14
A deep bass tone rang throughout the dungeons. "…he met the mayor of Keshel/ A mile outside the town/ the mayor he knew 'is features/ an' he said, 'Young man,' said he/ 'Your name is Willie Brennan/ You must come along with me'/ An' it's Brennan on the moor/ Brennan on the moor/ Bold, brave and undaunted…"
Red was bored. The pain in his ankle and shoulder had long ago settled into a dull throb. He didn't know how long he'd been down here, but he was bored out of his skull and had nothing to do but sing.
Suddenly, the door to the dungeon opened, letting light spill in. "Oi! Douse th' light!" he cried, shutting his eyes in pain. "One would think you would better enjoy being rescued," mused an oriental voice calmly.
"I retract my earlier statement."
"Poitin-san!" Red opened his eyes at the familiar voice. "'ey, lad!" he said, grinning at the young Japanese man. "'Ow touching," muttered the Merovingian. "Eh, shaddup, Merv," Red grinned as Archangel untied him. "Watch th' ankle, kid; it's broke." Archangel nodded, finishing, then he helped the injured man upright. It was amazing that as small a man as he could even support Red, but he could -- barely. "Time to go?" Sekhmet asked.
Seraph nodded. "Yes." Red smirked at the Frenchman. "Nice stayin' with ya, Merv, but the guest room needs a little work." "Hush, Poitin-san," Archangel scolded.
The Merovingian chuckled a little.
Sekhmet scowled at him. "What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking of a few ways I could 'ave my revenge on you all."
"Enjoy your fantasies," Red called as Archangel lead him away. Sekhmet followed on soft feet. Seraph locked the door, leaving the Merovingian pounding at the dungeon's only entrance.
Red wasn't doing very well. He'd lost a bit of blood, his entire body ached, and he could barely walk. Archangel was trying to hold up his friend's weight, but it was quickly taking its toll on the younger man.
They reached the front door. Seraph pulled out his key ring. "Where should we drop you two off?" "The warehouse," Archangel panted. "He needs to get back to the ship fast." "Very well." He opened the door, which now instead lead to a long hallway, full of endless doors upon doors. Sekhmet paused, sniffing the air a few times, then cocked one of her triangular ears. "There's another human here," she said quietly. "I smell blood." Without waiting for orders, she bounded off into the château.
Seraph shook his head and gave Archangel a key. "Use this on the fifteenth door to your left. That will take you where you need to go." The boy nodded and dragged his friend down the hallway, counting doors and stumbling in, where he wearily dialled the Zodiac.
"Operator."
Red took the phone from Angel. "Mumsy, I'd like t' come 'ome now." The phone on the table started to ring. "You were saying?" Salvo replied. Archangel picked it up and handed the receiver to Red, who put it too his ear and vanished. "Does Epona-san have any orders for me?"
"Come home."
"Hai," he said gratefully, hanging up the phone. After a few moments, it started to ring again. He hung up the cell phone, picked up the other phone, and awoke aboard the ship.
***
Marcus holstered his pistol making sure he had a spare clip this time. It was night, and there was still no reply from Seraph. It was time for him to see what was going on at the Merovingian's château... and if he could help get Sekhmet back.
***
Sekhmet heard Cain and Abel coming and ducked behind one of the shelves in the library, holding her breath. "Damn kid," Cain was growling as he and Abel came out of the passageway leading to the dungeon. "Well, at least we got... him behind bars now," Abel replied. "I still owe him for that kick." Cain rolled his eyes. "Get over it already. Rebels have done worse, and you know it."
"But not to me," Abel replied sulkily. "I think that..." He paused, sniffing the air a couple times. Cain had also caught the scent. "It's that cat," he said in surprise, "the one who was with Wingless." Sekhmet's eyes widened, and she ducked further into the shadows. Damn it, she'd forgotten about the werewolves' sense of smell!
Cain and Abel stared talking rapidly in a language Sekhmet couldn't understand. However, it looked as if both of them had decided that the scent was old, as Cain shrugged and they both left. Sekhmet slipped from her hiding spot and triggered the secret door, heading down to the dungeon and following the scent of blood, unaware that one of the werewolves had returned and was following her.
She soon found the cell she was looking for, which seemed to be spouting German curses. At least, she thought it was German. She hesitated for a moment, then unsheathed one of her claws and picked the lock on the door. She opened the door, and the cursing stopped. "Hello?" she called softly.
