Three reviews, yay! I hope you guys enjoy this one. When it was in quiz format, it was definitely one of my best, so I hope this story-format version of it reflects that. Enjoy! Three more reviews and I update!

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.

CHAPTER TWELVE – PANIC AND RESCUE

Kurama and Catalyn sprinted down the long hallway, knowing that the door at the end would lead them to Hiei and Yusuke. Suddenly, the floor behind them began to crumble and disappear, revealing only darkness awaiting them if they should fall. Catalyn kept throwing glances back as they ran, and was startled to see that the floor was catching up to them.

"Faster!" she cried, and they ran even harder, racing against the falling floor, trying to make it to the door. The floor crumbled at their heels. Catalyn grabbed Kurama's hand and pulled him with her. "Break down the door!" she gasped.

With his rose whip, Kurama broke the door and they dove through, just as the rest of the floor dissolved into nothingness. They found themselves sitting on a cold marble floor, trying to catch their breaths. After a few moments, they both stood.

"Ready?" she asked with a half-smile. He nodded and smiled back, and so they continued walking.

After walking forward across the marble floor, they reached a glowing, neon green staircase. It led upwards, but branched off into many different directions, each one leading to a different door. There were dozens of doors.

Catalyn analyzed the situation. Dozens of doors, only a slim chance of finding the right one… How long would it take them to search through them all? Way too long. "How should we do this?" she murmured. "Should we split up, or is there a way to find them?"

Kurama was silent for a moment. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be concentrating on something. Finally he said, "I think I'm sensing a weak energy coming from the top-most door."

"Whose is it?" she asked eagerly.

"Yusuke," Kurama answered. He paused, and added gravely, "Right now, even though I'm trying, I can't sense Hiei at all."

Catalyn's heart sank like a stone. Yusuke's energy was weak, and Hiei's was gone. Were they too late to save either of them now? She tried to think of something positive, to reassure herself that she didn't go through all of that hassle for nothing. "Well," she said, trying to sound optimistic and failing miserably, "maybe they're just too far away for you to sense them properly, or something's interfering…" She trailed off. She wasn't fooling herself in the least.

Kurama nodded. Even though it was obvious he knew she was sounding false, he seemed to cling to that one last hope anyway. He pointed all the way up, to the end of the tallest staircase, where a golden door was waiting. "That's where they'll be," he said, and they started the long trek up the stairs.

Catalyn started counting how many steps they were passing, but there were so many she felt herself losing track constantly. Sixty-five…sixty-six…sixty-six – no, sixty-seven… There were just too many, and each step weighed down on not only her body, but her spirits as well. One hundred and three…one hundred and four…

"Catalyn?"

She looked up slowly, only to find that Kurama wasn't in front of her.

"Catalyn, up here."

She lifted her head even higher, and found Kurama many, many steps ahead of her, and therefore much higher up.

He looked genuinely concerned. "Are you doing okay?" He began to walk back down towards her, and when he was close enough, he extended her his rose whip. "Here, I'll pull you up to my level."

Catalyn took the end of the whip gratefully, and he pulled her up. "Stay there," he told her. "I'll pull you up again when I get a bit higher." And he did that over and over again.

Catalyn couldn't believe how weak she'd gotten. Why was this? What had happened to her to make her like this? Endurance had never been a problem for her. It was something she excelled in. So why now? Was it because she hadn't yet recovered from the vampire demon? It seemed so long ago, and she thought she'd been completely cured. Well, healed or not, I shouldn't be letting that stop me right now, she thought fiercely, and commenced walking again on her own. I'm not going to let my weakness get the better of me.

Finally, after God knew how many steps, they reached the golden door. Kurama pushed the door open. Yusuke was right in front of them, panting on the floor, about to collapse. Behind him, Hiei lay still unconscious, but still breathing.

"Made it!" she sighed in relief, and instantly taking in some of the dirty air. She coughed, but at least there was now some clean air flowing into the room.

Yusuke tried to say something, but he was so exhausted that nothing came out. Kurama bent over him and helped him to stand. "Can you tend to Hiei?" he asked her.

"I already told you I wouldn't," she protested, slightly annoyed, but one look into Kurama's eyes forced her to oblige. Bending over Hiei, she wondered with what she could use to tie up his wound. She looked down at the bandages on her arms, and then to Yusuke, whose eyes were closed. Then she shook her head. Kurama has already seen, but still…no, I can't. "Kurama, I have nothing to bandage this with," she said.

Kurama ripped off a long piece of his clothing (that long yellow thing he wears sometimes, I don't know what it's called) and handed it to her. She wrapped it around Hiei's back, covering the wound, but blood would start to show through soon. "This won't last long at all," she said. "We'd better get out of here fast."

