A/N:
Chapter Nine, and we near the climatic point! Comments and reviews are
always appreciated, and I hope they're kept polite, but flame if you want
to. I don't know how much Japanese I use in here, but if ya got any
questions e-mail me (Moongrl_14@hotmail.com), or put 'em in a review.
That's all!
Konton No Millennia
Episode Nine:
+~+~+~+~
The next day she awoke to the face of Yami, gazing down at her uncertainly.
"You're saying she became another person? Entirely?" He looked at Seto, who was slouching in a chair, an ice pack pressed against his forehead.
"Mmm-hmmm," he mumbled.
Yami turned to Rena, "Do you remember what happened last night?"
She rubbed her temple, "I think so."
"Kaiba told me of the encounter with the Daughter of Seth last night," Yami said staring deep into her eyes. She couldn't take the intensity of the crimson-violet judgment boring into her. It was the look of wisdom, of ages past, and days long ago; it was astuteness she could not handle, not now or ever. Well, at least not now.
"Yami, highness,"
"Please, just Yami."
"Yami," she started, grabbing her head, "It was horrible. I risked people's lives unnecessarily. And then, she took over my body."
"She gained control over you?" He asked.
"Exactly the way you did?" She stared at him.
"Yes," he cleared his throat, "But I compromised with my catalyst. We came to a decision where we could both live together, but now," he extended his arm, "I've a body of my own."
Rena kept on, her eyes swimming in their sockets, "I wasn't my own person, she had complete control. I could still feel, and she was talking to me. It was so warm." She hugged herself, rocking back and forth on the couch.
"You're confused, and it's understandable, Yuugi was too. I can understand why you're hurt the goddess took over without your consent. But do you see that she did it to save the lives of everyone by getting rid of them quickly."
Seto mumbled something from his chair. "They would have shot the guests next."
Rena slipped into the corner of the sofa she was on, "It was the way she tossed me aside, I don't want to bring her out again, and it's so easy for her to kill. I can't doubt that."
"But Rena, Akhten is a beautiful person. I know that as a fact," Yami looked out a window, a smile creeping across his lips.
"Her name isn't Akhten," Rena said, standing on wobbly legs. "It's my name. That's what she told me."
"Then, by what is she called?" Yami hesitated.
"I don't know, when I asked, she told me to call her, 'Megami.'" Rena sat down again, unable to support herself.
"Well, you need your rest," Yami sighed, then looked at Kaiba, "I'll let myself out."
"Thanks for coming, Yami."
Yami raised his eyebrows, but didn't say a word as he walked to the door, and shut the massive thing as softly as he could.
Seto threw the ice pack on the floor, "Daijoubu, Rena-chan?"
"I'll live. You?"
"Same."
"At least were on similar ground," she forced a haphazard giggle. When it went unacknowledged, she sighed, "You still have a headache."
"It won't put me back today."
She moaned, "After all that, you're still gonna put me through all that training? Didn't you hear what Yami said? I need my rest."
"Now you're trying to weasel out of training, but okay. Thirty minute nap, then in forty, I want you in the gym, ready to fight." He waited for her answer, but when he looked at her, she was already asleep. He sighed, 'This is going to be a long day.'
Unfortunately for Rena, half an hour was not very long. Seto gave her shoulder a gentle push, and she sat up groggily. "No way. Just another day. That's all I need."
"Very funny," Seto grinned, picking her up out of the chair, setting her down on her feet again. "Now come on."
She sighed, heaving herself up the stairs and into her room. Half asleep she flung off her current outfit, and was about to pull on a pair of mesh shorts when the phone rang.
She picked up, and a ragged breath tore from the receiver. Curious, she said, "Hello?"
"What are you wearing?" came a raspy voice.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"I bet I know, red panties. Silky red panties."
Fear crept up into a lump in her throat, but she still demanded, "Who is this?"
"Silk panties, I bet you're great in the sheets. You know what I'd do to you? I'd get you-"
She slammed the phone down, nearly breaking it in two before the freak could continue. 'Probably just some perverted geek who got a hold of Kaiba's number on the Internet. That's all it had to be', she thought, 'just some freak with electronics.'
She pulled on the shorts, but was shocked to see her hands trembling slightly as she put them on. The phone rang again, though she ignored it, her subconscious already telling her who it was.
Three rings later the answering machine picked up, and the voice screamed, "You killed my men, you bitch! You and you're fucking prick! But I know who you are! And God, we're coming for you!" He was still raving about her destruction when the answering machine clicked off. She nearly sank to her feet, but instead ran outside, right into a shirtless Seto Kaiba.
"What the hell?" he cried. The phone rang again.
Rena looked at it fearfully, then turned to Seto, "Don't answer it!" He didn't, but the machine did. The same voice roared out, screaming obscenities.
"Listen you bitch! You and your fucking partner will never get what you want! I'm going to rip you apart and watch you fucking burn in fucking hell!" And then he hung up.
Seto wheeled to Rena, "What was that? Who was that?"
"I don't know," she said. She sunk to her feet now. This was all she needed. Two people out to get her. One an immortal entity, the other.who the hell knew who the other person was?
Seto kneeled down to face her, "This isn't good."
"Tell me about it." She reached for the hand he had extended, and he lifted her up. He brought her close to his chest, and whispered into her hair, "Who was that?"
She couldn't answer, but only clung to him like he was the only thing to sustain her from falling into the abyss of emotion she had felt for over a month. He caressed her cheek, and smiled at her, "Aren't you the popular one?" He let go, much to her dismay, and pushed the rewind button on the answering machine. The voice picked up again, screaming and cursing, and Seto watched, an expression of hatred etched across his features. He walked back over to Rena, wrapping an arm around her waist. She looked at him, and his heart panged. Worry and fear shadowed her normally happy face. It gave her a kind of seductively fearful look as Megami surfaced in her mind. He could see it in her eyes.
Rena felt the transformation begin again slowly. She felt the leather, riding in inconvenient places, and felt her hair grow, and watched as her bodily controls were shifted to Megami.
Hey! she cried in her head, At least warn me when you take over!
Sorry. She said flip. She turned their head to Seto, and said, "This is the same man who ordered the attacks of last night."
He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, "Give Rena back control. I don't want a repetition of this afternoon."
"She'll get it back when I'm finished talking with you. As an immortal, I expect you to obey me."
"I don't obey anyone."
"Well, we'll see," she giggled, and just as sudden regained seriousness. "The man on that machine is of no importance in the grand tapestry we have woven. He's harmless."
"He didn't sound harmless," Seto countered.
She looked at him, "Trust me, he's nothing."
"I'll believe that when I see him under arrest."
"Whatever," she shrugged, backing away from Rena's mind as her face meshed briefly with Megami's.
