Now, in my neverending quest to best polaris in this little competition, I move onto this fic! Yes, I know I'm insane, you really don't have to tell me. Enjoy!
Ouch, this hurts...no reviews...from anyone...(sniff) I see how it is...fine then, just enjoy the chappy.
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Rio had now finally convinced Kousuke that she wasn't completely insane, and that there were at least five floors to the building. They were currently taking the elevator to what should have been the top floor; the fourth floor. Rio thought everything over very carefully, "If I was on the third floor of the hospital, then I should have gone down three floors to the lobby, which I did." she thought, shaking her head, "That doesn't make any sense, though. When I went back up, I know I went six floors, and then went five more back down to get to the lobby where I found Kousuke." Rio let out an aggrivated growl, "This doesn't make any sense!" she shouted. Rio was a mastermind at puzzles, and she just couldn't figure this one out.
Kousuke sighed, it really didn't make any sense, "So, you went the two floors down to the lobby from Kanone's room, and said you ended up in some other place that looked exactly like the hotel lobby?"
Rio started to agree, but stopped herself, "No, I went down three floors. Idiot, Kanone's room is on the third floor!" having Kousuke 'help' was doing nothing for her thinking.
Kousuke shook his head, "No way, he's definitely on the second floor." he told her.
Rio contemplated this for a second, "If I went down three floors, then, I would have been in the basement."
"Then you said you went up six floors, and that would have put you on the fifth floor." Kousuke finished her thought.
"That still leaves the problem of there only being four floors to the hospital." Rio pointed out.
Kousuke nodded, "True, and if we can't find a way up, we can always find a way down."
Rio nodded, "That's also where Ryoko is, and I really want to find her." she said, still scared for her friend's safety.
In all the confusion, Kousuke had forgotten all about that, "Then that's where we should go."
"There's only one problem." Rio said, halting his progress, "Look, we need clearance to get to the basement." she reminded him, pointing at a keypad and slot for a security card, "There's no way we can get down there without a card and code."
"That seems pretty suspicious that they would have the basement so heavily guarded." Kousuke said, "Wait a mintue, how did you and Ryoko get down there if you didn't have clearance?"
Rio thought about it, "I don't know." she admitted, "I know I hit the ground floor button, so I don't know why the elevator would even take us to the basement." Then, another thought entered her head, "What if someone in the basement called for the elevator after we got on?"
Kousuke shook his head, "The elevator would have stopped at the lobby before going down, right?"
Rio sighed, "I don't know. It would make more sense that way, but they could have tampered with the elevator. If so..." Rio trailed off.
"They've been expecting us for quite some time." Kousuke finished for her. She simply nodded, and they finally reached the lobby once again. Kousuke looked around, and then headed off and around the corner to an area marked for employees only.
Rio looked around, "What are you doing?" she asked, hoping that no one would see them.
Kousuke began picking the lock that held the double doors together, "What does it look like, I'm getting us down in the basement." he explained, and then went back to his task.
Down in the basement, Ryoko had been wandering around for a while. It was eery how close the basement resembled the lobby, though she had no idea that she was actually in the basement. As far as she knew, she was walking around an abandoned lobby that had been full of people and sounds only a few minutes before she arrived the second time. She didn't know what to make of it, but tried to keep her wits about her, and find another way up other than the elevator.
She had tried, unsuccessfully, several times to get the elevator to work, but it seemed like she needed some sort of card and a passcode to do so. Finding that she had neither of those, the Blade Child opted for searching for an alternative method of escape. Walking around the basement, she found nothing out of place that might signal an escape route or anything of the sort. Sighing, she gave up pretty much all hope quickly, thinking that someone would have to come by eventually.
Then, a few ideas suddenly popped into her head. First of all, if this was the lobby, then there must be a door leading outside somewhere, right? Going back to where the doors should have been, Ryoko gasped at the sight before her. The doors were there alright, but there was someone standing in front of them. Looking a little closer, she realized who it was, "Nik." she said.
