Serenay Moon
Special XXXXIV: Silent Threat 4: Home Sweet Home
©2003 Kitty Ocean 

 

"Hello?" Faye yelled through the open door. "Anybody home?"

All stared at the cheerful girl. "Eh... don't count on it." Kitt said and stepped inside. At that moment a piece of the ceiling broke loose and fell down.

Just milliseconds before Kitt would be smashed, a hand grabbed her and pulled her back. Silence fell, and only a heartbeat could be heard. "Stop being such a fool." Kitt turned around and saw Qing Yuan had saved her. "I hate saving people."

"Eh... okay." Kitt mumbled, still shocked by this occasion.

"Be careful." Dolan ordered and carefully stepped inside. The others followed, and carefully stepped over all derbies.

Zach noticed some cables on the floor. "Look out for these cables." He said back, and Nuria nodded.

Then they had to climb over a fallen closet. Dolan was first, and helped Faye and Aure. Derak then climbed over it, followed by Moka who had to help Mika. Qing Yuan was next, and turned around. He offered a hand.

"Eh... thank you." Kitt was surprised and took it.

Zach felt something boiling inside. The way Qing Yuan helped Kitt... Kitt would never react like that if he did something like that! She would say to him that she never needed help! And now... now she was suddenly a damsel in distress when he was around!

"Is there anything wrong Zach?" Nuria asked him when she noticed Zach.

Zach growled and shook his head. "Not yet..." He only hissed.

Nuria took Zach's hand. Zach noticed a red ruby ring on her finger. Was there a swirl of light going through it? "There is nothing wrong Zach." He heard her say. "Trust me."

Suddenly the anger vanished from Zach's body. "If you say so..."

Moka saw what had happened. "Odd..." He mumbled, and wanted to tell Derak that Zach's jealousy had easily vanished.

"We're getting closer!" All snapped up and saw Dolan. "What's behind this door?"

Moka came closer. "That's the basement. The door should be open."

Dolan opened the door. "It's open alright. Anyone feels lucky today?"

Mika peeked over his shoulder. "Oh no! The stairs are gone!" On the floor she saw the smashed stairs. "How will we get down if the stairs are smashed?"

"Will she ever grow up?" Qing Yuan mumbled.

"I sincerely doubt it." Kitt agreed with him.

"Just let me." Aure stepped closer. She closed her eyes, and started glowing pure white. It was blinding Zach and the others, but her friends were obviously used to it.

"Let's go!" Dolan said and jumped into the darkness.

"Dolan, look out!" Mika cried worried, but relieved she saw the young man was calmly floating down.

"Woohoo!" Faye yelled, and jumped too. She made a salto and then she too started floating down.

"Are you coming?" Nuria took Zach's hand and together they followed.

"I don't want to go Moka!" Mika complained. "It's scary!" Moka then took Mika's hand and jumped down, with her screaming behind him; her arms flapping up and down if that would make her help fly.

"Pathetic." Qing Yuan sighed and jumped down.

"I so agree." Kitt smiled and followed him.

Derak looked at Aure before he too went. "Will you be okay?" He asked, but her determined face showed she had enough energy left. Confident he trusted himself to the fragile girl. Softly and gentile he landed on the floor.

Aure then stepped over the edge. Carefully she was floating down and to Zach and his friends she almost looked like a true angel! He clothes were floating around her, and she seemed to be bathing in light.

All of a sudden the light died out and Aure fell from the sky! "Aure!" Moka yelled. He reacted quickly, and caught her in the nick of time. "Are you okay??" He asked worried.

Aure released a soft sigh. "Yes, I am... thank you." She looked at him with enchanting eyes. "I asked too much of myself, but thanks to you, I am safe."

Moka felt he turned red and put her down. "Eh... it's okay. Really!"

Zach went to Dolan. "Are we already there?" He asked.

"Where?" Dolan asked.

"Well, where the evil comes from." Zach explained.

Dolan shook his head. And, with a firm hand, he pointed at the wall. "It comes from there."

Zach and his friends stared at the wall. "Eh... if you say so..." Derak mumbled. "But eh... I don't see a thing!"

Dolan snapped his finger, and Faye stepped forward. She was not jumping, and not energetic. She was just smiling calmly... Derak thought he noticed a tad of evilness in her smile, but that thought vanished easily. Faye raised her hand, and within seconds, there had appeared a large hole in the wall!