Seto steadied Rena, as she melted back into her normal form, "Can you do it anything to stop it?"
"I'll probably set up a tracking device and get the name of whoever was calling you. Well let the authorities deal with it from there."
"You seem awfully confident."
"No one threatens me in my home and gets away with it."
Rena looked surprised, "I'm the one he was yelling at!"
"You're in my home, I share the threat." He raised his hand before she could say another word.
Rena looked at him, slight fire dancing in her eyes, "I want to train."
+~+~+~+~
"Punch the bag. It's all you have to do," he gestured toward the bag hanging from the ceiling.
She stepped up to it, and flung her fist into the side. It puckered softly, but didn't show much for weakness. She hit it again, following the pattern Seto was shouting.
"Good, now, left, left, left, right! Right again, left now, yeah, left, left, right. Now kick it! Give it a damn spin!" He pumped his hand for emphasis. Finally, she sat down; panting hard, sweat covering her body.
"You've been at it for half an hour and you're already on the floor?" He curled his lip. "Get up you slacker!"
She gave him her worst glare, and shoved her leg straight into the bag. She pounded it, seeing the black hide of the beast she had destroyed not two weeks before. But it wasn't enough. Seto always had something to criticize or correct. Finally, she imagined Seto standing there, rolling his eyes, curling his lip, and then grinning that self-righteous grin.
"Take this you pig!" She screamed at the bag. She flung herself into, and with a whoosh, the material crumpled and the bag exploded.
Seto laughed, "Now that's more like it!"
She stood up, brushing a sand-covered strand of hair, and walked past him, never giving him the faintest inkling he had been more motivational than he could have imagined.
He motioned to Regius, who immediately set up a new bag, and Seto himself started to work out. Rena watched, fixated with the man tearing up the bag right now. He had been so kind in the room, so wonderful. She would find a way to compensate him for it, she would make sure of that.
She slipped out of the room, grateful for an unnoticed break, but her heart nearly stopped as the sharp ring of the telephone chimed, high and clear.
She picked it up quickly, expecting to hear the raspy voice, inquiring about her privacy again. A breath was heard, and her heart seized quickly.
"Rena, hallo!" Relief flooded her in waves, as the Professor's cheery voice rang out over the other end.
"Oh Professor! I'm so glad to hear from you!" She laughed, "How come you never called me?"
"No time, and telephone's are expensive out here in Egypt," his mellow chuckle warmed Rena, and she felt such a horrible need to return to her Egypt. 'I'm coming,' she thought, 'But I won't be alone.'
"I figured I'd give you a ring, seeing as how we are in the same neighborhood," he laughed again.
"What?" Rena squealed, jumping up and down, "You're really over here?"
"Of course, I just came to see an old friend of mine. Sugoroku Motou, you heard of him?"
"Heard of him? I know him. He's the owner of Turtle Game Shop, right?" She spun in a circle, getting herself caught in telephone cord.
"Well then, I suppose we should meet again?" The professor said.
"Of course, how about a restaurant, I'm starving."
"It sounds excellent, do you know any good ones?"
"Yup, there's one down in the middle of the city, it's called Nehan."
"Strange name, but I'll see you there at noon. 'Till twelve."
"Till twelve," Rena echoed hanging up the phone. Having the Professor in town would be just like old times. He had always been there for her, and she respected him like he was her own father. She walked up into her room, changing into a smoky blue pantsuit that gave just the right hint of class. She washed her hair and pinned it securely behind her ears, and fastened in golden hoop earrings.
Nice. Megami murmured.
Rena jumped slightly, Yipe! I forgot about you!
Megami snickered softly, Well, here I am. I want to be there when we meet your Professor.
He's not mine, he's just a dear friend. Rena snapped.
I know. Megami laughed a faint tinkling sound before she nestled herself in the bond their souls shared for rest. She slipped past the door. Seto's growls and grunts echoed off the hallways as she made her escape to the car she had rented for the time being. It was a nice Mercedes-Benz, a rich blue in color. It had become her new baby, and she prized it incredibly. She switched on the radio and sang along out loud to the song about someone who thought being six feet from the edge isn't so far down. Then, another of her favorite songs came on,
"You'll rescue me right? In the exact same way they never did. I'll be happy right? When your healing powers kick in. You'll complete me right? And my life can finally begin. I'll be worthy right? Only when you realize the gem I am. This won't work now the way it once did, and I won't keep it up even though I would love too."
"Romance sucks, she laughed, as the song came to a finish. She gazed at herself in the rear view mirror. "Then why am I so deep in it?" She had been through romance, relationships, and love.
But she didn't want another Daniel. She wouldn't lose herself again. She wouldn't allow herself to be put through the horror Daniel had given her.
And she certainly didn't want another Pegasus J. Crawford. Roses by day, jasmine by night. Parties at his palace, soft kisses on the hand. And Duel Monsters. It was the only thing he talked about. Egypt and Duel Monsters. Mostly, Duel Monsters was his main subject. He had scared her, and none so much as when he had proposed. She remembered the look on her parents' faces. Her mother's was proud, and her father's shocked. She knew why now. But he was the least of her problems. He was dead, and he should hope to Osiris they never cross paths in the Afterlife. She gripped the steering wheel, barely noticing the pedestrian sign. She slammed the brake, nearly running over a passerby. She rubbed her forehead slightly, as the enraged woman finished crossing the street. Something wasn't right about her. Her hair was fire red, and her eyes misty green. But they seemed so vengeful, so bestial. As if hundreds danced in the emptiness that hung there. Rena looked away, sure she was seeing things. Her mind flashed back to the little boy who had metamorphed into the horrible demon beast. 'No way,' she thought, 'Surely, Set's Daughter isn't that dumb. But the first one could have been a fluke.' She decided to keep her eyes peeled.
She pulled into the parking lot, in front of the terrace of Nehan's parking lot. She stepped out, ignoring the glances she received from several waiters, and continued to the place where the Professor was waving.
He was freshly shaven, and had on a clean flannel shirt and khakis. His boots were dusty, and one of the lenses of his glasses was cracked.
She sighed and sat down across from him, "You haven't changed at all, Professor."
"It seems you have Rena. You're twice as pretty as when you left us." He gestured to the blue suit she was wearing.
"Goodness, you've developed quite a taste of fashion."
"It's not my fault," she giggled. I blame Seto Kaiba."
"Yes, how is your quest going?" He looked at her with intent interest.
"Oh, wonderful, Professor! We, or I, decoded the whole scroll! We're going to find the temple in no time! Mana Ka'reph is as good as ours!"
"Wonderful," he took off his glasses, wiping them on his shirtfront. "I saw Sugoroku this morning, and he told me all about your adventures. Nasty business," he signaled to a waiter and ordered for the both of them.
