Part 3 @xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::> Rocky paced the white room furiously. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. Man this is really getting boring. They could've at least given me something to do. Rocky stopped and stared in frustration at the locked steel door. Rocky: *face red with anger* WHY DOES THIS ROOM HAVE TO BE WHITE?! Rocky panted a bit and heard agitated footsteps coming down the hallway. They stopped at the end of the hall, on the other side of the door. Rocky's muscles tensed. No! Not again! It hurts! She shut her eyes tight for a moment, breathing slowly to get under control. She heard metal keys banging against the door as the metal knob turned slowly, and the guard stepped in the room. Right behind him came three more. Funny how I didn't hear them… She glared across the room at the four guards. Guard #1: *gesturing* Get over here. Rocky froze for the first few seconds, quickly deciding if she wanted to cooperate. Remembering her last experience when she fought them, she decided against it and walked the six paces slowly across the room. The guards took up positions around her, two in front, and two behind. One of the guards behind her gave her a shove forward, indicating that she should walk forward. The little precession made its way down the hall, hardly seeing the yellow letter "A" painted on the wall. They turned right near the other end, about twenty feet from where she started. Before the lights went out she could see the stairs below her. Her last feeling before the darkness was the feeling of falling down stairs. @xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::> Xellos glared at the enemy in front of him. Tamanegi did the same. Shima's voice: Well, I'd hate to break up your little reunion, but, I'm going to have to kill you. Pocky: *eyes widen* But, why? Shima: *speaking in a business-like manner, as if this was business-as-usual* You five have seen too much of our facilities here for us to let you leave. And we can't keep six people here. We simply don't have the space. Duo: *eyes narrow* Six? Heero: *angrily pointing the gun at him* What you do with Rocky? Shima: *laughs* So you're her bishomon. I think she's found our testing chambers quite comfortable. Heero's eyes widen in rage as he fires his entire clip at the sound of Shima's voice. Shima just laughs...and then his voice fades away. Heero slowly lowers his gun and stares at the ground silently. Pocky: Oh… *squeezes her eyes shut and waves her arms* we should have left earlier! Tama: *looks tense for a moment, then reshoulders her force pike* Hmph. Coward. *looks at her three new companions* Well. Shall we go? Pocky: *looking determined again* Yes! Tama: Where to then? *raises her eyebrows slightly* Before Pocky could answer Tama's question, Heero abruptly erupted into tears. Pocky and Duo both knelt beside him, concerned that the normally emotionless Heero was crying. Heero: I feel… Rocky near. They be hurting her. *sniffles, trying to compose himself* Duo: *hugging Heero* Then we find for sure, and then we show them not to be hurting Rocky. *looking off into a dark corner* Hey, what that? Tama, being the tallest one standing, looked in the direction Duo was looking. Xellos: *looking also* Stairs… Tama: *glancing back at the three on the floor* He's right, I see stairs going down. @xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::> Rocky howled in pain. She strained hard against the straps holding her down, again only injuring herself. She willed her heart to stop, her vision to go dark, and the burning to cease. Minutes that felt like centuries later, it didn't matter anymore. @xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::> Heero walked cautiously ahead of them as they descended the stairs. At the first landing, a yellow letter A was painted on the door. Heero hardly pauses at this door and continues downward to the stairway's end. It was very dark at the bottom of the stairs, as if nothing was there at all. But Heero, having better eyes than the rest of them, continued forward, leading Duo by the hand, while Duo also clung to Pocky. Tamanegi and Xellos entered the area slowly, having been there before. Heero, noticing their slowing footfalls, turned and looked questioning at them. Heero: What wrong? Tama: I've… been here before. You say this girl Rocky is down here? Heero: I'm positive. Tama: *sighs* I'm sorry. Let's continue. Heero could hear the pain in her voice, and decided not to question her further. He turned and continued forward, towards a faint door he could see on the other side. When he was almost to the door, Heero took a half step forward, then fell backwards, clutching his head. Again Pocky and Duo caught him and tried once again to ascertain just what was the matter with him. Tama looked on, knowing full well what was going on. Tama: *In an emotionless voice* He feels her pain. They are a very close pair, Heero and Rocky. *looks down at the Heero, crumpled on the floor* You should stay with him, Pocky. Duo, we need you to get Rocky out of here. Tamanegi continued forward to the door and paused there, waiting for Duo. When Duo had unwrapped himself from Heero, he crossed to the door also. He put his hand on the handle, and looked up at Tamanegi, who nodded. He pushed the handle down, and the door swung open, revealing a long hallway lit by a hanging light bulb every so often. Not far down the hallway, there was a door. Duo went to open it, but Tama shook her head. He nodded, and they continued to the door at the hallway's end, passing others right by. This door looked older than the others, and was held shut by