Josef was gaining the upper hand over Rick, and Gerhard was quickly advancing on Evelyn, who held up the gun against the German. Only one round was left and she did not want to waste it. Jonathan, on the other hand, was deliberating. He could not touch the stupid pendant…so he could he destroy it? But before he could come to any sensible conclusions, something hard was thrown against him and Jonathan fell forward.
"Thanks for…oof…breaking my fall."
Jonathan rolled his eyes. Rick had been thrown at him.
"Are you all right?" Jonathan demanded of the American.
"Yes…except…for my entire body and many of my bones…I should be just fine." Rick winked with a hard-pressed smile. Then he grew sobered and anxious "What's going on? The Army is still approaching."
"That's because I can't touch the damned thing! Every time I try, I get bloody electrocuted." Jonathan explained bitterly.
"Rick! Jonathan! Help!" Evelyn suddenly cried, and shot off the last round of the hand gun wildly. Not thinking twice. Rick and Jonathan dashed off to help Evelyn, Josef getting to his feet and running after them.
***
Suzette was almost there. She could see the others, fighting with the two German men. She could also see the horsemen, heading forward at breakneck speed. And then, Suzette saw them slow down. Her eyes widened as she ran towards her companions, and the horsemen…just…
Stopped.
The desert was completely silent. Even the soldiers' horses made no noises or movements. An eerie stillness hung over the air, and Gerhard, Josef, Evelyn, Rick, and Jonathan stopped fighting, looking around in confusion and fear. Suddenly, Rick turned around and noticed the French girl.
"Suzette…what…?" He frowned.
"What is it?" Jonathan asked.
"Everyone…" Suzette started slowly, but before she could finished, Greta von Lintzer grabbed the turquoise pendant and stood in jerky, almost mechanical fashion. Rick, Jonathan, Evelyn, and Suzette watched the proceedings in wide eyed fear. Josef and Gerhard, on the other hand, watched in eager anticipation.
Greta was approaching the Warrior-King!
Quickly, Suzette turned to Jonathan, Evelyn, and Rick.
"She has to do it. Greta has to destroy the pendant, she is the only one who can!" Suzette explained in a hurried whisper.
"Bloody wonderful. We're all doomed, then, I assume." Jonathan hissed back.
"What do we do?" Evelyn demanded.
Suddenly, Rick turned to Jonathan abruptly.
"Your dream, Jonathan! You said you saw her giving it to you…she wanted you to have the pendant. Maybe you can make her get ride of it." Rick explained softly, so as not to alert Gerhard and Josef. But they would not have heard anyway. The two Germans were completely and totally absorbed by Greta's progress towards the stalled Warrior-King.
"Are you kidding?" Jonathan blurted out in disbelief. He never understood why he was the one who always had to risk his life! Was it too much to ask that someone else stare down certain death for a change!?
"Jonathan, it is our only chance." Suzette pleaded softly.
"Yeah…I know." Jonathan sighed, and he set his face with a resolute expression then started forward, to Greta who was making her steady approach to the ancient, powerful Warrior-King atop his glistening black stallion.
***
Greta von Lintzer was a prisoner inside her own body. The pendant had made her nothing more than a vessel for its power, and the real Greta, the Greta she had been before Josef had told her to put on the pendant, was crying out in protest at what this new Greta was doing. She was desperately afraid of the giant man on the black horse, and the real Greta, the trapped Greta, demanded that she turn away, that she run away, that she do anything but give that creature the pendant. But her body would not listen, and she walked forward at a frustratingly slow pace towards the Warrior-King.
She held the pendant out in front of her as she walked ahead stiffly, like some sort of deranged flower girl at an equally deranged wedding. The black horse reared a bit, letting out an odd shrieking sound that Greta was sure normal horses could not make.
The pendant gleamed bright, and Greta strode on.
Then…something grabbed her shoulder.
Greta wheeled around, the shock enough to bring her previous self out for a moment, and she stared at her assailant, wide eyed. It was that Englishman! Jonathan, she thought his name might have been, Jonathan or something. The Englishman was saying something frantically, but Greta could not understand it. The Warrior-King's horse reared again, and something loudly shouted in an ancient language echoed in Greta's mind.
