...And Into The Fire

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 14

I gently pushed the door to the Council Chambers open with
my shoulder, planing on peaking in. Not that it work
however, because as I got the door open a few inches, Sierra
forced his way through them, and into the room.

I froze for a second, and after a few seconds, when I didn't
here any shouting, or gun shots, I sighed, and pushed my way
through the door. It was as I had expect, empty. Even Sierra
had skampered off someplace.

I shook my head, sitting down on the edge of the table that
was stood in the center of the floor. Oriana pulled out one
of the chairs, and sat down herself.

"Now what do we do?" I asked no one in particular, resting
my elbows on my knees, and my chin in my hands.

Oria patted me on the back. "Well Fox, where else could they
be?"

I shrugged. "How should I know, this place is monstrously
huge, there are thousands off rooms. It may be easier to
wait for them to grab us, then try and find them."

I heard her growl a bit under her breath. I looked over my
shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "What was that for?"

She stood, and looked me right in the eyes. "You're giving
up before you even try."

I threw my arms out into the air. "I tried, and look where
we are, trap in the Hall, no idea of where the bad guys are,
let along the good guys. And with you and me only, the
chances of winning are less then nothing."

She paused. "Fox... do you remember Sinth?"

That brought me up short very very quick. Sinth was mine and
Oriana's last adventure together, before she had me return
her to her home. Some bad things happened there, and it was
one of the first times I ever really faced almost sure
death, not to mention kill someone. Not an easy thing for a
sixteen year old to take.

After that I was in the same kind of blue funk. I was sure
everything I had done was worthless, and that for all my
meddling, all I had done was hurt people. I had seriously
considered just going home, and forgetting that I ever walk
the folds.

Oriana decided she couldn't take it any more, and had me
take her home. Leaving me with a parting wish to see me
again. The next day I went home, planing never to open the
fold again. Maybe a week later, I meet again with a nice
young women, who I had ran into a few days before at the
mall. She asked me what was wrong, and I looker her in they
eyes, and told her. It was the first time I had ever told
anyone on Earth about the folds.

She believed me, mostly because I had shown her the fold
first, and days later she convinced me to show her Prid
(this was back before Ted let me use the house), I did, and
things got better from there.

She was Becky.

I looked back up at her. "What are you saying?"

She placed her paw under my chin, and raised my head until
we where eye to eye again. "I'm saying that this is not the
time, just like there. After it's over then you can mope,
but right now, as far as we know, we're the only one in any
kind of position to stop the HammerHeads. Out of both of us,
you're the leader, you've been in more scrapes then I have.
I mean, it's not like we've gone adventuring sense we got
back together."

I grinned a bit. "Me, the leader?"

She gripped a bit harder with her paw, and nodded my head.
"You have the experience."

"Oriana--" I stared, but she cut me sharply off.

"No, Fox right now you're the leader. I don't care how much
you hate it, or think you're unqualified, but you ARE in
charge."

I took a slow breath. "Alright, if you say so, but I am no
leader."

She gave me a wide grin, her cat lip stretching a bit. "Fox,
you'll do fine, trust me."

"Well then, why don't you lead your selves along in front of
me." I voice said.

Slowly I turned my head. Standing in front of the door was a
human guard, who was aiming his plasma gun at us. I stood
up, and dropped my hands to my side. "Where to?"

He grinned. "If I'm nice, to a cell, if I'm not, well then
it won't matter to you."

I rolled my eyes. "Great, a guard with a sense of humor."

The guard frowned. "Now that hurt. I like to think my
comments are deep and witty."

As I was trying to come up with some stinging rebuttal to
that, Sierra, who had somehow found his way up onto the desk
for the third level, took a flying leap into the air, and
landed on the guards outstretched hand.

The impact knocked the gun to the floor, and distracted the
guard. Instantly my mind when into neutral, and my body took
over. I stared running at the guard, closing the distance in
only a few seconds, and by the time he noticed me, I had put
my shoulder into his rib cage, and forced him hard against
the wall.

There was a dull thump as the back of his head impact the
wall, and then he slumped down over me.

I took a step back, and the guard fell to the ground,
unconscious. As my mind started to kick back in, I reached
down and check his pulse.

"Well, he's still alive." I stated, more to satisfy myself,
then to explaining it to anyone.

"See," Oria said, moving beside me, "I told you, you could
lead."

I shook my head. "That wasn't exactly a leadership decision.
It just happened."

Saying that, I bent down, and pulled off the guards jacket,
and then shirt. Holding the plane white shirt up, I said.
"Could you rip this into some strips."

She grinned. "I can do better then that." Then, taking the
shirt, she unsheathed the claws of her left paw, and
proceeded to maul the shirt.

