Black sail of the labyrinth Part 3: The Minotaur

As Emeri chased after the minotaur, she noticed a light illuminating a moped with a bayonet attached to it in a dead end. Curious, she ran over to it and read the note attached to it.

“Should the minotaur threaten to consume your friends you may use this to fight back. I would recommend  leaving this be and defeating him with your bare hands if you wish to save everyone, however, I will leave this here for your use should the task prove too daunting. Fear not, this chariot is not boobytrapped, though only one may ride it at a time. Also, be careful around the bayonet. The tip is coated in poison, though there is an antidote should you or your friends make a mistake. Just don’t cause any fatal wounds, and you’ll all be fine. – M.M.”

Emeri whipped out her phone and scanned the moped for traps.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything amiss. Well, this will give me a far greater chance of slaying that mechanical menace.”

Emeri hopped on and rode after the minotaur. Since the passageways were a bit wider now, Emeri could easily traverse them on the moped without feeling cramped. She eventually caught up to the minotaur when she entered a large circular room. It was like being inside an underground Colosseum. The minotaur placed Yuni and Madoka down before charging at Emeri. Emeri charged as fast as the moped would go towards the minotaur. She successfully pierced its stomach, however, the minotaur kept going, and even lifted Emeri and the moped into the air with pure strength.

“What the hell!? This thing’s way more powerful than the other three androids, don’t tell me this thing’s real!” Emeri screamed.

Liquid began to ooze out of the minotaur’s stomach; however, it was too dark to make out what it was.

Emeri held on for dear life as the minotaur thrashed around. She was eventually thrown off and groaned as she hit the ground. The minotaur charged toward her, still with the bayonet and moped lodged in his abdomen. Emeri desperately looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. She noticed nothing but a pile of palm sized rocks, and ran towards them, narrowly dodging the minotaur slamming the moped down. She desperately threw them at the red button on the minotaur’s chest, however her aim was bad and even the ones that hit the button seemed to have no effect. Emeri then desperately began checking her pockets to see if there was anything she could use.

“Dammit! All I have is my phone, the room key, my wallet, and some pepper spray. I guess I’ll chance it with the pepper spray and hope it works.”

As the minotaur reached Emeri and slammed down the moped, Emeri hopped back on it, and sprayed the minotaur. To her surprise, the minotaur roared in pain as it thrashed about violently. Emeri hopped off the moped and ran towards Yuni and Madoka as the Minotaur slowly began to lose steam. She woke the two of them up just as the minotaur collapsed on the ground.

“You beat that thing with a moped!? Good job,” Yuni said.

“The last light appears to be just up ahead. We can still save whoever it is,” Emeri stated as she and Yuni began running as they supported Madoka.

The three then reached a flight of stone stairs and ascended to find Serika bound and gagged in a chair with  a stone statue of Eriza a few feet behind her.

Emeri and Yuni set Madoka down, and freed Serika.

“Peh, thanks for the save.”

“No time for that, we need to save Eriza. She’s right behind you.”

Serika, Emeri, and Yuni dragged the statue out over to Madoka. As they examined it, they heard a loud slamming sound, and turned to see a giant metal piston where Eriza’s statue had stood.

“Thank goodness we were able to at least save you,” Emeri wept.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Serika asked.

Yuni then explained everything while the three freed Eriza.

“That bitch! I’ll kill her for the hell she put you through,” Serika growled.

The girls had successfully freed Eriza from the stone. She was alive, but was not waking up.

“Dammit! We’ll need to get her checked out. Let’s get out of here. Once we exit the Colosseum area, we head straight until we find the thread. Then we follow that all the way out,” Emeri stated.

Serika carried Eriza while Yuni and Emeri carried Madoka. When they reached the room with the minotaur, Emeri let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the minotaur still lying motionless on the ground. The red button still glowed, however, Emeri did not want to try messing with it.

“I don’t remember seeing a minotaur as I came in. Then again, it could’ve just been hiding when that bitch marched me through. Still, looks like you had one hell of a fight,” Serika stated.

“I’m more surprised you found a moped,” Yuni stated.

“Yeah, just after you two were taken, I saw a light illuminating it coming from the left side of the corridor. I still don’t know why she put it there,” Emeri mumbled.

                                                                              …

The girls eventually reached the exit and headed for their boat. The old man sighed as they arrived.

“You tourists sure are a crazy lot. First you demand I take you to Crete while flying a black sail on my boat, now you return with two other girls.”

“We’ll pay you triple your regular price,” Emeri stated.

“*sigh* well, this is the most I’ve ever gotten from a private trip, so I can’t complain.”

                                                                           …

A few hours into the journey, Eriza’s condition worsened.

“Is there anyplace close by we can take her?” Emeri pleaded.

“Well, Naxos is only a few minutes away. We’ll drop her off there,” the ferryman said.

After disembarking in Naxos, Eriza was taken away by paramedics as Emeri looked distraught.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll pull through,” Serika reassured her.

                                                                              …

In Athens, M.M. attached a glider made of wax to herself as she jumped off a ledge and glid in the air.

“Now then, if they saved everyone, it will be my loss, and the rope holding me down will cut sending me towards the sun and my Reichenbach. However, if they failed to save everyone, then it shall be a draw, and you will take the plunge,” M.M. said to a bound and gagged woman.

                                                                              …

The sun began to rise as the ferry neared Athens. M.M. pulled out her binoculars and gazed at the ship.

“My my, complete and utter failure. Either that, or like Theseus they forgot to change the flag. Well, it seems today will not be my Reichenbach. However, I guess we could say today will be yours,” M.M. stated as she landed and dragged the restrained woman towards the ledge.

The woman somberly stared down at the jagged rocks littering the Aegean Sea below her.

“Farewell.”

The girls watched in horror as they saw someone fall from the cliff into the sea below.

“Full sail towards the cliff!” Yuni yelled, much to the ferryman’s dismay.

When they reached the cliff. Emeri went pale with shock as she recognized the dying woman impaled on the rocks.

“No… Impossible… Why... Why are you here… mother?”