Luna Mountain, Last Challenge: Water
Gaga distracted himself from the recent conversation by trying to figure out where exactly they were in the mountain. He drew a mental picture of the mountain in his head, and began tracing their route through it. He realized that although they had traveled a great distance over the past two days, they hadn't really gone anywhere. They had gone straight through the mountain, and then followed its perimeter, slowly spiraling upwards, so that they passed over their previous track, and all the way around. Then, they'd gone straight to the center of the mountain, in a tunnel above and parallel to their first rout, but in the opposite direction. Crossing directly through the center, they'd followed a torturous path, so that currently, they were headed towards the place where the entrance was, though far above it. They would probably also come out several meters to the side. He tried to remember what was there, but couldn't.
As they walked, Onua looked back at Gaga, smiling to herself at the contemplative look on his face. He was amusingly innocent. Not naive, per say; he understood the implications of the situations they had gotten into. But he seemed…inexperienced; he was far to worried about her feelings to be a veteran in the game of love. Her expression turned thoughtful. "Gaga-san?"
"Yes, Onua-san?"
"Was that the first time you ever made out?"
"What! What kind of question is that?" Gaga immediately turned red again.
Onua relented. "You don't have to answer. I shouldn't have asked; it's none of my business."
Gaga hesitated, and then said, "…yes."
"Hmm?"
"Yes, that was my first real kiss. I-I've never…had a…girlfriend before." He looked down, embarrassed. "Not…not that you're really my girlfriend or anything…"
"Oh, I don't know. I might be." She grinned flirtatiously at him. "If properly asked."
Gaga was flustered; did she want him to ask her? Was she just teasing him again? And most importantly, SHOULD he even ask her? He hesitated, almost speaking, until he felt the floor tremble underfoot. Another cave-in? He looked back along their route they had taken, ready to grab Onua and run. The trembling grew, and with it they heard a rumbling, which escalated, until it became a roar. Gaga spun around, and taking Onua by the arm, began running down the passageway, hauling her after him.
"Gaga-san, what…?" Onua took one look back and began running with him. Coming down the passage behind them was a wall of water. Somewhere deep inside the mountain an underground river had broken loose, and had gone rushing and gushing down the passage towards the two. Gaga looked back, and wrapped his arms around Onua to protect her just before the surge washed over them.
They held their breaths as they tumbled and spun down the passage, eyes closed. Gaga held Onua protectively close as they were forcefully propelled towards their unknown destination like chaff. Surfacing for a few brief seconds, they looked around frantically for something to grab on to. The light increased, and as Gaga looked toward the source, he realized that they were nearing the outside. He nearly panicked at that. If they were as high up as he thought, when they left the mountain they'd be flung from a deadly height. There was no way they'd survive unless they managed to stop themselves from being flung off.
Gaga released Onua from his arms and had her grab hold of his waist. He then began swimming towards the right side of the passage, hoping to find something to grab onto. He had just reached the wall when they were swept outside. He lunged for the side of the flow and managed to catch hold of a sapling that grew on the side of the mountain. He slowly managed to haul himself up onto the bank next to the tree, but no sooner had he managed to get up there than Onua lost her grip on him.
Moving instinctively, quicker than thought, Gaga grabbed onto the tree with one hand and Onua's wrist with the other. He looked at her and saw that she was unconscious. Something must have been carried along by the water and hit her on the head. That flow is enough to move small boulders. The flow increased, threatening to rip her from his grasp. He gritted his teeth and held on, trying to pull her from the water without success. The water pulled harder and harder, and his hold was starting to slip.
"…I'm glad to know you. I'm better for having known you, I want to always know you, I want to never say goodbye." If he let go, if he lost his hold, he wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye, and he'd never get to see her smile again. This was the last challenge, water, which meant that there had to be a way. There had to, didn't there? But…his arms were getting tired, weakening under the relentless tugging of the current. His hand slipped a bit more.
"'Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it.'"
No! I will NOT lose her! I CANNOT lose her, I couldn't bear it.
"'Many waters cannot quench love, nor can floods drown it.'"
Suddenly, Gaga's loosening grip on Onua's arm tightened, as sharp claws sprouted from his fingertips and dug into her wrist. His eyes closed as he focused all of his attention on pulling her from the water, and he didn't see her eyes flicker open for an instant, and take in his changes before closing again. His bared teeth grew short, sharp fangs, and ground together with his efforts. The back of his water-soaked jacket writhed for a few seconds, and then huge, bat-like wings burst from between his shoulder blades and began pumping furiously. They beat at the air and provided just a bit more power, as with an almighty effort, he hauled Onua's unconscious form from the water.
Such was the shock of her release from the water's pull that he fell over backwards, and she landed on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. In the instant before he landed, his claws, fangs, and wings disappeared, and he was fully human again when he hit the ground.
