Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.
First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.
Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.
I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being critized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.
I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.
Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.
Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.
Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.
Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
AN/ I have been harassed and threatened about this fic by its ex-co-author (more info in bio). He wants me to stop writing it. Well, here's my response to that, an update!
The lights throughout the building suddenly turned on in the same moment. The three friends had to shield their eyes from the sudden light. They squinted a few times. With the lights on, their entire perspective of the company headquarters had changed. The dangers didn't seem so looming, though they were still present. Behind them were still the bodies of the bulk of Pegasus's security force. And the door was still locked, leaving them on the same floor as the hostile strangers. This, however, proved to be an opportunity for them to finally see the faces of their opponents.
Kenyon's opponent had red hair, that curled around his face, making him look even more feminine. A pendant with a venom-green stone dangled from his neck. He wore a violet, tight-fitting exercise shirt that was the same color as his eyes. His pants were black, army style and he also were a heavy pair of army boots. A dark, slightly oversized trench coat with belts attached everywhere finished the outfit. Attached to his arm was the unusual duel disk, which Miranda was peering at. The part above the long biking gloves was circular, with many strange symbols carved around the outer edge, though the middle was still set up like Kaiba's duel disks, with the graveyard and deck slots in relatively the same places. By the hand was a crest shape, where the field magic cards slot was hidden. The rest of the disk extended like a blade from that part, with the spaces for monster and spell cards clearly marked out. The entire thing was a dark shade of green with lighter green highlights.
Valon, the only name the friends knew, was casually leaning against the glass railing, watching the newcomer on the first floor out of the corner of his blue eyes. He had spiky brown hair that was held in place by a pair of goggles. He wore a red shirt, shoulder and elbow pads, as well as biker gloves. His pants were black leather and his buckle-up boots were knee high. A green stone ring was around his right ring finger. He also wore one of the unusual duel disks on his left arm, though this one was inactive and locked into the circular part on his arm. He was watching everything that was happening, looking more than slightly amused.
The last one was leaning against a pillar not far behind the first. He seemed to be even more massive in the light, with a body-builder's physique. He looked bored, with his arms crossed, thus revealing his inactive duel disk attached over his gloves. He wore a black tank top that was doing all it could to conceal his muscles. He wore cargo-style navy pants and dark hiking boots. Gema swore she caught a glimpse of the hilt of a knife sticking out of one. He also wore a large, navy trench coat with belts attached at the most unconventional places. He kept his blond hair short, though it was slightly spiked. He also had two very long sideburns which extended down past his cheeks and several inches away from his face. Like his companions, he had a pendant with a green stone set by a skull around his neck.
The friends had just taken this in when the doors on the first floor were opened and several more people ran in. The first was a lanky blond in jeans and a t-shirt, wearing a denim jacket. Not far behind him was a brunette with a massively spiked bang. He wore mostly brown, except for his white shirt. A girl with brown hair was with the guys. She wore a pink shirt and skirt, with a white jacket over her outfit. The last newcomer didn't need much for the friends to recognize him. His short stature and tri-colored spiky hair was world famous.
"Guys! Look!" exclaimed Gema in a hushed tone, poking Miranda in the side. Miranda allowed her eye to flit over to the new arrivals, and then hid a gasp.
"Huh? What is it Gema?" asked Kenyon, looking around confused.
"Hey Mai! Good work! You got 'em all here," called Valon to the biker below.
"Nice, another one..." Miranda murmured to herself.
"Mai!" gasped the first to enter.
The female biker had taken off her helmet, letting her blonde curls cascade freely down her shoulders. The four who had just entered gasped, fully recognizing her.
"Wait…wait…" said Gema, closing her eyes to think. "I know I've seen those faces before in Duelist Weekly…"
"You know them?" asked Kenyon, who was still toying with his new duel disk on his arm, still adjusting to its weight.
"Mai…Mai Valentine," said Gema, slowly. "That's her name. She runs a Harpy deck…And…let me think…" She paused again.
"You really do know everything going on in the duel world, don't you?" asked Miranda.
