Chapter Four

Kiwi was the first to regain conconciousness out of the group. She lay on the bed without moving, only allowing herself to breathe slowly. She could feel someone on either side of her, most likely other group members. She knew something was wrong, so she willed herself to stay calm and still while she figured it out. If they thought she was asleep, then all the better.

The squirrel could hear voices in the room with her. Unfamiliar voices, two male. Apparently everyone was in the room, and she was the only one awake.

"So you finally managed to snag the fairy, huh? Took ya long enough. Yer losin' yer touch." One voice sneered.

"Zayth, you stupid waste of form," the other snapped, "I've done my part of the job, now do yours. Fragile's already gone with the message. Take the fairy to Caleb, post haste. Don't screw this up."

Kiwi gasped inwardly. They were trying to take Ichigorah! She opened her eyes the tiniest bit, just enough to see Seridan and someone she'd never seen. A small male, probably a little taller than Ichigorah, with sky blue hair and tiny purple demon wings and a tail. The creature flew up until he was at face level with Seridan.

"I don't do screw ups. That's your gig Ser. Whatcha gonna do with the others?"

"I'm not sure. Ask Caleb. I've got bigger things to worry about than some overgrown animals."

"Touchy..." Zayth smirked, "So what might this 'bigger thing' be, hmm?"

"Kyhle."

"Shit...that punk's back again?"

"Yeah. Found him in the hall last night. He got away before I could catch him. Probably thinks these guys might be able to help him."

Zayth scoffed. "Seeing as they just fell for the oldest trick in the book, I doubt it..."

"It is a bit pathetic, I admit. But they defeated the Hellhound."

"Just beginner's luck. Plus the Hellhound's nothing but a whiney mutt."

"Can't be any worse than you..." Seridan muttered, "Now stop stalling. Caleb wants that fairy, and you're responsible for making have to wait."

Zayth made an obscene gesture in Seridan's direction, then flew over to the bed Kiwi was watching from. She shut her eyes again, afraid he'd notice. She could hear the faint flapping of his small wings, then a small yelp. She opened her eyes again, to see Miro sitting up next to her, face set in anger. Zayth was on the floor a bit away.

"Leave her alone!" Miro growled, "Leave Ichi out of your stupid plans!"

Kiwi sat up. No sense in trying to feign sleep once Miro had started the fight. Seridan turned around, calmly. Zayth sat on the floor, rubbing a sore spot on his cheek where Miro had punched him.

"Ahh I see two of the ladies are awake. Did you sleep well?"

"Cut the crap Seridan," Kiwi snapped, "You drugged us!"

"Obviously..." the brunette rolled his eyes.

Miro grabbed Ichigorah, who was still sleeping. She jumped off the bed, where the other two girls were still out. On the bed next to them were the four boys. Kiwi sprang up off the bed and bolted to the other bed, shaking the boys.

"C'mon! Now's no time to sleep in guys! We need help!!"

Trin woke up while his cousin was shaking his shoulders. "What the hell's going on?!"

"They're trying to take Ichi!" Miro squeaked. The ferret jumped up, running over to Miro, only to once again trip over his pantsleg hem and crash to the ground.

Trin sighed. "God I'm bad at this..."

"Not trying. We're going to take the fairy," Seridan didn't seem the least bit phased by any of this. Zayth laughed and flew over to the fallen boy, kicking him midair.

"OW! Hey! Stoppit! What the heck are you?!" Trin whined, covering his head with his arms in case the small demon tried hitting something more vital than his shoulder.

Something collided with the blue-haired demon again, knocking him away from Trin. The short boy looked up to see Sterling had woken up and punted the small creature. The mouse pulled Trin up off the floor.

"Thanks..."

"No problem....now tell me what the hell's going on..."

"Later. First we've gotta keep Ichi away from those two!"

"Too late!!" Zayth laughed. He flew straight into Miro, who yelped and fell back upon impact. The winged creature snatched Ichigorah out of the raccoon's grasp, then made a beeline for the open window.

