A/N: Nuttin to say.
O/C18: The two teams of three manage to get out of the mirror room and after a lot more walking, they reach another trial room with one door in each wall. In order to find out which door to take, they are forced to figure out a puzzle using the correct sequence of strange element-type orbs on a small bump in the room. They figure out the first one of the sequence, lightning, and now continue with the rest of the sequence...
--
"Okay, what's next?" Misaki glanced back at the verses on the floor, their clues to the sequence.
"'More powerful than a simple flake, two make for a cold mistake.'" Genkai was standing over them, Kuwabara and Yusuke hovering too, "I would assume they mean snow, or ice." She picked up a blue orb and held it over the bump.
"Wait." Kurama got up and took another blue orb off of the ground, "It calls for two of them."
Genkai and Kurama each held a blue orb over the bump. They felt the rumble, though it was more of a 'swoosh' and then they let go, a chill sliding into the air as the orbs released their snow to fall upon the bump. There was another affirming noise.
"'Thrice through darkness of the day, mysterious pulse held at bay.'" Kuwabara decided to read out the next one. "Thrice?" He looked confused.
"Three. Thrice means three." Misaki told him.
"Three orbs. But which three?" Yusuke's face was thoughtful.
Kurama spoke up, "I admit that I do not quite understand the meaning of the verse, but in keeping with the pattern I would say that it's talking about—"
"Fire." Everyone looked up to see Hiei standing over the bump, three orbs that he had apparently snatched hovering above it. The red orbs flickered like true flames, orange fire banding together to create a larger blaze before it stuck the bump.
Hiei turned away and went to sit back against the wall.
"He may claim that he doesn't understand games but I suppose he understands fire at the very least." "'I originate far under the ground, because of me all things come down.'" Misaki read the next verse.
"Gravity?" Kurama asked as he came back to her.
"Sounds like it." Genkai said.
Misaki looked puzzled, "Fire is the red orb, lightning the purple, blue is snow, the white is heal..."
"That leaves yellow and clear." Kuwabara pointed at two of the orbs that were said colors.
"Maybe yellow?" Yusuke picked up a yellow orb and held it like he had seen the others, just over the bump. There was a sparkling feeling that came from deep within it and then a sparkling flash as the orb's power hit the bump. The sound that came next was rather negative.
"That didn't look like anything gravity-ish." Kuwabara proclaimed, "At least I don't think so. Gravity wouldn't be all sparkly would it?"
"No I wouldn't imagine so." Kurama said.
"I don't think the clear is gravity either. I think gravity would be darker and heavier." Misaki agreed with them both.
"What about a combination of two orbs?" Genkai asked, "It took two blue ones to make a more powerful snow hit, why couldn't it take two different ones to make 'gravity'?"
"So what combination?" Misaki puzzled.
"It is easy to rule out using two of the same kind together." Kurama pointed out.
"Agreed." Genkai nodded.
"Then use two different kinds." Misaki grabbed a purple orb and tossed a blue orb to Genkai. They held the orbs over the bump and there was a deep rumbling noise and the lightning and snow wove together, creating a heavy brown color which fell harshly. There was a negative noise.
"Now that was gravity." Kuwabara nodded.
"Then why didn't it work?" Yusuke crossed his arms.
"We have to start over." Kurama said. Everyone looked at him. "If you make a mistake you have to go back to the beginning and work your way forward."
"Right." Misaki sighed, "Lightning."
A purple orb was held over the bump. Affirmative noise.
"Double snow." Genkai said.
Yusuke and Kuwabara took up a blue orb each and used them. Another affirmative noise.
"And triple fire." Misaki, Yusuke and Genkai obliged and they heard their third assuring sound.
"And now gravity." Kurama noticed that there were only one blue orb and one purple orb left.
"I don't think we'll need them again." Misaki saw his eyes take in the last of those two. They grabbed a blue orb and a purple orb and used them, causing the gravity to spill onto the bump. The affirmative noise made them all feel a little better.
"But no room for any mistakes." Genkai noticed.
"Last one." Misaki read it out loud too, "'Sacred light not often seen, finishing touch upon this seam.'"
They all looked at the remaining orbs. Without any purple or blue, several red, clear, yellow and white ones lay scattered about.
"One of each?" Yusuke asked.
"That would follow the trend." Kurama answered.
"No...not one of each." Misaki shook her head.
"I think it's the yellow one." Kuwabara said, "You know with the sparkly stuff. That looks sacred, doesn't it?"
"While shiny stuff is good, I wouldn't consider it sacred." Misaki considered the orbs on the floor. Experimentally she picked up a clear one and peered into its depths. Nothing happened. Something about the iridescentness caught her memory. "I'd bet anything that if the white one heals you, this one purifies you."
"What do we use?" Kuwabara sat cross-legged amidst the orbs, picking one up and putting it back down, only to pick up another one. He intelligently avoided the red ones however.
"And if there is healing and purifying, then there also has to be life-giving." Misaki was excited as she grabbed a yellow orb. "Which is this one."
"Fire can be healing as well." Yusuke reached out but remembered what happened with the purple one.
"Searing yes. But not healing in the way that these three are."
"Then a combination of life, heal and purify would create the sacred light needed?" Kurama guessed.
"I think so. But there is no way to be sure."
Genkai walked over and gathered a yellow, clear, and white orb in her arms. She threw them into the air and they combined together, creating a dull 'poomf' before they burst into pieces.
"Not very sacred." Kuwabara frowned.
"But very smart." Misaki began setting aside different combinations along with Genkai and Kurama. They threw them into the air, but each time something was missing and they knew that they had not found what they were looking for.