"I try…" Gema replied. "Oh! Joseph Wheeler is the blond guy…though I could never figure out his strategy, unless it was sheer luck…And I hope I don't need to tell you guys who the short kid is."
"Yu-Gi Motou, as anyone knows," replied Miranda.
"Yu-Gi who?" asked Kenyon.
Miranda once more sweat-dropped enormously. From a hidden pocket in her vest she pulled out a small but dense bell. In the same instant she swung it around by the ribbon tied to it, nailing Kenyon on the head with a low 'gong' noise echoing off the walls. Kenyon's head jerked to the side from the force of the impact. The three opponents watched, dumbfounded, as Miranda calmly re-pocketed her temple bell.
"Kenyon! Don't be that dense!" she scolded.
"Er…sorry?" muttered Kenyon. He was slightly cross-eyed as he massaged the knot out of his spikes.
On the floor below, Mai and the duelist group were bantering back and forth, caught up in their own argument. A few times their eyes strayed to those on the balcony, but they were too caught up in their own problems to do more than afford them a few minutes.
The red head looked around for a moment, then deactivated his duel disk, causing it to once more compact itself. "Hrmph, looks like you three got off." Kenyon looked at him, thoroughly perplexed, but the Australian cut him off.
"Well, now what should we do with 'em? I sure don't want to miss the fun between the harpy queen and the dueling dog," commented Valon, casually.
"I'm going to report back to the boss. He'll want to hear about these three here," replied the red head. He then turned and walked back the way they came without even a glance back.
"Good idea, Amelda," replied the last one, apathetically.
(AN/ I use Alister's Japanese name, for a few reasons; I hate the name 'Alister', I'm used to using 'Amelda', and in general I hate what the American version did to his character.)
"One more down…" murmured Miranda.
"Hey! Wait!" Gema protested to the retreating figure. "We want answers!"
"We didn't even duel, the deal's off," Amelda replied, and with that he was gone.
"I'll give ya a hint," chuckled Valon. "You can call us soul collectors."
"Again with the soul stuff. I believe in Zodiacs, not disembodiment," glowered Miranda.
"You're on the wrong sides of beliefs, then," laughed Valon.
"Hey guys! Look!" exclaimed a voice from the first floor. The speaker was the brunette guy. "There's more of those bikers!" He pointed up into the balcony, right at the five standing up there still. Miranda, Kenyon, and Gema started in alarm.
"I don't remember seeing those three before, though," commented the only girl.
"They must be working with them then, Tristan," said Joe, who was still in front, arguing with Mai.
"Whoa! Hold the reel! We're the good guys!" protested Kenyon, holding his hands up.
"Right, right," Miranda quickly agreed. "We were just here at the wrong place, wrong time." She chuckled nervously and lowered her tone a bit. "Talk about our luck…"
"We have luck?" asked Kenyon.
"Um…guys…" asked the girl, warily. "Should we be bothered by the fact that were the only ones here?"
Miranda and Gema caught the slight movement out of the corner of their eyes. The unnamed man had reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote with a single button on it.
"It's a trap!" shouted Gema the same moment he pressed the button.
But her warning was way too late. With a sudden grating noise, every security grid above the glass doors slid shut and clicked into place.
"We're locked in!" exclaimed Tristan as he ran back to the doors and futilely tried to pull the grate up.
"Out of the frying pan…" groaned Miranda.
"Man, talk about a tempo change," commented Kenyon. "The BGM just did a 180. You know this is going to be good."
"Kenyon!" snapped both girls.
"What?" he asked, innocently without faking innocence.
"Aww, lighten up, we get to watch the dog and the harpy queen duel," replied Valon, turning around so he could watch the beginning of the duel below.
"Mai! You don't have to do this!" Joe continued to plead. "You're are friend!" He fingered his deck in his activated Battle City duel disk nervously.
"Save it!" snapped Mai, already drawing her first hand. Her Battle City duel disk had been replaced by one of the green ones the other trio was wearing.
"Hey, do you hear that?" asked Kenyon.
"Hear what?" asked Miranda, slightly exasperated.
