~ The Next Morning…A Port In Italy ~
"We should be traveling by aeroplane. It would be faster." Gerhard remarked in an irritated tone as Greta paid for their passage aboard the ship. It was scheduled to leave in a half an hour for Cairo, and Greta had been provided with the funds to secure her, Josef, and Gerhard's places aboard. She had just purchased three tickets on the Italian steamer ship "Bella".
"I despise flying." Greta shot back, then instantly regretted her tone. Gerhard gave her an angered look, and Greta couldn't help remember how he had threatened to 'kill her too' if she had gotten in his way.
"We have to stay ahead of that man." Josef frowned.
"Who was he?" Greta asked for what, she felt, was the hundredth time. Gerhard and Josef had been less-than-forthcoming on the identity of the strange assailant who had almost caught them the remnant of the bridle the previous night.
"I told you, I have no idea." Gerhard growled.
"But…how could he know about the bridle? And how could he have known that we were looking for it?" Greta persisted.
"What, do I look like some sort of oracle? I don't know!" Gerhard practically roared, and Greta sank back.
"We should have done this alone." Josef whispered to Gerhard, but Greta still heard.
"Well, I am the only one who knows how to activate the damned thing." Greta murmured angrily.
"You don't even believe in it, Fraulein von Lintzer." Josef spat. Greta averted her glance for a second, not wanting them to know that she had her doubts, but, anger getting the better of her, she looked up again, catching Josef in the eye.
"Do you?" Greta challenged.
"I believe in many things." Josef returned in a cold, hard voice.
The ship's whistle blew.
"We should board now." Gerhard suggested. Greta nodded, and she collected her bag, containing the books she needed. Josef had the necklace in his pocket, and he took it out for a moment, regarding it.
"Hurry." Gerhard demanded. "He may be following us…he has been given ample time to do so, since we have not been permitted to fly." He spat, regarding Greta. Scowling, and more angry than afraid, Greta walked on ahead, her steps hurried and staccato-sounding.
Josef waited until Greta was too far ahead to hear.
"Med-Jai, do you believe?" He whispered.
"Ja. How else would he know?" Gerhard nodded, glancing at the aquamarine pendant, hanging ever-so-innocently from the gold chain.
"We may have some difficulty." Josef recognized.
Suddenly, a man ran into Josef, knocking him off balance and causing him to almost drop the pendant.
"Watch where you're going!" Josef snarled angrily, tucking the necklace back in his pocket.
"Well excuse me, I didn't know it was a crime to walk…damn Krauts!" The man muttered in an unmistakably English accent as he stormed away.
Josef watched the man walk off, annoyed. Gerhard rolled his eyes, and motioned for him to follow.
If they had stayed for a moment longer, they would have met up with an American and a Med-Jai warrior.
~ Later That Same Day…On The "Bella", Somewhere In The Mediterranean ~
Suzette stood by the railing as the "Bella" steamed through the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean, and she realized how the Sea looked exactly like her damned pendant.
The others had been astounded when she had remarked on her intention of pawning it, but they didn't understand. Powerful or not, the thing had been nothing but bad luck for the Bonnvillian family.
"No wonder…of course my ancestor would have to steal a cursed bridle from some Eastern warrior. It would make perfect sense." Suzette sneered to herself.
"You talk to yourself often?" A voice asked, shocking Suzette so, that she almost fell into the water.
"Mon Dieu! Do you frighten people out of their wits often!?" Suzette whirled around, coming face-to-face with the Englishman…Jonathan Something-Or-Other.
"Well…yes." Jonathan smiled guiltily. Suzette raised an eyebrow, but didn't persist. She had not said much to her traveling companions…but what was there to say? They had to steal her pendant back from some Germans so they wouldn't destroy the world or something. A situation such as that did not exactly call for casual conversation. Even though, the three seemed pretty at ease, and Suzette figured they had done something odd like this before. Suzette wasn't certain if that was an assuring fact or not.
Suzette and Jonathan regarded each other.
