Nakietra
I take a seat on the platform and Nero continues to wash my face. He feels he was more wrong than me and there's no way for me to stop him at all. No one in my group had any idea how to get down to the courtyard apparently, they just followed me. They'll figure it out eventually.
I turn back to the statue. The eight arms narrows down the religion to a few, but there's no bangles or jewelry that I can see which is odd. All gods have jewelry usually. I let out a frustrated breath. His ears are normal, his eyes are normal, his clothes are robes. This doesn't narrow the religion down any further. There's no sacred animals on the robes. No markings or tattoos that I can see. There's nothing.
I sigh and give up. Carefully I stretch out my legs and lie back. The platform was partly in the sun but not all the way. It felt good against my bare skin at least. My shoulder still felt incredibly stiff but there's nothing I can do about it. I don't want to make it worse by stretching it out yet. I'll wait til after we've changed worlds.
I reached my arms to the stone ceiling overhead. My shoulder feels a little better. That was a softer stretch than most though. Then I noticed something. I stare at the ropes. None of them are connected to the platform. I though the hook holding the platform was the break. This isn't a lift, this is a trap.
"STOP!" I yell but it's too late. Syaoran had already pulled the switch and the platform was falling..
Use the catch symbol! On the small of your back! Catch the ring!
I saw it. The golden ring on the wall. I focused energy to the small of my back. Energy lashes out of my hand and latches onto the ring.
Use the net symbol! On your right ankle! Catch your friends!
I sent power to my ankle. I release it and the energy spread out and creates a net around them. I breathe out sharply. My shoulders are tearing. What did I just hear? What did I just do?
"That was awesome Nake!" Mokona said happily. I look down and count everyone up. Everyone's alive.
Stretch your power. Get them as close to the ground as you can and release it.
There's that voice again. Who's speaking in my head? It's not Nero. Nero's voice sounds like a young man's but tougher. I stretched the line that was attached to the ring until it was ready to snap. This was different than the Rope ruin which gave me a rope of power. It wasn't flexible like this at all though.
"When I count the three, I'm going to release the net. One…Two…Three," I said and released both ruins. Everyone landed on their feet except Sakura, who was in Syaoran's arms, me. I started on my feet, but then I fell forward. I feel really weak and very dizzy. I close my eyes and watch my vision fade in and out as I open them again. Those ruins took a lot of energy from me.
Nero moves in front of Sakura growls. I look up. There are enemies on both sides. I look and see lizards. They're green with huge red eyes. I squeeze my eyes shut and scramble to my feet. If I stay here, I'm dead.
They're coming from everywhere. A bunch come from the upper levels and down the walls. I see Kurogane covering us from that angle along with Syaoran. Nero and Fai are holding them off at the right doorway. I turn to the left. I need to do my share. I can't be the weak link here.
I pull out my knife. Killing them is harder than I thought. They were faster than I thought and they were also playing with me by nipping my ankles. They're teeth are like needles, but they're the length of Nero so I should be able to get them easily. It's my vision though. I can't see enough so therefore I can't use my ruins. I don't have enough energy to use my ruins for guess work.
The first two went down easier. They tripped over each other and got caught underneath my foot. The other four were smarter. They didn't try head on attacks as much their predecessors had and only went one after the other. Their pattern took me a minute to figure out and then I had three more dead. Now there was only one left. I look a step forward. If I don't sit down soon I'm going to fall down and then I'm dead. The lizard moved back a step.
This one was smarter. I can't get close to him so therefore I can't kill him. I thought about calling for some help taking it out. Just to kill it as I distracted it. Kurogane did just that though without my needing to call. He looked me over and then left without a word. I looked at the dead lizard and then carefully lowered myself down to the ground. I feel like I'm going to be sick because my heard hurts so much. I stuff my knife in sheave and take deep breathes. It doesn't help.
Sweet drips from my forehead and then onto my pants. I feel like I need to lie down but this isn't the time or place for it. I put my head in my hand and rest it there. I feel worse. Nero clicks over and licks the sweat off my face. His hot tongue is not welcome right now. The stone beneath me is burning with sun and I can feel my shirt soaking up all the heat around it. I press my cheek to his face.