"That girl's image song," he said, pointing to Mai. "She's with them!" He pointed to the remaining guys on the second floor.
"…You can tell that by the duel disk she has, Kenyon," sweat-dropped Gema.
"I'll start this duel with this!" exclaimed Mai, popping open her field magic card slot. "I play the Seal of Orichalcos!" She slid the card into place.
"Mai! No!" protested those on the ground floor.
"The Seal of what?" asked Gema. "I've never heard of that card before."
"A card that steals souls…was that what Amelda was talking about…?" Miranda wondered, keeping her voice low and to herself.
A green light was emitted from the symbol engraved on Mai's duel disk. The circle of symbols started in the air, directly above the middle of the duel field. It then enlarged and sunk, until it circled around the two duelists. An odd six pointed star was drawn on the inside of the circle, locking it in place. Now, both Mai and Joe was standing in the middle of the glowing green circle; the same color green as the stones the opponents all wore. Even more eerie was the identical symbol now glowing on Mai's forehead. Her violet eyes pulsed red slightly.
"Mai…" called Joe. Yu-Gi and those with him looked equally shocked and horrified.
Valon, however, was laughing again. "This is too rich!"
Kenyon chuckled too, though he wasn't fully sure why. "I like that guy."
"Kenyon!" exclaimed the girls.
"What? He has a sense of humor, he can't be all bad," answered Kenyon. Miranda started to tug on the ribbon for her temple bell. "Er…sorry, sorry." Kenyon meekly held up his hands. Miranda sighed and returned the ribbon.
Kenyon walked back then and joined Gema and Miranda by the second pillar. Valon and his companion were by the first, and all of them were watching what was going on on the ground floor. The three friends were considerably tenser, and kept warily glancing to the two guys opposite of them, as if expecting an attack to come at any moment.
"Joe! If either of you loses this duel you'll lose your soul!" called Yu-Gi.
"That's the card!" exclaimed Miranda. Horror and curiosity merged, and she found herself leaning forward, trying to examine the field magic card even more closely.
"It's time for you to pay up for abandoning me, Wheeler," growled Mai, placing her first cards on her duel disk.
"Come to your senses Mai!" pleaded Joe.
"It's that Orichalcos thing, isn't it?" asked the girl standing behind him. "That's what's twisting Mai into thinking she's our enemy…"
"Right, Téa," said Yu-Gi. "And she's risking her own life to do so."
"Stop mumbling down there," Valon called to the bystanders. "You know you can't destroy the seal with the magic of your pathetic Millennial Puzzle!"
"Magic?" asked Gema.
"Millennial Puzzle…what is going on here?" asked Miranda. "This aura I'm sensing…I'm feeling some seriously bad vibes coming from that card…"
"Sure it's not the vibrato from background music?" asked Kenyon, casually. The full sense of the dangers had not yet dawned on him. Both Miranda and Gema ignored his comment.
"That Mai is too headstrong," muttered the still unnamed man. "She's not following the boss's orders."
"So there's a boss…" noted Miranda.
"Aw, let her have her fun, Raphael," replied Valon. "Mai'll get the job done in the end."
"Make your move already, Wheeler!" snapped Mai.
"Mai! Don't you understand!" Joe continued to plead. "You could lose your soul!"
"I traded mine in for power!" Mai shot back. "Sorry hon, the Mai you knew is gone forever!"
"…You know, if this wasn't so intense, this would be fun," commented Gema. "I mean, we walked in a duel between two Battle City finalists, with the Battle City champion being present!"
"Hmm, a flock of birds and a mini-Godzilla," murmured Kenyon, noting the playfield below, which had Mai's Harpy Lady and Joe's Alligator Sword in play. "I've never seen that before."
"Kenyon…" sweat-dropped Miranda and Gema.
"What?"
"Those are Duel Monsters!" exclaimed Miranda.
"Oh, I know that."
