Another chapter, finally. Finished with my darn finals, thank heavens. Now, on with the show! Reviews, por favor?
"ACHOO!"
Dib sniffed as he felt his nose run like a hose. It seemed that the further the boys went into the tunnel, the colder it got, and the colder it got, the more Dib felt like a broken leak. Sniffing like no tomorrow.
"Silence, Dib-stink! We are in the middle of exploring these blasted tunnels, and you can't seem to keep your earth filled mouth shut!", Zim hissed. It was the twenty third time in a row that Dib sneezed, making Zim more aggravated.
"Dib, you're not sensitive to the Underworld caverns, are you? Only weak willed humans tend to react this way when they are down here."
Dib shot a bloody glare at both inhuman beings. "Stow it, man! I'm not sensitive, and I'm certainly not weak willed!"
Zim continued to examine the walls and candles of the corridor. They were in the black corridor, where Lucia was held locked up, until a few days ago.
"Lucia could be anywhere, for all we know. Hell, I doubt he's even down here anymore. He could be back in the surface world, plotting revenge against all of us." Ryuu grimaced. He hated the thought of Lucia regaining power and forming a new Catholic army.
Dib slouched against the wall, feeling his energy depleting from his body. "Man, I'm exhausted."
Zim looked over and raised a brow.
"Exhausted already? We've only been down here for half hour, Dib-stink. You must be weak willed, indeed."
Dib shot a nasty death glare at him. "Don't start with me, Zim. Remember, you're not human, and neither is Ryuu. Therefore, I can die down here easily if I'm not careful."
Ryuu stopped walking down any further. "He's right. Any more down this corridor, and his soul may as well be doomed. He could become one of the Tormented."
"What do you mean by the Tormented, Ryuu-demon?" Zim questioned, getting interested on the current subject.
Dib grew curious as well, but was far too drained to show any real interest. 'Damn, this Underworld atmosphere is taking me out quick.'
Ryuu sat on the floor, seeing that if they went any further, it could spell the end for Dib.
"Well, to put it simply, souls that are banished from purgatory and into Hell are known as the Souls of the Damned. Souls that are lost here by their own grief or suffering are known as the Tormented. They are the souls that are bound in the green candle corridor. They are all locked up in either rooms, or if they aren't as dangerous, then just in cells."
Zim thought of it for the moment, seeing that Dib could ever become a soul like that is beyond him. Besides, he thought of Dib to be too stupid to even become such a creature.
Dib, on the other hand, grew uncomfortable. 'There's no way in Hell that I'm going to turn into some ghostly freak like Walter!'
Zim straightened himself up, shaking the thought out of his mind. "Well, I guess it's pointless to continue our journey any further. As far as I'm concerned, I don't want Dib-stink's little sister to tear me to shreds if she finds that he's a ghoul."
"I concur. Let's quit for today. It's most likely that Lucia has got out of this wretched place anyways, given the time interval from a few days ago until now." Ryuu sighed, getting up and heading towards Dib to help him up.
"You idiots really think he's actually gone?", a feminine voice snapped.
The boys turned their heads over to see none other than Tak standing right behind them.
Zim scowled at this. "Just what do you think you're doing here, woman? This is a dangerous mission for men!"
Tak shot a revolting look towards Zim, not giving a damn about it being a mission for the boys or not.
Ryuu lifted Dib up, his weight was extremely light, thanks to the draining power of the Underworld tunnels. "What do you mean, Tak? Are you saying he is still here, wandering about?"
Tak nodded. "Precisely. He is indeed still in this particular tunnel."
Zim didn't buy it. He smelled something funny, and it wasn't Dib either.
"How are you sure? How do we know you're not siding with him?", his voice projecting every ounce of suspicion in each syllable.
It was now Tak's turn to grimace. She hated to be held under suspicion, especially since she hasn't given a full report to the Tallest on her progress yet.
"If you don't believe me, fine. But when I ditched you pathetic bunch, I found him in the room and was injured by him. Indeed, it was foolish of me to let him loose, but I don't believe that I'm dumb enough to let myself get my ass kicked by someone who I would team up with, would I?"
The ex-invader was stumped. She had a good point there. Tak doesn't take crap from no one, and she certainly wouldn't let someone beat her to a pulp, even if they tried.
"So, does this mean you're not helping him?", Zim questioned in uncertainty.
"No. I am not. I am here on my own accord. But since my mission is a failure, I highly doubt the Tallest will show any mercy on my part. And what's wrong with him?"
They looked over to Dib, who looked like he could use a regurgitation sack.
Ryuu hit him hard on the back. "Hey, hey! Don't even think about it! We're leaving right out of here. I don't think Dib can hold on to his gut much longer. The tunnel's power has a strong influence on him."
Just as Ryuu took a few steps towards the end of the tunnel in which they came from, he felt a strong presence from behind.
"Hey, Zim.", he said.
"Hm? What is it?", Zim replied.
"You felt that? That presence?"
"Yes. I did. It's coming from right behind us."
Tak spoke low to the point that only she and the boys can hear, "That's him. That's Lucia. The guy you're talking about."
Ryuu nodded. "In which case, Tak was correct the whole time. Zim, I need you and Tak to stay here and hold him off while I get Dib to the infirmary and return back with help."
"Alright. You better hurry back."
"You can bet your ass I will. Tak, you take the lead on this fight. It seems you have more experience for what we are dealing with."
"Affirmative, but don't think I'm on your side.", she growled.
"Trust me. I don't believe it for a second." With that said and done, Ryuu rushed off with Dib, opening a portal and immediately closing it after he jumped in it.
Tak and Zim both turned around, their enemy's footsteps loud and clear in the vast darkness.
"So, are you ready for this one, ex-invader? Don't hold anything back.", Tak said relentlessly.
Zim scoffed. His trademark grin was smeared all over his countenance. "Foolish Tak. I was born ready. You don't hold anything back either."
Out of the darkness, the flames grew and violent, revealing the figure before them.
A human male, with dirty blonde hair, long from the years of imprisonment and piercing ice blue eyes, emerged. He wore black pants and a black jacket, with a bandana wrapped around his forehead. Black boots embraced his feet, with a large silver cross hanging from his neck. A large scar is visible from the bridge of his nose and down his left cheek.
"Well, I'm surprised to see that I haven't run into any real trouble yet.", he said dryly.
Zim and Tak glared at the figure, unable to stand the sight of him alone.
Lucia's eyes wandered over to Tak, a smirk forming on his lips. "Oh, it's you again. Nice to see that you recovered from last time we met. I see you have a friend tagging along this time."
Tak remained calm. She was not going to lose herself. Not now, at least.
Zim, on the other hand, was ready to headbutt into action. The only thing that was holding him back was the fact that Tak hadn't gave any instructions as to where to attack him.
"Now then," Lucia commenced, wielding two long knives that slowly emerged from the palms of his hands, "Let's not dawdle and waste any more time shall we? I, for one, would like to get out of here, and you are nothing but obstacles in my path."
"Zim! Get ready!", cried Tak, as she placed electrode gauntlets on each of her hands.
"Right!" Zim's pack was ready, as he pulled out his electrifying bo-staff.
'So long as we kill this creep and keep him from hurting Zora, nothing else matters!', Zim thought fiercely, going head on with Tak against their current harbinger of doom.