"NOOOOO!!!" Kiwi lunged at the blue-haired flyer, only to miss him by mere inches, crashing to the ground. Zayth flew on.

Trin made a dash to the window, attempting to beat Zayth there and shut it. Sterling followed hastily. In the mad dash that followed, Sterling stepped on Trin's tail, pulling the ferret to a painful halt. Surprised at the shorter boy's sudden stop, the mouse collided with him, and both fell over with a loud thump.

"Gods...I knew you guys were bad, but not that bad!" Zayth snickered. Then he glided through the window and was gone.

Miro bolted to the window, jumping over Kiwi and the two boys, tears in her eyes. "ICHI!!!"

There was movement from the beds, as Cas and Larna stirred. The badger sat up, hand to his head. "Craaaaap..."

Miro turned to Seridan. "YOU!!!"

"Another time, perhaps..." Seridan moved quickly to the door to make his escape. Suddenly he fell to the floor. Kiwi lay under his legs, foot outstretched.

"I don't think so..." she growled, standing up.

Miro, eyes narrowed in fury, charged at Seridan, only to be intercepted by Cas, who jumped off the bed and held his friend back. "Let me go!" she yelled as she struggled to get loose, "That bastard! He let them take Ichi!!"

Cas held onto her tighter. "Miro! Calm down! He's not going anywhere!"

Seridan was muttering something under his breath. Kiwi looked curiously at the others. Trin gasped suddenly.

"No! Make him stop! He's using--"

An explosion of smoke filled the room, engulfing everyone and blocking vision.

"--magic..." Trin finished, coughing, "...Shit."

"What the hell's going on?!" Larna's voice asked through the cloud, panicing.

"He got away..." Kiwi muttered sadly, "Sorry Miro..."

The raccoon stopped struggling in Cas' grasp as a sob left her. "Damnit..."

~*~

"Well, now what?" Trin sighed, sitting cross-legged on the guys' bed.

Cas sat down next to him, and Sterling flopped down too. Tyru still hadn't woken up. Neither had Nis, who was out on the girls' bed. Kiwi and Larna sat there, looking back and forth at everyone. Miro was up and pacing, eyes on the floor.

"Obviously, we have to get Ichigorah back," Kiwi replied.

"But we don't know anything about where they're taking her," Sterling muttered, "We're really up a creek without a paddle."

"Creek? Try the freakin' ocean..." Larna crossed her arms and laid back.

Cas watched the pacing raccoon. "You okay, Mir?"

She stopped pacing. "I...I guess. But we've got to do something...we can't just give up before we even started!"

The badger nodded, and walked to the window thoughtfully. "Maybe it'd be a good idea to ask around the town. Maybe someone saw the blue-haired guy fly off."

"Zayth," Trin supplied.

"Who's Zayth?" Nis muttered, sitting up slowly, "What'd I miss?"

"Oh nothing, just random drugging and a kidnapping. The usual..." Sterling shrugged, hopping off the bed and over to her, "You alright?"

She nodded. Larna looked around the room. "Well...we might as well pack some things, since we've got some time. It's not like they can stop us from stealing from them, right?"

"Good idea," Cas nodded, "Everyone get changed back into your normal clothes. Then start looking around for things we might need. Split up into pairs and take a different part of the hotel. We'll meet back here in an hour or so."

"What about Ty?" Trin asked, motioning his head in the sleeping fox's direction.

"Good thinking Trin. So good of you to vollunteer to watch him for us!" Sterling grinned.

"But I didn't--" Trin started to protest, but Cas cut him off.

"Okay. I'll go with Miro to the first floor. Sterling and Nis, you take the second. Larna and Kiwi, you get the basement. And Trin, when Tyru wakes up, you two head for the kitchen and stock us up some food. Got it everyone?"

Everyone nodded, including a reluctant Trin. Then they all split up.

"Bloody hell and crackers..." the ferret muttered, leaning against the bed's headboard.

~*~

"What are we supposed to find in the basement exactly?" Kiwi frowned, starting down the stairs.

"Larna shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe there's a storage room around here somewhere..."