I shook my head. "Thanks." Then grabbing a handful of the
stripes, and proceeded to tie the guards legs and hands
together, then tie them together into one large knot. Then I
used another piece, and gagged him.

"There, that should keep him busy for a while. Come on, lets
get him hidden under the desk." Oria helped me lift him up,
and over the first level desk, then I forced him under it.

Then I sat back down on the table, I petted Sierra a bit,
who was now rubbing my leg. "Nice trick, care to tell me how
you got up there?"

His response was to curl up at my feet.

"He's a bit like a cat, isn't he?" Oria said.

I shook my head, grinning a bit. "You get the feeling, that
of the three of us, he knows the most about what's going
on?"

She laughed. "Fox, knowing the kind of people you usual run
into, yes."

That caused me to snicker a bit, which caused me to almost
miss the sound of a low beep. I raised my hand, stopping
Oria's laughing. "Did you here that?"

She paused. "Maybe."

The beep came again, and Oria nodded. "That was it."

I jumped off the table, being careful of Sierra. "It sounded
like it came from the guards jacket."

Both she and I walked over the the jacket, and I bent down,
to look closer at it. It was the usual guard jacket, a dark
brown, with a few pockets, two specifically made for the
plasma gun charge packs. Over the right breast was suppose
to be the symbol of the Council, but it had been torn off.

I started going through it, when I heard a muffled voice
say. "Fox."

Looking at Oria, she shrugged. "That was not me."

"Fox, we're using the guards radio." the voice came again.
Reaching inside the jacket, aiming for where the sound was
coming from, I pulled out what looked like a walky-talky
from Earth.

Pressing the talk button, I said. "Who's there?"

"It's Rachel." The voice said, clear as a bell, and
definitely sounding like her. Though, considering what was
going on, I wasn't going to believe it to quickly.

"No offense, but I'm not exactly in a situation to believe
that."

There was a pause, then someone else spoke up. "Then can you
believe me?" It took a second to place the voice.

"Kalie, what the hell are you doing here?"

I heard her laughed over the connection. "I was on a supply
run, and got trapped when all the folds stopped working."

I chewed on this for a second. "And the others?"

"We're both here." I heard Steven say.

I ran this over in my head. I doubt they could fake Steven's
voice, mainly because they didn't know about him. The points
for this being the real people where starting to add up.

"What about the other three?"

"Page is here with us, sleeping." Rachel said. "The Ancient
as apparently vanished, and Rathal has been captured by the
HammerHeads, and last we heard, to be escorted to see
Jenner."

I chewed on my lip for a second. "Listen, where are you guys
at."

"We're in--" Rachel stated, but was cut off. Then there was
a silence for a second, then Kalie came on. "Fox, I just
realized, this is not the securest of channels."

I ahhed. "Well then, I guess your going to have to come get
me."

"Yes, but first you I need you to do something."

I glanced back over my shoulder at Oria. "What?" I said into
the radio.

"Take your groundless fear, and ground it. Kalie out." There
was a pause, and then a light spattering of static.

I stood there for a second, pondering that, then slowly put
the walky-talky into my jacket pocket.

"What did she mean by that?" Oriana asked. I was surprised
that she didn't ask who Kalie was, but then I remember that
they had meet once.

I didn't say anything, just chewed on my lip. Then after a
few seconds, it dawned on me. "That's not on any of my
records." I said, as I stared to rub my chin through my
beard.

"What's not?" Oria asked.

Looking at her, I grinned. "My fear of elevators, that's not
on any record, and I've never told anyone in the
HammerHeads."

She slowly nodded her head. "So we need to take an elevator,
but to where."

I didn't answer it. "Ground... well we're underground, maybe
she means ground level." I paused. "Nah, none of the
elevators go there. What else could she have meant?" I keep
turning it over in my head.

Oria looked down. "Hey, what are we standing on?"

"The floor."

"And under that?"

I shrugged. "Then floor below us."

"Right, then what's under the lowest level?"

"Twenty miles or so of bedrock I would guess, and then
lava."

She nodded. "So, technically, the lowest level is on the
ground."

"Well yes, but I don't see..." I trailed off, I saw exactly
what she was getting at. "Ground it, of course."

I turned and hugged her. "Oria, you're brilliant! I could
kiss you."

She grinned, and blushed a bit in her ears. "I'll remember
that."

Letting go of her, I grabbed the guards jacket, and threw it
over the first level desk. "I know where the nearest
elevator is, it's right out side of the lobby."

"Well then, lets go."

I stared off, finding that Sierra was already sitting by the
door waiting for me to open it. With I grin, I pushed it
open, and we were off.