Chapter Thirty-Nine: First Round
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Blade headed down to the smoke room and peeked around the doorway to see the pyramid that the totems used for transport, glowing like a beacon. He was trying to think up of a few ways to lure the creatures to the kitchens. He didn't think they would just see and automatically go after him, that would be basic instinct.
Then there was the possibility of the totems having magic.
'I can't defend myself against magic! What the hell was that kid thinking? What hell was I thinking when I agreed to this suicide mission?!' he thought, banging his head against the wall for his eager stupidity. The sound of glass breaking and the familiar screech of the totems caught his attention and he peeked around the doorway to see that three totems had already come through. They spotted him and began the chase.
"Basic instinct it is." Blade mumbled and started running for the kitchens.
As soon as he had passed the doorway he was snatched up in the air by a scorpion's tail. He watched as the three totems ran in and one was already captured by falling through a quick trap door. The other two stopped in their tracks to see what had happened to their comrade but he was nowhere.
They looked ahead when they heard a hissing sound and a shadow run by and ran towards it. The roar of the Rexes and the totems' screeches and the sound of bones being crunched were the last things heard before Blade was let down. The scorpion tugged on his shoulder and headed down the same direction as the totems.
Blade followed, very relieved that the Rexes were on their side, but shuddered when he saw how bloody the floor was. He could see a Rex's shadow tearing away at the totem it was eating and visibly shivered when it tore off a large piece and swallowed it whole, crunching bones as it did so.
He tugged at his shirt with his hook and continued to follow the scorpion. 'Note to self, never get on the Rexes' wrong side.' he thought.
The scorpion stopped at a blank wall and used its tail to tap at it three times. A pair of elevator doors opened up with a 'ding' and they entered. Blade couldn't help but agree with Tunneler's assumption about the kid and his many hidden doors and rooms.
The descent was fairly quick, Blade could have sworn his feet left the floor for a few seconds when they started, but in no time at all, they had entered the lower laboratory where he and Jester were first brought by the Rexes. The holo-screen the kid often uses was brought up and he could see that four more totems had come through and were searching the hotel.
The four creatures stayed together and approached one of the vents. Two had pulled it off after two tugs and were immediately electrocuted before being sucked down the vent and the vent closed off.
The other two tried to open it again but it was shut tight. Then they had approached the elevator and tried to open the door but it was crammed shut thanks to it being broken. They left that and headed somewhere else. Blade looked at the map that was tracking them and found that they were approaching another room. This room had spiders all over the place and the screen had laid out where their traps were.
He studied the map, memorizing each trap's location when a message from the kid popped up. He asked if Blade would like to be bait again and Blade nodded. The scorpion typed his response and they headed to a different elevator.
Blade couldn't help but feel excited.
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Three Hours Later. . . .
Blade ran down another hall, laughing as another totem chased after him. He was starting to like this whole baiting trick. So far, twenty totems had been captured and by some of the most ridiculous traps he's ever seen. He wouldn't have thought of using jello as a trap, nor bread dough, cookie dough or potato chips for any use but food.
But one totem had fallen through a trap door and was plunged into a canister of red jello and was immediately immobilized. Bread and cookie dough were catapulted to two others, and the potato chips served as a warning to a pair of scorpions that had stung it. Others were electrocuted, clearing up some of the vents, others were instantly frozen by a product called liquid nitrogen, and some were ensnared in webs, nets and glass containers and all were hauled down to the lower labs.
This was the last one.
He ran into a vent and had sent out a sonar pulse to see if there were any surprises. Learning how to use his magic during the whole ordeal was a little troubling because he still needed to concentrate to send out a pulse in the first place, but then he figured out a shortcut. As long as he believed his core was still there and imagined every pulse he made as a calm heart beating steadily, there would be a constant subtle vibe echoing from him and it would relay images back to him in his head.
The vent was clear save for a webbed trap. He heard the totem screeching and made as much noise as possible and headed down towards the trap. Upon reaching the webs he tugged on it five times before a spider appeared and let him pass.
He watched as the totem came up and charged, getting caught in the web and wrapping itself up before being attacked by several little black spiders, all stinging, biting and making the wrappings tighter before they feasted.
Blade backed up and headed back to another sector to see if there were any more totems, but they had all been captured and the negative energy that had built up for their transport had died down.
"That was . . . surprisingly fun." he said, knowing Jester was watching. "I wonder what else they can do?"
A black emperor scorpion had showed up and tapped his hat, getting his attention and motioned for him to follow. It led him to a small brown megalograptus ride, big enough for him to ride like a horse. He climbed on and was floated away towards an open window and then up to the attic room.
The window opened and he was let in and the meg landed on the work desk, near Jester, with ease.
"That looked like so much fun. I want to try next time." Jester said and spun his head at the over-excitement he was feeling.
"Well, if you guys want part of the next action, you're gonna have to learn a few things." Chug said, bringing out a toy pirate chest, opened it and brought out a martial arts practice dummy that was just their size. "First lessons would be on how you can protect yourselves by yourselves."
A loud hawk screech was heard and a red-tailed hawk soared in and landed on a bedpost, followed by another screech and a little light brown winged monkey flew in and landed on the other post.
"Meet your teachers, Stix (points at monkey) and Abby (points at hawk)."
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(author's note)
Not sure if using my computer in 'safe mode' to upload will work. If it does, great, the story can continue. If not, . . . well, bummer.
Here goes nothing.
