(Warning : long chapter ahead)

"Alright, where to now?" Chris asked, looking around the large clearing in Jungletale. 

After Josh spilled the fact about an abandoned base, Chris and Ink had wasted no time in gathering up a small team to check it out. They used Josh as the guide. 

Currently, the S.S.O. member was walking between two guards with his hand tied behind his back. He nodded towards a tree. 

"That tree right there has a disguised button on it that opens a circular staircase, which we're all standing on right now" Josh explained. 

Chris went over to the tree he was talking about and examined it. It took her couple times circling the tree before she found the button. 

She pressed it, and the ground started rumbling. The clearing began to descend, and formed a circular staircase that led deep into the ground. 

Chris and Ink shared a glance as they both walked over to the edge and peered down into the large hole that was once the clearing. 

"Alright Mr. Sky, since your the guide, you get to go first" Chris said as she walked over to him. 

Josh groaned as Chris lightly pushed him towards the staircase. The started going down while Ink lingered with the small group. 

"Wait for us here, alright? I'll give a signal if we need help" he said. 

The group nodded and Ink went to catch up with Josh and Chris. Though, while they were walking, Josh started up his lustful flirting with Chris. 

Ink quietly sighed in irritation and anger. He wished he could kill the dumbass right there and then, but he and Chris needed him alive to guide them through the ruins of the old S.S.O. base. 

It didn't stop Ink from thinking about all the ways he could kill the idiot. And the thing that really made Ink's blood boil, were the looks that Josh occasionally sent to him. 

That guy knew what he was doing with his flirting, and he wanted Ink to know that. The skeleton glared at Josh, who's back was currently turned. 

He was giving Chris these looks that held hints of lust, and Ink had a sudden urge to put himself between the two. Since he was a little ways behind, he sped up his pace until he was right behind them. 

"How much farther are we from the control room around here?" he asked, his tone a bit stiff. 

Josh looked annoyed that his flirting with Chris had been interrupted. Not that it mattered. 

Chris wasn't even paying attention to him, or his words. 

"Not too far" Josh told Ink, giving the skeleton a side glance before resuming his flirting with Chris. 

The girl sighed. Ink could tell it was out of nothing more than pure annoyance and irritation. 

He reached over and gently grabbed her upper arm, pulling her back so that she has beside him and not Josh, who didn't even notice that she was no longer beside him. Ink now slowed his pace down so that the two were further back from the guy. 

He leaned over a bit so that his mouth was beside Chris's ear. 

"You know, we could also kill him after we get out of here" he muttered. 

"I would like that very much" Chris whispered back. 

"Hey! Where'd you go girl?!" Josh cried, now realizing Chris's disappearance. 

Ink growled a bit, something that Chris heard. She quietly chuckled, making Ink look at her. 

"What's so funny?" he asked. 

"Look at you, being all protective" Chris teased as she bumped her shoulder against his. 

Ink blushed a bit as he took a step back. 

"W-what?! No! I'm just, looking out for, your, best interests" he sputtered. 

He blushed more as Chris let out a quiet laugh. 

"And I appreciate it, Ink" she said, giving him a smile before speeding up a bit. 

"We're here!" Josh grumbled. 

Ink felt very satisfied to see that he did not look happy or smug at all. They were in front of a metal door that Ink opened. 

He went inside, and Chris moved to follow, but Josh stopped her. 

"This isn't is the control room, but I'm going to need you to untie me since there's a code to it" he said. 

Chris narrowed her eyes a bit. 

"Show me" she said. 

"The door's over there" Josh said, beckoning with his head. 

While Chris walked over to the door he pointed out, Josh smirked and looked at the open door beside him. Ink was still in the room, looking around. 

He didn't notice the door closing, but he did hear the click as the lock as slid in place. Josh chuckled a bit as he heard Ink's attempts to get out. 

He walked over to where Chris was. She was standing in front of the control room. She turned around, pulled out a dagger, and walked towards him. 

"Turn around" she said. 

Josh did so, and with a small sigh, Chris cut the cords that bound his wrists together. 

"Ah, that's much better" he said, rubbing his wrists. 

"Now put in the code" Chris ordered. 

Josh did so, and for a moment, there was nothing. Then, the heavy duty door slid open, revealing the room inside. 

Chris went in cautiously, making sure she didn't set anything off. After she got to the computer, she started looking around for any way to get it to turn on. 

"Girl, this thing's been inoperable for years, I doubt you could-" Josh said before he gasped in shock. 

Chris's hands were surrounded in bright green mist. She put her hands down on the computer, and just like that, everything started working. 

Chris smirked a bit and began typing away on the computer, going into the data main frame for the place. She had become so focused that she forgot about Josh, who had used her distraction to his advantage and left. 

He wasn't going to leave them. Oh no, he had a much better plan in mind. 

Josh snickered in accomplishment as he found what he was looking for. The engine room. 

