(no subject)

 Kurogane had braced himself for the fall this time and managed to catch the railing of the stairs, which partially gave way under the sudden strain.  Syaoran came through next, grabbing onto Kurogane’s wet coat, ripping the railing further off.

“Remind me again why we can’t just get in the water?” Kurogane yelled down to him.

“Because it might be electrified.” Syaoran replied. “Let me see.” He grabbed the goggles from around his neck and let them drop into the water. “Ok, they didn’t spark. I think we’re safe.”

“You ‘think’?” Kurogane retorted.

Syaoran let go of Kurogane’s coat and dropped into the water below and picked up his goggles. “Yeah, I guess we’re good for now, but if those wires shift down to touch the water we’re goners.” He started heading towards the stairs again.

“Great.” Kurogane let go of the railing and splashed down into the water. “This place is just one picnic after another.” He clambered onto the stairs and headed for the grate walkway. There was a door at the far end, past the teleport. But between them and the door was a maze of severed wires, metal bins and broken concrete. The only way was over them, but they seemed pretty unstable.

“Here, take Mokona.” Syaoran threw the little creature at Kurogane who caught him and roughly shoved him into his coat, stifling his objection.

“Careful kid.” Kurogane said from the other side of the walkway.

Syaoran nodded and lightly jumped onto a block of concrete, careful to avoid the loose ends of the wires that had worked their way into every crack and crevice. He hopped from one block to another, bracing himself against the wall. A block started to give way and Syaoran jumped off and onto a metal box just before the block fell with a huge splash into the water. Some of the splashing water fell onto the live wires and sent out a loud electrical hissing around the room.

Syaoran looked back at a wide eyed Kurogane and took a deep breath.  He continued to climb over the debris until he reached the door. He pushed a big chunk of concrete and re-bar in front of the door into the water below so he could stand on the grate. The door had no handle or latch, just a flat metal plate where the doorknob would normally be.

Kurogane was making his way over the derbies field, careful to step only on the blocks that Syaoran had already tried. “Is it open?” He called.

“It doesn’t even have a door knob.” Syaoran stepped back to give Kurogane a place to stand.

“Welp, when in doubt, use force.” Kurogane pulled out his blade and slide it up between the metal plate and the wall. He pulled backward and it didn’t give, but after a few moments of wiggling the blade back and forth, they heard a small ‘click’ and the door swung open a few inches. Kurogane pulled on it while Syaoran pushed away the rest of the concrete blocking it.

When they had enough room to get through, they pushed their way into a much larger room with a lower ceiling and a concrete floor that ended abruptly, cutting the room in half.  Kurogane walked up to the edge of the floor.

“Shit…” He looked down to see foamy green water swirling 20 meters below where the concrete ended.  There were several vortexes where water swirled out from the bottom of the chasm as the waves came in and out. Kurogane could see pieces of jagged concrete as the waters receded and swelled up over them again. There was no way they were going down there. The other side of the room was a good 4 meters from where he stood and there was no way they would be able to get across the gap.

“Kurogane, look.” Syaoran called behind him. He was standing in front of another teleport door. It wasn’t turned on but it looked like it wasn’t broken either. Syaoran was inspecting the metal box next to it. “Let’s see if we can turn it on.” Mokona hopped out of Kurogane’s coat and ran over to help Syaoran, while Kurogane continued to look around. This place was terrifying. It was huge and cold and empty and terrifying. Humans had clearly built it with no thought as to themselves. They had built it for the purposes of science and discovery. But not for people. It was inhospitable to humans. There was cold, grey concrete  and metal everywhere you looked. Humans weren’t meant to be places like this. Humans were soft delicate creatures that were designed to live around grass and trees and dirt, not in this empty cold dark place. This was no longer a laboratory, it was a tomb.  And if they weren’t careful, it would be their tomb. The further Kurogane explored, the more his apprehension grew. He looked back at Syaoran. Every protective instinct Kurogane had ever had was kicking in, telling him to get Syaoran and Manjuu out of here as soon as possible. Kurogane knew that Syaoran would give his life to find Sakura’s feathers, but this place was a death trap. There was no one to fight, no bad guys to hunt down--just an abandoned maze of metal and wires; empty creepy halls and concrete and things whose name they didn’t know, but could kill them in seconds nonetheless.

His fears were interrupted by a high pitched humming noise as the door came to life. “It works!” Mokona exclaimed and jumped up to give Syaoran a high five.  Kurogane pulled the map out of his coat and opened it up.

“Ok, it doesn’t look like there is any way around this freakin’ canyon,” he gestured at the split in the concrete, “so let’s see if we can’t figure out where this ‘lobby’ is.”  The map looked like one of the layouts they had seen on Dr. Mitchell’s monitors, but with hand-drawn elements added in. There were 4 buildings of varying shapes and sizes. To the far left of map was clearly the ocean. Next to that was a small patch of trees and a large square building marked ‘Hydrodynamics and Shock Physics’. Next to that were two buildings connected by a long thin line that read ‘Accelerator’. Connected at top was a long rectangular building called ‘Fundamental Experimentation Area’ and connected at the bottom was a small rectangular building marked ‘Main Accelerator Start Up: Restricted.’ Beyond that was another long rectangular building marked ‘Office and Guest Entrance’.

“Where do you suppose the lobby is?” Seeing as Kurogane didn’t know anything about the layout of western research facilities, he deferred this question to Syaoran, but Mokona piped up instead.

“This one!” He pointed at the ‘Office and Guest Entrance’, “The lobby is the pretty room just inside the doors.” He explained.

“Ok, and judging by the amount of water in this place, I’d say we are in this building here.” Kurogane pointed at the one marked ‘Hydrodynamics and Shock Physics’.

“Yeah,” Syaoran agreed. “And it looks like these little hand-drawn x’s are where the doors are. That makes sense, there’s on in that little room there, ‘24’, it’s labeled; and one out here labeled ‘27’ and…” He looked around, “there should be another door over here around the corner, number 25.” He stood up and looked around the corner. “Yep, Mokona can you come turn this one on too.” Mokona ran over, hopped on the metal box and began pushing buttons.

Kurogane was still looking at the map. “So this split is here and it looks like it goes all the way through the building. Shit.”

“Do you think we should go back?”

“Well, if Fai and Sakura got that other door open, then yes, but if they didn’t then it would be a wasted trip.”

“Yeah,” Syaoran agreed. “I must admit that I have a bit of a headache.”

“Well, there’s no way to get past that gap, so I say let’s go back.”

“Yeah, but which door?”
 

CHOOSE A DOOR:            25           27

 

(no subject)

 The bright faces of Fai and Sakura greeted Syaoran as he walked through the teleport.

“Guess what!” Sakura exclaimed. “We think we know how to open another door!”

“Really?” Syaoran ran up to her, grasping her hands out of joy. It was clear that the stress and fear of the lab was affecting Syaoran just as much as it was affecting Kurogane. He looked over at Fai with clear relief written on his face. Fai looked back at Kurogane with concern. Fai walked over to him as Sakura showed Syaoran the new door on the monitor.

“You ok?” Fai said in a hushed voice.

“I’m fine, but that place is bad news. I think all this magnet stuff is starting to affect the kid and the Manjuu. It’s a fucking death trap in there Fai.” Kurogane shook his head. Despite the dire situation, Fai gave a little smile at how much of a parent Kurogane was being.  “I’m serious Fai, this is a really dangerous situation.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I can go instead for a while.”

Syaoran overheard them, “Thank you Fai, but I’m ok for now.”

“Ok, well let’s try this new door. Which one is it?”

“Well,” Sakura said reluctantly, “We know the door is open, but we don’t know which one it is.”

“Always with the fucking doors.” Kurogane said exasperated.

Syaoran turned to Sakura. “Why don’t you pick? Maybe you can bring us some luck.”
 

CHOOSE A DOOR:        1                 2                  3                 4                 5

 

(no subject)

 Kurogane felt gravity shift as soon as he stepped through the door. He braced himself for the inevitable splash. A moment later Syaoran landed on him and Mokona gave out a tiny yelp at being smashed. 

“Get off of Mokona!” He yelled from between their coats. They moved apart and he dropped down into the dirty water. Syaoran scooped him up, but he was sopping wet and gave Syaoran a pathetic look.  “Mokona feels sick.” He sniffed.

“Ok Mokona, we’re trying to get back to Fai and Sakura.”

