One was the awe inspiring Count Takeshi, and the other man was the warm hearted and pure General Lee. They moved along the rows of builders, occasionally stopping every now and then to question one of the workers or to admire the incomplete castle from another angle. Despite it was actually under construction for Count Takeshi, General Lee had been quite active in the design of it and was just as interested as his friend was to how it would turn out. The Count had noticed this, but for some reason, he felt threatened.

He and the General had been friends since their school years, and he knew that Lee would not interfere where he was not wanted, but he felt that the building of his new home was one aspect where things might change.

Takeshi watched General Lee stop a random builder and speak to him from a distance. He heard the footsteps of one of his counsellors behind him and saw in the corner of his eye a figure stand next to him, also looking hard at Lee.

'You are worried about what the General will do once your castle is complete, aren't you, sir?' he asked, fixing the Count with a look of concern.

Takeshi nodded.

'I am certain that once it has been finished he will attempt to take it over.'

'Sir, I suggest you position your Emerald Guards around the castle while it is being built and once it is finished, just to make sure,' said the counsellor.

Takeshi gave another nod and moved away as the General started over to him.

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Two women in a house near Takeshi's castle watched the work on it from out of a window. One woman gave her twin sister a quick glance and then disappeared into another room. Menai heard her leave but did not draw her attention away from the castle.

They both had long black hair which reached just past their waists. They were identical in every way except for their taste in clothes. Menai was wearing a deep plum coloured top with sleeves that reached to her elbows and then divided into two tassels which hung down by her hands. She also wore purple trousers of the same shade which were flared and covered her feet. Her sister, Opal, was wearing a light blue strappy top and jeans with high heeled black boots.

Menai drew away from the window and walked into Opal's bedroom, where, sure enough her sister was staring critically at herself in her full length mirror. Menai sighed, rolled her eyes and tutted impatiently.

'God, Opal you're so narcissistic!' she said. The woman turned away from the mirror to give her sister a questioning look.

'At least I care about how I look,' replied Opal, with a smile on her face.

'Meaning?' demanded Menai.

Opal did not respond but gave her sister a look which clearly said she did not agree with Menai's all-purple look. Menai rolled her eyes again. It was hard for her at times to live in the same house as someone who thought fashion was the single most important thing in the world. But what was even harder for her was trying to quash the terrible urge to strangle Opal when she was in one of her funny moods.

Opal had turned back to the mirror and started to run her fingers through her hair. As she did, she heard the pattering sound of her twin walking away.

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Takeshi spent the rest of the day in the company of his friend, feeling uneasy. The Emerald Guards had been stationed around the whole site. They were the only ones - excluding the builders - who were allowed to walk right up to the castle. The Count hardly ever withdrew his gaze from the General; even when he was speaking to someone or doing something other than walking around the castle he watched Lee out of the corner of his eyes for any suspicious activity.

When the sun started to set, General Lee retired from the building site and returned to his own home. Once he was well out of ear shot, Takeshi beckoned to his counsellor again.

'I strongly think that he will try and take my castle away from me. He helped in the design, so it appeals greatly to him. It makes sense that once it is finished he will do his best to get me out of the picture so he can move in himself,' whispered Takeshi, keeping an eye on those around him, so no one could intrude on his conversation.

'Do you want me to get someone to tail him, try and find out his plans?' asked the counsellor in a low voice.

'No. I want him out of the picture before I am. I want him dead!'

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Menai sat curled in an armchair reading a book in the living room when she saw Opal suddenly stand up. She watched as the woman made her way past the furniture and to the window and peered out. When he retreated to her seat again, Menai spotted that her sister was blushing. Her tanned skin was tinted with red.

'Who have you just seen walking past?' she queried, fixing Opal with a curious look.

'Oh...nobody...' she replied in an entirely unconvincing tone of voice.

'Yeah, right. Except for...?'

'Oh alright, it was that General Lee person,' muttered Opal.

The twins exchanged a smile and went back to their books, pretending to read, their minds buzzing with their own private thoughts which were always triggered by the name 'General Lee'. They did not know the General well, but it was not from lack of trying. Every time they saw him they attempted to work up the courage to speak to him, but something always got in the way. The last time the twins were close to Lee, Opal suddenly felt light headed and almost collapsed. Menai had never let her forget it.

'Do you remember the time when we almost got to speak to him and you -' started Menai, an evil smirk spreading over her face. Her words were cut off by a low flying cushion homing in and striking its target full on. Opal turned redder and forced herself to concentrate on her reading. Menai struggled to contain the laugh which was brewing up inside her.

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A dark figure was moving swiftly through the shadows to meet the outline of a man who was looking at his watch.

'You're late.'

'I am sorry sir. What is it you wanted me for?'

'Surely you have noticed the interest that blasted General has been showing in my castle?'

'I thought you were friends with him?'

'Answer me!'

'Yes, sir, I have.'

'That means to me that he is going to try and conquer it as soon as he gets the chance. I want you to see that he does not. Inhume him.'

'You want me to kill General Lee?' the man whispered incredulously.

'He will not be a loss to me. I am prepared to throw away friendship with somebody like him in order to keep my castle. Make sure you take care of the job, or else I shall take care of you.'

The man did not like the stress his Count placed upon the words 'inhume him'. He did not know what had brought on Takeshi's negative feelings for one of his oldest friends, but he did not want to anger the Count or else he would be killed.

'When shall I?'

'Let me think...' said Takeshi in a sarcastic voice, 'how about once he has killed me and is living in my castle?'

There was a slapping sound as the back of the Count's hand met with the assassin's face.

'I want him dead now!' he exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

The assassin moved quickly away from Count Takeshi while rubbing the side of his face and throwing the odd worried look back at him.

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General Lee made his way back to his house and slipped off his black jacket. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to soothe his aching muscles. He did not know why he felt uncomfortable, but did not seem keen to do much else to try and ease the aches away other than head into his bedroom and lounge on his bed, watching the first halfway interesting television programme he saw. Within half an hour, tiredness set in and the General fell asleep in front of the television.

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Menai and Opal stayed up until very late, chatting animatedly to one another. Menai found that it was much, much easier to talk to her sister when she was not gaping at herself in front of a mirror, as though checking to make sure she still exists. But she had to admit, it was a very rare occurrence for Opal to bravely step away from anything reflective and have a talk with her twin.

Opal's energy started to fade away at around midnight and she said she was contemplating going to bed and trying to get some sleep.

Menai stayed up after Opal had headed upstairs. She sat with her legs hanging over the arms of the chair she was in, reading her book again in the dim light, feeling utterly peaceful. Her head rested against the back of the chair, and her eyelids started to droop, getting heavier and heavier.

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Takeshi's assassin quietly made his way to the house he knew General Lee lived in. Every step he took filled him more and more with dread. He did not want to kill this man, but he was an assassin for the Emerald Guard, and the Emerald Guard was Takeshi's own private army. He had no choice. If the truth be told, he liked the General, even if he only knew him from a distance, but he seemed like a nice man. Lots of positive comments were made whenever a group were talking and the topic of conversation turned to Lee.

The assassin took a paper clip out from his clothing somewhere and bent it so that it was a straight piece of metal and inserted it in the lock of Lee's front door. He moved it around until he heard the smallest of sounds. The door swung open. The assassin stepped inside and cautiously shut it, hoping that he would not run into the General before he needed to. He took out a knife from somewhere in the recesses of his clothing, the blade of it blackened to avoid the give away glint of light shining on it. He softly moved through General Lee's house, looking around him to make sure that he was alone.

He came to the last door in the house and carefully opened it. Lee was in there, sprawled on his bed fast asleep in front of the television. The assassin sucked in a deep breath and prepared himself, both mentally and physically for what he was about to do. As he crept closer and closer to the sleeping General, he stirred in his sleep and muttered something under his breath. The assassin gently laid a hand on General Lee's forehead, to hold his head down, should he stir again. He moved the knife to one side of his throat. Just as he started to pull the blade across his skin, General Lee sat up, coughing and choking.

Lee attempted to get his breath back, but noticed that something was wrong. There was some subtle error in what he was seeing. He was not sure if it was his imagination playing up, or if there was something different to his room from when he went to sleep. He could see a black thing in the corner of his eye, like a piece of fabric. He turned his head and saw the hulking figure of the assassin, knife in hand, staring down at him.