"I'm okay Nero," I say tiredly and scratch his ears. He stops licking and sniff me. He whines. He jerks his head away from me and takes off. I don't look up to see where he's gone.
Kurogane
"Mokona, where is the feather?" Syaoran asks one more time. He's been making sure Sakura wasn't hurt and hadn't listened the first time to Mokona answered. I don't care enough to answer. It's still sad how much he dotes. She'll never remember him, but he keeps trying. People have done stranger things for the people they care for though.
"Hm…It's below us," Mokona answers one more time and points down. I don't understand how we're supposed to get underneath us. There might be a stair case or a hidden passage. Nakietra would be the one to tell though. This is her area of expertise.
"There must be a way down there then," Syoaran says and wanders toward the statue. There's something strange about that thing. It's almost like it's mocking us. I hear the click of Nero's paws and look the other way. Nero is running over to us. His mistress is sitting down on the ground near the broken platform. I wonder how she figured out it was a trap. Nero kneads his head against Sakura's leg. He wants something.
"What's wrong Nero?" Sakura asks and kneels on the ground in front of him. He pants in front of her and dig into the ground. Nakietra said that the panting meant he wanted water and the digging meant it was for someone. All of us had picked it up quickly after she told us. "You want water?" Sakura asked for confirmation. All of us except Sakura. Nero nodded his head 'yes'. It was amazing how much he understood us and how human some of his gestures were. Even in my home world, the demons weren't even this human. They had their own entire language that we couldn't understand. They're our enemies though, why do we need to understand them?
"Mokona, can you give me some water?" Sakura asked. Mokona nodded his head up and down before producing a wreathed canteen. Nero grabbed the strap from Mokona and bounded off toward his mistress. Something's not right. Nakietra has her own water canteen that she uses from her bag. She would never ask Nero to get it either.
Nero drops the canteen in her lap. She doesn't move to touch it. He sniffs her face and licks it. I hear him whine. She's not responding to him. Something's wrong. I'm the only one that reacts.
I'm next to her in seconds. Her hair is escaping from her braid and is plastered to her skin in sweat. Her breathing was heavy and slow and her eyes are closed. Nero whines again. I put a hand on her arm and she falls sideways. She's burning hot. I take the canteen and unscrew it. I pour the water over her face which seems to help because she squeezes her eyes shut tighter and breaths in sharply..
I hear the other's come too. Sakura is screaming for Syaoran. Fai is looking over my shoulder. I twist her on to her back and rest her on my arm. My arm can feel that these stones are burning and it's not even touching it. I wondered about the ruins. She's been using them like they felt like nothing today. Her old limit was three. She must be at her limit now.
"She's burning," I tell Fai. He's the closest one to a doctor other than Nakietra.
"We need to get her out of the sun," Fia says practically in my ear. He looks around. I do too. Everywhere in the shade is up above. There's no way we'll be able to get up there.
"She has to get out of the sun and into somewhere cool so she can rest," I retorted. I closed up the
"It's cold inside," Syaoran said loudly. I follow his voice. He's by the left doorway where the lizards were coming out of.
"Check around of any lizards inside," I tell the kid. We have no better choices. I pick Nakietra up and move her inside. He was right, it was cold in there.
Nakietra
Something nice and cool was pressed against my cheek. I remember after my mother died, I spent a night in the ruins. It was winter. The days were still warm, but the nights were freezing. I used a smooth stone from the river as a pillow and it stayed cold the whole night for me because I was sick with a fever and I didn't want Toya or grandmamma to find out and call Hiro home.
I breathed out a twitched my fingers. I was lying on my back and I opened my eyes to see stone above me. I blinked a few times. I remember fighting and then sitting down. I remember being shocked with cold water and then…here. I'm missing some memories.
I look left. Kurogane is sitting with his legs crossed. His right hand is curled around his sheathed blade, his body is tense and ready to fight. His eyes are closed though. He must know I'm awake. He's guarding me. I purse my lips. I feel so shameful for making him guard me. He should be helping Syaoran find the feather, not watch a sick person get slightly better. I do feel a lot better though after sleeping.