The girls both shook their heads, then went silent as they watched the duel progress. Each were lost in his or her own thoughts, trying to get a handle of the situation they suddenly found themselves in. Miranda was examining every inch of the seal carefully, trying to apply everything she had learned into figuring it out. The magic aura from it was so powerful it was nearly numbing her magical instinct. Gema was watching the duel more carefully, focusing on the strategies and combinations both duelists used. She was more than surprised by each new effect the seal offered, scanning her memory for a strategy that would work against a card so powerful. Kenyon was almost enjoying himself. The holographic effects were as good as any movie he'd ever seen, and from his place in the balcony, it did seem like he was watching a movie, with good characters and an intense plot. He occasionally glanced over at Raphael and Valon when they commented on the duel, but he wasn't wary about them at all. Valon and Raphael seemed to have lost interest in the three friends, especially as the duel escalated. Valon seemed to think it was only a matter of time before Joe was unable to continue his stalling and would lose the duel. Raphael remained silent on that issue.
Unseen by those on the balcony, three more people showed up during the duel. They had all been locked outside thanks to the now active security system and metal grates. The first of these three was quickly informed of the situation and ran for another entrance so that he could find a way to disable the system and let them all out. The remaining two watched the duel with twisted interest and commented about it between themselves. Yu-Gi and his friends hardly paid these two any attention.
"I saw a movie like this once…" commented Kenyon as he looked down at the field.
Mai's Harpy Ladies were sweeping in on Joe's face down monster via a magic card called Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation. The monster was destroyed, but Joe was unaffected by the other effects of Phoenix Formation due to the fact his monster had 0 attack points. Life points were in favor of Mai, 3600 to 200.
"Oh, shut up about your movies!" exclaimed Miranda, cutting him off. Down below, Joe was reaching to draw a new card. His deck started glowing the moment his fingers touched it. Miranda instantly sensed the new aura. "Wha!"
"That's it!" exclaimed Yu-Gi as a bright flash of light erupted from Joe's deck.
"That didn't happen in the movie!" exclaimed Kenyon.
"What was that!" exclaimed Valon, equally shocked.
"Trouble," answered Raphael, shortly. His arms were crossed and he hadn't even budged from the strange happenings on the floor below him.
"What aura is this!" wondered Miranda. "I've never felt it before! What is going on with these people and these strange things I am sensing from them?" She leaned even further forward, until she could no longer safely do so as she tried to focus on the going-ons.
"I think it froze," commented Kenyon. On the first floor, Joe and Yu-Gi weren't moving, just staring blankly ahead.
"I think the duel overwhelmed him…" murmured Gema.
"They're just…standing there…" muttered Miranda.
At that same moment, Yu-Gi and Joe started moving again. Joe looked over his shoulder, through the greenish haze of the Seal of Orichalcos, at Yu-Gi. A completely stumped expression crossed his face.
"What…was that?" he asked.
"That's what we want to know!" exclaimed Tristan.
Yu-Gi shook his head slightly, and Joe caught on. He looked back across the field at his opponent. A look of renewed determination crossed his face. Gema and Miranda exchanged a look, wondering where this change came from.
"Did I miss an important plot element?" asked Kenyon. "What's going on?"
"No idea whatsoever," replied Miranda. Her attention was now back on the duel field, and she didn't break it to look at Kenyon.
"What's with that smirk, Wheeler!" shot Mai, glaring viciously across the field.
"Meet my new friend, Hermos!" exclaimed Joe as he put the card he just drew onto his duel disk. A massive dragon appeared on the field over his magic/trap card section. The dragon was deep red with multiple white spines across its back. A pearly white horn was on the end of its nose. The underside of the too small wings was off-violet and the dragon's belly was a light shade of red. It bellowed the moment it was summoned, showing a mouth full of very sharp fangs.
Miranda suddenly clutched her temples as the power of the newest monster clashed with the existing powers on the field—especially against the Seal of Orichalcos. "Wh-what is this! What's going on here!" she explained under her breath.
"Hey, Miranda, are you okay?" asked Kenyon, with genuine concern rising in his tone.
Miranda didn't answer him. She had regained her bearings and was once more leaning over the railing, scrutinizing the seal. "I swear some of those look like zodiac symbols…"
"Really?" asked Gema, who barely heard her friend's muttering. "I thought some of them looked like the Norse Runes that LJ Smith described in Forbidden Game."