The Englishman was trying to say something…and Greta shook her head roughly. Perhaps…perhaps should could…
"Take it!" The real Greta demanded in a rough voice, shoving the pendant at Jonathan. "Take it, please!" she begged.
The strange language echoed again in her head, and Greta stared all around her, at the countless soldiers waiting…waiting for a commander. A leader. And Greta understood. Whoever held the Bridle…or the pendant, now…commanded the Armies. And the Armies would give them all the power of the Desert…all of it. The real Greta was repulsed by the sheer power of it. No one should have that much power…it was too dangerous.
"…can't take it, you have to…" Greta caught a snatch of the Englishman's plea.
"I have to…what?" She demanded. The anticipation, the electric presence was almost crackling in the hot Saharan air.
"Destroy…" The Englishman started, but all of sudden he cried out, and he was silent. Greta's eyes widened, the real Greta appearing more from the shock, and she noticed the Englishman, lying on the ground, and Gerhard standing over him with a smile. He had run over, apparently, after Jonathan, and had hurt him in some way…Greta did not know.
"Go on, go to the King! Take the horse from him, do it!" Gerhard demanded.
Greta hesitated.
"No! Destroy the pendant!" Another voice called, and Greta watched in confusion as the American, the English woman, and the French girl came dashing forward, followed angrily by Josef. "Destroy it!" The English woman cried again, and the American and French girl bent down by the Englishman.
"GO ON!" Gerhard growled, pushing Greta forward.
But, instead of having the desired reaction of prompting her forward, Gerhard's push seemed to bring the real Greta back completely. She blinked and looked down at the pendant, still glowing repulsively bright.
The Armies heaved restlessly. The black horse reared. The American and the French girl…Suzette, her name was…were trying to awaken the Englishman. The English woman was glaring at Gerhard murderously. Everything was…simply…waiting.
And a voice again, sounding in her mind. But it was not a dangerous voice. It was another type of voice. Deep, mysterious…
"Destroy it, Greta, destroy it now. Destroy the pendant, or it shall destroy you."
The Med-Jai. It was the Med-Jai's voice, echoing. And Greta had thought the Warrior dead! Perhaps he was not…perhaps…
Ardeth Bay. For some reason, the words 'Ardeth Bay' came into her mind, and she knew it was the Med-Jai's name. Ardeth Bay.
Greta turned to the Warrior-King, who was regarding her cruelly. The black Arabian's nostrils flared and the imposing figure on top seemed impatient, ancient, and infinitely deadly. The Army surrounding them suddenly seemed the same…impatient and deadly, angry, with much more power than any person should have.
"We were going to…" Greta started in utter and complete disgust, her mouth hanging open. Gerhard glared at her angrily and pulled another gun from his pocket. Suzette and the American looked up from where the Englishman still lay, unconscious. The English woman gasped. Josef grinned.
"Do it. Now." Gerhard commanded in a voice as dangerous as the Warrior-King's impatient glare.
Greta set her jaw firmly, her eyes darkening as she regarded her partner. The others: The American, the French girl, and the English woman, watched her in almost palpable anxiety. Greta held the pendant out and stared down at the Englishman.
"I hope he is all right." She whispered to the American and the French girl. The two of them looked up at her with big, confused eyes.
Greta smiled a bit, and she threw the pendant to the ground heavily.
"NO!" Gerhard and Josef screamed.
The Warrior-King angrily cried something out, too, something in his antiquated desert language.
Greta smiled wider, ignoring Josef, Gerhard, and the Warrior-King, and she deliberately stepped on the aquamarine jewel, crushing it down with her boot until she heard it crack.
Until she was sure that it shattered.
***
Suzette and Rick stared forward in amazement, but before they could even really register what had happened, the entire desert seemed to explode with sound and light and wind, a ferocious gale whipping from every corner, driving sand around them in a confusing mass, a sun-blocking cloud. Suzette and Rick instantly covered Jonathan as best they could, and Rick felt for Evelyn's hand, crying out her name. Suzette prayed desperately for Ardeth in the back of the truck, hoping the Med-Jai would survive this. Suzette was not even sure that she would survive whatever was happening.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the violent winds disappeared.
