Mind of an Empress
* * *
Captives
* * *
This story is a FANFIC, which means (by definition) that I don't own Digimon. I'm not making any money from writing this fic, and I don't have all that much to begin with, so please don't sue or threaten or whatnot. This story also contains yaoi, or m/m relationships. If this bothers you the slightest bit, do not continue. Just leave now. Don't flame, because if you do, I'll just toss the E-mail in the trash. This story also contains some touchy subjects such as angst, references to suicide, violence, etc. Consider yourself warned, so please continue.
* * *
"Hello, Mr. Ishida. My name is Alexandra Bonjears, CEO of Tetra, Inc." Yamato woke up, and found himself looking into the hazel eyes of the black-haired woman.
"What have you done with Taichi?" he demanded. Alexandra smiled warmly.
"Oh, he's quite all right, mon mignon loup." Yamato stared blankly at her, until he recalled what Takeru had taught him from his French class.
"How do you *dare* to call me that!" he snapped. "That's-"
"A private name for Taichi to use. I know, mon bon garcon, or to use your Japanese phrase, bishoumen. But I came to talk to you about my Digimon. You see, Betsunimon, my wonderful partner, has just Digivolved into something much more powerful. But now, I must digress. Have you ever read a book by George Orwell titled 1984?" Yamato vaguely remembered Koushiro telling him to read that book a while ago, so he nodded. "Are you knowledgable on the concept of room 101?" Yamato froze. He never could quite remember much about 1984 except that. Alexandra smiled. "I see you do. The concept of the one thing that a person would do anything to keep away from themselves, even betray the ones the love. Yamato, meet your room 101." She stepped to the side, revealing a strange creature. "Meet Boukyakumon."
* * *
"Sora, Mimi, are you two ready?" The two girls nodded. "Right. Remember, distract the guards, and then Jyou and I will sneak in through the back. Go!" They nodded, and hurried off.
* * *
"Then who is it? Hida Iori? Daisuke? Koushiro?" Takeru shook his head at the first name, gagged at the second, and stared blankly at his friend at the third.
"No, it's Ichijouji Ken." Hikari grinned at Takeru.
"That is absolutely kawaii!" Takeru glared back at her.
"But don't you understand? He'd never care for me! He's got girls throwing themselves at him all the time." Hikari shrugged.
"Well, you never know until you try." She gave him a hug. "Just promise me you'll consider trying." Takeru nodded dumbly.
* * *
"I can't believe this. She's hugging him! That's it, Daisuke-kun, we're going in." Ken stormed into the cell, followed closely by Daisuke. "Hello, you two. It's time for a little payback; I hope you don't mind." He pulled out a small object which resembled a whip handle. "Daisuke, do whatever you want with Hikari. I'll be next door having some *fun* with Takeru and the neuronic whip." Takeru looked to Hikari, mouthing the words 'neuronic whip' questioningly at her. She shrugged, but at that moment, Ken dragged him off.
* * *
She had said that they hated him. He was a know-it-all, and all of them hated him. Even Jyou. Especially Jyou. Well, he'd show them. When they came to free him-they would, after all, simply because they had to rescue the others, he would show them. He smiled, tapping his Digivice. Nothing would stop him.
* * *
"You see, mon mignon loup, Boukyakumon, as her name implies, is a void. She is actually an entrance to a void. It is cold, airless, timeless, lifeless, and absent of everything else. All you have are your thoughts. And I know, Yamato, that your Room 101 is being alone, abandoned, separated." Yamato grinned at her.
"That couldn't possibly be true. Back when the Dark Masters were around, I left the entire group to be alone. It couldn't be my greatest fear."
"Ah, but my dear Yamato, that was your own choice. And this is an isolation of a different sort. Once you have entered Boukyakumon, you will lose all senses, all sense of passing time. A moment will pass as if an eternity, and a day as if the very length of creation. And you will not eat, nor drink, nor even breath, for you will not need to. And I will let you out if, if and only if, you are willing to sacrifice the ones you love to the emptiness instead. Sayonara, Yamato." Yamato stared into the black form behind Alexandra, which began to pulse and twist, and envelop his mind...
And then there was nothing.