"I bet it's a code describing the philosopher's stone," said Kenyon.
Gema and Miranda slowly turned and looked at each other, then at Kenyon. He merely smiled. Both girls shook their heads and didn't bother to comment on his theory. Not far from where they stood, Valon suddenly burst into laughter. On the first floor, Joe had combined his new dragon Hermos with his Time Wizard monster. The fusion had resulted in a comical equipment card, which had been equipped to his revived Fiend Megacyber.
"It looks like a croquet mallet with wings!" exclaimed Valon, who was still laughing.
"You know…it kinda does…" Miranda quietly agreed.
"Can he turn it back into a dragon?" Téa sweat-dropped.
The mallet was pastel colored. It had a small set of white wings and the end of the head was the face of a clock. It looked nothing like the vicious dragon that stood on the field only a moment before. Even funnier was the fact a rather strong-looking fiend monster held it. Everyone watching the duel had equally shocked expressions, that included both of the duelists.
Joe was the first to recover. "I don't care what it looks like, I've got a good feeling about this! Fiend Megacyber! Pick up that hammer thingy and attack!"
"That idiot!" exclaimed Tristan as Joe's monster started to charge across the makeshift duel arena.
The fiend never fully crossed the field, though. It stopped halfway and raised the mallet, striking the ground with earthquake level force. A huge, perfectly round hole formed where the mallet struck. At the same time, a glowing white number appeared on the foreheads of all of Mai's monsters, right on top of the symbol of the seal.
On the second floor, Valon started laughing even harder. "Thanks for the countin' lesson! Can you teach me the alphabet next!" Valon cackled, holding his sides.
"Miranda, do you have any idea what just happened in the duel?" asked Gema. "I've never heard of that Hermos card before, nor have I seen a fusion like that. And I have absolutely no idea what that effect could be."
There was sudden shrieking below them as all of Mai's monsters were sucked from their battle positions into the hole and completely out of sight. Mai was completely dumbstruck, though she wasn't alone in that feeling. Joe was taken off guard by it as well. The only one who remained composed with Yu-Gi.
"I'm as clueless as you are," replied Miranda the moment things settled.
"Mai…" whispered Valon. The moment things took a nosedive for her; he had instantly sobered up.
"Don't worry, we get a soul either way," commented Raphael.
"She's one of us now!" protested Valon.
"She's completely losing her cool," replied Raphael.
Without any monsters, Joe managed to get a direct attack in, dropping Mai down to 1400 life points. This had a definite effect on his opponent. Mai was clutching her arms together and shaking, cold sweat lining her forehead. She was muttering to herself, completely freaking out. With shaking hands she drew her next card. At that moment, her Harpy's Pet Dragon flew out of the hole and returned to her side of the field.
"What now?" asked Kenyon.
Miranda took a moment to answer, "Mai's monster weren't destroyed during the last turn. They were removed from play. But it seems like that effect only lasts a few turns…"
"Oh!" exclaimed Gema, also figuring out the special ability. "The numbers we saw determine when they return to the game!" The metaphoric lightbulb was floating over her head.
"Mai, I'm going to save us both!" called Joe as he activated Skull Dice to stop her Harpy's Pet Dragon from destroying his only monster.
Mai lost her dragon and 950 more life points from that combo. After seeing her dragon break apart, her shaking resumed even more fiercely. "I can't lose, I can't lose, I won't go back," she kept muttering under her breath. But now she was loud enough for those above her to make out the words.
"This duel is over," commented Raphael, completely nonchalantly. "She's totally lost it."
"I've seen enough! I'm not going to lose her!" exclaimed Valon.
Before anyone else could react, he leap over the side of the railing, keeping a grip on it with one hand. When he boots contacted the glass he pushed off against it, jumping forward and into the air, staring a freefall to the first floor, directly over the duel.
"Valon!" shouted Raphael.
Valon raised his right fist, showing the ring on it—the ring with a large chunk of green stone. "With this piece of the Orichalcos, I unlock the seal!" He swung a punch and the ring connected with the curve of the energy field from the seal.