Kurogane sighed. “Let’s keep trying.” He headed up the stairs towards the door.

~~~

 

The bright faces of Fai and Sakura greeted Syaoran as he walked through the teleport.

“Guess what!” Sakura exclaimed. “We think we know how to open another door!”

“Really?” Syaoran ran up to here, grasping her hands out of joy. It was clear that the stress and fear of the lab was affecting Syaoran just as much as it was affecting Kurogane. He looked over at Fai with clear relief written on his face. Fai looked back at Kurogane with concern. Fai walked over to him as Sakura showed Syaoran the new door on the monitor.

“You ok?” Fai said in a hushed voice.

“I’m fine, but that place is bad news. I think all this magnet stuff is starting to affect the kid. The manjuu is already feeling sick. It’s a fucking death trap in there Fai.” Kurogane shook his head. Despite the dire situation, Fai gave a little smile at how much of a parent Kurogane was being.  “I’m serious Fai, this is a really dangerous situation.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I can go instead for a while.”

Syaoran overheard them, “Thank you Fai, but I’m ok for now.”

“Can Mokona stay here?”

“Yeah, sure.” Kurogane said, “We know where the lobby is and we have the map so we should be fine.”

“Ok, well let’s try this new door. Which one is it?” Syaoran was trying to be cheerful.

“Well,” Sakura said reluctantly, “We know the door is open, but we don’t know which one it is.”

“Always with the fucking doors.” Kurogane said exasperated.

Syaoran turned to Sakura. “Why don’t you pick. Maybe you can bring us some luck.”

CHOOSE A DOOR:    1                 2                  3                 4                 5 

(no subject)

 They didn’t get lucky. Seconds after walking through the door, Syaoran’s face made contact with the cold water. Kurogane managed to catch the railing to keep from falling down into the same pool of water he visited more times that he wished to remember.

He pulled himself up and punched the wall, yelling in frustration. Syaoran climbed up the stairs and leaned against the wall. “What should we do?”

“Well we can either go back through this one or go out one of the other doors.”

“I guess we’ll try our luck again.”  
 

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24      25      27

(no subject)

 No luck.

They walked out into the large room with the gash down the middle. Kurogane yelled in frustration and kicked a block of concrete off into the canyon. “Fuck.” He muttered under his breath. “God damn it, which one should we pick now?”

“I guess we’ll try our luck again.” 

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24     25     27

(no subject)

 They walked out into a tiny yellow room.

“What the hell is this?” Kurogane yelled in frustration.

“It’s supposed to be,” Syaoran consulted the map, “the ‘Fundamental Experimentation Area’.” He looked around in confusion, “But it’s too small.”

They were in a tiny room with a low ceiling, made of big concrete blocks that had been painted a bright yellow. There was a little pile of strange-looking bricks in the corner and long metal beams lying scattered on the floor. Most alarmingly, there didn’t seem to be a door.

“Wait.” Syaoran said, inspecting the map again. “This looks like one of those little doors inside these squares here, numbers 15, 16 and 17.”

“Well that doesn’t help the fact that we are in a ROOM WITH NO DOOR.” Kurogane’s patience was close to being completely shot, but he immediately regretted his outburst when he saw Syaoran flinch. “Sorry,” he mumbled and sighed, “There has to be a way out of here.” He walked up to the wall and started to push. With a good push, Kurogane could break through a plaster or wooden wall easily, but this thick concrete wasn’t even budging. After trying a few blocks, he pushed on one that budged just slightly. Kurogane concentrated his force on one side and the block swung slowly open revealing a much larger room outside. It had a roof made of corrugated aluminum that stood 40 feet off the floor, making it impossible to reach. There were two other yellow concrete rooms sitting next to the one they had come out of. On the other side of the rooms was a long enclosure that they couldn’t see inside of.

“So in here,” Syaoran walked over to the next room and pulled the concrete door open by the handle, “should be door 16.” He walked in and leaned against the wall next to the teleport door.

“You ok kids?” Kurogane walked into the little room.

“I…I would be lying if I said yes.” Syaoran sank down to the floor next to the teleport. “I feel sick.” He put his head between his knees. “I can’t even think straight.”

“Well how do I turn this thing on? And we’ll get out of here.” Kurogane approached the metal box next to the door.

“Just push the button under that plastic thing.” Syaoran waved his hand vaguely.

Kurogane pushed the button and the door came to life with a hiss. He knelt down and to look at Syaoran. He was pale and looked like he might vomit at any second. “Let’s just … rest for a few minutes.” Kurogane sat down next to him. Too many more teleports and Syaoran would be in serious trouble. Kurogane somehow had to get Syaoran back to Fai and Sakura, but needed to get lucky with these stupid doors.

Just then there was a loud, wailing siren inside the room. Syaoran was so startled, he looked like he was about to cry and threw his hands over his ears in panic. Kurogane looked frantically around for the source of the alarm. Overhead there was a flashing screen that read ‘GAS WARNING’. Kurogane didn’t know what exactly that meant but it couldn’t be good. He grabbed Syaoran by the shoulders, hoisting him up and out of the room as fast as possible.

Once they were out of the room they immediately saw the cause of the alarm. A pipe between them and the only visible door out was burst and was hissing an invisible gas of some sort. Kurogane couldn’t smell or see any gas, but he could feel the air around him thinning, making it much more difficult to breathe. Next to him Syaoran was gasping for air. “Hold your breath kid, that’s the only way out.” He put Syaoran’s arm around his shoulder and ducked under the hissing pipe to the other side. He shoved the door open and pulled them through, pushing it closed behind them. Before them was a long corridor, which concrete on 3 sides and a grate on the floor with a long metal pipe running right down the middle. Kurogane hurried along the corridor, carrying an only half-conscious Syaoran along with him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kurogane made it to the door at the other end and shoved it open. What was on the other side was like nothing he had ever seen before.

What immediately met the eye was a small square room with a giant cylindrical metal monster in the middle. It bulged out on the sides and had a glass tube running through the center. It towered above Kurogane and filled up the whole top half of the room. As intimidating as this structure was, it paled in comparison to what Kurogane saw when he looked down. Through the metal grate he stood on, he saw what looked like a bottomless pit falling down beneath them. There were a few more grates on the floors below, but after that it just went down into darkness, the giant cylinder going down with it. To Kurogane’s eyes it looked like a massive metal serpent that rose out of the dark depths to feed on the death and destruction encased in this concrete tomb.

The only other thing in the room was a set of ladder-like stairs and a teleport door.

Syaoran pulled away from Kurogane and fell to the floor. He quickly grabbed a metal container and threw up in it. His small frame shook as he heaved and coughed. After a few moments the coughing subsided and he lay his head on the concrete wall, just trying to breathe. Kurogane looked down the stairs. There was another door down there, but he had to get Syaoran back to Fai and Sakura as soon as possible. He decided to go back and turn on the door. While it warmed, he knelt down and tried talk to Syaoran.

“Kurogane … my head hurts so much.” Syaoran was nearly in tears. Kurogane had never seen him so distressed.

“Ok we’re gonna go back now.” Kurogane scoped him up and carried him through the door.

~~~

It must have been the blessing of the gods, but Kurogane was incredibly relieved to see Fai and Sakura on the other side of that door. He lay Syaoran down on the floor. He was only half-conscious and was shaking.

“Oh god.” Fai knelt down next to Syaoran and put the back of his hand to Syaoran’s cheeks. He was freezing cold and pale. Kurogane sunk down to the floor across from them, trying to stop his head from throbbing. Fai looked back over at Kurogane in alarm.

“He’ll be ok in a while, right?” Sakura looked up at Fai in fear.

“Yes, I think he’ll be fine. He just needs to stay here, and out of the magnetic field.” Fai reassured her. Sakura folded her coat up and put it under Syaoran’s head. “Well,” Fai said, looking over a Kurogane, “at least we got another door open, hopefully,” he tried to smile, “in a more hospitable location.”

Fai turned to Kurogane and just looked at him for a minute. He wanted to say ‘Let’s stop, Let’s find some other way to do this.’ Anything to keep Kurogane from going back in there. He couldn’t think of anything and grimaced when he saw Kurogane stand walk towards the doors.

“Sakura, look after Syaoran, we’ll be back as soon as we can.” Fai stood up and walked over to stand next to Kurogane.

“Which door?” Kurogane asked.

CHOOSE A DOOR:            1    2    3    4    5

(no subject)

 They didn’t get lucky. Seconds after walking through the door, Syaoran’s face made contact with the cold water. Kurogane managed to catch the railing to keep from falling down into the same pool of water he visited more times that he wished to remember.

