To The Rescue Chapter 17

                                                                                                                                       Hedge Maze
The sky was a vibrant yellow, orange and red. The sun was setting and time was running out. They had to get to the mansion before dark. Toushiro and Mika had arrived at what looked like a big garden but it was actually a maze... A hedge maze.
Toushiro: "Aw man... We'll never get out of this in time."
Mika: "And we're so close too!"
Toushiro: "But we still have to try."
Cabriola: "And try you must."
The two looked over and saw a horse trotting out of the maze! It was Cabriola!
Mika: "Cabriola!"
Toushiro: "What are you doing here?!"
Cabriola: "I'm here to help you little ones through Pilaf's hedge maze."
Toushiro: "You mean this whole thing belongs to Pilaf?"
Cabriola: "Yes. Pilaf's mansion has been passed down through generations and this maze was built to keep strangers out."
Mika: "But you're going to help us through the maze, right?"
Cabriola: "I will meet and greet along the way!"
Toushiro: "Cool! Thanks a lot!"
And the horse galloped off! As she did, she left faint prints in the dirt which Toushiro and Mika followed. Down a shallow turn with another path to the left. But the duo continued to follow the path that had hoof prints in the dirt. They kept going for a few minutes, following the trail that Cabriola had left them carefully. A left turn here, a right turn there, a left, a right, it was dizzying. Finally, they ran into Cabriola again.
Cabriola: "Glad to see you're making your way through ok."
Mika: "We've been following the hoof prints you left in the dirt."
Cabriola: "Well from here on out the ground is all pebble and stone. But I do have a map of the maze. You can use it to find your way."
Mika: "Great!"
Cabriola picked up the map on the ground and gave it to Toushiro. The child prodigy opened it and tried to find where they were currently. It didn't take him long to locate their position.
Toushiro: "Got it."
Cabriola: "Oh and there's one other thing I should tell you two. Pilaf knows that you are somewhere around here so he put thorny traps in here to stop you! But ol' Cabriola knows a secret..."
Mika: "What's that?"
Cabriola: "The thorn balls always move along the same path... So if you learn the path, you can avoid the danger."
Toushiro: "That's great to know, Cabriola. But I gotta ask you something... Have you seen Vegeta?"
Cabriola: "No I haven't and I've been looking out for him and Goku too."
Toushiro: "I see... So it's true..."
Cabriola: "Did something happen?"
Mika: "We encountered General Tao in the woods and he told Toushiro that Uncle Vegeta and Goku have been captured."
The painted horse looked shocked to hear this.
Cabriola: "What?!"
Mika: "Yeah... Toushiro's pretty upset about it."
Toushiro: "I'm a captain and one of my jobs as a captain is to protect all of those in my squad which includes lieutenants. I've failed to do that."
Cabriola stomped her hoof!
Cabriola: "Listen to me, Toushiro! Get that out of your head because it isn't true! You've done your duty very well and even more so! There aren't many people who would be willing to take on Coge alone like you did. For someone of your age, you've done very well. Vegeta's a grown man, he can take care of himself. General Tao must have set an ambush because for him to capture not only Vegeta but Goku as well, is nearly impossible to pull off any other way."
Toushiro: "But Pilaf's goal was to capture Goku and now he's done that! How do we know we aren't too late?!"
Mika looked up at the horse with concerned eyes. Her friend had a good point there. But Cabriola just looked at them with a sly smile.
Cabriola: "How many times have you two encountered Pilaf?"
Toushiro and Mika looked at one another.
Toushiro: "Um... 3 times."
Mika: "The first time was at the top of the clock tower. The second was right outside the lumber mill and the third time was at those old castle ruins."
Cabriola: "And how badly did you two children beat him?"
Mika: "Pretty bad."
Toushiro: "Each time we saw him again he was even more angry then before."
The Soul Reaper and Saboron cub suddenly realized what Cabriola was trying to say!
Cabriola: "You get it now? The two of you have beaten Pilaf so badly that he is now more focused on getting back at you then Goku right now."
Mika: "Then there's still time!"
Toushiro: "Yeah! Thanks for setting me strait, Cabriola. And thanks for the map too."
Cabriola: "My pleasure, little ones."
Cabriola ran off further into the maze. She would meet them halfway through the maze as a sign that Toushiro and Mika were heading in the right direction. Thanks to the painted horse's words, Toushiro felt his confidence return. With renewed confidence, the Soul Reaper and cub pushed on with their quest! A minute later they came to a four-way crossroad. They stopped for a moment and Toushiro took a look at the map. Laying the map on the ground, they both followed the four directions that were available to them. The north rout was a dead-end. The south rout was the one they had just come from. The east rout would eventually take them back to the beginning so that only left the west rout. Heading west, they finally encountered one of those thorn balls that Cabriola had warned them about. The ball was huge and rolled in a strait line back and forth. However, along its path were patches in the bushes similar to what they had seen up on the battlements of the castle ruins. If they could get to one of those areas before the thorn ball went passed, they would be safe. They waited for the thorn ball to stop and begin its journey back to the other end of its rout. The second it did, Toushiro and Mika made their move!
