Taking Back

The Chase

Alisha and Eddie chased Shoutmon into the castle through the kitchen. The alluring smells of lunch filled the air. Alisha heard her stomach growling, and her mouth watered, but she focused on the red scaly tail wandering the halls. They turned the corner, only to find themselves at a dead end, with no Shoutmon in sight. Before either of them could think where he might have gone, they heard a thump from behind them. They turned around to see Shoutmon making a pose as he grinned, then dashed in the other direction. 

Did he climb up the damn ceiling?

That thought came to their mind for a second before chasing back after him. "How long... can this dragon... keep this up, Eddie?" Alisha asked, feeling winded out. "I'm not... I'm not sure I can keep this up."

"That's what he's hoping for," Eddie replied. "That must be his plan right now. He's stalling his time to try and tire us out. That must be why he's been simply dashing and clawing about instead of screaming out gibberish."

They heard a clatter to the left of the hall they were running in. Assuming it was Shoutmon, they followed the sound only to find another empty room. Alisha looked out the door to discover Shoutmon's tail slithering in the opposite direction. She pointed out the door and said, "Over there!" as they ran back out. "How wiley is this guy? What is he, a ninja or something?!" 

"Well," Eddie sputtered, feeling out of breath with her. "I used to hear Rilys tell stories to villagers and other professors that he was once part of a super powerful military force. This must be... oof... the results of the training he went through... back... back in the day. He... he's like a phantom or something."

"Impressive. Shoutmon's giving us a workout."

"He... oof... he sure is, hehe."

They heard another clattering sound as they went to the next crossroads in the halls. This time, they thought to turn away from the noise, thinking it was another trick. They headed to the next room, and they noticed the locked door. It confused them. Until they realized the truth: They had been tricked again. How did they know this? Because they heard Shoutmon snickering from the other hall.

"Damn, this dragon is smart," Alisha commented frustratingly. "Stupid jerk made us think we had him figured out!"

"That's Shoutmon for you," Eddie replied, practically jogging now. "Always a hundred steps ahead of you."

"So, how are we supposed to catch him?"

"That's the problem: I don't think we can. And I think Shoutmon knows it, too."

The chase was becoming pointless. Shoutmon seemed uncatchable, and both royals ran out of breath. On each path they took, Shoutmon would misdirect them, and for every dead end he fell into, he'd find a way to escape them. How were they supposed to catch someone who appeared to be uncatchable? They couldn't, and that was the problem. All they could do was keep running, even if it was hopeless.

Suddenly, they heard another clattering sound. They weren't sure what to do. If they went left and followed the sound, there was a chance he would be on the right. If they chose to ignore it and go to the right, they could lose him again on the left. They thought they couldn't keep going, and Alisha's eyes lit up. "Keep running," she told Eddie. "This is our chance!"

Eddie just looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked. "How is this our chance?"

"Because," she answered, pointing at the end of the hall. "Both of those paths are dead ends! Which means it doesn't matter. Because no matter which sides the noise came from-"

Eddie's eyes lit up at what she was trying to say. "He'd still be cornered regardless! He'd have no way out but back this way!"

"Exactly! We just have to block both sides!"