Disclaimer: I own nothing... I don't even have any sanity.
KKC: And here is my friend Stephanie with the quote of the week...
Stephanie: Linbergher cheese equals funky uncoolness!
Michealla: Makes perfect sense.
KKC: Err... yeah. Okay... o__0
Eddie: Yeah, uh-huh. I see how it is... you just go blow us off again because you draw good...
KKC: ... because I can draw well, *well*... if you're going to whine and mope, at least use proper grammar.
Eddie: Fuc no, dood!
KKC: *glare* whatever, Just let me write in peace. *turns back to laptop*
Eddie, Michealla, and Stephanie: *parade by, banging drums, tooting horns, and singing music by 'Weird Al' Yankovich*
KKC: *sighs, vein throb* I hate it when they do that...
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December 20th, 7:40 pm
"-And so I says, I says, 'Don't bug me.' And then the guy started whacking me over the head with 'is cane..." Yusuke stared at the collection of multi- colored, glass bottles of alcohol covering the far wall of the hotel bar. The Japanese teen sighed and rested his head on his hands, not caring when it slipped to the bar table with a dull 'thunk'. An ecstatic, and fairly drunk, Chuu sat across from Yusuke and Jin, regaling them with tales of the many barroom brawls, adventures, and mishaps in his two-month long journey. "And then I grabbed the cane out of the blind, old, geezer's hands and whacked him right back-"
"Wait a minute, you assaulted a blind man with his own cane?" Jin incredulously asked, his blue eyes finally looking up from the contents of his own glass. Chuu shrugged and continued despite the strange glances Yusuke and the wind master shared. "So then the manager, fine Sheila she was, boys, let me tell you. And then the manager kicked all three of us out, but not before Touya lost his temper and froze me to the ceiling in a giant icicle (KKC: Chuu-sicle! ^-^)... Man, that sucked. It was flippin' cold. Speaking of ice-boy, he's gonna freak out when he finds out Jin is here..."
At that moment, as if the Aussie demon had jinxed them, a perturbed Touya stormed over, his icy aura freezing the contents of the barroom patron's drinks as he stomped past. Jin sighed and tried to hide behind Chuu as best as he could, hoping that Touya would spare him from another long-winded lecture (As if). The ice master merely glared at Jin for a full thirty seconds before growling out five words. "Where the hell were you?" Jin cringed with every syllable and seemed to shrink before the petite ice master. "Well, uh, didn't Risho tell you?" The redheaded demon innocently asked, inwardly praying that someone interrupt the little scene. To the Wind master's dismay, Yusuke got up and, prying Chuu from his half-empty sake bottle, dragged himself out of the bar. "Er, I'm going to go ask Rogerik about the thing... yeah. At that place, ya know?" Jin watched in dismay as he two friends ran off, probably to watch the entire scene from somewhere much safer than the table. In fact, it didn't sound like to bad of idea right about now and Jin himself tried to sneak away, only to have his feet frozen to the floor by Touya's ice. "Now, I'll try this again, Jin. Where the hell were you?"
8:27 pm
Yukimi was greatly enjoying her chat with Lark, who was almost as strange as herself. Then again, the girl was an avid actress, so that probably explained her constantly changing moods. 'This girl wears her emotions on her sleeve,' Yukimi thought, and turned to her own room. "Oh, this is my room, I guess I'll see you later."
"Yeah, I guess. Hey, want to have breakfast tomorrow with some of my friends and me? It'll be fun." Lark smiled, a truly genuine one, and held out her hand, which Yukimi promptly shook. "Okay, it's a deal. See you tomorrow." Both girls nodded enthusiastically and Lark cheerily walked off to the hotel room she shared with Holly and her sister.
Lark went to swipe her card key through the electric lock, but the door swung open into the room. Cautiously, Lark entered the bedroom and looked around for signs of the intruder. On one of the neatly made beds was a piece of paper, obviously torn from a notebook, and she noticed the scribbled handwriting as Rogerik's.
'Get ready to leave. I doubt that the "dragon" will overlook its greatest treasure being stolen.'
-Rogerik
Muttering something under her breath, Lark crumpled the note into a paper ball and tossed it onto the carpeted floor. "That idiot... That stupid, perverted, idiot! What does he think he's doing?!" Just about ready to blow, she stomped out of her bedroom and out into the hall, in front of Hiei, Shishi, and Yusuke's room. Finally losing her temper, Lark screamed and blew the thick, wooden door down with a torrent of conjured water. As the water-manipulator stormed away, a startled Shishi stuck his head out the doorway and asked, "What was that for?"
