Ryoga: The Ultimate Breaking point 2

	Ryoga walked behind Mousse and frowned as he tugged on the chain
that connected them. "I don't see why I have to wear this..." muttered
Ryoga half heartedly. 
	"Because I don't have time to go looking for you that's why."
answered Mousse. 
	They had Crossed the Tail and boarder only a day before in
pursuit of the boy. The pair now stood on a cliff that overlooked a large
valley with a large mountain in the center. It looked out of place in the
center of the land surrounding it. On the peak of the Mountain a large
temple could be seen. 
	"Is that it?" asked Ryoga.
	"Yes. We have to be careful, the monks may not be friendly, They
know what they are guarding, and there are many traps." said Mousse as he
nodded grimly.
	"Sounds like fun." snorted Ryoga sarcastically.
	"Ryoga if they find him before we do they'll kill him, and us
with him." said Mousse.

	Jun snuck behind a pillar as a group of men walked by with
spears. "Allot of guards." he muttered to himself as he watched them walk
by. When they turned a corner he resumed his careful trek towards the
large shrine in the center of the temple. He jumped onto the roof
silently and peered into the window of the shrine with his umbrella held
ready. "Deserted. No guards." he said triumphantly. "This is going to be
easier than I thought." he said as he jumped in. As he landed Jun turned
to see a large golden statue sitting before a large chest that was
against the back wall. 
	The whole building was covered with ornate paintings of workers
using the breaking point to mine rocks. There was also a few techniques
he did not recognize. One that caught his attention was a man that was
shooting something from his hands into the ground. He had a large scowl
across his face. Jun shook his head and tried to focus his thoughts, he
found it was extremely difficult. "What's wrong with me?" he muttered as
he held his head. The air seemed thick around him and he struggled to
stand. He looked around and saw what was wrong. A strange incense was
burning in large hanging pots around the edges of the temple. "Very
clever." said Jun with a smile.
	He focused all his energy on getting to the box. He smiled as he
casually shoved the statue to the side. He reached and opened the box.

	Mousse and Ryoga frowned as they entered the temple over a wall.
They had almost been spotted several times thanks to Ryoga's sense of
direction. Mousse was especially nervous inside the temple.
	"Calm down, you won't be any help like this." whispered Ryoga
angrily.
	"Shut up and follow me." said Mousse with a small frown. Ryoga
allowed himself to be led to the center court yard and they climbed up to
the top of the shrine silently. 
	"He's not in there." said Ryoga as he peered in with Mousse. 
	"I can see that." said Mousse as he looked at the wall.
	"Yea, I bet." muttered Ryoga as he started to lower himself into
the shrine. 
	Mousse grabbed him and pulled him back to the roof. "No." he
whispered loudly.
	"What are you doing?!" said Ryoga.
	"Quiet fool, look." said Mousse as he pointed out into the
courtyard. Ryoga wisely looked in the opposite direction into the window
of the temple and saw what Mousse had noticed. A strange smoke was coming
from several pots that lined the inner walls of the shrine. "I recognize
that smell, if we go in there we'll be lucky if we even remember why we
went in there in the first place."
	"So what do we do?" asked Ryoga calmly.
	"We use these." said Mousse as he pulled a pair of gas mask from
his robes.
	"Why do you have those?" asked Ryoga with a strange stare.
	"I keep a few gas bombs." said Mousse flatly.
	"Oh." said Ryoga as he placed the mask on. With that the pair
jumped into the temple.

	"Ryoga open the lid and see if its still in there." said Mousse
as he watched the door warily.
	"Right." replied the man as he walked towards the front doors of
the shrine.
	"Other way fool!" cried Mousse. The doors burst open and two
large guards stood glaring at them with cloths tied across their faces.
One of them started yelling in Chinese and several more appeared in the
doorway. Mousse covered his mouth over the mask and laughed nervously.
Ryoga smiled as he held the lid of the chest up and looked at them in
surprise. 
	"Nice going." he said to his companion. He looked into the chest
and almost fell over in shock. Inside was a large hole that disappeared
into darkness with a ladder. "Mousse in here!" cried Ryoga as he grabbed
him by his collar and jumped into the chest just as several spears
embedded themselves into the wall where they were standing.
	An elderly man walked into the room behind the men. "Sir they
have entered the forbidden caverns, should we follow?" asked one of the
guards as he kneeled before him.
	"No they will no doubt perish in the traps, even if they survive
they will have to leave through here it is the only exit. Post a double
guard at the door and assign men to the roof for the next two weeks."
said the elderly man with a frown.
	"Sir!" barked the men as they stood tall.

	Mousse growled as he hung from his chains with Ryoga clung to his
feet. "Fool." he yelled.
	"I suppose you would rather have died?" answered Ryoga.
	"Just reach in my robes and find my flashlight." muttered Mousse.
	"Right." said Ryoga as he climbed up Mousses legs and began to
reach into his shirt.
	"AUUUGGGHH! That's not a flashlight! How can you get lost in
there!" cried Mousse in revulsion and surprise.
	Ryoga pulled his hand out of the robes and cried out in disgust.

	Jun looked at the large cavern he had found and smiled. "This is
amazing." he said to himself. The walls all appeared to be man made they
had carved decorations depicting Chinese demons and dragons. He stepped
forward and felt something click on the ground under him. "Shit" he cried
as some of the bricks slid out of place on the ground and walls.

	Ryoga and Mousse finally reached the ground and an erie blue
light seemed to glow from the walls. "We made it, lets get some hot water
so I can wash my hands." said Ryoga as he sat on the ground for a moment
and brushed his hands off on his pants.
	 They had found the ladder on the wall easily enough when Ryoga
had finally found the flashlight. It had taken quite a bit of convincing
to get him to fish for it again. 
	"We don't have time for this! Lets go." snapped Mousse.
	"Oh, all right." grumbled Ryoga.

	Jun gasped for breath as he stood and turned to see all of the
spears slide back into the walls. A chill ran down his spine as he
fingered the hole in his shirt. "That was too close." he thought. He
began to walk forward further into the cavern. "It'll only get worse from
here." he muttered. 
	
	Meanwhile...
	
	Mousse and Ryoga stood with their backs against the wall as a
large row of spikes protruded from the opposite wall. They had themselves
wrapped around the blades, frozen in their attempts to dodge them. "Watch
where your going fool!" muttered Mousse.
	"Shut up! You're the one who set it off!" retorted Ryoga.

	Jun frowned as he dusted ash off his shirt. Behind him a large
dragon head appeared to have smoke drifting from its mouth. "They seem to
have a thing for dragons in this place." he muttered in annoyance. He
finally reached a large pair of golden doors and stopped. A dark smile
crossed his face. "I've found it!" he cried. He reached for the knob and
the ground beneath him slid open and swallowed him into the darkness.
TbC...

	This is starting to kick ass Ne? I think you'll get whats going
on in a bit if you don't already. C&C to Catbert25@juno.com

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