"Ardeth told me to check up on you. He's very protective sometimes." Jonathan explained after an uncomfortable moment.
"Oui. Yes…and, will he be paying for my window, when we get back from saving the world?" Suzette inquired, tilting her head a bit and giving the Briton a fake smile.
"Eh…couldn't say." Jonathan shrugged.
"Tres bien." Suzette sighed. "I live in a dump, and then an Egyptian warrior jumps through my window so he and some German lunatics can make it more of a dump. Charmant!"
"Ah…well, I see that you're doing quite all right, so perhaps I'll venture to the other side of the ship…" Jonathan put his hands up and began backing away. Suzette, realizing how abrasive she must have sounded, sighed and smiled a bit.
"Peine…Sorry. This is just kind of strange…I…well, I don't exactly know how to act right now." Suzette apologized.
Jonathan smiled and walked back next to her.
"Perfectly understandable. Believe me, I know how this is. A few years back we had to stop a mummy from destroying the world. Not a fun thing to do, really, and it does tend to put one in a bad mood." Jonathan nodded.
"You…had to stop a mummy…?" Suzette raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. We're pros at this whole…averting the apocalypse thing." Jonathan winked.
Suzette was about to reply when a woman walked up and tapped Jonathan on the shoulder. He turned around, and the woman smiled a bit helplessly.
"Sorry…I was wondering if you knew where the captain's quarters are?" The woman requested in a heavy accent.
A heavy, German accent.
Suzette's eyes widened, and she turned around, facing the water, keeping her back to the woman.
"Eh, not sure miss, sorry." Jonathan shrugged.
"Oh, it's all right. Thank you for…" the woman paused, and Suzette felt her heart stop. "Thank you for, eh, helping. Guten Tag." The woman went on in a slower tone, and Suzette felt like jumping into the Mediterranean.
After she had left, Suzette turned to Jonathan.
"What?" he demanded, catching her expression of fear.
"Remember how I said there were two German men and an equally German woman at my house that night?" Suzette hissed.
"Oh my God…" Jonathan breathed, catching her meaning.
"Oui. We are in trouble." Suzette nodded.
The two ran off to find Ardeth and Rick.
***
Greta practically flew back to Gerhard and Josef, who were talking softly and hurriedly to each other on the opposite side of the 'Bella'.
"Men…" she started, breathless almost from her long run.
They turned to her, apparently angry at being disturbed.
"The girl…the Bonnvillian girl…is on board." Greta reported, motioning to the direction from which she had just come.
"That must mean that the Med-Jai is with her!" Josef exclaimed, then clapped a hand over his mouth in shock of what he had just let slip. Gerhard turned to him furiously, then back to Greta, who was staring at them, somewhere between confusion and intense, odd, familiarity.
"Med-Jai…" She whispered. The word hit her like a bucketful of cold water, shocking and waking at the same time. Greta blinked to try and clear her mind but she couldn't. Something was happening, something…
"We have to find them." Gerhard initiated.
"Med-Jai." Greta repeated, not hearing Gerhard. The world seemed to have disappeared around her, and she blinked again, seeing a flash of white-hot light behind her eyelids.
Gerhard and Josef both turned to her, frowning.
"You do not know what he meant." Gerhard growled, almost as if he were commanding her not to know. Not that Greta did know, but some part of her did…some new part that made no sense…that she hadn't even known about until Josef had let that odd word slip.
"We are going to look for her and the…the man. If you see them, find us." Josef instructed, and turned to go, but Greta called them back.
"What?" Gerhard demanded.
"Another man was with her…and Englishman. He had dark hair, I think." Greta informed, and Gerhard and Josef stared at each other, remembering the man who had ran into them before getting on the boat.
"All right. We will be back after we have found them." Josef nodded, and Greta watched he and Gerhard slink off…like a pair of over-sized snakes.
Greta turned to the water. The "Bella" steamed closer and closer to Egypt, and Greta closed her eyes, the word 'Med-Jai' echoing like a forgotten voice in her head, a voice that she had once known.