The two girls wandered down the stairs into the hotel's basement. It was badly-lit and damp, smelling slightly of must and giving off a clammy feel. A long corridor stretched ahead, with a few doorways on each side. After a glance at the other, the girls shrugged and set off down the hall.

Kiwi shivered. "Just our luck..."

Larna brought out a hand, stopping Kiwi's progress. "Did you hear something?"

The squirrel looked curiously at her, listening carefully. "What?" she whispered.

"Sounds like something....screaming..."

Kiwi's eyes grew wide. "Do you think someone's still here?"

"May be someone in trouble!" Larna gasped, and took off running down the hall with Kiwi hot on her heels.

Following the sound to the last room on the left side, the wolf stopped in the doorway. The room was dark, almost pitch-black. She could just barely make out three large forms, moving slowly and fluidly. Kiwi skidded to a halt behind the older girl.

"What are they?" the brunette whispered, peeking over Larna's shoulder.

The other shook her head. "No idea. I'm gonna try to get closer. Stay here and keep quiet, okay?"

Kiwi nodded and Larna slipped inside the dark room silently. Moving slowly, the wolf inched closer to the forms, apparently without them noticing her. Outside the door, Kiwi held her breath and watched. Something from inside the room was still screeching loudly and painfully. Suddenly, the howling stopped abruptly.

"Kiwi..." the lightest of whispers.

"Lar?" Kiwi squeaked, barely audible.

"....Run."

~*~

"Just how much stuff are we gonna be needing?" Sterling asked, paws in his pants pockets. Next to him, Nis shrugged.

"I guess we're the judge of that. Although before we start deciding how much we need, let's try actually finding something useful, hmm?"

The mouse rolled his eyes good-naturedly as the pair wandered into another of the rooms on the second floor. Nis shuffled through the dresser, while Sterling checked out the bathroom. The results of their search weren't very good at all.

The yellow-furred cat sighed. "This isn't a very fruitful mission..."

"Not really our fault."

"I know, but...." she frowned, "...Did you hear something?"

Sterling blinked. "Noooo..."

Nis went to the door and looked out into the hall. She yelped and slammed the door shut, leaning against it. Outside, two female screams and fast-paced footsteps sounded through the hall, followed by sounds of something gooey sliding hurridly across the floor.

The albino mouse stared at his girlfriend. "What the hell was that?!"

Nis slid down to a sitting position, still leaning against the door, panting. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you..."

~*~

"I found a first-aid kit!" Miro squeaked, wriggling out from under a bed holding her prize. She set it down on the covers before flopping down after it, brushing herself off.

"Good job," Cas nodded, setting down Miro's bookbag and shoving the kit inside, "We've got that, a rope and a compass so far...I wonder how the others are doing?"

"Oh!!" the raccoon yelped, jumping up. She hopped over to the room's dresser, and held up a book that was sitting there. It looked old, with a faded blue cover. There were no words on it, either intentionally, or rubbed off from use. "Cas, lookit!"

The badger took the book from his friend. "Hmm...it looks like some kind of monster guide..." he flipped through the pages, coming to a halt somewhere near the middle, "It's even got our HellHound friend in here...This is definately coming with us."

Miro beamed and Cas put the guide in the backpack as well. After finishing the room search without any more results, Cas grabbed the bag and headed for the door.

"Ready?"

"Yup!"

Both stopped in their tracks as a familiar voice screamed, running through the hall.

"CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!"

Miro and Cas looked at each other and blinked.

~*~

"...Burn burn burn the wood burn...the rythnm's hot we know..." Trin sang idly, paws tapping on his leg to the beat. He was still sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to his chest. Next to him, lay Tyru, still asleep. The ferret sighed. "At this rate, we'll never make it to the kitchen..."

"Hungry, then?" asked a voice beside him. Trin yelped and jumped back, falling with a thump off the bed.

"Jesus, Ty! Don't do that!!"

Tyru's head popped into view over the bedside. "My my Trin...you do seem to fall quite a lot."