"Why don't you contact Botan and ask her to meet us on one of the lower floors?" Kurama asked. "She can probably bring first-aid for Hiei. Plus, she has a small amount of healing powers, which could be of use."

"Good idea," she said. She took out the communication device, called Botan, and explained the situation. "Can you meet us on the fourth floor?" she asked.

"I'll be right there," Botan replied. "But what should I do with Jet and Mari?"

Catalyn thought for a minute. "Uh, just bring them with you for now. It's not like you'll be staying long or anything. They won't be in danger."

"I'll be there as fast as I can," Botan said, and they broke their connection.

Catalyn lifted up Hiei's body until he was in a semi-standing position where she could support him with one arm. With her supporting Hiei and Kurama helping Yusuke, they left the intoxicated room and headed back down the stairs.

The only problem was, when they reached the bottom of the stairs, they weren't facing the same door anymore. To make matters worse, all of the other doors had disappeared.

"We'll have to take this one, I guess," Catalyn said, opening the door and taking a step.

Instantly she felt herself falling down some sort of chute. She half-screamed and let the momentum of the many twists, turns, and bumps send her and Hiei flying. After one particularly nasty bump, she saw a fork in the drop, just as she lost her grip on him. He headed towards the left fork, while she was sliding to the right. "No!" she yelled, and pushed herself left, falling headfirst after Hiei. She reached for Hiei's wrist, but there was another bump, sending the two of them flying through the air and out of the tunnel. Yelling, she landed in a pool of water with an almighty splash.

As soon as her head found the surface, she coughed up the disgusting water. She was in the middle of a circular pool about fifteen meters in radius, filled with nasty greenish water with a decaying odour. It was dimly lit, and there was a narrow cement border around it, leading to a door.

She looked around frantically for Hiei. Had he gone under already? Then she saw the tips of his spiky black hair sinking a few meters to her right. In a panic, she took a quick breath and dove under to get him. Surprisingly, her vision was quite clear, and she figured the pool was as deep as it was wide. Hiei was sinking quickly, and she didn't like the look of the shadows looming nearer. She rose to the surface, took the biggest breath she could muster, and dove back under to get Hiei back.

She swam as fast as she could after the sinking body, but at the same time, she struggled. It wasn't that she couldn't swim. She just greatly disliked water. After all, she was part cat, and cats hated water. But it wasn't just hate she felt. She was scared of water. She was scared of drowning, like she'd almost done when she was little. Scared of having no air left when she'd finally accomplished the feet of touching the bottom. Scared of becoming trapped in a tangled mess of seaweed, with no hope of escape whatsoever. She could feel her fear pulling her back, telling her, you don't belong here. You can't do this. You'll die if you do this. Come back to the surface. Breathe. Live. She desperately wanted to listen to it, and forget about Hiei and stay safe.

Still she fought on. She fought through her fear and the water's current as she swam deeper and deeper, trying to reach Hiei's limp body. He was sinking faster than she could swim, and he was nearing the seaweed-covered floor. Catalyn's eyes widened in horror when she saw the swaying strips of green, and swam even faster. She reached as far as she could, and grabbed onto Hiei's wrist. She sighed in relief, accidentally letting out some of the air she still had reserved, and began to pull him back up.

As she swam higher, she was suddenly pulled back. She looked below her to see that Hiei's ankle was tangled in a mass of seaweed! In a desperate panic, she clawed at the seaweed, trying to rip it apart. She choked on the water. Fear was the only thing driving her then. She viciously ripped the seaweed apart, accidentally making a cut in Hiei's ankle. Still, he was free, and she could continue upwards. She kicked as hard as she could, struggling to pull Hiei's weight up with her. She'd used up all of her air. If she didn't make it up soon, she'd die.

Something else stopped her. Suddenly surrounding her was a gang of demon fish, with sharp scales and layers of razor-sharp teeth. She recognized this type of fish, having seen some before. They were like sharks, and loved to feast on human flesh when they smelled blood. Catalyn looked at Hiei's back wound. The bandage covered it. Then she caught sight of his ankle, the one she had accidentally cut when freeing him from the seaweed. The cut was bleeding slightly. And the fish charged.

With her free hand, Catalyn slashed at the demon fish, trying to protect herself and Hiei at the same time. One fish tried to clamp its jaws around Hiei's ankle, but she slashed it with her tail. The fish bit that instead. She yelped in pain, choking on even more water than before. She was completely out of air now. There was nothing left. Her vision dimmed at the edges. Still, she tried to fight the fish, but she was so focused on fighting that Hiei's weight was dragging her down. Desperately she pushed Hiei's body up as hard as he can, praying he'd reach the surface, and with her lungs feeling like they would burst, slashed wildly at the demon fish, somehow managing to kill them all.