He pulled himself up and punched the wall, yelling in frustration. Syaoran climbed up the stairs and leaned against the wall. “What should we do?”

“Well we can either go back through this one or go out one of the other doors.”

“I guess we’ll try our luck again.” 

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24      25      27

(no subject)

 Still no luck.

They walked out into the large room with the gash down the middle. Kurogane yelled in frustration and kicked a block of concrete off into the canyon. “Fuck.” He muttered under his breath. “God damn it, which one should we pick now?”

“Let’s just keep trying.” 

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24      25      27

(no subject)

 They walked out into a tiny yellow room.

“What the hell is this?” Kurogane yelled in frustration.

“It’s supposed to be,” Syaoran consulted the map, “the ‘Fundamental Experimentation Area’.” He looked around in confusion, “But it’s too small.”

They were in a tiny room with a low ceiling, made of big concrete blocks that had been painted a bright yellow. There was a little pile of strange looking bricks in the corner and long metal beams lying scattered on the floor. Most alarmingly, there didn’t seem to be a door.

“Wait.” Syaoran said, inspecting the map again. “This looks like one of those little doors inside these squares here, numbers 15, 16 and 17.”

“Well that doesn’t help the fact that we are in a ROOM WITH NO DOOR.” Kurogane’s patience was close to being completely shot, but he immediately regretted his outburst when he saw Syaoran flinch. “Sorry,” he mumbled and sighed, “There has to be a way out of here.” He walked up to the wall and started to push. With a good push, Kurogane could break through a plaster or wooden wall easily, but this thick concrete wasn’t even budging. After trying a few blocks, he pushed on one that budged just slightly. Kurogane concentrated his force on one side and the block swung slowly open revealing a much larger room outside. It had a roof made of corrugated aluminum that stood 40 feet off the floor, making it impossible to reach. There were two other yellow concrete rooms sitting next to the one they had come out of. On the other side of the rooms was a long enclosure that they couldn’t see inside of.

“So in here,” Syaoran walked over to the next room and pulled the concrete door open by the handle, “should be door 16.” He walked in and leaned against the wall next to the teleport door.

“You ok kid?” Kurogane walked into the little room.

“I…I would be lying if I said yes.” He sank down to the floor next to the teleport. “But I’ll be fine. I just need a rest.”

“Well how do I turn this thing on? And we’ll get out of here.” Kurogane approached the metal box next to the door.

“Wait,” Syaoran said stopping to think, “If we turn it on, it will just be another place to pop out. If we don’t turn it on, we can’t come through it later by accident.”

Kurogane thought for a moment. “Yeah, that’s true. Good thinking!” He smiled at the thoughtful precaution.

Just then there was a loud, wailing siren inside the room. Syaoran and Kurogane looked frantically around for the source of the alarm. Overhead there was a flashing screen that read ‘GAS WARNING’. Kurogane didn’t know what exactly what that meant but it couldn’t be good. They both ran out of the room as fast as possible.

Once they were out, they immediately saw the cause of the alarm. A pipe between them and the only visible exit had burst and was hissing an invisible gas of some sort. Kurogane couldn’t smell or see any gas, but he could feel the air around him thinning, making it much more difficult to breathe. Next to him Syaoran was gasping for air. “Hold your breath kid, that’s the only way out.” He grabbed Syaoran by the shoulder and ducked under the hissing pipe to the other side. He shoved the door open and pulled them through, pushing it closed behind them. Before them was a long corridor, which concrete on 3 sides and a metal grate on the floor with a long metal pipe running right down the middle. Kurogane and Syaoran hurried along the corridor toward the door at the other end.

After what seemed like an eternity, they made it to the door at the other end and shoved it open. What was on the other side was like nothing they had ever seen before.

What immediately met the eye was a small square room with a giant cylindrical metal monster in the middle. It bulged out on the sides and had a glass tube running through the center. It towered above Kurogane and filled up the whole top half of the room. As intimidating as this structure was, it paled in comparison to what Kurogane saw when he looked down. Through the metal grate he stood on, he saw what looked like a bottomless pit falling down beneath them. There were a few more grates on the floors below, but after that it just went down into darkness, the giant cylinder going down with it. To Kurogane’s eyes it looked like a massive metal serpent that rose out of the dark depths to feed on the death and destruction encased in this concrete tomb.

The only other thing in the room was a set of ladder-like stairs and a teleport door.

Syaoran sank to the floor and held his head in his hands, trying to calm the throbbing in his skull. He was going pale and looked like he might throw up. Kurogane looked down the stairs, there was another door down there, but he had to get Syaoran back to Fai and Sakura as soon as possible. He decided to go back and turn on the door. While it warmed, he knelt down and tried to talk to Syaoran.

“Kurogane … my head hurts so much.” Syaoran was nearly in tears. Kurogane had never seen him so distressed.

