Chapter Six

~Kyra~

Kyra straightened up and returned to leaning her back against the wall. Her mind raced frantically, searching for an idea of what to do next. Out of nowhere, see saw a flash and turned back to face the creature. It was violently blinking its eyes and, after shaking its head, threw a metallic object over its head. It landed in Kyra's hand and after fumbling with it a little, she saw that it was her cell phone. On the screen was a picture of what she guessed to be its nose. She slide it into her pocket which was empty except for the pepper spray she had completely forgot about. Sucking in some cold, damp air, she bravely wrapped her fingers around the plastic container of pepper spray and emerged from her hiding spot. The thing was still rummaging through her bag, taking out some lipstick and eating the red substance only to spit it out seconds later.

"Hey! What are you doing?" She boldly stated, trying to sound intimidating.

He jumped back at the sound of her voice and turned to face her. His warty green skin was draping around two eyes, more so on the right making his left appear bigger. Red lipstick was smudged all across his mouth, making it look like blood was dripping out from between his sharp teeth. The two stared at each other for a moment, then each let out a deafening scream; she because of his ugly face and him because of the mysterious glow that now engulfed her.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Her arm shot up and she pepper sprayed him directly into that enormous eye. While he was clutching his eye in agony, she snatched her bag and ran down the hall towards the exit. Creeper was busy wiping at his tearing eyes, but was still able to notice her leave with the bag of strange objects. He reached a hand out after her, and whinnied out in sadness.

"My-my precious,"

Then in a more commanding tone he shouted for the guards, "After her! Prisoner escaping! After HERRRR!"

~Garnet~

Flying high above the China mountains, Adrian and Garnet were on the solar surfer heading towards their next destination. After Adrian had finished talking with Mulan, he went over the wall to see Garnet climbing halfway down it. That, plus a screaming miniature dragon, made Adrian suspect that Garnet had went off on his own little adventure on the Fa's estate. He was still scolding the little boy for it as he parked the surfer on a mountain ridge.

"Next time I tell you to do something," he said as he turned off the engine.

"I'm sorry!" Garnet interrupted, "I just wanted to see Mushu. I always get left behind because I'm small. Luke and Kyra always got to have all the fun. I just wanted to have fun for once and be one of the big kids!" Garnet slumped over and began to pout.

"This stuff is 'fun'. It's work," Adrain replied. "All this stuff is very important and could be what determines the future of this realm."

Adrian then hopped off the solar surfer and turned around to say "Now STAY put this time", but after seeing the sadness of the little boy's face he let out a sigh.

"Ok fine, you can come. But when I tell you to run and hide, you do it. Capiche?"

Garnet nodded enthusiastically and quickly hopped down to follow him. They walked down a trail until they were in front of a cave entrance. They crouched low in some bushes and Adrian whispered instructions to Garnet. When he finished, he handed him a bundle, stood up, and walked towards the cave's entrance. Garnet watched after him, a puzzled look upon his face.

~Kyra~

Creeper's voice echoed down the seemingly endless hallways as Kyra ran, not caring where she was going. She turned around a corner and shrieked as a grotesque statue leered at her, causing her to take another way through a doorway. Her feet almost slipped on something, causing her to flounder wildly. Looking down, she saw bones scattered around, blood staining the floor. Terrified, she backed up until she hit something. Turning her head, she came face to face with a dead skeleton chained to a torture machine with a lute hanging off his neck. Screaming, she rushed out of there, panic clouding her judgment by the minute. Her heart pounded like a bass drum, blood rushing to her face and her breathing coming up in gasps. Bats flew past her suddenly, hitting her in the face and upper body, obscuring her view.

Kyra jumped out of the horde and into an adjoining hallway, rolling across the floor. Panting, she sat up, scrapped up and frightened. Calming herself down, she leaned against the wall to get her bearings. Then a war axe wedged itself an inch where her hand was, startling her. Up ahead, was a muscular man clad in animal skins with a feral scowl on his face. And he was coming her way!

Kyra hurriedly stood to her feet, using the wall to pull herself up. Her fingertips brushed open air and she look to see she was in front of a window. She distantly remembered something about people trapped in a burning building jumping out of four stories windows to escape with their lives. The price: a broken limb or more. But maybe she could climb down the side. Seeing the guard almost upon her, she jumped up to the ledge and hung off the other side. Feet dangling, she searched the wall under her for a foothold when a yell caught her attention and saw the ugly brute's face above her. Kyra screeched when he tried to grab her, letting go of the sill in the process.

She was falling down, arms flailing like she was desperately trying to fly. As the ground rushed closer, she closed her eyes shut-

And found herself landing in a stack of hay.

Kyra sat up, stunned that she survived that. Her hair had hay poking out of her head like quills on a porcupine. "Thank goodness for those random cushions in this world." She muttered, looking back up at the window she'd fallen from. The giant of a guy yelling profanities at her.

Shaking the hay off, she dashed out into the courtyard. And found at least a dozen burly, fur-clothed men. She groaned.

"This is not my day!"

Then, as if someone had sent off a signal, they charged at her with weapons raised. Screaming, Kyra ran to the other way, bag flying behind her. Twenty feet ahead and she felt a meaty grip on her arm. Instinctively, her arm shot out. The giant screamed in pain, letting her go to run while he clutched at his eyes. "So glad I took this with me," Kyra panted, briefly looking at the pepper spray.

~Garnet~

Garnet watched after him, a puzzled look upon his face. The instruction Adrain had given him kept echoing in his mind. "Stay here quietly. If for any reason, I'm not back in thirty minutes, light these babies up and throw them in the cave." Garnet stared down at the bundle he had handed to him and peeked inside. He saw at least a dozen thick sticks with a red and yellow striped pattern on them. He grinned deviously when he realized they were firecrackers.

