Author's note:  Sorry for the delay on this chapter…unfortunately I am not overloaded with time during the week, and I had a real problem getting started on this one.  Hopefully the rest of the story will come more easily.  And, again, thank you so much for the reviews! 

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When Riana finally returned, she smiled and asked Frank, "Are you ready?"

Frank sighed.  "I believe I have come up with an argument which will, in the end, virtually insure Riff Raff will accept my assistance.  However…"

Riana finished his sentence.  "You hate him so much, you don't know if you'll be able to bring yourself to save him once you see him face to face."

Frank, accustomed by now to Riana being able to read his thoughts, merely nodded unhappily.

For the first time, she gave him a genuinely sympathetic smile.  "Frank, allow me to give you a little food for thought.  Just think about how much you resent being forced to do something you strongly do not want to do.  Now think about the fact Riff Raff and his sister have spent the better part of their lives doing exactly that…without any expectation of a wonderful reward afterward."

She paused, giving Frank the opportunity to consider what she had just said.  Finally, she asked, "Do you have any questions before you go?"

"Yes.  How will I get back here?"

Riana replied, "I will be monitoring you.  I will know if you need to go to Transsexual following your conversation with Riff Raff, and when you are ready to return here.  Do you have any other questions?"

Frank looked at her with anxiety shining through his eyes.  "Just one.  How did my ancestors do when presented with your challenges?"

Again, the sympathetic smile.  "Some succeeded.  Some did not.  Those that failed, however, failed because they chose to do so, not because they were incapable of success.  That fact is something else I want you to keep in mind."  She repeated her earlier question.  "Are you ready?"

Frank opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.  He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and said in a rather choked voice, "Yes, I'm ready."

She nodded.  "Very well.  Good luck, Frank."  With that, she snapped her fingers…and for a moment, all went black.

When Frank could see again, he realized he was back in the castle, just outside of the ballroom.  The gentle hum of the castle's engines filled his ears, and he realized it was in flight, almost certainly back to Transsexual.  He started to walk toward the ballroom, when a jolt of panic stopped him.  Would he be forced to see his own body, still floating in the pool?

As he walked to the doorway, he was simultaneously relieved and livid.  Relieved because the curtains had been drawn, and the pool area was hidden from sight; livid because of what was all too visible.

Riff Raff was sitting on the throne, a glass filled with wine in one hand and an almost-empty bottle in the other.  A more than slightly drunken smile lit up his gaunt face, and he was mumbling incoherently.  Every now and then Frank could pick out a word, and what he heard did not help his mood in the slightest.

"Dead…all dead.  Did it.  Showed him…thought he was so smart…showed him."

On some level, Frank realized it would be far wiser to just say his piece, secure Riff Raff's acquiescence, and get the hell out of there; that the longer he was in Riff Raff's presence, the greater the chance Riff Raff would say something that would infuriate him so much, he would be unable to carry out his grudging mission of mercy.  However, as Frank well knew, Riff Raff was both a paranoid and a highly superstitious individual.  It could be extremely entertaining to toy with him for a while.  And, Goddess knows, Frank had never been able to resist doing something that could prove to be extremely entertaining.

With that delicious, if counter-productive, thought in mind, Frank walked into the ballroom and stood before his shocked former servant.  His elegant voice dripped with sarcasm.  "Oh, yes, you showed me.  You were quite the man, weren't you?"  He smiled grimly and raised an ironic eyebrow.  "So…dominant."

Riff Raff may have been in an advanced state of intoxication, but he sobered up in a hurry at the sight of the man he'd murdered just a few hours before.  Both the wine glass and the bottle slipped heedlessly from his hands as he stammered, "But…but…you're dead."

Frank rolled his eyes.  "Tell me something I don't know."  He looked down at the floor around the throne, where shattered glass and pools of wine glistened.  "You really should have been more careful, Riff Raff.  When I made a mess such as that one, I had two ever-faithful servants to clean it up for me.  I'm afraid you can't say the same." 

For a moment, Riff Raff simply stared at him, too frightened to utter a sound.  Finally, he whispered, "What do you want from me?"

