Feet wet... pruned toes... had I fallen asleep in the bath tub...? No... the last thing I remembered -
I abruptly opened my eyes and sat up, feeling like a bird that had rudely been thrown out of a window. I wasn't quite sure what was up or down for a moment, but it didn't take me long to realize that I was shackled to a rock with some horrid-looking cuffs, and that my feet looked dreadfully pruny, mostly because they were in the water, where they did not belong.
"Ooooh, she's woken up! That's a quick one, Suzy. She woke up right off when the sun went down!"
I glanced around at my surroundings, my eyes adjusting to what appeared to be a cave. The ceiling was a good two hundred feet tall, and there was a massive ledge of rock about a hundred feet behind me. A large ball of fire was burning above us, supposedly fueled by some sort of magic. Out from the ledge there were little spurs of rock, and I happened to be sitting on one just large enough for a single person, perhaps two if you wanted to push it. I rubbed my head and squeezed shut my eyes, trying to soothe a pounding headache.
However, they popped back open again with an awful realization.
Where was Lavi?
I scanned the water to my left and right... and sighed with relief as I laid eyes on a shock of red hair.
He was still unconscious, splayed out over a rock spur. As to be expected, our weapons had been taken – I didn't have my bands and his holster was empty. That did not bode well for us, because that meant he couldn't smash his way through the chains and I couldn't cut my way through them either. I tried to slip one of them off, but they were snug, perhaps enchanted to fit the victim. I stared at the writing on the cuffs, but they were so worn that I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Oooh, clever girl, but not clever enough! Those cuffs are nigh unbreakable, and the writing is in a language your poor little brain can't comprehend. A nice gentleman in a top hat and a suit, with a speaking umbrella, gave them to us about two hundred years ago. He was such a sweet man," one of the twins said, and my eyes widened.
Well, that explained the sense of foreboding, besides being shackled and left for the tide.
"That's impossible! Nobody can live that long!" I shouted, hoping to get them to speak a little longer. How long had I been out? An hour? Two hours? This cave had to be the same one we found, only further in…
"Oh? She doesn't believe us, she says. Well, we'd better enlighten her. It is such a hassle trying to keep you poor mortals captive on those itty bitty spits. Our Sea Lords have a hard time eating people when they keep swimming this way and that," one twin stated.
"So we decided to chain you up. Makes for easier dining," another voice said.
I couldn't see them. They must be farther back against the ledge than I'd thought. My skin prickled under my clothes, soaked to the skin. What I wouldn't give to get out of here...
"Sea Lords? You mean the sea monsters? Those don't exist, do they? I thought they were a myth!" I yelled.
I hoped that they didn't know how much I knew about the sea monsters. Apparently they didn't, because one of them, Agatha I think, answered back.
"Oh, they're very real, and very hungry. They don't need to eat much – one human male and one human female every year. They're picky about their figure."
"And they love the comely folk, like you two. So sad you weren't married. You would've made a nice couple with some pretty children. Well, if they got most of his looks, anyway, though you have quite a bit going for you in the hips."
I deflated. Even in the face of imminent death, somebody had to pick on my looks. At least she'd complimented my figure.
"They wouldn't eat an unwed man and woman, would they?" I asked, playing along as the hapless victim. If I knew old ladies, they loved to talk, especially about their projects. Dear Lord, Grand-maman and her petunia patches…
"Mhmhmhm, poor girl, she has no idea. All they ask is one woman and one man. It's just much, much easier to invite couples because there's always one man and one woman, though nowadays I think that's beginning to change. Pity – we'll have to be careful about our applicants, soon," Suzanna sighed.
I stood on my knees, hoping I could find some way to wake Lavi up.
"Then why did you drug us? To get us to…?"
I couldn't even bother to finish, making a face in disgust. Half of me didn't want to know.
The old ladies guffawed, which merely added to the discomfort, and Suzanna asked, "Did you like that? It was a specialty potion, the cheapest I could get, but it works like a charm! Otherwise those shackles would be useless."
