Cellblock Z - Black Cat

    With a groan of annoyance, Shinigami picked himself up off the ground and took a good look at his surroundings. Featureless grey walls with a round hatch in the centre of each one. Some hatches had a series of handholds to allow access to them as well as having a green or red glowing border around the edge of the hatch. 

    This place, Shinigami decided, was very odd. 

     Not only that, but it appeared as if he had managed to get himself captured. Again. He was beginning to wonder if this was his special talent, that one skill that set him apart from everyone else. The way things were going, that certainly seemed the case. Or maybe the gods could just really, really hate him. Shinigami was betting on the latter.

    "Now where am I?" He asked, wincing from the new additions to his already sizable collection of cuts and bruises.  

    Another survey of his surroundings yielded no more information than his initial study. The only thing that captured his attention were the stray scorch marks on the walls and the odd scrap of brightly coloured material. And since there was nothing else in the room that would give any indication of the room's purpose, Shinigami walked over to one of the scraps of material and picked it up to examine it. 

    It was.... brightly coloured material. Sturdy. Burnt slightly. 

    Finished with that part of the investigation, Shinigami walked to one of the scorch marks on the wall and examined it. 

    It was... a scorch mark. 

    The mark was probably created by something very hot with the purpose of damaging something near-by. And judging from the amount of Sailor Senshi that were running around the Castle of Winds (of which he had very little role in their capture, of course), it was possible that this scorch was caused by a fire-using senshi. 

    One of many that were out for his blood.

    So, less than satisfied with his deductive skills, Shinigami tossed the fabric aside and set about trying to decide which hatch to try and open. There was nothing to indicate which hatch would be safe to open and there was nobody around he could possibly use... er... that is... to get their help with the decision. Yes, that was it. Help. He was good at helping people. 

    "Well, I guess this hatch is as good as the next," Shinigami said, and strode up to one that did not have any scorch marks near it. Huh, I wonder what this red colour means... He shrugged. "Only one way to find out." 

* * *

    "There's GOT to be a way out of here!" Epsilon screamed in frustration and slammed her staff on the ground. 

    "There is. You're probably just too dense to find it." Sailor Ruby said with a smirk. She figured out what the colours meant, and was well on her way to finding the exit when a very charred Epsilon stumbled into the room. Apparently, Epsilon hadn't figured out the trick yet and Ruby wasn't about to tell her... it was too funny to watch the irritating woman blunder into one trap after another.

    Epsilon turned on Ruby with a dark glare. "Oh really? Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas to get out of here!"

     Ruby frowned at her. "At least I'm not trying to get both of us killed!"

    "As if these rooms will let us die!" Epsilon snapped. "They're just intent on humiliating us!"

    "Humiliating YOU, you mean." Ruby shot back, smugly. "I haven't set off ONE trap yet! How about you? Can you say the same? Of course not."

    Epsilon growled in annoyance. There was nothing that she could say to that since it was the truth that she had set off many traps. Though it wasn't because Epsilon hadn't figured out the trick to the rooms, as Ruby had assumed. It was because she was too impatient to go through the puzzles in the proper manner and tried to use force.

    It turned out to be a failure.... but at least it was a spectacular failure.

    Casting a hateful look back at Ruby, Epsilon began devising a plan to get away from her, out of The Cube, and back home. The shifting rooms were not making the process any easier so Epsilon had to keep on readjusting her plans. Of course, if there was a way to work "get out of being in Ruby's Royal Court" in then she would have most definitely placed it as top priority... above even getting out of The Cube. 

    "You know, since I have the better record at travelling through this place, then you should just do as I say. Then we'll get out of here," Ruby said.  

    Just then, the room began to vibrate and shake slightly, the telltale signs that the structure of The Cube was changing again. It would only be a matter of seconds before the room they were in would be sent off to another section in the ever-changing labyrinth. 

    This was it. This was the chance Epsilon had been waiting for. Now she could get away from that bothersome Ruby and go back to humiliating herself without an audience. Oh, and finding a way out of course. But first... 

    She looked at the hatch on the floor between them. It had a green border. 

    "Shoot! We're going to move again!" Ruby looked around the room and tried to find a handhold to steady herself. "We've just got to wait this out and try to get to a room with a puzzle we can figure out."

    "Good. You do that." Epsilon said and wrenched the bottom hatch open with her staff. "I'll take my chances alone. Good luck, Oh Wise Leader!" She saluted Ruby with a smirk of her own and jumped down.

    And just in time. 

    Ruby began swearing and tried to grab Epsilon's arm to wrench her back into the room when she was knocked off her feet. The red and black of Ruby's uniform disappeared in a blur as the room flew out of sight, heading to another location in their prison. The green border around the hatch beeped, and turned red as a new room slid into place. 

    "Heh heh heh... That'll teach her to talk back to me." 

    Epsilon chuckled and swung her legs out to reach the next rung on the ceiling of the new room. Hooking her feet and arm into the rungs, she used her free hand to secure her staff by tying it up with the long, trailing ends of her back bow. At least its good for something, she thought to herself before proceeding.

    And now she was alone again. Now, Epsilon would be able to concentrate on figuring out the pattern to the shifting rooms and not on how she appeared in front of the other trapped senshi. Not that she should care what they thought of her, but she did have a certain image to uphold. 

