Chapter 20

I never thought we would get here. :o amazing! thanks for keeping up with me this far! still got a little ways to go and some things to wrap up before we can end this. Big battle scene and whatnot ;p

~warning~ um, this chapter will be rated a higher level of T but not really M because of "graphic" scenes (wink) ;p

"This whole place is like a maze," Red said, reaching out her hands, searching for a way out.

"You're telling me. I can hardly see anything," Wolf answered. "What kind of basement is this?"

"An enchanted one," Red responded bitterly. "I hate magic."

"Agreed," Wolf growled, pressing his palms against a wall. "Red, I found a wall!"

Red waved her hands through the darkness until he grabbed hers, pulling her to him. "If we follow this there's got to be a door somewhere."

The pair began to knock at the solid stone, searching for a sound of an outside.

"Hear anything?" Red called.

"Just solid brick," he answered back.

They continued walking for a few minutes. Red spoke up, breaking the silence, "Hey, Wolf?"

"Yeah?" Red heard him continue knocking. His knuckles must hurt by now. Were they bleeding?

"Do you think we'll ever find a way out?"

Wolf stopped knocking. Red found out he stopped walking as well when she bumped into him. She suddenly felt his hands grab her face, sending a blush shooting right up her face as he pulled her close to kiss her forehead. "I know we will," he whispered.

(**)

Jack glared venomously at his sister, who stood chatting softly with the witch. The talked with their backs to him so he wouldn't be able to hear nor see what they spoke of.

"Come on I'm going to die anyway! You might as well tell me what you're planning!" He pulled against his ropes, gritting his teeth when they burned his wrists.

Jill turned to him, eyes blank. "Why would we do that? You might be able to escape again then go running to the HEA for help again with better agents. We can't have that happening now can we?"

Jack frowned at her, still pulling at the tight ropes.

"Stubborn mule," he muttered. "Well what have you done with my friends?" he demanded to know.

Jill rolled her eyes, "Still worried about them aren't you? You don't need to worry about them. They're in the basement."

"What did you do to them?"

"Nothing. . . yet. I'll probably have to kill them, seeing as they know my plan, or at least have guessed it by now. I'll never get over how bright they are."

Jack screamed out, "If you even think of touching her, I'll make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your life!"

The witch and Jill stilled. Jill's eyes narrowed down as she walked forward, stepping across the floor as silent as a church mouse. "Her? You mean that little red hooded girl? Don't tell me you, that you actually. . ."

Her smile dropped as she processed Jack's words before she twisted a deviant smile across her face, "Well, even more reason to kill her and yourself. Can't have you two running off and producing heirs can we? Oh I adore love triangles. You know how I feel about that romance stuff. Miss Witch, I think I'll go have some fun with our captives," Jill started towards what could only be the basement door.

"Don't even bother," Jack muttered, his heart flowing through his words, "she doesn't love me."

Jill turned to her brother, sighing, "Ah, unrequited love. That's how it always goes. They love each other and she doesn't give you the light of day. How tragic."

Jack glared, looking down, feeling defeated as his emotions for her washed through him. He couldn't find an answer to her words.

Laughing giddily, Jill made her way into the basement.

(**)

"Hello children."

Instantly going back to back, Red and Wolf looked around frantically. "Jill, show yourself!" Red challenged black darkness, enclosing her fists to the ready.

Their captor laughed, "Oh, fret not children. For we're going to play a game. If you win, I'll let you find the entrance, but if you lose, you will be forced to stay here for the rest of your miserable lives."

"Always a game," Wolf muttered.

"And why should we do what you say?" Red answered back, her mind not even considering doing what Jill requested.

Jill laughed once more, her voice everywhere. "Because, dear Red Riding Hood, if you do not play, I'll make sure you never find your way out. Obviously with the combined power of the magic I learned and my witch servant, this basement is enchanted so that the ones inside it will never get out without our permission."

Wolf growled at the thought of being trapped in eternal blackness. He pressed closer to Red, feeling a little more comforted to know she was close.

"What do you think we should do Wolf?" Red asked softly, requesting the wisdom of her partner.

"It's our only chance of getting out alive, but its your choice Red. You're the leader here."

"Well when you put it like that. . ." she muttered, eyes flickering, searching for a sign of anyway out.

