them, but some of them were able to graze his arms and legs.

He charged again, alert for any opening to use the Jagan. But none came. She always avoided his eyes. Dammit, he thought as another dagger grazed his neck. She probably knew about the Jagan.

They continued to fight, with Ban getting a few more grazes, and Iarra getting a few more holes in her suit. After an exchange of attacks, Ban landed on one side of the room, eyes narrowed to slits at her. Iarra was down on one knee at the opposite side of the room, with daggers at her hands, ready to attack.

Just then, they heard another explosion. An alarm sounded, then another explosion. This time, it sounded nearer. Iarra froze, her eyes wide. Ban watched her, not quite sure what was going on. Then they heard several gunshots outside their room.

"Shit", Iarra muttered.

She flipped her daggers and put them back in her boots. She ran towards the side of the room where Ban was. Ban tensed up, ready to block any attack she would make. But she ran past him and pulled a lever by the wall. A part of the wall opened up, and an access panel appeared. She pushed some buttons, closed the panel, then ran to a corner of the room. To Ban's surprise, a part of the floor began to open up, until a manhole-like opening appeared.

"Jump in!", Iarra shouted.

"What??"

The gunshots were now just outside the room.

"Do it!"

Ban ran over to the hole and looked down. It was pitch black inside. Bullets were now flying through the walls of the room.

"NOW!!", Iarra yelled.

Ban jumped.

It wasn't a long way down. He soon landed on what seemed like concrete. Iarra jumped in right after Ban did. She landed on him, sending him face down on the floor.

"Owww!!", Ban yelled.

"Why didn't you move out of the way??"

The hole above them closed. With the only source of light gone, the room was once again pitch black.

In the darkness, Ban's voice came up. "Do you plan on sitting on me all day?"

"Oh, sorry." It was Iarra's voice this time.

Ban felt her stand up and walk towards his right side. He stood up just as a switch flicked and the lights turned on. They were in some kind of underground supply room. It was small, with shelves filled with boxes lining up the walls.

More explosions could be heard above them, and the lights shook with each explosion. Iarra was now talking rapidly through an intercom in a language that Ban couldn't understand. She glanced at Ban every now and then, probably to make sure he wasn't trying anything funny. Ban watched her as she talked, and he noticed small black round objects that looked like beads in her hair.

She finished talking and turned to Ban. Without warning, Ban suddenly lunged himself at her. She rolled to the side, instintively reaching down her boots for her daggers, but her hands came up empty. She glanced at her boots and gasped when she saw that her daggers were gone.

How the hell did he do that?, she wondered alarmingly.

Ban charged again. Iarra ducked to the side and kicked him on the knee. With a quick turn, she gave him a hard kick to the head. Ban flew to the side of the room and hit one of the shelves. The shelf fell over him and buried him with its contents.

After a few seconds, Ban emerged from the boxes and with great speed, lunged at Iarra and held her by the neck against the wall.

Damn, Iarra thought. Where does this guy get his strength? He's supposed to be groggy right now. She struggled to get out of his grip.

"Give it up", Ban said. "You can't get out of my snakebite. One squeeze and it's all gonna be over."

Iarra glared at Ban. An explosion sounded again. Then with one quick move, she hit his solar plexus (1) with her knee. As Ban doubled over in pain, she brought her elbow up and hit him on the side of his head. He dropped down on his knees. Then with a sweep of his leg, he hit her ankles. She gasped as she hit her back on the floor. All of a sudden, metal clasps appeared around her wrists and ankles, pinning her down.

What the...???, Iarra thought.

She turned to where Ban was, but he disappeared. She struggled with the clasps around her wrists, but to no avail. What the hell is going on??

Just then, a dagger dropped from above and landed inches from her face. She looked up and gasped. The ceiling was filled with hanging daggers, like stalactites in a cave. The daggers shook with every explosion that could be heard from above. Another explosion sounded, and a dagger fell and hit her leg. She uttered a sharp cry of pain. As more explosions sounded, more and more daggers fell. She closed her eyes and screamed.

"Just one minute."

Like glass shattering into a million pieces, the image of the falling daggers was replaced by Ban looking down at her with a smirk.

"Did you have a nice dream?"

