Maze of the Minotaur

The sound of rushing water echoed behind the team, as they followed the two suspect urchins through a series of dimly lit tunnels. As they traversed through the winding passageways, the sound slowly faded into an echo in the distance, until there was only the sound of steadily dripping water bouncing off the damp walls.

"Chris, I'm not so sure about this…" Mei-Lin whispered, just out of earshot of Riley as they passed by another dark corner. "This feels like a scam."
"Of course it is." Chris replied, also keeping his voice down. "But I don't think we have a choice. We'll need to find a window of opportunity to lose those urchins."

"Hey, what's-your-name!" Cobalt said to the taller of the two urchins they were following, seemingly not entirely aware of the possibility of betrayal. "I assume you two know a lot about Backwater Barricade?"
"Da name be Riley, if you so please!" The taller urchin replied. "And ya, me n' Beano, da's shortie in the way, we live in these tunnels. Even den tho, I get lost damn easy in these here passages! So eh, you and yer company better stick close, otherwise you'd be stuck down here for a damn long time! Heh heh heh!"

Taking a right in an unlit crossroads, the team passed by a couple of alcoves embedded into the wall, Peering into one of them, Mei-Lin was met with the sight of an urchin staring back, dressed in a collection of dirty rags that he seemed to think is clothing and staring at her with a solitary manic eye, his other eye outright missing with a socket where it should be. Not even making any sound, the urchin simply waved at a loose collection of hats neatly arranged in front of him, and wheezed as he pointed at Mei-Lin's credits pouch.
Trying to act as if she didn't see him, Mei-Lin instantly turned back and followed the urchins leading the way with a sprint, rushing past Chris who was briefly taken aback, and as she stopped slightly past Beano and breathing heavily, she staggered briefly and leaned onto a nearby mossy wall for support.

"Seems you've met ol' Petey!" Beano said, laughing loudly. "He may not look de part, but 'es amazin' at…eh… imitatin', if ye catch my drift. Don't let 'is looks fool ye, oi reckon he's made better merch than what de officials churn out! Doesn't like ta speak much tho."
"Wait, does that mean…" Cobalt briefly tugged at his Vintage Check Shirt with a look of trepidation in his eyes. "I ordered my shirt from Spyke. Did it come from here by any chance?"
Riley briefly stopped, and examined Cobalt. "Oy, dat be Needler's patchwork you're wearin' there!" Riley exclaimed with a leer. "Glorious bastard is a wizard with a thread, ask 'im to work on a shirt and poof! He weaves one! He's even able ta weave in built-in gear abilities when he gets hisself a bottle o booze ever so often, bless 'im."

"That's actually pretty impressive." Chris said as they went down a slippery slope. "Hard to think quality workers are stuck down here like this, it all seems very unfair."
"Naw, not really." Beano replied, stopping briefly on a fork in the path and taking the left one. "Ya know Spyke, don'tcha? He's what we like ta call a 'betweener' kinda fellah. He gets dem orders from inklings, he sends 'em tah us, and we give 'em the goods. On occasion he even hoards 'em Super Sea Snails which he sends tah us as…eh… incentive."
"…you eat them, don't you?" Chris said flatly.
"Yeah, in a maddah o' speakin'." Riley replied, "Me an' Beano over 'ere, well more 'im than me, we eat a lot of 'em, and come ta think of it everyone that lives down 'ere does as well. But one day though…"
"…Spyke returned without any snails." Beano continued, "It didn't matter ta us dat much, cuz we be swimming in snails back den. But from that day on, that guy stopped comin' down 'ere with more snails, and our supplies dried up. Think ya can imagine how bloody buggered everyone got after a week."
"I know, y'all should've seen Beano when I told 'em we oughta eat some of da fish that gets caught by the entrance mechanism." Riley said, chuckling. "Didn't take it very well first time round but now 'e been devouring 'em like dem snails we used to enjoy. Ah guess if it'll fill bellies, we ain't gonna complain what we oughta eat, even if it is saltwater fish."

"Speakin' of snails…" Beano interjected. "'ere we are! Our 'umble abode!"

It wasn't much of a home in the traditional sense, however. After they had rounded what seemed like the thousandth corner that day, they had come to yet another dank corridor that was barely lit with a flickering lightbulb haphazardly on the side of the wall. In the sides, two alcoves were carved into the rock with nothing but medium-sized carpets paving the floor on each end, with a collection of what appear to be stray fish bones and an empty beer bottle on one carpet and a pile of ragged shoes and leather on the other.

"Can't say I find it particularly homely." Cobalt said, looking at the scene before him. "So how far are we from the center of Backwater Barricade?"

