Chapter 3: Night Fight
"We need to warm up the Blade Children for what they're dealing with." Lain said. Mei, Kyle, and herself were in the kitchen of their house. All the Night Children except Kurai, Ren, and Raine lived in that very house. It helped decrease suspicion.
"And how do you suggest we should do that?" Mei asked.
"We should at least make it a nice message to Ayumu and the Blade Children that the Night Children are ready to do battle." Lain replied. She sat back in her stool and placed her feet up on the bar.
"How about a nice little complicated board game with plenty of traps?" Kyle questioned. He looked up at both girls with an idea sparkling in his eyes.
Ryoko, Rio, and Kousuke were walking back home from the school. They always took the same route past a dark forest. "Kousuke, you idiot! Why did you have to take so long cleaning duty!" Rio yelled. She and Ryoko were fuming because all three of them were going home late.
"You know…the both of you could have gone home without me…" the red head muttered under his breath.
"Well, sorry! It's not our fault that you asked us to wait for you!" Ryoko shouted. She punched Kousuke in the shoulder roughly.
Kousuke began muttering something under his breath. Apparently, Ryoko heard and she began to beat the poor boy up. Rio stood on the sidelines sweat dropping. All of a sudden, she heard the twinkle of a bell. She looked down at her feet to see a black cat with a bell tied around its throat. She bent down and began stroking its soft fur.
"Aw! It's so cute!" she exclaimed loudly.
Ryoko and Kousuke stopped fighting and spotted Rio and the cat. "Hey, that cat looks like the one when Eyes got that letter about the Hunters from Kanone!" Kousuke exclaimed. "Could it be the same one?"
"Can't be. Eyes said he saw the other one get hit by a car…" Rio answered. She picked up the black cat and cradled it in her arms. "You know what? I'm going to give this Kanone! After all, he's very fond of cats." The cat looked at Rio with such sweet and innocent eyes. Immediately, it jumped out of her arms and sprinted for the forest. Without hesitation, Rio tore after it. "Hey wait!"
"Rio!" Ryoko and Kousuke called out her name at the same time. They both ran after them into the forest.
"Rio, it's not worth it! Let it go!" Kousuke yelled. Finally, the shorter girl came to a stop. She bent over breathing hard.
Once Ryoko and Kousuke caught up with Rio, the girl said, "Ryoko…How…can…you run so…fast!"
The other two sweat dropped. Just then, the ground began to shake violently as steel walls rose from the dirt. When it stopped, Kousuke, Rio, and Ryoko stood there, completely petrified. "I'm happy you could fall into our trap!" a booming voice yelled through the speakers. "Nice meeting you Blade Children! Let me guess. The weird one with the glasses is Kousuke, the best track member is Ryoko, and little midget is Rio."
"I am not weird!" Kousuke yelled at the voice.
"I am not a midget!" Rio screamed.
Ryoko sweat dropped again. "What do you want? Are you one of the Night Children?" she asked.
"Why, yes I am. And the walls are just a part of a little game I want to test you on." The voice replied.
"Tell us who you are first." Kousuke ordered.
The voice gave a mock sigh. "As you wish. I am Kyle Borne and one of the few Night Children." Kyle answered. "Now do you want to play the game or not?"
"Forget it!" Rio yelled.
"Oh really? I think you might want to play since it is the only way of getting out…and saving a very important person." Kyle explained. He moved the microphone to a girl.
"Kousuke! Ryoko! Rio! Please help me!" the girl screamed.
"Mei!"
Kyle moved the microphone back to his mouth. "Now I know you don't want your friend to get hurt. So play the game and take your chances. You win then I let you go and hand back your stupid little friend. You lose then you risk the chance of staying in here forever and dying. So what will it be?" Kyle replied. His deep voice sounded so cold and serious.
The three of them looked at each other and shrugged. "Fine. Tell us what we have to do." Rio answered with defeat.
"Sweet. The game is very simple. It's a maze and you just have to find your way to the end. I am at the end of the maze with Mei. Defeat me and I'll grant you your freedom." Kyle explained. "You may begin." The three of them began to take the path to the right. Just when Kousuke stepped on one of the squares, a bomb exploded from underneath the tile. The girls screamed as they hastily pulled the red head away.
"Oh right! I must have forgotten to tell you. This maze contains plenty of traps. Each one more deadly than the other. Some are strong enough to kill you. Wouldn't that be sad?" Kyle laughed in the speakers.
"I should have expected this from a lunatic like you!" Kousuke yelled through gritted teeth.
