Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Maplestory.

Dear Readers: At chapter 10, I will be taking a short break. SHORT as in like a couple of weeks. I want to re-write my Hogwarts story, add a new chapter to my Pokemon story and then add a new story called Temariella. Also, please note that the plot shall start in chapter eleven. This story is not ending- I just want to get other things done. SO DON'T LOSE FAITH IN THIS STORY!

Okay, on to chapter 8: A Campfire Kidnapping!

"Jade it's getting dark isn't it?" Yumi asked her thief friend as he finished killing the last shroom. She was huffing and puffing, they had been killing mushrooms since Yumi's incident. "I don't get it. Why don't you get tired?"

Jade laughed as he picked up the items the monster had dropped, "I don't get why you love that snail- what was his name again? – so much."

"HER name is Aoi-chan!" Yumi replied defensibly.

"Oh, it was a girl?" Jade teased.

"Leave the poor snail alone!" Yumi cried, picking up Aoi who was slithering next to the traveling pair. The two of them, I mean three of them, were walking toward the woods that Yumi had nicknamed, 'Pig Forest.' Since she was used to living near trees, she suggested they camped out at the forest. Even though Jade complained there was a nice inn in Henesys, Yumi begged him. Plus, she had added, Aoi would have like them better if his first night with them was in the woods, Aoi's native land. Of course, Jade wouldn't have cared if the 'stupid snail' liked him or not. Yumi was just too troublesome for him. And Jade did not like troublesome girls- especially the 'Yumi' kind.

"I say we make camp here!" Yumi announced, making a fist in the air. Because she did that, Aoi fell out of her hands and landed with a 'thump!' on the ground. She landed on her shell so she was spinning in circles. Jade laughed at the poor thing.

"It looks like its break dancing! I should give him a beat." Jade joked.

"Aoi-chan's not an "it" or a "him". And don't laugh at snails that are in danger!" Yumi scolded as she put the snail right side up. The three of them started making camp. Yumi gathered twigs and leaves, the twigs for a fire and the leaves to make a bed for Aoi. Jade set the tent up that Yumi had bought in the Henesys free market. He also dug a hole to put the twigs in for the fire. Aoi helped Yumi by putting twigs in her mouth and bringing the sticks of wood over to Jade. Jade, in return, glared at the snail while taking the twig.

A few hours later the group was finally done. Yumi managed to cut a few trees down with her weak Magic Claw to make stumps. Then Jade helped Yumi carry the tree stumps near the campfire so they would be used as seats. Aoi sat happily sat in the bed of leaves Yumi made her. Jade started a fire by rubbing sticks together and got out a pan to help him re-heat the slices of Pizza that he had in his backpack.

"Where did you get those pizzas? Don't they sell them in like, Sleepywood?" Yumi asked curiously.

"No. My brother gave a couple slices to me before I met you."

And then the two were silent. Yumi was thinking about her missing sister and Jade thought about his family. He thought about how his mom and dad went missing and how his brother went to Sleepywood to meet someone. Jade was truly confused. He didn't understand why his parents went missing. Maybe it was because they thought the City was too dangerous. Jade didn't blame them.

Yumi was wondering why her sister left the house. She was starting to doubt this freedom that she now had. Maybe life WAS safer in Ellinia. Maybe her mom was right all along and maybe Yumi shouldn't have begged to be a magician. I mean, Yumi thought, I can't even do a simple Energy Bolt perfectly. And I'm at a higher level than other magicians.

"Hey, Yumi…" Jade asked softly, "Are you okay?"

"Huh, yeah…why?" Yumi stammered.

"You…you looked kinda dazed." Jade said with concern flickering in his chocolate brown eyes.

"I-I was just thinking a-about s-someone…" Yumi stuttered, "But I'm fine now." I didn't know he cared….

When the pizza was hot again, Jade gave Yumi a slice and both of them ate silently. Then Jade broke the silence. "Yumi do you wanna hear a ghost story?"

The expression on Yumi's face told Jade the answer of 'no' but Jade continued anyway, "This is the story of Pig G. Host. Once, Pig got lost on his way home from Henesys. He was stuck in an area known in the map as "The Woods next to Henesys." Yumi gulped loud enough for Jade to hear. He smiled as he continued his story, "Pig, deciding it was way too risky to walk through the woods at night, made camp. He made a fire and a sleeping area. He also cut down a tree to make a stool, just like we did. Pig ate his dinner of corn smothered in barbeque sauce and then decided to go to bed. As he got comfortable in his sleeping bag, he heard footsteps. In a millisecond Pig was sitting up. He scanned the campsite for something unusual. And he found that thing- his stool had moved a few feet to the left of where it is used to be. Thinking it was just the wind that moved his stool, Pig laid back down. He was about to enter dreamland when he heard more footsteps. It took all the strength Pig had to not sit up. Then the footsteps came closer, and closer, and closer, actually the came so close that they were right next to Pig's body. Pig quickly got up and was face to face with his stool. Only his stool had eyes!"

"His stool was a real Stump monster then?" Yumi asked, hugging Aoi.

"Yes! Terrified, Pig started running away. But the monster chased after him. After a few miles, Pig got tired. But he forced himself to keep running. He finally reached a cottage in the middle of the woods. Knowing that the monster was behind him, Pig ran into the house. After opening the door though, Pig learned it was a bad mistake."

"W-w-why…?" Yumi stuttered, terrified.

"Because on the other side of the door was a Witch! Pig had entered the Witch's cottage! Pig was never found again. It's because of him that this forest is called Pig Forest. It is also said it's also the reason there are a lot of pigs here…" Jade concluded, "All right, time for bed!"

The pair went into their sleeping bags. Jade was tired, so he went to bed right away. But he kept waking up because Yumi would ask the occasional question, "That story is fake right? Jade…please tell me it's fake." Jade would reply with something like, "I made it up Yumi. Go to bed." But Yumi didn't believe him. A few minutes later both of them were in dreamland.

In the middle of the night Jade woke up to footsteps. He pretended he was asleep, incase it was a monster who came to find food. But the footsteps Jade was hearing sounded nothing like monster footsteps. They sounded more like human footsteps to Jade. So carefully he turned to see the intruder. But once he did, he was thankful to be such a light sleeper. What he saw was a person in black bending over Yumi's sleeping bag whispering, "Ah, I found the treasure!"

Treasure? Jade suddenly got mad. That man only thought of Yumi as treasure? Who was he anyway? And what was he going to do with Yumi. With one eye opened, Jade saw the man pick the sleeping Yumi up and throw her over his shoulder. As the man started to walk away, Jade knew what he had to do. He got up and threw his throwing stars at the man. The man, startled, dodged them and threw a Energy Bolt attack at Jade which hit him squarely in the chest. So, he's a magician…and then Jade blacked out, Sorry Yumi…

End of Chapter 8

Heh. Not my best work but it's okay I guess. Chapter Nine: Parent Problems. Read and Review!