a padlock. Duo drew his gun, but again, Tama said no. She looked down at her bishomon, Xellos. With a gesture from his smaller hand, the padlock opened on its own. Tama pushed the door open slowly, revealing the room beyond. There was no light coming from the room, so it was very difficult at first to see what was inside. After a moment or two, slow labored breathing could be heard. Duo pinpointed the source of it and went in after it. A second later Duo stuck his head out of the door, and motioned for Tama and Xellos to come inside. After a few seconds a figure could be seen in the blackness. A teenage girl, complete with red hair, was lying in chains for what looked like days. However, when they looked closer, the girl did not look… right. There was something missing, taken from her. Though none of them could put their fingers on it, they shoved the thoughts to the back of their heads and worked on freeing her from this awful place. Once they had the chains off, they checked her over for injuries. They found horrible bruises on her wrists and ankles and two IV wounds on each forearm. She was very pale, but otherwise looked unharmed. After a silent deliberation the three of them picked her up and carried her out of that dark place and down the hall. Once they were into the large dark room, Pocky looked up from tending to the still unconscious Heero. Pocky: *staring in horror* Is she… is she… dead? Tama: *shakes head* No… she'll live. Pocky: *relieved* She'll live! you hear that Heero? She'll live. Pocky shook Heero to wake him up, and eeked in surprise when he did not wake. Tama: They'll share the pains of recovery. That is how it is with bishomon and their trainers. *Turning back towards the stairs* we have a long climb ahead of us. They finally stumble into camp sometime the next morning. Duo carefully sets down Heero and sits right beside him. Pocky and Tama set down Rocky a little way away, covering her with a blanket. Her pale skin was wet with sweat, and she never stopped shivering. The group was definitely baffled by Rocky's condition and had no idea what to do about it. Tama: She needs a doctor and a hospital, badly. Pocky: *dabbing her face with a cloth, trying to dry it off* what can we do? I don't think I can carry her any further. Tama: Hmmm… neither can I. Pocky: *looking down at the ground* I suppose all we can do is stay here until we can continue. Tama nodded silently in agreement. Then she looked back at the building and narrowed her eyes. (You will be destroyed, Shima.) @xxxxx(:::::::::::::::::::::::> Mata Tama-chan no Paato^^ The sun dipped slowly towards the horizon, spreading an amber glow through the thin purple clouds. All in all, it was a spectacular sight, but Shima was in no mood to appreciate it. He paced the balcony fitfully, pausing now and then to run his fingers through his thick black hair. From somewhere below, a muffled scream drifted up, wavering through the twilight like a ghost before fading off. Shima ignored it. "Damn that girl," he growled, his angry voice a sharp contrast to the sleek, silky one he'd used earlier. Tamanegi was the last person he needed interfering right now. Not while the final preparations were underway... ---------- Pocky sneaked yet another furtive glance at Tama, then hastily looked away. It had been several hours since they'd escaped, and Rocky had finally fallen into a deep, natural sleep. They'd started another campfire-courtesy of some of Xellos's skills-and pulled up some logs around it. And now they were just sitting here. Duo was curled in Heero's protective embrace at Pocky's feet, and both were sound asleep. Tama sat on the log farthest from the fire, and her Xellos sat beside her. Both seemed to be staring into space, although with the Xellos it was a little hard to tell. Pocky had been sneaking looks at the pair for an hour now, ever since she realized that she knew nothing about them. I'm not gonna learn anything like this, she thought. Yoshi! I'm gonna talk to her. "Ne, Tama?" she said timidly. Tamanegi started, blinked, and turned to look at Pocky. "Yes?" "Um...I was just wonderin'...how come you knew stuff about that place? I mean, you seemed to..." Pocky trailed off. Tama looked at her, then looked away. "I'll tell you later. It's a long story." She looked at her Xellos, and he looked back at her, his eyes open. For a moment they just stared at each other, and Pocky felt a cold shiver go up her spine. She'd heard stories about Xellos bishomon, about their capricious natures and their incredible powers. It was extremely dangerous to go after one, and only the most advanced trainers ever tried. And yet Tama didn't look any older than 16, maybe 17, which was way too young for her to be that good. Pocky glanced over at the Xellos. He didn't look dangerous, and she'd also heard that they were extremely loyal to their trainers. Suddenly Pocky yawned. Almost in unison, her stomach growled. "Oh man, I'm starving. Do we got anything to eat?" Tama abruptly realized that she too was hungry. She blinked. "Um. I think there was a fruit tree of some sort back there..." "Great! I'll go get some!" Pocky jumped up, looking determined. Then she got a good look at the deep, dark woods that surrounded the little clearing. "On second thought, let's both go." Tama picked her pike up off the ground and stood up. "Xellos, you stay here," she said. Xellos nodded. Pocky looked nervous. "Are you sure that's alright? I mean, there are probably wild bishomon out there..." Suddenly she frowned as a thought struck her. "Wait a minute. I haven't seen any wild bishomon around here." Tama nodded. "They can sense the evil emanating out of