After she'd done that, though, she was deprived of all strength, and just kept sinking. Hiei was nowhere to be seen, and her vision was steadily darkening. I couldn't save him! Catalyn thought. He sank! And now…I'm gonna drown…can't breathe…can't make it up…ugh…

Her vision blanked. She felt a pair of strong arms pull her upwards, and suddenly, she was at the surface, coughing up water, but breathing. Breathing air. She was still alive! Kurama was swimming her to the edge of the pool, where Hiei and Yusuke lay, both of them safe and sound.

Kurama helped her onto the cement before pulling himself out. Once there, Catalyn collapsed to the ground, hyperventilating. He rubbed her back gently. "Easy," he said softly. "Take it easy. Just take deep breaths. Don't worry. You're still alive. Everything's okay." She tried to breathe deeply, but all that came out were tight gasps.

With Kurama at her side, after a few minutes, she was able to calm down. With shuddering breaths, she said, "I was so scared out there…" and promptly burst into tears.

He put his arms around her, waiting patiently for her to calm down. "You're safe now," he kept repeating. "I won't let anything happen to you now." Finally, she was ready to move on.

And so they continued. Catalyn was supporting Yusuke, who had come to and just needed a bit of help to walk. It was easier than to support Hiei, who still hadn't woken up, so Kurama took care of him. Once through the door, they found themselves back in the fourth floor hallway. Somehow, they'd managed to succeed in their rescue.

"Glad that's over with," Catalyn said with a sigh.

"Yeah," Yusuke agreed. "Now I can kick demon butt again."

"In that condition?" she scoffed. "You wouldn't last a minute."

"Well, neither would you!" he retorted.

"I know that!" she snapped.

"That's why we're resting here, and waiting for Botan," Kurama interrupted, ending the argument. He placed Hiei's body on the floor.

"What about me?" yelled a familiar voice, and the middle door burst open, revealing a tired but otherwise well Kuwabara. "Took forever to beat that thing…wow, what happened to you guys? And look at you, Urameshi, you can't even stand on your own two feet!"

"Shut your trap!" Yusuke yelled, breaking free from Catalyn, and the two boys fought.

…Later, once both boys collapsed from exhaustion and were unable to continue their fight…

"That wasn't wise," Kurama said, sighing as he stared at the two boys, who were panting on the ground.

"As if we don't already have enough to deal with," Catalyn sighed, sitting against the wall with her eyes closed.

"Big sister! Big sister!"

Catalyn opened her eyes. Jet and Mari were running up the stairs towards them, with Botan following close behind. She smiled as they jumped onto her, wincing in pain all the same, but she hugged them back anyways. "How've you been?" she asked them.

"Really good!" Jet said.

"Botan played with us!" Mari added.

Catalyn looked at Botan, who gave her a weary grin. Then she got to work. She let Kuwabara and Yusuke help themselves to her first-aid kit, fixed Kurama's arm while she was at it, and tended to Hiei.

After she had finished, she looked at Hiei's sleeping form, shaking her head. "Of all of you, I was certain he'd be the last to end up like this," she commented.

"We all did," Kurama said. "We're just as surprised as you are."

Then Botan caught sight of Catalyn. Her arms were limp at her sides, and she seemed to be sleeping. Botan shooed the guys away and fixed up her bandages and other things. When she'd finished, she went to speak with them.

"She sure is tired," Botan commented.

"We all are," Kurama said. Sure enough, Yusuke and Kuwabara were sleeping on the floor as well. "We've all been through a lot so far."

"Well, take care then," Botan said. "I guess I'd better get going."

Catalyn awoke with a start, noticed that her bandages had been changed, and thanked Botan. "So are you going back with Jet and Mari now?" she asked.

Botan nodded. "Yeah," she said, which triggered protests from Jet and Mari.

"Don't worry," Catalyn told them. "I have a job for you two. Can you guys go and recruit as many demons as possible to help rebel against the Ten?"

Everyone awake in the hall gasped when they heard her idea.

Catalyn explained, "The Ten may have given the demons here a home, but that means nothing if they're going to take advantage of them. We can offer them peace and freedom. I'm sure they'd stand up for our cause."

"You're right," Kurama said, smiling.

So Botan left with Jet and Mari, both who promised to make their big sister proud.

Once they were gone, Catalyn leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. "Resting again?" Kurama asked.

"Now's the best chance," she murmured, and said no more, for she had already fallen asleep.

Kurama settled himself against the wall as well and relaxed. There were still three of the Ten left, and probably the most powerful ones as well. At this point, they'd need any period of rest they could get.