Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door and I never will.

Hey there! Sorry for not replying to some of your reviews. I looked at them on my phone but couldn't reply to them, then I went back home and forgot which ones I had and hadn't replied to. I hope this chapter makes up for it. :D

Chapter 11: Mazes and Dreary Tunnels

The orange sphere dropped to the ground and dissolved, steam rising from it. Kellie let out a breath of relief and wiped some sweat off of her forehead. She ran to join Thomas and Melissa, who were just as happy as she was to be rid of the monsters.

"Now what do we do?" she asked.

Thomas shrugged. "Dunno, Numbuh 361 never told us what to do after we'd finished taking out those blobby things."

"We should follow them," replied Melissa. "Common sense, guys."

The three of them jogged into the dark depths of the cave. They would have run faster, but they were still exhausted from their battle with the monsters. They had only been moving forward for a few minutes when they heard a scream, followed by the ground shaking. They fell to the ground hard, bruising themselves more than they already were. They managed to stand upright again and continue on their way.

"What was that?" Kellie asked.

Thomas rolled his eyes. "It was a scream and an earthquake, stupid. What else would it be?"

Kellie frowned. "No, I meant what was causing it."

"Shut up you two," Melissa commanded. "It's Father and Anne-Marie. Who else would it be?"

The other two couldn't argue with the logic, so they started running again. It was a matter of time before they found their new obstacle: a maze of roots. What appeared to have been a normal, open space had become the home of a maze. There was a simple entryway at the front they would have to go through to get to the other side. They all exchanged worried looks and walked inside.

"Don't stray off on your own," Melissa ordered. Her voice was firm, but full of fear.

They all went past the hedge of roots and into the maze. There were paths left and right and they felt like they were up at Moonbase Command. The only differences were that they weren't familiar with anything, there was no one to tell them where to go and they felt like they were trespassing on someone's overgrown tree. There was no light to help guide them, so they had to trust the resources they had.

Kellie clung to Melissa's shoulder tightly, her lip quivering. She had been able to deal with the cave when it was spacious, but now she was restricted between narrow walls. Melissa kept looking forward, not just to lead the others, but to make sure they didn't see the fear that had taken over her face. Thomas was walking beside Kellie with his hands in his pockets. He was looking at the ground, just to make sure there were no booby-traps ready to capture them.

"Ugh, dead end again!" Melissa cried for the twelfth time.

"Damn!" Thomas punched the root wall and hurt his knuckles in the process. "Ouch!"

Melissa sighed. "Come on, let's get outta here." She trudged slowly back the way she'd come, but stopped abruptly and gazed at the wall.

"What is it, Numbuh 52?" Kellie inquired, bounding up beside her.

"Numbuh 52 has an idea..." Melissa trailed off and grabbed one of the roots. Her right foot stepped on one of the bottom roots and she pulled herself up. She placed her left foot onto a higher root than the one her right foot was on and climbed more of the way up.

Kellie and Thomas were staring at her with confused expressions. Melissa explained, "When Numbuh 80 punched the wall, Numbuh 52 knew it meant the wall could hold my weight. I can see the whole maze from up here! I can get us out."

The two operatives on the ground looked at each other and grinned. They waited for Melissa to direct them. She told them to go left, then right, then left, right, right, left. It went on until they saw an opening in the hedge. They ran to the end and out of the maze. Melissa jumped off the wall and landed like a cat would have.

The ground trembled for the second time and dust was thrown everywhere. Behind them, the maze shook violently and sunk into the ground. The trio watched in astonishment as the maze disappeared and left no indication it had ever been there at all. The ground was as dirty as the rest of the cave and the roots were no more.

"What just-"

"I have no idea."

Willing to be as far away from that place as they could, they resumed hurrying through the cave. Even after having a break from running, they were still very tired and couldn't move very fast. Their legs felt like they were going to drop off and they had to take regular breaks. Sometimes they had to rub their eyes to make sure they could focus on where they were going.

Once they were doing this, they almost ran into a wall. They had arrived at the end of the path and they had a choice as to which route they would take. Would they take the left path, or the right?

After analysing each one, they decided on the right path. The left had a disgusting odour and looked very wet. Upon entering the dark tunnel, they didn't sense a change at all. To them, it was just a narrower version of the way they had just come. Going through the cave, however, they noticed it was becoming increasingly darker. They were regretting not bringing a flashlight or other tool to help them see.

Since the tunnel was so narrow, they couldn't stand side-by-side anymore. Melissa led the way, just like she did in the maze. Her second in command post was starting to show. Thomas was after her, whistling nervously as if the silence would kill him. Kellie was fighting the urge to not grab onto Thomas and held her cold arms. By the time it was so dark they couldn't see anymore, she was about to burst. She lunged forward and seized Thomas by the arms, making him yell.

"Oh, it's just you," Thomas breathed when he realised it was only Kellie. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Kellie pouted. "I'm scared, we can barely see anything."

Thomas had to hand it to her, she was right. He could hardly see her face in the darkness, the only thing telling him she was still there was the tight grip on his arms. He debated inside his head and shook it, erasing the thoughts from his mind. In a way that was very unlike him, he clutched Kellie's hand. It was warm and inviting.

"Come on guys, the faster we move, the sooner we can get outta here," prodded Melissa, who had noticed the sound of footsteps and the whistling stop. She had turned around to see what was happening and was now smiling at the two of them.

Thomas and Kellie blushed, but neither of them detected it in the other. Even when they were forced to walk in single file again, they never broke their hands. Five minutes later, the passageway began to lighten and the operatives found they could see the area properly again. Another few minutes of walking, and they found the reason for it. Tiny lamps were stationed on the walls with their flames burning brightly.

"Hey, I think I see more light over there! We finally found the exit!" Melissa was ecstatic. She was so happy to be out of that dreary tunnel.

The path widened and they hastened, Thomas and Kellie still gripping each others' hands. They were free at last!

No, they weren't. They had just run straight into a metal cage with no way out.

There you go! Review! :D