"Miewr?" the little silver-gray kitten pulled the long-sleeved T-shirt from over his head and trotted over to Yukimi, hoping to play with her long, black hair. "Hey, Reon. Can you do me a favor and guard my stuff?" Yukimi kneeled down and scratched her pet kitten underneath the chin for a minute, then stood up and tied her hair back up in its characteristic ponytail, the raven-black locks spilling over her right shoulder and down past her waist. "Mewr?" Reon mewed in confusion as his owner waved goodbye to him and stepped out the door, her lock picks, infrared glasses, and digital scrambler clipped onto her belt. "Be a good boy, Reon. I'll be back soon."
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"Er, Cecilia? Madam?" The thin, gangly form of Skolla crept inside the giant office, where his dragon mistress was seated at her desk doing paperwork. "What is it Skolla?"
"I, er, heard from the restaurant cooks that the dragon-specialist Yukimi and the student Rogerik are planning on attempting a theft tonight, and soon. Please, let us stop them before they make it up here..."
"No, Skolla." Cecilia's milky eyes locked on her the muddy brown eyes of her goblin servant, and the timid Skolla shivered. "B- but why, madam?" Cecilia sighed, and once again sent out tendrils of spirit energy, which seemed to caress the glowing mermaid's purse floating in the tank. "I want to see how good those two are. If the Fates are correct, this may very well be part of the group of travelers destined to put the undead to rest, once and for all." A quiet sea breeze wafted through one of the open windows, the voices of happy gamblers, young children, and love-struck honeymooners reaching the delicate ears of the hotel manager. "Don't you want to at least put some precautions up?" Skolla asked, hoping he could be of some help. Cecilia sighed and leaned back in her Italian leather swivel chair, turning to face the illuminated tank, then replied, "Very well. I'll be in my channeling room. I plan on seeing their struggle to the end."
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9: 16 pm
Again, the massive hall was covered with a plush, wall-to-wall carpet, and moonlight faintly shone through the massive windows, illuminating his path. Rogerik took out a small flashlight and checked the wall and rug for wiring, sensors, anything that might give away his presence to the owner of his goal, a dragon's greatest treasure. A soft, red glow emanated from behind an expensive Chinese vase, and Rogerik quickly set about to disarming it with his PK (been awhile since he's used it, huh?). The red light died and he quietly snickered in satisfaction.
A loud thud came from the far end of the lushly carpeted corridor, and the blond thief sharply turned around, only to see a strangely familiar face. "What the? Who the hell are you?" The girl gasped and scooted away from Rogerik, almost toppling over another delicate vase behind her. "None of your business!" She stood up and dusted her brownish cargo pants off, trying to regain some pride. "Now if you'll excuse me..!" Rogerik just stood there, mouth agape, and started yelling after her. "Hey, wait! Get back!"
Yumiko rolled her eyes and continued forwards, ignoring the younger boy's attempts to get her attention. Suddenly she was tackled by the rival thief, who pinned her down with surprising strength. She was about to throw him off and deliver a few good blows of her own, when two bright, red beams shot out from the eyes of a roman bust of Athena and burned twin holes through the thick wall on the other side, about the height where her head had been. "Oh, erm... thanks?" Yumiko muttered, still staring at the holes, each one about two inches in diameter. Rogerik, suddenly aware of the girl underneath him (KKC: Bad boy! *whacks thief with harisen*), released her shoulders and stood up. "No problem. Wait one minute..." He expertly leaned down by the bust's elegant marble stand and cut a tiny, hair-thin wire running down the stand an into the wall. "Well, that disables that death trap." Apparently satisfied with his work, Rogerik turned on Yukimi. "And what are you doing here?"
"None of your business!"
"I just saved you from running around with two holes burned through your skull! I think I deserve some answers." He crossed his arms and leaned against the royal-purple walls, indicating he had plenty of time to spare. Yukimi sniffed and started walking down the hall once again, completely ignoring her teen-age savior. Another pair of laser-beams, this time from the eyes of a rather naughty statue of a heavily muscled Greek man, burned two more holes at head-height barely centimeters from Yukimi's face and she jumped back. Sighing, Rogerik went to work on disarming this trap too, and tried to pry some information out of the naïve girl as well.
"Alright, so I'm looking for a dragon's hoard!" she said, angrily crossing her arms and watching her forced companion disarm yet another laser-beam- eye-statue, this one a ferocious looking chimera. Without turning from his work, Rogerik said, "Now, was that so hard?"
"And what are you here for?" she asked, still grumpy about the present situation. The teen sighed and twisted two different wires together, then replied, "Yeah. Have any clue what a dragon's greatest treasure is?" Surprised, Yukimi blinked a few times before stating, "You know, I'm pretty sure I had this conversation earlier today. Treasure depends on the person; it's different for everyone."