I take a deep breath and push myself up. I fight of the dizziness. I didn't pass out from the heat, that's impossible. I come from a land that's hotter than this every day. My body must be getting worse. My fingers tighten into fists. How long until I'm too weak to even do that?
"Drink some water," Kurogane's says. I look over to him and see his eyes open and watching me. I find the canteen near me and take a drink. I'm not really thirsty.
"Where are we?" I ask as I examined our surroundings. It was a dim corner with carvings all along the walls. We're still in the temple. Underneath though? How did they figure out how to get below ground at all? I look up. We aren't far underground though. There's sunlight coming through the cracks and holes in the ceiling.
"We're in a hallway out of the sunlight," He answered. That was so helpful considering I already figured that out. I stared at him. "We are underneath the entrance we came out of before the platform fell," He rephrased. That was a lot better.
"How did I get here?" I asked fearing the answer. I know I didn't collapse here, but I know I did somewhere. I remember being very hot and my head hurting a lot after the fight with the lizards. It was not heat stroke though.
"We brought you here after you passed out," His said seriously. Was my already failing health a serious thing? There's no cure, not that they know that.
"Who carried me?" I asked. Syaoran's not much shorter than me but I don't think he's strong enough to carry me. He still only a boy. Fai is weak like a puppy dog…but he could probably still carry me. Kurogane though….I remember hearing his voice before I passed out completely.
"Me," He answers easily while he stares at me. Good. I don't like how he looks so disapprovingly at me though. My life isn't as important as he must think it is.
"Where are the others?" I ask diverting my eyes from his face and look around once more.
"Outside. They're looking for a way to get farther underground," He explained. That must be where the feather is then.
"We should go help," I say and start to push myself up. My right arm collapses. Kurogane is fast enough and grabs my other arm so I don't crash into the ground. He pulls me up to my feet. I don't thank him.
"The door is this way," He responds and turns to the left. I follow him. The courtyard is just a little dimmer than I remember, but there's still a ton of sunlight. If the feather is underground, we must be nearby. We still have time. Nero barks and I look left. He runs to me with very positive emotions shocking through the bond. I bend down and wrap my arms around his neck with a smile. I'm glad Nero still cares.
"Nero," I breathe and let him go as he starts to lick me. I don't need any more of his slobber on me today I think. Behind him I see the other three making their way toward me. I stand up but my smile is gone. I need to work and these three always like to question my health. I look sideways. They shouldn't care about me. It's pointless.
"Shouldn't you rest more?" Sakura asks right away as she stops next to Nero. She's always the one who comes the closest to me. I look up at her.
"I'm fine," I tell her sincerely. I could sleep some more, defiantly, but we, as a group, can't afford it. I look past her and concentrate on the statue. I remember who he is now that I can see his face just a little clearer. He's Matu, the Zenu god of deception, mischief, and pranks. The platform was a tribute to him, not a trap. This is his temple which explains the spiders and lizards perfectly. They're the creatures of deception in most cultures because they have the ability to stand completely still and look like statues until it's too late. Knowing Matu, the answer to our problems is that statue of him and also will be hard to figure out and to obtain the feather.
"Are you alright?" Kurogane suddenly asks into my ear while placing a rough hand on my shoulder. I literally cringed at the suddenly loudness and take a step sideways away from him.
"What?" I ask and stare up at him. He always looks serious.
"You weren't answering us," Syaoran says worriedly. I look to him and try to keep my face hard. He's only a kid. He shouldn't look worried or serious when it comes to me.
"I' working," putting emphasis on every word, "The statue is the key to getting to the feather." I say. They all look back at the statue.
"How do you know?" Syaoran asks. Everyone looks at me.
"That statue," I pointed to it, "is of the god Matu. He is a god of deception. The statue is just as much of a deception as that platform was. It makes it seem like it's the end of the road but it isn't," I say slowly. I take quick, sure steps closer to the statue and around them. I'm the only one whose going to be able to figure this one out I bet.
