Chapter Thirteen
Code 13 66
Severus's point of view
"What are you doing?" Leilani screeched, Severus thought her anger was very justified, though he wasn't sure how she would be able to see what he was seeing. A man in a midnight blue cloak was holding an unconscious Lily around the middle.
"Does this belong to you Leilani?" The man sneered, he had an American accent. "I know how you always liked to keep your little pets, but bringing them down here is slightly illegal, isn't it?"
"What do you mean pets?" Severus growled, aggressively, pulling a face that had once made Potter look like he was going to wet his pants. The man before him flinched slightly, but otherwise he did nothing to show he'd seen the expression on Severus's face.
"Bringing wizards and witches down here... tut, tut. What would your sensei say?" The man pressed on.
"I am not a wizard." Severus said in a quiet, but affronted voice.
"Oh, really, what's your clan?" He challenged.
"Are you that thick? If you took a look at who I was talking to, you'd know where I stand." He sneered, not knowing what he was talking about in the slightest.
"You're a wandering ninja like Leilani?" He asked, his eyebrows raising slightly.
"Did you figure it out by yourself or did someone help you?" He replied with a smirk. Now Severus felt like Potter, and that scared him slightly.
"Either way, this witch was still down here, and I know she was seen speaking to you two, did you know she was a witch?" He asked.
"She's not a witch." Severus said coldly.
"That's right." Leilani agreed calmly, "She is a kunoichi. She just began her training."
"Really now? And who might exactly be training her?" Leilani and Severus shared a glance.
"Peter Pettigrew." Severus replied while Leilani nodded behind him.
"I didn't know he was training students." The man began suspiciously.
"Well, obviously you didn't or you wouldn't have attacked his favorite student, would you have?" When Severus said this, the man adopted an uneasy look.
"Favorite? He's training more than one?" Is what the man chose to say.
"Yes, three of them." Severus replied.
"Right." He said, sarcastically, suddenly regaining his snide manor. "And who might they be?"
"James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin." Severus said immediately. His lack of hesitation must've re-convinced the man, because he seemed nervous again.
"He teaches me a bit too, swapping personal techniques and whatnot." Severus continued, hoping shinobis actually did that.
"Peter Pettigrew is interested in some of your techniques?" The man looked more nervous still.
"Yes." Severus replied smugly.
"My protege is quite adept when it comes to mind magic, he's already opened is third eye chakra, and at his young age that is quite the accomplishment." Leilani claimed, proudly. The man looked impressed. He tapped Lily's forehead and she began to stir, then; she side stomped the man in the ribs, sending him into the nearest bookcase, which swayed ominously, but remained upright.
"Creep." She growled at him, and Severus stifled a laugh. The man opened his mouth to reply, but a loud, blaring, high-pitched noise interrupted him. Lights began to flash around the top of the walls and the doors of the entrances, shimmered out of existence, leaving behind a blank expanse of stone walls. Tunnels and windows(Severus was sure they were actually some kind of portal)were covered by slabs of thick, glowing granite that was lowered down by chains on some kind of pulley system.
"What?" The question escaped Severus's mouth before he could stop himself.
"We're on lock down." The man replied, looking like he thought Severus ought to know that.
"I know we're on lockdown." He snapped, hotly. "I want to know why."
"Oh, right." He said. Severus willed himself into the man's mind. "Uh... I don't know. The last time they had to put the Archives on lockdown was..."
"The war of shadows, I know." Severus interrupted, after extracting the information from his thoughts, and also learning the man's name was Jaakko Hatagana.
"Uh... right, of course, sorry." Hatagana seemed very wrong footed, perhaps he thought he was dealing with someone smarter or more important than him. Severus allowed himself to smirk at this thought.
"The Archives is on lockdown... all shinobis under yellow belt, please report to your sensei, supervising black belt, or one of the previous people you trust." A loud, calm female voice rang out around the room. "This is a code 13 66, I repeat; this is a code 13 66." Leilani gasped and Severus, feeling he should play along, grimaced, discretely taking a large blade offered to him by Leilani, and pretending to draw it out of a fold in his cloak. Lily came to stand by Severus, gripping his arm, as though she did not want to let go of him anytime soon. Severus's stomach immediately erupted into butterflies, but he wondered why Lily was so scared, maybe she knew what code 13 66 was. Yes, that would explain it, but what was code 13 66?
