"Oh, uh, Annie, this is--" Cole gestured to the guy beside him. "--Buck. I told him I'd introduce you."
While Buck gave a dashing smile, Matilda flashed Cole a dirty look. "Did you now?" She said with a fake smile. "Well, well..."
"Yeah, I was talking to Ronald over here." Buck said, gazing at the Alex figure with interest. "We were--"
"Mm-hm." Matilda glared at Cole and said coolly. "I'll catch up with you later. Find the restroom, make sure the toilet paper's all right. Stop anyone who tries to take the roll off the wall. I'll catch up with you. Got it?"
He caught on to what she was saying. "Got it." Stifling a laugh, he left Matilda to act polite and to try to get rid of Buck. He brushed past people in the chattering crowd and walked through the narrow door. He glanced back to make sure nobody was watching, then slipped in, shutting the wood door behind him quietly. The roar of the crowd ceased, and he was left in silence.
Cole found himself in a stone hallway lit only by a few flickering torches nailed to the wall. The only decoration in the long, cold hallway were a few weathered tapestries hanging on the walls. He breathed a sigh of relief, and ran a large hand through his flaming red hair. He still couldn't get used to being a freckle-faced ginger, it was unnatural. He wondered how long the Polyjuice Potion would last, and hoped it wasn't permanent. He turned to the right and walked down the dim corridor, his footsteps echoing throughout the tunnel.
He tried to tread quietly, but it was hard walking quietly with feet that aren't your own. He kept stumbling, even though the hall was clear of things to trip over. His blue eyes scanned the shadowy corridor, looking for a sign of the siblings while listening for the sound of a guard, ready to duck in a doorway if he needed to.
A small, quiet sound ahead of him made him stop. The hallway continued forward before splitting in two, and the walls ahead of him were lined with barred doors.
This must be where they keep the prisoners. Cole thought, biting his lip.
Slowly, cautiously, he stepped up to one of the wooden doors and peered in between the bars standing in a square-shaped hole at the top. He looked into a cold, stone cell roughly the size of a small walk-in closet. There was no window, no torch, only a small pile of dirty hay in a corner, where a dark figure sat. It was still and silent, hunched over with its head between its knees.
In the dim, flickering light of a nearby torch, Cole saw the outline of the person's head; dark, curly hair sprang over his face. He recognized it and whispered. "Philip!"
Surprised, the boy looked up at him and looked confused. Furrowing his eyebrows, he said. "Who are you?"
"It's me, Cole!"
He raised his eyebrows in suspicion. "Uh, I know Cole, and Cole ain't no redhead, buddy."
"Dude, it's me!" Cole hissed through the bars. "It's a disguise!"
Philip pushed himself off the floor. "A disguise?" He walked up to the door, still looking suspicious. "That's one brick of a convincing disguise. Your entire body is different! And your eyes are blue!"
"It was a magic potion Matilda had!" Cole tugged on the door, but of course his effort was futile. "Don't worry, we're gonna get you outta here!"
"When?"
"As soon as Matilda gets rid of a lover."
"A lover--?!" Philip's pale face appeared at the metal bars, mouth quirking. "What, is she in disguise, too? From that potion?"
"Yeah." Cole grinned. "We're both gingers, and we're pretending to be siblings."
Philip laughed out loud. "What, how old is she?! I mean, what does she look like?"
"You'll see...She looks really young, and every bandit in that party back there is giving her 'I want you' eyes."
He laughed again. "OK, now this I gotta see."
"That you shall." Cole jumped when the scowling Alex figure walked up. She glared at him. "Fancied leaving me to those dogs, eh?"
"Hsst, don't give excuses, kid!" The ginger-haired girl hissed irritably, green eyes blazing.
Philip peered out from behind the bars and tried his best not to laugh. He failed miserably. "You look...Great, Matilda!" He gasped between his fits of laughter.
Matilda rolled her eyes. "Where's your sister?"
"Down the hall, I think." He chuckled.
The girl pulled out her wand and flicked it at the door. "Alohomora." The lock clicked, and Philip, still grinning, stepped out.
"Nice."
The Alex figure glanced around the hall. "Keep your voices down, there are probably guards crawling all over the place."
"Or they could be just partying with everyone else."
Matilda ignored Philip and called out. "Liana! Liana, it's Matilda!"