"Well that's a shitload of help. Can you be a bit more specific?"
"Do you have any idea who you're stealing this treasure from?"
Rogerik sighed and stood back up, then cracked his knuckles. "Nope, we were kind of strapped for time. I doubt there's even a dragon around."
"There is." Yukimi said, staring absent-mindedly out the window. Rogerik tapped her on the shoulder, startling her out of her little reverie. "You were saying..."
"Oh, right. The dragon takes the form of a woman. Her name is Cecilia and she's been running this hotel for over three hundred years."
"I've seen older. Have any clue what she considers as 'treasure'?"
Ruefully, Yukimi shook her head, the moonlight revealing bluish highlights in her long hair. "No one's made it out of a dragon's den alive in almost a hundred years. They're that protective of their hoard."
"Lovely, it doesn't make the job any easier. Why are you looking for her hoard, anyways? Planning on stealing a few trinkets?" Both thieves cautiously continued down the hall, and, to Yukimi's relief, no more statues fired upon them. "Hardly. It's purely for research." Rogerik coughed, a badly disguised chuckle, and sarcastically stated, "Purely for research? You're looking to make a little money on the side, aren't you?" Yukimi merely blushed and started walking faster, trying to get away from the amused rogue. "Hah! I knew it! You miser!"
"Up yours, you greedy little monkey!" she yelled back, not at all looking where she was going. Tha-doonnnnng!
"Tha-dong?" Rogerik mumbled the idiom under his breath, as Yukimi stumbled away from the mammoth brass doors. "Uh... ow?" she dazedly said, blankly staring at the giant entrance in front of her. "Hey, I think we found Cecilia's office." The young woman pointed to a brass sign by the door that read:
Madame Cecilia Hibani
Hotel manager & proprietor
Appointments only
Both teens looked at the wall plate and shrugged, before Rogerik got to work unlocking the giant lock tumbler. In search of something to alleviate her boredom as the younger boy struggled with the complex locking device, Yukimi wearily flipped through the out-of-date magazines. Almost half an hour (and three science magazines from the year 1957) later, the psychokinetic teen bowed as the two-story door swung open with a mind- splitting creak. "Remind me to leave a note saying that she needs to oil the hinges on that door." Rogerik muttered to Yukimi, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and while you're at it," she caught sight of the painfully bare and drab office, and snorted in disgust. "Tell her to hire a designer too. What is she, blind?"
The only light in the entire office was emanating from the large fish tank by the back of the room, near the dragon's mahogany computer desk. Curiously, Rogerik bent down to look at the strange little souvenir as Yukimi went around the room, looking for any hidden passages or doorways to the hoard itself. "Is it just me, or is our dragon not as much of a pack- rat as we had hoped?" Rogerik asked the dragon specialist, who was furiously scribbling in a little spiral-bound notebook she had pulled out of her pocket. "Come to think of it, it isn't what we were really looking for... Hey! What are you doing?!" She glared at Rogerik, who was untangling the mermaid's purse from its coral anchor. With a cry of success, he held the luminescent egg up in his hand. "Might as well get some profit off of the trip, considering we're not going to find any piles of gold and jewels, ya know?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Yukimi, we came here to steal, pilfer, and pillage. Are you saying you came all this way to write notes? If so, then why not just schedule a goddamn appointment?" A bit shaken by Rogerik's words, Yukimi looked down at the extravagant paperweight, one of the few decorative items in the room, and slipped into one of her many cargo pants pockets. From across the room, Rogerik grinned. "I've taught you well."
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Back in her channeling room, Cecilia growled through her unusually sharp canines and clenched her fist. Someone was tampering with the egg, and that someone would pay dearly if any harm came to the developing creature inside. Oh yes, his pain would be drawn out in the most gruesome of torturous devices, and when he died, he would become a most pleasing chew- toy for Kraken.
In all her rage, the manager was starting to let her human disguise go, and reveal her true self. Sighing, Cecilia collected all her thoughts and calmed herself. No use losing her cool, as the young, naïve, fools would surely perish at the hands of her staff. She had seen what the ice-master and his two companions could do, which was part of the reason she had hired them, despite the bigger one's record. With one clawed hand, she pulled out the enchanted hand-mirror, her replacement for a cell-phone, and tried to contact the staff member down at the lobby. Receiving only static, Cecilia tossed the mirror away in frustration and forced herself to sit back in her chair. Whispering a short incantation, a wispy, shadowy creature slithered before her. With a command somewhat between a hiss and a growl, she ordered the wraith-like being into her office, where it could retrieve the precious egg and scare away the two, meddling children. Patience was a virtue, unfortunately, she had never believed in God and didn't intend on doing so now.
