This is the longest chapter I've written so far for this story but it's totally worth it! More dialogue is in this chapter as promised. It was really fun to write! I'm really loving this story and these characters and I can't wait to write the next chapters! 2 chapters in 2 days, go me! :D
Also I tweaked the geography of Standish, England a little to my liking. Don't kill me. Sorry for any mistakes I made/will make with th French in this story. I use Google Translate.
If you've read this far into my story, thanks! I hope you like what's to come because I sure do! Please review!
Now without further adieu, I present to you: Aut Rud! And next chapter even more Haute Raud so stay tuned!
Cet enfant va me tuer!
When he watched as Viviane emptied out the backpack and put food and money into it he thought he'd have a Cybertronian equivalent of a- what is it the humans say? Heart attack. He knew she would be taking off on her own for some time but he didn't know for how long. He didn't want her to leave his side at all and it pained him to watch her go.
Unfortunately, he couldn't transform and reveal himself yet as she chose the busiest parking lot to leave him in- rather smart actually, his petite dame, almost like she knew about him and was forcing him not to reveal himself.
He couldn't follow her either as this model car didn't come with tinted windows and too many people would be walking by close to him as he drove and could see inside, damn these cities. Plus, his girl was an observant one and he was sure he would be spotted easily.
So he had no choice but to wait. And wait. And wait.
And wait.
He tried to occupy himself by keeping an eye on her the best he could. He hacked into the bus' security cam and any street cameras he could use to track her movements but Viv also traveled discreetly, meaning he could barely keep up with her. He knew she was going home but he also knew she was going to come back, and he did not like not knowing what the plan was.
It was a full 12 hours later that she finally returned. He was really worried watching her frantic expression through the eyes of the return bus' security camera and wondered if she got hurt but when she finally approached him again he scanned her for any injuries, sagging on his axels in relief when he didn't find any.
They drove out to yet another country road where she found a place to park and curled up in his backseat, head resting on that backpack of hers. What was in it that was so important that she had to go back home to get?
And why wasn't Robert answering his hails?
Have you ever received an injury that hurt more the next day than when you got it?
That's what Viviane felt right now.
The right side of her face where that woman- may her long walk to town have been awful- hit her with the gun was slightly numb and swollen, but the stinging pain from lying on it while sleeping was still ever present. It hurt when she yawned and when she ate her breakfast, 2 granola bars and an orange. The purplish-reddish bruise that formed wasn't actually as bad as she thought it was going to be, though.
But boy did everything else hurt. Her legs were still reeling from that second story drop, the nerves tingling with the memory of the fall, and her torso hurt the worst. Running, stressing, and jumping out of windows after being kicked in the stomach twice by that woman- may she need reconstructive surgery for her face and hand- did not help an injury heal. Sleeping in a car twice in a row didn't help either.
After folding up the blanket and putting it in the trunk, Viviane made her way to the nearest town where she asked directions to the closest, oldest motel or inn. She pulled into the parking lot and parked her car closest to the entrance, grabbing her backpack and her out of the trunk. Before walking in she checked her reflection in one of the windows and tried to tidy up as best she could so they wouldn't turn her away.
Striding up to the front desk with her best smile- ow it hurts to smile- she rang the bell twice. An old man looked up from the book he was reading, the title and author unfamiliar to her.
"Good morning my good man," she began with a cheery voice, "I would like one room for the night please."
The man blinked and pointed to the clock that sat behind him. "It's noon, actually."
Her smile began to falter. "Oh, silly me," she said. You idiot, she thought.
He raised an eyebrow. "You want a room for just one night, huh?" He looked her up and down. "How old are you, miss…?"
"Miss Viviane, sir. And I'm 16 years of age. I have my provisional driver's license here if you'd like to take a look at it."
When he nodded she handed him the document and watched as his eyes scanned it. Sighing, he gave it back to her and put his book down, turning to type on a keyboard that was attached to a computer older than Viviane. "And you want the room for just the one night?"
"Yes sir."