And with them, so had the army.
"Mon…Mon Dieu…" Suzette breathed shakily, getting to her feet unsteadily and brushing the sand from her hair. Rick rose next to her, and then Evelyn and Greta. Jonathan still lay, unmoving.
"Oh God, Jonathan!" Evelyn cried, kneeling back down next to her brother. Rick, Greta, and Suzette joined her. Suzette grabbed Jonathan's wrist, feeling for a pulse. She whispered fervently in French, realizing with no surprise at all that she was praying.
"What did he do to him?" Greta whispered huskily.
"He didn't shoot him, he couldn't have…we would have…AAAAAAAHHH!" Rick screamed in shock as Jonathan popped up, eyes wide. Rick fell backwards, looking up at Jonathan in surprise, spluttering a bit.
"Jonathan!" Evelyn and Suzette cried in relief..
"What!? Why is everybody screaming!? Bloody hell, if I get pummeled by a Kraut one more time, I swear to God I'm going home! Hey…" Jonathan looked around. "Where's the whole…army…thing?"
"I took care of them." Greta smiled in her normal German accent.
Suddenly, a gun clicked, and Suzette, Jonathan, Rick, Greta, and Evelyn jumped to their feet. Josef and Gerhard, ragged and angry, were approaching, Gerhard aiming his hand gun at the five.
"You…you…" Gerhard stammered, to enraged to form any complete sentences.
The five froze, and Rick felt like a total idiot…he was unarmed! Jonathan squinted, seeing double still a little bit, and Evelyn, Suzette, and Greta backed up a bit.
Suddenly, a shot rang out and Gerhard fell, motionless. The five screamed as one, all dropping in fear, but looked up when they realized that they were unharmed. Suzette turned around, her eyes wide as she beheld the fallen German and a certain, familiar figure standing there, holding a smoking pistol, looking pained and exhausted but very much alive, smiling his mysterious sort of smile.
Suzette smiled back.
It was Ardeth Bay, Med-Jai Warrior.
"Thanks for…oof…breaking my fall."
Jonathan rolled his eyes. Rick had been thrown at him.
"Are you all right?" Jonathan demanded of the American.
"Yes…except…for my entire body and many of my bones…I should be just fine." Rick winked with a hard-pressed smile. Then he grew sobered and anxious "What's going on? The Army is still approaching."
"That's because I can't touch the damned thing! Every time I try, I get bloody electrocuted." Jonathan explained bitterly.
"Rick! Jonathan! Help!" Evelyn suddenly cried, and shot off the last round of the hand gun wildly. Not thinking twice. Rick and Jonathan dashed off to help Evelyn, Josef getting to his feet and running after them.
***
Suzette was almost there. She could see the others, fighting with the two German men. She could also see the horsemen, heading forward at breakneck speed. And then, Suzette saw them slow down. Her eyes widened as she ran towards her companions, and the horsemen…just…
Stopped.
The desert was completely silent. Even the soldiers' horses made no noises or movements. An eerie stillness hung over the air, and Gerhard, Josef, Evelyn, Rick, and Jonathan stopped fighting, looking around in confusion and fear. Suddenly, Rick turned around and noticed the French girl.
"Suzette…what…?" He frowned.
"What is it?" Jonathan asked.
"Everyone…" Suzette started slowly, but before she could finished, Greta von Lintzer grabbed the turquoise pendant and stood in jerky, almost mechanical fashion. Rick, Jonathan, Evelyn, and Suzette watched the proceedings in wide eyed fear. Josef and Gerhard, on the other hand, watched in eager anticipation.
Greta was approaching the Warrior-King!
Quickly, Suzette turned to Jonathan, Evelyn, and Rick.
"She has to do it. Greta has to destroy the pendant, she is the only one who can!" Suzette explained in a hurried whisper.
"Bloody wonderful. We're all doomed, then, I assume." Jonathan hissed back.