Ban watched in amusement as Iarra's eyes displayed a range of emotions: from terror, to confusion, to realization, and finally, to rage.

During the one minute of hallucination, he had tied her wrists and ankles with the wires that he found in the supply room. He also took the daggers from her boots (he found two on each boot), and placed them inside a small pouch that he saw on one of the shelves. And as a final touch, he covered her mouth with duct tape. He didn't have enough time to give her his trademark lighter-flicking cigarette pose during the one minute that he tied her up and took her weapons, since he was still a little light-headed and couldn't move as fast as he normally could. Well, Iarra didn't need to know about that.

"I'm getting a sense of déjà vu", he said as he smiled smugly. "Oh right. That's 'cause this had happened before. Except this time, I'm not untying you, Dagger Babe."

Iarra looked at him with fierce, piercing eyes.

Ban took out his pack of cigarettes. "I'm gonna be asking you a few questions, if you don't mind", he said. "Hope you'll behave and be a good girl."

As he knelt down in front of her, they could hear more explosions and gunshots. "First of all, what's going on up there?" He gave a quick pull to the duct tape on her mouth, leaving one edge still sticking to her cheek.

She winced at the pain from the duct tape, glared at him, then said, "What the hell are you doing?! You can't smoke in here, you moron! Are you trying to get us both killed?!"

Ban quickly put the duct tape back on her mouth, cutting her off. He shook his head at her. "Wrong answer. That wasn't what I asked, sweetheart."

What did she mean about not smoking?, Ban wondered. He looked at her glaring at him, then smiled mischeviously. He tapped his pack of cigarettes, then took one stick with his mouth. He watched her expression as he slowly got out his lighter, and flicked it open.

Iarra's eyes widened. With one quick move, she brought her feet up and kicked at the lighter at Ban's hand. The lighter bounced toward the wall.

"Whoa!", Ban said as he frowned at her. Guess she can still kick ass even when tied up, he thought. Aloud, he said, "I didn't know you detest smoking that much."

"Mmmmnnnhhhhh", Iarra tried to say.

He picked the lighter up, and walked back to her. He removed the duct tape with one forceful pull. "What was that?", he asked her.

"Ouch!", Iarra uttered as she winced in pain. "Can't you be a little more careful?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry", Ban said sarcastically. "But don't worry. I'm sure it doesn't hurt as much as being STABBED ON THE LEG."

Iarra stretched her lips to abate the pain, then glared at Ban.

"Look behind you", she said.

Ban turned his head and saw a row of large cans at the bottom of one of the shelves.

"That's turpentine (2)", Iarra told him. "It's a Class IC liquid. Highly flammable."

"Oh. Well, I know that", Ban said, obviously lying. "Just wanted to see how you would react."

Iarra rolled her eyes.

He put the cigarette back in his pack, put the pack back into his pocket, then turned to her. "So, I'm gonna ask you again. What's going on up there?"

She sighed. "We're being invaded."

"By whom?", Ban asked, puzzled.

She looked up at him with a seriousness in her eyes. "Dark Fleet has two major enemies: the police, and the Burning Dragons." She noticed a sign of recognition cross Ban's expression. "You've heard of them."

"Chinese smugglers, right?", Ban said with a smirk.

Iarra smiled.

"I thought you guys worked with them from time to time", Ban said.

"We used to. But our relationship with the Dragons recently ... turned sour", she answered. They heard another explosion, and Iarra looked up. "That can't be the police. They're usually a lot more subtle than that."

Ban followed her gaze. "So that means..."

"Yep. Those are the Dragons up there", Iarra said.

Ban thought about it for a moment, then turned to her. "I have another question."

She looked at him expectantly.

"Where's Ginji?"

"Assuming you didn't give me the eye until AFTER I talked with my contact," she said, looking at the intercom, then back at Ban. "Meaning, I didn't dream up that whole conversation that I had..."

"You didn't."

She smiled, then said, "Your friend escaped. I honestly have no idea where he is now. If he's got any brains, he should save his ass and get out of here."

Ban looked at her for a moment, trying to decide what to do. His instincts told him that she was telling the truth. If she was, that means he couldn't go back up the way they came from. The place would probably be swarming with trigger-happy Dragons. He looked around the room and noticed a small back door.