As I get closer I find our lock. Two light sensitive gems are lined up across Matu's crossed ankles. I've seen these many times over, but never so high up and so shaded. This was meant to be a puzzle. The only way to open the door was to shine a steady stream of light into those switches. Now we just need to find the mirrors.
I turn around and scan for them. They should be on something sturdy and at a fixed angle so there's only one way the door can be opened. Many ancients believed that there should only be one way in which something should be done.
I hear everyone talking behind me. They're discussing what the hell I'm doing and stuff. I don't have the time to correct them or anything. I walk around the edges. It doesn't have to be mirrors. Anything reflective will do as long as it can reflect strong enough.
"What are you looking for?" Kurogane asks loudly and grabs my shoulder. I'm forced to stop and look back at him. We don't have time for this.
"Mirrors," I answer and turn my head forward to continue looking around.
"Why?" He ask sternly. I huff. He's the only one who ever seriously questions what I do in this group. I purse my lips together. Doesn't he get that I like going my own way. Maybe I don't want them following me.
"The gems on Matu's ankles are light sensitive. We need to find reflective objects that could or could not be mirrors to activate the gems which will hopefully open a door for us," I explain quickly. I see it then, a bright patch on the wall from a reflection toward the pillars North-West of me. I jerk my shoulder and dart forward. I stagger as pain shots through my wound as well as blazing heat. I'm not a careful person I guess.
It's a statue made of something that's like silver. Silver would melt in this heat though and wouldn't look as perfect as it did now. It a woman dressed in a revealing dress. Her right arm was slung over her head with an open fan sitting lazily from her hand. Her left arm is draped across her hips to reveal another open fan that rests on her slightly raised thigh. Bare skin along her arms and chest are plenty but not so much for her legs. The fans are silver plated though I'm sure because of the blinding light it's reflecting from the sun. This was one of the parts made to open the door.
My eyes search around the base of the statue for a way to move it. There's no handles on the four foot base. There is a track though which is very helpful for the eventual positioning. It doesn't make it much easier to move it though.
"What did you find?" Syaoran asks right behind me. I twitch greatly at his sudden appearance before answering.
"This statue is made to help open the door. We have to find a way to move it," I say while I tried to tug on it. So far it wasn't budging. I'm not very strong by myself though.
"Nakeitra!" Fia yells, "We found something!" I stop trying to pull the statue and look behind me. Fai and Sakura are in the middle of the courtyard. Fai is point toward something near the upper right and my eyes follow. I see two mirrors sitting side by side on a ledge far above where we entered.
I move more into the courtyard and look for a way up there. I don't know what they do, but those mirrors must be important considering they're Matu's most revered objects. I see a way up, but first I would have to get to the upper level again.
Draw Catch symbol. Grab the ring above.
I breathe in sharply and take a step back. A child is speaking inside my head again. It's a young boy that I don't recognize at all.
We explain later. Now save us. We are trapped below.
That's good enough for me right. They wanted to be freed from their prison below and I have to go down below to get the feather anyways. It should be a win-win for both of us. Why talk to me though? Sakura has always been more receptive to spirits and more accepting of them. True, I come from a world where our ancestors have talked to us time and time again, but this was not an ancestor of mine.
"What are you planning?" Kurogane asks as I approached the eastern wall where he had taken post. Syaoran was working on the statue with Fai and Sakura now. They were moving it along the track but they had nowhere to put it right now.
"I need to get those mirrors," I reply while I look for the ring that the child spoke of. I assume it's somewhere around the upper level.
"Why?" He asks.
"We need them to open the door," I reply cryptically. I glance to him. He knows that I have no idea what the mirrors are for at this point. I continue my searching and find a stone ring just about the right upper levels. I unsheave my knife and draw the Catch Ruin on my inner wrist. I draw a few more just in case and a few fireballs while I wait for the first one to completely soak in. I put my knife back and start my climb.
"Be careful," Kurogane says just as I reach my hand up. I glance to his calm face and then pull myself into the air. Kurogane never told me to be careful. He always watched….maybe he thought I was losing my touch. No, if anything I'm gaining it back. I go to the hole in the ceiling I saw before and climbed up through it.