the building. Bishomon instinctively avoid bad places." She turned and headed into the woods, and Pocky hastened to catch up. ---------- When Rocky woke up, the first thing she saw was a pair of intense amethyst eyes, watching her with interest. She blinked several times, wondering if she'd finally snapped. It took her a minute to realize that she was no longer in any pain, and her confusion grew. Carefully she sat up and looked around. She was in a forest clearing, with a small campfire crackling merrily to one side and a several logs circling it. To judge by the ache in the back of her neck, one of the logs had been acting as her pillow. Note to self, she thought irreverently, logs do not make good headrests. She turned her head the other way and discovered that the purple eyes belonged to a Xellos bishomon. He was watching her from several feet away. Rocky blinked. Wait a minute. What was a Xellos bishomon doing here? And, for that matter, where was here, exactly? Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Heero and Duo, snuggled up next to each other in a ball of bishomon. She tried to remember what had happened, but everything seemed to have blurred together in her head. Pain she remembered, and a white room...but that was all. And the letter A. For some reason that letter stood out in her thoughts. "Oh, man," she groaned. Standing up, she peered into the darkness, but there were no answers to be found there. She glanced over at the Xellos bishomon again. "Where did you come from?" she asked, not expecting much in the way of an answer. Xellos bishomon were notorious for responding to any question they didn't want to answer-which was pretty much most questions-with "Sore wa himitsu desu". But she was in for a surprise. "I came with Tama," said Xellos. Rocky blinked. "Tama?" she asked. "Who's that?" Xellos turned away, as if bored. "My master." Rocky looked out into the woods. Then she struggled to her feet, brushing herself off. Something didn't feel right-she could sense a malicious force nearby. The building must be close. She shivered. "Ara. So we're awake, are we?" Rocky spun around. Two girls stood there, half hidden in the shadows. One ran forward, and Rocky immediately recognized Pocky. "Hi! We got food!" Pocky stretched out her arms, which were filled with some kind of fruit. The other girl turned and walked toward the Xellos bishomon, and Rocky could see that she too was carrying fruit. She dumped it next to Xellos, then plopped down on the log next to him. Pocky ran to add her fruit to the pile. "Oh, by the way, this is Tamanegi. Tama, this is Rocky." Rocky studied to strange girl. "So," she said carefully. "You've got a Xellos bishomon. I've heard...stories...about them." Pocky looked indignant. "Cool it, Rocky. Tama helped us out." Tama just stared into the flames. "Daijoubu," she said. "Most of those stories are well-founded." She turned to look at Rocky and Pocky. "I assure you, however, that you don't have to worry." She returned her gaze to the flames. "Stories? What are you talking about?" Pocky looked confused. Rocky beckoned her over to the other side of the clearing, away from the fire. Tama ignored them, seemingly fascinated by the dancing flames. Rocky glanced back at her, then turned to Pocky. "I don't know if we can trust that girl. Xellos bishomon are notorious for...well..." she took a deep breath. "They're evil, to put it bluntly. They've even been known to kill other bishomon at random. People who train them are said to be unscrupulous, at the very least. Still," she conceded, "This Xellos seems different." She glanced back over her shoulder again. Xellos and his master were sitting side by side on the log, seemingly lost in their thoughts. Pocky looked indignant. "You can't judge Tama on some stories. She's been a big help so far." Rocky sighed. "Well, innocent until proven guilty, I suppose." Both walked back to the fire. (rocky part)
Rocky walked over to her blanket and log-pillow, grumbling
at bit at the painfulness of the pillow, it reminded her of the building and
the white room. She sat down, looking
at her arms and her ankles, wondering if those wounds and bruises were from the
pain she remembered so vividly. She
extended her fingers, feeling them tingle as she did, then stopped, disliking
the feeling. She tried stretching out
her back, with the same tingling result.
She was quite annoyed now. She
looked distraughtfully over at Pocky, who was staring at Tama, who in turn was staring
at nothing. She looked down, feeling
ignored, and a little dizzy as well.
She snuggled under her blanket, using her upper arm as a pillow. After a few moments she was asleep.
Pocky looked over at rocky, who had obviously fallen
asleep. She didn’t eat anything…
Pocky shook her head and got some fruit for herself. As she dug into the first one she looked over at Rocky. She winced inwardly, not wishing to be in
her place right now. She sighed and
looked at Duo and Heero, happily snuggled together. Wishing she had something to snuggle with herself, she propped
her self up against a tree and fell asleep herself.
When the sun rose over the little camp, Tama was still
staring at nothing, still lost in thought.
Pocky rubbed her eyes and got up yawning. She walked sleepily over to the fruit and then decided against
it, noticing a few flies eating away at them.
Then she glanced at Rocky, noticing immediately that there was no Rocky
to glance at. She gasped in
surprise. After looking around panicked
for a few seconds she ran towards Tama, waving her arms around frantically.
Pocky: Tama!
Tama! Rocky’s gone!
Tama: *turning
towards pocky, blinking*
(yeah… stuck. Help.)