"Where does that lead to?", Ban asked Iarra.

"Dark Fleet has an intricate network of bomb-proof underground tunnels. This room is part of it, and that door leads to the rest of it."

"Underground tunnel, huh?", Ban said as he walked towards it.

"Hey, wait a minute", Iarra called out. "You're not gonna leave me here, are you?"

Ban looked at her incredulously.

"The tunnel is a shelter for Dark Fleet members. It's a burial ground for those who are not", Iarra said.

"What do you mean by that?"

"This place is loaded with booby traps. You're not gonna get far without me."

Ban just stared at her, then snorted. "Heh. You're bluffing. There's no way I'm taking you with me."

He started to walk towards the door, when he stopped and turned back to her. "By the way, thanks for these." He grinned as he held up the pouch carrying Iarra's daggers. "They might come in handy." He placed the pouch in his back pocket and continued walking to the door.

Iarra watched him with a scowl as he reached the door. "Fine. Suit yourself."

As Ban opened the door, Iarra called out to him, "Mido!"

He stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"Look out for thorns."

"What??", he asked, a little baffled.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ban stared at her for a moment, then smirked. "Whatever." He opened the door and stepped out.

Iarra watched him go, then started counting seconds in her head. When she got to twenty, she listened. But all she heard were the explosions above her and some gunshots.

Looks like I underestimated him, she thought. Just then, she heard a yelp from outside the door. She smiled. Or not.

After a few seconds, the door burst open and Ban stomped in. Iarra took one look at Ban, then grinned. "Had fun?"

His hair was disheveled, with thorns sticking out among the spikes. Aside from the grazes that he got from his earlier fight with Iarra, his face, neck, and arms were covered with scratches. He stomped over to Iarra in chibi mode and screamed at her, "What kind of HELL is this place???!!!"

"Hey, I warned you, didn't I?", Iarra said with a grin.

Ban glared at her, then said through gritted teeth, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Iarra pretended to be shocked. "Of course not!", she said. She looked at him from head to toe, then grinned. "Okay, a little." Then she burst out laughing.

Ban pointed a finger at her. "YOU need therapy."

Iarra raised her eyebrows. "I warned you, and you didn't listen. It's your own damn fault."

Ban glared at her. Iarra glared back. Finally, Ban sighed.

"So," he said without looking at her. "You know every inch of this 'network of underground tunnels'?"

"Nobody knows every inch of this 'network of underground tunnels'", Iarra answered, mimicking his tone.

Ban turned to her, puzzled. "So how the hell do you guys navigate through this place?"

"We have markers. There are markers all over indicating where a tunnel is headed and what booby traps to expect. All Dark Fleet agents should know how to read them."

Ban looked at her with doubt, still not quite sure whether to believe her. "So how did you know about those damn thorns?"

Iarra chuckled. "Oh yes, the thorns", she said. "See those markings at the door?"

Ban looked at the door and saw some squiggles, which he didn't take notice of before. "What about them?"

"Those markings say 'thorns', '10 meters', and 'chances of survival are very high', meaning they're non-fatal", Iarra answered.

Ban looked at her thoughtfully. "So... you're an expert at reading those markers?"

She smiled sheepishly. "I wouldn't exactly say that I'm an EXPERT. It's been a while", she said. "But your chances of survival are way higher if I'm with you", she quickly added when she saw Ban glare at her.

"And you want to help me because...?"

"We're being invaded. I want to get out of here just as much as you do. I can't be of much help when I'm down here."

Ban said nothing for a few minutes, thinking.

"Well?", Iarra said, breaking the silence. "Aren't you going to untie me now?"

Ban just looked at her.

"It's a long way out", Iarra said. "You can't possibly carry me all the way through."

"I am seriously considering that option."

"Aww, that's so sweet," she said sarcastically. "But aside from the fact that I'd REALLY rather walk, it's just gonna slow us down. Why don't you do us both a favor, and untie me right now?"

"Gee, I don't know", Ban said. "Maybe it's because a few minutes ago..." He turned to chibi mode with an oversized head. "YOU WERE TRYING TO KILL ME!"