"What was that about being quiet?"
"Shut your pie hole, boy."
A soft voice answered down the shadowy corridor, and they trotted down the hall, treading lightly. Matilda stopped in front of a door identical to Philip's and said again. "Alohomora." The three of them stepped inside the dark, narrow cell.
Squeezing past the stone doorway and Philip, Cole saw Liana curled up into a corner, arms wrapped around her shoulders. She looked small sitting alone on the hay, with her silver-blond ponytail coming loose and her clothes muddy and ratty from her earlier struggles. She stared sightlessly yet fiercely at the people coming in. "Who's there?"
"Liana!" Philip crouched down next to her. "It's me, Philip!"
She gestured in the direction of Matilda and Cole. "Who are they?"
"It's Cole and Matilda! They've come to bust us outta this joint!"
Liana frowned. "The voices are similar, but their footsteps and the sound of their bodies are different."
"That's because we're in disguise!" Cole crouched down next to Liana, who flinched slightly. "Come on, Liana, it's me, Cole! It's hard to explain, but this is just a disguise, really!"
Frowning, she reached out and felt his face. He let her run her fingers across his freckled cheeks, down his long nose, and through his shaggy red hair. She frowned and said. "Prove it."
Cole blinked with his blue eyes. "Prove it?!" He exclaimed incredulously. "We've only known each other for a week, how do I prove it?!"
Liana sat up straight and tall and said with a tone of defiance. "If you guys really are who you say you are, and that this isn't some messed-up trick from Sidicles, then surely you'll be able to prove it."
"Corpus bones!" Matilda cursed. "Girl, this is not the time to be clever! We're running out of time, and Polyjuice Potion dosen't last forever!"
Philip and Cole shared a frantic glance, aware of time slipping by. "Uh, OK..." Cole tried to think fast, reviewing everything that he and Liana had shared over the week. "How about I tell you what that weird creature in the tunnel was saying?"
Liana bit her lip. "Maybe..."
"Baggins!" Cole cried out, trying to imitate the creature in its high, raspy voice. "We hates it, we hates it forever! Preciousss!"
Philip laughed. "Dude, that's pretty good."
"Are you convinced?" He asked Liana.
"Well..."
"Dosen't matter, we gotta move." Matilda pulled the girl to her feet and shoved her out of the cell, muttering crossly. "There's a time to be clever, and there's a time to be smart! Corpus bones, you've cost us valuable time...!"
The four of them hurried out into the dim corridor and glanced both directions. "Which way?" Philip asked the Alex figure.
She bit her lip, scowling. "Right leads us back to the party...So there could be a private exit down the left."
Cole nodded. "Right."
"No, left." Philip piped up.
"That's what I said."
"No, you said 'right'. We need to go left."
"No, I meant--" He sighed. "Forget it. Let's go left."
"Right."
"No, left."
"Shut it!" Matilda snapped.
Barely stifling chuckles, the boys followed Matilda and Liana down the cold corridor, grinning.
As they walked down the corridor, Cole's blue gaze rested on Philip's cheek, where a shallow cut crusted over with blood sat on an ugly bruise swelling up.
"Looks like those bozos were rough on you, Philip." He commented.
The curly-haired guy shrugged. "It's nothing..." He grinned mischievously. "You should see the other guy."
"Did they hurt Liana?"
His face fell into a grim scowl. "I did everything I could to keep them from touching her."
"I'm not helpless, you know!" Liana exclaimed by Matilda. "Obviously you didn't see me break one guy's nose--"
"Quiet!" Matilda hissed, and everyone froze.
Somewhere ahead of them, around a corner, came the sound of footsteps. To be precise, it sounded like rubber boots clomping easily on the stone floor. Whoever was walking sounded small and light, and didn't care if anybody heard them. The sound grew dangerously closer.
Cole bit the inside of his cheek, frantically wondering what they should do. Somehow, the sound of the boots falling reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite recall what.
Matilda glanced back at the teenagers behind her and mouthed. 'Get back!'
Too late. A small figure appeared around the corner and stopped when it saw the four people standing in the middle of the hall. It was a little girl with blond pigtails, wearing a Hello Kitty sweater and rainbow-colored boots.
Cole's jaw dropped.
It was the annoying girl from the Yokaiville mall who ate all that chocolate.
The girl stared at the group with wide eyes. "Who are you guys?"