"So you knew about the Prophecy?" She asked.
"Oh no, I just knew about the scroll and the temple. But, I didn't worry that you couldn't find it. After all, think of all the preparation I left you with. The three items, have you had need for them yet?" He stirred his tea with an easy stroke.
"The gifts? Oh, I've used the tablet, and I'll probably be using the Key when we get to Mana Ka'reph," she said.
"What about the third?" He asked.
"The third?" She thought about the night, she faintly remembered three items tumbling from the brown package. She had tucked them in her purse, oh, but what had the last one been? She remembered the tablet, the key, and something else, something small. She grabbed her purse and began to dig through. She found the key first, then her Duel Monsters deck. Her hand grasped something weighty and smooth, and pulled out.the tablet.
"It was." the Professor started, but cut off when Rena yanked her hand back out.
"I found it!" she cried. She clutched it in her palm and felt it's silky surface. The heat of her palm warmed it, she pulled it out and examined it closely. It was a moonstone, worn smooth with age. It glimmered like the face of a mirror, and she could clearly make out her reflection. But her eyes were more exotic, her complexion darker. Something was attached to her forehead by a gold chain. In her mind, Megami let out a gasp. It caught Rena so off guard, she stumbled out of the chair.
"Rena, I say, are you all right?" The professor got out of his chair, and grabbed Rena by the shoulder, heaving back onto her feet.
She brushed him off, and sat back in his chair, gazing back at the face of the stone, but it was yet her own. Megami was stammering, muttering, things in ancient Egyptian, but Rena didn't catch any of it. She didn't want to.
"I'm fine," she stuttered, flipping the stone over.
"I see, well, that stone you're holding there is something I was awarded on a important excavation. We found the tomb of a new pharaoh." He wiped his glasses on a kerchief from his pocket.
"I remember. I did a paper on it in your class."
"Yes," he chuckled, "but you're paper was more on the method of excavation, there was little about the actual findings."
"There were two pages on the findings!" she said indignantly.
"How many pages were in that report? As I recall, end of semester papers were a minimum of twenty pages, and you wrote twenty-four." He looked at her amusedly, "Yes, this pharaoh was indeed special. He died young, maybe only at twenty-one. Incredible to think how young he must have been when he was coronated! And how great! I mean this young man's tomb was visited into the New Kingdom until the reign of the Ptolemies' and Alexander! He was a kind of savior to the Egyptian people! And the gifts he was buried with!"
"I remember, especially the pictures of the walls."
The Professor's face darkened, "I didn't want to involve you with that Rena, I truly didn't. The hieroglyphs were entirely scratched off. The rock was polished smooth, expect for traces were the deepest marks on the walls were made. I remember, it was frightening how much this man must have meant for some.entity to go about trying to destroy him so completely."
"You thought you had found King Scorpion, the find of a century. But no, an unknown pharaoh, worshipped as a messiah," Rena rubbed her temples trying to block out the mental noises Megami was making. It was starting to give her a headache.
He continued, "This pharaoh was also buried above another man, and one of his queens was laid in the same chamber. And in the rooms opposite, we found more crypts. Two of them each held a single male and female, and the last bore three males and a single female. We figure it was an entire family buried in the same tomb. But what were amazing were the many offerings to the pharaoh! Gold and precious stones, mummified animals, flowers preserved over thousands of years! But no documentation, nothing except for the clues left on the walls. But those were lost over time by causes unknown."
"Someone didn't want the story known," Rena said, accepting the plate the waiter served her, "Because some cult or some.thing didn't want the pharaoh and his family to be discovered."
"Yes, but there is good news. In fact, it just reminded me. One of my colleagues visited the site not a while back, and said he found an interesting piece unlike others he had seen in the room where one of the couples were buried. In fact, it's why I made the trip here to Japan. I wanted to ask Sugoroku if he could identify it, and he said that maybe I should ask you." The Professor tried to pick up his chopsticks but instead continued to spear his food with them. "I say, you don't think this has tentacles do you?"
Rena laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised, knowing the Japanese. But anyway, why did your 'colleague' find this piece so unusual?"
"Well," the Professor began, "You remember the Egyptian philosophy on animal deities?"
"Sure," Rena said, "We spent a week on it in class. Egyptians took certain attributes from different animals and applied them to their different gods, thinking that specific trait was considered divine."
"Very good," the Professor amended, "and that's just what puzzled my friend. You see this concept was more Saxon than Egyptian." He pulled out his briefcase and showed it to her.
She nearly gagged on her salad, it was a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
"When was this made?" She choked, "You ran the tests?"
"Carbon dating multiple times the first day they got it. It's legitimate. This dragon, or I'm supposing it's a dragon, is five thousand years old."
The depth finally sunk into her, "And there was no record of previous as to what it was?"
"Like I said, Rena, all the records from those tombs were destroyed by someone."
She had a feeling she knew just who that someone was. A follower of Set, it had to be. This tomb, it was.no. It couldn't have been. But strange things were happening more currently. She had to tell everyone, Seto, Yuugi, and Yami. Oh god. This was going way over her head; she was drifting in an abyss in which she had lost control. We're risking the lives of our friends and loved ones; this had to go back to where it started. Her vacation in Japan was going to be a little abrupt. "Professor, when do you leave back for Egypt?" she asked. "Why, two days. Is there a reason?" He looked at her questioningly. "He senses something," she thought. "Well, my stay might run short, and I'll be back in Egypt sooner than I expected." "That's wonderful, Rena, I know Andre and Nazo will be pleased," the Professor said cheerily. She forced a smile, "It'll be good to see them." But she knew in her heart, this meeting was going to leave much to be desired.
+~+~+~+~
"I still refuse to believe that you actually skipped out of your training, and after all the crying about it you did to get it!" Seto shouted. The two had been in a fight since Rena had come back. By now, both were short of attacking each other.
"I deserved a break!"
"A break?" He shouted, charging up to her, but she scrambled on the opposite side of the couch.
"Yes, a break!" she screamed, "I have worked my ass of for a month decoding and translating and playing your games! And to leave of my own accord is a right!" She picked up a piece of china that probably cost more money than she would ever see in her lifetime, and heaved it at him. He threw up his hands, and the pieces shattered against his arms, tinkling in a million pieces to the floor.
"A right? You're my employee-"
"You can't keep me here like I'm your pet," she jumped over the couch, and walked up to him.
He threw his hands in the air, "And I'm supposed to know just where the hell you went?"
"Well you seem to keep such tabs on me, I wouldn't doubt it!" She picked up the nearest thing to her, a small antique chair, and flattened him against it.
"You're a complete psychopath!" he wheezed from beneath the chair.