My eyes had adjusted by now, and I lifted them as high as they would go.
These were in French! 'Language I couldn't comprehend' - yeah right. Americans. It was just terrible handwriting. It looked like a twelve year old had scrawled all it.
Bindeth, breaketh spirit, yon prisoner keepeth, til blood of virgin thou drinkest, at which I thinketh, thou wouldst most certainly sinketh.
I think Ava could think of a better cryptic rhyme in her sleep. Still, I wasn't going to complain. I obviously needed virgin blood to crack it open, which incindentally explained the aphrodisiac. Yet again, my abstinent nature was coming in handy.
And lucky for us, there was one whole virgin to my left.
I picked up a rock that was about the size of my thumb and hefted it as I glanced over to my unconscious work partner. I closed one eye and aimed it for Lavi's head, sticking out my tongue for better concentration. Drawing on all my childish rock war experiences with my younger siblings, I chucked it as hard as I could. It smacked him right in the eye, and he woke up with a loud commotion, splashing, and I winced. He sat up, dazed, before realizing his predicament.
"The old ladies are feeding us to the Sea Lords," I stated, sounding a lot calmer than I felt.
Of course, I didn't feel too panicky either. So long as I didn't have to kiss anybody, I would be absolutely peachy.
"You don't say?" he shouted back sarcastically, and I made a face.
"Why are we being fed to the Sea Lords again?" I shouted back to my captors.
I hadn't quite caught that part.
"You pay hired hands, don't you?" Agatha shouted, and Suzanna suddenly smacked her. "Ouch! They asked…"
"If you want to give away our plans, speak to them after they die."
While they were bickering, I dragged my chains up as far as they could go. The water level was beginning to rise, which was a little worrying. The tide must be rushing in with the moon, and we'd drown pretty soon if we didn't get these chains off.
"Lavi! The enchantment is written in French! The key is the blood of a virgin!" I stage-whispered, hoping that he could hear me over the lap of water and the bickering twins. He slumped.
"You can't be serious. Do I have to?" he whined, and I glared.
Did he want to drown?
"Go and find a sharp rock or something and get those things open, because the tide's coming in, and I don't feel like becoming Sea Lord chow," I complained, still trying to work my way out of the shackles. Unfortunately, they were stuck tight. I'd have to break a couple of fingers to slip them off, and I didn't fancy snapping any today. Lavi sounded like he was working hard trying to find ways to bleed, and the old ladies were getting impatient.
Suddenly, there was a rumbling noise, and the water rushed to my knees. I was almost bowled over as something entered the cavern from some unseen, underwater entrance, and I swallowed, sweat running down my sides despite the cold. The ladies gleefully started to dance and cackle.
That didn't sound good.
"Lavi… now would be a really good time to get over here…" I fretted, trying to stay out of the water. It was quiet for quite a while, and I thought that maybe it had just been a freak wave.
Something burst out of the water, and I felt my stomach contract in on itself. I groaned.
"Oh no."
Two Level Two Akuma, each of them about the length of a ship and as thick around as an old oak, rose out of the water. I took a deep breath, staring at them with dull despair. Sometimes I really, really, really hated my job.
"The Sea Lords are here, the Sea Lords are here!" Agatha sing-songed.
Lavi was still doing his gosh-darned best to get a gash going, and I bit my lip anxiously as I kept my eyes on the two abominations rising out of the water. How long did it take to nick a finger?
"Are these… Exorcists?" one of them asked in a low drone.
"No," I answered plaintively. "Definitely not. Absolutely not."
"Oh, it's likely, though I don't see how that matters. I just thought you'd like to eat them. After all, they're about the right age, right build, and apparently you like the ones that still squirm," Suzanna quipped, and I dimly heard the sound of clanking chains.
"Ugh, I hate it when they squirm. So disgusting," the other one grumbled in a higher pitched drone, flashing rows of teeth.
"But it's so much more fun! It's not my fault you're such a wet blanket. You never want to get even a little dirty," said the first one. It was dripping wet and covered in barnacles from the tip of the snout to the end of its tail, which it splashed indignantly.