Nero joined my thoughts then. He sent me a mental image of me slamming down into Fia's arms after the spider are pushed me off the tower. From his view, it looked scary. My eyes my closed, my reaction time was slow and there was blood all over my chest.
He shows me more. I see myself barely hanging onto cliffs and falling into water at painful angles. From his view with the others, yes it looked dangerous. If it had been Syaoran in those positions, I would have been running to him because I would have thought he was going to die….I pause my climbing. I must look like such a fool to these people. I keep my distance and don't ask for help when really I need people. It's obvious I do. A tear rolls down my cheek and I keep climbing. I'm not strong, I never was.
I remember climbing trees and sneaking into the nearby ruins with my brother. He was the one that taught me to spot cliffs, how to climb, and how to plan out all climbs and all escape routes in case something fell apart. He taught me to think. He kept me strong and healthy. I clench my teeth. I miss Hiro.
I pull myself up onto the ledge holding the mirrors. I look into one as I pick it up and I see my face; hard, lined, my hair dull and frizzed from the heat. I'm a mess. My lips are too small, my eyes too small and look like black orbs. I blink once and I remember Hiro. Nero sends me a picture of our welcome home dinner. Hiro was smiling next to me. His arm was around Ira and he looked so happy. It hurt but at the same time I felt better. I feel like I'm starting to forget the brother I knew my whole life and only remembering the one that died because of me.
Fai is calling up to me. I ignore it and pick up the second one. The pedestals they're on are beautiful. They're golden lotuses with very thin petals. I run my fingers over the smooth metal and turn around. I breathe in deeply and groan then. I didn't bring my bag up with me. There's no way I'm going to be able to climb down without breaking these mirrors.
Draw Catch and Net symbols. Use those.
Thank you children, I thought gratefully. I carefully set the mirrors on the ground and carve a Net Ruin. I sit on the ground to stop the world from spinning. The little sleep I got is fading away from the climb and all these Ruins I'm carving and using.
"I'm going to lower the mirrors. You have to catch them," I yell down. Syaoran repeats what I said questionable. I nod my head.
"Yes," I yell back. I focused on the symbols and place the mirrors inside the net. Ever so slowly, I lowered the mirrors to the ground where Syaoran was waiting to get them. My whole body was tense with the fear they would crash to the ground and break. I don't know what they're for yet, but they must be important somehow. I relax once Syaoran has them firmly in his hands.
I allow myself a small smile of satisfaction before getting up to stretch. Things were starting to go better for me. We have most of the pieces of the puzzle, I think, now we just have to figure out how to put them together. I stretch out my arms and look down into the courtyard. Everyone looks so small and so…connected. Sakura and Fai are kneeling on the ground looking at the mirrors while Syaoran is looking around the statue. Kurogane is the only one watching me. He didn't look as disappointed as before, but still very serious. Nero sent me a picture that he was inside the cool hallway. It's too much for him out here since his coat is used to the colder places we keep winding up in.
"Behind you!" Kurogane shouts. I turn around just in time to catch a long, green lizard that wanted to bite my head off with its little teeth. I take a step back with foot half off the edge. I'm barely staying upright with this lizard's wiggly weight. I keep its head back and take a step forward. I almost hand my knife. Another slammed into my legs then and I was over the edge, falling. Fear installed inside me. I don't like falling. The lizard let go or me and tried to reach the ledge. It failed.
The ring that saved you the first time. Use it again.
I look for the ring and started sending energy to the Ruin. I don't see it. I'm falling too fast.
Release your energy now.
I released it and felt my body jerk to a stop as it tugged my injured arm. It pulsed with tear-jerking pain that caused me to cry out in pain, but I was happy to still be alive. The lizard passed by me and I shut my eyes as it slammed into the ruined platform below me. I open my eyes and breathe shakily. I feel blood dripping down my shut. I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my teeth. I feel the pain now from it. It's burning. I'm at my limit I think. I can't control my energy and I'm too far from the ground to not break any bones.