.oOo.

Meanwhile, Adrian stealthily crept along the walls, his hood up and masking his face. If someone was to look in his direction, they wouldn't see him in the shadows. At the end of a passageway, were two men with a gray tint in their skins and both staring into the fire with their backs to him. If Adrian could just knock out one, he could take down the other easily. Taking out his Khopesh swords, he quicken his pace as he came closer to them.

With a swift thrust, he slammed the handle of his blade into the back of the one guy's head. His leg immediately gave out and he crumbled to the floor with a loud thud. The noise alerted the other to turn around and when he did, Adrain grabbed his enormous head and twisted it at a ninety degree angle to his right. With a snapping sound, the grunt passed out. With both men unconscious, Adrain stepped over his "job well done" and continued down further into the cave.

After he walked about a hundred feet, he could see light from a small fire flickering up on the cave wall. As he quietly sneaked closer, he began to hear a deep male voice, anger apparent as he spoke to his comrades. Adrain peeked around a corner and saw a huge stone room filled with about fifty Huns. Way more than he initially predicted. The enraged voice he had heard was coming from a thick, muscular man with slits for eyes that were blacker than coal. It was Shan Yu, the Huns' merciless leader with a bloodlust known by all in China. Adrain was high up in a crevice where he could see without being seen, which was perfect for eavesdropping.

Shan Yu continued talking to his men in Hunnish, a language that Adrain unfortunately had yet to master. He was only able to identify a few words, something about a machine, a prisoner, and a key which were all essential for his finally conquest of China. Adrain was so focused on trying to translate the Hun's words, that he failed to notice how much time had passed and was finally snapped to by the hastily outburst of a guard running up to Shan Yu. He spoke frantically in the native language and a look of concern came across Shan Yu's face. He shouted orders to his men and they dispersed out in multiple directions, running into passageways. Adrain smiled at his good luck and figured now was a good time to try to sneak back out undetected while the Huns were preoccupied. He went back the way he came and found himself in the room where he took out those two guards. He stopped abruptly when he heard the familiar angry voice of Shan Yu, full rage now erupted out of his mouth. He, along with three other guards, were looking down at the two motionless bodies.

"Crap," Adrain whispered under his breath. Just then, someone from behind him grabbed his shoulder and pushed him out into the open. The Huns made a surprise jester when they saw the boy fall to his knees. They smiled behind him and, when Adrain flipped his head back to see what had pushed him, he saw another Hun stepping towards him, returning their villainous smiles.

.oOo.

Garnet sat where Adrain had left him for almost a half an hour now, twirling a twig in his fingers out of boredom.

"What's taking him so long?" Garnet wandered.

He was beginning to get really nervous and couldn't help but worry that something had happened. It hadn't exactly been thirty minutes yet, like Adrain had told him it would take, so Garnet continued sitting there, waiting for his friend's silhouette to emerged for the cave's entrance. Five minutes had passed, then ten and still no sign of him. When Garnet's watch read forty after, he jumped down from his hiding spot and made his way towards the stone opening. He was nervous, and his heartbeat had quickened, but he never shown any apprehension for what he was doing. He enter the cave without hesitation and ventured down a poorly lit passage way, excited for his chance to taste some adventure.

.oOo.

The Huns were a brutal and barbaric clan. War was their passion and torture their favorite pass time. It was rumored that they once set a prisoner on fire because he refused to provide them with any useful information. Another, who had assisted them in the infiltration of an armory in exchange for his release, was killed anyway, his body hung up on the armory's flag pole. Shan Yu wanted them to know who had betrayed them as well as send them a message. As you can see, torture is one of their most prized skills that they possess. They were ecstatic when they saw another opportunity to showcase their talents.

They shoved Adrain into a secluded area of the cave and, with great aggression I might add, forced him into a wooden chair that sat on the middle of the floor. They hurriedly fastened rope around his wrists and ankles. Tightening them so the scratchy material dug deeply into his skin, causing him to cry out in pain. His lip was bleeding profusely and his one tooth was loose from the guards beatings. After he was caught, Shan Yu ordered his men to attack him, pinning him against the wall while they took turns swinging punches and kneeing him in the gut.

The pain Adrain now felt was so great that he failed to notice Shan Yu smiling down at him. Only when he cleared his throat did Adrain look up, lifting his head slowly. Despite his weakened body and numerous injures, Adrain still managed to try to break free from the bonds. He jerked towards him angrily, wanting so bad to wipe that taunting smirk off his face. Shan Yu chuckled amusedly at Adrain's pointless attempts, causing Adrain's body to fill up with hatred. Shan Yu leaned in closer and, in a calm manner that mocked Adrain, asked him who he was. Adrain remained silent. Shan Yu repeated his question, this time with much more hostility. Adrain spat in his face and then smiled when Shan Yu, with great annoyance, wiped at his eye. He stood back, and then shouted towards a guard in Hunnish. Adrain saw the man hand his boss a jagged and roughly-edged sword. He turned back towards the teen and kneeled down in front of him.

"Tell me who you are and what your purpose for being here is."

Shan Yu said with a voice so stern and so sinister that it would have made most people shiver. Adrain though was just as stubborn and continued silently glaring at him. Shan Yu brought the blade of the sword up to Adrain's tied hand. It delicately hovered over his left index finger.

"Tell me what I want to know, or I will individually chop off every single finger you have. And if I run out, I will move to your toes."

Adrain was unmoved by this man's threats and cooly replied in his challenging manner,

"Bring it on."

Myst: We would like to apologize for the long wait.

Freak: But we hope it was worth it!

Myst: Plz leave a comment, reviews, or PM us suggestions-

Freak: Or try to guess what happens next :)

Myst: And be sure to watch out for the Jabberwocky.

Freak: ... And Twinkies...