"We should be traveling by aeroplane. It would be faster." Gerhard remarked in an irritated tone as Greta paid for their passage aboard the ship. It was scheduled to leave in a half an hour for Cairo, and Greta had been provided with the funds to secure her, Josef, and Gerhard's places aboard. She had just purchased three tickets on the Italian steamer ship "Bella".
"I despise flying." Greta shot back, then instantly regretted her tone. Gerhard gave her an angered look, and Greta couldn't help remember how he had threatened to 'kill her too' if she had gotten in his way.
"We have to stay ahead of that man." Josef frowned.
"Who was he?" Greta asked for what, she felt, was the hundredth time. Gerhard and Josef had been less-than-forthcoming on the identity of the strange assailant who had almost caught them the remnant of the bridle the previous night.
"I told you, I have no idea." Gerhard growled.
"But…how could he know about the bridle? And how could he have known that we were looking for it?" Greta persisted.
"What, do I look like some sort of oracle? I don't know!" Gerhard practically roared, and Greta sank back.
"We should have done this alone." Josef whispered to Gerhard, but Greta still heard.
"Well, I am the only one who knows how to activate the damned thing." Greta murmured angrily.
"You don't even believe in it, Fraulein von Lintzer." Josef spat. Greta averted her glance for a second, not wanting them to know that she had her doubts, but, anger getting the better of her, she looked up again, catching Josef in the eye.
"Do you?" Greta challenged.
"I believe in many things." Josef returned in a cold, hard voice.
The ship's whistle blew.
"We should board now." Gerhard suggested. Greta nodded, and she collected her bag, containing the books she needed. Josef had the necklace in his pocket, and he took it out for a moment, regarding it.
"Hurry." Gerhard demanded. "He may be following us…he has been given ample time to do so, since we have not been permitted to fly." He spat, regarding Greta. Scowling, and more angry than afraid, Greta walked on ahead, her steps hurried and staccato-sounding.
Josef waited until Greta was too far ahead to hear.
"Med-Jai, do you believe?" He whispered.
"Ja. How else would he know?" Gerhard nodded, glancing at the aquamarine pendant, hanging ever-so-innocently from the gold chain.
"We may have some difficulty." Josef recognized.
Suddenly, a man ran into Josef, knocking him off balance and causing him to almost drop the pendant.
"Watch where you're going!" Josef snarled angrily, tucking the necklace back in his pocket.
"Well excuse me, I didn't know it was a crime to walk…damn Krauts!" The man muttered in an unmistakably English accent as he stormed away.
Josef watched the man walk off, annoyed. Gerhard rolled his eyes, and motioned for him to follow.
If they had stayed for a moment longer, they would have met up with an American and a Med-Jai warrior.
~ Later That Same Day…On The "Bella", Somewhere In The Mediterranean ~
Suzette stood by the railing as the "Bella" steamed through the sparkling blue waters of the Mediterranean, and she realized how the Sea looked exactly like her damned pendant.
The others had been astounded when she had remarked on her intention of pawning it, but they didn't understand. Powerful or not, the thing had been nothing but bad luck for the Bonnvillian family.
"No wonder…of course my ancestor would have to steal a cursed bridle from some Eastern warrior. It would make perfect sense." Suzette sneered to herself.
"You talk to yourself often?" A voice asked, shocking Suzette so, that she almost fell into the water.
"Mon Dieu! Do you frighten people out of their wits often!?" Suzette whirled around, coming face-to-face with the Englishman…Jonathan Something-Or-Other.
"Well…yes." Jonathan smiled guiltily. Suzette raised an eyebrow, but didn't persist. She had not said much to her traveling companions…but what was there to say? They had to steal her pendant back from some Germans so they wouldn't destroy the world or something. A situation such as that did not exactly call for casual conversation. Even though, the three seemed pretty at ease, and Suzette figured they had done something odd like this before. Suzette wasn't certain if that was an assuring fact or not.
Suzette and Jonathan regarded each other.