Without turning away from his computer he held out his hand with his palm up. "That'll be 46 pounds, please."
She handed him the currency and he handed her back the change. Wrapping up on the computer he gave her the room key. "Number 19, down this hallway on the left. You need to be out by noon tomorrow. There's a clock in there that you can go by. I don't want to have to knock on your door-"
"You won't need to, thanks!" Viviane took the key and began heading down the hall to her room. She fumbled and fought with the old door to her room for a bit before finally getting inside and closing the door behind her. Leaving her bags by the entrance she made the short walk to her bed and lay down on it, limbs spread out like a starfish.
Oh beds, I missed you, she thought with a smile. I hope you don't have any diseases or lice.
After relaxing on the bed for a minute she caught a whiff of what she smelled like and made her way into the bathroom. She hadn't showered in two days! From her luggage she grabbed a pair of navy blue jeans, a white blouse with tiny daisies, a bra, underwear, and new socks. She took this as well as her toiletries into the bathroom where she stripped and started her shower, really taking her time and experimenting with the different temperatures it offered. She washed her hair and body and dried herself using a towel provided by the motel- so that's what I forgot to bring. When she exited the shower she dressed in her new clothes, throwing the old ones out, and brushed her teeth and hair while making a mental note to stay in motels more often.
When she was done she grabbed the backpack and sat on the bed with it. The first thing she did was take the book out and open it to its first page. Above Merlin was written Adhan with a dash connected to a series of question marks. It seems the names of Merlin's parents were unknown to the world. She scanned the book, following her ancestry all the way through to the modern times. The name Wembly only appeared during the mid-1800's but continued strong since then, easily the most frequent last name in this book.
Next to her father's name was written John, Viviane's uncle that she never saw anymore. After the death of her mother she spotted Uncle John standing off to the side away from anyone else. Once her father made eye contact with John he left without saying a single word. Viv hasn't seen him since.
There were no more names connected to her mother's name. Maybe they weren't included because she was related to Merlin via her father and thus were deemed unimportant, or maybe her mother was an only child. Come to think of it, she didn't know much about her mother at all. Did her mother know about this?
Viv sighed and closed the book. More secrets for another time. Viv was a woman of knowledge and science: she despised it when information was kept from her. Guess that's how Trinity feels. Too bad for them.
When her stomach growled she slid the book back in the bag, put on her shoes, and made her way out to the car smiling and nodding at the old man when she passed. Keeping the bag with her at all times, she drove to the nearest café and sat down for an actual meal, reading the slips of paper she tore from the wall as she ate.
It looks like Standish is the next stop, she thought to herself as she read over the documents. They were extremely detailed showing many bits of evidence over time that Camelot once stood in Standish, and Camelot was where Merlin spent most of his time. Sure, her father may have scouted every square inch of the area for signs that could lead to this 'key', but she wasn't her father.
Besides, she would love to see the look on her father's face when she shoves that stupid key he's been looking for in his face the next time she sees him. Oh yeah, she was competitive, and she wanted to make a point to her father to not underestimate her. Maybe then would he actually pay attention to her.
The more she thinks about it the more she buys into believing in this fairy tale. After all, myths are always based on some skewed version of the truth. Maybe Merlin was a real guy who did some card tricks and amazed the drunkards so much that they wrote tales boasting of his (fake) magical powers? It wasn't impossible. However, that doesn't mean there's a staff or a key that led to the staff. The staff used was probably some piece of wood and the key was made up to send people on a wild goose chase. Or to fuck with them.
Either way, she would get to the bottom of this. Consider this another mystery solved by England's finest.
Once she left the café she headed to the nearest electronics store where she bought a watch, a GPS, and a pre-paid phone. She wore the watch and pocketed the phone as she stepped into a supermarket and bought some more travel food and drink as well as some handy accessories to have on the road, all of them being deposited in her bag after being purchased. After her little shopping spree and remembering to keep her head down whenever she walked past cameras she made her way back to the motel.
She was about to exit the vehicle when the little voice inside her head went off, telling her that she was forgetting something. Something extremely important. But what? Oh.