Toushiro: "Hurry!"
With little time to spare, the two rushed over to the first safe zone! When the ball passed by them, they hurried over to the next one. Once the thorn ball passed by them a fourth time, they both ran to corner and were finally out of its path. But now they had to rely on the map they had even more as the rest of the maze was graveled or paved. But that still didn't deter them and they continued onward. After what seemed like an eternity of being surrounded by the same wall, Toushiro and Mika was glad to find a small brief change in the scenery when they came across a tiny pond with a bridge over it. Just on the other side of the bridge there was a fork in the road, one path heading west and east.
Toushiro: "Taking the west path will just bring us back to the pond."
Mika: "Then east it is."
And east they headed. After more left and right turns they found another four-way crossroad. But just as they were about to look at the map, they saw a familiar horse standing in the north rout. They knew that that way was the one they wanted instantly.
Cabriola: "You two are doing very well."
Mika: "Hi Cabriola. Are we going the right way?"
Cabriola: "Yes indeed sweetie! You are almost done with the fun!"
Toushiro: "Alright! Thanks for letting us know!"
And the horse ran off again to wait for them at the exit. As Toushiro and Mika continued on they decided to slow down a little. They had been moving pretty fast throughout most of this journey so they took the time to ease their pace. It also gave them both the opportunity to reflect on everything that has happened so far. They've gone through West City Park where they met Jess Light and put the sting on Mai. Right after that they met Paurakou at the Toy Store and were told what to do which was where their quest had officially begun. They met Jess Light again in Piccadilly and gave Shu a free trip down a manhole. Then they climbed up the Clock Tower with Ebony's guidance and faced off with Pilaf for the first time. They got to see amazing exhibits at the Museum with Tarble, Vegeta's little brother, and tricked General Tao into his own pathetic trap. The Old Undergrounds was where they headed next and trudged through with Sunrise's help. They had some fun at the Carnival with Shelly and even more fun giving Mai a bath. They explored a Lumber Mill with Sunrise and got to work with some of the equipment before facing off with Pilaf again. They ran around the Country Side with Cabriola and introduced Shu to a big ol' rock! They did the work for a lazy farmer for Prissy at the Barnyard. It was fun in the snow with Flame Curry at the Ice Festival and they cooled down Mai while they were there. They discovered the Castle Ruins that time forgot with Ebony and knocked Pilaf out of his mind! They conquered the Spooky Forest with Flame Curry's help and gave General Tao a more down to earth outfit. Now they were conquering the maze outside of Pilaf Manor. All they had to do after this was get through the manor and press on to the Old Toy Factory where they would surly find everyone waiting for them to come to the rescue! The sun was almost gone so they hurried. Behind them there were some dark clouds rolling in and the air smelled of rain. In the distance, they could hear the sound of thunder and they knew that a big storm was on its way! Yet another reason why they had to reach the manor before nightfall. But they found themselves in a jam when they came to the end of the maze. There was no passage leading out, just a mixed up puzzle on the ground.
Mika: "Maybe we took a wrong turn."
Toushiro: "Maybe not... Look."
Toushiro had spotted something scraped in the stone.
                                                                                                       "Put the puzzle together to reach the exit - Cabriola."
Toushiro: "Odd... But then again this whole journey has been odd."
Mika: "Then lets get cracking!"
The hurried to put the puzzle together as the sun set and the storm drew closer. Finally, the puzzle was complete. It was a picture of Pilaf in all his self-proclaimed glory. Seeing it made Toushiro want to barf!
Toushiro: "I feel like gaging right now!"
Mika: "Look! Over there!"
Behind them, a gate opened up and a secret tunnel was revealed.
Toushiro: "This must be the way out! Lets go!"
Mika: "Right!"
The Soul Reaper and Saboron rushed through the tunnel and came out a secret passageway. In front of them was Cabriola and behind her was the exit.
Cabriola: "Well done, both of you! You've made it through the maze!"
Toushiro: "Well we couldn't have done it without your help, Cabriola."
Mika: "Yeah!"
Cabriola: "It was my pleasure helping you two. Beyond this is Pilaf Manor where Paurakou is awaiting for your arrival. Be warned though... Beyond this point things will get much harder as you get closer to Pilaf's headquarters. My advise is that you both stay together and look out for one another. Stay alert and be careful."
Mika: "We will Cabriola."
Toushiro: "You don't have to worry about us. Thanks for all the help and careful on your way back home. A storm's brewing."
Cabriola: "Good luck."
And without another word, Cabriola headed for home as fast as her hooves could carry her. With no time to spare, Toushiro and Mika made a mad dash for the manor just as the storm arrived.