Cole thought she might recognize him, but then remembered that he looked like somebody else. He swallowed down his shock and rasped. "Uh...Security. Yeah."
She cocked her head inquisitively. "Are you helping those two prisoners escape?"
He laughed nervously. "Whaa, no! Of course not! Heh, what makes you think something like that?"
"Sunny, who are you talking to?" A burly man wearing a rice farmer's hat appeared around the corner, then froze.
Frowning, she reached out and felt his face. He let her run her fingers across his freckled cheeks, down his long nose, and through his shaggy red hair. She frowned and said. "Prove it."
Cole blinked with his blue eyes. "Prove it?!" He exclaimed incredulously. "We've only known each other for a week, how do I prove it?!"
Liana sat up straight and tall and said with a tone of defiance. "If you guys really are who you say you are, and that this isn't some messed-up trick from Sidicles, then surely you'll be able to prove it."
"Corpus bones!" Matilda cursed. "Girl, this is not the time to be clever! We're running out of time, and Polyjuice Potion dosen't last forever!"
Philip and Cole shared a frantic glance, aware of time slipping by. "Uh, OK..." Cole tried to think fast, reviewing everything that he and Liana had shared over the week. "How about I tell you what that weird creature in the tunnel was saying?"
Liana bit her lip. "Maybe..."
"Baggins!" Cole cried out, trying to imitate the creature in its high, raspy voice. "We hates it, we hates it forever! Preciousss!"
Philip laughed. "Dude, that's pretty good."
"Are you convinced?" He asked Liana.
"Well..."
"Dosen't matter, we gotta move." Matilda pulled the girl to her feet and shoved her out of the cell, muttering crossly. "There's a time to be clever, and there's a time to be smart! Corpus bones, you've cost us valuable time...!"
The four of them hurried out into the dim corridor and glanced both directions. "Which way?" Philip asked the Alex figure.
She bit her lip, scowling. "Right leads us back to the party...So there could be a private exit down the left."
Cole nodded. "Right."
"No, left." Philip piped up.
"That's what I said."
"No, you said 'right'. We need to go left."
"No, I meant--" He sighed. "Forget it. Let's go left."
"Right."
"No, left."
"Shut it!" Matilda snapped.
Barely stifling chuckles, the boys followed Matilda and Liana down the cold corridor, grinning.
@bold: Nono, Who's on first. That's what I want to know!!
"Wise words by wise men write wise deeds in wise pen." —Lollimon the Wise
The man stared at the teenagers in shock. "What the brick--?!"
"Stupefy!" The Alex figure whipped out her wand, and the guard was sent flying by a blast of light. With a shout he crashed into a little table, shattering the spindly legs and tearing down one of the tapestries on the wall.
Instead of looking stricken at seeing her father shot down, the little girl giggled manically. "I wanna do that! Let me try!"
"Larry, what's going on?" A man called from down the hall. There were more guards.
"Run!" Matilda hissed, and the four of them sprinted away the opposite direction. As he ran Cole heard the guards shouting and unsheathing their swords and daggers. One man cried out. "Get them! Dog Bone's prisoners are getting away!"
"Weee!" Sunny clapped her hands and laughed to see such fun. "Shoot them! Get out your guns! I wanna sword, gimme a sword!"
Hearts hammering in their chests, Matilda, Cole, Philip, and Liana raced down the stone passageway, turned a corner...
....And ran straight into a patrol of armed guards.
There was no small amount of panicked shout and cries, and a crazy scuffle ensued. Cole found himself arm-wrestling with a blond man carrying a curved blade, while Matilda tumbled to the ground with two men trying to pin her down. Philip punched and kicked viciously at his attackers, while Liana fought like a raged lioness, snarling and clawing blindly at the men struggling to capture her. The other guards caught up with them, (with Sunny close behind giggling,) and helped the others finally overwhelm the intruders. Cole was knocked to the ground and punched in the gut and the jaw, making his eyes swim and see stars.
The growling guards tied their prisoners' wrists together and forced them to their feet, jostling and shoving viciously. Philip snarled when one man threatened Liana with a dagger, but was subdued when his captor knocked him in the jaw.
Jeering and laughing in self-satisfaction, the gangsters dragged the four of them to the large room where the party was, and shoved the prisoners to their knees in front of Dog Bone.