“Ok we’re gonna go back now.” Kurogane pulled him up and carried him through the door.

~~~

It must have been the blessing of the gods, but Kurogane was incredibly relieved to see Fai and Sakura on the other side of that door.  

“Oh god.” Fai took Syaoran and helped him to sit down at the panel. Kurogane sunk down to the floor across from them trying to stop his head from throbbing. Fai looked back over at Kurogane in alarm.

“You’ll be ok in a while, right?” Sakura looked up at Syaoran in fear.

“Yes, I think I’ll be fine.” Syaoran reassured her.

“He just needs to stay here, and out of the magnetic field.” Fai said. Sakura took off her coat and laid it over Syaoran. “Well,” Fai said, trying to lighten the mood, “at least we got another door open, hopefully,” he tried to smile at Syaoran, “in a more hospitable location.”

Fai turned to Kurogane and just looked at him for a minute. He wanted to say ‘Let’s stop, Let’s find some other way to do this.’ Anything to keep Kurogane from going back in there. He couldn’t think of anything, and grimaced when he saw Kurogane stand and walk towards the doors.

“Sakura, look after Syaoran, we’ll be back as soon as we can.” Fai stood up and walked over to stand next to Kurogane.

“Which door?” Kurogane asked.

CHOOSE A DOOR:            1    2    3    4    5

(no subject)

 Fai was startled to find himself falling through the air the second he stepped through the door.  With a splash, Fai’s big fluffy coat was instantly soaking in the dirty water that Kurogane had visited on numerous occasions throughout the trip. Kurogane swam towards the stairs and Fai followed suit. When they got to the top Kurogane let himself sink down onto the grate, resting his head on the railing.

“I hate this room.” Kurogane didn’t seem angry this time, just defeated. This was a side of him that Fai had never seen. 

Fai sat down next to him. Out of the earshot of the kids he could be more candid with Kurogane. “Kuro, are you gonna be ok? I mean this isn’t like fighting some demon or something. This stuff is incapacitating. You saw what it did to Syaoran. I mean, be frank with me, how close are you to that point?”

“I don’t know, but I haven’t felt this bad since the time that magistrate tried to poison Tomoya’s salmon, thankfully she hates salmon, so I ate most of it for her. It was enough to kill her, but not quite enough to kill me. I was sick for a week. I don’t remember most of it.” Fai was relieved to see that Kurogane still had a sense of humor.  “But we really need to keep moving. Um…” Kurogane looked down as if he had forgotten what he was saying.

“Keep moving?” Fai offered as a reminder.

“Yes, yeah, um …” Kurogane pulled the map out of his coat. “We’re stuck.” He tried to explain.  “If we go out there, there’s a hole in the room and we can’t get over it. We have to go back through one of these doors.” He pointed at the doors on the map.

“Ok, so which one should we choose?” Fai tried to be cheerful.

Kurogane lay his head back down on the railing. “I don’t care.”

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24    25    27

(no subject)

 Fai stumbled onto a concrete floor. He looked up to a terrifying mass of concrete and re-bar. Kurogane stepped out after him and sank to the floor.

“Oh god, not again.” He sighed.

“Where are we?” Fai walked up to the giant gash in the middle of the room and stared down into the watery abyss.

“Dead end.” Kurogane leaned his head back to rest on the concrete.

Fai sat down next to him. Out of the earshot of the kids he could be more candid with Kurogane. “Kuro, are you gonna be ok? I mean this isn’t like fighting some demon or something. This stuff is incapacitating. You saw what it did to Syaoran. I mean, be frank with me, how close are you to that point?”

“I don’t know, but I haven’t felt this bad since the time that magistrate tried to poison Tomoya’s salmon, thankfully she hates salmon, so I ate most of it for her. It was enough to kill her, but not quite enough to kill me. I was sick for a week; I don’t remember most of it.” Fai was relieved to see that Kurogane still had a sense of humor.  “But we really need to keep moving. Um…” Kurogane looked down as if he had forgotten what he was saying.

“Keep moving?” Fai offered as a reminder.

“Yes, yeah, um …” Kurogane pulled the map out of his coat. “We’re stuck.” He tried to explain.  “If we go out there, there’s a hole in the room and we can’t get over it. We have to go back through one of these doors.” He pointed at the doors on the map.

“Ok, so which one should we choose?” Fai tried to be cheerful.

Kurogane lay his head back down on the railing. “I don’t care.”

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24    25    27

(no subject)

Fai stumbled onto a concrete floor. He looked up to a terrifying mass of concrete and re-bar. Kurogane stepped out after him and sank to the floor.

“The broken room again?.” He sighed. “Another Dead end.” Kurogane leaned his head back to rest on the concrete.

“Keep moving?” Fai offered as a reminder.  “Ok, so which one should we choose?” Fai was loosing his cheerfulness.

Kurogane lay his head back down on the railing. “I don’t care.” 

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24    26    27

(no subject)

 The second they stepped through the door into the yellow concrete box, a loud ringing met their ears and all the breath was sucked from their lungs. Kurogane sank to the ground gasping for air and Fai grabbed him, yanking him up by the shoulders. He snatched the map out of Kurogane’s hands and frantically looked for an exit. The only ones he found where the two teleports, 17 and 16. Fai had to choose one, and quickly.

CHOOSE A DOOR:            16    17

(no subject)

 They stepped out into exactly the same room as before. Kurogane fell to the floor and put his head in his hands.

“Why? Why? Why?” Kurogane was distraught almost to the point of tears. Fai had never seen Kurogane so far gone. “We’re just going around in circles.”

CHOOSE A DOOR:            24    25    27

(no subject)

 Fai stumbled onto a concrete floor. He looked up to a terrifying mass of concrete and re-bar. Kurogane stepped out after him and sank to the floor.

“Oh god, not again.” He sighed.

“Where are we?” Fai walked up to the giant gash in the middle of the room and stared down into the watery abyss.

“Wait a minute.” Kurogane squinted and looked over at the teleport door on the half of the room they were separated from. “We’re on the other side.” He said with relief, leaning his head back against the concrete wall.  He looked back up at Fai and almost smiled. “We are on the other side. We can get out from here.” He pulled the map from out of his coat and handed it to Fai. “Over there,” He pointed to the door across the room from them, “is door 25 I think. This one we just came out of is a new one.”

“22.” Fai finished the thought. “This is door 22. And…” He turned the map around, “over there,” He pointed around the corner, “should be a door out of the building.” He smiled back at Kurogane and extended his hand to help the ninja up.

He pulled Kurogane up, but when he almost fell over again Fai put Kurogane’s arm around his shoulder and they started walking towards the door.

Out of the earshot of the kids he could be more candid with Kurogane. “Kuro, are you gonna be ok? I mean this isn’t like fighting some demon or something. This stuff is incapacitating. You saw what it did to Syaoran. I mean, be frank with me, how close are you to that point?”

“I don’t know, but I haven’t felt this bad since the time that magistrate tried to poison Tomoya’s salmon, thankfully she hates salmon, so I ate most of it for her. It was enough to kill her, but not quite enough to kill me. I was sick for a week; I don’t remember most of it.” Fai was relieved to see that Kurogane still had a sense of humor. 

Fai opened the door and they stepped out into the warm night air. They heard the rhythmic sound of the ocean coming from behind them. It was pitch black except for the stars that shown overhead. Fai pulled the flashlight out from his pocket and scanned the immediate vicinity. They were in a sandy, grassy field: overgrown with weeds and littered with rubble. They were standing on a little porch with broken steps going down from it into the field. Kurogane held up the map. “Ok we are facing the accelerator,” he pointed right in front of them. Fai shown the light out ahead of them and saw a big concrete cylinder running from one end of the light to the other. “Past that should be the office.”

“And the feather.” Fai added. “It doesn’t look like it goes all the way to the ground. Can we go under that big … whatever it is?” He pointed at concrete cylinder.

“We can try.” Kurogane folded the map up and put it back in his coat. He tried to pull away from Fai and support himself, but he had to reach out and grab Fai’s shoulder to steady himself again. “Just a little dizzy,” he said to the mage when Kurogane saw his worried glance. 

They made their way down the stairs and through the field, carefully avoiding the minefield of concrete and iron scraps. As they got closer to the accelerator they could see there was a high fence around it with barbed wire at the top. There were big signs on the fence warning of nuclear and electrical hazards. Fai didn’t know what either of those two things meant, but he was sure he didn’t want to find out.

“Maybe we should go around it. It doesn’t seem too friendly in there.” He looked over at Kurogane, who was still holding his shoulder.

“It’s just a fence.” Kurogane said with a huff. The truth was he didn’t want to take any detours. His head was starting to pound and he was so dizzy he was having trouble reading the warning signs.

But as they made their way up to the fence they were beginning to see more of a problem. The ground dropped off after the fence and fell into a deep ravine filled with rocks and sand. Kurogane’s face twisted up in pain and disappointment as he looked down below them. “Fuck,” he said under his breath, putting his fingers through the fence. “Fuck.”

Fai looked over at him. He looked like he would cry if he were anyone else. “Kuro?” Fai reached his hand up and put it over Kurogane’s on the fence. Kurogane looked back at him with the most exhausted expression ever. “You ok?”

“I… I feel like shit.” He simply said, and pulled the map out of his coat and handed it to Fai before turning his back to the fence and sliding to the ground. “How do we get to the offices?”