Yukimi shuffled through the dragon's Braille documents, but suddenly stopped. Blinking, she glanced over her shoulder, searching for the scuttling sound. "Hey, do you hear that?" She asked aloud, and got only a "nope" from Rogerik for an answer. "Weird..." The teenage girl shrugged and turned back to the Braille, when a loud hissing noise filled the office. Both intruders jumped a little, and Rogerik muttered, "Well, I hear that." Nervously, the two of them backed towards the ajar door, scanning the shadowy corners of the room for the hissing creature. As if on cue, the wraith-creature slithered into a patch of moonlight on the floor and looked up at the teens with its featureless face. The bottom half of its body, which was a good ten feet in length, was almost like that of a snake's, only with centipede-legs. Its upper body faintly resembled that of a human's, except for the blank visage where its face should have been.
Yukimi felt Rogerik stiffen up next to her, and worriedly glanced at him. The blond psychic was pale and breathing heavily, almost convulsing in fear. "Are you... okay?" She whispered, surprised that he didn't snap back at her for once. The wraith-guard-thing slithered closer on its segmented legs and reared up. "Give it back, trespassers... Give it back..." Frightened, the older girl was again surprised, but this time by the talking creature in front of her. It was speaking, without mouth nor telepathy. That was the last straw. Grabbing Rogerik by the arm, she ran , ran out of there, ran away from that horrid creature, and back to the normalcy of the hotel downstairs.
Her spirit energy flared once more, searching for the different energy signatures, and she could sense the spooked teens leaving. As soon as she felt them make it down the stairwell, she stepped out of her secretive channeling room and into her office. Her white eyes reflecting a calm, if almost cheerful mood, she walked up to the tank, then noticed something was wrong; very wrong. There was no friendly light or heat from the placid water, and as the conjured servant came back to report its successful guard job, she furiously hacked it to shreds with a few well-aimed swipes. "Idiot... very well, then. I didn't expect them to even get this far, but let's see what happens when I take matters into my own hands." With a piercing shriek, Cecilia turned her sightless eyes towards the full moon and unfurled her leathery wings. Shedding the rest of her disguise, she followed the young criminals from the shadows, moving surprisingly fast for such a large animal. 'This time, they won't have it so easy.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9: 58pm
"Thanks for rescuing me from Touya, Holly."
"Oh, its no problem. Besides, it's getting late and I thought you would like something to eat." The witch gestured over to a McDonald's stand that was among the many other fast food restaurants clustered in the food court. Despite the late hour, the food court was packed, and the two companions barely managed to get a clean table. Jin courteously went to go get their orders and Holly let Kyuro climb out from his hiding place in her bag. "It's about time you let me out." The cat whined, and took up a precarious perch on Holly's shoulder. "Well, if you hadn't attacked that janitor in the bookstore..."
"Hey, I really thought that was a rat on his head. How was I supposed to know it was a cheap toupee?" Holly sighed and gave up arguing with her familiar, it had been a non-stop day anyways. A familiar head bobbed into view among the other hotel patrons and Holly excitedly wave Lyra over. "Hi! Where were you? Kurama and I looked all over for you guys!" The older Admarant sister quickly hugged her friend, whom she had gotten separated from nearly five hours ago. "Oh, you know... shopping, rescuing Jin from an old friend of his."
"Oh, I'm sorry! Is this like a date between you two or something..?" Lyra asked, trying her best to keep the messenger bag that held the sleeping Kurama from being jostled around too much. Holly laughed at the idea. "Me and Jin on a date? I doubt that's ever going to happen!"
"Well, we both know he really likes you..."
"And I could say the same about you and Kurama." Holly sheepishly replied, which caused Lyra to blush a little bit. "Okay, point taken. Oh, here comes Jin. I'll see you later, okay? Bye!" Before the witch could get in another word, her friend was swept up into the congested crowd. "Well, that was...abrupt." Kyuro mewed.
Furiously, Lark ran down the elegant halls, looking for Rogerik. "Stupid, perverted... could have least have told me instead of leaving a bleeping note..." The young girl was so swept up in her own angry musings; she turned a corner in the hallway and crashed into a terrified Yukimi. Both girls cursed, and then noticed whom the other had bumped into. "Yukimi! What happened?!" Yukimi snuck a look over her shoulder and replied, "No time to talk... Shit!" A tendril, composed of sickly looking gray flesh, snaked by her and slashed at her side. The sharp tip of the limb ripped open Yukimi's bag and snatched the paperweight that dropped from it. Both girls quietly watched as the tendril retreated back down the halls and listened as the scuttling sound finally died off. "What was that thing?" Lark asked, bluish-gray eyes reflecting her disgust at the wraith. "I think we better leave, soon." Yukimi said, then noticed that her former savior was missing. "Hey, wait a minute! Where the hell did he go?!"
