Author's Note: This is gonna be a long one, as I'm using a real dungeon that my husband designed for an actual game session I was in. In other words, I went through the hell they're about to.

Chapter 8: Zantar

I snapped awake next to Zentarou, instantly alert in the manner of the warrior I'd been trained to be. Of all of us taken, I found Caramon and Raistlin an odd parallel with us: Swordsman and Mage. Though in their own manner of waking they were quite opposite. Raistlin popped his eyes open in half a heartbeat, then had to roughly shake Caramon to awaken him. Mega and Proto awoke a bit slowly, but after a moment were both alert. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, however, were slow both to awaken and to orient themselves. They did not look like they'd had a good sleep. That alone threw a red flag in my mind. The two who were clearly the strongest fighters, frontliners, were more tired and worn than the rest of us. It's times like this that I almost wished I was a cleric, or a paladin like father, rather than a fighter. At least then I'd be able to cast Refresh and remove their exhaustion.

No sooner than we'd all fully woken up, than the Voice made itself known again.

“Good morning.”

“What's good about it?” Sunstreaker grumped. “We're still here.”

“Well, perhaps this will cheer you up,” the Voice said. “If things go as I believe they will, you all will be back home before today is over.”

“Best news I've heard in forty-eight hours,” I grumped. I knew what was bothering me: These Lioness-damned crowns he'd forced us to put on. We hadn't told any of the others, but my twin and I share a bond, a mind-to-mind bond, that kept us constantly in contact with each other through emotion, vocal thoughts, and even physical sensation if we so chose. Even when we let it idle, it was still there, like a faint brushing feeling in the back of our minds that was comforting and calming. But the crowns had cut us off from each other, something that we hadn't been in about two decades. It put me on edge. Not that it didn't him too, but I was, as Zentarou had previously admitted, the more violent of us two. I couldn't suppress the though that if this Voice knew what was good for him, he wouldn't make us wear them much longer.

“This time I'll even tell you what you're up against, since all of you will be working together to accomplish your goal,” the Voice said in a tone that made it seem he was trying to sooth our feelings. “Quite simply, I have designed a series of challenges both physical and mental which you will run in rapid succession. I believe some cultures refer to such tests as a gauntlet.”

“A gauntlet,” Mega echoed, a mischievous smile on his face. “So in other words business as usual for me.”

“Perhaps,” the Voice answered, “though I'd guess I have slightly better technology than your nemesis Dr. Wily has.” A door opened. “Through there, and I'd suggest you all pace yourselves. After all, you have no idea whether I've set up ten rooms, or ten thousand.” After a moment to make sure he was done, we all went through the door: first the Autobots, as they called themselves, then Caramon and myself, then Zentarou and Raistlin, and last Mega and Proto.

Things started off with a bang, literally! The instant we were beyond the doorway, and it closed behind us, the floor under the back half of our little procession exploded. Caught completely off guard, the four back there went tumbling. But the Voice didn't give us frontliners a chance to react, as darts shot out of the walls at us. They pinked harmlessly off of the Autobots, but Caramon and I were forced to dodge wildly to avoid being hit. Who knew what was on those things?

“Raist!” Caramon called in a panic.

“I'm fine!” he yelled back, though he seemed to be a little hesitant to use his right arm fully. I growled, starting to lose patience, as my twin called upon his 'profession.'

“Life Aura!” I was very thankful he'd learned that useful spell, and the ability to twin it repeatedly, using it to shield those of us not immune to the darts. I think he startled them though, as the blue lights covered us.

“What the heck?” Proto gasped.

“Hurry,” he urged. “These won't last forever.” We made a dash for the door, and it opened when we got close only to snap closed behind us once we were in a hallway. The Life Aura faded.

“Nicely cast,” Raistlin praised, glancing over his robes for any sign of penetration.

“Everyone okay?” Sunstreaker asked.

“I think so,” Mega replied. “He didn't give us much of a breather, did he?”

“And I don't think he's gonna!” Proto cried, as the walls began to move in on us.

“Frag! Run!” We ran down the hallway, around a bend and...

... into a solid wall!

“No way!” Caramon cried, trying to ram his way through it and bounced back. No good.

“Move!” Sideswipe charged up, and his arms shifted into a pounding sort of weapon. Without hesitation, he simply bashed through the wall, which was about a foot thick, and we scrambled through, as the walls slammed shut, actually catching the hem of Zentarou's robe and yanking him to the ground.

“Oof!”

“Brother!” I couldn't tell if he was injured or not as I knelt at his side. He smiled to reassure me, and I used my sword to cut him free.

“Too close for comfort,” commented Mega.

“You're telling me,” Zentarou said with a short laugh. We were in another hallway, this one slightly bigger so we could more easily walk two aside. We heard nothing right off the bat, so for a moment we took stock of injuries. Other than standard scraped and scratches, Raistlin's right arm was, as I thought, injured. When he'd fallen he'd landed on it hard. It didn't feel broken, but was swollen, he couldn't fully extend it, nor was his grip steady. Proto said it sounded like he'd popped it out of joint for a second, and then it corrected itself.

“Happened to a friend of ours once,” he said in explanation as Caramon tied a supportive bandage around Raistlin's elbow and upper arm.

