This chapter is dedicated to my cousin, Stephanie, who died in a car crash exactly one week before her 14th birthday.

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Chapter 7: In which Snickerdoodle saves the day

Chihiro barely had time to react, but her brain seemed to shift gears in ultimate fast forward. She couldn't drag Kohaku to safety, he was too heavy. She couldn't leave him, even though every atom in her body was screaming at her to run. So she threw herself across Kohaku, hoping that with the little protection her body might provide at least one of them might survive.

Rose felt like she was moving through sludge. The moment the cloaked man made a threatening move she was running toward him, swearing under her breath, intent on kicking the arse of the man who threatened her friends.

Suddenly, Wren was holding her back, and her nose barely missed being singed by the rebounding fireball.

"What the hell?"

Wordlessly Wren pointed to in the direction of Kohaku and Chihiro. There, in front of the them, looking fuzzed out and very offended, was Snickerdoodle.

"Aww, what pretty, smart, sweet little kitty!" Wren cooed, hurrying over to pick him up.

Chihiro lifted her head, trying to figure out what was going on. Was this some weird, death-induced hallucination?

"Wha… What's going on?" Chihiro finally asked.

"Well, um, actually… I'm not sure." Rose replied, sounding a little dazed "I think Snickerdoodle somehow reflected the fireball."

Chihiro looked around. Sure enough, Wren was holding Snickerdoodle and talking to him under her breath. Chihiro shuddered just a little at the thought of holding this seemingly common household pet after that little feat. 'Be nice' Chihiro reprimanded herself. 'He did just save Kohaku's and your lives.'

All around the little group the darkness started melting away, revealing underneath a set of damp, but ordinary, caves. Spirits that had been trapped started stumbling away, dazed. Some of the more lucid ones helped carry the unconscious away. Alfred came up, leaning against the wall, looking very tired. He grinned at them all, then knelt down to check on Kohaku.

"He will be OK, right?" Chihiro asked, worried.

"Of course." Answered Alfred reassuringly. "He's just a little stunned. He'll come around soon. But we really should get back to Zeniba's house in case I'm wrong."

"Finally!" Rose said. "Swamps of Insanity really aren't my forte, ya know?"

"Will they have the wedding now, Mom?"

"Shush stupid! Let Auntie tell the story!"

"Both of you hush or I'll send you to bed!"

A-O-T-C: "What was THAT???"

Wren: "That was Lark."

A-O-T-C: "Who?"

Wren: "You'll see next chapter."

Disclaimer: I've heard that these things don't really count for anything and that I could get sued anyway. Makes me wonder why I bother… Happy sueing, everybody!

A very short Author's Note: So very sorry this chapter is so short, but I'm running out of time to write. Please review.