"Come down," Fai calls. I can't respond. The pain is too much. My energy is unwinding. I'm going to fall. I feel it fading.
"Jump," Kurogane yells, "We'll catch you." I don't have the energy to jump. I feel my brain start to get slack. Just a little bit longer. I just need to hold on. The rope snaps. I squeeze my eyes shut. I'm ready for more pain. Someone catches me. I open my eyes and I see Kurogane staring down at me. I keep my eyes open so he doesn't know I'm in pain.
"You're bleeding," He stares. I close my eyes and know I'm screwed.
"What? Let me see," Fai demands. I feel my vision fading and I encourage it greatly.
I wake up again on my back. My shirt is gone and a new one is draped over my essentials. I feel the herbs stinging my wound and I recognize the smells. I remembering my mother using these herbs on spider bites that workers got in the fields. The spiders there were mildly poisoness and were supposed to be treated before they went to sleep. I turn my head and see Kurogane guarding me in the same place as last time.
"You shouldn't move," Kurogane tells me.
"It doesn't matter," I respond harshly and push myself up. Nero had decided to leave me here with Kurogane and protect Sakura he says now that he knows there are still lizards alive here. I guess Kurogane is good enough protection for me I guess.
"Your shoulder needs to rest," He tells me. I know, but we don't have time.
"We don't have time," I reply impatiently. I scrap the herbs off and toss them deeper into the hallway. I look at the wound. My blood is lighter than usual.
"They don't need you right now," He says. I clench my teeth and grab a roll of nearby bandages. I turn my back and start to wrap my wound.
"Why do you feel like you deserve to be alone?" He asks. I pause.
"I'm tired of watching people suffer because of me," I respond truthfully and tie the bandage. I pull my shirt on.
"You're not keeping you're distance from them, you're only making them suffer more," He tells me. I clench me teeth.
"What else am I supposed to do then?" I ask and whip around to face him. "Ahh!" I scream as something moving slams onto my back. I reach my hands back and feel scales. It's a lizard. Kurogane grabs it off of me and I'm gone out the door. I breathe heavily and stare at the door.
"Are you okay?" Kurogane asks as he follows. I nod my head and I hear the others running toward us.
"What's wrong?" Syaoran asks breathlessly.
"A lizard got in. It's dead," Kurogane answers for me.
"Nakeitra, are you okay?" Syaoran asks.
"Yes," I answer and stalk away from the door. I'm tired of resting. All my life I've been told that I needed to rest more. I'll rest when my body lets me.
"Nakeitra, you should rest," Fia scolds.
"I'm tired of resting," I hiss without pause and hurry toward Matu. I look up at the sun. We have three, maybe four hours of sunlight left. Those mirrors must go somewhere. The sun is setting behind us, so maybe…I look at Matu closely. There are circles cut away in his hands. Maybe the mirrors are a way to concentrate the beams of sunlight.
"We found another mirror statue of a warrior," Sakura says softly from my right. I glance to her to see her pointing to the exact area across from the lady statue.
"Okay. I think the mirrors we found have to go on those two upper hands of Matu. There has to be a way to lower them. We should look along the upper levels for a switch or something," I say. She nods her head and runs off, probably to tell the others. I continue to look for a switch from down here.
The switch is not a switch. The scales on the middle levels control the arms. Look up and right. Look up and left.
I did as the children said and found the browning scales. Now there was the question of how I was going to get up there. I could always use the way I used last time I guess. Sakura is back and this time she's with someone else.
"Nakietra, Tomoyo sent us something," Sakura said with an almost out of breath tone. I immediately turned to face her. How could she send us something? We haven't seen Tomoyo for…weeks at least. She can't send us anything.
"How?" I ask suspicious.
"Tomoyo gave it to me and said to hide it from you until we were in the next world. She said you would give it back otherwise," Mokona says happily. I would have given it back because Tomoyo gave away too many nice things. First, she gave me the dagger, and then these artifacts around my wrists, ankles, and waist to help me support more ruins. These are valuable things no matter what world you're in.
