Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Flint: The Time Detective, nor do I own the bishounen Merlock or his beloved Sara. I own Haruka and the villains!
Chapter 1
Thief of Time and Space
~ Bureau of Time and Space ~
- 11 Years Later -
Flint just watched the screen dutifully with his father to his back. He was a lot taller now, with more muscles, as his father had been. His black hair was still short, but a touch more tamed, only a touch. His dark eyes just watched for his latest job. He was in his early 20's now, and supreme as Time Detective. Right now, the cave man was a bit annoyed for having to watch the screen and not do anything else.
"Dr. Goodman! Hurry up with your sandwich….my eyes are gonna fall out!" he shouted. He heard a muffled reply, which meant Dr. Goodman was stuffing his face and trying to make the sandwich at the same time. Flint's appetites had decreased, but he could still haul in a ton. So could the good doctor apparently, more often, and still look like a gawky, slightly graying rake. The elder man finally came out with a multi-decker sandwich, as he was prone to doing, trying to keep himself and it balanced.
There wasn't much to trip over lately. Tony was permanently living in America with his wife and kids, the Time Shifter all resided where they belonged, in the Land of Time. They rarely visited anymore, ever since Petra Fina was finally arrested and brought to the justice of time. He wished he could say the same for Sara and Merlock and their kid. They were still missing, without a trace. No foul play was found, but all their things were still in place. Except Merlock's family pendant, it was the only item missing. Merlock had mentioned on their last visit that it would go to Haruka eventually.
Flint hadn't known Haruka so well, except when the child had picked his pocket to show how fast the art was. Haruka would probably be a Time Detective by now if they were still around, but with no clues, no ransom notes, no nothing, they were powerless to locate them.
Flint snuck a piece of turkey off the sandwich as the good doctor set it down. Dr. Goodman seemed to pout with his craw's feet eyes and mouth, but that was all before he dug into his leaning tower of lunchmeats and condiments. Flint didn't know where it all went with him anymore than he knew where it went with him. Neither gained any weight from the eating splurges. The only growth in Flint was his 5'5 in height and muscles, but Goodman was the same as ever, except for the gray spots in his hair and slight wrinkles.
"Well, anything exciting happen while I was gone, Flint? Rocky?" he asked with a mouthful. Flint frowned a little as his face was pelted with chewed meat and bread, but managed to shake his head. "Not a thing, Dr. Goodman. Quiet like always. It makes me feel kind'a sorry for those newbies from the old high school. Poor kids signed up to serve and protect, and they just give tours lately."
"You can't complain, we get paid either way for ensuring time is safe. It's nice not to be in hysterics and be running around and tripping over Time Shifters. I miss the little guys and all," he said, munching away to Flint's distaste," But still, yeah, those kids passed to be part of the Time Police and their mostly protecting kids on tours."
Flint nodded. "Yup, they do deserve a little more adventure, like I got when I was younger. With no time bandits….we're just a tour service for school kids and rich doctors. Hee, hee. Easy, boring living, right Pop?"
"Zzzzzzz….." Rocky snored deeply, making Goodman and Flint sweat a bit with frowns. "Dad says yes…." Flint said dryly.
~ Newton High School ~
Corey* Hibiki sat and stared at his homework assignment. He wasn't sure anymore if his grades were good anymore or not. His father was the damn principle, and he was constantly teased for it. His father ran both the elementary and now the high school. It never seemed like Corey could escape from his father's shadow. He knew he was smart and all, not over the top smart, but he was smart. He was just never sure that the grades were earned when he neglected to study earlier in elementary school for a math test and was expecting to bomb, but his test came back with a B+. That bothered him heavily, making him wonder how honest his father was being with him about his good grades.
Corey pushed himself harder and harder to study, getting A+'s galore to impress his father, but still, he feared his father was helping him unjustly in regard to the other students who also tried. He was still bothered by fellow student about being "Daddy's Little Cheat" or was accused of not even trying to earn grades and letting his Dad always watch his scholastic back. He didn't need it, it made him sick to consider that his own father would overstep school policy just to ensure Corey went to a good college.
Corey sighed over the A he'd gotten this time. He probably earned it, but he was so unsure after that one test long ago. He was 16 now, he'd be graduating eventually and going to college to be a doctor, he hoped, and help design cures for the sick and better help the injured of the Time Detectives. It was a supreme honor to pass the test of the Time Police Force a few years ago, and his father didn't have a hand in his grade, he was plenty sure of it.