Kuwabara just watched, though Yusuke tried his hand at a few. Kuwabara felt just a little out of his league so he toyed with a clear orb, feeling glad that there were so many of the three orbs that they needed. Something was tugging at the back of his mind as he watched failure after failure of the others. They were missing something. Something important. He spied a tossed aside red orb, making sure that a healing orb was nearby in case he needed it.
"It just isn't working." Misaki's patience was running low and she resisted cracking one of the orbs against the wall. There was no way of knowing how much time was passing them by as they sat attempting to figure the game out.
The four of them leaned over the remaining orbs they gathered—there were plenty more lying around--trying to scrounge out a new combo.
There was a blinding flash of triumphant light that faded just as quickly as it came.
"That was it!" Misaki exclaimed, her head snapping around to find the source.
They all turned around to see Kuwabara happily standing in the middle of falling stars of light. "Now that was sacred!"
"How did you do that?" She demanded.
"I...I don't know! I just did!" He didn't like being put on the spot. Misaki shoved him towards the orbs they gathered.
"Do it again."
They watched him closely. He glanced over what they had. He took a yellow one, and a white one, and two clear ones. He looked up around the room and saw a red orb, got up and brought it back, putting it with the other four. He pointed. "That."
The others considered it.
"That's the last life orb." Kurama's bite mark was aching again, sending pulses of freezing heat throughout his body with each pumping of his heart.
"Then we'd better hope this works." Genkai commented. "Everyone pick up an orb."
The five people each took one in hand and went to the bump.
Misaki had the red orb, having taken it as it was the most dangerous of the five.
At about the same time, they felt their orbs beginning to work and they released them, floating free above the bump.
They all stuck at the same time and the issuing light from the strike was so brilliant they need it had to be the right blend.
No one breathed as the bumps shimmered with the previous power. A second passed. Then two.
The ding was affirmative.
Kuwabara and Yusuke let out a whoop and the other three smiled, pleased at the results.
Misaki looked down at the floor, seeing words being scripted at the bottom of the verses in reaction to their successful completion: 'The answer to the game, go back the way you came.'
"You guys aren't going to believe this." Misaki's voice dripped with cynicism. She pointed at the door they came in.
"Bu..but...we..."
"Didn't we just come from there?" Yusuke interrupted Kuwabara's stammers.
Everyone had to see the answer for themselves.
"But how could that be right?" Kuwabara complained.
"Don't ask. You don't want to know." Misaki followed Genkai, who had already left the room.
Genkai was standing at an impasse. Not actually an impasse, rather a fork in their pathway just a few feet from the door.
"Choose your poison." Misaki came up behind her.
"Heh. I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time."
"Fun? Fun?!" Yusuke exclaimed indignantly, coming up behind them.
"Yes. Fun." She considered the options, "I've always been partial to the left."
"Can't ever do anything the right way, can you?" Misaki smiled.
"What's the point if you can't do things your own way? Come on slackers, let's go." Genkai motioned for Yusuke and Kuwabara to follow her down the left hallway.
"We're splitting up, then." Kurama watched them go.
Misaki nodded, taking the right passage.
--
Kurama, Misaki and Hiei didn't speak as they swiftly ran down the path, concentrating to speed to make up for lost time.
"Not much of a maze." Kurama said finally. There weren't any decisions on which way to go.
"More of a trial." Misaki followed the hall as it turned to the right. She suddenly skidded to a stop, the other two managing not to run into her.
"Hn. What was that about it not being much of a maze?"
It was a dead end.
"Well at least we know Yusuke and them won't run into a dead end." Misaki walked up to the wall and put her hand against it.
Kurama turned back as he and Hiei began leaving and saw Misaki start disappearing into the wall.
"Hiei!" He shouted to the retreating fire youkai.
Hiei stopped and saw what cause the bit of anxiety in Kurama's usually calm voice. She was shimmering in and out of existence, slowly being sucked into the wall, up to her shoulder now. Slowly being a relative term, it was happening quite fast but Hiei was faster.
He shot towards her and grabbed her other arm. He felt it beginning to pull apart beneath his fingers and there wasn't much to hold on too. But suddenly the molecules snapped back together and Misaki looked back at him, pain obvious on her face.
"Ow. Stuck in wall. Please let go." She managed.
Surprised, he released her and she shimmered again, disappearing fully.
She left Kurama and Hiei both gaping at the dead end.
It opened quietly inward and a smug Misaki was on the other side, her smirk quickly appearing as her molecules formed back together again.
"Not exactly a dead end." She sounded a little proud of herself though someone would have had to have been listening for such pride in order to actually hear it.
Kurama ran to her and touched her shoulder, trying to see if she was alright.
"Okay, please, working on a molecular level here and I don't want to make your hand a part of me."
Kurama almost shivered at the feeling of her shoulder. It wasn't quite there as the molecules hadn't pulled together all of the way and the sensation was awkward to describe. He took his hand away and she shimmered insubstantially a moment longer, a little 'pfft' noise indicating that she was all sucked back together again.
Misaki popped her neck uncomfortably. "That caused more than a little discomfort. I hope that there aren't any more doors like that." Her stance was stiff and she painfully worked her joints.
"That's what she was doing when I found her." Hiei stared as after a moment Misaki walked down the newly opened path. "She's been practicing pulling herself apart." The Jagan echoed agreement at his revelation. But he kept his words to himself, finding no desire to reveal what he knew. Yes that might have been something that was bothering her, distracting her. But she was acting differently.
A second door lay beyond the opened one and the trio made their way to it, going inside.
--
I forgot to mention this but I sniped the orbs from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due. And so that no one gets mad at me and is all 'that was totally stolen from FFCC'. Yes, it was you don't have to tell me that. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, good.
-lotsm