"Who?"
"Rogerik! He was with me when we were leaving Cecilia's office... oh crap." Both girls shared a knowing look. Lark swallowed and stated, "'Oh crap' indeed."
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Eddie: Well, that ending solves just about nothing! Let's all congratulate KKC for writing another pointless chapter! *claps*
KKC: *sarcastically* I'm thrilled, Eddie. Really, I am... Anywho, let's play "Wheel of Torture!"
Stephanie: O-kay, then! Cue music! *Points towards off-screen, and sixties game-show music starts playing*
Michealla: *sees giant "Wheel of Torture" and whistles* That is one BIG wheel.
KKC: Yes, well for all of you who have read my Halloween fic (and if you haven't, read it, it's funny.), I promised to do Chuu this time around! Although I was tempted to torture Chris... but, a tail's a tail.
Eddie: And you're not bitter.
KKC: *growls* Nope, I'm not bitter. Not one freakin' bit. Who wants to spin?
Eddie: *jumps up and down, waving his hand* Oh, I do! I do! I want to spin the big sparkly wheel! Let me, teacher! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaassseee?!! Huh?! Huh?! Can I? Can I?!
Michealla: Go right ahead, Eddie. Knock yourself out.
Eddie: w00t! *spins wheel. It swirls in its trademark vortex of dizzying colors before landing on "Prostitute Sting"*
Chuu: *walks in* Well, that doesn't sound too bad. ^-^
KKC: *snickers* Hey, Stephanie! Get the bunny suit!
Chuu: Bunny suit?
*Ten minutes later*
Michealla: Come on out, Chuu! We need to get you to the corner of Layfayette and School street before six!
Chuu: *from behind curtain* There is no way in hell I'm coming out!
KKC: Oh, come on Chuu and show us how pretty you are!
Chuu: NO!
KKC: Come on now or I'll send you to alcoholics anonymous.
Chuu: *grumbles and whines, but come out into view. He's wearing a very revealing Playboy bunny outfit (which was originally designed for a woman), leather pumps, and is carrying a little black purse.*
Stephanie/ Michealla/ KKC: Bwahahahahahaha! *collapse on the ground from laughing so hard*
Eddie: That's... disgusting.
Chuu: I am not going out in public like this! People will see me!
KKC: People can see you now. See? *points out at sea of readers* Now go catch that bus!
Chuu: I can't believe I'm doing this...
Michealla: Don't worry, Chuu. Just think of it as community service for the police station.
Eddie: But who's gonna pick him up dressed like that? ...Wait, I don't even WANT to know . KKC: But there's more! We're gonna tell the readers all about your little "outing" next chapter! That is, if they review.
Stephanie: And a twisted chapter it will be. Sayonara!
KKC: And here is my friend Stephanie with the quote of the week...
Stephanie: Linbergher cheese equals funky uncoolness!
Michealla: Makes perfect sense.
KKC: Err... yeah. Okay... o__0
Eddie: Yeah, uh-huh. I see how it is... you just go blow us off again because you draw good...
KKC: ... because I can draw well, *well*... if you're going to whine and mope, at least use proper grammar.
Eddie: Fuc no, dood!
KKC: *glare* whatever, Just let me write in peace. *turns back to laptop*
Eddie, Michealla, and Stephanie: *parade by, banging drums, tooting horns, and singing music by 'Weird Al' Yankovich*
KKC: *sighs, vein throb* I hate it when they do that...
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December 20th, 7:40 pm
"-And so I says, I says, 'Don't bug me.' And then the guy started whacking me over the head with 'is cane..." Yusuke stared at the collection of multi- colored, glass bottles of alcohol covering the far wall of the hotel bar. The Japanese teen sighed and rested his head on his hands, not caring when it slipped to the bar table with a dull 'thunk'. An ecstatic, and fairly drunk, Chuu sat across from Yusuke and Jin, regaling them with tales of the many barroom brawls, adventures, and mishaps in his two-month long journey. "And then I grabbed the cane out of the blind, old, geezer's hands and whacked him right back-"
"Wait a minute, you assaulted a blind man with his own cane?" Jin incredulously asked, his blue eyes finally looking up from the contents of his own glass. Chuu shrugged and continued despite the strange glances Yusuke and the wind master shared. "So then the manager, fine Sheila she was, boys, let me tell you. And then the manager kicked all three of us out, but not before Touya lost his temper and froze me to the ceiling in a giant icicle (KKC: Chuu-sicle! ^-^)... Man, that sucked. It was flippin' cold. Speaking of ice-boy, he's gonna freak out when he finds out Jin is here..."