It was the one thing he could securely feel he earned, and no one, not even the bullies or his father, could take away from him. He smiled a bit at the memory, his dirty blonde hair falling into his hazel eyes. It was a shame he hadn't been needed for much more than kiddy tours and explaining to the rich and time challenged about the eras they were visiting. It was what he earned for now, until time was at stake as it had been for the legendary Flint and his friends.
He'd never met the great Sara and Merlock or even the non-detective Tony Goodman, but Flint was a nice guy, and seemed to be a contented person. Sara and Merlock were announced as taking leave, but when Flint told him and his fellow Time Detective, he thought he saw the young man was trying desperately not to cry. Even the elder Goodman scientist looked away at the words, like they were holding something painful back. He had to wonder what was really wrong, if the married legends were ill or missing, or worse.
He tried not to think about it too much, but no one had seen them for nearly 11 years, and that said to him that there was something wrong. He was a time detective, not a regular cop that located missing persons. It wasn't his jurisdiction. He wrinkled his nose a bit at the thought of foul play to such great heroes.
It was cut short by his partner plopping in the seat next to him and slapping him on the back. "Corey, are you in Detective mode again?" the young woman said, her voice so devil may care.
He looked at her, fighting off a blush. Miette** Watanabe was the prettiest girl in class with her long sapphire hair, her left back dyed blonde. It made her looked like her hair was a sun-kissed sea, and those lovely emerald green eyes were like an endless evergreen forest, changing color with her mood it seemed. They would lighten with fear, darken with her natural energy, and gloss a bit and mist like sea-green if she was hurt. She was the most desired young woman in class, and gave no one the time of day but him, as a friend. They'd grown up together in Odiba, then moved out here when her teacher mother and his principal father were hired in a hurry.
Her mother was Ms. Watanabe, the even lovelier and widowed woman that was teaching this very math class. She taught most of the classes, except English and Gym, two others had been hired on for it. The gym teacher was nasty guy with blue and gray hair, always staring at the kids like they were retarded freaks that didn't deserve life, but the schools had been desperate for teachers with the loss of the multitalented Miss Iknow.
The English teacher replacement was nothing to speak of, a very giggly young woman who seemed to find all the hardest assignment and tests no matter how much of an airhead she seemed to be like. She was Ms. Ruby, and red seemed to be her damned favorite color, nothing was ever not red on the woman. Her eyes, her hair, her lipstick, and proved by one daring young man last year, red panties and a garter belt. The boys suffered greatly for that, to match her love of red, her temper was always sudden and fiery.
The boys that made the dare and bets about looking under her short skirt all were made to walk around school with no pants on for a week. It seemed fine, the guys could take a little humiliation, but she had them do it in her wide assortment of red low cut panties. Many of the boys simply cried because the panties were not only degrading to their manhood, but too damned tight.
Corey was glad he wasn't interested in Ms. Ruby's panties, or he' never stand a chance with any girl, let alone Miette. It was bad enough he was called a lazy, spoiled cheater all the time, he didn't need cross-dressing fruit added. He smiled a bit at his partner in Time Detective employment and school projects. "Hey Miette….your late for once." He said as strong as possible, watching the bat of her lovely lashes flit a bit, then rise. The movement was so fluid and pretty, like water over a rock.
"Was with Mom in her office picking out where we go on our school trip tomorrow. It was either the Museum of Time….again, or the Museum of Space and Earth. Both are real lame, but nobody pays much attention to geological finds and much else, Time gets all the credit, namely the Time Detectives' wings that seems to be spreading." She chuckled, that silvery sweet voice that was so sure and strong.
'And won't see me as anything but a friend and like a brother. Why'd she have to be so hot when she hit puberty?' he asked himself, trying to sneak a look. She was gorgeous, slim, a great body and bust, long legs hidden behind her black jeans. He'd seen her once in a bathing suit at an all-girl pool party he and a few friends spied on. Right now, like always, she wore a baggy T-shirt, but then, he and his friends saw what it was hiding, a damn super model 10 times better than anything they'd seen. Maybe she was embarrassed about filling out so well, and just wanted to stay one of the guys and secretly be one of the hot babes only a few had hopes of being near.