"That was fast..." Mika complimented.

Kitt came closer. "Hehe, guess what. Secret passage!"

"Let's go!" Dolan ordered and stepped inside.

Kitt, Zach, Qing Yuan and Nuria followed him. Derak was next, and touched the soil. "Odd..." He mumbled. "It's like this passage has been recently dug!"

Dolan turned around. "WHAT did you say?!"

"Eh... something about recently dug..." Derak repeated.

Faye, Aure, Mika and Moka joined them. "That would mean that someone has caused this all." Aure gasped. "And that someone must be close!"

"Don't worry." Moka placed a hand on her shoulder. "Together we'll make it."

Both Zach and Nuria used their firepower to create light. Zach had to hold the fireball in his hand, while Nuria had several of them floating around her. 'She's much better than I am...' Zach thought, and couldn't help but liking her.

"Look out!" Nuria suddenly yelled and pushed Zach backwards.

When Zach looked up, he saw 2 stakes piercing the hallway. "Wow... how did you...?" Zach asked and pointed at her, realising she just saved him from sudden death.

Nuria looked up. "I heard a click. Everybody be careful." With her powers, she turned the stakes to dust.

"If there are traps, we must be on the right track." Dolan stepped next to Mika. "Double your attention!"

Qing Yuan took Kitt's wrist and placed her behind him. "You stay behind me." He ordered.

"Why?" Kitt felt insulted. She was not a baby who needed protection!

"Like I said, I hate saving people."

Faye poked Kitt with her elbow. "It's his way of saying: I shall protect you." She whispered. Kitt looked at Qing Yuan, and couldn't help but blush when he looked at her. Wait a second, was he blushing too?! But Qing Yuan looked straight forward again.

 

They walked on for a while again, hoping they would not encounter any traps any more. Zach walked a bit faster until he reached Dolan. "Hey Dolan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Dolan replied.

"You know the Guardians, right?" Dolan nodded. "How are they doing?"

Dolan kept on looking forward. "They're fine."

"Good." Zach nodded. "We kinda would like to see them again; especially Lady Kim. Is she fully recovered again?" Zach went on after a small pause that had fallen. "Is there a way to contact them? I bet you guys know a way."

All of a sudden the floor vanished below Dolan's feet. Just before he plunged to his death, he managed to grab the edge of the trap door. "Dolan!" Mika hurried at him and grabbed his wrist, helping him up.

"What did you do this time Zach?!" Kitt snapped at him.

"What?!" Zach was astounded. "But I..."

"It was me." Dolan stepped between them. "I set off the trap." He turned around. "Well, Faye, knock yourself out."

"Wai! Cool!" Faye smiled and ran at the hole. She jumped over it, making a nice back flip and a perfect 10-pointer landing. "Tadaa!"

Aure and Nuria clapped in their hands. "Well done." They smiled. Next was Nuria, who gracefully landed. Aure seemed to be floating over the hole, and landed like only an angel could do.

"I'm scared Moka!" Mika complained again.

"Shall we throw her?" Qing Yuan suggested Kitt.

Kitt smiled. "Nice suggestion." And looked at Mika with a devilish grin.

 

After crossing this trap, the quest went on. "Do you have any idea who this evil person could be?" Mika asked Dolan.

Dolan shook his head. "Not yet, but his or her plans shall not be completed."

Zach had decided to walk in the back this time. "I wonder what this evil person wants." He mentioned.

"Probably world domination." Nuria smiled. "Every evil person wants that."

Zach shook his head. "No, not everyone. Only those who have a truly twisted mind. Most of the time they want something else... like... being noticed or so. Or to show others they are strong indeed."

"Ryu?" Kitt asked back.

Zach nodded. "Yeah, Ryu wanted to show the others he was strong."

"So you're saying that evil persons are not always evil?" Nuria wondered.

"Well, not always yeah." Zach agreed. "I'd like to think more of them as people with goals, who took the wrong path." Nuria's face suddenly saddened down. "Something wrong?" He asked worried.

Nuria shook her head. "Eh... no. Sometimes evil people don't have a choice, right?" She asked. "They don't want to do evil things, but they have no choice..."

"People always have a choice." Zach smiled. "Don't feel sorry for them before you know the motive."

"The road is narrow here!" They heard from up front. "Be careful!"