Abruptly, the two urchins froze in the middle of sitting down on their respective carpets, and looked at Cobalt as if he spontaneously grew a second head.

"Oy mate. Did mah ears pick dat up proper?" Riley said, his voice quieter than usual. "You peeps are lookin' for the center of Backwater Barricade?"
"Yes, that is our original intention." Mei-Lin replied. "We were-"
"Unless ya got a death wish, ya may want ta reconsider." Beano interrupted. "Them's HIS stomping grounds."

"Whose?" Cobalt asked, perplexed.

"Tetanus." Riley hissed. "Many o' us urchins call 'im 'THE BOSS', but trust me when I say that he's 'ardly an employer. We may be…uh… less bound by dem pesky morals, but even most of us thinks Tetanus takes it too damn far."
"He ain't very subtle." Beano continued, "One time, I saw one of me friends wander about in the tunnels, when we 'eard 'im comin. I was able to slip round a corner, but me companion wasn't so lucky." Beano threw out his arms and blew loudly through his lips. "FWOOSH! Gone in an instant. Not even ashes remainin' ta mark 'is disappearance."
"Point is," Riley grumbled, "Don't be stupid. If yer crazy 'nuff ta come down 'ere, jus' buy yerself somma dat gear me mates specialize on, and get outta 'ere all quick-like. Look, I'd even give ya a discount fer deliverin dat Sea Snail, I specialize in makin' shoes."

"Speaking of…" Beano said, looking at the group, "Weren't there like four of you when ya entered?"

Chris, Cobalt and Mei-Lin abruptly turned around at once. Sure enough, Katelyn was nowhere to be seen.
"What the?!" Cobalt shouted, "I was sure she was behind me!"
"She must have gotten lost!" Mei-Lin said, peeking around the corner, "This place is too dark!"
"Katelyn had the Super Sea Snail too…" Chris said, rubbing his head in frustration. "Dammit! What now!"

"Ya mean ya done and gone lost it?!" Beano shouted, abruptly getting up and grabbing Cobalt. "Why would ye?! I'm dyin' ta have a taste of snail after so long!"
"GAH!" Cobalt yelled, trying to hammer away at Beano's thick arms with the butt of his gun. "Quit throttling me! I didn't ask to-"

All of a sudden, what sounded like the wail of a heavy metal guitar screeched loudly from a distant corridor. Riley instantly paled.

"Ah bollocks."

Katelyn ran as fast as she could. Past the flickering lightbulbs, past the occasional urchin looking up from her presence, past yet another dark crossroads whose lights have burned out. All without looking behind her. At one point, she briefly stumbled over a pebble and almost fell over, but she kept running.

All the while cradling Salty in her arms, trying as hard as she could to not look back.

"How…long…are these tunnels?!" She shouted breathlessly, seeing a crossroads ahead and decisively turning right. Upon seeing the pathway terminate on a solid wall, she made a U-turn and continued to sprint.
Salty gave a concerned 'coo' at Katelyn, looking back at the tunnels that the girl just ran out of. Katelyn simply silenced him with a gentle pat on his shell, and kept running aimlessly.
Eventually, her footsteps began to slow down to a brisk jog, and then to a stiff walk, then finally Katelyn was staggering her way along, one hand on the tunnel wall to steady herself.

"Don't worry. I got this." Katelyn breathed, to no one in particular. "I…I got… to be close… am I?"

Katelyn stopped in her tracks, looking around at her surroundings. The slightly rusted lightbulb socket that barely flickered in the darkness above her head seemed familiar. It was then she realized she's passed by this one particular bulb at least six times now.
"Oh you gotta be squidding me!" Katelyn shrieked as she realized she's gotten herself lost. Looking around, she then realized she's also forgotten what path she took to get here.

"…wow. I really screwed up big time this time, haven't I?" Katelyn spoke to herself, and slid down the wall she was leaning on, collapsing onto the floor. Gently sliding Salty next to her, she curled up in a ball and began to sob gently into her dress. Salty looked at Katelyn's crying form and decided to hop next to her, stopping next to her hip and leaning onto her while making a relaxing 'coo' noise. Katelyn immediately noticed this, and giggled through choked sobs.

"Oh…*hic*…Salty, you really didn't need to. I'm *hic* fine…I swear!" Picking up the sea snail, she embraced it in her arms, and forced a smile onto her face. "Well…as long as we're down here, I'll protect you. It's the least I can do for you, we're…friends…after…all…"

The snail 'coo'-d curiously in response, seemingly uncertain.