"We caught a couple of spies trying to help your prisoners escape, Boss." The blond guard holding a blade against Cole's neck said.
The crowd looked at the prisoners with interest, murmuring amongst themselves while Dog Bone gazed down at them with smug superiority. "Well, well, well..." His voice was cold as ice. "It seems that we have a couple of spies in our midst."
"Let's teach the dogs a lesson, Boss!" A man shouted from the back of the room, and the crowd cheered its approval.
The thin-faced man smirked at the people before him with quiet satisfaction, looking quite grand. He looked down at Cole, and their eyes met. The crowd laughed and jeered while Philip glared at his captors and Liana crouched next to Cole. Matilda's brown-eyed gaze was unreadable, though her mouth was thin.
Wait--Brown eyes?! Alex has green eyes! Cole realized, and looked at Matilda. To his shock he saw that the Alex figure's fiery red hair was turning brown, while her soft, smooth skin was begin to ripple with old scars and looked old and worn.
'Matilda!' Cole mouthed at her. When she turned to look at him, her eyes widened. 'Your hair!' She mouthed.
Uh-oh... Out of the corner of his eye a strand of red hair across his face slowly began to turn black, and his muscles tingled. He could imagine the freckles on his face disappearing, his eyebrows thickening, and his eyes switching from blue to green.
The Polyjuice Potion was wearing off.
"Who do you think you are..." Dog Bone's voice was cold and slimy, like that of a snake. Slowly, deliberately, he walked in a circle around the prisoners kneeling on the floor, sneering. "...To think that you could sneak into my palace and help these offspring of Serpentine escape?"
"You cannot outwit me. You cannot--" He then saw Cole's face. "Wha--?!"
Dog Bone stared at Cole for a full second. He yelped and jumped backwards, nearly running into the gaping men behind him. "OhmygawshwhatinthenameofNinjagojust--?!" His wide eyes fell onto Matilda, who was no longer a hot, sixteen-year-old girl. Both Matilda and Cole had returned to their original forms. Now Cole's clothes were too small, making him squirm in the tight clothing.
"It's--It's you!!" Dog Bone spluttered in shock. All around the prisoners the gangsters gasped and began muttering frantically amongst themselves, staring at the intruders with a mixture of shock, hostility, and even fear. Behind the bandit leader's cloaked shoulder Sidicles gaped at Matilda and played with his purple robes nervously.
"You guys are busted." Philip muttered.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Cole snapped.
"It's the witch from the Warbler Canyons!" A man from the thick of the crowd gasped.
Matilda suddenly leapt to her feet and jumped up, using her arms as a jump rope and hopping over them so that her wrists were at the front of her. She shoved one of her dumbfounded captors into the crowd, then punched down the other, sending both men sprawling to the floor. Before anyone could do a thing, she swung her arms over a carved bit of metal attached to a nearby wall, where a torch usually sat. She let the ropes around her wrists catch onto the sharp metal, and, after a short series of straining and tugging whilst kicking at anyone foolish enough to come near her flailing legs, her bonds ripped apart.
Now free of the ropes, she dropped to the floor and snatched her wand from her pocket. Before she could cast a spell, however, one of the bandits who hadn't been kicked in the face shoved her to the floor. Cole chose this moment to rip himself free of his stunned captors and punch away Matilda's attacker. Philip and Liana turned on their own captors while Matilda flung out her wand at Cole's bonds and shouted something unintelligible, freeing him.
Heart pounding wildly in his chest, Cole spun around and punched the blond guard in the jaw, sending him staggering. He twisted his body and side-kicked a bandit brandishing a katana, then knocked the wind out of another man.
The crowd roared in confusion and chaos, everyone grabbing for their guns or swords and shouting frantically. With unintelligible spells Matilda split the ropes binding Philip and Liana's wrists, and Philip knocked down a gangster, grabbing the guy's nunchucks and tossing them to Liana. To Cole's surprise she whipped them through the air like a pro and knocked down a couple of gangsters, snarling fiercely. She may have been blind, but she knew how to defend herself.
Philip kneed one man in the stomach and snatched his sword, then continued to defend himself from the crowd of assailants. Matilda flung her wand with deadly accuracy, shouting spells and sending bandits flying through the air or stumbling to the floor. One of her spells missed its target and hit a tapestry hanging on a wall instead, sending it tumbling onto a pile of kindling for the nearby fireplace. Flames licked the decorative cloth, but nobody noticed.