* * *
"The idea of a neuronic whip was first introduced by Isaac Asimov. The theory was that an electronic beam could be used to stimulate pain receptors to unimaginable levels. It was first made by Tetra, Inc. as standard guard issue. And now, Takeru, because you scorned me..." Takeru, before he could respond, felt a lance of pain shoot through his chest. He screamed constantly as the pulsations cut through him, across his chest, down his stomach, into his neck-
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I hate you." Takeru knew those four words hurt him worse than the flares of pain from the neuronic whip. The pain itself was dulled by the ache in his heart.
* * *
"Alexandra, two of the Digidestined are at the gates," Maria gasped. Alexandra turned to the woman, and smiled.
"Send the entire force after them. Divert all Digimon from rear guard." Maria nodded, and hurried away. Alexandra grinned knowingly.
* * *
Taichi pulled Jyou with him into the back entrance.
"You see, no guards! Now, who was right?" Jyou looked nervously around the dark tunnel.
"Taichi-kun, I have a bad feeling about this. I mean, what if Alex-san, whoever she is, knows we're coming?" Taichi scoffed.
"Jyou-kun, you worry too much. Now, I'll try to find Takeru and Hikari, and then Yama-chan, and you look for Koushiro." Jyou nodded, glad to be looking for Koushiro.
"But where-?" But Taichi was already gone. Jyou sighed. "Hang on, Koushiro-kun. I'm coming for you."
* * *
"Koushiro-kun? Are you in here?" Jyou turned to Tentomon. "Think you can take out the door?" The bug Digimon nodded.
"I'm on it. Super Shocker!" The door shattered, and Jyou looked in carefully. In the corner of the room, Koushiro was typing away at his computer. He looked up at Jyou.
"Oh, it's you. I figured someone would come rescue me *eventually.* C'mon, let's go, Jyou-kun." Jyou faltered at the matter -of-fact tone Koushiro was using. Koushiro placed a gloved hand on Jyou's shoulder. "All right, come on, Jyou. I'll bet you've got a lot of rescuing to do." There was something so...bitter about Koushiro that made Jyou worried. But the man dragged Jyou into the mazelike tunnels of the fortress.
* * *
'Well, it's just a void. I can just ignore it. Taichi will come for me soon. I-I, Tai-chan! Please, come for me! I need you here, please! Can't concentrate on void. I'll just count. One...two...three...'
* * *
"Pepper Breath!" The door shattered, and Ken fell away from the cowering teen.
"Takeru! It's me, Taichi! I'm here to-AAAAH!" The neuronic whip slashed through Taichi's leg, making him collapse to the ground.
"You're not taking him anywhere, Taichi." Ken smiled, and struck downward with the whip. But Ken suddenly fainted, collapsing from a blow to the head. Takeru looked down at the other boy.
"I'm sorry, I do love you, Ken, but I know that will never be," he muttered in Ken's ear as he passed, and hurried with Taichi. "Hikari's over here, Taich-kun."
* * *
"I just wanted to make you love me, Hikari. I-She promised us anything, to get revenge, or to force them to love us. G-gomen nasai, Hikari-kun. You can leave now, if you want. Just leave." Hikari, tears in her eyes, stepped away, and blew a kiss to Daisuke as she stepped out the door.
"Doumo, Daisuke-kun. Maybe, another day." As she stepped through the door, she was tackled by Taichi.
"Hikari! I'm so glad you're okay!" She grinned.
"Great, oniisan. I'm glad to see you too. Are you okay, Takeru-chan?" Takeru nodded, absently rubbing his still-aching arm. "Okay, let's go!" Taichi stopped her, grabbing her shoulder.
"No, we're finding Yamato first."
* * *
'Twenty million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred thirty-three...twenty million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred thirty-four...twenty million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred thirty-five...I-Taichi, where are you! Have you abandoned me? It's been forever! Please, Taichi!'
* * *
"Hello, dears. My name's Maria, and this is Saikikumon. She's a cutie, isn't she? A little vixen, you see. But of course, we'll just warp-Digivolve her..."
"Saikikumon, warp-digivolve to...Ichikomon!" The fox morphed into a slightly larger, red-furred, thirteen-tailed feline. Her eyes were simply black, and radiated menace. "I think I'll crush you with...Night Shock!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Wing Blade!" The blast of energy was knocked aside.