Someone punched Kyle and took the microphone away from him. It was a girl. "Shut up and continue on through the maze. I'm getting impatient." The girl ordered fiercely. "I'm Lain Jurai, another one of the Night Children. And if you don't go deeper in this elusive labyrinth, then I will detonate every single tile on the ground. I have the controls and don't think I'm not serious."
Kyle groaned. "What the hell was the punch for Lain!"
Lain ignored him. "Also, new rule. You have a time limit of two hours. Use it wisely." She explained. The speaker turned off.
The same thought was going through the Blade Children's heads…What kind of an insane game is this!
Eyes lifted his pen and began writing notes on the music sheet. Kanone quietly stared outside into the bright city. "Rio, Ryoko, and Kousuke were supposed to call us an hour ago. What do you think happened to them?" Kanone asked. He turned away from the window and to his half brother.
"Perhaps they forgot." Eyes suggested.
"Not likely."
There was a knock at the door. Kanone walked over to it an opened it to reveal a postman. "Hello. I have a packaged delivery for a Kanone Hilbert and Eyes Rutherford." He replied. The man was wearing the typical uniform and a hat pulled over his eyes. He had unusually black hair that reflected blue in the light.
"I'm Kanone Hilbert. I'll sign for it." Kanone answered. He took the pen and signed the form without even looking it over. The postman handed over a big brown package that was tightly wrapped. On top of it was a bouquet of black roses.
"Thank have a good evening." The man said. His eyes flashed mysteriously for a second before he turned his back and walked down the hall.
Kanone closed the door and stared at the package. "What the hell could this be?" he wondered out loud.
"And why would it be delivered at this hour?" Eyes added. He glanced at the black roses. "And why would you want to give someone roses like that?"
Kanone placed the roses on a table and brought his ear up to the box and listened inside. There was a very soft ticking sound like a clock was inside. Kanone's eyes grew wide with horror. He immediately threw the brown package at the window. "Eyes! Get down!" Kanone yelled. Eyes and Kanone ducked on the floor as the glass shattered as the package blew up in the air. It was a bomb.
Eyes lifted his head as he heard people on the streets screaming. He could see some remains of the bomb in the air. "It was a bomb…" he muttered.
"Are you alright Eyes?" the older one asked. The pianist nodded his head. Kanone picked up the bouquet of black roses and found a note inside it.
Dear Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Hilbert,
I hope you enjoy the package and the roses. I'm sure they will be dynamic. As for the roses…you know very well from Kiyotaka that death is our only destiny. Time is running out.
Night Children
Ren's eyes traveled up to the sky where the bomb had exploded. He smirked knowing Kurai would be pleased with the results of the threat. He dialed Kurai's number on his cell. When the other line picked up, Ren said, "It exploded."
"Where?"
"Just outside of the room. Kanone threw it out the window and it exploded in the air." Ren explained. "Is this what you wanted?"
"They're more keen than I thought. Excellent. Maybe they do have the potential to figure us out…" Kurai summed up. "It's all falling according to plan just like we thought."
"Just hope that Kyle, Lain, and Mei will follow through."
"My legs are tired!" Rio whined. "We've been jumping over tiles to avoid bombs, running past swinging blades, and getting past tanks and moving machines! Not to mention walking around in this never ending maze!"
"Will you shut up!" Kousuke yelled. "You have been bitching about this for the past twenty minutes! Show a little effort and help us get out of here faster!"
Ryoko sighed and kicked Kousuke in the shins. While he was yelping in pain, she said, "Rio, what the moron is trying to say is that it wasn't our fault that we got dragged into this insane game."
Rio glared at Kousuke and then shoved him onto the next tile. There was a hidden bomb there so once his foot touched the sensor…the bomb exploded. Ryoko screamed as Rio covered her face with her hands. Smoke lingered heavily in the air making it hard to see. The speakers turned on again and doubled laughter could be heard. "That was wonderful! You saved us the trouble of having to kill that moron ourselves!" Kyle screamed. Lain and Kyle were still laughing when the speakers shut off again.
The smoke cleared up and it showed Kousuke sitting on the next tile. He was covered with ashes and he wore the look of pure anger. "What the hell was that for you brat! You almost got me killed!" he shouted. Rio childishly stuck out her tongue.
Rio jumped over the steaming tile and walked on. Ryoko and then Kousuke followed. The track member ignored Kousuke's fuming manner and stared straight ahead of her. Little did she know another trap was in front of her. She stepped on the surface of another tile activating it. A net appeared below her and engulfed her. She screamed as loud as she could and the net was lifted out of sight.
