| The 10th Warrior Chapter 8: Battles, Traps, and Reunions |
| "I'm positive we've pased this way before," said Rowen, his face drawn in concern. Ryo stopped a few feet up ahead alongside Rowen as Makoto stopped a few feet behind them. "What kind of person builds a maze in a castle," grumbled Makoto crossly, folding her arms. Rowen and Ryo ignored the comment and she took the time to look up at the distant ceiling. Silently, she prayed that Sage and the others weren't hurt. She smiled half-heartedly as she thought about the violet eys that had seemed to swallow her up when she gazed into them. Footsteps echoed in the passage behind them and Makoto exchanged a worried look with her friends. Wordlessly, Ryo waved a hand and they began to sprint down the dim corridor again till they entered a large chamber with five openings. "Which way now?" asked Makoto, her green eyes narrowed. "We're going to have to split up," said Rowen after a moment. "No!" said Ryo firmly. "We're not splitting up. We need to stay together." Soft laughter filled the room and suddenly, the openings began to close. "Run for it!" shouted Makoto. "We need to get out of this room!" Rowen and Ryo were ahead of her and had begun to run for an opening, unfortunately, they were different openings. Figuring that they were splitting up after all, Makoto began to head for the opening next to the one Rowen had run through. Unfortunately for her, the opening slid shut before she could escape. More laughter filled the room as the final opening sealed shut. "Kayura," Makoto spoke through clenched teeth as the young woman appeared in the center of the room. Kayura smiled evilly, her swords gleaming in her hands. Makoto pulled out her sword and raised it at the still smiling Kayura. "Aren't you going to fight?" she challenged, when Kayura still didn't move. Kayura didn't answer and Makoto leapt forward, aiming for Kayura's head. She brought the sword down swiftly and then blinked in surprise as it passed right through her. "What...a holograph?" she exclaimed, pulling back a few steps and staring at the image. Suddenly, there was a soft swoosh behind her and she turned, sword raised in time to barely block a sword from the real Kayura. "You're going down this time, Kayura," said Makoto fiercely, her emerald eyes flashing. "Unlikely, mortal. You, like your friends, will fall, and you will have no one to help you this time," said Kayura with an evil laugh as she pushed away from Makoto. "STAR SWORD SCREAM!" "SPIRAL WHIRLWIND!" The two attacks collided and a large explosion slammed both fighters up against the walls. Makoto pushed away first and charged forward with her sword raised. Kayura recovered quickly also, and used a sudden push from the wall to move into Makoto's blow aggressively. Makoto's sword held Kayura's two for a moment and they pushed away from each other. "SPIRAL WHI..." started Makoto, but stopped when Kayura suddenly leaped up into the air, out of her range. Makoto raised her sword and warded off Kayura as she descended behind her and spun around, kicking Kayura away with a spin kick. Kayura tumbled, but flipped back up onto her feet. Kayura smiled again and crossed her swords. Makoto prepared to attack but froze as the floor beneath her began to quake. "What's happening?" she murmured, looking at Kayura, who was watching her. Then, without warning, the floor beneath her gave way and she plummeted into darkness. Makoto groaned and blinked in surprise. "What happened?" She sat up and grew alarmed as she realized she was inside a cage. She jumped to her feet and ran to the bars and discovered that it was also a suspended cage that was hanging above a pit. "Makoto! You're awake," came a familiar and relieved voice from another side of the room. "Sage!" exclaimed Makoto, struggling to her feet and moving to the other side. "Cye! Kento! Are you all right?" Sage, who was chained to a round pillar facing her, grinned. "We're fine." "How about you, Makoto?" called Cye from Sage's left. "What happened?" "Rowen, Ryo, and I stormed the castle..." "You did what?" exclaimed three voices. Makoto laughed nervously, "We stormed the castle. The Ancient is really the guy you guys called Anubis. He opened the gate when we were ambushed by Kayura and we came in to try and get you guys." Sage groaned, "Whose bright idea was it to come after us? Now you're caught and Ryo and Rowen could be at any moment." Makoto sighed and placed her head against the bars. "Don't worry, Sage. I'm sure they'll get us out. If there's one thing I've learned, it's to have faith in your friends." She sat down by the bars and closed her eyes, wishing she'd done better. "So, how were you caught?" asked Kento. "Kayura managed to split us up and then opened up some kind of trap door while I was fighting her," said Makoto crossly. "She's a coward." Kento chuckled and Cye outright laughed while Sage smiled slightly. "How long was I out?" "Since you were brrought in here..." mused Cye. "I guess about two hours, but that's just a guess." "We haven't really been able to keep track of time in here," said Kento. Makoto sighed again. Come