"Dangerous creatures." Leilani explained in undertones. Severus gave the slightest of nods. "Telekinesis is hard to pull off, but if you can do Wingardium Leviosa, you can do telekinesis, you can figure it out, you're smart, just don't use your wand, it'll give you away." There was a scuttling noise, and about twelve dozen acramantulas, babies but still twice the size of a human head, rounded the corner, along with a scorpion at least three feet long.
"Someone must've opened the gates to the Nether realms." Severus called, voicing what he heard in Jaakko's mind.
"That's what I was thinking." Jaakko replied with a nod.
James's point of view
He and Peter had been forcibly separated again. They were in cages opposite to each other, but Peter was bound by at least a hundred chains connected to a glowing strap like a dog collar around his neck, so he wasn't breaking out anytime soon, and James could not break the bars. When he tried to break them, and realized how strong they were, he was awed at the power Peter must've had to tear through them like they were twigs. Peter was still refusing to eat, and James had the distinct impression that he was trying to starve himself to death. Two skinwalkers were standing on top of one of the cages, holding the limp body of a woman, shaking their heads. One of them pointed at James, and his cage was surrounded by a light blue aura. It disappeared and the lights flashed again, this time the same color as the aura that had engulfed him. He was starting to feel weak, very weak, and he fell forward into the cold steel floor, unable to hold himself up anymore. He heard Peter shout;
"No!" Then darkness set itself upon him, and a strange warmth spread through his body. The feeling was so peaceful; he fell asleep, and was sure that when he woke up, this was all going to be a bad dream, and he'd find that it was time to go back to Hogwarts, because winter break had just ended.
Peter's Point of view
Most people had no idea what skinwalkers did with their victims, but Peter did. A friend of his had once been kidnapped by skinwalkers, and made it out alive. She told him everything. The skinwalkers were completely incapable of magic by themselves, so they used enchanted and cursed objects to drain power from ninjas, shinobis, and wizards and use it for themselves. The demons impersonating the two of them were using power from one of the poor blokes in the cages to be able to use magic to transform into them and command their wands, and it was the same story for every one in there. James and Peter had not been needed, but a woman they'd been using died, so now, one of them was, and they had chosen James. Peter tried to relax, tried to make contact with Snape. He needed to tell him what was happening. He wanted to know if he had found Leilani Kahananui yet, or at least someone who could help. The Siren knew more about mind magic than anyone else in the world, that was alive now, anyway, and she would be able to help, but Snape might never have been told about her.
If he hadn't thought to ask Scorpion for help, there was a good chance that he didn't know the Siren existed, let alone where to find her. He closed his eyes, immediately a scene filled his mind. Leilani Kahananui was locked in a battle with a three foot long Scorpion, avoiding it's stinger with accuracy Peter would have trouble accomplishing, though he could see just fine. She had a pink ribbon tied over her eyes, why? Peter had no idea. Lily was waving her wand in complicated, swirling patterns muttering under her breath almost inaudibly, casting protective charms. Peter was throwing countless baby acramantulas against the wall, using telekinesis, squashing them with the force of the shove, but that didn't make sense. Peter didn't know how to use telekinesis, and he wasn't in the archives, he was locked in a cage next to James, who was suffering, and waiting for Snape. That was it.
"Snape!" He whispered.
"Peter?" The thought echoed through his mind as though it was his. He faltered in his bashing of spiders almost a fraction of a second.
"So now it's first names?" Peter poked at him.
"Sure, whatever. Where are you, do you know?" He was still squashing the arachnids, but with far less accuracy and power, probably because Peter was distracting him. Severus had really gotten a hold of his power.
"I need you to give Scorpion Flametail this message:
The trap was deployed; the rat is in the cat's mouth. She'll understand what it means, she'll get us help."
"I..." He hesitated, smashing three at a time, but Peter was sure that was not the reason for his pause. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, but we won't be for long, they've already started on James, and they're going to start on me soon, I need you to pass the message on as soon as possible."
"Okay, Peter."
"Thank you, Severus."