Something grabbed my foot, and I yelped. Lavi popped out of the water and held a finger over his lips as I covered my mouth with both hands. The Sea Lords were still negotiating with the witches, and the witches were arguing about weights. It sounded like a good time to high tail it out of here.
Only we didn't really have a way out.
My chains clanked open as I stared at the two groups of monstrosities trade biting remarks, and I slowly slipped into the water.
"What now?" I asked, sitting as low as I could without letting go of the spur. The water was dark and murky, and I tried to suppress my disgust. I hated algae.
Lavi whispered, "We'll need to get our weapons first. After that, we fight."
I stared at him.
"That's your plan?" I said, horrified.
"Unless you have a better idea, yes, that is my plan!" he growled, and suddenly it went quiet.
"Where did the redhead go? I wanted to eat that one first. I love the pretty ones," the bigger Akuma bemoaned.
The other one, presumably female for lack of a better term, grumbled, "I wanted the redheaded one! That other Exorcist looked so scrawny! Not to mention, a little offsetting. I mean, I want food that's like a work of art, not a random piece of meat."
I knew who I was going after first.
There was a loud squeal as Agatha shrieked, "THERE THEY ARE! THEY GOT OUT! SUZY, SUZY, THEY GOT OUT OF THE CHAINS!"
I was suddenly dragged underwater, and it took all of my restraint to keep from screaming and wasting precious air. Lavi dragged me as far under as possible, and all I could see was murk below and bright, flaring spots above. My lungs screamed for air, and the water churned as the Akuma began to look for us. I was slowly led away in a different direction amid a mad flurry of kicks and flails, and finally we surfaced. Somehow we came up near the ledge, and I sucked air down my gullet as fast as I could.
And then I promptly threw up. Lavi was less than happy.
"Ugh! What the - Maggie!"
"How was I supposed to know I would throw up?" I coughed, trying to back-stroke away.
The Akuma were still looking, and Lavi peered up over the ledge as I tried to keep watch. It was darker now, and I realized we were under a rock shelf.
"The witches are arguing about something. They've got my hammer and your bracelets on a table full of tea and crumpets. Man, I would love some tea and crumpets right now. I'm starved," Lavi sighed wistfully, and I slapped his arm.
"Priorities! Exit first, food later! I can't tread water forever. At least think of a way to get us out of the water," I moaned.
I would love to have come up with a plan myself, but my plans tend to involve a lot of guesswork, running, and screaming. Lavi was a better strategist than I was.
"Okay, okay... spoilsport..." Lavi mumbled, and he hauled himself up on to the ledge.
I watched as a worrying rush of water sent spray into my face from fifty yards away. Those Akuma were getting closer. A hand reached down, and I grasped it, letting him haul me up and over. I landed lightly on my feet, slightly proud of the fact that I didn't topple back into the water.
"Hey, you didn't fall back in!" Lavi noted with a grin.
Some days I wondered if he was a mind reader along with all the other things he was capable of.
"Okay, baby steps. First things first. Weapons," I suggested, and Lavi nodded.
"Baby steps is always a good course. Of course, I personally think we need to take a couple of giant baby steps, because it looks like they're figuring out where we are," Lavi said nervously as he started to drag me over to the table full of tea and crumpets.
Odd that they had a wrought iron table brought in with matching chairs. If they weren't in such an odd environment, I'd call them quaint, but as the location stands it only made it that much creepier. This must be where they watch the Sea Lords eat people. Lovely.
"I don't think they're in the water, sis," Agatha whined. "Look, there's not even a speck a' blood or nothin'! Where's the fight in 'em?!"
I winced at the witch's high pitched tantrum, and I snatched my bracelets off the table. Lavi grabbed his hammer, and it dawned on me that we were up a creek because 'baby steps' also tended to involve a lack of foresight.
"Now what? How do we get out?" I asked breathlessly, hiding behind the table.
"I fing we shoul' fi'd duh eggzhit," Lavi mumbled, and I did a double take as he shoveled crumpets in his mouth.