Besides your head on a silver platter?  Frank tried to force that rather satisfying image from his brain.  "Now, Riff Raff, who's to say I want anything from you?  Perhaps I merely wanted to have a nice chat."

Riff Raff may have polished off almost an entire bottle of wine, but he wasn't drunk enough to believe that one for a minute.   However, he was drunk enough to have lost more than a few of his inhibitions.  A smile of unholy glee began to spread across his face as he remembered Frank's final minutes…the pathetic plea for his life, the panic-stricken climb up the curtain, the blood-curdling scream as he fell.  There was no need to cower before Frank any longer.  Frank couldn't do anything to him.  This whole encounter was probably the wine talking, anyway.

With an effort, he wiped the smile off his face and looked at his former master with an expression suggesting he was more than eager to accommodate Frank's every desire.  Frank's eyes narrowed; Riff Raff had certainly never looked at him that way while he, Frank, was still alive.

Finally, Riff Raff said, "If you want to chat…Master…we will chat."  He stared down at the floor and smiled.  "I may not have servants now to clean up that mess, but I will soon enough.  I assure you, Magenta and I will be heroes when we return to Transsexual and tell the Court – and your mother - what happened here tonight."

Frank cocked an eyebrow.  "Oh, really?  How so?"

Riff Raff shook his head sadly.  "It was tragic, really.  And after all that work you did…"

Frank frowned.  "Kindly start making some sense.  What are you trying to say?"

Riff Raff's skull-like countenance practically oozed sympathy.  "It is no wonder you don't remember, Master.  The memory of how Rocky turned on you is undoubtedly far too painful."

Frank struggled to focus on the thought of those gorgeous nymphs and satyrs instead of surrendering to the fury he felt at the handyman's words – to no avail.  Riff Raff was going to blame Rocky – that beautiful creature, the living personification of Frank's genius, the culmination of his life's work – for Frank's death?  The nerve of him!  At that moment, Frank would have rather had a million gorgeous prospective lovers taunting him than to so much as lift a finger to save Riff Raff.

His rage was so powerful, in fact, that Frank expected to be returned to Riana's side immediately to begin his punishment.  However, to his surprise, he remained right where he was.  Apparently Riana was not quite ready to give up on him.  The realization helped him regain some semblance of control.

In a deliberately calm, steady voice, he said, "If I am unable to remember what happened, Riff Raff, perhaps you can fill me in.  I would be most appreciative."

Riff Raff smiled.  "With pleasure…Master."  He tried to get up, but promptly lost his balance and plopped right back down onto the throne.  Abandoning the effort, he leaned forward slightly and began to speak.

"You were here in the ballroom with your laser, engaging in a bit of target practice on the statues.  Unfortunately, because you were concentrating so hard, you failed to see or hear Rocky approach behind you.  He hit your arm, causing you to lose your grip on the laser.  He then grabbed the laser.  You apparently recognized him as a threat, and began to run.  However, he shot you in the back, killing you instantly."  Riff Raff shook his head, wiping nonexistent tears from his eyes.

"Columbia, Magenta and I heard your scream as you attempted to flee from your attacker.  Although I made a quick detour to grab my own laser, thinking I might need it to defend you, Magenta and Columbia were so frantic to get to you that they ran directly to the ballroom.  Sadly, Rocky promptly shot and killed Columbia as well.  He had just turned toward Magenta when, by the grace of the Goddess, I arrived.  I was able to get into position and kill him before he could wreak any further havoc."

Frank's face and voice were emotionless.  "So that is how I died?"

Riff Raff smiled.  "Either that, or your two 'faithful servants' finally got so tired of being whipped, abused, ordered about and taken for granted that they decided to take matters into their own hands."  The smile faded, and he looked back at Frank with an innocent expression.  "However, personally I'm going with the ' Rocky went berserk' story.  It is so much more inspiring."

For a long moment, Frank stood in silence as he again fought a wave of blinding rage.  However, once he managed to calm down, he realized the time had come to regain control of this encounter.  In other words, it was time to give Riff Raff the bad news.

This will almost make everything worthwhile…