Chapter 8

"I'm COMING RAI!" shouted Kimiko, running in the direction of the voice.

She suddenly found herself at a dead end. She stopped herself just in time to prevent herself from running into the stone.

"I do not understand, I'm sure I heard his voice coming from this direction," said Omi.

"We did," said Clay, "Maybe Wuya's pulling a trick on us. Maybe she made him call out from a different direction."

"It is a trick," said Kimiko, "but it's not his voice that's the trick."

"What?" asked Clay, "I don't get it."

Kimiko lifted her hand and ran it along the surface of the wall. It shimmered like ripples of the surface of a lake. She turned around.

"Wuya doesn't want us finding him," said Kimiko, "So she wants to make us think we found a dead end."

Kimiko lifted her hand again and pushed it straight through the wall. It rippled again and she stepped forward, walking straight through the fake rock. Omi and Clay hesitated, but then Kimiko's head poked through the wall.

"You guys wait here, just in case we need backup." Said Kimiko, before disappearing inside the wall again.

Master Fung continued to stare up at the mountains.

"Lao-Tai?" asked a monk, coming up behind him, "Does something trouble you?"

"They are up in those mountains, fighting for the life of their friend." He answered. "They might die, and I would've sent them to that death."

"Yet they might win, and you would've sent them to victory," said the monk.

Master Fung smiled gently, still staring out of the window. He knew that someone was going to lose their life today, there was a shift in the forces of good and evil, but right now he couldn't tell who would win. He prayed that it wouldn't be one of the chosen ones…especially his prodigal son…

Kimiko stood in the passage way. It was damp and smelled musty. She shivered, but continued to walk anyway. Raimundo was counting on her, and she was counting on him…

"RAIMUNDO?" she called again, but there was no reply.

She sighed; he had obviously used the last of his strength. Maybe it was already over…no, don't think like that. It'll be alright. I'll find Raimundo and everything will go back to normal…I hope.

There was another fork in front of her. The floor was too wet to see any blood. These caves had obviously flooded before and the inside wasn't completely dry yet. There was moss on the walls and ceiling.

"Which way?" she asked, though no one was there to tell her.

Something was telling her to go left, but she didn't know why. Was Wuya trying to trick her? She closed her eyes, trying to block out all distractions. Find her focus; if she could do that, then it would tell her which way.

"…right…" she whispered, "…I have to go right…"

She hesitated, before taking the right path.

"Shoot," whispered Wuya.

She had been hissing in Kimiko's head that she should go left, but obviously she wasn't going to be fooled so easily.

"…y…you can't fool her…with silly…tricks…" whispered Raimundo, through bleeding lips.

"What do you know? I fooled you perfectly well didn't I?" laughed Wuya.

"…I remember everything…I never betrayed them…you never tricked…me…" muttered Raimundo.

"Denial doesn't prove anything you know," laughed Wuya, covering up her anger at his remembrance. "When she does arrive, I'll be ready for her."

"I don't like just sittin' around," said Clay, kicking the wall.

This hurt quite a lot, but he didn't want to show it, and so continued to face the wall.

"I know, but Kimiko wants to deal with Wuya in her own." Said Omi, staring at his feet, "I guess that's what happens when you feel that way. You start acting rashly."

"When you feel what way?" asked Clay.

"Is it not obvious?" asked Omi, raising an eyebrow.

Clay stared at him for a second before it set in.

"Oh!" he said, "Do you really think that she likes him—like that?"

"I think she does," said Omi, "And I think that we're being stupid just sitting here."

"Well let's get going then," said Clay, standing up, "We'd better catch up with her."

Kimiko continued running down the damp paths in the caves, squeezing through thin spaces and choosing between different paths. She knew that she was getting closer, she didn't know how, but she knew. A few more times she came up against trick walls, other times she ran into real ones as she ran blindly through the dark.

"Rai, where are you?" she asked, falling to her knees in exhaustion.

She yelled loudly in frustration. Then something caught her eye! She looked up. At the end of the long tunnel in front of her was a dim light. It was flickering.

"Fire?" she asked.

She stood up.

"That's got to be them!" she gasped, "I'M COMING RAI!"

The words echoed through the caves. Backwards to Omi and Clay, running down the paths, and forwards to Wuya and Raimundo.

"…Kim…Kimiko…I'm here...please…hurry…" he said, trying to call, but he was too exhausted.

"She can't hear you," said Wuya, as she pulled his head up by his hair. "But that doesn't matter, you'll never know."

"Take your hands off him!" said a voice from the mouth of the chamber.

Kimiko was standing in the entrance, her wet hair falling over her eyes. Her blue eyes shone through, pure hatred and anger consuming them. It was almost overwhelming to see a person who was normally so happy, filled with such fierce hatred.

As the anger welled up inside of her, she held out her arms. The flames from the torches attached to the walls, spurted forward and danced in her hands.

"Don't you dare touch him…"