The General called out in surprise and moved away. He watched as the man came towards him again. He lunged wildly at Lee, who rolled off the side of his bed. He instantaneously stood up, staring around at the room for anything that he could use as a weapon, anything in reach that could double up as something which would save his life.

The assassin lunged again, but the knife in his hand was thrown off course as a fist met with the assassin's face. He made a third wild attack, but this time, caught his target full on. General Lee staggered backwards, clutching at his throat. He gave the assassin a hard look, wondering how much time he would have before all his blood was spilt, when he saw what was embroidered on the assassin's clothing. He saw two letters, 'E' and 'G' looped together. A look of disbelief crossed his face as he watched his imminent death loom up.

'’E’ 'G'? You're with the Emerald Guard?' Lee burst out.

The assassin stopped in his tracks, looking uncomfortable.

'I didn't want to do this, Sir. But you know how Takeshi gets when people disobey him. I don't have a choice. I'm an assassin for the Emerald Guard, as you said, and so Takeshi wants you dead,' said the assassin. General Lee tried to get his head round what was happening. While he thought, his fingers fumbled around his neck. The wound did not seem deep enough to allow him to bleed to death, but bad enough for some of his blood to be shed.

'Well you've done your duty. You've caught me across the neck. All you have to do now is to wait for me to bleed to death. I trust you can do me the favour of allowing me to live as much as possible until I am literally, bloodless?' asked Lee, his voice strangely calm.

The assassin hesitated, but he knew that General Lee was a very honourable man, and if he was going to fight back, he would make sure that it was a fair fight. Face to face. But here he was, he had just tried to kill the General, but he was about to overlook it and live his life as much as possible. The assassin started to walk off.

Lee cast around again for something and saw his own weapon on the floor by his jacket. He snatched it up and thrust the blade at the assassin. He froze in mid step, and then looked down, amazed to see the point of a sword sticking out of him. He craned around as much as possible and found that it was wielded by the General.

'Just because I'm known for fighting fair, doesn't mean that I always do.'

He pulled the sword out of the assassin's body and struck again. The man's tortured screams rang through the house and in the street. General Lee watched as the assassin writhed on the blade of his sword, watching with a sick satisfaction as the life drained out of him. The unfamiliar pleasure of causing pain to another living person washed through him, as he continued to watch the assassin.

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Opal woke suddenly as though some inconsiderate person had just yelled down her ear. When she opened her eyes she saw that somebody had and it was her sister, who was looking panicky.

'What?' she asked thickly, trying to focus in the darkness.

'I just heard a scream from next door. I think something bad is happening!'

Before Opal could say another word, Menai hurried out of her room. She clambered out of bed and glanced out of the window. She could see light streaming out from the next house as the front door opened. Shadows danced around in the light, depicting a great struggle. She realised that it was the General's house and felt much more awake. She pulled on her dressing gown, gave herself a look in the mirror and rushed downstairs to find Menai half way out of the door.

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The assassin made a fresh attempt to get out of the General's house, but found himself being pulled back in again. The inevitable jolt of pain surged through his body as another wound was added to his collection.

With a sudden burst of strength, he shoved himself forwards, feeling the blade sliding through his flesh and turned. His knife was no longer in his hand; it had been dropped earlier when Lee started to defend himself. The two men fought, moving around with speed. Two more figures appeared at Lee's front door as he pinned the assassin to a wall. His head was snapped back as the assassin landed a heavy blow to his face. He tripped the General up, hearing his skull crack on the floor. Lee threw out one arm and picked up his weapon once more, rising swiftly, avoiding the assassin, and allowed the blade to course through the air and into the assassin's neck.

He dropped the sword, staring at the body, feeling scared and confused. The man had said that Takeshi, his best friend had told this assassin to kill him. His story was backed up by the fact he was wearing items of clothing with the - well, the logo for the Emerald Guards, but despite all this, it did not make sense. He could not understand why Takeshi would want him dead. They had been through quite a bit together, pulled each other through good and bad times. General Lee even went as far as to help design the castle for him, so that it would be perfect for the Count, and then whilst it is under construction, some raving lunatic breaks and enters before trying in vain to slaughter him in cold blood!

He felt something trickle down from his neck. He raised a finger once again to the wound on his throat and saw that it was still bleeding lightly. General Lee moved his head to look at the two women in his doorway and saw Menai and Opal. They were both gaping at him with the same look of horror and concern.

'What happened here?' asked Menai, her voice soft and gentle. But she also sounded slightly hesitant.

'It seems like my friend; Count Takeshi sent one of his assassins after me. Don't ask my why, because I have not yet found that out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed. With any luck, I shall make it through the night,' said Lee.

He ushered the twins out of his doorway, shut the front door and locked it, stepped around a puddle of blood that had collected during the battle and climbed back into his bed after turning off the television. As he pulled the covers over himself, he saw that his hands were shaking and sure enough, he was very shaken, not to mention angry.

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General Lee awoke later than normal. He looked at the clock on his bed-side table and noted that he slept through his alarm and through the next three hours. It was ten o'clock. He could just about make out the sound of a gentle knocking on the door. As he went to answer it, he saw the blood again, which reminded him how close to death he had come.

Menai and Opal were waiting outside. Menai fixed the General with a warm smile when he opened the door. He invited them in and shut the door. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

'Did we wake you?' queried Menai. He shook his head.

'No. I woke about a minute before you knocked and still almost didn't hear it,' he replied.

He saw that Opal was not looking at him or at her sister, but her view was held by the pool of blood. She shuddered and turned away.

'We just came to see if you are okay, after yesterday...' muttered Opal. Lee smiled at her.

'I am. But, I was wondering if you could do me a favour. I'm going to speak to Takeshi today about last night and the assassin. Would you both please come with me, since you witnessed part of the attack?'

He watched the two women as they exchanged a brief glance and nodded, smiling at one another. He walked back into his bedroom and picked up his jacket. He slipped it on over the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath and then placed on his yellow boots. He came into view of the twins again, doing up the gold buttons. On either side of the line of buttons, Menai saw, was a red and gold oriental style dragon dancing around. When he walked past her and out the door, she and Opal saw another red and gold dragon frolicking around on the back of his jacket. There was a gold stripe down both legs of his black trousers.

General Lee held the door open for the women and set off for the construction site to allow all hell to break loose.

Takeshi was calmly walking around his castle, speaking to his counsellor, feeling happy with himself. The counsellor turned his gaze away from the Count and looked ahead. He gasped when he saw the General making his way over, flanked by two attractive women. He gently nudged Takeshi, who was not paying any attention and gave the approaching figure the tiniest of nods.

Something flickered momentarily over his face at the sight, but he quickly hitched a grin into place. He heard the counsellor make some pathetic excuse and moved away, not wanting to be in the firing line when the Count and the General started on one another.

The Count threw his arms open and greeted Lee. He clapped the General on the shoulder and gave Menai and Opal a quick glance.

'I know how popular you are with the ladies' Lee, but a building site is hardly the best place to meet up with your special friends,' the Count joked.

General Lee laughed heartily, watching Takeshi's expression closely.

'No, no, no, it's not like that. These two are witnesses to an incident that happened last night,' replied the General.

Takeshi's face was impassive. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

'You see, one of your assassin's broke into my house on your orders. I want an explanation,' snarled General Lee, the atmosphere changing rapidly from a happy exchange of jokes to when one man wants to start a fight, causing anybody else nearby to tip over a table and hide behind it, or, if possible, lock themselves in a bomb shelter until the blowout is settled.

'Well, my counsellor is around somewhere. I'm sure if you find him he will be able to tell you the actions of any assassin in the Emerald Guard,' said Takeshi, keeping his face turned away from the angry figure in front of him. He heard Lee let out a disbelieving snort.

'Then why did he say that you sent him?'

Takeshi did not answer, but raised his view and met the General's stare head on. He had an impatient look on his face, as though he thought it would be obvious why he would do such a thing. He decided against pretending not to know what Lee was talking about. He let out a loud sigh.

'Alright, fine! I did send an assassin after you, but don't play dumb. You know why.'