"I'm not the one who nearly shitted himself when I came back from a restaurant! And then to reprimand me like I've done something wrong." She pulled off the chair, and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt. He smacked her off, and held her arms at her sides, and forced her onto a couch.
"So all that driven talk you gave me about becoming stronger, wanting to be a fighter again, fearful of yourself and what you might become, begging me to train you, was it just a line of bull?"
She stopped wriggling under his grip, and fell back onto the couch, remembering the talk she had had in the hospital room with him, and the conversations with herself late at night. But she was too stubborn to admit she was wrong. Instead, she stared at him, giving him her most vicious glare.
"If looks could bruise," he spat. She squealed in the back of her throat, clearly aggravated.
She looked at him, "Fine, maybe I don't need your training."
He smiled, "Now we're getting somewhere. I already knew you didn't need it, but you seemed insistent. So, are you ready to leave?"
"Perhaps."
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" he leered, standing up, rubbing his chest slowly. A small dark ring was already starting to puff up under his left eye, but he didn't seem to notice it. He swept out of the room, and she heard the familiar slam of his study door going shut. He sat down at his desk, intent on losing himself in work when it happened again. The pain sprung so ferociously into his lower back, that he had to stand up and work it out with his hands. The scar burned with inhuman pain, and he fell to his knees trying to restrain it. When finally it surpassed, he lay still, panting on the floor. The pain, intolerable pain he had endured alone for a month, caused only by a single person, the one single person who just might make things right. "Ironic," he thought, just before he passed out on the rug.
+~+~+~+~
"That smug butt wipe," Rena fumed as she stormed down the hallway with her loud of laundry, "Humph." She kicked open the door, dumping the load onto the growing pile. Usually, she did her own laundry, a habit she had unknowingly adopted, but today, she felt like indulging in hired service. She was about to turn away when something caught her eye, one of Seto's long coats, but this one had a long, animalistic gash running through it. She picked it up, noticing it ran through the back.
"Wait, isn't this." she held up again, examining it more closely. This was the coat Seto had been wearing when she had first met him. But what was this gash doing through it. He was uninjured. But wait, she traced her fingers around the torn fabric, and she saw crimson stains, dried black over the time. It was unmistakably dried blood. She remembered what Seto had told her.
"Listen, you baka onna. Ryu-Kishin is a gargoyle. He's a statue. I went into the temple myself. I destroyed his statue. I don't even have a scratch. And you know what?" he spat, "There is no treasure, just a scroll."
"He lied, oh God," she felt a pang in her heart, oh God, no. All this month, and she couldn't see? She picked herself up and raced to his study. She wrenched open the door, and gasped. Seto lay face down on the floor, deathly pale, his right hand twitching uncontrollably.
"Oh God," she fell to her hands and knees, crawling to where he lay. And there it was, a long gash grinning the smile only Death's Angel could give, glowing down his back. She felt for a pulse in his neck, and nearly cried when she felt it, soft but still growing. She held a hand over his mouth, and sighed when she felt it go warm with his breath. She cradled his head in her arms, brushing his hair aside from his sweating brow. She reached down and pulled his shirttail up, exposing the horrible scar.
Her finger ran over the uneven flesh, "You will pay," she silently cursed.
"Name your price," a voice spoke. She looked down at Seto, who was beginning to wake up.
"Leave it to money to bring you back into consciousness," she stifled a giggled, as he sat up.
"I'd laugh at that, if I didn't think it so clever," he sighed, dragging himself up against his desk.
"Really," she sighed, "You could be on your deathbed and still be a sarcastic nimrod."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"Hear what?" This time she allowed herself a laugh.
He stood up, wincing a little bit as the pain seared up the small of his back to his head. "Guess I fell asleep on the job."
"Yeah right, you know damn well it's that scar on your back. The one Ryu- Kishin gave you."
He whirled around, wincing again, "How'd you know?" Then he looked down at his rumpled shirt, which was hitched up to his ribs.
"Bloody coats and wounds gave good suspicion, Captain Obvious," she said scornfully.
"I told Regius to throw that thing out."
"Not funny. Spill it."
"Fine," he said, falling into his chair, "Have a seat." She took a seat in a saggy leather chair, busying herself with her hair.
"All right," he began, "It was a dark and stormy night."
"Ha ha, it is to laugh."
"I'm not done yet," he grinned, "Now where was I? Oh yes.
"It was a dark and stormy night, and you had been clobbered by warriors of the undead. Well, okay, it was evening and you had been maimed by warriors of the undead. I saved your butt big time, and your pretty boy came and took you to your medical tent, after giving me a good.talking-to, if you will. So, I bided my time in the desert for a little bit, and while there was a trace of sunlight left, went back to the crevice. What I saw wasn't pretty. Limbs and various.pieces sticking up from the sand, kind of like a bad horror film, and then, the crevice. Mando Nashti'ora, the temple of the demon. So, being the foolhardy adventurer I am, readily jumped into the damn thing, ready for whatever the hell was down there. What I was not expecting, despite the circumstances, was a half-stone, half-flesh and blood creature coming right at me. Ryu-Kishin was becoming mortal again, so I had to do something fast. I still had the two swords, so I played his game before he finally got me straight in the jaw. Then, while I was down, he raked me up the back with this one claw. One protruded from each hand, see," he held up his fingers, "and cut me right down the middle. That was the last straw, so I finally whirled around, stole a club from this dead.thing, and flung it at the part of Ryu-Kishin that was still stone. It only half worked. It smashed his statue self, but that wasn't the half that was giving me problems. And instead of being inventive, and luring him into the sunlight, like some clever warrior, I simply charged him and carved him up like a damn turkey. And this is what I have to show of it. A beautiful woman working with me and sharing my home, and a scar down my back that burns with the demonic desires of the flesh, a dark goddess that wants to see my companion and I dead, am stuck looking for a sword out in the middle of the desert. And, it seems like I'm going to working with the one person I've tried most to avoid. Why I'm right as rain!"
"You don't sound very enthusiastic."
"Well, considering the circumstances, I have no right to be," he smiled sardonically.
"You're working with a beautiful woman," she winked.
"A beautiful woman, who's tempestuous, stubborn, violent, impatient, dogged, and above all, completely insane!" he cried.
"Well, it's no better than what I'm dealing with," she smiled angelically, "A irresistible man who's crotchety, mulish, patronizing, egotistical, self- righteous, intolerant, narcissistic, and above all, a complete sociopath! Not to mention senseless!" She threw her arms up wildly, and stormed out of the room.
"That man!" she screamed down the hallway.
He slumped into his chair, spinning around in it, "That woman."