I slapped his shoulder lightly with a chiding look.
"Eat like a gentleman! You'll choke like that."
Lavi swallowed the entire hunk of crumpets and whined, "We're in a battle situation and you're worried about table manners?"
"We're in a battle situation, and you're stuffing your face?" I countered.
Lavi opened his mouth to retaliate, and then he stopped, squinting his one eye.
"Touché."
A rather loud splash forced us to flinch under the table, and Lavi grabbed a few more crumpets. I slapped his hand, and he gave me a petulant look before putting them in his mouth.
Suddenly, it fell eerily quiet, and I muttered, "Maybe they... left for a bathroom break?"
"More like, they're waiting for us to expose ourselves," Lavi answered cynically.
I shrugged. That was a definite possibility.
The Akuma in the water hauled themselves up on the shore of the cave, and I started to sweat. They were really… really big for Level Twos. I shifted my grip on my Innocence, not willing to activate them for fear that they'd somehow sense it. They had a pair of flippers on their undersides, making them look like snakes with oars attached, and they slapped against the floor as the Akuma started to slither around.
"Oh, Exorciiiists, where are you? I bet you taste like strawberries and cream and blood. I'd love to have a bite to eat right now," the lower-voiced Akuma sang.
The higher-pitched one groaned and stated, "Oh, please. They're not just going to pop out and be like 'Here I am! Eat me!' Even regular humans aren't that stupid."
I suddenly realized that my feet were getting wet, and I frowned.
"Tide's coming in. We need to make a decision. Soon," Lavi muttered as he shifted his bare feet.
I winced as the rock cut into one of my toes. This wasn't the most comfortable (or feasible) hiding place. The only thing that kept us from the terrible twosome was a tiny, wrought-iron table covered with finger foods.
"There you are, you little...!"
I had enough time to turn around and gasp in shock as a little old lady, with a few missing teeth, suddenly descended on me. Lavi cursed as I grappled with the old witch, and he tried to hit her in the head with his hammer.
And, of course, he somehow ended up smashing me in the face with it.
"OUCH! Watch it! Ow ow ow ow, hair, that's my hair! Get off of me! Don't think I'm afraid to hurt a little old lady!" I screamed.
The Akuma were now waddling in our direction, and Suzanna was on her way as well. Lavi was busy fending off the closest Level Two whilst I continued to keep Agatha's fingers out of my eye sockets.
"Old ladies shouldn't be this strong! I'm calling foul!" I protested.
I finally managed to knock Agatha's head against the wrought iron table and she crumpled in a daze as I dumped hot tea on her lap.
"That's for yanking my hair," I grumbled as she squalled and patted at her scalded legs.
"Maggie? Help!?"
I looked up in surprise as I heard my name.
Lavi definitely had his hands full trying to keep two fully grown sea monsters from eating him, and I winced. He expected me to help against Akuma that could easily flatten our little cottage along with a small automobile? I grumbled irritably about how people shouldn't expect a golden egg from every single goose when I realized that Suzanna had somehow gone missing.
"Take that you slimy sea hag!"
I groaned as I heard a familiar voice. Oh. Oh no.
"Careful with her! She's just an old lady!"
Another familiar voice, though this one I was actually a little happier to hear.
The old man from the tavern that we'd met a couple of days ago was trying to strangle Suzanna, and Macy was trying to convince him to throttle her just a touch gentler. From the looks of it, Suzanna had been clocked over the head by Macy who was holding a lamp, and the seaman was taking his revenge. Not a bad way to come full circle, I guess.
I was torn from my thoughts as Lavi suddenly screamed, "MAG, LOOK OUT!"
I looked up just in time to see a massive flipper coming towards me and say, "Oh."
I threw myself against the ground, and the flipper passed over my head and landed not two inches to my left. I squeaked as I tried to get back up. The Akuma roared loud enough to shake the ceiling, and I winced.
