| The Secret Staircases Tomoyo cried out as she went tumbling down a long set of stone cold stairs. She had managed to get a footing but then the staircase had literally SHIFTED under her and she had gone sprawling again. And she had gone sprawling ALONE. Eriol had been with her but he had obviously gotten his footing and let her fall the rest of the way. She cursed him under her breath before remembering that she was a SWEET person and quickly took back the insult. "Eriol-KUN!" He didn't respond at all from any direction but a moment later a hand grabbed hold of hers, stopping her in mid-tumble. She slid down a step, feet finally catching her and looked up above her head to see Eriol holding onto her hand, balanced on another step. "Eriol-kun! Thank GOD!" she cried and she rose with his help, wincing as her muscles protested. Eriol had cuts and scrapes across his cheeks and face, glasses missing. "Are you all right?" She nodded, inhaling shakily. She had literally fallen down a circular stone staircase, torches lighting the way. Now, the flames cast shadows upon them both as they looked around, their breathing loud in the silence. "What happened?" Tomoyo asked softly. Eriol shrugged. "I don't know. That smoke appeared and then the floor just..." "Gave way." She finished for him. "I know." Eriol peered further down the staircase and then looked up the way they had come. And he frowned. "Daidouji-san. Look." He murmured faintly. Tomoyo looked up with him and blinked. The staircase was either getting shorter or they were rising. Whatever the case, there was a roof to the staircase and it was coming to them. "Nani..?" "Run!" Eriol ordered and he grasped her hand and yanked, dragging her behind as he raced down the steps. She tried to follow him as best as she could, looking over her shoulder as well. It was closing in fast and she was already sore from the fall. They weren't going to make it. It was going to come down on them and squish them to little- "Release!" ...pieces? Tomoyo looked at Eriol in time to see a small orb of black light flare in the torchlight. A long, black staff suddenly shot from his grasp, both ends springing forth and he pulled her against him roughly, coming to a complete stop. "ERIOL-KUN!" He ducked his head and struck the step he stood on with his staff, frame stiff against her. Tomoyo looked up at the roof of the staircase before turning her face into Eriol's chest, fingers gripping his shirt. And then wind passed by them, tossing their hair and there was silence in its wake. The squishing didn't come, nor the certain death. Nothing but the faint dripping of water somewhere and the crackle of the torches. Eriol raised his head, lips parting, and he looked about, his staff thrumming faintly in his grasp. After another moment Tomoyo also looked up, pushing fly-aways from her face to see what had happened. Above was the staircase, still winding around. The torches still flickered, and shadows still danced. But the roof had vanished and they were still alive. "It's an illusion." He murmured against her cheek, dark eyes sweeping around the staircase. "It's all an illusion." Tomoyo swallowed thickly, looking down further below them. "Magic?" she asked faintly. Eriol nodded slowly. And he took her hand once more, leading the way. "Let's find a way out of here." Nakuru rolled down the last few steps of the staircase she had just stumbled over. Her body sprawled out flat on a landing, her breathing rapid. "Ow..." From above came the sound of something else falling. Something big. She looked over quickly just in time for Spinel Sun to appear, rolling over onto her on his own way down. "Hey! Get OFF!" she shouted irritably, shoving him. Just for good measure she unrolled the whip she clutched in her hand and snapped it at him. And suddenly her hand flew to her head and she shrieked angrily. "My HAT!" Spinel Sun rolled over and climbed onto all fours, tail swishing. "It wasn't even yours." He rumbled, looking from the landing towards a lit doorway several feet away. He padded over to it warily, pausing right outside the doorway. Nakuru rose, patting the dirt from her butt and floated up behind him, peeking in. "What is this?" she asked, long red hair sticking in her way stubbornly. "I don't know..." Spinel Sun murmured. Moonlight filtered out from the room, blue and soothing. Nakuru focused on a bed with clean, white sheets, curtains hanging from a canopy above. There was a portrait in the back of the room, of a young looking woman with red hair and a small smile. Innocence. And on the bed was the girl of the portrait. Spinel Sun slinked into the room, keeping low to the ground. Nakuru walked in like she owned the place, barely paying any attention to the girl. "Wow, look