Oh.
Her eyes traveled to the glove compartment where she kept that pistol she lifted from the blonde woman. After looking around to make sure the coast was clear she slowly opened up the glove compartment and daintily took the gun in her hand. She didn't know much about guns but she knew this one was called a revolver. It was coated with one of the darkest blacks she every laid eyes on. If she remembered correctly it had only 3 bullets and the safety was on.
She hesitated for a moment thinking over the pros and cons before slipping the gun into the waistband of her pants. What good would this gun do sitting in her car should Trinity find her in this motel anyway?
As she passed the man at the front desk she smiled and tapped the watch on her wrist, chuckling along with the man. When she made her way back into her room and placed her bag on the ground and glanced at the clock on the wall of her room: 6:03pm. It wasn't too late in the evening but her sore muscles made her feel exhausted sooner than her brain was.
After setting the time on her watch she slipped into her pajamas and slipped underneath the covers of her bed which she hoped were washed often. It didn't take her long to slide into a deep sleep.
When she woke up the next morning the first thing she did was check the location of her backpack. Satisfied when she saw it didn't move an inch from where she placed it last night she looked at the time: 5:28am.
Jesus Christ, she thought to herself as she yawned and cringed from the pain of the action. She couldn't think of another time she woke up this early.
Her body refused to move from the comfort of her soft, warm bed and so she laid in it for a few minutes before getting up. Her mind drifted to her father and the question of his wellbeing before she decided to rise for the day and get moving.
Standing, she headed for the bathroom, showered, brushed her teeth, and changed into the clothes she wore the day previous, slipping the gun back in her waistband. She gathered up all her things and put them where she belonged before making the bed and heading out, leaving the keys on the front desk. An object in her right butt pocket of her jeans made sitting down in the driver's seat uncomfortable and she pulled out the nuisance, examining it.
Oh, the phone, she thought to herself. Viv bit her bottom lip as she wondered if she should use it to text her friends, let them know she's okay. Since she had no one in her home to talk to she's grown used to texting her friends daily, sometimes Skyping with them, to have some idea of what real social interaction felt like. She hasn't talked to them in 2 days and her father certainly hasn't called them to inform them of her wellbeing, so it was the right thing to do.
Right?
With a sigh she slipped the phone into her backpack in the passenger's side and turned over the car. She set the GPS to take her to Standish and listened to some light radio on the ride over, flipping from AM to FM constantly trying to hear some news relating to her.
It was only when she was halfway to Standish and eating a burger from Burger King did she finally hear some news concerning her.
"And in other news,"said a female broadcaster, "police in Oxford received calls last night from people claiming to hear gunshots in their neighborhood. Upon further investigation they managed to recover no signs of any fallen shells or gun residue but we're told some witnesses saw a group of 5 men and woman scanning the ground in front of a house on Peters St before taking off in a black SUV."
Halfway through the broadcast the car groaned and the engine revved. Viv had to slam down on the gas pedal a few times to get it to move, calling it an old bastard and damning her father for owning such a dinosaur.
"That's freaky," continued a young male broadcaster. "What, like some 'Men In Black' shit? I don't believe it for a second."
"There were multiple reports of the same thing, some from even 3 blocks away," explained the woman. "I don't think a hoax could get that elaborate, Timmy. And the same house the SUV was parked in front of? The occupants of the house seemed to have disappeared. The inside looks ransacked and it is unlike the family to leave suddenly like that. The maids that work for them have spoken to the police about their concerns."
"I still don't believe it," muttered the young man.
"You can't fake police reports, Tim," scolded the woman.
It was at that point that Viv switched back to FM radio station. Now that the maids have informed the police about her and her father's disappearance and given the condition of her house and the reports of the neighbors the police should definitely be out looking for the 2 of them now. Great. Well, good think she's been avoiding those security cameras like mad.