"Yeah, so we're going to the one with a lamer name tomorrow to see the precious stones exhibits? And all the stuffed animals and animatronic ones….?" He said, trying to be enthusiastic. He tried to know about everything she liked, mainly her love of the occult, the unknown and the unexplainable, and it made them better friends, but that was about it.
She nodded with a casual roll of her eyes. "Yep, all that good so-called boring twentieth century stuff they won't update often. Ah well," she sighed, looking at his grade," Good job, you got an A too."
He looked at his homework grade a moment, giving a numbing shrug. "Yeah….if I really earned it, sure, I got an A."
She punched his shoulder for that, making him wince. She was stronger than she looked too. "Don't start that, "My Dad fixes everything for me when I don't want him to" crap. That's utter crap for those assholes to spout at you. My Mom grades those with me and I know he doesn't call begging for A's and B+'s every night. Hell, she's given me two D's this year, and she's my mom. I'm not getting special treatment cause maybe one time it seemed to you like your Dad baled you out. You were 10 years old, Corey, you probably knew more on that test than you thought. With math you either know it or you don't, studying does no good if you don't understand it to begin with. Calm down already….his hands aren't in it except in raising you all by himself. Lighten up."
Corey nodded, trying to be receptive. He wasn't all too sure that her mother didn't go back on his papers if his father didn't make deals. He was never very sure or beyond worrying. He'd just make a lying face to his best friend and let her think for another week that he wasn't worried about it. She nodded back, facing front as her mother came in to announce the trip.
- Next Day -
~ The Museum of Space and Earth ~
Miette stayed by Corey as they were given the first tour of the widely ignored museum of treasures, stones, extinct species, and the fabulous unexplainable finds throughout time. She'd never been here, but always wanted to go. It held so much that people ignored, vampire and werewolf sightings. It was true the legend Merlock was the last of his breed, Azure Vampires, but there was little or no information on how the race lived and died, except in the dead Lord Ezekeil's soul. She'd always wanted to meet him and his wife, but they were gone currently. She'd only seen photographs in the Museum of Time and statues. She hoped they'd come back, if they could. Her room was a veritable shrine to anything bizarre.
Vampires, werewolves, sea and lake monsters, aliens and UFO sightings, alternate universes, other oddities and near death experiences. This museum was chock full of the stuff, and more. It even had stones that couldn't be identified, one in particular with a strange symbol inside that was being unveiled today. She'd begged and pleaded her mother the whole morning yesterday for them to go there instead of the same stuff the time museum contained. Her mother, after a lot of negotiation, gave into her daughter's whims.
Now she was here, looking at accounts on Dracula, shape-shifters of the night and day, everything she adored. She was partnered with her childhood friend Corey as always, barely catching his sidelong and quick glances. It was flattering he looked so often without knowing what her shirt hid, but he was better off not seeing. He was like little brother to her, a funny and worrisome little brother. Corey had anxieties about his father like an occult fan would be about aliens, but he had a good and decent heart. He wanted to be a doctor and help people.
She admired his dedication to that dream, but she was only going to be his friend in it. She wasn't attracted to him, just friendship. He wasn't gross to her, its just his anxieties were a bit of a downer and she simply didn't feel the way he did. She was afraid they'd stop being friends if she told him that and that he'd worry more about himself. He needed someone who could calm his mind down, and she obviously had no power to do so. He'd find his soul mate someday, but it wasn't her. She was sure of that.
Miette just smiled back at him and then admired the slightly dusty halls of the strange and unknown. They stopped occasionally so she could read the plagues and books set near displays, writing down things into her notebook for a paper on possible subjects. It was so much eye candy for her, to look at the perfectly sculpted wax figures of famous figures and the large photos of monster and UFO pictures, all be it fizzy and grainy, most of the pictures in black and white photo paper, was heaven.
Corey tagged along, looking oddly at the Loch Ness Monster models and photos like he didn't understand what he was seeing. Corey was the logical one, the grounded one who believed what he saw in front of him while she believed in the unbelievable. Life was no fun just to stay lost in endless logic. To have an open mind and eye to all things to a good degree was healthier in her mind.
Eventually, they reached the central exhibit, a small stone of shiny red with a silver-white symbol of what looked like to her like the zodiac symbol of Aries, the ram. It was about the size of a fist and glossy, shining eerily in the overhead lights. She came up to the velvet roping that surrounded it in a square shape, the stone itself in a square glass case and set on white velvet itself.