'I'm not jesting. I do not know why you tried to have one of your oldest friends murdered.'

'I know your plan General! I know that once my castle has been completed you will try and take it over! I'm not completely idiotic, my dear friend!' snapped the Count.

'Could've fooled me,' said Menai.

Takeshi gave her a poisonous look, but made no other indication that he had heard what she had said. Opal was trying to keep a straight face, Menai was looking at Takeshi with a disgusted expression, but Lee was smiling.

'So that's why you tried to get me killed? You think that because I tried to help make your castle be suitable for you, I'm going to try and conquer it? If you believe that, then you must also believe that when anyone tries to help you with anything, they are plotting some evil scheme to get their own back on you. Because that is, in short, what you are saying,' retorted General Lee, feeling anger rise up.

Takeshi could not be bothered to say anything in reply and turned to the Emerald Guards who were nearest to them. They were watching with interest. The Count beckoned them over. The three tall figures stopped behind Takeshi and gave General Lee and the twins a half interested glance.

All three of them were much taller than the General or the Count. The one in the middle was definitely the oddest looking of them all. His face was heavily made up and he wore a very long red wig which reached down to the ground. At least, Menai had to assume it was a wig; she somehow doubted that a red hair dye that bright was in existence at the moment.

The man on the right of him glared with his arms crossed over his bare chest. He wore for some strange reason pink trousers with black shoes. His clothes, on any other person, would not look at all threatening, but on this Emerald Guard, anything would give him a sinister look.

He was bald and on the top of his head was a symbol painted black. But neither of them looked as menacing as the third, who was on the left of the strange man in the middle. Menai and Opal both knew his name, as well as the fact that he had a very short temper and would not hesitate to use force on anybody who pushed their luck. His name was Animal. He had curly black hair which reached just above his shoulders and a beard. He wore a black robe with a large dark blue belt tied around his waist.

Animal was standing opposite Menai and was fixing her with a hard stare. She tried to meet it head on, but was distracted by two more Emerald Guards scaring a builder behind. Menai knew that she had quite a wide knowledge of Takeshi and his Guards, but still, she did not expect to see the sight she was watching.

Some of the Guards had a sense of humour and went around wearing silly costumes of bright clashing colours, but every last one of them had a dangerous streak, which they were not afraid to unleash if they had to. Her attention was currently caught by twins in the Guard, who she knew were nicknamed the Rainbow Warriors.

They both wore rainbow coloured robes so bright that anyone would be hard pressed to loose them late at night. One had a pair of trousers in the same pink colour as one of the Guards in front of her, and the other wore turquoise. They both had black curly toed shoes and black bowler hats. They were doing their best to disturb one of the builders and were succeeding by doing a very silly dance.

The Count noticed what Menai was looking at and shouted at them to move away. He turned back to the three in front of him and gave them a look. Then he turned around again to the three behind him.

'Take them,' he said and walked off.

Animal stepped to General Lee, who allowed himself to be taken away without a fuss. Opal did the same and was dragged away by the bald Guard, but Menai struggled to get free from the grasp of the one Opal had mentally named 'Wiggy'. She landed punch after punch on the Guard and kicked his shins, but she could not break free. He forced her forwards, hindered only slightly by the blows being landed on him.

Ahead, the General twisted around in Animal's grip to give her a warning look. She caught sight of his expression, which almost instantly became pained as Animal landed a punch on the back of his neck. Menai stopped struggling and was steered further forwards.

They were dragged away from the construction of the castle to a small building nearby. They were roughly shoved into it, down a set of stairs and into what looked like a cellar. There were three prison cells next to each other. Each one was blocked off from the one next to it by large metal bars going both vertically and horizontally across the cells.

Animal pushed General Lee into the middle one, his hand on the back of Lee's neck. He could feel the pulse of the General under his thumb and middle finger. He almost cascaded into the back of the cell wall from the momentum of Animal's push. Menai and Opal were forced slightly more gracefully into the cells on both sides of the General.

Three barred doors slammed shut and were locked. The Emerald Guards sneered at them one last time before heading out of the cellar.

Lee paced around his cell, thinking hard. How were they going to break free from a prison which is no doubt under close Guard by one of Takeshi's henchmen? He walked to the front of the cell to the door which was hardly more than a gate. He placed his hands through the gaps and grasped the bars, looking out, but not seeing anything. He turned his head to the left and glanced at the purple clad woman next to him.

'Which one are you?' he asked.

'Menai,' the twin replied. 'And she's my sister, Opal.'

The General looked to the right and exchanged a smile with Opal.

'Is Takeshi always this pathetic?' she questioned. Lee frowned at the ground and then shrugged.

'Well, let's just say that before I started...plotting against him...he wasn't. But if he thinks I'm going to try and take over his castle then.....I don't really know. That's one thing I've never known. What goes in inside his mind,' replied the General.

'Is there any way out of these cells?' queried Menai.

'Not without attracting any unwanted attention.'

'Maybe that will be necessary to get out.'

She backed off from the gate until she walked into the wall. Then she took off at a run and just before she would have crashed into the door, she jumped up and brought her feet heavily into it. She fell to the ground, crashing painfully on her side. The sound of the thud as she struck the cell reverberated around the cellar and probably into the ears of any waiting Emerald Guard. Sure enough, the door leading out of the cellar burst open, and the bald Guard came running down the stairs, with his red haired colleague.

They saw the figure of Menai on the ground and walked slowly over to her cell. The bald Guard grabbed at the bars and shook the gate as though trying to break it clean off its hinges. She picked herself up off the ground, watching their every move. She looked at the red haired Guard and saw that, attached to his belt were the keys to the cells. He snarled at her and then turned to leave with the other Guard. She saw her chance for escape walking out of the cellar and knew she had to act fast.

As soon as he took one step away, Menai shot her hand through one of the gaps in the bars and grabbed his red mane. She tugged hard on it, causing the Guard's head to collide with the bars. His companion was startled by the loud crack and started to try and prise Menai off, but as he ran past the cells, he took a blow to the shin from Opal, and ran straight into the fist of the General.

General Lee copied Menai and struggled for purchase on the Guard's forehead. He pulled the man back, striking his head heavily against the bars of his cage. As the limp figure slumped to the ground, he watched Menai, who was crouching down and groping at the other Guard's belt, trying to get the keys. She snatched them and straightened up, working the key into the lock.

The gate swung open silently. She moved out and then kicked the Guard into the cell before locking it. Menai walked to General Lee's cell, unlocked it and moved out of his way to free her sister while he tugged the other unconscious Guard into his cell. He held out his hands for the keys and Menai dropped them onto his palm.

As Lee was locking the last cell, the cellar door swung open again. A beam of light shone down the steps. Part of it was obstructed by shadow, caused by the hulking figure standing in the door. Animal walked down the stairs at a relaxed pace, one hand fumbling with something behind his back.

The twins felt one of the General's hands on their arms, moving them backwards, out of the way of any harm. The three of them watched as the approaching Emerald Guard whipped out a long bladed katana. The grip on Menai and Opal's arms tightened as his muscles tensed. He moved them back further.

'Make sure Animal cannot get the keys, no matter what it takes. I do not want him releasing those two Emerald Guards so they can chase us around,' whispered the General, pressing the keys into Opal's hand. He closed her fingers over them.

He took several steps towards Animal. Opal watched the scene, holding the keys tightly in her hands. The General stood right in front of the Emerald Guard, his face expressionless. The blade of the kunai rested on his shoulder, as though he was about to be knighted.

Animal suddenly pulled the weapon away and shot it through the air, in a way which suggested he was going to try and hack Lee's head off. General Lee ducked, hearing the clang as the metal rebounded on the cage. He shoved Animal backwards, and Opal saw her chance. She rushed forwards, opened the cell, ran inside and locked herself in. She sat down on the cold ground, holding the keys.

Animal caught the General with a vicious elbow blow which caused him to stumble backwards over his feet. The Guard snatched at Menai and got a grip on the neck of her top. He pulled her to him and pinned her arms by her sides. He grabbed her hair and began to pull her head back. Her face was forced further and further upwards but she could see out of the corner of her eye, the General start towards the man holding her.

