Chapter 3 up, and I spent a good hour and a half typing it all up! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, and any other minor characters.
"What are you doing here?" Bridgette asked incredulously.
"Simple, to help you guys defeat John Bellevue and the Underground!" he stated, looking around at their shocked faces. Duncan scoffed.
"Yeah right. You know how to fight?" he asked, crossing his arms. Owen spoke up.
"No offense, but I prefer to have Chef fight with us. Speaking of which, where is he?" he asked, realizing that Chris was alone.
"Okay, first of all, Chef is out on important business elsewhere. Second, you misunderstood what I meant by helping you guys," Chris explained.
"Misunderstood?" Bridgette repeated, confused. Chris nodded.
"What I'm about to tell you is an ancient secret that, me telling you about it, can get me in some serious trouble. But, it's the only thing that can help you guys defeat the Underground," Chris explained. The others perked up, interested in the secret. Chris looked around and cleared his throat before continuing.
"Long ago, my people sealed an unimaginable power inside a carefully crafted box, and stowed it on Earth somewhere. The box, however, can only be opened by someone who is a descendant of one of the ancient warriors who created the box. Now, I have discovered where the box was hidden," Chris began, pausing to look around at everyone.
"Well, where is it, eh?" Ezekiel asked. Chris chuckled.
"Well, it is guarded inside the Awkanawaw Temple. The temple itself is located on the same island as the somewhat famous Camp Wawanakwa, located somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario. For those of you unfamiliar with geography, that's in Canada," Chris added, failing to suppress a smirk. The six heroes exchanged glances. That box was the key to their victory, and they needed to get it to defeat the Underground. Chris began to float upward again.
"Well, I'm going now. Remember, Awkanawaw Temple, Camp Wawanakwa, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada," he reminded them, before disappearing into the sky once more.
Duncan stood up, fist clenched.
"We're going to get that box," he told them. The others stood up as well, and huddled around Ezekiel. He thought about the place they were heading for, focusing on Chris's departing words. Then, they all disappeared.
FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH
John returned to where he kept Gwen captive, and rolled out his whip again. He struck her once to wake Gwen up. Gwen snapped up, and felt a trickle of blood run down her head.
"Your little friends tried to stop us, and escaped," he explained, lashing out another strike, hitting her on the chin. Gwen just glared at John, trying not to focus on the countless attacks with the whips he used. Finally, he tossed the whip away, and walked up next to her.
"You know what else? I'm real pissed this time. Whipping isn't enough. I'm not... satisfied," he explained, before slipping on his iron knuckles. He stepped back, and reared his fist back. He swung it forward, and mashed his fist into Gwen's stomach. This time, Gwen let out a yell, and began to breathe heavily, feeling tears start to come up to her eyes. John brought his fist out, and put away his iron knuckles. Fishing around in his pockets, he pulled out a small remote switch. He smiled evilly, and pressed the only button on the device. Instantly, Gwen felt an electrical surge through her shackles, and began shouting in pain, struggling to pull away from the pain.
"STOP IT!!!" she pleaded, no longer able to hold back her tears. John laughed, and pressed the button again. Gwen yelled even louder this time, crying silently to herself as the shock wore off slowly. John lifted her head, and looked at Gwen's eyes. Tears streamed down her face, and she had a look begging for her to be let go.
"Forget about eating until we find your friends," he taunted, before walking away and leaving the bathroom. Gwen just let her head droop, and kept sniffling to herself, thinking about things once more. This would be the end. She's never see her family, friends, or Trent ever again. She would die alone in this bathroom, with the torture John did on her everyday, coupled with her starvation.
Suddenly, the door opened again. Gwen gulped, thinking that it was John back for more. Instead, it was a different man, but no doubt a member of the Underground. He looked out the door, as if to scan the halls, and turned back to face Gwen. He was holding something under his jacket suspiciously. The man turned around, and revealed it as a small sandwich. Normally, this would be a simple, barely even a meal. But, right now, Gwen had a fleeting hope that it was hers. But, then she thought of John with his torture, and imagined that he sent one of his men to take his place for a while. Then, the man walked over to her, and put the sandwich up near her mouth.
"Here, eat. You look skinnier than a model," he commented. Gwen took a bite of the sandwich slowly, and enjoyed the taste in her mouth. Ham and cheese, on rye bread. The stranger continued to hold the sandwich up to her mouth until she finished it.
"Thank you SO much!" she thanked him, feeling a lot better than she had in the past few hours. The man nodded, and tipped his hat.
"The name's Eric Renolds, but everyone calls me Slash," he introduced. "And I already know that you are Gwen, seeing as how you're the main cause for all this," he joked. Gwen suddenly glared at Slash.
"You're with the Underground. Why are you helping me?" she asked suspiciously. Slash didn't answer, and instead stared at her many wounds.
"I know for a fact that your power is healing yourself; why don't you?" he asked. Gwen was still suspicious, but answered his question anyway.