"Ardeth told me to check up on you. He's very protective sometimes." Jonathan explained after an uncomfortable moment.
"Oui. Yes…and, will he be paying for my window, when we get back from saving the world?" Suzette inquired, tilting her head a bit and giving the Briton a fake smile.
"Eh…couldn't say." Jonathan shrugged.
"Tres bien." Suzette sighed. "I live in a dump, and then an Egyptian warrior jumps through my window so he and some German lunatics can make it more of a dump. Charmant!"
"Ah…well, I see that you're doing quite all right, so perhaps I'll venture to the other side of the ship…" Jonathan put his hands up and began backing away. Suzette, realizing how abrasive she must have sounded, sighed and smiled a bit.
"Peine…Sorry. This is just kind of strange…I…well, I don't exactly know how to act right now." Suzette apologized.
Jonathan smiled and walked back next to her.
"Perfectly understandable. Believe me, I know how this is. A few years back we had to stop a mummy from destroying the world. Not a fun thing to do, really, and it does tend to put one in a bad mood." Jonathan nodded.
"You…had to stop a mummy…?" Suzette raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. We're pros at this whole…averting the apocalypse thing." Jonathan winked.
Suzette was about to reply when a woman walked up and tapped Jonathan on the shoulder. He turned around, and the woman smiled a bit helplessly.
"Sorry…I was wondering if you knew where the captain's quarters are?" The woman requested in a heavy accent.
A heavy, German accent.
Suzette's eyes widened, and she turned around, facing the water, keeping her back to the woman.
"Eh, not sure miss, sorry." Jonathan shrugged.
"Oh, it's all right. Thank you for…" the woman paused, and Suzette felt her heart stop. "Thank you for, eh, helping. Guten Tag." The woman went on in a slower tone, and Suzette felt like jumping into the Mediterranean.
After she had left, Suzette turned to Jonathan.
"What?" he demanded, catching her expression of fear.
"Remember how I said there were two German men and an equally German woman at my house that night?" Suzette hissed.
"Oh my God…" Jonathan breathed, catching her meaning.
"Oui. We are in trouble." Suzette nodded.
The two ran off to find Ardeth and Rick.
***
Greta practically flew back to Gerhard and Josef, who were talking softly and hurriedly to each other on the opposite side of the 'Bella'.
"Men…" she started, breathless almost from her long run.
They turned to her, apparently angry at being disturbed.
"The girl…the Bonnvillian girl…is on board." Greta reported, motioning to the direction from which she had just come.
"That must mean that the Med-Jai is with her!" Josef exclaimed, then clapped a hand over his mouth in shock of what he had just let slip. Gerhard turned to him furiously, then back to Greta, who was staring at them, somewhere between confusion and intense, odd, familiarity.
"Med-Jai…" She whispered. The word hit her like a bucketful of cold water, shocking and waking at the same time. Greta blinked to try and clear her mind but she couldn't. Something was happening, something…
"We have to find them." Gerhard initiated.
"Med-Jai." Greta repeated, not hearing Gerhard. The world seemed to have disappeared around her, and she blinked again, seeing a flash of white-hot light behind her eyelids.
Gerhard and Josef both turned to her, frowning.
"You do not know what he meant." Gerhard growled, almost as if he were commanding her not to know. Not that Greta did know, but some part of her did…some new part that made no sense…that she hadn't even known about until Josef had let that odd word slip.
"We are going to look for her and the…the man. If you see them, find us." Josef instructed, and turned to go, but Greta called them back.
"What?" Gerhard demanded.
"Another man was with her…and Englishman. He had dark hair, I think." Greta informed, and Gerhard and Josef stared at each other, remembering the man who had ran into them before getting on the boat.
"All right. We will be back after we have found them." Josef nodded, and Greta watched he and Gerhard slink off…like a pair of over-sized snakes.
Greta turned to the water. The "Bella" steamed closer and closer to Egypt, and Greta closed her eyes, the word 'Med-Jai' echoing like a forgotten voice in her head, a voice that she had once known.