___________________________________________________
I can't help but love this story! Comments and reviews are excepted, and flames, well as one of my good writer friends George Orwell says,
"A critic is someone who can drive but doesn't know the way."
Sheer genius, huh kiddies?
Konton No Millennia
Episode Nine:
+~+~+~+~
The next day she awoke to the face of Yami, gazing down at her uncertainly.
"You're saying she became another person? Entirely?" He looked at Seto, who was slouching in a chair, an ice pack pressed against his forehead.
"Mmm-hmmm," he mumbled.
Yami turned to Rena, "Do you remember what happened last night?"
She rubbed her temple, "I think so."
"Kaiba told me of the encounter with the Daughter of Seth last night," Yami said staring deep into her eyes. She couldn't take the intensity of the crimson-violet judgment boring into her. It was the look of wisdom, of ages past, and days long ago; it was astuteness she could not handle, not now or ever. Well, at least not now.
"Yami, highness,"
"Please, just Yami."
"Yami," she started, grabbing her head, "It was horrible. I risked people's lives unnecessarily. And then, she took over my body."
"She gained control over you?" He asked.
"Exactly the way you did?" She stared at him.
"Yes," he cleared his throat, "But I compromised with my catalyst. We came to a decision where we could both live together, but now," he extended his arm, "I've a body of my own."
Rena kept on, her eyes swimming in their sockets, "I wasn't my own person, she had complete control. I could still feel, and she was talking to me. It was so warm." She hugged herself, rocking back and forth on the couch.
"You're confused, and it's understandable, Yuugi was too. I can understand why you're hurt the goddess took over without your consent. But do you see that she did it to save the lives of everyone by getting rid of them quickly."
Seto mumbled something from his chair. "They would have shot the guests next."
Rena slipped into the corner of the sofa she was on, "It was the way she tossed me aside, I don't want to bring her out again, and it's so easy for her to kill. I can't doubt that."
"But Rena, Akhten is a beautiful person. I know that as a fact," Yami looked out a window, a smile creeping across his lips.
"Her name isn't Akhten," Rena said, standing on wobbly legs. "It's my name. That's what she told me."
"Then, by what is she called?" Yami hesitated.
"I don't know, when I asked, she told me to call her, 'Megami.'" Rena sat down again, unable to support herself.
"Well, you need your rest," Yami sighed, then looked at Kaiba, "I'll let myself out."
"Thanks for coming, Yami."
Yami raised his eyebrows, but didn't say a word as he walked to the door, and shut the massive thing as softly as he could.
Seto threw the ice pack on the floor, "Daijoubu, Rena-chan?"
"I'll live. You?"
"Same."
"At least were on similar ground," she forced a haphazard giggle. When it went unacknowledged, she sighed, "You still have a headache."
"It won't put me back today."
She moaned, "After all that, you're still gonna put me through all that training? Didn't you hear what Yami said? I need my rest."
"Now you're trying to weasel out of training, but okay. Thirty minute nap, then in forty, I want you in the gym, ready to fight." He waited for her answer, but when he looked at her, she was already asleep. He sighed, 'This is going to be a long day.'
Unfortunately for Rena, half an hour was not very long. Seto gave her shoulder a gentle push, and she sat up groggily. "No way. Just another day. That's all I need."
"Very funny," Seto grinned, picking her up out of the chair, setting her down on her feet again. "Now come on."
She sighed, heaving herself up the stairs and into her room. Half asleep she flung off her current outfit, and was about to pull on a pair of mesh shorts when the phone rang.
She picked up, and a ragged breath tore from the receiver. Curious, she said, "Hello?"
"What are you wearing?" came a raspy voice.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"I bet I know, red panties. Silky red panties."
Fear crept up into a lump in her throat, but she still demanded, "Who is this?"
"Silk panties, I bet you're great in the sheets. You know what I'd do to you? I'd get you-"
She slammed the phone down, nearly breaking it in two before the freak could continue. 'Probably just some perverted geek who got a hold of Kaiba's number on the Internet. That's all it had to be', she thought, 'just some freak with electronics.'
She pulled on the shorts, but was shocked to see her hands trembling slightly as she put them on. The phone rang again, though she ignored it, her subconscious already telling her who it was.
Three rings later the answering machine picked up, and the voice screamed, "You killed my men, you bitch! You and you're fucking prick! But I know who you are! And God, we're coming for you!" He was still raving about her destruction when the answering machine clicked off. She nearly sank to her feet, but instead ran outside, right into a shirtless Seto Kaiba.
"What the hell?" he cried. The phone rang again.
Rena looked at it fearfully, then turned to Seto, "Don't answer it!" He didn't, but the machine did. The same voice roared out, screaming obscenities.
"Listen you bitch! You and your fucking partner will never get what you want! I'm going to rip you apart and watch you fucking burn in fucking hell!" And then he hung up.
Seto wheeled to Rena, "What was that? Who was that?"
"I don't know," she said. She sunk to her feet now. This was all she needed. Two people out to get her. One an immortal entity, the other.who the hell knew who the other person was?
Seto kneeled down to face her, "This isn't good."
"Tell me about it." She reached for the hand he had extended, and he lifted her up. He brought her close to his chest, and whispered into her hair, "Who was that?"
She couldn't answer, but only clung to him like he was the only thing to sustain her from falling into the abyss of emotion she had felt for over a month. He caressed her cheek, and smiled at her, "Aren't you the popular one?" He let go, much to her dismay, and pushed the rewind button on the answering machine. The voice picked up again, screaming and cursing, and Seto watched, an expression of hatred etched across his features. He walked back over to Rena, wrapping an arm around her waist. She looked at him, and his heart panged. Worry and fear shadowed her normally happy face. It gave her a kind of seductively fearful look as Megami surfaced in her mind. He could see it in her eyes.
Rena felt the transformation begin again slowly. She felt the leather, riding in inconvenient places, and felt her hair grow, and watched as her bodily controls were shifted to Megami.
Hey! she cried in her head, At least warn me when you take over!
Sorry. She said flip. She turned their head to Seto, and said, "This is the same man who ordered the attacks of last night."
He looked at her, his eyes narrowed, "Give Rena back control. I don't want a repetition of this afternoon."
"She'll get it back when I'm finished talking with you. As an immortal, I expect you to obey me."
"I don't obey anyone."
"Well, we'll see," she giggled, and just as sudden regained seriousness. "The man on that machine is of no importance in the grand tapestry we have woven. He's harmless."
"He didn't sound harmless," Seto countered.
She looked at him, "Trust me, he's nothing."
"I'll believe that when I see him under arrest."
"Whatever," she shrugged, backing away from Rena's mind as her face meshed briefly with Megami's.
Seto steadied Rena, as she melted back into her normal form, "Can you do it anything to stop it?"