Cole snatched a rod holding up a torch and wrenched it off the wall, using it as a weapon against the throng. He met a burly gangster with a heavy sword and swung at him, and the bandit defended himself with his blade. Grunting, the man shoved Cole's metal rod away and swung at him, snarling. Cole ducked the flashing blade and smashed the metal into the man's side, sending him reeling. Gasping for breath, he pushed himself up and found himself face-to-face with Buck.
The boy stared wide-eyed at Cole, brandishing a rifle. "What are you doing this for?!" He burst out.
Cole smiled grimly. "It's like you said. 'When you don't have any family to fight for, your friends are your family'." With that, he lashed out with the iron rod, knocking Buck unconscious. He had to do it, that was all there was to it.
Heart pounding wildly in his chest, Cole spun around and punched the blond guard in the jaw, sending him staggering. He twisted his body and side-kicked a bandit brandishing a katana, then knocked the wind out of another man.
The crowd roared in confusion and chaos, everyone grabbing for their guns or swords and shouting frantically. With unintelligible spells Matilda split the ropes binding Philip and Liana's wrists, and Philip knocked down a gangster, grabbing the guy's nunchucks and tossing them to Liana. To Cole's surprise she whipped them through the air like a pro and knocked down a couple of gangsters, snarling fiercely. She may have been blind, but she knew how to defend herself.
Philip kneed one man in the stomach and snatched his sword, then continued to defend himself from the crowd of assailants. Matilda flung her wand with deadly accuracy, shouting spells and sending bandits flying through the air or stumbling to the floor. One of her spells missed its target and hit a tapestry hanging on a wall instead, sending it tumbling onto a pile of kindling for the nearby fireplace. Flames licked the decorative cloth, but nobody noticed.
Cole snatched a rod holding up a torch and wrenched it off the wall, using it as a weapon against the throng. He met a burly gangster with a heavy sword and swung at him, and the bandit defended himself with his blade. Grunting, the man shoved Cole's metal rod away and swung at him, snarling. Cole ducked the flashing blade and smashed the metal into the man's side, sending him reeling. Gasping for breath, he pushed himself up and found himself face-to-face with Buck.
The boy stared wide-eyed at Cole, brandishing a rifle. "What are you doing this for?!" He burst out.
Cole smiled grimly. "It's like you said. 'When you don't have any family to fight for, your friends are your family'." With that, he lashed out with the iron rod, knocking Buck unconscious. He had to do it, that was all there was to it.
Heart pounding wildly in his chest, Cole spun around and punched the blond guard in the jaw, sending him staggering. He twisted his body and side-kicked a bandit brandishing a katana, then knocked the wind out of another man.
The crowd roared in confusion and chaos, everyone grabbing for their guns or swords and shouting frantically. With unintelligible spells Matilda split the ropes binding Philip and Liana's wrists, and Philip knocked down a gangster, grabbing the guy's nunchucks and tossing them to Liana. To Cole's surprise she whipped them through the air like a pro and knocked down a couple of gangsters, snarling fiercely. She may have been blind, but she knew how to defend herself.
Philip kneed one man in the stomach and snatched his sword, then continued to defend himself from the crowd of assailants. Matilda flung her wand with deadly accuracy, shouting spells and sending bandits flying through the air or stumbling to the floor. One of her spells missed its target and hit a tapestry hanging on a wall instead, sending it tumbling onto a pile of kindling for the nearby fireplace. Flames licked the decorative cloth, but nobody noticed.
Cole snatched a rod holding up a torch and wrenched it off the wall, using it as a weapon against the throng. He met a burly gangster with a heavy sword and swung at him, and the bandit defended himself with his blade. Grunting, the man shoved Cole's metal rod away and swung at him, snarling. Cole ducked the flashing blade and smashed the metal into the man's side, sending him reeling. Gasping for breath, he pushed himself up and found himself face-to-face with Buck.
The boy stared wide-eyed at Cole, brandishing a rifle. "What are you doing this for?!" He burst out.
Cole smiled grimly. "It's like you said. 'When you don't have any family to fight for, your friends are your family'." With that, he lashed out with the iron rod, knocking Buck unconscious. He had to do it, that was all there was to it.