Fai studied the map but couldn’t help looking down at the man in front of him. Kurogane was the strongest person he had ever known. Fai had spent his life embracing deception but not even he could say he didn’t respect the man, admire him; want him even. To see Kurogane so defeated killed Fai inside. Fai’s nurturing instincts were far too strong for his own good. His act was swiftly dropping and he was letting his true self show, but he couldn’t help it. He knelt down in front of Kurogane, taking the ninjas face in his hands. Kurogane stared blankly back at him. Fai shifted his hand up to Kurogane’s forehead, which was covered in cold damp sweat. He felt chilled all over despite the warm night. Fai took his coat off and put it around Kurogane’s shoulders. Kurogane shivered around the instant warmth and pulled the coat closer. Fai put his hand back on Kurogane’s cheek.

“Ok, I’m gonna go scout out a way around this think. You just stay here and rest.” Fai said.

“But…” Kurogane started to protest but Fai cut him off.

“Don’t worry, the second I find a safe path I’ll come back. “

Kurogane gave a reluctant nod. “Fai, be careful.” He said in his most concerned tone.

“I will.” Fai gave him a little smile and turned to find a safer, more accessible way around the accelerator.

Fai started off to his right, following along the fence. It was warm but it was still very dark and that fact alone sent a chill down Fai’s spine. He hadn’t even been in that lab for very long but it was incredibly creepy and a bit disturbing. But now that he was out in the open night, he felt even more vulnerable. Fai wasn’t scared of the dark, but he was scared of what he couldn’t see, and with the limited view from the flashlight right now he couldn’t see much at all. He kept shining the flashlight all around him, looking behind him and turning back again. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, but he knew he was far from comfortable in this unfamiliar darkness.

After a few minutes of walking he saw a break in the fence. For once, the massive destruction of this place was on their side. The wall going down into the ravine had crumbled, taking the land on the other side of the fence and the fence itself with it. Now there was a dirt and rock slope going down into the ravine. Fai scurried down the slope into the bottom to look for a way up the other side. Down there it was wet and muddy, but seemed safe enough. He walked along the ravine until he spotted a ladder going up to the other side. Fai climbed up and found that a gate in the fence with a lock in it, but it wouldn’t budge. He frantically tried to think of a way to open the gate. Kuro’s sword would at least cut the fence. He thought with hope. He climbed back down into the ravine and out the other side, back towards Kurogane.

As he reached the spot where he had left the ninja he heard the disturbing sound of vomiting up ahead. He ran over and found Kurogane on his knees, hanging onto the fence and heaving. Fai rushed over to him and Kurogane looked up at him, gasping for breath and shaking.

Fai helped him sit upright and pushed his hair out of his face, “Kuro, are you ok?” Fai said in a panic. Kurogane was still trying to catch his breath and recover.

“I think… I think I feel a bit better now.” He leaned his head back and tried to breathe normally.

“Ok.” Fai was highly unconvinced. “Well I found a way around, but we should wait a few minutes.”

“No, I’m ok now,” Kurogane protested, and tried to stand up. Fai had to rush to catch him as he began to fall. He put Kurogane’s arm around him. Kurogane looked over at Fai as if to say sorry, but Fai shook his head to silence him before he could apologize.  They started off towards the hole in the fence.

After what seemed like forever, they made it down into the ravine and very slowly up the ladder to the other side. It was clear that Kurogane was in no shape to do anything that required exertion so Fai figured he would have to cut the gate open.

“Ok Kuro, the gate’s locked, but I figure I can cut it open with your sword.” He said.

“You?” Kurogane looked at him, confused.

“Well I mean, you are not in any shape to be swinging that thing around.”

“You don’t have to swing it around to just cut stuff.” Kurogane slowly pulled his sword out with his free hand and carefully worked it in-between the wires connecting the gate and the fence. With a swift turn and a short pull up, the gate came loose and swung open.

Fai looked over at Kurogane in amazement, “How did you do that?” He said.

Kurogane gave him an almost smile, “It’s called technique. What do you think I’ve spent my whole life studying?”

“Later you are gonna have to show me how you do that.” Fai said as they continued through the gate and across the field. Coming into view was a two story brick building. It didn’t look as intimidating as the other buildings they had been in, but as they approached they saw a problem. The entrance to the building was on an elevated patio and the short flight of stairs that would have lead up to it where missing, leaving only the metal railing behind.

“Shit.” Fai muttered under his breath and Kurogane just sighed. “Wait,” Fai said suddenly, “Look, I think that’s a door.” He pointed to door on the ground level a few meters away. They hurried over and Kurogane leaned against the wall as Fai tried to get the door open.

“How the hell are you supposed to get into this? It doesn’t have a door knob!” Fai was trying to pry at the metal plate with his long fingers.

“Oh, it’s one of those.” Kurogane recognized it as the same type of door they had encountered in the room with all the water. He pulled his sword out again and handed it to Fai, “This one does require energy, so you will have to do it, sorry.” Fai took the sword and looked back at Kurogane in confusion.

“What do I do?”

“Just shove the blade in between the metal plate and the wall. Now pull it away from the wall.”

Fai did as instructed and after a few moments the door came free and swung open violently, a sea of books and concrete rubble falling out. Fai was caught up in the avalanche and fell to the ground, emerging after a moment covered in books and dirt, coughing. Kurogane had dodged the door just in time but ended up on the ground covered in papers as well. They picked themselves up and waded through the door into a small room.

The ceiling and most of the walls had collapsed in and they had to pick their way along the rubble to where the entrance would have been. It was in the room above them but they could see the shattered glass doors from where they stood.

“Shit, that must have been the lobby.” Fai said in disappointment, “and now it’s….over all over the floor.” He looked at the cement rubble beneath their feet. “And the feather.” He looked around frantically. In the room was nothing but broken glass and crumbling cement.

“Damn it, it has to be here somewhere?” Kurogane looked around frantically. “It’s supposed to be in the lobby. It’s supposed to be here.” Fai could hear Kurogane’s voice picking up like he was going to panic.

“Kuro…” Fai said quietly.

“It’s supposed to be here, it has to be here!” Kurogane put his hands in his hair in frustration and looked desperately up at Fai.

“Kurogane, let’s just sit down and rest for a few minutes, think about things, figure this out.” Fai said trying to calm Kurogane down.

“But the kids, the longer we take the more chances there are of … of I don’t know … something blowing up I guess.” Kurogane’s ability to maintain thought wasn’t faring too well under the given circumstances. He slumped against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor, holding his head in his hands.

“If you pass out and I have to carry you back, we’ll be even slower, so it’s worth taking a minute to rest.”

Fai sat down next to him and put his arm around Kurogane’s shoulders. Kurogane absentmindedly leaned into him. “God you are warm.” Kurogane muttered.

“You’re still really chilled.” Fai said and absentmindedly put his hand up to run it though Kurogane’s hair.

After a few moments Kurogane’s head bobbed forward as if he had dozed off.  Fai chuckled, “You can lay down if you want.” He told Kurogane. He could see Kurogane contemplating the offer for a moment before shrugging, as if giving in to how tired he was and how warm and comfy Fai’s lap seemed. He let his head slide down into Fai’s lap and sighed. If he stayed like this much longer he knew he would fall asleep.

A minute or two later, Fai heard Kurogane’s breathing steady and knew he was asleep. He didn’t dare speak. Their relationship existed on two levels. There was the surface, like a piece of glass mirror, where they saw everything they did reflected in the eyes of others. But beneath the mirror was this vast, warm, dark ocean. There were no reflections or acts to maintain, just these warm, quiet waves washing up over him. And this other person, lying on his lap, was here with him. The same warm waves washed over him. For a split second, Fai tried to figure it out; figure out what they were and what Kurogane meant to him, meant for him. But when he did, the dull throbbing in his head turned into sharp pain and he swiftly gave up. This room was warm, Kurogane was warm and Fai’s clothes were damp from running around in the humid night. Fai was content to rest his head on the metal cabinet he was leaning against and not think for a while. That’s what this level of their relationship was for. For being true and honest and simple. And the truth was he cherished Kurogane, and honestly he didn’t care why, he simply wanted to be with him. Fai ran his fingers absentmindedly through Kurogane’s damp hair and listened to him breathe.

Fai dozed for a bit but woke up to a few precariously placed little rocks falling down off of their perches. He looked down at Kurogane who was still sleeping, his dark skin glistening with a bit of sweat in the dark room, illuminated only by their flashlight. In his own strange way, he is incredibly beautiful. Fai thought, and leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tiny reflection from under a concrete block. He shined his flashlight over in that direction and saw a pile of shattered glass and a little white and red fluff sticking out from under the rocks.

“Kuro, Kuro wake up,”

“Mmhh…”

“Kuro I think I see the feather.” Fai started to sit up and Kurogane’s head slid off Fai’s lap and onto the floor.

“Ah… what was that for.”

Fai walked over to where he saw the glass sitting in the middle of the room.

“Kuro, it’s the feather.” He pulled it out from under the rock and held it up for Kurogane to see.

Kurogane just stared at it in shock for a few moments and then smiled. They had done it. They had found the feather. They could go home. Kurogane tried to pick himself up as Fai tucked the feather safely away.

“So...” Kurogane was having trouble keeping thinking straight, “How do we get home?”