    Epsilon was concentrating so hard on keeping her grip on the slippery rungs that she didn't notice that her movements made the staff slowly slide out of the knot in her back bow. Inch by inch, the weighted end crept downward until the angle was too sharp for the length of the staff to balance it out. The staff slipped out of the knot, just as Epsilon noticed too late to grab it.

    Shoot! It's going to set off the trap! Epsilon cursed and braced herself for whatever the room could throw at her. 

    But instead of the metallic clatter of the staff hitting the ground, there was the soft thump of metal contacting flesh. Followed by... silence. Then the sound of a body hitting the ground. Several seconds passed before Epsilon began wondering if this room was safe and relaxed.

    And then crackling energy arched through the air; it surged from the walls, through the rungs and into her body. Epsilon cried out in agony, losing her grip and falling through the electrified air towards the ground that lay far, far below. 

    Somewhere in Epsilon's pain-fogged mind, she heard the rustle of clothing and the muffled staccato of rapid footfalls. She wondered.... unable to force her eyes open. 

    Why the trap didn't set off when her staff fell? What was that sound? Did someone catch it? Who was it? Why are they were still moving? Shouldn't they be immobilized by the electricity? How much would it hurt when she hits the ground?

    Many more questions raced through her mind, but she stopped them before they were able to form into coherent mass. It doesn't matter... 

    As Epsilon was preparing for the sharp impact of the unyielding metal floor, her rapid descent was halted by the warm arms that wrapped around her and the body that absorbed the brunt of the fall. It was a long time before she was able to sort through the confusion and realize that, somehow, she had arrived on the ground unharmed. Someone had stopped her fall. 

    Slowly, Epsilon opened her eyes and looked up into sparkling blue of her rescuer's eyes. She was only able to stare at the man's face in confusion until her mind was able to process the events that just occurred. Then, she begin to identify the man that held her. 

    Pale skin. Short dark blue hair. Blood-red cloth around his forehead. Dark red leather jacket..... and Electric Blue Eyes.

    "SHINIGAMI!" Epsilon yelped, her face turning red from embarrassment. "What... why are you here?!"

    "Thank goodness that you are okay," Shinigami said with a smile. "I feared the worst when the electric current caused you to fall, Miss Epsilon." 

    "How is it that you're unharmed? You were in the room too!" She said quickly, trying to change the subject from her less than graceful entry. At the same time, she began trying to free herself from Shinigami's arms, which turned out to be a futile effort.

    He smiled enigmatically. "The room is still electrified, so I cannot let you down quite yet."

    "Oh...right..." Epsilon looked down and, for the first time, noticed the crackling light that flickered around Shinigami's legs, and then down, across the floor to scythe and staff that lay forgotten on the ground. "But, how could you....."

    "...survive this?" He gazed at Epsilon and saw her nod numbly and stare at the electricity that danced harmlessly around him while being so lethal to her. He smiled inwardly and wondered just how much he should tell her. 

    "Shinigami?" She asked quietly. 

    He looked towards the spot where the shaft of their two weapons crossed, studying the electricity that crackled once more, before disappearing entirely. Then Shinigami hesitated another second or two before letting Epsilon down to stand on her own. She wavered on her feet, apparently still suffering from the earlier shock. He had to reach out and steady her with a hand on her shoulder.

    "Miss Epsilon, you wouldn't think that someone who uses electricity could be so easily harmed by it, would you?" He finally answered. "Why, it would be suicide to have a metallic weapon and cast an electric attack while being completely vulnerable to it."

    She looked doubtful, but didn't argue. "I suppose..."

    Shinigami turned away to retrieve the fallen weapons. "Since we've met up, it would probably be a good idea for us to work together." He walked back and handed Epsilon her Silver Staff. "At least, until we can find an exit."

    But Epsilon remained stubborn to the end. "I don't think that teaming up would be a wise idea." 

    He looked genuinely confused. "Why would you say that?"

    "Because..." Epsilon looked away from him. She couldn't force herself to admit the truth to someone like Shinigami. This problem was something she had to solve alone, without any outside help.

    Because...  

    ....because Kouhei will laugh at me if I can't figure this out myself.....

    "Miss Epsilon?" Shinigami's voice interrupted her thoughts. She clutched desperately at the opportunity to shift her attention away from that man... that time... and things that should remain buried in the past.  

    She cleared her throat and drove those surfacing thoughts back into the abyss of memories, hoping that they'd never return but knowing better. Things were never that easy. 

    "B...because...." Epsilon forced calm upon herself and tried again. "I don't need your pity. I will solve this problem alone and without any help from people like you." 

    He raised an eyebrow and gazed at her wordlessly. She only hesitated for a fraction of a second before turning away and striding purposefully towards a green hatch, but it was long enough for Shinigami to notice. A secret smile spread across his face.

    "Very well. If that is what you desire, I am not one to stand in your way." 

    He walked back to where his scythe lay and bent to pick it up. A faint crackle of electricity danced along the shaft before vanishing into Shinigami's gloved hands. He gazed into the mirrored surface of the blade at Epsilon's retreating back with amusement. She's as gullible as ever... but that's what makes my job so much fun. A dark chuckle escaped from Shinigami as he swung the scythe to rest across his shoulders. 

    "I hope that we will be able to meet again, once we exit this prison." He strode towards an unarmed hatch, across from Epsilon's choice, and pulled it open. "Good luck, Miss Epsilon." He saluted her, and vanished into the next room.

    She stared after him with a mixture of frustration and confusion.
 

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