"I...*hic* just want everyone to be happy…" Katelyn choked. "But…why… does it hurt so much…?"

The lightbulb above her fizzled loudly, and the filament burned out, plunging the corridor into darkness.

Beano heard the chord echo through the tunnel as well, and abruptly stopped throttling Cobalt as he became as pale as the snow.
"Aww hell naw!" he said in a panicked hushed voice. "It's HIM! Riley, quick!"

Without answering, Riley immediately grabbed Chris and Mei-Lin by their shirt collars, and pulled them into the alcove. Meanwhile, Beano swiftly grabbed Cobalt into his own alcove, and flicked a switch on a wall to his left, plunging the entire corridor into darkness.

"W-what's going on…?" Mei-Lin said as she trembled in Riley's grasp.
"Shush!" Riley hushed, "Be… quiet, and don't… move… a muscle…"

A shadow lit by what appears to be candlelight drew down the corridor, and it began to shorten as whatever was casting the shadow began to approach. A set of what sounded like metal on concrete echoed down as the being slowly approached their hiding place. With the limited vision of what Cobalt can see, all he could make out was what appeared to be an incredibly tall specimen of an Urchin skulking down the corridor, accompanied by the sound of a strumming guitar.

The being stopped abruptly in front of the alcoves, and Chris held his breath.

"How unusual!" the being said, his voice resembling the sound of nails on a chalkboard. "I knew I heard someone down thataway! Oh whoever you are… come out to PLAY!"
A jet of fire briefly illuminated the tunnel as whatever it was blasted out a gout of flame with what appears to be a flamethrower, but Cobalt couldn't risk leaning closer to examine it. The heat wave collapsed on the team, and all of them recoiled, the scuffling noise they made echoing down the tunnel.

"WHO'S THERE?!" the creature shouted, wheeling around and unleashing another jet of flame behind him. The heat wave collapsed on the group, causing them to wince. Realizing the source of the sounds, the creature turned to his side, and saw Cobalt looking straight at him, with Beano behind him staring with a blank expression.

"…"

"Uh…" Cobalt said meekly, staring back at a pair of frightening red eyes glowing in the dark. "Hello."

The being didn't reply, and simply began to raise an object in front of his face. Cobalt could feel the heat radiating from the end of the device, and sensed that he only has mere milliseconds to react.

"Aww naw! I don't wanna become fried urchin!" Beano stuttered, quivering behind Cobalt and feverishly praying towards the mossy wall. "Oh good gawds, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I stole that cake! Please forgive meeee!"

Cobalt then had a sudden brainwave. It was worth a shot.

"HEY! What's that behind you!" Cobalt shouted, pointing at the corridor where the creature came from. The flame-wielding monster only laughed.
"KYAHAHAHA! Ya think I'd fall for that old-"

Cobalt took the time to quickly grab both his guns, and unloaded a concentrated salvo of ink directly onto the rogue urchin's face. While the ink seemingly didn't hurt him, he briefly reeled from the sudden impact. Taking the opportunity, the group quickly got up and ran for their lives. The rogue urchin could only scream in rage as he chased after them, wiping dark blue ink off his face in the process.

Katelyn didn't know how long she had stewed on the floor by now. Minutes? Hours? Days? Perhaps much longer. It didn't matter that much to her, as long as the comfortable feeling of the sea snail leaning onto her side was still there, she was content not to move.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed off of the tunnels as someone approached. Without warning, the sensation of the snail leaning onto her abruptly disappeared, and Katelyn snapped out of her stupor.
"HEY! Whoever you are!" Katelyn shouted into the blackness, unsheathing her Inkbrush. "Let go of that Sea Snail! He's my friend!"

"Hohoho, is that so?" an elderly voice replied, and a lantern abruptly turned on. Katelyn instinctively recoiled from the sudden bright light, and shielded her eyes. When she put her arms down, she saw that a hooded figure has settled down onto an empty alcove across her, and he was gently carrying the sea snail in one hand and the lantern in the other.
"My apologies," the hooded figure said, putting down the snail gently next to Katelyn. "It is hard to find Sea Snails down here nowadays, I thought I found a stray one that wandered into the Barricade."

Katelyn quickly picked up Salty and held her in her arms, looking skeptically at the figure as she sheathed her Inkbrush. "…who are you?"
"Ohohoho, forgive the manners of an old man." The figure replied. "Call me Smuggler Hermit, I travel all over Inkopolis and the lands surrounding them, and try to find rare trinkets and knick-knacks to sell to the urchins down here. You would not believe how many credits you can haggle off of petty things like normal clothes!"
"Name's Katelyn." The inkling replied. "I've...came down here with some companions, but I've gotten separated from them."
"Companions, you say?" Hermit replied, "Friends of yours?"

