Chris: Huddles away from fans I'm so sorry for not updating! I haven't been on fanfiction,net in so long, I completely forgot I was even writing anything. Please, don't hurt Chrisy!

And did anyone notice. I updated last time, and it didn't register for over a week… OO Evil site…

Chapter 16

Watari leaned back, his head hitting the concrete wall behind him. From somewhere in the distance he could hear water dripping, over and over again, and if he wasn't thinking and yelling at himself in his mind, he might have just lost it thanks to the noise. It was like a bomb going off every three seconds, and it was slowly making him want to rip himself from the chains that currently held him in place.

Why hasn't Hisoka heard his call, he was close enough so then he could have easily seen the engineer. So why hadn't he stopped? And the fact that he stepped through the wall worried him enough as it was. Perhaps he was on a different level of existence? It wouldn't surprise him if so.

But if that were the case…

A grin spreading across the blondes face he relaxed back, closing his eyes. With a sigh he opened his palms…

…And he fell through the brick behind himself.

OO

Tsuzuki coughed, hands fumbling around the boney fingertips, which clawed at his throat, attempting to rip it open altogether. Teeth gritting, he forced his nails under the attackers, free hand grabbing at the base of the elbow where it had ripped from Hisoka's body, and pulled. The arm was unable to keep its hold and was forced off, twitching and moving in Tsuzuki's firm grasp. With a disgusted look Tsuzuki tossed the thing away, watching it squirm it's way beneath the ground and disappear.

"It's Hisoka!" Wakaba cried. "What are we going to do, is it really him?"

Tsuzuki remained silent, glaring toward the creature. Hisoka bent forward, small body twisting before their eyes in ways no living creature would, and he gave out another howl. His remaining arm remained limply at his side, dangling as if only being held by a thin thread.

Taking a step beside him Tatsumi kept his eyes on Hisoka. "This is only a body, I'm sure of it. We should be able to tear through it easily."

"But will it harm the real Hisoka. What if they're connected in some way…"

Everyone turned to glance at Terazuma, who stood before them, back facing their gazes. He glared at the body, the thing that represented Hisoka, as it snarled and hissed. Fists clenched at his sides, teeth bared, Terazuma turned his attention to the ground.

"We aren't certain what this creature is, and we can't make any definite action until we figure it out. We must subdue it somehow."

With a silent agreement they all dived back, watching the creature jump, land where they had once been standing. It glared up at them through empty eyes, filled with hatred and blood lust. Flexing its bony fingers it turned, diving toward Wakaba, letting out a high pitch shriek.

Without a second though Tatsumi rolled on his side, feet landing behind him. Instantly he brought up his hands, raising them high above his head. With a flick of his wrist he watched the shadows begin to melt before him, pouring into one single mass. Twitching his wrist again he pointed toward the body. Around him the shadows danced before pouring over him, grabbing, pulling the body which screamed it's wrath. The shadows wrapped themselves around his form and pulled tight, enclosing him within a black cage where even his cried were muffled.

"Is he ok?" Tsuzuki asked, stepping toward the mass.

Tatsumi waved his hand, relaxing slightly. "Don't get too close, I'm not sure how powerful it is yet. Hopefully that will subdue it until we can understand how to stop it, or even what it is exactly."

Everyone nodded in agreement, continuing down their way, the shadows dragging the corpse along behind them.

OO

Hisoka walked, face blank, eyes unfocused. His hand curled around his shoulder where he could feel himself hurting, feel the hot searing pain that seemed to come with no wound attached. And yet although he knew it hurt, it didn't seem to be all too painful.

Weird how that happens sometimes.

It was so dark, so empty. Yet he continued to walk, unsure of where he was heading, only sure that perhaps, just maybe, there would be an end.

He was looking for someone, wasn't he?

But he couldn't remember. He couldn't remember much anyways, everything seemed to be a blank. Everything except the darkness and the throbbing ache which threatened to take over his thoughts. So then why, why did he continue down a path which seemed endless, only to find the thing which he couldn't even remember?

Odd, how the mind seems to work sometimes.

His hand reached out, his free palm, toward the darkness. His body was working automatically, his mind not quite attached. Flexing his muscle, his hand opened and shut, over and over again.

And tears flowed from his eyes, down the side of his cheeks.

Why, why wouldn't he come?

Why wouldn't his savior come and save him again?

OO

Watari sighed, rubbing his sore head where he hand fallen on the hard concrete. Glancing up, he grinned, seeing the stone wall which lay in front of him.

So it had worked.

Standing, he brushed away the small bits of dirt which threatened to stain his wonderful white coat, although it was a little late for that. Giving a small stretch he began down the long corridor, mind attempting to reach out to anything that might be real in this universe which was made from the mind.

The mind of a child.

That was all it was. A castle of memories, of visions which were burned into one, complete essence. The building was the complete work of a boy who had been caged in his own world, an escape to something more free.

So, in theory, being that he, Watari, was a living (if not slightly dead) individual, who was as real as the day and his experiments as perfect, then he should be able to travel through this world of imagination easily.

Perhaps the experiments metaphor wasn't too thought up well.

Reaching a hand out he placed it on the stone wall, closing his eyes, trying to reach toward anything that might be Hisoka. Even if he could just touch his mind…

And something clicked. With a grin he pushed further, fingers prodding the new feeling of true thought.

OO

Chris: Yep… took forever. OO I'm actually writing this in class. XD Teachers' looking at me funny. So yeah, heh…R&R!