Black Bone Tower Part 32

Previous: Black Bone Tower Part 31

''Rinji and Dala stayed very close to the wall as they could, as their ledge was only around seven feet, and the fall looked to be somewhere around seven hundred feet deep. Rinji figured they must have been at least to one of the top three tiers of the tower, his depth perception of how thin the air was getting was rather keen. They had stopped to rest more than once along their way, but who knew how long they had been in that accursed tower, not only that but their food rations were getting low. Chio and Alice were their two main food holders, that's why they separated the two. He didn't count on both of them getting separated from another part of their group. It all seemed too hard, too complexed for Rinji to take at that moment. He took off his new hat and scratched a his head a little bit.''

Rinji: Damn new hats. They always need a good wash before you should actually wear them. [He put it back on and bent the bill of it so that it would have that baseball look to it.]

Dala: I'm not much of a hat cat, myself. I use to when I went to parties as a kitten, but I outgrew that pretty fast.

Rinji: Mewhahaha! This is pretty much the first hat I've ever owned.

Dala: So, yeah about our crews, shouldn't we be looking for them down at the bottom of the tower? I doubt there's anyway they could have traveled this far up without us seeing them.

Rinji: Mew, well the way I see it, if we get to the top, we'll not only know they're not up here, but also see what the top holds. If it's the end of the game, then perhaps, it will open an exit of some sort. It's worth a try, and we'll just go downward whenever we see what it's all about.

Dala: I guess, so once all of this is over, what's going to happen?

Rinji: I try not to plan that far ahead, it spoils the ending.

''Dala smiled a little bit at this. Then she looked ahead to see that there was a very small tunnel opening in the wall. It was about four feet tall and just wide enough for them to crawl through.''

Rinji: Hello... what's this? [Rinji was cautious to make sure that there were no panels in front of it on the ledge.]

Dala: Think it could lead to the next staircase?

Rinji: Possibly, it's way too dark to see. [Rinji put his paw on the top of the hole to look deeper into it, seeing if his night vision could divine the way, but his hand sunk into the top some. His eyes shot up to see a trap panel where he laid his hand.] Ah, hell!

Water splooshed out of the hole, gushing like a firehose!

Rinji: GUAAAHHH!! [It was seawater! All at once he felt his strength leave his limbs and his head went completely hazy.]

Dala: Rinji! [She grabbed his hand before he was pushed completely over the ledge. She caught him and held him up as the water kept coming.]

''She knew that if she let go, there was no way to get him back up onto the ledge. With the way he reacted to it, it had to be saltwater, and he could not use his devilfruit powers. She could also not run up the wall again, there was so much water that it would be impossible to gain the right friction to come back up the wall, not matter how hard she ran. His wet hand was quickly slipping.''

Dala: Rinji! Hang on! [She quickly grasped his arm with her other hand, thankfully his fur wasn't nearly as slick as his palm, and she quickly pulled him up against the massive flow of water.]

''Dala finally got him to the ledge, and rolled out of the water-flow's way. She held him very tight, and they were both panting very hard as they sat there. Rinji's eyes were only half open, he was having a great deal of trouble keeping them open. His entire body was like a boned fish, and she held onto him even tighter, keeping his head on her shoulder. The water stopped, and they were left in absolute silence.''

Dala: Rinji... [She panted as her hand reached the back of his head.]

Rinji: Yeah? [He whispered, trying to keep up consciousness.]

Dala: Please. [Her paw began to stroke the back of his head softly, trying to get all of the water and salt out of his fur.]

''Soon she began to lick the side of his cheek, she tried to work her way over his head, removing the baseball cap and putting it to the side as she worked. She faced to the side and spat some of the seawater out, then continued. At length, she had done all she could, and soon he found his strength returning. Over time, they both started to air out their clothes, and wring them dry. That was when Rinji looked over toward her, and she put back on her shirt, seeing him.''

Dala: What?

Rinji: Alright. [He smiled at her, and she gave him something of a confused look.] Come on. [He motioned her to follow, and he straightened himself, putting his hand on the wall, but then he looked at the wall.]

''That was when Rinji saw a button, instead of a trap panel. This one was labeled with a "20" and he motioned for Dala to look at it. They both gave it a good look, and then Dala glanced at Rinji, who looked back and shrugged. Dala pressed the button, and the wall began to open. It slid open like a screen door, and they braced themselves for anything that would come out of it, ready to either move out of the way, or dodge an oncoming attack, but nothing came. Instead, they witnessed perhaps the most beautiful thing either of them had ever seen. A very steep set of stairs went way up, and at the top was a threshold with no door, just light. The two of them, looked at one another once again, smiled, and began to ascend.''

Nikk: They are twenty numbered buttons, and each of them has a chance of making something good happen, instead of the other nine hundred traps in the tower.

Chio: Nine hundred?! [Chio looked at Nikk, he was holding Usagi on his back now, who was very comfortable with her arms around his chest and the side of her head leaned against the back of his.]

Nikk: [Nodded.] I've been walking all around the tower, trying to find all of them, and so far I've either gotten nothing, or I've gotten random things, like a bag of muffins, or this large bottle of water. [She patted the canteen at her hip.] The tower's history suggests that one of them could lead to the alleged treasure.

Alice: Oh, my! Nikk, you certainly have found quite a bit in your endeavours, haven't you?

Nikk: [Nodded.] I have also found out that this is not an island.

All of them paused for a moment while they were walking, and looked at Nikk.

Nikk: The man who built this tower was certified as a lunatic, and went on a killing rampage that brought great tragedy to many islands over the years. His reign predates even Snowbeard, or any of the golden aged pirates. He enslaved a large colony of people, and had them build this tower with the intent to make it a prison that was impossible to escape. When it was finished, his captives trapped him inside of it, and his corpse was found nearly a decade later. He had set off his own trap and was decapitated.

Ellis: Damn, sounds like he got his just desserts afterall. [She said, carrying an unconscious Gonzo Lee on her back, a cigarette hanging from her lips.]

Jiro: Well that is certainly a grand story, but you mentioned that this was not an island?

Nikk: Yes, I don't know what it is, but it does explain why my compass had a negative effect on this place.

Kimi: Alright, well I don't know about the rest of you, but I think we need to find our way out of here, and search for Dala, or go search for Dala.

Jiro: I agree. The best coarse of action is to find the way out for the wounded, and get them back to the ship. Then we can go find our crewmates.

Ellis: Yeah, I dunno 'bout you guys, but Gonzo Lee is heavier than he looks.

Lee: Haha....

Ellis: Oh, hey, you're awake. How ya holdin' up?

Lee: I'm good.

Kimi: As much as I hate to say it, some of us should go find the others, and the others need to get the injured out of here. Chio, you go with Ellis and take them out of the tower, the rest of you--

Nikk: Alice and I have a job to do as well.

Alice: Do we? [Alice looked to her, and she nodded.]

Kimi: [Paused for a moment, then shrugged.] Sounds good. Jiro? You with us?

Jiro: For Rinji, absolutely.

''They all nodded once in agreement, and then separated once again. They knew, somehow, that time was running out.''

Black Bone Tower Part 33