I hope you enjoy this chapter! The last chapter was more of a filler, sorry :s So I hope you're happy that I put up two AND three! Hahaha


Chapter Three

Almost a full year had passed and they had not heard a single word from Gene. Pepper was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and wasn't as happy with it as she first thought she would be. They had interviewed her, handed her a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. employee access badge and card, and said, "Thanks for being our new secretary."

Pepper had gaped at them, "Secretary?" She had asked. She sat at a desk most days, working through financial records, putting together meetings, putting up with Nick Fury's attitude, and other odd jobs all over S.H.I.E.L.D. Pepper's father couldn't be more proud. The only thing she held on to was the fact that they had told her, "In a couple of years you might be able to move up to Agent. IF you can pass the test." That was the only thing she looked forward to.

The more and more she came into contact with Nick Fury, the more and more she became quiet, and more reserved, having been told she would lose her job if she gossiped about the wrong things, talked too much, or even said things out of turn. She wanted to be an Agent too badly to mess this up.

Too bad "a couple years" meant much longer than only two or three.

Rhodey had decided to go into the Military, focusing on battle strategies and weapons. It was the perfect field. He could still study history, with the excuse of, "Just trying to get new ideas from old battle techniques used in wars from history..." with a smile on his face. He slowly moved up in ranks, also for the fact that Rhodey was one of the only people who knew how to talk to Tony Stark. Rhodey had steadily built up a reputation as the person who could sway a "Tony Stark Decision" as it was called.

Tony was now only a month away from turning 20 and not any closer to finding the last ring. "How is this so impossible?!" He yelled at himself, throwing a book across the room.

Rhodey sat on the other side of Tony's desk, "I don't know, Tony. I'm sorry. We haven't seen Gene or your dad in so long...Do you still think he's even looking for it?"

Tony shook his head, "I can't be sure of anything, but I feel like he wouldn't just give up, not when he's this close."

Rhodey nodded, "But maybe the last ring just isn't meant to be found. Maybe none of these rings were supposed to be found in the first place."

Tony snorted, "You sounded like Pepper right there."

Rhodey shrugged, "It's true though! What if Gene finds the last ring and everything literally goes to chaos?"

Tony sighed, "It very well could. But we just don't know, and I don't want Gene to be the one to find it. He already has nine of them. Nine!" He shouted.

"I know, Tony. Calm down. We'll look more. We'll find something!" Rhodey tried.

Tony took a deep breath, "I don't know anymore, Rhodey. We've almost completely lost Pepper's help, with her working for S.H.I.E.L.D. she barely has any time to do anything anymore. I haven't even seen her for about two, maybe three, months!"

Rhodey rested his face in his hands, "I'm sorry, Tony. I don't know what to tell you."


On the other side of the world in the desert north of Deh Shu, Afghanistan, was Gene Khan. Standing in the ankle-deep sand and looking to the northeast, where the Paropamisus Mountain Range stood, watching him. He knew it, he could feel it. The last ring was there, within that mountain range. He turned around, looking at his "Band of Brothers" that he had adopted along his journey. "Brothers!" He called in the Southern Afghan language of Pashto, "The ring lies within that mountain range! We will find it. Follow me!" His men trudged behind him through the hot sand, walking parallel to the Helmand River, heading in the direction of Kabul.

These men were power searchers. The Makluan Rings were a legend in their culture, but none had ever found them. Then, here was this man, Gene Khan, that had found nine of the ten rings. Their faith in seeking that power was restored. The Mandarin had promised them great power and authority for their help to find the last ring. Did they trust him? Not entirely. But they would make sure to gain their share.

After three weeks of looking throughout the Paropamisus mountains, Gene had finally found the last Temple. He turned to his Brothers, "There are always traps hidden throughout the inner depths of the Temple, along with a riddle. For any of you who are brave enough may come with me, those of you who would rather not go in, I need you to stay out here and stand watch."

The group of about 150 men shifted uneasily, a few stepping forward, and the rest stood still. "Very well. Don't say I didn't warn you."

In all honesty, Gene didn't want any of them to come. He wanted the last ring for himself, not to share with more than a hundred men. And having lost the friendship of those back in the States and anyone else he had ever known, these men had become his family. Did he trust them all completely? No, of course not. But he felt a bond with them, perhaps because they were all searching for the same thing. Seeing them get killed would probably take more of a toll on him than he would expect.