It was a little before 9 o'clock in the morning when she finally reached Standish as the traffic hadn't been too terrible and it was a nearly 2 hour drive from the Birmingham area to Standish. The GPS displayed a cartoon image of a building nearby and next to it were the words 'St. Wilfrid's Parish Church'. Viv decided to head over there first.
After parking her car and quickly depositing the gun in the glove compartment she pulled on her backpack and entered through the church doors.
Viviane had been a friend of hardcore science all her life. Her parents never reared her in a church and instead gave her the freedom to choose her own religion in life, which ended up being atheism. Because of this she's never stepped foot inside a church before and never realized how beautiful one could be. The ceilings were at least 30 feet high and large stone pillars held up the round roof. A long red velvet rug was laid out, the same material the pews were covered with. Bibles were placed here and there, either sitting on a pew or inserted into pockets in the wood. Elegance seemed to ooze from the place, and there she stood with a black backpack and a daisy top. She looked like a fool.
There didn't seem to be a single other soul in the church besides her and she had to walk around and call out before someone finally came to greet her. It was a little old man with silver hair and a white smile.
"Good morning child, what can I help you with today?" he spoke in a clear voice.
Viv went to shake his hand and smiled at him. "Good morning, sir. Father? Brother?"
"Father," the man validated.
Viv gave a short chuckle. "Pardon me, I'm new to the church scene. I meant no disrespect."
"None taken."
"I live over in Oxford actually, I'm here visiting the town on holiday. The tales of Merlin and Camelot always amazed me as a child and I decided to visit the supposed origin to learn more about the myths from the locals. I figured this was the best place to start."
The man laughed as she explained herself and gestured for them to take a seat at a pew. "Of course, child! You're not the first tourist that's come here seeking tales from the old. Come, sit down and I'll tell you what you need to know of this place.
"The tales of Merlin and King Arthur and Lancelot and Camelot are all very real to the people of Standish, especially those born and raised. We teach our children of the battles they fought and won and the dragons Merlin summoned with his staff. We even have a festival every year to commemorate the times when men would dress in armour and shoot flaming cannonballs at their enemies. Children play with swords and the older ones search for Merlin's famed staff in the woods connected to this town."
"Why do they think the staff is there?" wondered Viv. "Pretty obvious place to hide a staff that can summon dragons."
The father chuckled. "Of course it is, but we let the children play anyway. It must have something to do with the cave in that area."
Viv perked up. "Cave? What cave?"
"Now you sound just like those youngsters, although they are probably about your age. Anyway, just inside the woods there's a clearing and in that clearing lies the entrance to the cave. There's nothing in there, just rocks and bugs, but a lot of young people go there regardless. For the thrill, I assume."
Viv cocked an eyebrow. "You've definitely gone at some point. Don't lie."
The man laughed and pat Viv's shoulder. "You're right, I did go when I was about your age. I couldn't help it! Everyone is drawn to it at some point."
Viv nodded and stood. "Thank you, sir, for telling me this. I really appreciate it. How can I get to the woods?"
After receiving directions from the father she followed them to a narrow dirt trail that led into the woods. She followed the tire tracks that were left by previous cars to the small clearing the father was talking about. And in that clearing stood the car.
Viv moved to stand at the entrance to the cave, the gun holstered on her side, taking in the vast size and eerie look. It looked pretty deep as even though the sun was shining bright it grew dark in the cave quickly.
Before entering she took out the prepaid phone and the slip with her friends' phone numbers on it. It took a few moments for her to think of what to say before she wrote in a group chat:
Hey guys, Viv here. Just wanted to let you know I'm ok. Needed to get out of the house for a bit to get some fresh air. I'll be home in a few days. I'm ok.
Before she closed her phone she blocked her friends' numbers so she wouldn't receive any messages back. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she muttered encouragements and began walking into the cave. It didn't take long before she needed to use her flashlight to illuminate the path she took.
The cave led into a mountain so there was no telling how deep it was but Viv looked behind her every so often so she could memorize where the exit was. Her eyes scanned every inch of the walls trying to look for any clues leading back to Camelot or to Merlin.