"I'll probably set up a tracking device and get the name of whoever was calling you. Well let the authorities deal with it from there."
"You seem awfully confident."
"No one threatens me in my home and gets away with it."
Rena looked surprised, "I'm the one he was yelling at!"
"You're in my home, I share the threat." He raised his hand before she could say another word.
Rena looked at him, slight fire dancing in her eyes, "I want to train."
+~+~+~+~
"Punch the bag. It's all you have to do," he gestured toward the bag hanging from the ceiling.
She stepped up to it, and flung her fist into the side. It puckered softly, but didn't show much for weakness. She hit it again, following the pattern Seto was shouting.
"Good, now, left, left, left, right! Right again, left now, yeah, left, left, right. Now kick it! Give it a damn spin!" He pumped his hand for emphasis. Finally, she sat down; panting hard, sweat covering her body.
"You've been at it for half an hour and you're already on the floor?" He curled his lip. "Get up you slacker!"
She gave him her worst glare, and shoved her leg straight into the bag. She pounded it, seeing the black hide of the beast she had destroyed not two weeks before. But it wasn't enough. Seto always had something to criticize or correct. Finally, she imagined Seto standing there, rolling his eyes, curling his lip, and then grinning that self-righteous grin.
"Take this you pig!" She screamed at the bag. She flung herself into, and with a whoosh, the material crumpled and the bag exploded.
Seto laughed, "Now that's more like it!"
She stood up, brushing a sand-covered strand of hair, and walked past him, never giving him the faintest inkling he had been more motivational than he could have imagined.
He motioned to Regius, who immediately set up a new bag, and Seto himself started to work out. Rena watched, fixated with the man tearing up the bag right now. He had been so kind in the room, so wonderful. She would find a way to compensate him for it, she would make sure of that.
She slipped out of the room, grateful for an unnoticed break, but her heart nearly stopped as the sharp ring of the telephone chimed, high and clear.
She picked it up quickly, expecting to hear the raspy voice, inquiring about her privacy again. A breath was heard, and her heart seized quickly.
"Rena, hallo!" Relief flooded her in waves, as the Professor's cheery voice rang out over the other end.
"Oh Professor! I'm so glad to hear from you!" She laughed, "How come you never called me?"
"No time, and telephone's are expensive out here in Egypt," his mellow chuckle warmed Rena, and she felt such a horrible need to return to her Egypt. 'I'm coming,' she thought, 'But I won't be alone.'
"I figured I'd give you a ring, seeing as how we are in the same neighborhood," he laughed again.
"What?" Rena squealed, jumping up and down, "You're really over here?"
"Of course, I just came to see an old friend of mine. Sugoroku Motou, you heard of him?"
"Heard of him? I know him. He's the owner of Turtle Game Shop, right?" She spun in a circle, getting herself caught in telephone cord.
"Well then, I suppose we should meet again?" The professor said.
"Of course, how about a restaurant, I'm starving."
"It sounds excellent, do you know any good ones?"
"Yup, there's one down in the middle of the city, it's called Nehan."
"Strange name, but I'll see you there at noon. 'Till twelve."
"Till twelve," Rena echoed hanging up the phone. Having the Professor in town would be just like old times. He had always been there for her, and she respected him like he was her own father. She walked up into her room, changing into a smoky blue pantsuit that gave just the right hint of class. She washed her hair and pinned it securely behind her ears, and fastened in golden hoop earrings.
Nice. Megami murmured.
Rena jumped slightly, Yipe! I forgot about you!
Megami snickered softly, Well, here I am. I want to be there when we meet your Professor.
He's not mine, he's just a dear friend. Rena snapped.
I know. Megami laughed a faint tinkling sound before she nestled herself in the bond their souls shared for rest. She slipped past the door. Seto's growls and grunts echoed off the hallways as she made her escape to the car she had rented for the time being. It was a nice Mercedes-Benz, a rich blue in color. It had become her new baby, and she prized it incredibly. She switched on the radio and sang along out loud to the song about someone who thought being six feet from the edge isn't so far down. Then, another of her favorite songs came on,
"You'll rescue me right? In the exact same way they never did. I'll be happy right? When your healing powers kick in. You'll complete me right? And my life can finally begin. I'll be worthy right? Only when you realize the gem I am. This won't work now the way it once did, and I won't keep it up even though I would love too."
"Romance sucks, she laughed, as the song came to a finish. She gazed at herself in the rear view mirror. "Then why am I so deep in it?" She had been through romance, relationships, and love.
But she didn't want another Daniel. She wouldn't lose herself again. She wouldn't allow herself to be put through the horror Daniel had given her.
And she certainly didn't want another Pegasus J. Crawford. Roses by day, jasmine by night. Parties at his palace, soft kisses on the hand. And Duel Monsters. It was the only thing he talked about. Egypt and Duel Monsters. Mostly, Duel Monsters was his main subject. He had scared her, and none so much as when he had proposed. She remembered the look on her parents' faces. Her mother's was proud, and her father's shocked. She knew why now. But he was the least of her problems. He was dead, and he should hope to Osiris they never cross paths in the Afterlife. She gripped the steering wheel, barely noticing the pedestrian sign. She slammed the brake, nearly running over a passerby. She rubbed her forehead slightly, as the enraged woman finished crossing the street. Something wasn't right about her. Her hair was fire red, and her eyes misty green. But they seemed so vengeful, so bestial. As if hundreds danced in the emptiness that hung there. Rena looked away, sure she was seeing things. Her mind flashed back to the little boy who had metamorphed into the horrible demon beast. 'No way,' she thought, 'Surely, Set's Daughter isn't that dumb. But the first one could have been a fluke.' She decided to keep her eyes peeled.
She pulled into the parking lot, in front of the terrace of Nehan's parking lot. She stepped out, ignoring the glances she received from several waiters, and continued to the place where the Professor was waving.
He was freshly shaven, and had on a clean flannel shirt and khakis. His boots were dusty, and one of the lenses of his glasses was cracked.
She sighed and sat down across from him, "You haven't changed at all, Professor."
"It seems you have Rena. You're twice as pretty as when you left us." He gestured to the blue suit she was wearing.
"Goodness, you've developed quite a taste of fashion."
"It's not my fault," she giggled. I blame Seto Kaiba."
"Yes, how is your quest going?" He looked at her with intent interest.
"Oh, wonderful, Professor! We, or I, decoded the whole scroll! We're going to find the temple in no time! Mana Ka'reph is as good as ours!"
"Wonderful," he took off his glasses, wiping them on his shirtfront. "I saw Sugoroku this morning, and he told me all about your adventures. Nasty business," he signaled to a waiter and ordered for the both of them.
"So you knew about the Prophecy?" She asked.