"RYOKO!" Kousuke screamed. He began sprinting down the maze's long corridor with Rio right behind him. They quickly turned the corner and found themselves in one long passageway. Not caring what was ahead, both Rio and Kousuke ran down it. They ran down it not caring they had just set off another trap. Little holes opened at the side and poisonous darts shot out from both sides. The two Blade Children skillfully dodged them without trouble. Saving Mei and Ryoko was their only priority. Getting out of the maze was their next.
A light appeared and soon it showed it was the end of the maze. There was a giant monument there. It was a statue of a maiden and around her neck was a black crescent moon necklace. Lain was sitting on the statue's shoulder while Kyle stood on the maiden's open hand. Two hostages were kneeling in front of him: Ryoko and Mei.
"So glad you could finally join us!" Lain proclaimed. She grinned sadistically.
"Now what do we have to do to earn our freedom and our friends?" Rio asked. She was very serious now.
"You have to activate this maiden statue's pendant. Then you'll be free to go." Kyle explained. He smirked. "Of course, you need three people to do it. Choose either Ryoko or Mei. Which one you don't pick will immediately die at our hands."
"We choose Ryoko." The two Blade Children answered at the same time. Mei was their friend but Ryoko was like family.
Mei's eyes sparkled with defiance. She did a back flip to her feet. She spun around and pulled out a gun and held it to Ryoko's head. "I don't think so." She replied coldly. "You make a single move and I'll blow a fatal bullet through Ryoko's head. The track star said nothing nor did she sow any emotion.
"Mei!" Kousuke yelled with disbelief. "Are you one of the Night Children as well!"
"Of course. I've been spying on all the Blade Children and Ayumu and that reporter girl for such a long time. You gave up pretty good information to me." Mei answered. There was an evil smile upon her face. "I know what I want and just how to get it. Hiyono's information network was just as useful."
"You used us!" Kousuke yelled.
"Naturally. I always get what I want."
"Shut up Mei and let's just get this over with." Kyle ordered.
"Fine."
Before anyone else could react, Rio pulled out a bomb from her pocket and threw it at the three Night Children. Ryoko pushed herself down and kicked Kyle and Mei's legs causing them to fall. Mei's gun flew out of her hand. Ryoko quickly jumped off to join her friends. The bomb exploded when it came in contact with Lain. There was a huge explosion and smoke filled the air.
"How did you get the bomb, Rio?" Kousuke asked.
"I pried a tile off that contained a hidden bomb. I disarmed it just in case we would need it." Rio explained. The smoke finally cleared up but none of the Night Children were harmed. Instead, they were standing on top of the maze's wall.
"Do you think you can actually think you could defeat the Night Children that easily? We are so much more than what you could ever imagine." Lain laughed. She and Mei pulled out two very sharp blades. Kyle had a gun in his hands.
Kyle jumped down onto the open hand of the maiden statue and quickly jumped off. He pointed the gun at Kousuke. He was about to pull the trigger when Kousuke quickly grabbed the gun and rammed his shoulder into Kyle. The Night Child didn't flinch but his finger curled around the trigger and began to fire bullets Kousuke remained a safe distance while him and Kyle fought over the weapon.
"Kousuke!" Ryoko cried. Rio and her dodged the stray bullets. They ran towards the maiden statue. When they neared it, Mei and Lain jumped off the maze wall at the same time. Moving in synchronization movement, they landed smoothly on the hard ground. They both straightened up and rushed at Rio and Ryoko. They swung the blades at the same time at both Rio and Ryoko. They sidestepped and ran for the statue. They got on opposite sides ready to activate the pendant. "Kousuke!" Ryoko yelled again.
Kousuke finally jerked the gun from Kyle's grip and kicked him away. He pulled the trigger at him but the round was empty. Instead, he took the gun and smacked Kyle across the cheek with it. Kousuke dropped the gun and went to join the other girls. He stood in front of the maiden statue. A triangle light surrounded them and a gold light began to shower down on them. The necklace around the statue's neck glowed brightly as a small passage way opened up. The Blade Children hurriedly crawled inside and disappeared out of the maze. They were finally free.
"What should we do, Lain?" Kyle asked. "Should we go after them?"
"No. Let them go." She answered. "We can fight another day."
The three Blade Children sprinted as far away from the forest as fast as they could. They finally reached the shops and boutiques out of breath.
"That is the last time I'm ever going to run so fast!" Rio whined.
"Then you'll fail Gym if you do." Kousuke joked as he breathed heavily. Rio punch the red head's arm.
"Idiot."