She kicked up with her left leg, the tip of her heavy, toe capped boot catching Animal directly in his face. He released her, holding his bleeding nose and shouting obscenely. Menai brought her leg back down and regained her balance. She gave Lee a triumphant smile and turned on her heel to instantaneously block a punch from the pained Animal. She held his fist in her hand and lowered her other to catch his other fist, which was about to get her in the stomach. He tried to kick her in the shins, but she raised her knees to block the attacks.

He used her grasp to his advantage and swung her into a nearby wall. Her head clipped the corner of the cell Opal was in just before she met the wall. She struck it heavily with her shoulder, calling out something which sounded like 'Oof!'

Menai started to crumple at his feet, one hand at the back of her head. She heard a choking noise and glanced up. She saw General Lee tugging at the back of Animal's robes at the neck. His arms flailed the air in front of him as he was pulled backwards while trying to stay upright. Menai looked in the cell and saw that her sister had not moved a muscle since she sat down. She was watching the battle going on with a look of interest. Her eyes widened in shock as another choking noise was emitted from behind her fallen sister.

The purple clad woman climbed to her feet, following Opal's gaze. Animal had his hand around the General's throat again and was pressing against his trachea. He was slowly turning red and struggling to breathe, his own hands wrapped around Animal's. With surprising strength, the Emerald Guard lifted Lee easily off his feet and into the air, high above his head. His legs were kicking the air in a pathetic and desperate way.

Menai threw herself at Animal's back, one hand grasping his shoulder, the other on his face holding his nose. She sharply pulled his head to one side, making him drop the General, who landed on the ground, panting loudly. He rubbed his neck, thankful to be breathing again. The red in his face started to fade away and he looked up at Menai. She had meant to snap Animal's neck, but she did not put enough force behind her attack, so all she achieved was giving Animal a crick in his neck.

He turned to face Menai, a grim look of menace spreading across his features. There was only one possible message to read in his face and it told her plainly that she was going to regret that last move. She backed off, glancing behind her every now and then to make sure that she was not about to walk into a wall and allow herself to be trapped.

As Animal continued to creep nearer, she kicked him hard in the midriff, twisting her body so she had her back to him. He collapsed on the ground from the force of the blow. She then forced her body backwards into a graceful arc and kicked both legs through the air. Her feet landed one at a time squarely on Animal's chest. She pushed up with her arms and corrected herself. She stood the on injured Guard for a second and jumped off him. He instantly started to sit up and clamber to his feet, but he felt the steel toe cap of one of Menai's boots dig itself into the base of his spine. He called out in pain and automatically lowered his hands to the injury.

Lee stepped past her and tugged him to his feet. He held down the Guard's arms, while Menai took up Animal's katana. She placed the tip of the blade at his throat and called to Opal to open the gate of her cell. As she said this, she saw the other Emerald Guards in the cells next to her sister twitch and stir.

Opal swung open the door and watched in bewilderment as the bad tempered Guard was hurled into the open cell. Lee and Menai both shoved him roughly into the back wall. He pushed himself away from it and started to run towards the gate. He almost forced the door open from the blow as he struck the door. The twins leant against it, pressing their weight on it, to prevent Animal from breaking free while the General locked the door. Animal put both arms through the gap in the cell, his fingers scrabbling angrily at their faces.

Menai dropped the stolen katana to the ground and followed Lee out of the cellar.

'What now?' she asked. 'We've escaped from Count Takeshi's prison and locked three of his Emerald Guards in instead.'

Lee stared at the ground for a moment while he thought. He was distracted by the sound of thudding footsteps. He raised his gaze from the ground and saw the Count making his was over to him and the girls.

'How did you get out? Where's Animal and the other two?' he spat, looking at the General incredulously. His eyes travelled over General Lee, and then roamed over to the twins, who were all staring at him in the same expression of dislike.

Lee folded his arms and continued to glare at Takeshi, as though mentally telling him to take a guess as to where his Guards were hiding.

'You couldn't have faced them. You couldn't have fought them,' he muttered.

'And why not?' butted in Opal. 'Maybe I couldn't fight them, but why can't General Lee or Menai?'

'Because they're highly trained, much more than the likes of you!' snapped the Count.

Menai started to laugh, quietly. She placed one hand over her mouth and tried to muffle any sound. Her giggling soon stopped, when she felt the back of Takeshi's hand. Her head snapped to one side. She did not move, she kept her head still. A red mark showed up on the side of her face from where she was struck.

She heard the sound of a katana being drawn. Only then did she turned to see what was going on and found herself looking at the General, who had the tip of his blade at Count Takeshi's throat. He lightly held the katana and moved it away from his jugular vein, giving Lee a scolding look.

'Tut, tut, General. You really ought to learn how to control that temper of yours. It could get you into trouble one day,' he sneered.

'You ought to learn to control your violent streak, Takeshi. It could get you killed one day,' replied Lee.

The colour in Takeshi's face started to drain away at the General's words. Lee reluctantly sheathed his weapon, but did it blindly, not looking at where his sword was going, but always stared into the eyes of the irritable, selfish man in front of him.

The Count examined the expression of the man standing in front of him and saw red raw hatred. The General's eyes seemed to burn through him, as though he was staring through him, instead of at him. The Count felt vulnerable. He knew that Lee was going to try and conquer his castle and kill him; General Lee had just said that his violent streak might get him killed one day, and the only person who though he had a violent streak was Lee. He withdrew his eyes from the three in front of him and looked around, searching for any spare Emerald Guards, and saw one man, standing alone.

He had short blonde hair that had been slicked back, behind his head. He was standing with his arms crossed, staring at anything and everything with an angry look. He saw the Count watching him anxiously and made his way over, where he stood opposite Menai and met her impatient stare full on.

'Anything you wish to say, General, please tell this man here,' he said, placing his hands on the shoulders of the blonde Guard. With that, he started to walk off, but Lee snatched at the back of his robes to hold him back.

The blonde Guard instantly tried to prise General Lee off the Count, but staggered back when he took a blow to the face from Menai.

'Anything I wish to say, I shall say to you. Honestly, the way you're acting, it's as though you're afraid. Your Emerald Guards will think you're a coward. Do you want them to think that? Because they may lose respect for you and well, if the worst comes to the worst, I may be forced to take them in on my side instead.'

Takeshi stopped struggling and turned to face the man holding onto him. The Count's face was set into an ugly grimace. The scene was so tense, that none of the four noticed the blonde Guard slip away. Just before he walked off, he stopped behind Opal and saw that she was carrying the keys to the cells. She was holding them loosely between two long fingernails. He cautiously slipped them from out her grasp and turned to the cellar where Animal and his colleagues were trapped.

Takeshi brushed the General off him and glanced around, the first to notice that the Emerald Guard had disappeared. The familiar feeling of worry stole over him as he realised that he was facing General Lee and two others alone, without anyone around to protect him. As Lee opened his mouth to say something, an ear splitting scream of fury rent the air. The twins jumped and glanced back. A look of comprehension crossed Opal's face when she opened the palm that once contained the keys to the cells they were locked up in and tugged nervously on her sister's sleeve.

The door to the cellar was ferociously kicked open, to reveal the figures of Animal, and the other three Guards behind him. Lee moved his arms out to his sides, in front of the twins, forcing them to move backwards as the four ahead started to approach. He could hear the Count's laughter ringing triumphantly in his ears. Animal screamed again and ran, charging at the General. He roughly shoved Menai and Opal out of the way, but before he could evade Animal himself, the huge man had collided straight into him. They cascaded to the ground, Lee once again struggling to breathe because of the grip the enraged Guard on top of him had around his neck. The blonde Guard helped Animal lift up his helpless opponent, whilst the other two grasped the twins.

As the red haired Guard tried to grasp Menai's wrists, she pulled them back, only to land two punches to his face. He clasped his own hands together and plunged them deep into her abdomen, winding her. He pressed one hand over her face and forced her over backwards. When she landed, her head made a dull crack on the hard ground. She tried to defend herself as wave after wave of kicks came towards her.

Opal raised her fists as the bald Guard moved swiftly near her. She aimed a punch which was deflected by the Guard's own huge hands and lifted her up in a way that was reminiscent to a fireman hauling a body out of a burning building. She kicked her legs, the high heels of her shoes coming dangerously close to the Guard's face and slapped his back, yelling at him to put her down.