"Oh no, I just knew about the scroll and the temple. But, I didn't worry that you couldn't find it. After all, think of all the preparation I left you with. The three items, have you had need for them yet?" He stirred his tea with an easy stroke.
"The gifts? Oh, I've used the tablet, and I'll probably be using the Key when we get to Mana Ka'reph," she said.
"What about the third?" He asked.
"The third?" She thought about the night, she faintly remembered three items tumbling from the brown package. She had tucked them in her purse, oh, but what had the last one been? She remembered the tablet, the key, and something else, something small. She grabbed her purse and began to dig through. She found the key first, then her Duel Monsters deck. Her hand grasped something weighty and smooth, and pulled out.the tablet.
"It was." the Professor started, but cut off when Rena yanked her hand back out.
"I found it!" she cried. She clutched it in her palm and felt it's silky surface. The heat of her palm warmed it, she pulled it out and examined it closely. It was a moonstone, worn smooth with age. It glimmered like the face of a mirror, and she could clearly make out her reflection. But her eyes were more exotic, her complexion darker. Something was attached to her forehead by a gold chain. In her mind, Megami let out a gasp. It caught Rena so off guard, she stumbled out of the chair.
"Rena, I say, are you all right?" The professor got out of his chair, and grabbed Rena by the shoulder, heaving back onto her feet.
She brushed him off, and sat back in his chair, gazing back at the face of the stone, but it was yet her own. Megami was stammering, muttering, things in ancient Egyptian, but Rena didn't catch any of it. She didn't want to.
"I'm fine," she stuttered, flipping the stone over.
"I see, well, that stone you're holding there is something I was awarded on a important excavation. We found the tomb of a new pharaoh." He wiped his glasses on a kerchief from his pocket.
"I remember. I did a paper on it in your class."
"Yes," he chuckled, "but you're paper was more on the method of excavation, there was little about the actual findings."
"There were two pages on the findings!" she said indignantly.
"How many pages were in that report? As I recall, end of semester papers were a minimum of twenty pages, and you wrote twenty-four." He looked at her amusedly, "Yes, this pharaoh was indeed special. He died young, maybe only at twenty-one. Incredible to think how young he must have been when he was coronated! And how great! I mean this young man's tomb was visited into the New Kingdom until the reign of the Ptolemies' and Alexander! He was a kind of savior to the Egyptian people! And the gifts he was buried with!"
"I remember, especially the pictures of the walls."
The Professor's face darkened, "I didn't want to involve you with that Rena, I truly didn't. The hieroglyphs were entirely scratched off. The rock was polished smooth, expect for traces were the deepest marks on the walls were made. I remember, it was frightening how much this man must have meant for some.entity to go about trying to destroy him so completely."
"You thought you had found King Scorpion, the find of a century. But no, an unknown pharaoh, worshipped as a messiah," Rena rubbed her temples trying to block out the mental noises Megami was making. It was starting to give her a headache.
He continued, "This pharaoh was also buried above another man, and one of his queens was laid in the same chamber. And in the rooms opposite, we found more crypts. Two of them each held a single male and female, and the last bore three males and a single female. We figure it was an entire family buried in the same tomb. But what were amazing were the many offerings to the pharaoh! Gold and precious stones, mummified animals, flowers preserved over thousands of years! But no documentation, nothing except for the clues left on the walls. But those were lost over time by causes unknown."
"Someone didn't want the story known," Rena said, accepting the plate the waiter served her, "Because some cult or some.thing didn't want the pharaoh and his family to be discovered."
"Yes, but there is good news. In fact, it just reminded me. One of my colleagues visited the site not a while back, and said he found an interesting piece unlike others he had seen in the room where one of the couples were buried. In fact, it's why I made the trip here to Japan. I wanted to ask Sugoroku if he could identify it, and he said that maybe I should ask you." The Professor tried to pick up his chopsticks but instead continued to spear his food with them. "I say, you don't think this has tentacles do you?"
Rena laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised, knowing the Japanese. But anyway, why did your 'colleague' find this piece so unusual?"
"Well," the Professor began, "You remember the Egyptian philosophy on animal deities?"
"Sure," Rena said, "We spent a week on it in class. Egyptians took certain attributes from different animals and applied them to their different gods, thinking that specific trait was considered divine."
"Very good," the Professor amended, "and that's just what puzzled my friend. You see this concept was more Saxon than Egyptian." He pulled out his briefcase and showed it to her.
She nearly gagged on her salad, it was a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
"When was this made?" She choked, "You ran the tests?"
"Carbon dating multiple times the first day they got it. It's legitimate. This dragon, or I'm supposing it's a dragon, is five thousand years old."
The depth finally sunk into her, "And there was no record of previous as to what it was?"
"Like I said, Rena, all the records from those tombs were destroyed by someone."
She had a feeling she knew just who that someone was. A follower of Set, it had to be. This tomb, it was.no. It couldn't have been. But strange things were happening more currently. She had to tell everyone, Seto, Yuugi, and Yami. Oh god. This was going way over her head; she was drifting in an abyss in which she had lost control. We're risking the lives of our friends and loved ones; this had to go back to where it started. Her vacation in Japan was going to be a little abrupt. "Professor, when do you leave back for Egypt?" she asked. "Why, two days. Is there a reason?" He looked at her questioningly. "He senses something," she thought. "Well, my stay might run short, and I'll be back in Egypt sooner than I expected." "That's wonderful, Rena, I know Andre and Nazo will be pleased," the Professor said cheerily. She forced a smile, "It'll be good to see them." But she knew in her heart, this meeting was going to leave much to be desired.
+~+~+~+~
"I still refuse to believe that you actually skipped out of your training, and after all the crying about it you did to get it!" Seto shouted. The two had been in a fight since Rena had come back. By now, both were short of attacking each other.
"I deserved a break!"
"A break?" He shouted, charging up to her, but she scrambled on the opposite side of the couch.
"Yes, a break!" she screamed, "I have worked my ass of for a month decoding and translating and playing your games! And to leave of my own accord is a right!" She picked up a piece of china that probably cost more money than she would ever see in her lifetime, and heaved it at him. He threw up his hands, and the pieces shattered against his arms, tinkling in a million pieces to the floor.
"A right? You're my employee-"
"You can't keep me here like I'm your pet," she jumped over the couch, and walked up to him.
He threw his hands in the air, "And I'm supposed to know just where the hell you went?"
"Well you seem to keep such tabs on me, I wouldn't doubt it!" She picked up the nearest thing to her, a small antique chair, and flattened him against it.
"You're a complete psychopath!" he wheezed from beneath the chair.
"I'm not the one who nearly shitted himself when I came back from a restaurant! And then to reprimand me like I've done something wrong." She pulled off the chair, and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt. He smacked her off, and held her arms at her sides, and forced her onto a couch.