Iarra winced at the level of decibels that passed through her ears. Then she looked at him and said softly, "I wasn't trying to kill you, Mido. If I were, you would've been dead by now."

Ban stared at her. He had heard a million threats before, all said to intimidate him. But the way Iarra said it... it wasn't intended to intimidate. She sounded like she was just stating a simple fact. Which is ironic, because it sounded more intimidating than all those other threats combined.

"Well, I don't know about you", he finally said. "But when people start hurling daggers at me, I tend to think that they're out to kill me."

"You were trying to escape."

"Well, I've got news for you, sweetheart. I'm STILL trying to escape."

She chuckled. She thought for a minute, then told him, "Let's make a deal."

"I'm all ears."

"How about if we settle our unfinished business AFTER we get out of here?"

Ban looked at her, then said, "What's in it for you, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need me to get out of here. For all I know, you could just leave me to die on one of those traps."

She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Paranoid freak." She turned her eyes to him. "Well, if it's any reassurance, I have orders to keep you alive."

Ban stared at her, a little surprised. Then he smiled lopsidedly. "Well, I'm not gonna argue with that, but may I ask why?"

"Can't tell you that."

"Why the hell not?"

Iarra sighed exasperatedly. "You don't NEED to know why, Mido. We're wasting time. Why don't you untie me right now so we can get going?"

"Tell me why first."

"No."

"I'm not gonna untie you until you do."

"Fine. Then I hope you're a very patient guy, 'cause we're gonna be here for a very long time", she said, prolonging the words 'very' and 'long'.

Ban sighed. It didn't look like she had any intentions of telling him any more than she already did, Ban thought. Knowing she was not going to kill him anytime soon was enough for him. For now, anyway. He created a mental note to himself to just ask her again later.

He began to free her ankles and wrists. As he unwound the wires, he noticed a tiny black tattoo on each of her wrists. The symbol looked looked like the lowercase Greek letter Xi. He threw the wires to the side and stood up.

As soon as she was free, Iarra shook her hands to bring circulation back. She stood up, looked up at Ban, and asked, "Can I have my daggers back now?"

"No."

Iarra gave an exasperated sigh, and muttered, "Paranoid." She brought her hand up to his head. He caught her hand and gave her a suspicious look.

She smiled, amused. "Ooh, touchy."

With his eyes narrowed, Ban asked, "What are you doing?"

"Let go of my hand, and you'll find out."

Ban just gave her a hard stare. Without taking her eyes off him, Iarra slowly held her other hand up, and reached for something in Ban's hair. She held it out for him to see. It was a thorn. She threw it on the floor.

"You know", Iarra said, as she continued to pick thorns from his hair. "If we're gonna get through this, you're gonna have to trust me."

Ban let go of her hand, but continued to glare at her.

Then Iarra's eyes turned serious. "Listen to me, Mido", she said. "I want to get out of here as quickly as possible, so I suggest that you stop acting like a pain in the neck from now on and do EXACTLY as I say. Otherwise, both of us could end up dead."

She walked to the door. Ban shook his head as he gritted his teeth and glared at the back of her head. She got to the door, opened it, then turned her head to him.

"Well, are you coming with me or not?", she asked.

Still gritting his teeth, he walked over to the door. "I'm hating this already", he muttered.

Iarra stepped out and without turning her head, she said, "Likewise."
Notes: Hmmm. My chapters are getting longer and longer. On the next chapter, Ban and Iarra get a taste of the booby traps. Boy, this is gonna be fun! (insert evil maniacal laughter here)

limelie: I neither confirm nor deny your guess about the Silver Claw's identity hehe :-)

whYFeL: Of course things are gonna go wrong hehe :-) I was a little confused by your comment though, about the sequence being "a little-too-neat". I have no idea what you mean, so I apologize if it's still a little-too-neat hehe :-) But thanks for the comment!

drkmagiciangrl123: Thanks, I will!

rabid lola: Did this chapter answer your question? No, I guess not hehe :-) Well, I'm not gonna tell you. Keep reading to find out ;-)

ViL: Thanks!

(1) The solar plexus is a bundle of nerves in the abdominal area that is particularly vulnerable to blows.

(2) Turpentine is used as a solvent for thinning oil-based paints.