General Lee was hanging limply in the hold of the blonde Guard and Animal. Each one was holding an arm, allowing him to stay upright, despite his legs could not keep his weight up.

Something dark red was trickling from the corner of his mouth and Menai though she could see the start of a black eye. All four of Takeshi's henchmen looked at their Count, who was eyeing the damage on the General with some satisfaction. As General Lee and Opal were dragged off, the Count watched as Menai was lifted awkwardly off the ground and pulled away by her hair.

General Lee ached all over and could barely walk as he was guided to another prison block near the castle. Something made Lee wonder why Takeshi needed all these prison blocks around, when he very rarely used them.

The cold stone building he was being forced towards was much bigger than the cellar he was locked in earlier, and it was several stories high. Lee found it difficult travelling up the stairs to the second level of the building in his weakened state, and his knees knocked the steps on the way up, leaving them feeling bruised and sore.

Animal unhooked himself from General Lee and went on ahead. He came to a cell and opened the door, walked to the opposite side, took a small key down from a hook and watched as the blonde Guard shoved Lee through the barred door.

This cell was much different to the ones in the cellar. For one thing, there was a barred window and three of the four walls were stone, making it feel less like a cage. The wall that was barred was the one where the door was. It was almost indistinguishable at first glance as the whole side of the cell had vertical bars at intervals and one horizontal bar across the middle.

The blonde Guard let go of General Lee and stood by the door, watching Lee fall heavily to the ground. Animal roughly grabbed the back of his jacket and lifted him to his feet before slamming him into the far stone wall. Hanging from it, were two huge metal manacles, which he attached to the General's wrists. Lee slid down the wall, only at a crouch, because his tied wrists would not allow him to sit. The door of the cell was loudly slammed and then locked. Lee listened to the sounds of the Guards' footsteps retreating into the distance.

Opal was carried into a cell on the first storey of the prison block and was dropped carelessly in the centre of the freezing room. She covered her head protectively with her arms as she fell head first to the floor. She landed painfully, narrowly missing concussion. By the time she had shakily got to her feet, her cell was locked and the only sound she could hear was footsteps retreating into the distance.

Menai fought against her Guard as she was taken to her cell. The red haired Guard lifted her up, so she could see where she was going and tried to throw her into another cell. As she turned to face him, something in her memory stirred.

'I know you. You're Kibaji Tankobo, right? And your bald friend is Strong Kobayashi,' said Menai. Kibaji merely looked at her before forcing her onwards.

As she was shoved through the cell door, she put up a tremendous fight. She started kicking, punching, attacking with her knees and biting any part of Kibaji she could get a hold of. He just managed to fend her off and hit her hard on the head. He grasped her hair yet again and pinned her against a wall. The coldness of the stone wall behind her sank through her clothes and onto her skin, making her gasp quietly.

There was only one manacle secured to the walls in Menai's cell, but it looked far too big to hold a captive's wrists in chains. Kibaji held Menai with is hand high up on her chest, just under her collarbone while he fought to get the manacle in his other. He fixed something heavy, cold and metal around her neck and started to peacefully walk off. Menai started to run after him, but choked, as the metal collar around her neck pulled the chain on the wall taut. She screamed a string of obscene curse words at him, the anger in her soul red raw.

Takeshi felt so pleased. His Emerald Guards had taken a hold of Lee, and the twins again and locked them up, so escape was virtually impossible. He could distantly see the figures of his counsellor and his nephew, Michiru Jo. They came over to him, and the Count addressed his counsellor.

'I want you to make sure that General Lee and the two girls do not escape, Saburo. Station Animal, Kibaji and Strong outside their cells. I may contemplate letting out the girls once my castle is complete.'

'And the General?' chimed in Michiru.

'Ah, yes. Charming General Lee. He can stay in prison until he rots.'

Takeshi swept off, leaving his heir and Saburo behind.

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Several months passed, while the construction of Takeshi's castle came closer and closer to being completed. The General could feel himself turning insane with anger of Count Takeshi. He, Menai and Opal had all spent four months of being hit, starved and just generally mistreated by the Guard stationed outside their cell. Lee dared not to do anything, because he was fortunate to know what Animal is like when in a bad mood, and he did not want any more unpleasantness than what was strictly necessary, in the eyes of Takeshi.

Lee had enough energy to stand up, which was a great improvement from when he was hauled into the cell, and could peer through the window to watch the builders working on the castle. It was going to be finished any day. When he was not trying to soothe any aching limbs after a visit from Animal, or gazing wistfully out of the small window, his thoughts were occupied by Menai and Opal and wondered if they were being treated any better. The evil glint in all the Guards' eyes told him that they probably were not.

Menai clasped the heavy metal collar around her neck and pulled at it, as though trying to stretch it, in order to allow her to breathe better. She listened carefully. She could just about make out the sound of approaching footsteps. Kibaji Tankobo and Strong Kobayashi walked past, talking to one another. Strong stopped in front of the cell door and laughed mockingly at Menai, which caused her to retort by sticking her fingers up. She listened to the sound of their footsteps becoming quieter and quieter as they walked off. Voices sounded at the end of the corridor of cells. She thought she could make out the voice of Takeshi's main counsellor and sidekick, Saburo Ishikura.

Takeshi moved swiftly past her cell without looking at her.

'Strong, have you released the girl?' asked the Count.

'Not yet,' rumbled the deep voice of Strong, 'I was just about to when Saburo told Kibaji and myself to come here.'

There was an exasperated sigh from Takeshi.

'Go and release her.'

'Do you mean the one on this level?' Strong sounded cautious and hesitant when speaking to the Count, as did most people, with the exception of Michiru.

'No, she will only put up a fight. Take her twin down to my castle, where she can make herself useful by serving my nephew and me,' replied Count Takeshi.

Menai watched as Strong walked past again, being followed by Kibaji. She struggled to bust the chain out of the wall as Saburo and Takeshi passed her. Saburo gave her a look of disapproval, whereas the Count ignored her again.

Opal shivered as she sat on the hard ground, waiting for anything mildly interesting to happen. Strong was approaching her, holding a key in one hand. He opened her cell and dragged her up.

'You are to be escorted to Takeshi.'

'Why?'

'He says that you could make yourself useful. You will be serving him. Unless of course you'd rather stay here and be starved and beaten until you are barely anything more than a bloody pulp?' replied Strong.

He roughly grabbed her by her arm and tugged her out of the cell. He pulled her out of the prison block and up to the castle, through the gates that were being guarded by the blonde man, who was more than capable of successfully doing his job on his own.

Opal was forced up a set of stairs and Strong hammered on the front door of Takeshi's castle. She waited nervously, glancing back at the prison block where her sister was still kept. She could not help but wonder why it was her being chosen to serve Takeshi. What special qualities was it she had that her sister did not? The only real physical difference between her and Menai was that Menai was a better fighter.

The Count opened the door to face Strong and Opal. He pushed her past.

'Thank you Strong, although I would greatly appreciate it in future if you would not attempt to break my door down.'

Strong Kobayashi bowed to Takeshi and retreated. The Count closed the door and faced the anxious girl by him.

'Do not worry, girl, I won't harm you, providing you do as you are told and do not do anything stupid. Tell me your name.'

Opal opened her mouth to reply to the Count, but she could not get the words out. She tried to swallow and had another go, her voice coming out shakily.

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The General was starting to drift off in his cell when Animal barged through, making a noise. Lee's head jerked up in surprise. He felt very tired and watched as Animal dropped a plate with a tiny amount of food on it.

His insides aching with hunger, he gratefully snatched the plate, savouring the taste of the first thing he had eaten all week, half listening to Animal walking away.

Once he had finished eating, he placed the plate down on the ground beside him and rested his head against the wall again, in an attempt to sleep. Chills ran down his spine as he twisted around, trying to get comfortable. He hugged his knees tightly. He was frozen.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Takeshi and Michiru watched the builders adding the last few touches to the castle. A sudden thought came to the Count's nephew.

'Who are the girls you keep on mentioning, when conversation turns to General Lee?'

'Two twin girls that came with the General as witnesses to when one of my assassins went after him. According to Lee, they both saw the attack,' replied Takeshi.