She barely noticed a crowd filtering in, some it containing classmates and a tour guide. She only saw them as the older man spoke, rubbing his balding head. "Now this, folks, is what scientists call a Zodiac Stone, for it contains the ancient symbol of the astrology symbol Aries inside it. The substance it is made of is unidentifiable and….
Oh, would somebody get the lights please?" he meandered out.
The light went out a few moments, later, and whoever did it joined the group. Then the symbol came alight, glowing softly for all. "As you can see, this Aries Zodiac stone glow mysteriously without light, like a star. Our staff dares not try and scrape at it, for it is one of a kind….found in the Andes Mountain about 100 years ago. We've only just recently put it on display after locating it deep within the recesses of our…..sadly, ignored museum. As you can see, it is a wonder to behold in itself, unique to the world and alone. A true miracle of geology, we believe, though we know not yet what it was used for or where it came from." He went on.
Miette just admired it. This truly was one of kind. She'd never seen anything like it, glowing as it was and only on the symbol. It was smooth all around, even inside it seemed. It looked like polished glass, but at another angle it was like a ruby, then polished bloodstone. Its vision in her eyes seemed to flick a bit.
She had to blink slightly to focus, supposing that her eyes were getting tired, then they widened. There was nothing but darkness, someone brushing past her, a scent of cinders and Sakura blossoms passing her by. The lights flicked on as her nose followed the scent in turning, seeing someone dark blue disappearing around the corner.
"Oh my gods! The stone's been stolen! Call the police!" the tour guide screamed. Miette ran after the figure in dark blue, not seeing the lock broken in half, probably done so quickly it made no sound. She just went after who she thought was the thief as fast as her legs could carry her.
Alarms were going off around her, flashing red and wailing after the thief. She could see the person, wearing a hooded cloak and running for an emergency exit. The thief stopped at it, trying to get it open. The door had locked as soon as the security system was activated, so she smiled, knowing not only she, but also the police would catch the thief. She nearly choked as the thief shoved the door outwards with a move of a gloved hand. It just bent for a second then flew out like some invisible force attacked it.
She got a good look in those few seconds of the figure, slender and of decent height, probably close to her age or a bit older. The thief had on nearly endless dark color, black boots, dark blue pants and shirt, almost like medieval thief. The thief even had a tunic on with a dark silver belt. The face was hidden behind a cowl with eyeholes, but she couldn't see the eyes. The thief also had a strange black sword on the hip of the belt, with a strange jewel in it, a garnet with black swirls.
"Stop! Thief!" she yelled anyway, bounding towards the dark figure. It turned only halfway as the thief was running out the door. She took the chance that she had distracted the perpetrator and threw herself at the dark form, tackling the thief out the door. They rolled down the stairs and into the back alley that led to freedom. They fought and struggled the whole way, a pouch on the hip of the belt banging between them. 'The stone….!' She thought wildly as they slowed and whammed into a wall, bodies together.
The thief's back slammed into the brick wall with a grunt, taking the brunt of their force of their roll. The thief tried getting her off, clawing and yanking away from her as best could be managed, but Miette refused to let go and fought, trying to get the thief stunned enough so she could punch the thief hard in the face. The thief wasn't cooperating and tried kicking her off with a black boot. Instinctively, she kicked out at the leg, and missed, hitting the groin area with her sneaker. The thief stopped in place a moment, a low moan coming out.
'A man….it's a guy….' She thought, but her victory over him was brief, her body being flung away to the other wall without him even touching her. He was holding himself, moaning as he stood up. A bit of the dark cloth cowl hiding his features looked to have slipped a bit in the struggle. She held her breath as she saw his eyes, red as blood, garnets that swirled forever, currently in pain and not focused.
Then his eyes seemed to grow redder, focusing again, now on his attacker. She stared back, trapped in his eyes. He blinked at her, walking backwards and away slightly. He looked like she'd startled him, like he thought someone different had attacked him. He tripped slightly, almost embarrassed, then the air filled with police sirens.
"Shit…." She heard his soft voice swear, then he took the blade out and waved it at nothing above him. In a dark red flash, there was a small metallic dragon. It was a machine, like the time cycles, but dark looking, like a fantasy movie dragon, empty red eyes and black body, its legs a part of its sides as if welded on.