“Well, I guess we look for another teleport.” Fai said grimly. Kurogane gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. “But I think I have an idea,” Fai interjected. “The doors switch destinations every 5 seconds or so, right?”

Kurogane just stared at him. “I don’t know, that explanation was a million years ago and didn’t make any sense anyway.”

“Well, if that’s right,” Fai continued, “Then I can just stick my head through, and if it’s not the right room I’ll pull back and wait for the teleport to change.”

“But won’t you get really sick that way?” Kurogane looked at him concerned.

“Maybe, but it’s better than us landing in the wrong room and having to do more teleports anyway.”

“I think you have a point, but my head hurts too much to actually think.” Kurogane said. “Is there another teleport in this building?”

Fai pulled out the map and pointed back towards the way they had come from. “Yeah there is another one a bit further into the building.”

They made their way over to a room in the far corner where they found another teleport, which they powered up.

“Are you sure this is gonna work? I mean, I don’t want to get your head chopped off or anything.” Kurogane looked at Fai in genuine concern.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but it has to be worth a try. I’ll try to be quick, but once I’ve found the right door we only have 5 seconds to get through, so be ready.” Fai took Kurogane by the hand and prepared to peer into the portal.

He ducked his head in and right back out again, “Nope.” He said and silently counted out the seconds before he ducked his head in again. He pulled it out with a flinch. “No again.” He sighed and continued counting. The third time Fai stuck his head in, Kurogane felt a tug on his arm and rushed through the door pushing Fai along with him.

They both fell onto the floor of the lab they had started at. Kurogane rolled off of Fai and onto the floor, looking up at the wooden rafters in relief.

The kids had curled up asleep under a desk, but had been awakened by Kurogane and Fai crashing into the room and came running over. Kurogane sat up and helped Fai to do the same. Fai looked pale and in pain, but they were back and wouldn’t have to go through those doors again.

“We found the feather.” Kurogane told the kids. Fai pulled it out his coat and handed it to Syaoran. He turned to the princess but she stopped him.

“If you give me back the feather now, I’ll pass out.” She turned to look at Kurogane and Fai. “You all have done so much to take care of me, I want to return the favor and take care of you while you are ill. Mokona, will you keep it safe?”

“You bet.” Mokona opened his mouth wide and Syaoran let the feather drop down into it. He swallowed with a “mukup” noise.

“Let’s find someplace a little more hospitable to recover.” Syaoran suggested.

“Yeah.” Fai agreed, “Everybody close together now.” He motioned the kids in. They gathered around him and Kurogane as Mokona started his magical transformation.

Kurogane still felt incredibly ill, but as his little family huddled together, he was simply grateful they had made it through the horrible ordeal.

Mokona swallowed them up in one gulp and they disappeared from sight, leaving the lab behind them, empty and quiet. 

(no subject)

 They stepped out into the strangest room Fai had ever seen. He saw the bright white beam of his flashlight reflected against metal everywhere he turned it. It seemed like the entire room was filled to the brim with a giant imposing metal monster that was closing in on them. Fai backed up against the wall.

“Don’t worry, it won’t bite you.” Kurogane stepped out behind him and slouched against the metal box attached to the teleport. “We were in here before.” He looked around like he was having a really hard time concentrating on his words. “There should be a door below somewhere.”

Fai shined his light down through the grate. Below there was another level with a door leading out, but beneath that there was nothing, just a big void of concrete going down forever. Fai stared down in horror for a moment before remembering what he had been looking for. “Yeah, there’s a door down here.”

“Ok let’s go.” Kurogane said as he tried to stand, but when he almost fell over again Fai put Kurogane’s arm around his shoulder and they started walking towards the little metal stairs.

Out of the earshot of the kids he could be more candid with Kurogane. “Kuro, are you gonna be ok? I mean this isn’t like fighting some demon or something. This stuff is incapacitating. You saw what it did to Syaoran. I mean, be frank with me: how close are you to that point?”

“I don’t know, but I haven’t felt this bad since the time that magistrate tried to poison Tomoya’s salmon, thankfully she hates salmon, so I ate most of it for her. It was enough to kill her, but not quite enough to kill me. I was sick for a week; I don’t remember most of it.” Fai was relieved to see that Kurogane still had a sense of humor. 

They slowly walked down the stairs and over to the tall heavy set of double doors. To their dismay there was a chain locking them shut.

“Shit.” Fai murmured under his breath.  He could hear Kurogane sigh next to him. “Wait, I figure I can cut it open with your sword, right?” He looked over at Kurogane with new hope.

“You?” Kurogane looked at him confused.

“Well I mean, you are not in any shape to be swinging that thing around.”

“You don’t have to swing it around to just cut stuff.” Kurogane slowly pulled his sword out with his free hand and carefully worked it in-between the two links in the chain. With a swift turn and a short pull up, the chain came loose and fell to the floor.

Fai looked over at Kurogane in amazement, “How did you do that?” He said.

Kurogane gave him an almost smile, “It’s called technique. What do you think I’ve spent my whole life studying?”

“Later you are gonna have to show me how you do that.” Fai said as pushed the door open and they stepped out into the warm night air. They heard the rhythmic sound of the ocean coming from behind them. It was pitch black except for the stars that shown overhead. Fai pulled the flashlight out from his pocket and scanned the immediate vicinity. They were in a sandy, grassy field that was overgrown with weeds and littered with rubble. They were standing on a little porch with broken steps going down from it, into the field. Kurogane held up the map. “Ok we just came out of the accelerator room thing,” he pointed to their left. Fai shone the light out and saw a big concrete cylinder running from one end of the building they had just come out of off far to the left.  

“And the office is where the feather is, right?” Fai added. 

“Yeah, that’s what that professor guy said, so hopefully he was right.” Kurogane folded the map up and put it back in his coat. He tried to pull away from Fai and support himself, but he had to reach out and grab Fai’s shoulder to steady himself again. “Just a little dizzy,” he said to the mage when Fai saw his worried glance. 

Fai grabbed Kurogane’s arm and put it around his shoulder, supporting him as they walked across the field. Coming into view was a two story brick building. It didn’t look as intimidating as the other buildings they had been in, but as they approached they saw a problem. The entrance to the building was on an elevated patio and the short flight of stairs that would have lead up to it were missing, leaving only the metal railing behind.

“Shit.” Fai muttered under his breath and Kurogane just sighed. “Wait.” Fai said suddenly, “Look, I think that’s a door.” He pointed to door on the ground level a few meters away. They hurried over and Kurogane leaned against the wall as Fai tried to get the door open.

“How the hell are you supposed to get into this? It doesn’t have a door knob!” Fai was trying to pry at the metal plate with his long fingers.

“Oh, it’s one of those.” Kurogane recognized it as the same type of door they had encountered in the room with all the water. He pulled his sword out again and handed it to Fai. “This one does require energy, so you will have to do it, sorry.” Fai took the sword and looked back at Kurogane in confusion.

“What do I do?”

“Just shove the blade in between the metal plate and the wall. Now pull it away from the wall.”

Fai did as instructed and after a few moments the door came free and swung open violently, a sea of books and concrete rubble falling out. Fai was caught up in the avalanche and fell to the ground, emerging after a moment covered in books and dirt, coughing. Kurogane had dodged the door just in time but ended up on the ground covered in papers as well. They picked themselves up and waded through the door into a small room.

The ceiling and most of the walls had collapsed in and they had to pick their way along the rubble to where the entrance would have been. It was in the room above them but they could see the shattered glass doors from where they stood.

“Shit, that must have been the lobby,” Fai said in disappointment. “And now it’s…. all over the floor.” He looked at the cement rubble beneath their feet. “And the feather.” He looked around frantically. It the room was nothing but broken glass and crumbling cement.

“Damn it, it has to be here somewhere?” Kurogane looked around frantically. “It’s supposed to be in the lobby. It’s supposed to be here.” Fai could hear Kurogane’s voice picking up like he was going to panic.

“Kuro…” Fai said quietly.

“It’s supposed to be here, it has to be here!” Kurogane put his hands in his hair in frustration and looked desperately up at Fai.

“Kurogane, let’s just sit down and rest for a few minutes, think about things, figure this out.” Fai said trying to calm Kurogane down.

“But the kids, the longer we take the more chances there are of … of I don’t know … something blowing up I guess.” Kurogane’s ability to maintain thought wasn’t faring too well under the given circumstances. He slumped against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor, holding his head in his hands.

“If you pass out and I have to carry you back we’ll be even slower, so it’s worth taking a minute to rest.”

Fai sat down next to him and put his arm around Kurogane’s shoulders. Kurogane absentmindedly leaned into him. “God you are warm,” Kurogane muttered.

“You’re still really chilled,” Fai said and absentmindedly put his hand up to run it though Kurogane’s hair.

After a few moments Kurogane’s head bobbed forward as if he had dozed off.  Fai chuckled, “You can lay down if you want.” He told Kurogane. He could see Kurogane contemplating the offer for a moment before shrugging, as if giving in to how tired he was and how warm and comfy Fai’s lap seemed. He let his head slid down into Fai’s lap and sighed. If he stayed like this much longer he knew he would fall asleep.