Red stiffened her position, "Fine!" she yelled out. "We'll play your twisted game!"

Jill laughed in amusement once more, "Perfect."

"Now tell us what to do."

The lights blared on. Both shielded their eyes so their pupils could adjust to the sudden light. Wolf was the first to lower his arm, blinking in the near blinding brightness.

The entire area was a huge room with cement walls, floors and ceiling, which hung close to their heads so Wolf could reach up and touch it.

"If you'll look over here, there's a tunnel leading to an obstacle course, which you can see beyond." Both looked over as a huge course appeared before them. The entrance were two small holes for both to go through, leading into darkness once more. "Go through there and you must both work to reach the end."

Red and Wolf stared at the holes. One was smaller than the other, the obvious way Red needed to go while the other hole was designed for Wolf.

Wolf held up his hand; Red grasped it, eyes growing with motivation as she tightened her hold on his. "I'll see you on the other side."

He nodded. Both bolted to their respectable entrances, Red sliding in, Wolf jumping in headfirst.

Jill giggled to herself from where she watched.

Let the games begin.

(**)

Red landed confidently from the slide in a small room. She faced ahead, looking over the first challenge.

She walked to the edge of a drop where a deep and long stretch of water extended before her. Ropes hung from the ceiling.

Narrowing her eyes, Red glared into the water, searching for any signs of foul play. "Okay Jill. What do I do here?"

"Swim or swing it's your choice," came an answer.

Frowning at this vague answer, Red stepped back against the wall, preparing to run forward. She crouched before taking off, making a massive jump for the first rope. She didn't really want to go for a swim right now anyway. Might as well take air travel.

Her small hands stretched forward, grabbing the rope, folding her body against it. It swung forward. Reacting, Red moved to the next rope, shifting, swinging her body to get momentum to get to the next rope.

A crack sounded, a sickly snapping. Red stopped moving, looking up to see the thick twine breaking, more than ready to plunge her into the dark waters.

Thinking quickly, Red swung on her own power, stretching out her hands, grappling at the next rope. She released a breath of relief when she held it successfully, watching as the other rope fell into the water with a loud slap.

Making sure to control her breathing, Red focused her eyes to her next target. She glared down, frowning as she began to swing her lithe body through the air, slowly getting it into a stronger swing so she could easily jump forward to the next rope.

"Okay, doing good," she whispered to herself as she continued her actions. "Only what, five more to go?"

Red quickly got to the next one, which was strangely colored a crimson red. Feeling like this couldn't be a good sign, so she worked hard to move her weakening muscles, gasping for breath.

A bit of her relaxed when she felt the stiff cool of the next rope in her hands. She hugged her legs to the rope, closing her eyes as she gasped for breath. Almost done. Just three more and she'd be done.

"I can do this," she told herself, begging for her will to hold out.

Which is when she heard the snap.

Thinking the rope was going to break again, Red looked up, starting to swing her tired muscles once more.

Her eyes widened as they fixated on the flickering orange-white flame, eating hungrily at the rope.

"Son of a cupcake!" she cursed as the rope burned out, sending her into the deep water.

Red gasped for breath before she hit the surface, instantly working to move forward. She took no time to look underneath the water for fear of scaring herself; she just started swimming.

Her arms arched perfectly as she went, legs kicking neatly. The only thing she hated was how easily her clothes dragged her down than if she were simply in a swimsuit.

Red safely made it out from the water, the clear liquid dripping down her body. She pulled down her hood, shaking out her hair as she made a ponytail, her hair a dark, shining auburn.

"I really need to get a hair cut," she confirmed as she let her hair slap down to her shoulder blades. The girl wrung out he shirt, only barely satisfied when she saw the now damp cloth rest against her skin.

Popping the joins in her shoulders, Red pulled her hood back over her head, climbing into the tunnel for her next challenge. Her voice echoed as she wondered aloud, "I wonder how Wolf's doing?"

(**)

Wolf jumped in, gasping as he faced his fourth challenge. Gosh that last one was so hard. He shook himself out, trying to dry from the spray of the river in that last one. Why were rocks so slippery?

The entire room lay bare. Wolf blinked, staring around the room as he breathed in, tasting the air. No scent hit the roof of his mouth. What was his challenge supposed to be?