The boy grinned as he walked into one of the few lights in the basement, "So, you're the first one to go, are you?" he asked her, "Honestly, I'm glad it wasn't Rio that found her way down here. I might want to have a little fun with her before I kill her."
Ryoko glared at the comment, but kept her cool. She knew what Nik was doing, and wouldn't let him get to her like that, "Rio's too smart." Ryoko told him, "She'll figure it out."
Nik shook his head, "I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you." he said, then appeared by Ryoko's side with lightening fast speed that even the track star couldn't keep up with, "Tell you the truth, I think she likes me." he said, then laughed as he stuck the knife he had been hiding deep into Ryoko's stomach. She gasped out as her blood spilled over the knife, Nik's hand, and the floor. Slowly, Ryoko felt the darkness overtake her, and she fell to the floor, unconscious. Nik smirked, "Too easy." he said, and threw the knife on the floor beside the still-bleeding Blade Child. Walking over to the elevator, he checked the small computer next to it to make sure no one was using it, and then called it down to board it. Entering the lobby, he hid his bloody hand in his coat pocket, and headed out the door.
About that time, Rio and Kousuke were descending the stairs to what they could only guess would be the basement. Upon entering the room mimcking the one above it, Kousuke gasped, "You weren't kidding, it looks exactly the same."
"Told you, idiot." Rio said, then scanned the floor for any sign of her friend. Unfortunately, she saw nothing, and continued to the main part of the lobby, around the corner.
The sight before them made Rio and Kousuke freeze in their tracks. Rio's mind flashed back to the scene in her nightmare where Ryoko had been stabbed, while Kousuke's mind simply went blank. There, lying on the floor, was his girlfriend, bleeding to death. Kousuke was the first to snap out of his daze, "Ryoko!" he yelled, and raced over to the still form.
Rio wasn't far behind, and when she reached the two, Kousuke was checking the taller girl's pulse, "Is she..." Rio asked, unable to finish the question.
Kousuke shook his head, "No...she's still alive, and warm. This must have just happened. He glanced around immediately for any Hunters that they might have missed in their haste to look for Ryoko, but saw none, "Come on." he said, standing, and picking Ryoko's limp body up, "We need to get her upstairs." Rio nodded, and then raced up the stairs, praying they wouldn't be too late.
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Hmm, so she's not dead. Well, not yet anyway...Heh, did I trick ya? Oh, right, about that whole elevator thing, I know it might have gotten a little confusing, so I'll try to explain it. I really don't know how elevators work, but this is how they're working in my fic! When Rio and Ryoko pressed the button to go down to the lobby, they went down to the basement because Nik was down there, and he overrid the system so that the elevator would skip the lobby and go straight to the basement. The controls for the elevator in the basement can override all other controls on any of the floors, allowing the Hunters to control where everyone does and doesn't go. The doors closed on Rio because someone on the fifth floor (which there is, and I will get to eventually) pressed the button to send it back up.
The hospital is kind of a mini hideout for the Hunters (there will be a few of them, the hotel is another one), and so they have rigged the system to their advantage. They have a camera in the elevator that shows them who is in the elevator, which is how they knew when Rio and Ryoko were in it, and the computer also allows them to see where the elevator currently is (what floor) and where the occupants are heading. Yeah...got it? The same set up is on the fifth floor as well, but the basement can override that command as well, but the camera and computer setup is there.
I suppose I should explain why the recpetionist didn't know about the fifth floor, too. It's not quite as elaborate as the elevator thing, so don't worry. Before that building was a hospital, it used to be a research center for testing on humans. It was closed down a long time ago, and the worst experiments happened on the fifth floor. When it was made into a hospital, the owner was informed of this, and since he's very superstitous, he ordered that the fifth floor be blocked off from everyone, even the staff and himself. Of course, the Hunters found this out, and thought it would be the perfect place for their hideout. Dno't ask me how they got acess to it, but they did! So anyway, I think that explains everything, see I told you I had an idea! Oh, and for anyone who doesn't read my other fic, Trapped, just go and check out the A/N for chapter 47 before the fic. It's my christmas present to all of you who read and review my fics. So reivew!