"She left you a note," Syaoran said holding out a folded piece of paper to me. I unfolded it to see Tomoyo's flourish writing.
Dear Nakietra,
I'm sorry that I had to go behind your back, but I had my reasons. I'm sorry about Hiro and I will miss him almost as much as I will miss you. I will probably never see you again, so I insist that you keep everything in this bag. This letter was meant for you, and the other objects inside the bag are for your friends.
I noticed that you and two of your friends carry weapons but the other two don't. I placed a small knife for the Blond one so he won't be so defenseless. I hope he uses it. The bag itself is water proof by the way. That means you can put stuff inside and then go swimming with it if you really wanted. It might help if you plan on going artifact hunting just like you did with Hiro.
The metallic belt is for your friend who jumped off the bridge. It's one of my company's inventions. We call it the "Grabble Belt". Point the center at a hook or ring and then press the button the right to shoot the hook. I thought it might help him if he decides to go jumping off bridges again so you won't have to save him.
I will miss you Nakietra. Please stay safe and alive even if Hiro isn't by your side. Don't lose the will to live out your life because of one person's death. He wouldn't want to plan out your death. So long my friend.
Tomoyo
My eyes strained to read her tiny handwriting and I felt tears try to come through when I kept seeing Hiro's name. My death has been planned out since the day I was born. I wish I could tell her this, but I can't. Neither me or Hiro could bring her down like that.
"What does it say?" Kurogane asks.
"It just explains what's in the bag," I responds and kneeled down next to it. It's black and glistening. I gently take it from Mokona and unzipp it. First I pulled out the knife and hand it to Fia. It looked like a simple, iron dagger with a plain brown casing.
"This is for protection only. She thinks you look defenseless without a weapon," I tell him seriously. He hesitantly takes it. Next I took out the belt and handed it to Syaoran.
"She said this is a grabble belt. To use it you press the button on the right. You can use it to grab onto rings and stuff," I tell him while I folded up the bag. I handed it to Sakura.
"It's waterproof. You should keep it somewhere safe." I met her gaze and see her nod her head before I pushed myself up. "We need to find a way to each of those scales," I pointed up to them, "So we can lower those hands," I pointed to them, "and put the mirrors on them." I waited for questions.
"Could you use those stone hoops to get up there," Fia asked pointing to the eastern wall. I followed his figure and saw a stone hoop hanging off the wall.
"I can go up one and Syaoran can try going up the other," I said and this time waited for agreements. There were murmurs of agreement. On that note I gathered energy and focused it on my catch ruin while I walked closer to the wall.
"Be careful," Kurogane tells me quietly while he follows behind me. I nod toward the wall. I was prepared to leave when he placed a bag in front of my eyes. "Don't forget this," He says before dropping it. I grabbed it easily and shrug the straps. I'm not myself today I guess. I use the ruin and pull myself up.
I rolled over the edge and push myself up. I don't know where this energy kept coming from, but I keep running out of it. I feel my body slowly trying to rest but I'm not going to let it. A smooth wall runs up on all three sides with the scales in the middle. Around the wall is a walkway that is roofed and hidden mostly from view by columns. The scales themselves are much bigger than I had thought they were and hung several feet off the ground.
I don't see any way to climb onto them from the ground but the walkway was a good idea. I follow the walkway around, wiping my sweaty face with my shirt as I went, as I looked for a set of stairs since the walkway was also too high for me to climb on top of also. I found a set of broken steps and gratefully took them as I saw they were out of the sun.
While I followed the wrap around walkway, I keep thinking. The sun is hot in my home too. Sweat was a welcome, not an annoyance as it was now, and the sun is welcomed and not hated. Never did it affect me as it is now, making me light headed and hard of thinking.
Now I'm even with the scales. I jump on one and feel it sink while also the hand on the statue sinks. THe scale hits the ground. I jump off and run up the steps to the hand. It doesn't move but you never know if there's a times of something.
I pull the mirror out of my bag and carefully fit it into the hand. I don't look at myself inside it as I turn around and climb onto the high scale to raise the hand up.