A minute or two later Fai heard Kurogane’s breathing steady and knew he was asleep. He didn’t dare speak. Their relationship existed on two levels. There was the surface, like a piece of glass mirror, where they saw everything they did reflected in the eyes of others. But beneath the mirror was this vast, warm, dark ocean. There were no reflections or acts to maintain, just these warm, quiet waves washing up over him. And this other person, laying on his lap, was here with him. The same warm waves washed over him. For a split second Fai tried to figure it out; figure out what they were and what Kurogane meant to him, meant for him. But when he did, the dull throbbing in his head turned into sharp pain and he swiftly gave up. This room was warm, Kurogane was warm, and Fai’s clothes were damp from running around in the humid night. Fai was content to rest his head on the metal cabinet he was leaning against and not think for a while. That’s what this level of their relationship was for. For being true and honest and simple. And the truth was he cherished Kurogane, and honestly he didn’t care why, he simply wanted to be with him. Fair ran his fingers absentmindedly through Kurogane’s damp hair and listened to him breathe.

Fai dozed for a bit, but woke up to a few precariously placed little rocks falling down off of their perches. He looked down at Kurogane who was still sleeping, his dark skin glistening with a bit of sweat in the dark room, illuminated only by their flashlight. In his own strange way, he is incredibly beautiful. Fai thought, and leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tiny reflection from under a concrete block. He shined his flashlight over in that direction and saw a pile of shattered glass and a little white and red fluff sticking out from under the rocks.

“Kuro, Kuro wake up,”

“Mmhh…”

“Kuro, I think I see the feather.” Fai started to sit up and Kurogane’s head slid off Fai’s lap and onto the floor.

“Ah… what was that for.”

Fai walked over to where he saw the glass sitting in the middle of the room.

“Kuro, it’s the feather.” He pulled it out from under the rock and held it up for Kurogane to see.

Kurogane just stared at it in shock for a few moments and then smiled. They had done it. They had found the feather. They could go home. Kurogane tried to pick himself up as Fai tucked the feather safely away.

“So...” Kurogane was having trouble keeping thinking straight, “How do we get home?”

“Well, I guess we look for another teleport.” Fai said grimly. Kurogane gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. “But I think I have an idea,” Fai interjected. “The doors switch destinations every 5 seconds or so, right?”

Kurogane just stared at him. “I don’t know. That explanation was a million years ago and didn’t make any sense anyway.”

“Well, if that’s right,” Fai continued, “then I can just stick my head through, and if it’s not the right room I’ll pull back and wait for the teleport to change.”

“But won’t you get really sick that way?” Kurogane looked at him concerned.

“Maybe, but it’s better than us landing in the wrong room and having to do more teleports anyway.”

“I think you have a point, but my head hurts too much to actually think.” Kurogane said. “Is there another teleport in this building?”

Fai pulled out the map and pointed back towards the way they had come from. “Yeah there is another one a bit further into the building.”

They made their way over to a room in the far corner where they found another teleport, which they powered up.

“Are you sure this is gonna work? I mean, I don’t want to get your head chopped off or anything.” Kurogane looked at Fai in genuine concern.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but it has to be worth a try. I’ll try to be quick, but once I’ve found the right door we only have 5 seconds to get through, so be ready.” Fai took Kurogane by the hand and prepared to peer into the portal.

He ducked his head and right back out again. “Nope,” he said and silently counted out the seconds before he ducked his head in again. He pulled it out with a flinch. “No again.” He sighed and continued counting. The third time Fai stuck his head in, Kurogane felt a tug on his arm and rushed through the door pushing Fai along with him.

They both fell onto the floor of the lab they had started in. Kurogane rolled off of Fai and onto the floor, looking up at the wooden rafters in relief.

The kids had curled up asleep under a desk, but had been awakened by Kurogane and Fai crashing into the room and came running over. Kurogane sat up and helped Fai to do the same. Fai looked pale and in pain, but they were back and wouldn’t have to go through those doors again.

“We found the feather,” Kurogane told the kids. Fai pulled it out his coat and handed it to Syaoran. He turned to the princess but she stopped him.

“If you give me back the feather now, I’ll pass out.” She turned to look at Kurogane and Fai. “You all have done so much to take care of me, I want to return the favor and take care of you while you are ill. Mokona, will you keep it safe?”

“You bet.” Mokona opened his mouth wide and Syaoran let the feather drop down into it. He swallowed with a “mukup” noise.

“Let’s find someplace a little more hospitable to recover.” Syaoran suggested.

“Yeah,” Fai agreed. “Everybody close together now.” He motioned the kids in. They gathered around him and Kurogane as Mokona started his magical transformation.

Kurogane still felt incredibly ill, but as his little family huddled together he was simply grateful they had made it through the horrible ordeal.

Mokona swallowed them up in one gulp and they disappeared from sight, leaving the lab behind them, empty and quiet. 

(no subject)

 They stepped out into a different room this time, the strangest room Fai had ever seen. He saw the bright white beam of his flashlight reflected against metal every where he turned it. It seemed like the entire room was filled to the brim with a giant imposing metal monster that was closing in on them. Fai looked over at Kurogane, who was slipping from his arms, his feet going out from under him, his face twisted in pain. Fai helped him down onto the floor.

“We’ve…we’ve been here before.” Kurogane said with vague recognition. “There’s a door.” He looked down to the floor.

Fai shined his light down through the grate. Below there was another level with a door leading out, but beneath that there was nothing, just a big void of concrete going down forever. Fai stared down in horror for a moment before remembering what he had been looking for. “Yeah, there’s a door down here.”

Fai looked back over at Kurogane. He looked like he would cry if he were anyone else. “Kuro?” Fai reached his hand up and put it over Kurogane’s hand resting on the grate. Kurogane looked back at him with the most exhausted expression ever. “You ok?”

“I… I feel like shit.” He simply said and pulled the map out of his coat and handed it to Fai before laying his head back down on the ground. “How do we get to the offices?”

Fai studied the map but couldn’t help looking down at the man in front of him. Kurogane was the strongest person he had ever known. Fai had spent his life embracing deception but not even he could say he didn’t respect the man, admire him; want him even. To see Kurogane so defeated killed Fai inside. Fai’s nurturing instincts were far too strong for his own good. His act was swiftly dropping and he was letting his true self show, but he couldn’t help it. He knelt down in front of Kurogane, taking the ninjas face in his hands. Kurogane stared blankly back at him. Fai shifted his hand up to Kurogane’s forehead, which was covered in cold damp sweat. He felt chilled all over despite the warm air around them. Fai took his coat off and lay it down over Kurogane. Kurogane shivered around the instant warmth and pulled the coat closer. Fai put his hand back on Kurogane’s cheek.

“Ok, I’m gonna go scout out a way out of here and maybe see if I can’t find the office. You just stay here and rest.” Fai said.

“But…” Kurogane started to protest, but Fai cut him off.

“Don’t worry, the second I find a safe path I’ll come back.

Kurogane gave a reluctant nod. “Fai, be careful.” He said in his most concerned tone.

“I will.” Fai gave him a little smile and turned to descend the metal stairs. He saw with dismay that the tall, heavy double door in front of him was locked shut with a length of thick chain. “Shit,” he murmured and tried to think clearly. He hadn’t been through the teleport nearly as much as Kurogane but his head was already starting to hurt, making it hard to concentrate. He looked up at the double doors and back down at his map. The only way to tell where he was at was to get outside and have a look around. What would I do if I was thinking straight, Fai thought to himself. I would think about the other way to open doors. He smiled, seeing that the door hinges were on the inside facing him. He walked over to a set or metal drawers and rummaged through them. He was going to need something to gain some leverage. He found a screwdriver and knelt down to one of the hinges. He shoved the flat end down in between the head of the hinge-pin and slowly worked it out of place, pulling it up and out of from the rest of the door.

The second it came out, the hinge disconnected and it the door swung open so quickly Fai had to jump away to avoid it hitting him. He ducked down slipped through the door, into the warm night air. He heard the rhythmic sound of the ocean coming from behind them. It was pitch black except for the stars that shown overhead. Fai pulled the flashlight out from his pocket and scanned the immediate vicinity. He was standing in a sandy, grassy field that was overgrown with weeds and littered with rubble. He was standing on a little porch with broken steps going down from it, into the field. He held up the map. “Ok we just came out of the accelerator room thing,”  he said aloud and shone the light out and saw a big concrete cylinder running from one end of the building he had just come out of off far to the left.  “And straight ahead should be the office and the feather,” and he started off in that direction.

 It was warm but it was still very dark and that fact alone sent a chill down Fai’s spine. He hadn’t even been in that lab for very long, but it was incredibly creepy and a bit disturbing. But now that he was out in the open night, he felt even more vulnerable. Fai wasn’t scared of the dark, but he was scared of what he couldn’t see, and with the limited view from the flashlight right now he couldn’t see much at all. He kept shining the flashlight all around him, looking behind him and turning back again. He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, but he knew he was far from comfortable in this unfamiliar darkness.