"Oh well. I suppose I should...attack!" From the front of the fortress, hundreds of vicious Digimon erupted onto the plains, ranging from small Yokomon to powerful, flaming Meramon.
"Oh, shit," Sora muttered.
* * *
"Where is he?" Taichi muttered anxiously, hurrying through the mazelike halls. He suddenly stopped, and fell to his knees, sobbing. Hikari rushed over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Please, don't cry, 'niichan. I'm sure your koi's going to be all right, if we just keep looking." Takeru jumped in.
"Yeah, 'niichan's really strong. We just can't give up hope." Taichi sniffled.
"You sure?" The two teenagers nodded. He hugged them both. "Thanks, you two. So let's go."
* * *
'How long has it been? Weeks, I'm sure. And Tai still hasn't come. What's he waiting for? God, do you think he's just forgotten me-shut *up,* Ishida! He loves you more than anything. He'd do anything for you, just like you'd do anything for him. So just leave it alone. He's going to come for you, to help you, no matter how long it takes. Except...I just wish I weren't here. I want to go home, to hold Yamato in my arms...please, just let me leave.'
* * *
"Where is he?" Taichi snapped, yanking the redhead up by her shirt. Jun laughed nervously, but stopped when a glare from Taichi's furious brown eyes met hers.
"I-Alex-san went in there with Boukyakumon, and when she left, I couldn't see Yama-kun there anymore. I don't know what she did, but I think Yama's in trouble and-Babamon!" A strange Digimon appeared, and raised her hands.
"Empress Haze!" The corridor was filled with mist, and when it cleared, Jun was gone.
"Well, she may be dumb enough to try hitting on Yama-chan, but that girl knows when she's outnumbered." Taichi glanced into the cell, and pushed back. "There's something terrible in there, but I don't see Yama-chan." He glanced in the cell, where the blotch of darkness which somehow embodied all feelings of lonlieness, abandonment, sadness, and betrayal any human had ever felt, was hovering. "What did she do to him?"
* * *
'I can't take this anymore. Please, take me out of here, trade me with someone if you want, anyone, just please let me leave! Put any of them here instead of me: Jyou, Koushiro, Sora, Mimi, Hikari. Please! You could even send Takeru-Taichi, just please' "Help me!" Yamato looked around frantically, seeing that instead of a void, he was standing in his clean, well-lit cell. He didn't see that Boukyakumon anywhere, and sighed. Faintly, he heard a shout of 'pepper breath,' and a crash of metal, and then a tight embrace.
"Yamato, what did she do to you? Are you all right, Yama-chan?" Yamato pulled a way for a moment, and then pulled Taichi to him in a tight embrace.
"Tai, Tai, my Tai, I'm so glad you came. Oh god, I love you so much, and thank you for finding me." He sobbed freely, somewhat aware of Gabumon hugging him from the side, but then pulled away from Taichi suddenly. 'Sacrifice the ones you love.' He'd truly wanted to do anything to get out of the void, even trade places with Taichi, abandoning his one and only to a place empty of time, feeling, or even breath, only fear and pain. 'Sacrifice the ones you love.' He remembered what had happened in 1984 after the main character had succumbed to his fear. He hadn't been able to feel the same way about the woman he loved. He had...stopped loving her, because he would subject her to his nightmare. Did that mean he'd stopped loving Taichi, that he'd abandoned his love just as much as he'd thought Taichi had abandoned him?
"Yama-chan, are you all right?" Taichi sounded so concerned; Yamato didn't deserve someone so trusting and loyal. He looked down as he answered,
"Sure. Let's get going, Kamiya." Taichi paused, and then pulled Yamato after him.
"All right. Let's go."
* * *
"Come, Betsunimon, it's time to play my trump cards. The children will have escaped; you are properly nourished, and my piéce de resistance is complete." The cat leapt onto Alexandra's shoulder as she waltzed from the control room, her eyes a sparkling black. Yes, she would win this. She had planned every second, and had planned for every unknown contingency. This was why she was La Reine; she was perfect, and could not fail. Not with her friends, her power, her brains.
* * *
Heeheeheeheehee...angst, angst, and more angst. It'll just get more and more angsty right until the end. Just you keep reading, to find out what happens next!