At that moment, as if the Aussie demon had jinxed them, a perturbed Touya stormed over, his icy aura freezing the contents of the barroom patron's drinks as he stomped past. Jin sighed and tried to hide behind Chuu as best as he could, hoping that Touya would spare him from another long-winded lecture (As if). The ice master merely glared at Jin for a full thirty seconds before growling out five words. "Where the hell were you?" Jin cringed with every syllable and seemed to shrink before the petite ice master. "Well, uh, didn't Risho tell you?" The redheaded demon innocently asked, inwardly praying that someone interrupt the little scene. To the Wind master's dismay, Yusuke got up and, prying Chuu from his half-empty sake bottle, dragged himself out of the bar. "Er, I'm going to go ask Rogerik about the thing... yeah. At that place, ya know?" Jin watched in dismay as he two friends ran off, probably to watch the entire scene from somewhere much safer than the table. In fact, it didn't sound like to bad of idea right about now and Jin himself tried to sneak away, only to have his feet frozen to the floor by Touya's ice. "Now, I'll try this again, Jin. Where the hell were you?"
8:27 pm
Yukimi was greatly enjoying her chat with Lark, who was almost as strange as herself. Then again, the girl was an avid actress, so that probably explained her constantly changing moods. 'This girl wears her emotions on her sleeve,' Yukimi thought, and turned to her own room. "Oh, this is my room, I guess I'll see you later."
"Yeah, I guess. Hey, want to have breakfast tomorrow with some of my friends and me? It'll be fun." Lark smiled, a truly genuine one, and held out her hand, which Yukimi promptly shook. "Okay, it's a deal. See you tomorrow." Both girls nodded enthusiastically and Lark cheerily walked off to the hotel room she shared with Holly and her sister.
Lark went to swipe her card key through the electric lock, but the door swung open into the room. Cautiously, Lark entered the bedroom and looked around for signs of the intruder. On one of the neatly made beds was a piece of paper, obviously torn from a notebook, and she noticed the scribbled handwriting as Rogerik's.
'Get ready to leave. I doubt that the "dragon" will overlook its greatest treasure being stolen.'
-Rogerik
Muttering something under her breath, Lark crumpled the note into a paper ball and tossed it onto the carpeted floor. "That idiot... That stupid, perverted, idiot! What does he think he's doing?!" Just about ready to blow, she stomped out of her bedroom and out into the hall, in front of Hiei, Shishi, and Yusuke's room. Finally losing her temper, Lark screamed and blew the thick, wooden door down with a torrent of conjured water. As the water-manipulator stormed away, a startled Shishi stuck his head out the doorway and asked, "What was that for?"
"Miewr?" the little silver-gray kitten pulled the long-sleeved T-shirt from over his head and trotted over to Yukimi, hoping to play with her long, black hair. "Hey, Reon. Can you do me a favor and guard my stuff?" Yukimi kneeled down and scratched her pet kitten underneath the chin for a minute, then stood up and tied her hair back up in its characteristic ponytail, the raven-black locks spilling over her right shoulder and down past her waist. "Mewr?" Reon mewed in confusion as his owner waved goodbye to him and stepped out the door, her lock picks, infrared glasses, and digital scrambler clipped onto her belt. "Be a good boy, Reon. I'll be back soon."
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"Er, Cecilia? Madam?" The thin, gangly form of Skolla crept inside the giant office, where his dragon mistress was seated at her desk doing paperwork. "What is it Skolla?"
"I, er, heard from the restaurant cooks that the dragon-specialist Yukimi and the student Rogerik are planning on attempting a theft tonight, and soon. Please, let us stop them before they make it up here..."
"No, Skolla." Cecilia's milky eyes locked on her the muddy brown eyes of her goblin servant, and the timid Skolla shivered. "B- but why, madam?" Cecilia sighed, and once again sent out tendrils of spirit energy, which seemed to caress the glowing mermaid's purse floating in the tank. "I want to see how good those two are. If the Fates are correct, this may very well be part of the group of travelers destined to put the undead to rest, once and for all." A quiet sea breeze wafted through one of the open windows, the voices of happy gamblers, young children, and love-struck honeymooners reaching the delicate ears of the hotel manager. "Don't you want to at least put some precautions up?" Skolla asked, hoping he could be of some help. Cecilia sighed and leaned back in her Italian leather swivel chair, turning to face the illuminated tank, then replied, "Very well. I'll be in my channeling room. I plan on seeing their struggle to the end."