Coming into view was a two story brick building. It didn’t look at intimidating as the other buildings they had been in, but as he approached he saw a problem. The entrance to the building was on an elevated patio and short flight of stairs that would have led up to it where missing, leaving only the metal railing behind.

To his relief he saw a big door on the ground level of to the side. He ran and assessed the door. “How the hell are you supposed to get into this?” He yelled to the air.  “It doesn’t have a door knob!” Fai was trying to pry at the metal plate with his long fingers.

Fai pulled at it but it won’t budge. He frantically tried to think of a way to open the door. Kuro’s sword might be able to pry it open. He thought with hope. He turned and headed back to the little room he had left Kurogane in. 

As he reached the spot where he had left the ninja, he heard the disturbing sound of vomiting up ahead. He ran over and found Kurogane on his knees, bracing himself against the wall and heaving. Fai rushed over to him and Kurogane looked up at him, gasping for breath and shaking.

Fai helped him sit upright and pushed his hair out of his face, “Kuro are you ok?” Fai said in a panic. Kurogane was still trying to catch his breath and recover.

“I think… I think I feel a bit better now.” He leaned his head back and tried to breathe normally.

“Ok.” Fai was highly unconvinced. “Well I think I’ve found the office, we should wait a few minutes.”

“No, I’m ok now.” Kurogane protested and tried to stand up. Fai had to rush to catch him as he began to fall. He put Kurogane’s arm around him. Kurogane looked over at Fai as if to say sorry, but Fai shook his head to silence him before he could apologize.  They started off down the stairs.

They slowly walked across the field and toward the office building. They approached the door and Fai explained their problem. “There is a door on the ground level but it doesn’t have a doorknob. Just a metal plate.”

 “Oh, it’s one of those.” Kurogane recognized it as the same type of door they had encountered in the room with all the water. He pulled his sword out again and handed it to Fai, “I’m sorry but this requires energy, so you will have to do this one. Sorry.” Fai took the sword and looked back at Kurogane in confusion.

“What do I do?”

“Just shove the blade in between the metal plate and the wall. Now pull it away from the wall.”

Fai did as instructed and after a few moments the door came free and swung open violently, a sea of books and concrete rubble falling out. Fai was caught up in the avalanche and fell to the ground, emerging after a moment covered in books and dirt, coughing. Kurogane had dodged the door just in time but ended up on the ground covered in papers as well. They picked themselves up and waded through the door into a small room.

The ceiling and most of the walls had collapsed in and they had to pick their way along the rubble to where the entrance would have been. It was in the room above them but they could see the shattered glass doors from where they stood.

“Shit, that must have been the lobby.” Fai said in disappointment, “and now it’s…. all over the floor.” He looked at the cement rubble beneath their feet. “And the feather.” He looked around frantically. In the room was nothing but broken glass and crumbling cement.

“Damn it, it has to be here somewhere!” Kurogane looked around frantically. “It’s supposed to be in the lobby. It’s supposed to be here.” Fai could hear Kurogane’s voice picking up like he was going to panic.

“Kuro…” Fai said quietly.

“It’s supposed to be here, it has to be here!” Kurogane put his hands in his hair in frustration and looked desperately up at Fai.

“Kurogane, let’s just sit down and rest for a few minutes, think about things, figure this out.” Fai said trying to calm Kurogane down.

“But the kids, the longer we take the more chances there are of … of I don’t know … something blowing up I guess.” Kurogane’s ability to maintain thought wasn’t faring too well under the given circumstances. He slumped against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor, holding his head in his hands.

“If you pass out and I have to carry you back we’ll be even slower, so it’s worth taking a minute to rest.”

Fai sat down next to him and put his arm around Kurogane’s shoulders. Kurogane absentmindedly leaned into him. “God you are warm,” Kurogane muttered.

“You’re still really chilled,” Fai said, and absentmindedly put his hand up to run it though Kurogane’s hair.

After a few moments Kurogane’s head bobbed forward as if he had dozed off.  Fai chuckled, “You can lay down if you want.” He told Kurogane. He could see Kurogane contemplating the offer for a moment before shrugging, as if giving in to how tired he was and how warm and comfy Fai lap seemed. He let his head slide down into Fai’s lap and sighed. If he stayed like this much longer he knew he would fall asleep.

A minute or two later Fai heard Kurogane’s breathing steady and knew he was asleep. He didn’t dare speak. Their relationship existed on two levels. There was the surface, like a piece of glass mirror, where they saw everything they did reflected in the eyes of others. But beneath the mirror was this vast, warm, dark ocean. There were no reflections or acts to maintain, just these warm, quiet waves washing up over him. And this other person, laying on his lap, was here with him. The same warm waves washed over him. For a split second, Fai tried to figure it out, figure out what they were and what Kurogane meant to him, meant for him. But when he did, the dull throbbing in his head turned into sharp pain and he swiftly gave up. This room was warm, Kurogane was warm and Fai’s clothes were damp from running around in the humid night. Fai was content to rest his head on the metal cabinet he was leaning against and not think for a while. That’s what this level of their relationship was for. For being true and honest and simple. And the truth was he cherished Kurogane, and honestly he didn’t care why, he simply wanted to be with him. Fai ran his fingers absentmindedly through Kurogane’s damp hair and listened to him breathe.

Fai dozed for a bit, but woke up to a few precariously placed little rocks falling down off of their perches. He looked down at Kurogane who was still sleeping, his dark skin glistening with a bit of sweat in the dark room, illuminated only by their flashlight. In his own strange way, he is incredibly beautiful. Fai thought, and leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a tiny reflection from under a concrete block. He shined is flashlight over in that direction and saw a pile of shattered glass and a little white and red fluff sticking out from under the rocks.

“Kuro, Kuro wake up,”

“Mmhh…”

“Kuro, I think I see the feather.” Fai started to sit up and Kurogane’s head slid off Fai’s lap and onto the floor.

“Ah… what was that for.”

Fai walked over to where he saw the glass sitting in the middle of the room.

“Kurogane it’s the feather.” He pulled it out from under the rock and held it up for Kurogane to see.

Kurogane just stared at it in shock for a few moments and then smiled. They had done it. They had found the feather. They could go home. Kurogane tried to pick himself up as Fai tucked the feather safely away.

“So...” Kurogane was having trouble keeping thinking straight, “How do we get home?”

“Well, I guess we look for another teleport.” Fai said grimly. Kurogane gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. “But I think I have an idea,” Fai interjected. “The doors switch destinations every 5 seconds or so, right?”

Kurogane just stared at him. “I don’t know, that explanation was a million years ago and didn’t make any sense anyway.”

“Well, if that’s right,” Fai continued, “then I can just stick my head through, and if it’s not the right room I’ll pull back and wait for the teleport to change.”

“But won’t you get really sick that way?” Kurogane looked at him, concerned.

“Maybe, but it’s better than us landing in the wrong room and having to do more teleports anyway.”

“I think you have a point, but my head hurts too much to actually think,” Kurogane said. “Is there another teleport in this building?”

Fai pulled out the map and pointed back towards the way they had come from. “Yeah, there is another one a bit further into the building.”

They made their way over to a room in the far corner where they found another teleport, which they powered up.

“Are you sure this is gonna work? I mean, I don’t want to get your head chopped off or anything.” Kurogane looked at Fai in genuine concern.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but it has to be worth a try. I’ll try to be quick, but once I’ve found the right door, we only have 5 seconds to get through, so be ready.” Fai took Kurogane by the hand and prepared to peer into the portal.

He ducked his head and right back out again. “Nope,” he said, and silently counted out the seconds before he ducked his head in again. He pulled it out with a flinch. “No again.” He sighed and continued counting. The third time Fai stuck his head in, Kurogane felt a tug on his arm and rushed through the door pushing Fai along with him.

They both fell onto the floor of the lab they had started in. Kurogane rolled off of Fai and onto the floor, looking up at the wooden rafters in relief.

The kids had curled up asleep under a desk, but had been awakened by Kurogane and Fai crashing into the room and came running over. Kurogane sat up and helped Fai to do the same. Fai looked pale and in pain, but they were back and wouldn’t have to go through those doors again.

“We found the feather.” Kurogane told the kids. Fai pulled it out his coat and handed it to Syaoran. He turned to the princess but she stopped him.

“If you give me back the feather now, I’ll pass out.” She turned to look at Kurogane and Fai. “You all have done so much to take care of me, I want to return the favor and take care of you while you are ill. Mokona, will you keep it safe?”

“You bet.” Mokona opened his mouth wide and Syaoran let the feather drop down into it. He swallowed with a “mukup” noise.

“Let’s find someplace a little more hospitable to recover.” Syaoran suggested.

“Yeah,” Fai agreed. “Everybody close together now.” He motioned the kids in. They gathered around him and Kurogane as Mokona started his magical transformation.

Kurogane still felt incredibly ill, but as his little family huddled together he was simply grateful they had made it through the horrible ordeal.

Mokona swallowed them up in one gulp and they disappeared from sight, leaving the lab behind them, empty and quiet.