He went over to one of the pipes. He could the plumbing groan as they struggled to hold the water that rushed through them. 

With a crazed smirk, he turned a wheel that controlled where the water flowed. Chris now plugged in her flash drive, downloading as much as she could. 

A low groan came from beside her, causing Chris to look over. The sound came again, this time holding a higher pitch. 

Chris's eyes landed on the pipes that lined the wall and suddenly got a strange feeling. Like the kind someone would get when they felt something really bad was about to happen. 

And this was one of the moments where that feeling was correct. A couple pipes burst so much that they were blown into halves. 

The water that was coming in at high pressure was soon at Chris's ankles. She turned around to get out, only to find that the door that led into the room was closed and locked. 

And Josh was nowhere to be found. Chris let out a hiss of anger and self-frustration. 

How could she have been so stupid?! She had been so focused on the information she wanted to get, she had completely forgotten about Josh. 

She continued her self-loathing until she remembered her current situation. The water had reached her knees, and Chris suddenly became scared. 

Not for herself, but for someone else. Ink. 

"Shit, I gotta get to Ink, don't I? But how do I get through the doors?" Chris muttered to herself as she examined the door. 

It really was heavy duty, and Chris didn't have the time to break through it. Then she face-palmed. 

"Oh yeah. I can't get through this. Its not like I'm in the control room or anything" she said sarcastically to herself as she turned and went back to the computer. 

The download was complete, so, Chris took out her flash drive and pocketed it. Then she accessed the place's electrical system, which had been fueled by her magic. 

The water was now up to her mid thigh, which made Chris type faster. Finally, she managed to get into the system. 

But right as she was about to click something, the screen flickered, and now showed Josh's stupid face. 

"Ha! You guys are so gullible! I led you right into my trap!" he laughed. 

"You fucking bastard!" Chris heard Ink's voice yell through the computer. 

"Ink?!" Chris called. 

"Chris?!" she heard Ink yell back. 

"Are you alright?" Chris asked. 

"Starting to get soaked, but otherwise, I'm fine. What about you?" Ink replied. 

Before Chris could answer, Josh snapped. 

"Oh shut up! I'm done with the both of you! All hail the Soul Science Organization!" he yelled before pressing a button. 

The section of the floor Chris was standing on gave out, sending her, and the waist high water down. Josh laughed as the same thing happened to Ink, then he shut off his computer. 

He walked around the engine room, now looking for a way out, since his original way was blocked by a bunch of water. He passed by a machine that was shaking a little too hard. 

Suddenly, a bolt that had been holding something together, popped out of place. Josh screamed as some parts of the machine shot through him, his blood splattered across the ground. 

He went down, holding his abdomen since that was where the most pain was located. Josh heard a groaning and creaking sound from above him and looked up. 

A large metal beam that had been held up by the machine now came loose. And the end of it came crashing down on Josh's head.

Chris zipped down a small tube, keeping her eyes shut and hand clamped over her mouth so that she wouldn't breath in the water. She suddenly felt a familiar stomach dropping sensation that last for a couple seconds. 

Then she landed in more water, but this time, it was much more violent. Chris fought her way up to the surface of the water to both get some air and to try and find out where she was. 

She gasped the second her head broke the surface. After attempting to rub the water out of her eyes, Chris looked around. 

She was in a tunnel that was full of rushing water. Feeling herself getting pulled under, Chris took a quick breath before she went under. 

The current was so damn strong! She got her head back over the surface and started looking around for a certain skeleton. 

"Ink!" Chris yelled out, her voice echoing down the tunnel behind her. 

She didn't get an answer, but there was a rumbling sound that was quickly growing louder. Chris looked around to see the end of the tunnel. 

And she was heading towards it quickly. 

"Oh gods" Chris muttered to herself as she realized how her current water ride was going to end. 

Luckily, the fall wasn't too big, and Chris landed into another river. This time, the current was on the lazy side. 

However, Chris was becoming tired, and was starting to have a hard keeping herself afloat. She looked around as someone yelled out her name. 

She then spotted her expedition team. Some were huddled on the ground, while the rest were standing and waving their arms. 

Chris struggled to swim over, but she made it. One of the team members waded into the water to help her get back onto land. 

Chris then realized just how exhausted she was. No one was too surprised when she collapsed onto the ground. 

She had to fight a long rushing river just for a few quick breaths, then go through a couple falls. 

"Chris?" 

Chris looked up to see Ink, who was leaning against a tree. He was panting and his clothes were completely soaked. 

"Hey Ink... You alright?" Chris said. 

Ink gave an emotionless chuckle as he closed his eye sockets. 

"I'm fine. The only thing that was hurt was my pride" he said. 

He opened an eye socket and gave Chris a confused look when she started giggling. 

"Dream's probably not going to be too happy when he hears about this, is he?" she said... 

...Yeah, Dream just about had a field day...