at this dress...do you think she would mind if I borrowed it?" If the girl heard she gave no indication. Spinel Sun stared at her for a moment and then hissed over his shoulder toward Nakuru. "Look at her." Nakuru didn't respond so he looked at her and sweat-dropped. She was digging through the girl's drawers, flinging things aside and murmuring to herself. "Too white. Too pink. Too Strawberry Shortcake-ish..." she paused, halfway through digging. "Geez, it's like looking inside Sakura-chan's wardrobe." Spinel Sun sprang at her, snapping his tail at her rear and causing her to jump. "Pay ATTENTION!" he growled. Nakuru spun. "WHAT?" she demanded impatiently. "Can't you see I'm going shopping?" He always had wondered how she got most of her clothes. The girl rolled over in bed, green eyes focused on the door to her room. Spinel Sun looked the way they had come only to discover the previous doorway was gone. A sharp pounding came at the door, several feet away from Spinel Sun. He backed away cautiously, wondering how she could NOT see him. He was hard to miss, after all. The girl scrambled to her feet and dived at the door, flinging it open. "Onee-san!" she cried. And she broke off when she encountered a young man at the door, with dark hair and eyes. "You're not onee-san." She said in confusion. Spinel Sun felt like rolling his eyes. She sounded and looked a BIT too much like Sakura-san. The man entered the room, slamming the door shut behind himself. "Wait! The door automatically locks-" she said quickly, reaching and missing the door by centimeters. It slammed shut and she hung her head. "Damn it." The man suddenly grabbed her, arm winding around her neck, the other placing a cloth to her mouth and nose. She shrieked, screams muffled, and struggled for moments before her body fell limply in his grasp. Spinel Sun felt Nakuru come up behind him before hearing her. "HEY! Don't do that!" she shouted and she raced forward, reaching for the man. Her hands slid through his form, phasing completely and she gasped, staggering away in disbelief. The man continued on as if never interrupted. He dragged the girl over to the bed and tossed her down, fishing through his pockets for something. A small vial appeared in his hands and he grabbed hold of her hair, lifting her head to pour the contents into her open mouth. Some of it trickled out of the corners of her mouth but most went down, the girl reflexively choking. "What IS this?" Nakuru demanded, frame stiff with anger. She slowly backed up to stand beside Spinel Sun, watching the scene play out. The man left the bed, stumbling the slightest bit as if disoriented. "He's drunk." Spinel Sun murmured. Nakuru nodded. "Think we should blame Yue for that?" The man paused outside another door in the room and flung it open, teetering. He pulled out a long stretch of rope, returning to the bed. "A whip works better." Nakuru said to him smugly, pouting when he showed no indication of hearing her. The man wound the rope around the girl's neck, tightening it in a knot at the base of her throat and he looked up toward the ceiling. Nakuru and Spinel also looked up, wondering what he searched for. In the middle of the ceiling was a small hook. "Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Nakuru asked softly, eyes on the hook. Spinel Sun took a moment to answer. "No. He's not doing it." He said quietly. "He's already DONE it." The man tossed up the free end of the rope, managing to hook it and then he fed the rope upward, catching it when the end came back down to him. And with a mighty heave he yanked, dragging the girl's body across the bed and hauling it into the air. "Oh my GOD!" Nakuru gasped, hand flying to her mouth. "That's going to leave SUCH a bruise!" The girl squirmed, limbs seemingly heavy, feet kicking. Her body was lifted further up, suspended in the middle of the room. And she tried to talk to him, shouted something hoarsely. "I KNEW you were a MOMMA'S boy!" Nakuru's mouth formed an o. "Oooh. That's just wrong..." she sighed with a shake of her head. Spinel Sun looked at her incredulously. "Do you have ANY idea what the hell is going on?" he demanded. "That girl is being MURDERED before our very EYES!" Nakuru looked at him. "You said yourself it already happened. And I agree." She shrugged, glancing around the room. "If this is the best Daidouji-san can come up with she should let ME organize the party next year. This BLOWS." And she wandered off, searching the walls for an exit. Spinel Sun stared after her and then shrugged, following her and helping her look while the man finished murdering the girl. |
| All images and works done/altered by ShiNoFuriko and TasogareBan. Please do not steal and always give credit to where it is due. |