The younger boy stood up, rubbing his head and frowning. "So I noticed...but at least you're up. We're supposed to head down to the kitchen and pack some food. I'll explain everything on the way."

The fox swung his legs to the floor. "Okay then. Should I change first?"

Trin walked to the door. "Yeah I guess. You're not gonna want to wander around town in a tuxedo, are you--" a tie was thrown at his head. He whirled around, turning pink. "Ty! Warn me first!"

"Sorry..." a few seconds passed.

"Almost ready?" Trin quearied, arms crossed. Tyru poked him on the shoulder, resulting in another shocked jump from the shorter boy. He turned around to face a fully-dressed Tyru, frowning.

The black-haired boy grinned. "Sorry...couldn't resist."

Trin rolled his eyes and went to open the door. The second he did, something forced in, crashing into the two boys.

"Trin! Tyru!"

"Lar?" Tyru looked up. The wolf was sprawled on top of them, with Trin squished in the middle by the two taller furries. Kiwi scrambled in after Larna, slamming the door shut behind her and locking it.

Larna got to her feet quickly and helped Trin up. Tyru stood after them. The boys looked questionably at the girls.

"Mushroom...big...scream...chase...EAT!!" Kiwi gasped, panting heavily.

"Coherant sentances please?" Trin looked at Larna.

"There's these...things in the basement, like mushrooms or something. We got too close and they started chasing us!!"

Something crahsed against the locked door, almost knocking it from its hinges. All four screamed. Trin scrambled to the other side of the room, where they had left their weapons after Seridan had left. He tossed Larna the bow and quiver before running back to the others holding the lute, gauntlets and whip.

Wood splintered and caved as a human-sized purple mass slid into the room, followed by two similar creatures. They looked like mushrooms alright, except with many tentacles used as legs, sliding across the floor. Four larger leaf-looking tentacles, the arms, flailed in different directions, trying to catch the four furries.

"Holy crap!" Tyru took a step back, unrolling his whip.

Larna aimed an arrow at one of the larger ones, landing a hit dead center. The creature stopped momentarily, then continued. She aimed two more and shot, hitting it again both times. Finally, it lay still.

Tyru snapped the whip, catching most of the smaller one's tentacles. Running to the window, he yanked on the curtains, pulling them down. He removed the hanging rod from the fabric and charged at the creature, impaling it with a sickening wet squish.

Trin spun around, gaining momentum, before bashing the last one with his lute. It wavered for a moment, and Kiwi took the opportunity to land a few punches with the gauntlets. A tentacle wrapped around her leg, pulling her upside down and off the ground. "Eep!!"

"Kiwi!!" Trin yelled, taking another swing with the lute. A tentacle intercepted the blow, knocking the instrument out of his paws before snaking around his waist, yanking him into the air as well. "AHHH!!"

"Duck!!" Larna snapped. The ferret curled into a ball around the tentacle holding him as an arrow flew into the mushroom.

The hit shocked it into dropping its two captives, who landed uncerimoniously on the floor. Trin jumped up and ran, while Kiwi slid along the floor crab-style. The creature regained its composure, and reached out to grab the girl again.

Tyru swung the whip again, catching the tentacle before it could reach the squirrel again. Kiwi scooted out of the way. The monster yanked its tentacle forward, pulling the whip and Tyru toward it. Trin grabbed onto Tyru as he passed, and stuck his feet out. When the mushroom reached the two, the tan-furred boy aimed a double-foot kick, hitting it in the middle. Trin bounced off it slightly, taking Tyru and the whip with him, before all three fell safely away.

Larna shot three more times, hitting it twice. It wiggled for awhile, then fell. All four furries lay on the floor, trying to catch their breath.

"I wonder..." Tyru started to roll up his whip, "...if Seridan knew he had pests in his basement..."

"Probably..." Kiwi breathed.

"Just call us the exterminators..." Larna grinned weakly.

"So..." the fox smirked, "Anyone up for a kitchen run like originally planned?"

"Bloody hell..." Trin lay back with his knees still up, looking at his fallen lute, "I think I lost a string..."


TBC...

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