"This just has traps written all over it..." Derak mumbled and did a few steps. Suddenly he bumped his head. "Low ceiling..." He cursed, and then noticed everybody was holding their breaths. "What?" He sweated. "Did I...?"

Dolan looked around. "No... I don't think so." He finally assured Derak. A relieved sigh could be heard in the entire group. "Nuria, come closer." He ordered. "I can't see a thi-"

>Click.< Nuria looked at the ground, and swallowed. "Sorry..." She swallowed and all of a sudden the ground vanished from their feet.

Falling down in a dark hole, all landed on a piece of tipped over rock. Hitting one another, they rolled on, and beaten, Zach and his friends landed on a sandy ground.

"Ow, my back, my back..." Kitt complained.

"I stained my dress..." Mika moaned dizzy.

Moka was not less dizzy. "My poor head..."

"I didn't do it..." Zach mumbled.

"Great, now I have a matching pairs of bumps..." Derak rubbed his head.

"Wow, just look at this groovy place!" Faye exclaimed and looked around.

Qing Yuan helped Kitt up. "I don't like this place..."

Kitt rubbed her head. "What don't you like?" She asked and looked around. "Oh... I see..."

"Someone had an awful lot of time on his hands..." Zach noticed and looked around. He saw 5 corridors.

"Which one do we pick?" Aure asked carefully.

Dolan thought deeply. "They all look different...."

"Most of the time it's the one that doesn't fit in." Nuria said.

Moka looked around. "They all look different to me." Moka walked a circle, looking at all. "Hey Derak, you see those carvings above the doors?"

Derak put his sunglasses off. "Yeah, that one is a triangle, right? With a line through it and pointing downwards?"

Moka nodded. "In the ancient witchcraft, it was the symbol of the earth." He turned around and pointed at an other triangle, this time pointing upwards and no line through it. "That's the symbol of fire, if I'm not mistaken."

Aure came closer. "You know a lot Moka."

Moka turned a bit red. "Eh... thanks Aure. I had some spare time so I read a few books and man don’t I sound like the most dorky nerd ever right now?"

Aure giggled. "Not to me." She smiled and turned around. "So Dolan, what do we-?"

Then, at that moment, the ceiling cracked. "Uh oh..." Derak mumbled.

"I didn't do it!" Zach defended himself. "I didn't even move!"

"Look out!!!" Dolan yelled and grabbed Mika when the ceiling collapsed. Pulling her away from the barrels, he protected her with his own body. Moka pulled Aure away as well, saving her in the nick of time. Nuria jumped at Zach, noticing he didn't move at all, and Faye pulled Derak by using all her strength. Qing Yuan jumped on Kitt and together they fell on the floor.

Dust was all around, but no one noticed it. All held their eyes closed, and hoped for the noise to die out soon. With all their might, they prayed they wouldn't be crushed by any of the boulders.

Finally, the noise vanished, and only a few echoes were heard. Dolan looked up, and let go of Mika. "It's over..." He whispered.

Mika wanted to say something and turned around. Then she simply gasped. All she saw, was herself and Dolan. They were completely surrounded by boulders! Even the exit was gone!!! All that was left, was a portal with a circle carved in the stone. The witchcraft symbol of the spirit...

"Moka?" Mika got tears in her eyes. "Zach... Kitt... Derak? NO!" She crashed down at the boulders. "No! No! No! This can't be!! Moka!!!! ZACH! KITT! DERAK! MOOOKAAAA!"

Behind her, Dolan just stood there. He waited for a while, but then he moved. "Come." He said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I have a feeling they are not dead yet." Mika looked at him with sobbing eyes; tears streaming down her face. Dolan then kneeled at her, and touched her chin. "We shall find them again. Believe me."

A swirl of light went through the gem in Dolan's belt. For a second Mika's eyes glowed, but then she shook her head. "I can't!" She cried. "I'm not as strong as the others." She placed a hand on her heart. "It hurts so much." She whispered. "I want to believe they are alive. I want to! They can't be dead!"

Dolan was startled by her reaction. Confused he shook his head for a second. Dolan then looked into her watery eyes again. "Believe me, they are alive." He said firm, and a brighter swirl of light went through the gem on his belt. "Believe me!"

Mika stopped crying. Just like that. As if someone had shut down the water supply. She didn't even sniff. Mika only nodded. "Yes, I believe you..."

 

To be continued...

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