Macy screamed girlishly while Lavi played cowboy with the second Akuma. That left the first one to me, a prospect I would rather shrink away from. I could deal with massive grasshoppers. I had no qualms with squashing bugs, though I wouldn't mind having help. This… seemed a little bit out of my ballpark.
"Okay, how about you lay down while I cut off your head, and we can end this nice and easy - okay, not something you're interested in, I get it, I get it!" My attempts at negotiation didn't go nearly as well as I'd hoped.
"I will TEAR the skin from your bones and SNAP the bones for their marrow. Then I will SHATTER your body and SQUISH your eyeballs into little jelly custards to SPREAD on my toast and EAT with my tea!" the Akuma assured me, and I deflated.
That was really the best sort of threat it could come up with? It was all good up until the whole 'squish your eyeballs' thing,because after that it sort of devolved into threatening to make me a snack for tea time.
"To take a page from my sister, Violet's, book – Uh, how about… no?" I answered back.
It screeched as I cut into its hide with a now activated discus of Innocence. I'd hoped to fight the one that had commented on my figure, but a girl took what she could get. My moment of courage fled as the Akuma decided to bear down on me, probably with the hopes of crushing me, and I yelped as I was pelted with shedding barnacles.
Lavi seemed to materialize by me and yanked me out of the way.
He shouted, "Switch with me! That one's less likely to try eating you! It told me it doesn't do tomboys!"
I didn't have time to verbally retaliate, because the second Akuma was already roaring towards me at about two miles per hour. Now, mind you, two miles per hour is a lot when you weigh a couple of tons and have very sharp teeth. I managed a hit here and there, cycling the Akuma's retort on my figure in my head to try and keep up some semblance of motivation. Called me tomboy, called me scrawny, piece of meat, OFFSETTING ...
I managed to climb up on the monster's back, and now I was slashing at its eyes.
"I am a delicacy, you overgrown nematode!" I roared in righteous fury.
The Akuma thrashed, trying to get at me with its basilisk gaze (which, I'd learned the hard way, had a hypnotic effect), and I triumphantly managed to hang on, if only by my finger nails and the skin of my teeth. Every now and again I'd catch glimpses of the world around me, including the fact that I was twenty feet off the ground, and my nerve rudely took a long hike.
It was about then that I noticed the ceiling was a little too close.
Oh, bugger.
My body exploded into a nova of pain, and, dazed, I began to slither against the hide of the creature I was trying to maim, slipping off. I idly wondered if the water would make the ground any softer.
I was anything, water made it worse, because now I was wet along with the iron rods melting where my bones should've been and the white, burning sheets of metal over what was supposed to be skin and oh my god I'd never hurt more in my life...
I was lightly aware of being dragged, and I looked up blearily into the face of the guy from the tavern and Macy's childish, incredibly frightened visage. If I hadn't been in so much pain, I might've held her and told her everything was alright, but I felt like I'd shatter if I moved too fast.
"Are you alright, lass? That was one good knockin' you took," the old seaman asked.
I managed to cough out, "Fine. A minute. Please."
After about five minutes of sitting up and reviewing that I had to inhale to breathe in, and exhale to breathe out, the ache in my bones had gone from burning-white-hot-metal-pain to just run-of-the-mill pain.
"Lavi?" I asked, and the two of them looked at me with bewilderment. I worked my jaw and stated, "Redheaded guy, talks too much, jokes like a playwright? That one?"
Macy's mouth formed an 'O' of understanding, and she pointed back, presumably, the way they'd dragged me. The second Akuma was lying in a heap. The first Akuma was fractionally bigger and a little harder to take down. Lavi was still working on it.
"Alright. Just… haul me up for a sec," I said, noting that my legs were finally responding to brain signals, albeit via screaming 'I'm so very sorry, we're not receiving calls, thank you very much, have a nice day!'
My stomach, ever the barometer for all troubles, had practically disappeared within itself like a snake eating its own tail. My nausea had just mounted, and it was riding me like an equestrian who favored the riding crop a little too much.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Macy asked, big eyes sympathetic. The question floored me as I realized no one had ever asked me that. Dare I say it, that's new.