"What do we do?" Evelyn demanded.
Suddenly, Rick turned to Jonathan abruptly.
"Your dream, Jonathan! You said you saw her giving it to you…she wanted you to have the pendant. Maybe you can make her get ride of it." Rick explained softly, so as not to alert Gerhard and Josef. But they would not have heard anyway. The two Germans were completely and totally absorbed by Greta's progress towards the stalled Warrior-King.
"Are you kidding?" Jonathan blurted out in disbelief. He never understood why he was the one who always had to risk his life! Was it too much to ask that someone else stare down certain death for a change!?
"Jonathan, it is our only chance." Suzette pleaded softly.
"Yeah…I know." Jonathan sighed, and he set his face with a resolute expression then started forward, to Greta who was making her steady approach to the ancient, powerful Warrior-King atop his glistening black stallion.
***
Greta von Lintzer was a prisoner inside her own body. The pendant had made her nothing more than a vessel for its power, and the real Greta, the Greta she had been before Josef had told her to put on the pendant, was crying out in protest at what this new Greta was doing. She was desperately afraid of the giant man on the black horse, and the real Greta, the trapped Greta, demanded that she turn away, that she run away, that she do anything but give that creature the pendant. But her body would not listen, and she walked forward at a frustratingly slow pace towards the Warrior-King.
She held the pendant out in front of her as she walked ahead stiffly, like some sort of deranged flower girl at an equally deranged wedding. The black horse reared a bit, letting out an odd shrieking sound that Greta was sure normal horses could not make.
The pendant gleamed bright, and Greta strode on.
Then…something grabbed her shoulder.
Greta wheeled around, the shock enough to bring her previous self out for a moment, and she stared at her assailant, wide eyed. It was that Englishman! Jonathan, she thought his name might have been, Jonathan or something. The Englishman was saying something frantically, but Greta could not understand it. The Warrior-King's horse reared again, and something loudly shouted in an ancient language echoed in Greta's mind.
The Englishman was trying to say something…and Greta shook her head roughly. Perhaps…perhaps should could…
"Take it!" The real Greta demanded in a rough voice, shoving the pendant at Jonathan. "Take it, please!" she begged.
The strange language echoed again in her head, and Greta stared all around her, at the countless soldiers waiting…waiting for a commander. A leader. And Greta understood. Whoever held the Bridle…or the pendant, now…commanded the Armies. And the Armies would give them all the power of the Desert…all of it. The real Greta was repulsed by the sheer power of it. No one should have that much power…it was too dangerous.
"…can't take it, you have to…" Greta caught a snatch of the Englishman's plea.
"I have to…what?" She demanded. The anticipation, the electric presence was almost crackling in the hot Saharan air.
"Destroy…" The Englishman started, but all of sudden he cried out, and he was silent. Greta's eyes widened, the real Greta appearing more from the shock, and she noticed the Englishman, lying on the ground, and Gerhard standing over him with a smile. He had run over, apparently, after Jonathan, and had hurt him in some way…Greta did not know.
"Go on, go to the King! Take the horse from him, do it!" Gerhard demanded.
Greta hesitated.
"No! Destroy the pendant!" Another voice called, and Greta watched in confusion as the American, the English woman, and the French girl came dashing forward, followed angrily by Josef. "Destroy it!" The English woman cried again, and the American and French girl bent down by the Englishman.
"GO ON!" Gerhard growled, pushing Greta forward.
But, instead of having the desired reaction of prompting her forward, Gerhard's push seemed to bring the real Greta back completely. She blinked and looked down at the pendant, still glowing repulsively bright.
The Armies heaved restlessly. The black horse reared. The American and the French girl…Suzette, her name was…were trying to awaken the Englishman. The English woman was glaring at Gerhard murderously. Everything was…simply…waiting.
And a voice again, sounding in her mind. But it was not a dangerous voice. It was another type of voice. Deep, mysterious…
"Destroy it, Greta, destroy it now. Destroy the pendant, or it shall destroy you."