'But,' Michiru continued, 'why would you want to attack your oldest friend, anyway? That is one thing that I have not understood. The reason for thinking that one of your eldest friends would want to take over your castle.'

'Because, my dear boy, when we were younger, he always used to talk about wanting to live in a castle, like the one that is being constructed for me. He helped in the design, -'

'Which surely means that he only wanted the best for his friend?'

'- which means that it appeals to him. It does make sense. You need to be able to think like a person like General Lee does.'

'Where are the twins?' asked Michiru.

'One of them, Opal, is serving me at the moment. I really could use an extra pair of hands now that I have moved into a larger place, and the other girl, - don't know her name - is locked up on the third floor of the second prison block.'

Michiru glanced at the four storey prison block and looked at the windows on the third floor. He smiled at his uncle and headed purposefully away.

'Michiru!'

He turned.

'I do not want you going into the prison block,' said Takeshi. He allowed the words to sink into his nephew's mind.

'I shan't.'

Michiru turned away from the Count, and continued towards the block. When he reached the prison block, he gave one last glance in the direction from which he came to make sure that his uncle was out of sight and stepped inside. He climbed two flights of stairs until he came to the third floor. He walked along the corridors, almost tripping over Kibaji.

Michiru deliberately crashed into the Guard, knocking him into the wall. He helped Kibaji away, deftly taking the keys that were hanging from Kibaji's clothes. He was always easy to fool, thought Michiru, triumphantly. He apologised once more and carried on until he saw the purple figure on the ground, looking angry. She was chained to the wall by a manacle around her neck.

Menai was aware of someone standing outside her cell. She glared determinedly at the ground. When the person did not leave, she raised her head to see who she thought was Takeshi's nephew. He was unlocking her cell when she raised her head. She stood up as the door opened. Her eyes barely left the bundle of keys in his hands.

'What's your name, girl?' asked Michiru.

'Menai. And you're Michiru Jo, heir of the idiotic Count Takeshi,' replied Menai. Michiru laughed softly.

'Well, you're mostly right. I guess at times I would agree that my uncle is idiotic. So you're one of the girls who supposedly watched one of the Emerald Guard assassins hunt down the General.'

Menai snarled at the way he pronounced the word 'General'. He sounded as though he was being forced to say a dirty word he could not stand using. He fiddled absent mindedly with the keys, Menai watching eagerly. She felt the cool links of the chain on her skin and shuddered. She punched Michiru directly on the nose and snatched the keys out of his hands. She awkwardly found the key hole in the collar and unlocked it. Michiru made a swing at her, one hand holding his bloody, broken nose. She kicked him hard in the midriff before running out of the cell, shutting the door, and locking Michiru inside.

As she ran through the corridors, she kept one eye open for General Lee, who she knew was also locked up in this building, but she did not know where. She hurried down the stairs, her boots thudding noisily on the stone steps. She knew that she was making more noise than was advisable, since she did not know how many Guards were prowling around, but a new surge of energy was charging through her, making her feel like she could take on anybody.

She slowed down as she came to the second floor and decided that maybe stealth would be a better option. She moved softly along the rows of cells until she saw Animal standing outside one near the end. She concluded that this must be where the General was being held, because she knew that her sister was being forced to work for Takeshi. She watched Animal for a few moments, wondering if he was going to leave, or whether she would have to distract him.

When she realised that it was going to be down to her to distract Animal so she could get to Lee, she doubled back to the stairs, which seemed to take a shorter time then when she came down them. She stood on the bottom two steps and took off one boot with a tiny sigh. She threw it at the wall, hoping that she could get it to hit the stone with the steel toe first.

_____________________________________________________________________________

General Lee could vaguely hear a dull thud come from somewhere out in the corridor. He watched as Animal left his position to check out what had made the noise.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Menai prepared herself for what she had to do as the Guard crept closer. He stopped in front of the staircase, with his back to Menai, peering down. He spotted her boot and picked it up. Comprehension spread across his face and he turned around to see -

- A fist coming out of nowhere and colliding hard against his cheek. Menai kicked him in the face and he crashed into the wall, his head knocking against it. He slid down the wall, crumpled up at the bottom. Menai reclaimed her boot and stepped past him and down to the cell that he was guarding. As she had suspected, General Lee was in there, standing, leaning against the wall, with his wrists held in chains. He brightened up when he saw her, and wondered how she had managed to get out of her own cell. She produced a set of keys and unlocked the door. She stepped inside and closed the door again, before making her way over to Lee and putting on her boot again.

Lee held up his wrists for Menai while she searched for the key to unlock the manacles binding him. As she did, she told the General about the mysterious conversation she overheard whilst being locked up, telling him about Opal being taken away.

Soon, they were both out of the prison block, and were cautiously making their way around without being seen by Takeshi, Saburo, or any of the Guards. As they made their way to Takeshi's castle, they saw several things that would hinder them if they could not force entry through the front door. The Count had a few obstacles made, blocking the way to his castle, all physical tasks.

The General guided Menai around the front, where they would go if paying Count Takeshi a friendly visit, but they saw that the blonde Guard was standing, keeping a lookout.

'So, now where do we go? If we can't get through the front door, how are we going to get Opal back?' hissed Menai.

'Looks like we'll be the first to try out the tasks set by Count Takeshi,' replied General Lee.

They made their way around to where the back of the castle would be. Blocking their path was acres and acres of land, consumed by gruelling challenges, set down by Count Takeshi. The first thing they came to was a shallow river of disgusting muddy water. Menai gave the General a look of disgust, but he merely shrugged and started towards the swamp. Menai reluctantly followed him, and waded through the murky water. She shuddered as the cold water sank through her trousers.

It was harder work than wading through clean water because of all the mud floating around. It was sickening, the level of the bog coming up to their knees. Several times she called to Lee for help because her boots had got stuck in the sludge.

They eventually made their way out, but before she could force her footwear out of the silage, she stumbled and tripped, landing in the mud on her knees, the surface of the muck coming up to her waist. The General grabbed her hands and pulled her up and out, freeing her once again.

Continuing onwards, they came to another swamp, but this one was smaller, and luckily, much cleaner, but there was no way across apart from a lot of stepping stones. General Lee walked purposefully towards the first stone, placed a foot on it, but to his surprise, it started to sink. His boot went under the surface, but before he could pull it back out, he felt something grip it tightly. Panicked, he called out and tried to jerk his foot out of the grasp of the unknown thing in the water. Menai moved past him and hopped lightly onto another stone, which luckily, was fixed to the bottom of the bog.

General Lee tried another stone. He moved onto another one, which also stayed firmly in the ground, under his weight. Feeling slightly more confident, he speeded up, somehow choosing all the right stones, until he slipped on one and cracked his knee. He threw out his hands; one was resting on a fake stone, but the other landed on a real one. He adjusted his weight, so he would not fall into the water. Menai watched him struggle to recover, and had winced when he struck his knee. She made her way onto a stone that was almost level with Lee and held out a hand to him. He took it, and Menai helped him back onto his feet. He rubbed his sore knee, pain shooting across his features. He watched Menai as she jumped onto a stone ahead, and then onto one of the last two in the swamp. She chose the wrong one and started to sink, but threw herself at the bank, and pulled herself up. The General copied her path, except for the last stone and chose the other one, getting across to the other side still relatively dry.

What lay even further ahead of them was what looked like an assault course. Several Emerald Guards were scattered throughout the course, all there to try and throw anyone who came past off the course. Menai gave the General a look and he motioned for her to go first.

Looking up, Menai though she could see some large pink thing up above. She stared ahead and started to go. She ran across a large thing which was moving in the opposite direction, like a conveyer belt, dodging Guard dressed in black robes with white masks, looking like ghouls. A huge rumbling sound kicked up overhead, and a large boulder crashed down a ramp over the conveyer belt and onto the back of Menai's neck and collarbone. She called out in pain as it rolled off the side of the path she was on.