-Marduk
* * *
Captives
* * *
This story is a FANFIC, which means (by definition) that I don't own Digimon. I'm not making any money from writing this fic, and I don't have all that much to begin with, so please don't sue or threaten or whatnot. This story also contains yaoi, or m/m relationships. If this bothers you the slightest bit, do not continue. Just leave now. Don't flame, because if you do, I'll just toss the E-mail in the trash. This story also contains some touchy subjects such as angst, references to suicide, violence, etc. Consider yourself warned, so please continue.
* * *
"Hello, Mr. Ishida. My name is Alexandra Bonjears, CEO of Tetra, Inc." Yamato woke up, and found himself looking into the hazel eyes of the black-haired woman.
"What have you done with Taichi?" he demanded. Alexandra smiled warmly.
"Oh, he's quite all right, mon mignon loup." Yamato stared blankly at her, until he recalled what Takeru had taught him from his French class.
"How do you *dare* to call me that!" he snapped. "That's-"
"A private name for Taichi to use. I know, mon bon garcon, or to use your Japanese phrase, bishoumen. But I came to talk to you about my Digimon. You see, Betsunimon, my wonderful partner, has just Digivolved into something much more powerful. But now, I must digress. Have you ever read a book by George Orwell titled 1984?" Yamato vaguely remembered Koushiro telling him to read that book a while ago, so he nodded. "Are you knowledgable on the concept of room 101?" Yamato froze. He never could quite remember much about 1984 except that. Alexandra smiled. "I see you do. The concept of the one thing that a person would do anything to keep away from themselves, even betray the ones the love. Yamato, meet your room 101." She stepped to the side, revealing a strange creature. "Meet Boukyakumon."
* * *
"Sora, Mimi, are you two ready?" The two girls nodded. "Right. Remember, distract the guards, and then Jyou and I will sneak in through the back. Go!" They nodded, and hurried off.
* * *
"Then who is it? Hida Iori? Daisuke? Koushiro?" Takeru shook his head at the first name, gagged at the second, and stared blankly at his friend at the third.
"No, it's Ichijouji Ken." Hikari grinned at Takeru.
"That is absolutely kawaii!" Takeru glared back at her.
"But don't you understand? He'd never care for me! He's got girls throwing themselves at him all the time." Hikari shrugged.
"Well, you never know until you try." She gave him a hug. "Just promise me you'll consider trying." Takeru nodded dumbly.
* * *
"I can't believe this. She's hugging him! That's it, Daisuke-kun, we're going in." Ken stormed into the cell, followed closely by Daisuke. "Hello, you two. It's time for a little payback; I hope you don't mind." He pulled out a small object which resembled a whip handle. "Daisuke, do whatever you want with Hikari. I'll be next door having some *fun* with Takeru and the neuronic whip." Takeru looked to Hikari, mouthing the words 'neuronic whip' questioningly at her. She shrugged, but at that moment, Ken dragged him off.
* * *
She had said that they hated him. He was a know-it-all, and all of them hated him. Even Jyou. Especially Jyou. Well, he'd show them. When they came to free him-they would, after all, simply because they had to rescue the others, he would show them. He smiled, tapping his Digivice. Nothing would stop him.
* * *
"You see, mon mignon loup, Boukyakumon, as her name implies, is a void. She is actually an entrance to a void. It is cold, airless, timeless, lifeless, and absent of everything else. All you have are your thoughts. And I know, Yamato, that your Room 101 is being alone, abandoned, separated." Yamato grinned at her.
"That couldn't possibly be true. Back when the Dark Masters were around, I left the entire group to be alone. It couldn't be my greatest fear."
"Ah, but my dear Yamato, that was your own choice. And this is an isolation of a different sort. Once you have entered Boukyakumon, you will lose all senses, all sense of passing time. A moment will pass as if an eternity, and a day as if the very length of creation. And you will not eat, nor drink, nor even breath, for you will not need to. And I will let you out if, if and only if, you are willing to sacrifice the ones you love to the emptiness instead. Sayonara, Yamato." Yamato stared into the black form behind Alexandra, which began to pulse and twist, and envelop his mind...
And then there was nothing.