Gene stepped carefully into the Temple, followed by three men behind him. Once they entered, the door rumbled shut. Gene heard shouts from the other side of the door, the three men stood deathly still, fear gripping them in the darkness.

"Follow me, and you'll be fine." He said cautiously.

They travelled through the Temple slowly, going lower and lower into its depths. They came upon a room that was filled with beautiful treasures, golden cups and staffs, along with shields of silver and swords that were perfectly balanced were littered throughout the room.

"Don't touch anything." He commanded.

One of the men behind him drooled a little before turning his eyes away from the treasure-packed room.

"Just one?" One man asked.

"No." Gene said firmly, but he didn't listen. The man snatched a cup from a pile closest to him, examining it, feeling it, stroking it.

"I told you not to touch anything!" Gene shouted angrily.

The man wasn't listening. The other two glancing between Gene and their fellow man.

"Put it down!" Gene screamed. He still didn't listen. He was caught in a trance, his eyes glazed over, and his body started to convulse. Only then did Gene realize the inscriptions and writings all across the walls of the treasury.

"Greedy and lustful men reaching for power will feel their own souls cower as the spirits of those deemed protectors rise and take their prize." Gene read the words carefully, still watching their friend convulse and scream with terror.

"There's nothing we can do for him. The spirits of those who guard this place are taking his mind." Gene told the other two, their eyes wide with fear. They left the room, the large stone door closed, muffling the yells and screams from their lost friend.

"Now that we've seen this Temple's traps in action, I advise you not to touch anything, and to be very careful." Gene said quietly. Lifting a torch from its mount and taking it with them to light the way.

They made their way further into the Temple, seeking the last ring of power. Another man was lost along the way as they were walking across a very narrow bridge with no ropes to hold onto on either side. Gene only heard his scream as he fell, not wanting to look. His scream only faded, it did not stop abruptly, and he wondered if there was even a bottom to hit. He didn't want to find out.

The last standing man with him made it all the way to the last chamber where the ring was held. Gene opened the door easily, glancing around first before stepping in. Finally deciding it was mostly safe, he stepped in and listened for a moment for anything that would indicate a trap, and then motioned to the man behind him to come in. They both stood in a room lit with a beam of light going from the floor to the ceiling in the middle of the wide chamber. The ring sat suspended in the air within the middle of the beam of light.

"Finally, the last ring of power..." Gene murmured.

He stepped forward only for a moment before the man behind him lunged in front of him, pushing him aside, reaching into the beam of light, his fingers barely started to close around the ring before he started to disintegrate. Screams echoed around the room, chaos erupted in the middle of the chamber, the beam of light swallowing him whole with blue flames. Nothing was left of him except for his shoes.

Gene grimaced and turned away, the smell of burnt flesh assaulted his nose.

"Well, that saved me some trouble." Gene said to himself. Did he feel as bad as he thought he might? Not really... He walked around the room, looking for an inscription of some kind. After only a few minutes of looking, he finally found what he was looking for.

On the wall opposite of the door, directly across from the eerie beam of light was an inscription. "Carefully sought and wanted greatly, the ring of power waits. For whosoever desires this thing has fought with fate. If a man seeks this treasure, the life is taken. But if a woman is the seeker, the Temple will be shaken. Choose wisely, for one shall die, and the other given a just chance." Gene stared at the inscription for awhile.

"I can't believe I've come all this way, and a stinkin' WOMAN has to be the one to take the ring." He fumed. "It must be something about pure desire. Men in the past have desired power beyond anything else. Women, on the other hand...their desires mainly dealt with the well-being of their families..."

Gene pondered the statement further, "The Temple will be shaken...So, if a man tries to touch the ring, he'll be incinerated in a second. But if maybe, a woman tries to take the ring, the Temple will only be "shaken"? As in...sink? Crumble? What kind of woman could make it out of a sinking and crumbling temple with a ring of power?" Gene asked himself, already coming to a conclusion.


I hope you had fun reading chapter three...these chapters aren't as long as the ones in my other story. Very sorry. Let me know what you think! I don't do well with Flames...Don't be mean to me! :s