“Then it is a good thing I do not need both hands to cast,” the spellcaster replied as he switched his staff to his right, so as to free up his left hand for the gestures of his art. There were no other evident injuries, so we decided to press onward.

CRUNCH CRUNCH

We froze in place.

“What was that?” Sideswipe whispered. We didn't hear it again, and nothing happened, so we continued.

CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH

Again, we froze in place, and again the noise ceased. Feeling a little uneasy, I looked down at my feet.

The stone of the floor beneath us was cracking and crumbling as we walked, as if covered in a layer of shale.

“Don't move,” I hissed, fearing it would give out.

That was when we heard the rumbling.

“Why does that sound familiar?” Sunstreaker asked warily. We all listened for a moment, and then Proto replied,

“Dammit, I'm not Indiana Jones, this is not the Temple of Doom, and I ain't getting squished by no damn boulder!” Comprehending, we turned only to recall the way behind was barred. And there were no visible doors or side paths ahead.

“Frag!” Sunstreaker cursed, as desperately I did the only thing logical to do: he searched the walls, perhaps for some hidden switch to stop the swiftly approaching stone. Then I thought I found something odd, and my ears twitched.

“Hey, I think there's something behind this wall! I feels like it'll give.” Zentarou darted to the one opposite me and felt around.

“Same here.” With a unison nod, the Autobot twins motioned us to the side and each hurled themselves at the appointed wall, breaking through into a pair of cubbyholes that could hold three people or so each. We all dived in, as the weapon – a spiked stone set onto wheels, I could tell now – slammed into the previously closed walls not five feet from us. And above the noise or splintering rock and our yells of instinctive fright, I heard a sound I did not want to hear: That of a sharp cry of pain.

For a moment after the impact no one moved. Then I heard Sideswipe next to me call across to the others,

“Who's hurt?”

“Mega,” was Caramon's reply. Deciding it was safe, we crossed over to see Mega laying on the ground, with his brother gently extracting a spike from the blue robot's side. It had embedded itself about four inches in.

“I don't think it hit anything vital,” Mega assured us through pain-clenched teeth. “Hurts though.”

“Here.” Zentarou used his dagger to cut a piece off his robe, then used a spell to expand it into a decently-sized piece of cloth. This we wrapped around Mega's middle to try and prevent as much fluid loss as possible. Then, with a arm over Proto's shoulders, Mega stood.

“Lets keep moving,” Sunstreaker suggested. “I haven't heard anything like more boulders.” Stepping out into the hallway I agreed with him. The floor no longer crumbled beneath us.

“The breaking floor triggered the stone,”ZentarouI muttered. “Be alert for anything, any noise or change in our environment.”

“Will do,” Sideswipe replied to his suggestion as we walked. And it might have just saved our lives, for not ten paces later we all heard a very soft, almost ignorable clicking and hissing. As such, we were somewhat more ready than we might have been... as the floor dropped out from under us.

I yelled in surprise, lunging for one edge. Thankfully, the pit was only seven or so feet long, and we were all more or centrally stationed, so we were able to grab on. I saw Proto pull off an amazing move and throw Mega slightly so he landed over the edge on his stomach, rather than clinging to it which would have been rough given his injuries, and Caramon held himself up one handed on the opposite side to help hold Raistlin up. Looking down, I saw the pit below was scorpion-filled.

“Oh that's just fluffy,” Zentarou muttered, using one of our idioms. Heaving and struggling, we pulled ourselves out of danger. Four of us – myself and my brother and the Autobots – were all on one side, the way we were going, and the Majere's and robots were on the other. This wasn't a problem, though, as both Raistlin and my brother knew the fly spell, and simply floated the others across.

“Okay, this guy has definitely stepped up the pace,” Sideswipe commented. I nodded, and we kept walking, somewhat slower now since Mega couldn't go as fast as we were.

We made a turn around a corner, and had advanced down this new hall without incident for about fifteen feet – which naturally meant that something was going to happen soon – when we heard a whistling sound from above. Reacting quickly, we scrambled, some of us diving to one side, some of us running either forward or back, as a large metal anvil fell from the blackness above to CLANG into the ground, leaving a sizable crater from the impact.

“Now this is getting – ngh – ridiculous,” Mega commented, grimacing from the jarring of his wound. Proto gave it a worried glance. The cloth was soaked with dark fluid.

“I wish I knew spells of healing,” Zentarou apologized.

“M'eh, I'm okay,” Mega assured him as we continued on. We trekked down the hallway and eventually made our way to a door.

“Well, through is the only way to go,” Caramon commented. With some understandable unease, we opened the door and went through.

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Author's Post-Note: Just a couple of quote commentaries

Proto said it sounded like he'd popped it out of joint for a second, and then it corrected itself.

“Happened to a friend of ours once,” - heh, I was the 'friend,' he was talking about. I fell ice skating and ended up unable to use my arm for over a week.

Proto: “Dammit, I'm not Indiana Jones, this is not the Temple of Doom, and I ain't getting squished by no damn boulder!” - my exact thoughts when I started to realize a rolling boulder was coming at us, minus the bad grammer.