She jumped over a few curious things which were mainly poles with spikes on the ends, trying to skewer her legs. There were about five of them, the other ends all joined to make a many pointed star which was rotating. She fell down a small gap she failed to spot between that ledge and the next, but bounced back up again. Looking back, she saw that she had landed on a tiny trampoline. This task is getting more and more ridiculous, thought Menai, as she dodged a large space hopper in the shape of a cartoon character head. Count Takeshi must have a few screws loose, or the Emerald Guard have a twisted sense of humour. I dread to think what will be at the end...

A small ledge was spinning at a reasonable speed, around a pivot in the middle. She stepped onto it, careful to keep her balance, and almost instantly jumped off it again. She suddenly stopped as yet another space hopper swung in front of her. She could see two more Guards holding onto two more hoppers, waiting for her to come past. She ran past the first one as it was coming back, strangely able to keep her balance when it caught her. She dashed past the other two without so much as looking at them. She came to a rope. She grasped it and glanced back. Sure enough, the large pink thing above was travelling along, as though racing her.

She secured her grip on the rope and swung, landing on a ledge over a sheer drop. She pulled herself up onto a higher up platform, exhausted. Menai looked back and saw that Lee had started his go.

He ran along the conveyer belt, avoiding the ghouls, and just about managed to stop himself before he made the same mistake that Menai did and allow a heavy boulder to land on him. It crashed down, missing him by inches. He ran on, jumping over the spiky poles. He heard another thud as a second heavy boulder fell to the ground. He jumped over two more poles successfully before throwing his weight at the trampoline. He gained enough height to show off and perform a somersault in mid air.

A space hopper came for him, and collided into him, but he did not fall. He did not even sway. He caught the hopper and threw it back at the Guard dressed up as a ghoul, which stumbled. He ran on and jumped, landing squarely on the pivot in the middle of the platform, and jumped to the next ledge as easily as landing on two real stones in the swamp he crossed earlier. He made his way swiftly past the three space hoppers, punching them away from him with quite a lot of force. The last ghoul was caught by his hopper and crashed into his companion, landing painfully.

General Lee gripped the rope and readjusted it so he would not end up letting go and falling down the drop. A siren started up somewhere, and he looked ahead to see Menai urging him on. The large pink object was coming up close behind him, and even though she did not know what its purpose was for, she did not think it would be a good idea for him to come second to it; with a sense of humour like Takeshi's, anything could happen.

Lee threw himself forwards and landed on the ledge. He pulled himself up onto the platform where Menai was, while being assisted by her. He just beat the large pink thing by a fraction. Menai and Lee walked through a barred gate, which had just lifted up to allow them to go through.

They were walking into a tunnel, which led upwards. As they came towards the end, Menai started to scan what she could see for any hint of what they were about to walk into. They came out the end of the tunnel, which she realised was shaped like a sharks' mouth. A thin ledge was spinning anti-clockwise with a surfboard on the end. While they waited for it to come around, the pair used the time to take in what they had to do.

There were several obstacles obstructing the path of the board. It looked as though they had to get on the board, wait to get a quarter of the way around the circle the board was making and jump over a false whale, land on the board again, get halfway around and climb onto a ledge, where something extremely odd waiting for them. It was a man in a red dress and a black wig which was styled in two plaits.

Lee and Menai both looked at him at the same time then exchanged confused and disturbed looks. Menai continued to study the task, after giving the cross dressing man one last glance. After passing him, the board would travel another quarter of the circle, where they would have to jump over a second fake whale, and then onto a platform with another tunnel leading to the next task.

General Lee stepped forwards as the board started to come nearer. As it passed, he stepped precariously onto it, almost losing his balance. He fell back, and landed as though sitting on the board. He straightened up as the whale loomed up. He jumped a bit too late, and caught his legs on the pink plastic model. He fell forwards again, smacking his face on the board. Menai thought she could hear him curse when he struck his nose.

He ungraciously fought with his balance again and jumped up onto the platform, jogging past the man in the dress and shook hands with him. He waited at the other side of the ledge for the board to arrive, and almost left it too late when it did come past. He fell off the side, only staying on by holding on with his hands, his arms across the board.

He hitched one leg up and lowered his head as he ducked underneath the second plastic sea creature. When he passed it, he struggled to pull himself up and jump to the ledge. But, by the time he was standing, he was moving past the finishing platform. He jumped, lunging at it and ended up winding himself on the corner of the platform. He got onto it and quickly stood up, turned around to watch Menai and pray that she had better luck than he did.

As he turned around, Menai stood on the board and crouched down, holding onto the sides. She jumped up high, easily clearing the first obstruction, despite she almost fell off from stupidly over balancing when she landed back on the board. She gripped the sides hard as she moved with some speed towards the man in the dress.

She jumped up onto the ledge and avoided looking at the man as she passed; she saw out of the corner of her eye the man raise the hem of his dress to show off his underwear, and she gave him a blind shove before waiting for the board. When it came, she jumped and landed on it perfectly. Feeling somewhat more confident, she stood up. She vaulted over the second whale and her balance took a heavy blow. She started forwards ominously, and decided to jump towards the ledge instead of fall off, into whatever lurked below. She had not yet felt inclined to look.

General Lee rushed forwards as Menai came flying past, almost missing the platform. He caught her hands and pulled her up. Feeling embarrassed, she pulled her hands away from General Lee's grasp after muttering a 'thank you' to him. A few months ago, Opal and herself used to daydream about being in a situation similar to the one Menai was in. Not necessarily to try and rescue someone, but just generally being alone with Lee.

The General led Menai down the tunnel which seemed to be going downhill. They stumbled through darkness for about five minutes before the tunnel started to go uphill instead. They came out, blinking in the light, to a few steps leading to a small platform. By the platform were seven large cylinders turned on their sides and at the other end was a second platform.

'Are you going to go across the rollers first, or shall I?' asked the General.

Menai gave a half hearted shrug and walked towards the first roller. She cautiously placed a foot on the first one and it started to roll forwards. She stood on it and quickly hopped from one to the other. She started to stand on the third one, when the second roller moved backwards, and the third one started forwards. Without anytime to think about what to do, she realised she was hovering over the gap between the second and third roller, doing the splits. Pain shot through her body. She rested her hands in front of her on both rollers and turned her head to the side to see that the General had flinched horribly.

She precariously started to arrange herself so that she had one knee on one roller and her other knee on the other roller. She carefully bent her legs and fought for purchase on the rollers. She straightened her arms and legs, so that she was on all fours. She stood upright after more careful manoeuvring. This time, both the rollers moved forwards. She started to overbalance and, before she could fall, jumped back over the rollers to where Lee was waiting. She slipped on the first one and started to fall down the gap between it and the platform. General Lee hurried over and seized her hand and pulled her up.

Menai bent over with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily, half because she was still in severe pain and was trying to lessen it, and also because she was exhausted. Lee watched her as she winced from another jolt of pain.

'I take it you could not do the splits before then?'

'Got it in one. And, after that, I have no intention of ever trying to again!'

She crouched down, holding her face in her hands. Her breathing came out heavily still, but slightly muffled. She stood up suddenly, took a few steps backwards and ran at the rollers. She managed to get safely onto the third one before any of them started to move. She jumped onto the forth one, a bit hap-hazardly, but regained her position before falling. However, the rollers got the better of her, and when she jumped onto the fifth one; she fell, smacking her forehead on the sixth one. She pushed away from it and bent her legs to push away from the fifth one and give herself any chance of a recovery. She practically slid over the sixth one and when she came to the last one, she pushed off again, rolled over it and hit the top of her head on the platform.

Her hands flew up as she started to fall and grabbed the platform. She heaved her aching head and torso up and pulled herself out of danger. She shuffled away from the edge of the platform and watched as Lee stepped forwards to take his go.

He stepped onto the first roller and allowed it to gently move him forwards, before stepping onto the second one. He repeated this move onto the third one, and, remembering the difficulties Menai had on this one, started to step onto the fourth, but did not get into the right position and lost his balance. He ended up in a crouch position, almost directly over the gap between the third and the fourth, sitting on the roller behind him. He moved his hands behind his body and started to straighten out his legs, raising his stomach. He lifted his right hand and readjusted his weight until he was facing his left hand side, moved around a bit further so that he was more secure on both hands and feet, but also, when he was to stand up, facing the wrong direction.