She gasped in fear when she took a step and heard a crunch. Jumping back she illuminated the ground to find the culprit. A beer can. And not even a good brand of beer. Viv tsked and continued walking.
It didn't take as long as she thought it would to reach the end of the cave. She retraced her steps and tried looking at the walls of the cave from different angles to see if that would help unearth any secrets but she found nothing. Growing quickly frustrated she kicked a rock and began to see why her father abandoned this place as a possible location for the key.
Viv didn't understand. There was a creepy cave and everything! Why wouldn't the key be here?
Viv must have spent an hour or two in that cave and the growling of her stomach forced her to quit early. If her father didn't find anything here and he knew leagues more information than she, what made her think he overlooked something she wouldn't?
Walking with her head cast slightly downwards in defeat she shuffled back to the exit of the cave when she nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of a can being stepped on. Was someone else in the cave with her? Or was it an animal? Or was she just imagining it?
Slowly and quietly, keeping the light cast from the flashlight close to her body, she rounded the corner and came face to face with a group of men.
They all wore business suits.
And carried guns.
Viv dropped her flashlight in surprise when they trained theirs on her, raising their guns to her as well. "Freeze, Viviane!" shouted one of them.
Viv fumbled for a few seconds with her waistband before she finally withdrew the gun she harboured and aimed it at one of the men. "You freeze!" she shouted pathetically. But she knew her attempts were in vain as there were 6 men, 1 of her, and 3 bullets in her chamber.
One of the men, a thin looking black man, remained unfazed at the current Mexican standoff. He crouched down and examined the beer can he stepped on. "Hm," he said with a smile, "Not even a good brand. Kids don't know shit about the real world." Without looking up, he bellowed, "Do they, Viv?"
He let the can fall from his hand and slowly stood to face Viv, a malicious sparkle in his eye. "That's what your friends call you right? Viv? Is it okay if I call you Viv?"
Viv's only response was to train her gun on the man who was talking now making his thugs flinch and shift.
"Now, Viv, you should really be nice to me. I own your life! Right here, right now, I can order my men to shoot you and walk out, maybe find the nearest waffle house and have myself a stack. You're only alive because I am allowing you to be. If you don't drop your gun in the next 3 seconds I will have both your kneecaps blown off, am I understood?"
Viv's breathing picked up. She was really fucked.
I'm really fucked, she thought.
The man began counting down from 3 and before he got to the last number Viv threw her gun on the ground in front of her.
The man smiled. "Good girl. Now, kick it over to me." Viv complied this time without hesitation. Leaning down the man picked it up and turned it over, fake examining it. "Take her."
One of his goons holstered his gun and walked toward Viv. Before she could think of retaliation the man had already grabbed her and slammed her down on the ground, sliding the backpack off of her and throwing it to one of his buddies. He knelt down next to her, digging a knee into her back and pinning one of her arms tightly behind her. Viv grunted in pain.
The man who spoke earlier appeared within Viv's line of sight, but only his loafers. She knew it was him though when he continued, "This could go a lot easier for you, Viv, if you would just tell me what I want to know. Where is your father? Where is Merlin's key? Where is Merlin really buried?"
Viv managed to lightly shake her head but that only earned her more pressure from the guy pinning her down. It was getting harder to breathe.
"No? You're telling me no?" The man slammed his foot down on Viv's head and leaned into it. "My brother and I have dedicated most of our lives to this. You think because your father is Robert Wembly and you learned these locations alongside the alphabet you deserve to keep this knowledge for yourself? Selfish!"
Viv cried out in pain from his actions, tears threatening to spill over. At least he slammed down on the side without the bruise. Still hurt though.
"You will tell me what I want to know!" the man bellowed with his guttural voice. It echoed through the cave. "Where is your father? What is the location of Merlin's burial? Where is the key?"
"I don't know!" Viv yelled. "Please believe me, I don't know! My father left me to go to a safe house, I ran away 2 nights ago. I only learned of my true heritage yesterday when I entered my father's study for the first time! Please believe me! I don't know anything!"