Katelyn began to speak, then hesitated. "Well… one of them is, but the other two I only just met today. My friend is Mei-Lin, the other two are named Cobalt and Chris."
"You sound somewhat unsure." The smuggler replied. "Are they really your friends?"
"Of course they are! I'm friends with everyone!"
"Then…why would they trust you to wander down these passageways alone?"

Katelyn's reply caught in her throat, and she frowned. "I…well… they didn't send me down here by myself."
"They didn't, huh?" the smuggler said, nodding his head in thought. "So you came here by your own volition. Tell me, why did you run away?"

"I didn't-" Katelyn looked down at Salty, and sighed. "…okay, you have a point. I only met Cobalt and Chris today, I don't entirely trust them to do what's right. I thought that they would treat Salty like any other Super Sea Snail and just give him to the urchins to be eaten. But…"
The inkling gently patted the snail, and it coo'd contently. "What they did is wrong. Salty is a friend, they shouldn't have just assumed he's just an inanimate object. So I thought… if I can find the center of Backwater Barricade before they could, we can get our mission done and over with, and we can leave here with Salty alive. But well…" She looked around, and shrugged her shoulders. "I got lost. And here I am."

"Center of Backwater Barricade, you say?" Hermit mused, tapping his head thoughtfully. "Dangerous place to be. Not a place for a pretty lil' girl like you to be wandering about." He chuckled loudly under his hood. "Forgive me, I sound like a pervy old man right about now, do I not?"
"Umm…" Katelyn could think of anything to reply to the weird person before her.

The smuggler placed down the lantern, and sighed as he withdrew a bottle from a pocket in his cloak, and drank deeply. Katelyn couldn't get a good look at the man's face due to the strange lighting of the lantern.

"Ahh… that hit the spot." Hermit sighed, putting down the bottle next to him. Reaching into his cloak again, he pulled out a somewhat dirtied piece of paper, as well as what appears to be a tin can. "Take these with you. Normally I'd charge credits for them, but I reckon you can have these free of charge."

"What are those?" Katelyn asked, looking at the strange objects.
"Ah yes, that paper is a map of Backwater Barricade." Hermit explained. "There aren't any official maps, but since I've been down here so many times I've sketched the entire layout of this place, and then I realized that I've memorized the place just as well without paper. That thing might as well be a glorified poster, hohoho." He then tapped the tin can. "And this… is what is known as a 'Pressurized Special', or as Inklings have taken to calling them, 'a Can of Ass-Whooping'. Open it and you'll automatically be able to trigger a specified special ability, even specials normally incompatible with any weapons you're carrying. They can only be used once though, so use it wisely. This particular one is a favorite of mine: an Inkstrike. Death from above!"

Katelyn accepted the gifts, and pocketed them. "So… Mr Hermit, is it?" she said, looking at the hooded figure, "Why are you helping me? What's in it for you?"
The hooded figure chuckled, and took another drink from his bottle. "Well…" he replied, "For starters I couldn't find anyone to sell that Pressurized Special to down here. Lost a ton of credits over that deal, I rather just get rid of it and forget about it. Well, that and I find your story touching. Now I can't just go and put a price on friendship, if you ask me. Hohoho."

The smuggler tipped his bottle to his face one last time, and then realized it was empty. Shrugging, he gently set the bottle inside the alcove as well as the lantern, and got up to leave.
"Well, sounds to me you should return to them," He said, "Your friends, I mean."
"What? But…" Katelyn stammered.
"Your friends trust you to do the right thing." Hermit said, nodding. "What's to say you shouldn't trust them in return? Isn't mutual trust what forms the foundations of lasting friendship? Return to them. I believe they are waiting for you."

The hooded man walked away into the darkness, and disappeared. Katelyn bent down to pick up the lantern with one hand, and looked at the map. Salty hopped up to her shoulder to take a look at the map as well, cooing inquisitively as he did so.
"I agree, Salty." Katelyn said, turning to the right while looking at the map and walking along the corridor. "That guy was a weirdo."

AN: For those that had been keeping track of the story (all 5 of you anyway), I apologize for the less frequent updates lately. University is something that takes a lot of preparation (even if most of my time is spent meandering about Melbourne), so expect my chapters to come less often in the future.
I had been thinking lately why this story doesn't get as much attention as the other fanfics. Is the plot synopsis not catchy enough? Are the audience around here prone to gravitate to things more familiar to them? Could be both, maybe.