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9: 16 pm
Again, the massive hall was covered with a plush, wall-to-wall carpet, and moonlight faintly shone through the massive windows, illuminating his path. Rogerik took out a small flashlight and checked the wall and rug for wiring, sensors, anything that might give away his presence to the owner of his goal, a dragon's greatest treasure. A soft, red glow emanated from behind an expensive Chinese vase, and Rogerik quickly set about to disarming it with his PK (been awhile since he's used it, huh?). The red light died and he quietly snickered in satisfaction.
A loud thud came from the far end of the lushly carpeted corridor, and the blond thief sharply turned around, only to see a strangely familiar face. "What the? Who the hell are you?" The girl gasped and scooted away from Rogerik, almost toppling over another delicate vase behind her. "None of your business!" She stood up and dusted her brownish cargo pants off, trying to regain some pride. "Now if you'll excuse me..!" Rogerik just stood there, mouth agape, and started yelling after her. "Hey, wait! Get back!"
Yumiko rolled her eyes and continued forwards, ignoring the younger boy's attempts to get her attention. Suddenly she was tackled by the rival thief, who pinned her down with surprising strength. She was about to throw him off and deliver a few good blows of her own, when two bright, red beams shot out from the eyes of a roman bust of Athena and burned twin holes through the thick wall on the other side, about the height where her head had been. "Oh, erm... thanks?" Yumiko muttered, still staring at the holes, each one about two inches in diameter. Rogerik, suddenly aware of the girl underneath him (KKC: Bad boy! *whacks thief with harisen*), released her shoulders and stood up. "No problem. Wait one minute..." He expertly leaned down by the bust's elegant marble stand and cut a tiny, hair-thin wire running down the stand an into the wall. "Well, that disables that death trap." Apparently satisfied with his work, Rogerik turned on Yukimi. "And what are you doing here?"
"None of your business!"
"I just saved you from running around with two holes burned through your skull! I think I deserve some answers." He crossed his arms and leaned against the royal-purple walls, indicating he had plenty of time to spare. Yukimi sniffed and started walking down the hall once again, completely ignoring her teen-age savior. Another pair of laser-beams, this time from the eyes of a rather naughty statue of a heavily muscled Greek man, burned two more holes at head-height barely centimeters from Yukimi's face and she jumped back. Sighing, Rogerik went to work on disarming this trap too, and tried to pry some information out of the naïve girl as well.
"Alright, so I'm looking for a dragon's hoard!" she said, angrily crossing her arms and watching her forced companion disarm yet another laser-beam- eye-statue, this one a ferocious looking chimera. Without turning from his work, Rogerik said, "Now, was that so hard?"
"And what are you here for?" she asked, still grumpy about the present situation. The teen sighed and twisted two different wires together, then replied, "Yeah. Have any clue what a dragon's greatest treasure is?" Surprised, Yukimi blinked a few times before stating, "You know, I'm pretty sure I had this conversation earlier today. Treasure depends on the person; it's different for everyone."
"Well that's a shitload of help. Can you be a bit more specific?"
"Do you have any idea who you're stealing this treasure from?"
Rogerik sighed and stood back up, then cracked his knuckles. "Nope, we were kind of strapped for time. I doubt there's even a dragon around."
"There is." Yukimi said, staring absent-mindedly out the window. Rogerik tapped her on the shoulder, startling her out of her little reverie. "You were saying..."
"Oh, right. The dragon takes the form of a woman. Her name is Cecilia and she's been running this hotel for over three hundred years."
"I've seen older. Have any clue what she considers as 'treasure'?"
Ruefully, Yukimi shook her head, the moonlight revealing bluish highlights in her long hair. "No one's made it out of a dragon's den alive in almost a hundred years. They're that protective of their hoard."
"Lovely, it doesn't make the job any easier. Why are you looking for her hoard, anyways? Planning on stealing a few trinkets?" Both thieves cautiously continued down the hall, and, to Yukimi's relief, no more statues fired upon them. "Hardly. It's purely for research." Rogerik coughed, a badly disguised chuckle, and sarcastically stated, "Purely for research? You're looking to make a little money on the side, aren't you?" Yukimi merely blushed and started walking faster, trying to get away from the amused rogue. "Hah! I knew it! You miser!"
"Up yours, you greedy little monkey!" she yelled back, not at all looking where she was going. Tha-doonnnnng!