He jumped onto it fluidly, still watching her. "See you next time." He said softly, then the dragon machine reared up and rocketed him past her as he dropped something in her lap, then vanishes in a hail or dark light in the sky.
She stared at the spot for a few minutes before she felt someone shaking her. She looked up and saw Corey, concerned as ever. "Miette, what are you doing out here on the ground? Why'd you run off?" he panted.
She stared a moment, then back to the clear blue spot the mystery man had vanished in, then back again. "I saw the thief running off….I….chased him, but he escaped on a dragon cycle…." She said, numb and confused, those eyes stuck in her mind," He vanished into the sky, into a dark portal….with the stone. He….we have to tell the Time Detectives….I have to talk to Flint and the Doc. That was….similar technology to ours."
He nodded a bit, about to help her up when he started eyeing her lap. She looked down, and pinked. It was a black rose, a single red bud in the center, almost a reverse style of his blade's jewel. In his escape, he tossed her a rose, what a strange thing to do. "A parting gift of our felon….let's get going. Trip's probably canceled anyway." She said quickly, ignoring his enraged look about the thief giving her a flower.
~ Bureau of Time and Space ~
Flint was still absorbing what Miette and Corey said, but the thing about the thief having garnet eyes worried him. He thought of Merlock and his boy, both with red eyes. He was worried if one of them was the thief, forced to do it for the others' or Sara's survival, but for who and why? He knew nothing about the stone that was stolen by the young man, but Ms. Jillian was still conversing with the Old Timer and the Time Shifters about it. It had been hours since the youngsters had reported he crime and the unusual means of escape.
If it was either Haruka or Merlock, they'd know when they caught him, but he dared not tell them whom he or Jillian thought was the thief. He'd protect them as long as he could from what might be the terrible truth, especially Dr. Goodman and many Time Detectives who idolized them all. It'd ruin people's hopes and respect in them, depending on why they were stealing the stone.
He just eyed them, squirming in his red T-shirt and blue jeans, his brown sneakers feeling like they'd drown his feet in sweat any second. He hoped there was a good reason for thievery, he prayed for it. He didn't care how the Time Detectives were affected. Merlock's family was his friends, he simply wanted them to be safe and good, like they always were. He couldn't tell who the thief was until they saw him for themselves and caught him. The rose Miette was still holding made him wonder if Merlock had gone bad or his son had darker tastes. It was on the table now, still fresh and clean as it had been when she and Corey trudged in.
Dr. Goodman came in, looking like he'd been through the ringer. "Well, the boss lady's done her thing. We can all go in now….looks like we've stumbled onto something big."
Flint nodded with the other two and they all filed in quietly, seeing Ms. Gray's image on the screen, aged a bit as well since the day of Merlock and Sara and Flint as youngsters. She stayed quiet until Goodman sat down, the younger people all standing around him, then brought up her business-eternal voice. "Greetings Time Detectives, as you all know, a crime has been committed, the stealing of the rare Zodiac Stone with Aries' symbol. I have gathered some disturbing news about this stone and its….brethren stones."
"What have you found, Miss Gray?" Flint asked simply. "According to the Old Timer, there are thirteen of these stones, each with a symbol of the zodiac inside them. Each with a corresponding color to the stones of the zodiac."
Corey raised his arm a bit. "Thirteen, aren't there only twelve, Miss Gray?"
Miette sighed. "Corey, there are actually thirteen. Ophiuchus is the thirteenth zodiac constellation, the twin healing serpents. Its so brief in being in the sky, it tend sot be ignored, about November 23rd to the 25th. That's not the point, Corey, it will help us know what to look for."
"That's correct, Miss Watanabe. But these stones are very dangerous in the wrong hands. They were scattered throughout the different worlds connected by time and space, worlds that maintain the balance of Earth with the Land of Time and the Land of Dread. They were cast in certain worlds for the safety of the world that truly rules us all, the World of Stars. The stars rule all, essentially, Time Detectives, and it is the one world no one can reach without the stones and the key. The key was given long ago to unknown parties, its form of it kept even from the Old Timer himself, and the stones hidden on each of thirteen worlds, including Earth. Apparently it was not hidden well enough and unknown forces have stolen it, which means they intend to steal them all. If the thief had simply run off, I would say it was a one time petty theft, but with what Miss Watanabe saw, it means a bigger and powerful force is behind it."