"Yeah. Good. Stay here, could you? Don't want you splattered," I ordered as I hobbled my way through the knee-high water.
I rolled my shoulders and tried to work out the kinks in my bones. I more than likely had snapped my ribs again, but I couldn't tell over the fact that every part of me was sending distress signals to my brain. I entertained the thought of letting Lavi handle this one for a brief moment.
Before my eyes, Lavi was picked up by his shirt, and I watched in nonplussed resignation. Yep. Gonna actually have to help. Go figure.
Well, there were various scenarios going through my mind, most of which ended with my death, either via crushing, or drowning, or plain old losing my mind. However, there was one scenario that seemed to stand out, and it was the simplest plan that I had. Distract and defend like the warrior Amazon I most definitely am not while Lavi gets a hit in edgewise and hopefully keep me alive and kicking.
"Hey, ugly!" I shouted, hoping to get its attention off my teammate.
As simple as it was, it worked. It looked at me, but I'd already started staring into the reflection of it in the water. If my gamble paid off, I wouldn't be affected by it's stare and... why... was the world turning upside down...?
I must've been dragged away again. I woke up to find Macy and the seaman hovering over me with a sense of déjà vu. I frowned and asked, "What…?"
"You blacked out when you walked up to the Sea Lord. It gave Lavi enough time to hit it in the face a few times," Macy explained.
I nodded. Okay, so the distraction worked well enough, but the whole 'defend myself after it's distracted' didn't exactly pan out. Sure enough, when I looked Lavi was still beating up the Akuma, doing a bang up job all things considered, but the tide was only growing higher. In fact, it was almost up to my thighs. The two had to prop me up against a ledge to keep me from drowning. If that didn't help my mood…
"We best be leavin', lass. Ain't gonna be long a'fore this place floods," the old grizzled guy stated, and I nodded, all business.
Alright, enough with the kid gloves. It was time to break out some hidden vestige of courage and help save the day.
Except that I was worried I might have broken a couple more things than just my ribs. Not to mention I was beginning to realize that I was losing all hope considering if Lavi couldn't take it down, I had no chance, and what's the point, anyways? There was always the option to just cut and run and -
"No, I'm not going to leave. Not without them. They… they helped me, they saved me, and I'm not going to just let them stay down here and drown!" Macy protested as the seaman started to get Agatha and Suzanna to their feet.
The two old ladies groaned, though whether at Macy or being told to get up, I wasn't sure. They were tied as tight as trussed turkeys, so I was going to take a guess and say that the old sailor had several handy skills up his sleeve.
Realizing that Macy wasn't leaving, I took her by the shoulders and I said, "Hey, hey, hey, Macy, we're going to be fine. You should go up with him, okay? That way you'll be safe. Trust me, we'll be okay. You've done enough here. I mean, how many people would get to say they managed to clock a witch in the head with a lamp?"
As I said that, I took the lamp out of Macy's hands. She was clutching it like a life line, and I was a little afraid of what she might do with it if pushed. Macy looked a little skittish, and I rubbed her shoulder, trying to calm her down.
"Please, Macy? We want you safe," I said, looking her in the eye. She stared at me before averting her gaze, and she scuffed a foot in the water.
"Well… okay-"
There was an almighty screech, and I spun around as fast as my abused bones would let me. My eyes widened as I saw Lavi lay pinned underneath a flipper, and my world seemed to shrink into a single pinpoint.
"Hold that thought," I said absentmindedly as I stumbled towards my new target.
I'm pretty sure that Macy must've gotten the message, because I distantly heard the swish of water as four pairs of feet slogged towards an exit.
I could see it on Lavi's face. He'd been hit hard, harder than he'd been hit since this fight started, and if I didn't stop it… if I couldn't… stop it…
My brain wouldn't finish the thought. It was as if there was a massive wall between the scenario and its probable result. All that mattered was I needed to get it off of him, and off him right now.