* * *
"The idea of a neuronic whip was first introduced by Isaac Asimov. The theory was that an electronic beam could be used to stimulate pain receptors to unimaginable levels. It was first made by Tetra, Inc. as standard guard issue. And now, Takeru, because you scorned me..." Takeru, before he could respond, felt a lance of pain shoot through his chest. He screamed constantly as the pulsations cut through him, across his chest, down his stomach, into his neck-
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because I hate you." Takeru knew those four words hurt him worse than the flares of pain from the neuronic whip. The pain itself was dulled by the ache in his heart.
* * *
"Alexandra, two of the Digidestined are at the gates," Maria gasped. Alexandra turned to the woman, and smiled.
"Send the entire force after them. Divert all Digimon from rear guard." Maria nodded, and hurried away. Alexandra grinned knowingly.
* * *
Taichi pulled Jyou with him into the back entrance.
"You see, no guards! Now, who was right?" Jyou looked nervously around the dark tunnel.
"Taichi-kun, I have a bad feeling about this. I mean, what if Alex-san, whoever she is, knows we're coming?" Taichi scoffed.
"Jyou-kun, you worry too much. Now, I'll try to find Takeru and Hikari, and then Yama-chan, and you look for Koushiro." Jyou nodded, glad to be looking for Koushiro.
"But where-?" But Taichi was already gone. Jyou sighed. "Hang on, Koushiro-kun. I'm coming for you."
* * *
"Koushiro-kun? Are you in here?" Jyou turned to Tentomon. "Think you can take out the door?" The bug Digimon nodded.
"I'm on it. Super Shocker!" The door shattered, and Jyou looked in carefully. In the corner of the room, Koushiro was typing away at his computer. He looked up at Jyou.
"Oh, it's you. I figured someone would come rescue me *eventually.* C'mon, let's go, Jyou-kun." Jyou faltered at the matter -of-fact tone Koushiro was using. Koushiro placed a gloved hand on Jyou's shoulder. "All right, come on, Jyou. I'll bet you've got a lot of rescuing to do." There was something so...bitter about Koushiro that made Jyou worried. But the man dragged Jyou into the mazelike tunnels of the fortress.
* * *
'Well, it's just a void. I can just ignore it. Taichi will come for me soon. I-I, Tai-chan! Please, come for me! I need you here, please! Can't concentrate on void. I'll just count. One...two...three...'
* * *
"Pepper Breath!" The door shattered, and Ken fell away from the cowering teen.
"Takeru! It's me, Taichi! I'm here to-AAAAH!" The neuronic whip slashed through Taichi's leg, making him collapse to the ground.
"You're not taking him anywhere, Taichi." Ken smiled, and struck downward with the whip. But Ken suddenly fainted, collapsing from a blow to the head. Takeru looked down at the other boy.
"I'm sorry, I do love you, Ken, but I know that will never be," he muttered in Ken's ear as he passed, and hurried with Taichi. "Hikari's over here, Taich-kun."
* * *
"I just wanted to make you love me, Hikari. I-She promised us anything, to get revenge, or to force them to love us. G-gomen nasai, Hikari-kun. You can leave now, if you want. Just leave." Hikari, tears in her eyes, stepped away, and blew a kiss to Daisuke as she stepped out the door.
"Doumo, Daisuke-kun. Maybe, another day." As she stepped through the door, she was tackled by Taichi.
"Hikari! I'm so glad you're okay!" She grinned.
"Great, oniisan. I'm glad to see you too. Are you okay, Takeru-chan?" Takeru nodded, absently rubbing his still-aching arm. "Okay, let's go!" Taichi stopped her, grabbing her shoulder.
"No, we're finding Yamato first."
* * *
'Twenty million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred thirty-three...twenty million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred thirty-four...twenty million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, nine hundred thirty-five...I-Taichi, where are you! Have you abandoned me? It's been forever! Please, Taichi!'
* * *
"Hello, dears. My name's Maria, and this is Saikikumon. She's a cutie, isn't she? A little vixen, you see. But of course, we'll just warp-Digivolve her..."
"Saikikumon, warp-digivolve to...Ichikomon!" The fox morphed into a slightly larger, red-furred, thirteen-tailed feline. Her eyes were simply black, and radiated menace. "I think I'll crush you with...Night Shock!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Wing Blade!" The blast of energy was knocked aside.