I watched as the sun caught the mirror and then a straight beam of light shot down to a place on the ground. Now we knew where to put the statues. I climbed off the scale when it stopped at halfway and then let myself back down to the courtyard.
"We have to get the statues to reflect the beams of light," I tell Kurogane as I stand on steady ground. My breathing is heavy and my body defiantly doesn't feel steady.
"You should rest. We can handle it from here," He says. I stare up at him and remember how disapprovingly he always looks at me. I don't say anything as I go back to the hallway to lie down with Nero. I can defiantly use the sleep.
Nero sent me feelings of symphony for my situation. Wolves were bold creatures who didn't like looking helpless or asking for help at times. They also didn't like to be looked at with pity or helplessness. I wrapped my arms around his neck and fell asleep on his flank. I miss being home. At least there I know the pity from everyone because I've always felt it. Here, this is a new kind of pity.
"Nake, the door is open," Fai whispered very loudly into my ear. I felt him rough shaking me and that's when I moaned. I pushed myself up and propelled myself out the door without a word. We don't have time for me to be sleeping. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
Matu's arms were extended now to reveal a hole. As I drew closer I saw five huge steps leading down to a small arch. The steps involved climbing or jumping to get down them, but it could be worse of course. I look at the sun. We still have a few hours I guess, but we should still hurry. I don't want to be in this place at dark. I carefully lower myself down each step to listen to a discussion between Sakura and Syaoran.
"What's going on?" I ask even though I can clearly see it. It's a square hole in the ground. I get closer to it and look down. It's very deep and directly below it is a spiked pit. There must be something else here that we can't see.
"The feather is through this hole but we can't figure how to get down there without getting hurt," Syaoran said frustrated. Kurogane was looking down into the hole across from me, but didn't look much more hopeful. He looked up at me.
"There's a hook on the ceiling though," Sakura says. The boys look at her with sharp glances. It seems they didn't want me knowing about this. I drop down on my belly and look down from Kurogane's angle. There were some hand holds down to where it cuts away at six feet, but once you grabbed the last one there would be no way back up. Your body would be dangling in the air by then. It's entirely possible though that I could go down there alone or I could swing on my energy rope and safely grab the boys and drop them when were closest to the ground. It would be easier with just me though.
"I could use a ruin and catch anyone who wants to come down and drop them in a safe spot. I wouldn't be able to catch Nero though. It would be easier if I just went alone," I suggest. I can't believe I'm telling them what I plan to do
"That's dangerous," Kurogane says seriously. I glare at him. I've never been one for being safe before, so why should it matter now.
"Me and Sakura could stay, and Syaoran and Kuro-pi could go with you," Fai suggested very happily.
"Let's get going then," I say and push myself up. I tell Fai for him and Sakura to stay in here along with Nero. The place will close up when the sun goes down anyways. Sakura prepares a bag for us, Tomoyo's bag, and hands it to me. I tell her to wait for us for two days before assuming we're dead. She got upset when I said that so I left her alone. The children said we can't go back up through this hole, but there's another route I could take back.
Syaoran dropped down first with Sakura's bag with him. Then Kurogane game down also. Both landed on their feet. I didn't. My body was weaker than before after I released the ruin and I slid across the floor.
"Here," Kurogane says and offers me his hand while Syaoran looks around. I look up at him and take a deep breath. I'm too tired to act tough.
"Thank you," I mutter and take his hand. I breathe in sharply as he pulls on my shoulder but the pain passes after a while. Syaoran is staring at the only door in the room. It's a double door that is probably fifteen feet tall. Over the doors are elaborate carvings of vines that converge toward the middle there is a heard with thorns encased inside it. I feel it pull me towards it
Place you hand on the heart. It will only open for you.
"Nake?" Syaoran asks as I reach for the door. My fingers touch first and then my palm. I breath in as I feel something stir in me. My head looks down and I watch golden light drain from my arm and into the door. I look up as the door opens.
"H-how?" Syaoran asks surprised. I look into the decayed sunlight room.
"You're here! Our mistress! Please save us!" Three distinctive children's voices yell. I take a step forward into the light.