"That's just what John wants me to do, so that he can hurt me all he wants. By healing myself, that shows that his tortures hurt that much. In a way, it's my small way of standing up to him," Gwen explained. Slash just nodded in understanding.
"But, doesn't the pain get to you after a while?" he asked. Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you care?" she asked. Slash looked up at Gwen's face, and stared for a couple seconds, looking confused. He turned around, and left the restroom, leaving Gwen alone again.
CAMP WAWANAKWA- TOP OF THE 1000 FOOT HIGH CLIFF
Ezekiel opened his eyes to see if he had arrived at his destination, and only saw the open sky. He looked around, and his eyes widened with fear in the night.
"Guys, watch where you're stepping, eh," he warned, looking at the end of the cliff. He heard five other gasps, so they must have noticed where Ezekiel had landed them.
"You brought us to the top of a... what is this, like, a 1000 foot high cliff!" Duncan exclaimed. Owen looked down.
"Hey, I think that's the camp down there!" he burst out, pointing downward. Sure enough, there was a sign that read 'Camp Wawanakwa' down near the bottom of the giant cliff.
"So, do we jump, or walk all the way down there?" Cody asked.
"It's probably safer to walk all the way down. The water could be shark-infested for all we know," Bridgette told them. The others leaned over to look down at the water, searching for sharks. As Bridgette also made to look, she tripped over a small rock near her feet, and fell forward. Her sudden movement made Owen, Izzy, Duncan, and Cody jump, knocking them off balance. Also, Bridgette tried to regain her balance by pushing off of Ezekiel's body, sending him falling off the edge. At around the same time, Duncan and Owen fell off the cliff as well. Izzy tried to grab Cody, but that caused them both to plummet down into the ocean below. Bridgette tried to stretch down and grab everyone, but the weight of Owen sent her falling down as well. Their screams rang out into the quiet night as they fell.
"YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
One by one, the heroes plopped into the water, until each of them were treading on the surface, keeping afloat. They all glared at Bridgette. The klutz just smiled sheepishly, when her eyes grew wide.
"SHARK!" she screamed, swimming to shore. Immediately, the others saw the shark, and mimicked her actions. Bridgette, Duncan, and (surprisingly) Cody proved to be fast swimmers, getting to shore with ease. Ezekiel and Izzy were fast enough to out swim the shark, but Owen was struggling to move quick enough. When Izzy was about to climb up onto the dock, she saw him in trouble.
"Owen!" she shouted. Owen just let out a yell, trying to escape from the oncoming shark. Izzy quickly dived out, and pushed Owen along toward the shore. Suddenly, the shark jumped up from the water, pouncing onto Izzy. It managed to sink its teeth into her leg, and she fell under.
"Izzy!" Owen shouted, stopping on the spot. As the shark prepared to come back around again, Duncan threw a well-aimed fireball at it to scare the shark away. Owen frantically searched the water for Izzy. Bridgette then leaped gracefully off the dock, and swam over, disappearing under the surface. Duncan, Ezekiel, and Cody watched in worry. Owen just tried to look down under the water and find them. Then, Bridgette emerged from the water with Izzy clinging to her back. The guys cheered as the trio swam to shore. Once out of the water, Izzy was pulled into the moonlight to see her wound. There was a pretty deep bite in her leg, but Izzy claimed that the pain would go away by morning. The heroes dried themselves off, and looked around at Camp Wawanakwa. There were a few cabins they could sleep in for the night. The group walked over to the nearest one, ready to fall asleep. First, Owen placed Izzy on one of then beds, making sure that she was alright. When he was satisfied, he took one across the room from her, while Bridgette climbed onto the bunk on top of Izzy's bed. Duncan climbed above Owen, while Ezekiel took the other top bunk and left Cody the last bottom bunk bed. And, within minutes, they each drifted off to sleep.
FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH- A COUPLE HOURS LATER
John walked back into Gwen's torture chamber, and woke up the sleeping prisoner with a swift crack of his whip. Gwen jumped awake, and tried to glare at John, regardless of how tired she was. John put down the whip, and brought out a knife. Gwen recognized it. John tried to use it on her, but her powers were awakened just before she was hit. John walked up to Gwen.
"You're gonna want to heal after this," he threatened, bringing the tip to about the area where her biceps were. He plunged the knife in, and listened as Gwen took in a deep breath. He began to move the knife down her arm, listening as Gwen quietly moaned in pain at having her arm cut up. Finally, reaching her wrist, he pulled the knife out, and suddenly looked very angry.
"Make this entertaining for me and heal it, damn it!" he spat, bringing the knife back. He stabbed the knife into Gwen's stomach, and watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She smirked at John.
"Not a chance Bellevue," she told him.
Before John could react, Mark walked into the room, looking excited. John, however, looked furious at Mark interrupting him.
"John, wonderful news!" he reported, barely able to contain himself. John narrowed his eyes.
"This better be good if you're interrupting my little torture session," he warned. Mark nodded, and cleared his throat.
"Well, we have found where the other heroes are, and something even bigger!" he told his boss. John looked interested.