As he stood up, the roller propelled him away from the end and back onto the third one. He turned quickly and was moved back onto the fourth one again. He jumped onto the fifth, falling again, in a way that was reminiscent of Menai, but luckily did not smash his skull. He sat on the fifth roller in an almost peaceful way, his legs stretching out to the fourth one. He decided to use the same method that Menai did, and rolled along the remaining rollers on his stomach, in the similar kind of way that a caterpillar moves along the ground. He picked himself up from the ground and helped up Menai, who was still sitting as far away from the rollers as she could, clutching at her head.

'Are you okay? You took quite a few nasty knocks to the head. How many fingers am I holding up?' said the General.

Menai gave him a look before answering.

'Three.'

'That's alright then. How do you feel? Apart from your head?' asked Lee.

'I just did the splits. I feel like I've torn myself in half. How the hell do you expect me to feel?' snapped Menai.'

She stormed off, leaving General Lee behind. He jogged to catch up with her. They came to a small hill, and on the other side was a rope, and a path going down next to it where there were two uniformed Emerald Guards waiting. Next to them, was a large contraption and a bag of hard black balls. On the other side of the bridge was another pathway, where another two Emerald Guards were waiting, standing by yet another contraption with a bag of balls. Menai gave General Lee an enquiring look. He felt her gaze in him and glanced at her.

'We've got to get across the rope to the other side in order to get to Takeshi's castle. I think, to speed things off, if you go first, and then when you get halfway across the rope, I'll start making my way along as well, otherwise we'll probably be here until nightfall. It's twilight as it is,' replied the General.

Menai nervously walked over to the rope, when the Guards caught her eye.

'What is it that Takeshi has told the Guards to do?' she asked.

'They're going to be shooting those black balls at us.'

'Great. A perfect excuse for concussion,' muttered Menai sarcastically. Lee laughed and told her she would do fine. She made her way to where the rope was fixed into the ground and grasped it with her hands. She inched her way along until she could drop down. She noticed that there was a large green net underneath her, and it already had several large black balls in it, which she took to be an ominous sign.

Once she was hanging, she brought her legs up and crossed them over the top of the rope, in style of soldiers in the army. She started forwards awkwardly, and screamed when the first shot narrowly missed her head. She worked her battered and bruised body, making herself go that extra bit further, bringing herself a tiny bit further to the end of the rope.

She heard another shot and felt one of the balls hit her in the side. It dropped into the net, after leaving Menai's side stinging nastily. Two balls were fired at the same time as Menai continued to move and collided with one another. One still managed to hit its target in the face and the other struck Menai in the chest. Another ball cracked off a knee, and the one after that caught her in the back.

When she was halfway through her arduous journey, she felt a disturbance on the rope. Cursing wildly to herself she moved her head to see what was going on and realised that the General was starting the task himself. She noticed that the number of balls striking her reduced dramatically, now that the Emerald Guards had another body to use for target practice.

Lee was starting to make his way across the rope himself when he already felt a ball hit him. As he moved one hand to start inching across, the first shot aimed at him came thundering through the air and crashed straight into his hand, almost fracturing it. He hissed between his teeth from the pain and saw another shot hit Menai in the leg. He moved along a lot quicker than she did and had almost caught up with her by the time she was three quarters of the way along the rope. He doubted that before she tried to get over the rollers in one piece and make her way across this rope she had ever experienced such pain. Or such accuracy, Lee added to himself as he saw yet another ball strike her heavily on the head.

From the last shot, Menai felt her grip loosen and slipped, only hanging onto the rope with her legs. She tried to get herself upright again, but she was too injured to force her body through any more painful experiences. She could feel the blood rushing to her head and knew that it probably was not the best idea to stay like she was. She started to feel sick as she raised her torso again.

Her sore hands grasped the rope and she instantaneously took a blow to the neck. She cried out in pain, and rubbed her neck where the ball hit. She saw how close behind her General Lee was and decided that it would be a good idea to get some speed up.

She was able to get to the end of the rope only taking two more hits; one to her side and another one to her kneecaps. When she came to the end, she rested her hands on the ground, upside down, grateful of being on the other end of the rope. She dropped off and stayed sitting, watching as Lee moved off the rope. She stood up and followed him away from the displeased Emerald Guards, who had failed to stop two people getting to Takeshi's castle.

She followed the General to the back of the castle, and only close up, could either of them appreciate how marvellous it looked. The pair walked up several flights of stairs leading to the back door of the castle. General Lee tried to handle and realised that the door was locked.

'Do you have anything I can use to pick the lock, like a hairclip?' he asked. Menai shook her head. The General sighed and patted his pockets. He found an old paperclip in one and bent it, so that it was straight, then inserted it into the lock. He swung the door open and stepped inside. Menai quietly shut the door behind them and moved to keep up with the General, careful not to make any noise on the floorboards with her boots.

General Lee went on ahead, cautiously opening certain sliding doors and peering inside. Menai whispered something and pointed into a room he had not yet checked. It was the kitchen, and at the far side of the room, at the table was Count Takeshi and Opal. She was staring at her plate, barely touching anything that was on it. Menai could see that her sister looked scared and was shaking slightly. The Count had not noticed anything, until he suddenly glanced up at where General Lee and Menai were watching. The General pulled Menai out of sight by the scruff of her neck and gave her an angry look, hoping that they were not seen.

Opal raised her view as the Count got up from the table and walked to the door. As he went through the doorway, he called out in shock.

'You!'

'Me,' said General Lee.

'You are trying to take over my castle!' exclaimed Takeshi.

Drawn by curiosity, Opal got up from the table and made her way over where, to her surprise, she saw her sister and the General, both facing the Count.

'No, he doesn't give a damn about your castle. We came here for my sister,' retorted Menai.

Count Takeshi seemed to notice Menai for the first time. He looked from her to Opal and back again. He fixed Menai with a glare and told her that Opal was to stay with him. The words had barely left his lips when General Lee punched him in the face. Takeshi was taken aback by the sudden attack on him by the General and rushed into the living room. There was a decoration on the wall with two swords crossed over one another. Takeshi seized one of the handles and pulled it out. Lee ducked as the blade zipped across his head and snatched the other one. The twins started forwards to help Lee, but he told them to stay back.

The Count and the General circled one another, never taking their eyes off the other. Takeshi lunged, almost hitting Lee. Every attack that Takeshi made was parried or avoided. The Count could feel his anger rising with every missed thrust. Takeshi shrieked and dropped his katana, before throwing the General's at the twins. The call shot through the air. General Lee lunged. Takeshi dodged. He reached out and grabbed General Lee's right arm, twisting it far behind his back. General Lee's foot flew backwards and hit the Count's knee. He let out a loud, monstrous cry of pain, and hobbled backwards. A flying palm rushed through the air, hitting Lee's face. The General's hand reached up to his stricken cheek. He and Takeshi stood, staring at each other for a while. The Count went forwards, but instead of stepping forwards like a stealthy hunter, he lost his footing. As he made his descent to the ground, his hands flailed at Lee, and his fingers curled around the General's right hand. Lee pulled himself free from the grasp of somebody who was once a friend and picked up his sword.

He was not intending to kill Takeshi. Despite the Count was a spiteful and suspicious man, Lee could not bring himself to do anything worse than just wound the fallen Count.

Takeshi stood up and also picked up his own thrown weapon. He watched the General with care, as though looking for any signs that Lee might attack. He saw Menai and Opal huddled together, watching the battle out of the corner of his eye. They both looked worried.

Outside, the sun had set. Darkness was washing over the castle, but nobody was paying any attention. Only one question lingered in Takeshi's mind.

'Tell me,' he began, 'how did you manage to escape?'

'That was me,' said Menai. Count Takeshi turned to look at her. 'Michiru Jo came into my cell when I was locked up and I managed to stop him from attacking me and swiped the keys he had away from him.'

'He had keys?' asked the Count. Menai nodded.

'I then distracted Animal, who was guarding General Lee and succeeded in knocking him out,' finished Menai.

The Count seemed beside himself with anger. It did not seem to be anger aimed particularly at her, or at the General, but Takeshi seemed to be fuming at the idea of his nephew going to pay her a visit.

General Lee ushered Menai and Opal out, but not before giving Count Takeshi a last, disgusted glare. The friction between friends had mounted to hatred.

THE END