"Okay Jill, now what?" he called to the seemingly empty air.

With a high laugh, Jill instructed, "In this challenge, you need to face your worst fear."

Wolf lifted an eyebrow, "Okay well, I'm scared of spiders."

She scoffed, "Oh, please, dear, don't make me laugh. This room can go into the very depths of your soul. It can really tell what your fear is. And in a moment," smoke began to swirl through the room, "it will manifest what you fear the most."

Wolf coughed softly as the haze drifted away, revealing Wolf's biggest fear.

"Red?"

She faced him, her eyebrows furrowing down into a hard glare of fury. Hair prickling, Wolf stepped back, fearing her rage. What did he do now?

"Wolf," she whispered, reaching to her side to pull out a huge sword. Why did Red have a sword? She stepped towards him, "You killed my parents. Now, I'm going to kill you."

"What?" he whispered.

With a wild battle scream, Red hurtled herself forward, swinging the sword down with the intent to slice him in half. Wolf dodged it, ducking from the flashing blade. Red faced him in anger, hardly reacting as he tried to call to her, "But Red, I thought we already talked about this!"

"Actions speak louder than words!" she retorted, screaming as she jumped for him again.

Wolf jumped away, running. He didn't get very far though when he hit an invisible wall.

"Curse that Bo Peep," he muttered.

Wolf whipped back when he heard Red give her battle cry. He ducked again, just in time for the sword to hit the invisible fence.

Going on instinct, Wolf kicked his legs forward, hitting her knees so she fell back. With a satisfied grunt he slashed the sword out of her hands, getting back to his feet to face her.

Red jumped up with a strong cry, facing him in the fighting stance.

This time Wolf took the offensive, going towards her as they began to spar, "Red you told me you forgave me for what happened! Why are you doing this?"

"Because my parents deserve justice! Do you have any idea how much I needed to go through after their deaths?" She punched him in the gut so he keeled over in pain, gasping.

"Red, stop!" he yelled to her, punching her across the face.

She stumbled back, not hesitating to return the punch to his side. Wolf grabbed her fists, yelling into her face, "I'm not going to fight you Red! Stop this!"

"Never!" she shrieked, twisting her hands from his grasp, jumping back so she hit him square in the chest.

Wolf flew back, hitting the ground with an exhausted, weary grunt. He sat up weakly as Red stalked up to him, pulling him up, preparing to knock him out. "You're going to die, and get just what you reserve."

With a weary sigh, Wolf felt him go limp as he looked into Red's eyes. She gave an evil smirk, leaning her fist back.

Moving on a whim, Wolf slashed his clawed feet down her belly, feeling satisfied when he felt flesh break. He kicked her off him, jumping on her, holding her down with one hand while twisting her arm back behind her.

Gasping for breath, Wolf whispered, "Never let your guard down until you're sure that they won't get back up."

The Red beneath him glimmered away from existence. Wolf stood to his feet, wiping his mouth of the blood seeping from his lip. A light appeared ahead, showing the way out.

He ran.

(**)

Jack lifted near dead, weary eyes. He blinked in shock, amazed that he still lived. The boy looked over himself best he could, searching for any of the damage that now didn't remain.

"What- how did it?" he murmured.

"Ah, finally awake. What was it like, being dead for ten minutes?"

Jack licked his lips, confusion still clotting his mind.

Jill smiled at him, approaching her brother to kiss both his cheeks. He spat in her face. She glared at him, wiping at it with her sleeve. "Stupid, you actually think that will upset me? Ha! I hold all the power here!" She showed him the knife again. Jack flinched back, remembering the feeling of it digging in his chest.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked softly, fear beginning to etch its way into his heart, wounding his soul.

"We're going to keep playing this game for the rest of our lives," she whispered, reaching up her arm, bringing it down with all the force she possessed.

The knife made its way down, easily sliding through Jack's chest. The boy screamed in pain, throwing up his head as he writhed against the blade.

However if a stabbed boy screams, and nobody hears it, does he even make a sound?

(**)

you didn't expect THAT type of graphic did you? xD

sorry this was late. I got caught up in an art project for myself x3 i'll upload another chapter since this was supposed to be up yesterday xD