"Get down!" shouted Kenyon, tackling both Gema and Miranda to the dusty tile floor. Both had thoughts of slugging him, but those thoughts only lasted a fraction of a second.
BOOM! The Seal of Orichalcos exploded.
Everyone on the ground was thrown off of their feet and sent sprawling across the lobby. Those closest to the source of the explosion were actually knocked unconscious. When the smoke cleared Joe was face down on the floor, not moving. The holograms had all been deactivated. Yu-Gi, Téa, and Tristan were slowly and painfully picking themselves up. Valon was on his knees, cradling Mai's unconscious body. His right hand was hanging by his side, not moving. Raphael leapt over the railing and landed beside him on the ground floor.
"Why did you do it Valon?" demanded Raphael. "You betrayed Dartz, risked your own soul, and could have killed all of us! All for some girl!"
"She's not 'some girl', Raphael," groaned Valon.
The three friends left on the second floor were also trying to untangle themselves and stand up. When they raised their heads they could see that the glass railing now had a large spiderweb crack in it, right where they had been standing before Kenyon pushed the girls down.
"Kenyon…" stammered Gema. "How did you…? …Thanks."
"Don't mention it," shrugged Kenyon, still easily holding his carefree nature.
"Well, bad vibe's gone…" muttered Miranda.
"You two! Stop right there!" exclaimed Yu-Gi as he approached Raphael and Valon. Téa and Tristan were trying to rouse Joe.
"Hrmph," retorted Raphael. "Next time, I'll take your soul, pharaoh." With that, the pendant on his neck began to glow brightly.
In a flash, he, Mai, and Valon completely vanished. In that same instant, there was a grating noise as the security grid around the doors started rising. Joe started groaning, the noise waking him.
"It's finally over," commented Miranda. Behind the three friends, the doors of the elevator opened. Without a second thought Miranda walked to it, leaving Kenyon and Gema to follow her.
"I think it's time we got some answers," said Gema, to no one in particular.
When they got to the first floor the crowd there had a few new members. The two short duelists who had been trapped outside had entered when the grid entered and were watching from the side. Also, a guy their age had joined them. He wore black and red and had venom green eyes. He was talking to Tristan and Yu-Gi. Judging from the conversation, he had been the one to disable the security system.
"You three! Stop right there!" demanded Yu-Gi. Miranda, Gema, and Kenyon froze.
"Hey! They're the ones who were with those bikers!" exclaimed Tristan.
"No, no, no!" protested Miranda, meekly holding her hands up. "We're not with them, seriously."
"Yeah, wrong place at the wrong time," added Gema. "We're locals."
"Right, we're good guys, not bad guys," chimed Kenyon.
"Then what are you doing here?" asked Yu-Gi, suspiciously.
"We were looking for Pegasus to ask him why our town was suddenly turned into a creature feature," answered Kenyon.
"And those bikers as you call them cornered us here," finished Miranda.
"I think they're telling the truth," commented the new arrival. "That seemed to be what happened when a browsed through the recent security tapes."
"Oh, sorry for the mistake then," said Téa.
"It's okay, after all we've seen, I can see why you'd be cautious," replied Miranda. "My name's Miranda Ryu. This is Gema Gall, and that's Kenyon Knight."
"Nice to meet you," Kenyon smiled brightly.
"I'm Téa Gardener," responded Téa.
"And I'm Yug…" started Yu-Gi.
"Yu-Gi Motou!" exclaimed Gema, nodding. "We all know you here."
"Heh, that's quite a rep you have now, Yug. I'm Tristan Taylor," said the brunette. "And the guy sulking is Joe Wheeler."
"Can it monkey-boy," snapped Joe. "I'm going to get her back! Just you watch!"
"And you are?" asked Kenyon, turning to the newest one.
"Duke Deblin," he answered, tossing his hair back in a manner that can only be described as 'cool.'
"Well, like Kenyon said, it's nice to meet all of you," said Miranda.
"What's going on here!" demanded a voice as cold as blue ice that caused Gema to inhale so sharply she nearly swallowed her own tongue.