on, guys. It's up to you! After what had seemed like days, Makoto finally managed to fall asleep. Her nerves were high and she'd felt like screaming her head off while trying to encourage the other three in the dungeon. She was glad to see them, but she wished they would be more positive. Her mind slipped into a calming dream, the sound of water soothing her mind. "I feel like I'm floating," she murmured, her eyes closed in peaceful pleasure. "I hope I never wake up." She smiled to herself, listening to the gentle swishing sounds of the water that swirled around her. Her brow scrunched at the sounds of fighting that was now mixing with the sounds of the water. Curious, she opened her eyes and found herself rising from the waters. Help Ryo, came the Ancient's voice within her mind, "Look, it's the others!" shouted Yuli's voice. Makoto looked towards him and smiled slightly, stepping out of the pool of water with her sword raised. "What happened?" asked Rowen in surprise, holding his bow in his hand. "Don't question good things," said Kento, glaring over towards Kayura as his hankyu gleamed in his hand. "Just take them as is." "IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" The large attack roared towards Kayura and she laughed evilly as she deflected it with ease. "You're all lost if htat's the best you can do, Ronins!" she jeered. "Mia. Yuli. Stay behind us," whispered Makoto, moving before the two protectively and not trying to understand how they and White Blaze had gotten in. "That's what you think, Kayura," said Ryo, undaunted. "You're not going to beat all of us." Kayura smiled and pointed to her left as the three Warlords appeared. "Who said it was just me you were fighting?" The three Warlords leaped forward and Makoto foudn herself facing Kale. "Hello, girl," he said with an evil leer from behind his helmet. "Today is the day you die." Makoto once again felt herself falling as the floor opened from beneath her. This time, however, her armor glowed with a pure white light and her descent was slowed till she landed on the ground in a pitch-black room. The armor stopped glowing and she raised her sword as a soft sound behind her startled her. "Where are you, Kale?" she demanded, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. A foot smashed into her back and she went stumbling forward and against a wall. She pushed away and ducked, hearing a faint swoosh as something passed over her head. She immediately gabbed upwards and heard the sound of clashing metal. She was shoved away and once again everything was still. "BLACK LIGHTNING SLASH!" Makoto screamed in pain as the attack struck her from the left and she went flying up against a wall, leaving an imprint. She was roughly yanked from the wall and thrown across the room, bouncing twice on the ground before coming to a stop against the other wall. She groaned in pain and pushed herself up as quickly as she could. She heard the sound of something moving quickly and moved away in time to avoid a cut by Kale's sword. She once again moved her sword against his and kicked forward, pushing him away. I won't lose to him... "SPIRAL WHIRLWIND!" The light from her attack illuminated part of the darkness as she slowly rotated about, hitting Kale as he tried to move away. He shouted out in pain and she lowered her sword, the attack's lioght vanishing and returning her to the darkness. However, she ran towards the place that Kale had been hit at, her sword ready. She met his prepared sword and they clashed together in a terrific clang that echoed quite loudly. Then she shoved forward against his sword unexpectantly and ran her sword up through the arm armor. He screamed in pain and backed away. "This ends now!" he shouted angrily. Makoto didn't have a chance to move as Kale's sure-kill sent her flying into the wall, followed by a second that caused her to scream in pain. Kale advanced as he pummeled her with yet a third blow. "Leave her alone!" shouted a voice suddenly as a light spread through the darkness. Kale was blasted away from Makoto in mid-swing and Makoto looked over through pain-filled eyes to see Sage running forward, his large sword raised and his eyes narrowed angrily. Makoto struggled to her feet, leaning heavily against the wall for support as she watched Sage attack Kale ferociously. "You may have won this time, Halo, but I will return," hissed Kale before vanishing into the shadows. The rest of the darkness lifted and Sage ran over to Makoto in concern. "Makoto, are you all right?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern. Makoto gave him a shaky grin, but her eyes shining. "Hey, I just fought a Dark Warlord and survived. You don't need to worry about me." Sage sighed and gently took her arm and placed it over his shoulder. "Let's get you back to the others so we can get out of this place." Makoto blushed slightly at the close proximity but smiled. "Sounds good to me." "Makoto!" called out Ryo's voice. Makoto grinned and gave a pathetic wave as Ryo, Rowen, Anubis, and Kento met them at the entrance of the room. "Hey, guys. What's happening?" ...TO BE CONTINUED |