"So all that driven talk you gave me about becoming stronger, wanting to be a fighter again, fearful of yourself and what you might become, begging me to train you, was it just a line of bull?"
She stopped wriggling under his grip, and fell back onto the couch, remembering the talk she had had in the hospital room with him, and the conversations with herself late at night. But she was too stubborn to admit she was wrong. Instead, she stared at him, giving him her most vicious glare.
"If looks could bruise," he spat. She squealed in the back of her throat, clearly aggravated.
She looked at him, "Fine, maybe I don't need your training."
He smiled, "Now we're getting somewhere. I already knew you didn't need it, but you seemed insistent. So, are you ready to leave?"
"Perhaps."
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" he leered, standing up, rubbing his chest slowly. A small dark ring was already starting to puff up under his left eye, but he didn't seem to notice it. He swept out of the room, and she heard the familiar slam of his study door going shut. He sat down at his desk, intent on losing himself in work when it happened again. The pain sprung so ferociously into his lower back, that he had to stand up and work it out with his hands. The scar burned with inhuman pain, and he fell to his knees trying to restrain it. When finally it surpassed, he lay still, panting on the floor. The pain, intolerable pain he had endured alone for a month, caused only by a single person, the one single person who just might make things right. "Ironic," he thought, just before he passed out on the rug.
+~+~+~+~
"That smug butt wipe," Rena fumed as she stormed down the hallway with her loud of laundry, "Humph." She kicked open the door, dumping the load onto the growing pile. Usually, she did her own laundry, a habit she had unknowingly adopted, but today, she felt like indulging in hired service. She was about to turn away when something caught her eye, one of Seto's long coats, but this one had a long, animalistic gash running through it. She picked it up, noticing it ran through the back.
"Wait, isn't this." she held up again, examining it more closely. This was the coat Seto had been wearing when she had first met him. But what was this gash doing through it. He was uninjured. But wait, she traced her fingers around the torn fabric, and she saw crimson stains, dried black over the time. It was unmistakably dried blood. She remembered what Seto had told her.
"Listen, you baka onna. Ryu-Kishin is a gargoyle. He's a statue. I went into the temple myself. I destroyed his statue. I don't even have a scratch. And you know what?" he spat, "There is no treasure, just a scroll."
"He lied, oh God," she felt a pang in her heart, oh God, no. All this month, and she couldn't see? She picked herself up and raced to his study. She wrenched open the door, and gasped. Seto lay face down on the floor, deathly pale, his right hand twitching uncontrollably.
"Oh God," she fell to her hands and knees, crawling to where he lay. And there it was, a long gash grinning the smile only Death's Angel could give, glowing down his back. She felt for a pulse in his neck, and nearly cried when she felt it, soft but still growing. She held a hand over his mouth, and sighed when she felt it go warm with his breath. She cradled his head in her arms, brushing his hair aside from his sweating brow. She reached down and pulled his shirttail up, exposing the horrible scar.
Her finger ran over the uneven flesh, "You will pay," she silently cursed.
"Name your price," a voice spoke. She looked down at Seto, who was beginning to wake up.
"Leave it to money to bring you back into consciousness," she stifled a giggled, as he sat up.
"I'd laugh at that, if I didn't think it so clever," he sighed, dragging himself up against his desk.
"Really," she sighed, "You could be on your deathbed and still be a sarcastic nimrod."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."
"Hear what?" This time she allowed herself a laugh.
He stood up, wincing a little bit as the pain seared up the small of his back to his head. "Guess I fell asleep on the job."
"Yeah right, you know damn well it's that scar on your back. The one Ryu- Kishin gave you."
He whirled around, wincing again, "How'd you know?" Then he looked down at his rumpled shirt, which was hitched up to his ribs.
"Bloody coats and wounds gave good suspicion, Captain Obvious," she said scornfully.
"I told Regius to throw that thing out."
"Not funny. Spill it."
"Fine," he said, falling into his chair, "Have a seat." She took a seat in a saggy leather chair, busying herself with her hair.
"All right," he began, "It was a dark and stormy night."
"Ha ha, it is to laugh."
"I'm not done yet," he grinned, "Now where was I? Oh yes.
"It was a dark and stormy night, and you had been clobbered by warriors of the undead. Well, okay, it was evening and you had been maimed by warriors of the undead. I saved your butt big time, and your pretty boy came and took you to your medical tent, after giving me a good.talking-to, if you will. So, I bided my time in the desert for a little bit, and while there was a trace of sunlight left, went back to the crevice. What I saw wasn't pretty. Limbs and various.pieces sticking up from the sand, kind of like a bad horror film, and then, the crevice. Mando Nashti'ora, the temple of the demon. So, being the foolhardy adventurer I am, readily jumped into the damn thing, ready for whatever the hell was down there. What I was not expecting, despite the circumstances, was a half-stone, half-flesh and blood creature coming right at me. Ryu-Kishin was becoming mortal again, so I had to do something fast. I still had the two swords, so I played his game before he finally got me straight in the jaw. Then, while I was down, he raked me up the back with this one claw. One protruded from each hand, see," he held up his fingers, "and cut me right down the middle. That was the last straw, so I finally whirled around, stole a club from this dead.thing, and flung it at the part of Ryu-Kishin that was still stone. It only half worked. It smashed his statue self, but that wasn't the half that was giving me problems. And instead of being inventive, and luring him into the sunlight, like some clever warrior, I simply charged him and carved him up like a damn turkey. And this is what I have to show of it. A beautiful woman working with me and sharing my home, and a scar down my back that burns with the demonic desires of the flesh, a dark goddess that wants to see my companion and I dead, am stuck looking for a sword out in the middle of the desert. And, it seems like I'm going to working with the one person I've tried most to avoid. Why I'm right as rain!"
"You don't sound very enthusiastic."
"Well, considering the circumstances, I have no right to be," he smiled sardonically.
"You're working with a beautiful woman," she winked.
"A beautiful woman, who's tempestuous, stubborn, violent, impatient, dogged, and above all, completely insane!" he cried.
"Well, it's no better than what I'm dealing with," she smiled angelically, "A irresistible man who's crotchety, mulish, patronizing, egotistical, self- righteous, intolerant, narcissistic, and above all, a complete sociopath! Not to mention senseless!" She threw her arms up wildly, and stormed out of the room.
"That man!" she screamed down the hallway.
He slumped into his chair, spinning around in it, "That woman."
___________________________________________________
I can't help but love this story! Comments and reviews are excepted, and flames, well as one of my good writer friends George Orwell says,
"A critic is someone who can drive but doesn't know the way."
Sheer genius, huh kiddies?