"Sir," said another man. The loafers in her line of sight turned towards the newcomer. "The only things in this backpack are a book of Merlin's descendants and documents regarding Camelot's true location in Standish. Nothing else besides some food and a phone."
"So if she doesn't have the information we need then it has traveled with her father," said loafers. "Burn the bag and take the girl outside to the clearing."
Viv grunted when the man on top of her got off and forced her to stand, her arm still pinned behind her back so hard she thought it would be ripped off. The man behind her forced her forward and was not gentle in leading her out of the cave, past the burning wreck of her bag and its contents. Once they reached the clearing Viv squinted at the light as it almost blinded her. She really lost track of time in that cave. Why did she buy that watch if she wasn't going to use it?
The only things in that clearing were 2 black SUVs and her dinky little car. 2 men must've been keeping watch outside as she now counted 8 members of Trinity.
"On your knees," hissed loafers. A sharp kick to the back of her knees sent her to the ground and she caught herself with her hands. Loafers grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him. "Last chance, Viv. It'll make the difference between a slow death and a quick one."
"Even if I did know the answers to your questions, I would never tell you," hissed Viviane. She tried to keep a strong bravado to piss Trinity off but inside she was terrified.
This is it. I'm going to die.
Loafers let go of her face and began heading back to one of the cars. "This one knows nothing. We must find her father. He is the one who will help us.
"Kill her."
The sounds of metal grinding and gears whirring drew everyone's attention away from the girl about to be executed. It was coming from her car who appeared to be moving, shifting, twisting and turning into something that was definitely not a car.
The members of Trinity backed away from the vehicle and shouted obscenities as the thing that used to be Viviane's car was now shaped like a person. It stood about 16 feet tall and you can easily make out which parts of his frame transformed into certain parts of the car he once was. Blue eyes glared down at the group of humans and its fists were clenched.
"It's a Transformer!" shouted the man with the loafers. "Shoot it!"
On command all guns were raised and firing at the giant metal being before them. The Transformer took all the bullets without even flinching in pain or moving at all. It seemed to wait until everyone's guns ran out of ammo and the familiar sound of an empty gun trying to be fired rang in everyone's ears.
The men looked to each other in fear and confusion as the Transformer smiled down at them. "My turn," it growled in a deep voice sounding vaguely French.
Men tried to run away from the alien but it was no use: left and right Viviane watched as they were all swatted away or kicked down to the ground, out cold. Viviane didn't think the alien was trying to kill the men but she also didn't think he was trying to not kill the men as she saw blood pool out from underneath some of them.
The Transformer- Cybertronians they were called- had dispatched all the men within a few seconds. He turned to the man with loafers, the one who likes the give out orders, and watched as the man struggled to open the locked door of the car. "No escape for you, homme morte," it growled.
Loafers raised the gun he took from Viviane and fired 3 rounds in the robot's face and looked shocked when he realized he was only capped at 3 rounds only. He dropped the gun and raised his hands in surrender. "Please, don't hurt me. I'll tell you where Trinity is hiding! I'll tell you who runs it! I'll tell you everything!"
"I said no escape," hissed the robot. He took out a gun- or his hand transformed into a gun?- aimed it at the man who gave the orders and fired a single round. From Viv's point of view all she saw was red dirt go flying and half the car get destroyed.
Viv still sat there on her knees with her mouth gaped open. She couldn't believe what she just saw. I mean, there's been a lot of new developments over the past few days but nothing like this!
The giant alien robot transformed his gun away and turned to face Viv. He tried to stand in the most non-threatening way possible and he stared down at her.
Then he smiled.
"Bonjour chére!" the robot chirped with a cheery and higher pitched voice. "Je m'appelle Ought Rude."
It was then that the absurd events that just transpired finally caught up with Viviane's brain and she passed out wondering why the giant alien robot spoke French.
French- English
Cet enfant va me tuer!- This child is going to kill me!
petite dame- little lady
homme morte- dead man
Bonjour chere- Hello dear
Je m'appelle- My name is