"Bigger?" he inquired. Mark nodded, and began elaborating.
"They are searching for the infamous Awkanawaw Temple, where there is an ancient, unimaginable power," he told John. John immediately grew speechless. With power like that just described, he could do more than just get revenge. He could rule the world! He turned to Mark.
"Send all units except for Slash and Josh to go and get that power source before the heroes find it. You are to get that power at all costs, even if it means killing one of the heroes, if not all of them," John ordered. Mark nodded, and ran off. John followed him out soon after.
Gwen let out a sigh of relief, and uncertainty. She was glad the torture was particularly short this time, but now John had a good chance at actually being victorious. She had to warn the others somehow. But, how? The door opening, and Slash walking in interrupted her thoughts.
"I heard everything," he told her. Gwen just stared at Slash. Slash walked over, and brought out a set of keys. He unlocked her shackles, and caught her as she fell to the ground. So that she could stand up straight, Gwen quickly healed her wounds
"Why?" she asked, rubbing her wrists. Slash was about to answer, when the door opened, and another man walked through. He saw the scene before him, but had no time to react. Slash had already thrown a knife at his heart, killing him instantly. He turned back to Gwen.
"Your little reason for not healing yourself helped a little. But, maybe it was just because I'm the only one with a conscience out of the entire Underground," he joked, smiling. Gwen returned the smile, but then looked worried.
"So, now what?" she asked. Slash walked over to the window and opened it. He turned back to Gwen.
"Well, we gotta get to Canada don't we?" he asked. Gwen rolled her eyes, and followed Slash out the window. They ran over towards the street, and Slash looked at a particular car. He ran over, and slid over the hood. He punched the window in, and unlocked the door, setting off the alarm. Gwen looked around in worry, but then saw Slash open the hood, and heard him fiddling around with something. A few seconds later, the alarm shut off, and Slash put the hood down. He climbed into the driver's seat, and unlocked the doors. Gwen climbed into the passenger's seat, and watched as Slash fished around for the keys.
"This your car?" she asked. Slash found the key, and put it in ignition.
"Yeah, but I left the keys inside Lakeside," he admitted, stomping on the gas pedal and peeling out of there.
"Way to plan ahead," Gwen said sarcastically, smirking at him. Slash remained focused on the road, but still answered.
"Hey, I got you out, and we're heading for Canada, right?" he shot back. Gwen shrugged, and decided to stay silent for the remainder of the trip.
Meanwhile, back at Lakeside, John returned to Gwen's torture chamber, only to find Josh dead and Gwen gone. He looked closely at Josh, and noticed a throwing knife in him. He stood up, and scowled.
"Slash..." he mumbled to himself, angered at his traitor friend. Then, an idea hit him, and he grinned evilly.
"Well, Gwen, you can run all you want. But, I still have something that you want," he thought, before exiting the restroom.
CAMP WAWANAKWA WOODS- THE NEXT MORNING
The six heroes were walking through the woods in search of the Awkanawaw Temple. Izzy was walking a little slower than usual, and with Owen close by her, just in case. Her leg was fine enough that she could walk, but it was still sore.
"Man, where are we supposed to look for that temple. It's not like there's gonna be a sign saying 'Awkanawaw Temple' or anything," Duncan moped, still a little peeved from last night's events involving the cliff and shark.
"Relax man, we'll find it eventually," Cody assured the pyro, looking around the simple woods. Bridgette was keeping a little close to Ezekiel, and the prairie boy took notice.
"Bridgette, can you give me some space, eh?' he asked. Bridgette just gulped, and looked fearfully around the woods.
"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm scared of the woods," she admitted. Duncan scoffed. He turned around to look at Bridgette.
"These woods are abandoned, just like the camp! There is nothing here that we have to worry about! No bears, no snakes, no-"
"Big purple Sasquatches?" Owen asked, looking behind Duncan.
"Yeah! No big purple.......... Sasquatches?" Duncan repeated. He turned around, and saw the infamous Sasquatchanakwa. The purple beast let out a roar, and looked angry.
"RUN!" Duncan shouted, taking off. Izzy hopped onto Owen's back, and the heroes ran from the beast, screaming their heads off. Cody took a look behind him, and saw that Sasquatchanakwa was still chasing them.
"He's catching up guys!" he shouted.
"Quick, in that cave, eh!" Ezekiel shouted, pointing to a nearby cave. The group filed into the cave, and listened as the beast kept running past them. They all let out a sigh of relief. Bridgette looked into the cave, and was met with a strange sight.
"Hey, there's a light at the end of the cave," she pointed out. The six walked towards the enticing light. Finally, they reached it, and looked forward, seeing the last thing they ever expected: the Awkanawaw Temple.
Well, Slash has become a traitor to the Underground! Who will claim the power for themselves? What is John's sudden idea? And is Chris in trouble with his superiors? Find out next time, if it comes up.
You know, I'm gonna take break from this story breifly, until I start up my other story, and put up two oneshots I thought of. So, watch out for my oneshots, and the premier of Futuristic Adventures!