After a long moment, a blond with a black eye emerged from the shadows. "What the hell do you want?" he demanded, his eyes narrowed. "To help you," she replied softly. "Why?" was his next question.
She didn't have time for this. "Do you want to be the Frenchman's prisoner or not?" she asked irritably. He opened his mouth to snarl something back, then his eyes widened as they focused on something behind her. Before Sekhmet could turn, a pair of hands landed on her back and shoved her into the blond, who steadied her. She turned her head to see a smirking Abel in the doorway. "I knew I smelled a cat."
The blond snarled something in what sounded like German at Abel, who smirked and answered back in the same language. Sekhmet could feel the young man tense up, then snap something else at Abel, who simply laughed and replied in English, "I hope he does. Cain and I both owe him for shooting us."
He slammed the door shut and locked it again, pausing to peer at Sekhmet through the window. "For your sake, kitty-cat, I wouldn't try to run again." Sekhmet hissed, causing Abel to laugh again. He was still laughing as he walked away, leaving both Sekhmet and her new cellmate to get to know each other.
Sekhmet could only hope Marcus would have the sense to stay away.
***
Unfortunately, at that very moment, Marcus was on his way. First, however, he had a stop to make. She wasn't too far away as Seraph travelled, and fortunately Marcus had a key for just the occasion, and after travelling through the backdoors, he had made his way to his objective. "It's polite to knock, you know," a female voice called as he entered.
"I am sorry, Kyrie... but this is an emergency."
"What kind of emergency?"
"A friend of mine has been captured by the Merovingian." He turned then, to look at his friend.
The program known as Valkyrie nodded. "Then let us depart."
"Do you have a method to reach the château?
"How urgent is the situation?"
"Urgent."
"We'll take my motorcycle. The Merovingian's château is only twenty miles from here." He nodded. "Very well, let us waste no more time." She took him outside and started up her motorbike, then took off for the château.
***
Sekhmet's new friend looked at her curiously. "So...," he asked after a moment, "what's with the ears?" "The Merovingian," she replied sadly.
"Oh." He was silent for a moment, then said, "Are you a friend of Will's?"
"Who?"
"Will. Poitin. Red."
She shook her head, and he blinked. "Then why did you come to save him?" he wanted to know. Sekhmet smiled, the very tips of her fangs showing. "Because he entered the Matrix to save Marcus from an Agent."
"Will did what?" The blond looked stunned. "Mein Gott. Leave it to Will... the man is insane." She gave him an odd look. "You sound like an overprotective girlfriend." An awkward silence followed, and Sekhmet flushed. "Oh. I didn't think he flew that way."
"He doesn't!" the blond blurted, then flushed, ducking his head. "It's... a long story...." Sekhmet kindly changed the subject. "Why did he take Red in the first place? I can't believe it was just as bait for me and Marcus."
"It wasn't," the German agreed. "Six years ago, when Will was eighteen, he found himself in le château and… er… made use of the opportunity…." Sekhmet didn't get it, and the German sighed and expounded. "Will started out as a thief."
"Oh…" The implications of this suddenly hit her. "He actually robbed the Merovingian!?" "Ja," the blond grinned. "He got away with it, too."
"No wonder he hates him… so the Merovingian took you as bait?"
"Nein." The blond grinned again. "Some members of the Q-Ball gang caught me when I was running from an Agent and decided to hand me over to Fuzzy-Wuzzy. Abel hates me."
"Why?"
"No real reason. I embarrassed him six years ago when we freed Will, and he apparently doesn't take well to humiliation."
Sekhmet considered this, and smiled again. "Hey, Kätzchen," the blond said after a moment, "What's your name?"
"Sekhmet."
"Like the goddess?"
She nodded. "Hence the ears and tail. Apparently, the Merovingian likes being ironic. What's your name."
"Most people call me Schwarz. For my hair." The joke made a slight whistling noise as it flew over Sekhmet's head. He grinned at her confusion and said, "Schwarz is German for 'black'." Sekhmet got it that time and smiled a little.
Sugar: Evil Twins? Whatever do you mean? *innocent smile*
Black Garnet: Arigatou for the compliments! Someone approves of our OC/OC pairing. Huzzah!
EDITED.