My blades were whirring, deadly discs, and I felt something I couldn't quite put into words. All that was on my mind was taking care of what needed done.
"Hey, ugly," I said calmly, feeling a driving sense of purpose. Self-preservation could take a number.
By hell or high water, that thing was going to die.
And I'd better use this sudden flash of recklessness. In the back of my mind I was aware it was going to be temporary.
I hurled the discs as soon as the giant reptile looked at me. My aim wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. It raked across its face, digging ruts into its snout. One of them even managed to nail both eyes, and I started towards the Akuma as Lavi squirmed out from underneath. The whirring disks were coming back to me now, and I suddenly felt it, that right moment to stretch out my hands for the weapon coming toward me. It was instinct, as if the discs were just another extension of me, and it felt good. The two of them hit my hands with a sharp thok.
And then just as soon as she came, Brave Mag decided that she'd been overworked and needed a vacation. The old Mag came back, and a well of panic bubbled up.
I looked up at the Akuma with a frightened smile as it stopped its thrashing to growl. It opened its maw to swallow me whole as I drew breath to scream -
A massive hammer smashed its face in, and it fell over, dazed, with a few teeth hanging loose with, I kid you not, crossed eyes.
Or what was left of them.
"Finish it, Maggie!" Lavi shouted hoarsely, and I could only oblige.
My adrenalin had finally kicked in, and I wiped my hands on my dress.
Crap, he wanted me to kill it. What if I missed? What if I did kill it, and the soul suddenly appeared to me as a ghost? What if it was just playing dead, and it was going to eat me the minute I came near? And what happens afterwards to it, does it just fade away or does it just sit there and stick? Or maybe it comes off in little pieces and there was blood in the water and it smelled terrible and -
Before I could lose my nerve, I managed to chuck the disk into its neck and finish the job, but not before the stench of Akuma oil overtook me, flowing into the water and staining my dress.
"Oh, God, I'm going to be sick," I groaned, and I went straight away and did just that.
I wiped my mouth as Lavi came over, covered in blood and looking a little waterlogged.
"You okay?" Lavi asked, and I looked down at myself.
"Does 'broken into itty-bitty pieces and looking like a drowned mouse' constitute 'okay'?" I asked incredulously.
I had scrapes all over. I'd broken things, things I didn't want to think about. I was going to look like an abused hippo tomorrow from the swelling and discoloration. 'Okay' is a bit of an overstatement.
Lavi only laughed. It must've been infectious, because suddenly I was joining in. And, just like that, we were both leaning against the wall, giggling out our guts, coughing until we could slap each other on the back to get it to stop. That's when we noticed that we were nearly chest high in water.
"We'd better get out. That magic lamp's not going to last forever," Lavi said, pointing to the massive fireball at the top of the cave.
We'd probably drown before it went out.
"Okay, how do we get out then?"
Lavi stopped to think.
"You know, that's a very good question."
A/N: Hello, hello, hello! I am so so sorry that I haven't been able to post in so long. Hopefully, you guys don't mind the erratic scheduling - actually, there is no scheduling - and perhaps you'll bear with me a little longer. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment! I'm not very big on battle sequences, and my abilities in that category are sorely in disuse. If you have any questions or wish to submit a review without putting it in the review box, just PM me and I'd be happy to answer. Also, if you have ideas for the story in general, they're all welcome!
Big thanks to everybody who's reviewed, favorited, or subscribed! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update the list of recognition. I've been lazy.
Now, discussion questions: How well were the battle scenes played out? Has Mag become an over powered character, or is her level of ability believable? Is Lavi's level of ability believable as well? Was the chapter amusing to read, or was it boring? Did you skip over paragraphs, or did you read through the whole way? Was the humor believable and in line with the series? Do you feel that the story is tedious, too long, or uninteresting? Who, so far, is your favorite character, between either OC or Canon? Do you think that Mag is a good audience surrogate?
Well, that's it for now. And a big, big, BIG thanks to karina001 for helping me with the story! You've been saved from reading dribble thanks to her charitable work!
God bless you, and have fun reading!