The Med-Jai. It was the Med-Jai's voice, echoing. And Greta had thought the Warrior dead! Perhaps he was not…perhaps…
Ardeth Bay. For some reason, the words 'Ardeth Bay' came into her mind, and she knew it was the Med-Jai's name. Ardeth Bay.
Greta turned to the Warrior-King, who was regarding her cruelly. The black Arabian's nostrils flared and the imposing figure on top seemed impatient, ancient, and infinitely deadly. The Army surrounding them suddenly seemed the same…impatient and deadly, angry, with much more power than any person should have.
"We were going to…" Greta started in utter and complete disgust, her mouth hanging open. Gerhard glared at her angrily and pulled another gun from his pocket. Suzette and the American looked up from where the Englishman still lay, unconscious. The English woman gasped. Josef grinned.
"Do it. Now." Gerhard commanded in a voice as dangerous as the Warrior-King's impatient glare.
Greta set her jaw firmly, her eyes darkening as she regarded her partner. The others: The American, the French girl, and the English woman, watched her in almost palpable anxiety. Greta held the pendant out and stared down at the Englishman.
"I hope he is all right." She whispered to the American and the French girl. The two of them looked up at her with big, confused eyes.
Greta smiled a bit, and she threw the pendant to the ground heavily.
"NO!" Gerhard and Josef screamed.
The Warrior-King angrily cried something out, too, something in his antiquated desert language.
Greta smiled wider, ignoring Josef, Gerhard, and the Warrior-King, and she deliberately stepped on the aquamarine jewel, crushing it down with her boot until she heard it crack.
Until she was sure that it shattered.
***
Suzette and Rick stared forward in amazement, but before they could even really register what had happened, the entire desert seemed to explode with sound and light and wind, a ferocious gale whipping from every corner, driving sand around them in a confusing mass, a sun-blocking cloud. Suzette and Rick instantly covered Jonathan as best they could, and Rick felt for Evelyn's hand, crying out her name. Suzette prayed desperately for Ardeth in the back of the truck, hoping the Med-Jai would survive this. Suzette was not even sure that she would survive whatever was happening.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, the violent winds disappeared.
And with them, so had the army.
"Mon…Mon Dieu…" Suzette breathed shakily, getting to her feet unsteadily and brushing the sand from her hair. Rick rose next to her, and then Evelyn and Greta. Jonathan still lay, unmoving.
"Oh God, Jonathan!" Evelyn cried, kneeling back down next to her brother. Rick, Greta, and Suzette joined her. Suzette grabbed Jonathan's wrist, feeling for a pulse. She whispered fervently in French, realizing with no surprise at all that she was praying.
"What did he do to him?" Greta whispered huskily.
"He didn't shoot him, he couldn't have…we would have…AAAAAAAHHH!" Rick screamed in shock as Jonathan popped up, eyes wide. Rick fell backwards, looking up at Jonathan in surprise, spluttering a bit.
"Jonathan!" Evelyn and Suzette cried in relief..
"What!? Why is everybody screaming!? Bloody hell, if I get pummeled by a Kraut one more time, I swear to God I'm going home! Hey…" Jonathan looked around. "Where's the whole…army…thing?"
"I took care of them." Greta smiled in her normal German accent.
Suddenly, a gun clicked, and Suzette, Jonathan, Rick, Greta, and Evelyn jumped to their feet. Josef and Gerhard, ragged and angry, were approaching, Gerhard aiming his hand gun at the five.
"You…you…" Gerhard stammered, to enraged to form any complete sentences.
The five froze, and Rick felt like a total idiot…he was unarmed! Jonathan squinted, seeing double still a little bit, and Evelyn, Suzette, and Greta backed up a bit.
Suddenly, a shot rang out and Gerhard fell, motionless. The five screamed as one, all dropping in fear, but looked up when they realized that they were unharmed. Suzette turned around, her eyes wide as she beheld the fallen German and a certain, familiar figure standing there, holding a smoking pistol, looking pained and exhausted but very much alive, smiling his mysterious sort of smile.
Suzette smiled back.
It was Ardeth Bay, Med-Jai Warrior.