"So what's the plan, ma'am? And what happens if those stones open the World of Stars?" Dr. Goodman said, not flirting anymore. Dr. Goodman long grew out of his crush on her, seeing it to be a futile venture. He was getting along with a woman at the café down the street, at least. It beat watching him drool over a non-receptive snob.
"If those stones are all taken there and the key is used by a virgin who can stand the force of the doorway responding to them, then whoever goes in can bend reality itself, wills, time, space, beauty, evil, everything. It would be utter chaos unless the stones and key were taken back and the perpetrators killed, then everything would take centuries of any person's time to repair, but instant for the rest of reality. The plan is to visit the eleven worlds and the Land of Dread to recover the stones ourselves, and lure the criminal or criminals into a trap. We must start immediately. The stones react to the key and the other stones, so we must get a stone to locate the rest in the Time Tunnel." She replied.
They all nodded, Dr. Goodman sighing, knowing he'd get the monitoring job again. "Flint, Mr. Hammerhead, Mr. Hibiki, and Miss Watanabe, you will wait till tonight when we deliver your new Time Cycle, so you can track the fluxes in time tunnel more evenly. The current cycles won't allow you to travel from world to world as easily from era to era. Now Dr. Goodman, you will re…." She began, but he cut her off, knowing it annoyed her. Being rejected by her so cold so much in the past wasn't well on his mind anymore.
"Remain here….I know. I'm only a scientist….I only observe, but this time I can't help with anything other than directions to the worlds and to Dread and sending Time Shifters, right?" he replied.
"Right and wrong. You will remain here and give directions, but we can't send the Time Shifters out, they will be quite useless if the stones are the concern. Their powers will cancel each other out, rendering them useless unless they are not on the same planet. They will remain here to guard the Land of Time and keep in tune with the Time Tapestry to know where the criminal is going until you can gain a stone of your own. Stones preferably. Nice try, Bernard." She smirked.
Dr. Goodman frowns and switched her off. "Bossy cow…." He huffed. Flint smiled a bit and patted his shoulder. "At least you're dating someone. She avoids romance like the plague," he assured the man, getting a smile before looking to the youngsters," Well, let's get packing. I have a strong feeling we're going to be camping out of this world until this is done. No time to rest for once."
Corey and Miette nodded dutifully, and followed him to the kitchen. He'd have Dr. Goodman call their parents about the mission, even if they would arrive back in the same time, the parents had to know what their kids were doing regardless of having time itself in their hands. Time would pass on the worlds for all of them, and they'd need clothes and rations, well, he'd need a lot more rations so they wouldn't starve. He smiled a bit, hoping that whoever they were after had a good reason, and it wasn't going to be more painful than losing them the first time.
~ The World of Novas ~
The young man walked into the throne room quietly, as he was used to. He hated this place, though the dark suited his taste, losing his childhood before he even had a chance at having one. He had to do this for his parents' sakes. Luna Master would torture them again. The last time was when he was 10, when he tried to get them free and run away….before that horrible woman could make him kill anyone. She wanted him killing those that got in the way, stealing so much for her just to appease her greed. He wanted to get away, to freedom, but that bastard Sapphron had caught him and kicked the crap out of him.
Then he made him watch Luna Master torture his mother, slicing her skin all over with white-hot silver knives. She nearly drowned his father and mother after that until Haruka begged her forgiveness. She smiled at his fear and weak emotions, and had him beaten, but they were left alone. He could stand up the next day, but she beat him so bloody and battered his bones, it took all night to heal.
It was bad enough growing up with that twit Miss Ruby spanking him and treating him like a little diaper wetting baby when she'd come back from Earth. With Luna Master supervising the degrading attention she put him through made it ten times worse. If he flinched at any time during the now rare occurrence, there would be more beatings. Ruby stopped when he was utterly stiff to her touch, and hung all over her lover Sapphron, when she wasn't saying something so damned stupid it made his brain hurt. Ruby didn't touch him anymore, but he still hated her. He hated all three of them, but acted like he felt nothing. Eleven years of suffering now, he could take this last one, to save his parents, and himself.