"Oh well. I suppose I should...attack!" From the front of the fortress, hundreds of vicious Digimon erupted onto the plains, ranging from small Yokomon to powerful, flaming Meramon.
"Oh, shit," Sora muttered.
* * *
"Where is he?" Taichi muttered anxiously, hurrying through the mazelike halls. He suddenly stopped, and fell to his knees, sobbing. Hikari rushed over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Please, don't cry, 'niichan. I'm sure your koi's going to be all right, if we just keep looking." Takeru jumped in.
"Yeah, 'niichan's really strong. We just can't give up hope." Taichi sniffled.
"You sure?" The two teenagers nodded. He hugged them both. "Thanks, you two. So let's go."
* * *
'How long has it been? Weeks, I'm sure. And Tai still hasn't come. What's he waiting for? God, do you think he's just forgotten me-shut *up,* Ishida! He loves you more than anything. He'd do anything for you, just like you'd do anything for him. So just leave it alone. He's going to come for you, to help you, no matter how long it takes. Except...I just wish I weren't here. I want to go home, to hold Yamato in my arms...please, just let me leave.'
* * *
"Where is he?" Taichi snapped, yanking the redhead up by her shirt. Jun laughed nervously, but stopped when a glare from Taichi's furious brown eyes met hers.
"I-Alex-san went in there with Boukyakumon, and when she left, I couldn't see Yama-kun there anymore. I don't know what she did, but I think Yama's in trouble and-Babamon!" A strange Digimon appeared, and raised her hands.
"Empress Haze!" The corridor was filled with mist, and when it cleared, Jun was gone.
"Well, she may be dumb enough to try hitting on Yama-chan, but that girl knows when she's outnumbered." Taichi glanced into the cell, and pushed back. "There's something terrible in there, but I don't see Yama-chan." He glanced in the cell, where the blotch of darkness which somehow embodied all feelings of lonlieness, abandonment, sadness, and betrayal any human had ever felt, was hovering. "What did she do to him?"
* * *
'I can't take this anymore. Please, take me out of here, trade me with someone if you want, anyone, just please let me leave! Put any of them here instead of me: Jyou, Koushiro, Sora, Mimi, Hikari. Please! You could even send Takeru-Taichi, just please' "Help me!" Yamato looked around frantically, seeing that instead of a void, he was standing in his clean, well-lit cell. He didn't see that Boukyakumon anywhere, and sighed. Faintly, he heard a shout of 'pepper breath,' and a crash of metal, and then a tight embrace.
"Yamato, what did she do to you? Are you all right, Yama-chan?" Yamato pulled a way for a moment, and then pulled Taichi to him in a tight embrace.
"Tai, Tai, my Tai, I'm so glad you came. Oh god, I love you so much, and thank you for finding me." He sobbed freely, somewhat aware of Gabumon hugging him from the side, but then pulled away from Taichi suddenly. 'Sacrifice the ones you love.' He'd truly wanted to do anything to get out of the void, even trade places with Taichi, abandoning his one and only to a place empty of time, feeling, or even breath, only fear and pain. 'Sacrifice the ones you love.' He remembered what had happened in 1984 after the main character had succumbed to his fear. He hadn't been able to feel the same way about the woman he loved. He had...stopped loving her, because he would subject her to his nightmare. Did that mean he'd stopped loving Taichi, that he'd abandoned his love just as much as he'd thought Taichi had abandoned him?
"Yama-chan, are you all right?" Taichi sounded so concerned; Yamato didn't deserve someone so trusting and loyal. He looked down as he answered,
"Sure. Let's get going, Kamiya." Taichi paused, and then pulled Yamato after him.
"All right. Let's go."
* * *
"Come, Betsunimon, it's time to play my trump cards. The children will have escaped; you are properly nourished, and my piéce de resistance is complete." The cat leapt onto Alexandra's shoulder as she waltzed from the control room, her eyes a sparkling black. Yes, she would win this. She had planned every second, and had planned for every unknown contingency. This was why she was La Reine; she was perfect, and could not fail. Not with her friends, her power, her brains.
* * *
Heeheeheeheehee...angst, angst, and more angst. It'll just get more and more angsty right until the end. Just you keep reading, to find out what happens next!
-Marduk