He hated her guts for all she'd done to his parents and himself, but he had to take it like they'd broken him in good. Luna was too proud, her weakness, so he played on it, and he and his parents were safe. He'd gotten what she wanted in his very grasp, the stone of Aries now in his right hand. It was a near perfect theft, except that lovely young woman who attacked him in his escape. He blushed under his cowl a bit. She was attractive, and strong, but right now, he couldn't be on her side, not unless his parents were safe.
'I only wish I knew your name….my mermaid beauty. You were like a living sea of jewels. Ah, I'm her enemy, true….but I can try. Luna Master never said I couldn't get attached, just get her the stones," he thought, remembering the lovely young woman more vividly," Then I'll steal them back. No way I'll let her wreak havoc on all creation just cause she doesn't like planet she rules and she's a greedy, high-riding, painted mannequin bitch!'
He thought of the human girl again as he force t his falsely subservient eyes to Luna Master in her throne. He could almost envision her perfectly in Luna's place, her oceanic hair, those endless emerald green eyes, the scent of honeysuckle in her skin, and as he hated to admit it, the warm and strong scent to her blood. He wondered what her body looked like, if she liked heavy metal or swimming, maybe science class.
As the image came to him, walking up, it faded with Luna Master's disgusting voice. It was a beautiful voice, but this woman didn't deserve that. She was pure evil to ruin a boy's life over rocks and her own petty greed. She snatched the stone from him before going back to sit in her throne.
"Excellent, Aries and Capricorn are mine." She grinned, placing the reddish stone on the table next to her throne, the black stone of Capricorn already set on the fitted tray she'd made for them to be carried in. It had all been set up before they even thought to kidnap him, how to cart them around, that his father's pendant was the key, what he kept around his neck and hidden by his dark clothing, nice, durable leather. His pendant was the key to the World of Stars, and a veritable thing of beauty and dousing rod to the Zodiac stones.
Haruka nodded to her, staying quiet and waiting. She grinned at him darkly, crossing her legs subtly before him. He barely flinched, just waiting. Sapphron was probably still on Earth, screwing around with Ruby again. He hated him terribly, and all he did was spy on the Time Police and their recruits. He trusted him very little, believing the man about as slippery as an eel and twice as vicious. He was only in it for petty revenge against his parents and to feed his ego. Luna was just greedy, plain and simple.
"Well, were you seen?" she asked. He froze a second mentally, but recovered. "Yes, I was, but not my face. Only a young lady in the tour, no cops." He replied.
She was ready to nod when Sapphron's arrogant voice sounded just behind him. "Not just any young lady, freak," he said in a demeaning tone, sneering snidely," A damn Time Detective!"
Haruka flinched then, knowing that was one type he was to avoid. It wasn't like Time Detective's wore little tags or signs. Sapphron had conveniently said he'd keep Time Detectives from the museum, obviously a lie. Not that Sapphron spoke to him except to try and look big and intimidate him by threatening the lives of his parents.
"That's not good, Haruka….you were not supposed to be seen at all, but one of them….now they'll be after the stones. What have you to say in your defense?" Luna growled.
Haruka sighed. "I have nothing to say really, other than I was told by Sapphron that the museum wasn't where the school was going during the job, nor had he told me what people to avoid. I was misinformed by Mr. Ego Trip." He said plainly, with the devil's charm.
Luna sneered at Sapphron, who was cringing now. "Then you must not return here until you get every single Zodiac Stone. I won't have those dirty humans in my world. You're on your own until you get the last stone, then you will contact us and immediately meet us at the Gateway of Stars. Do not be seen again or caught, or your parents will die….horribly slow." She smoothed out, rubbing her slender thigh. He didn't even glance at it.
"It will be done….for their sake." Haruka replied, and turned on heel and walked out, purposely shoving his shoulder into Sapphron's. Sapphron sneered at the young man's back, but Haruka just smirked under his cowl. 'And the world's….just give me more time, fate, give me more time to save my family….so I can….if I still can, save my sanity.' He thought softly, goes back towards his cycle. Regardless if that young woman, the nameless mermaid, were after him now, he only prayed she would keep her distance. He didn't want to have to hurt her, ever, or anyone, for that bitch Luna Master. He just wanted freedom, life and heart alike.
To Be Continued….
* Corey means the hollow.
**Miette means small sweet thing.
Teaser: The race for the stone of the zodiac, starting in the World of Beauty. Which stone is next, and can Haruka prevent himself from hurting anyone to save his parent's lives? He better.