"Tha-dong?" Rogerik mumbled the idiom under his breath, as Yukimi stumbled away from the mammoth brass doors. "Uh... ow?" she dazedly said, blankly staring at the giant entrance in front of her. "Hey, I think we found Cecilia's office." The young woman pointed to a brass sign by the door that read:
Madame Cecilia Hibani
Hotel manager & proprietor
Appointments only
Both teens looked at the wall plate and shrugged, before Rogerik got to work unlocking the giant lock tumbler. In search of something to alleviate her boredom as the younger boy struggled with the complex locking device, Yukimi wearily flipped through the out-of-date magazines. Almost half an hour (and three science magazines from the year 1957) later, the psychokinetic teen bowed as the two-story door swung open with a mind- splitting creak. "Remind me to leave a note saying that she needs to oil the hinges on that door." Rogerik muttered to Yukimi, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and while you're at it," she caught sight of the painfully bare and drab office, and snorted in disgust. "Tell her to hire a designer too. What is she, blind?"
The only light in the entire office was emanating from the large fish tank by the back of the room, near the dragon's mahogany computer desk. Curiously, Rogerik bent down to look at the strange little souvenir as Yukimi went around the room, looking for any hidden passages or doorways to the hoard itself. "Is it just me, or is our dragon not as much of a pack- rat as we had hoped?" Rogerik asked the dragon specialist, who was furiously scribbling in a little spiral-bound notebook she had pulled out of her pocket. "Come to think of it, it isn't what we were really looking for... Hey! What are you doing?!" She glared at Rogerik, who was untangling the mermaid's purse from its coral anchor. With a cry of success, he held the luminescent egg up in his hand. "Might as well get some profit off of the trip, considering we're not going to find any piles of gold and jewels, ya know?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Yukimi, we came here to steal, pilfer, and pillage. Are you saying you came all this way to write notes? If so, then why not just schedule a goddamn appointment?" A bit shaken by Rogerik's words, Yukimi looked down at the extravagant paperweight, one of the few decorative items in the room, and slipped into one of her many cargo pants pockets. From across the room, Rogerik grinned. "I've taught you well."
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Back in her channeling room, Cecilia growled through her unusually sharp canines and clenched her fist. Someone was tampering with the egg, and that someone would pay dearly if any harm came to the developing creature inside. Oh yes, his pain would be drawn out in the most gruesome of torturous devices, and when he died, he would become a most pleasing chew- toy for Kraken.
In all her rage, the manager was starting to let her human disguise go, and reveal her true self. Sighing, Cecilia collected all her thoughts and calmed herself. No use losing her cool, as the young, naïve, fools would surely perish at the hands of her staff. She had seen what the ice-master and his two companions could do, which was part of the reason she had hired them, despite the bigger one's record. With one clawed hand, she pulled out the enchanted hand-mirror, her replacement for a cell-phone, and tried to contact the staff member down at the lobby. Receiving only static, Cecilia tossed the mirror away in frustration and forced herself to sit back in her chair. Whispering a short incantation, a wispy, shadowy creature slithered before her. With a command somewhat between a hiss and a growl, she ordered the wraith-like being into her office, where it could retrieve the precious egg and scare away the two, meddling children. Patience was a virtue, unfortunately, she had never believed in God and didn't intend on doing so now.
Yukimi shuffled through the dragon's Braille documents, but suddenly stopped. Blinking, she glanced over her shoulder, searching for the scuttling sound. "Hey, do you hear that?" She asked aloud, and got only a "nope" from Rogerik for an answer. "Weird..." The teenage girl shrugged and turned back to the Braille, when a loud hissing noise filled the office. Both intruders jumped a little, and Rogerik muttered, "Well, I hear that." Nervously, the two of them backed towards the ajar door, scanning the shadowy corners of the room for the hissing creature. As if on cue, the wraith-creature slithered into a patch of moonlight on the floor and looked up at the teens with its featureless face. The bottom half of its body, which was a good ten feet in length, was almost like that of a snake's, only with centipede-legs. Its upper body faintly resembled that of a human's, except for the blank visage where its face should have been.
Yukimi felt Rogerik stiffen up next to her, and worriedly glanced at him. The blond psychic was pale and breathing heavily, almost convulsing in fear. "Are you... okay?" She whispered, surprised that he didn't snap back at her for once. The wraith-guard-thing slithered closer on its segmented legs and reared up. "Give it back, trespassers... Give it back..." Frightened, the older girl was again surprised, but this time by the talking creature in front of her. It was speaking, without mouth nor telepathy. That was the last straw. Grabbing Rogerik by the arm, she ran , ran out of there, ran away from that horrid creature, and back to the normalcy of the hotel downstairs.
Her spirit energy flared once more, searching for the different energy signatures, and she could sense the spooked teens leaving. As soon as she felt them make it down the stairwell, she stepped out of her secretive channeling room and into her office. Her white eyes reflecting a calm, if almost cheerful mood, she walked up to the tank, then noticed something was wrong; very wrong. There was no friendly light or heat from the placid water, and as the conjured servant came back to report its successful guard job, she furiously hacked it to shreds with a few well-aimed swipes. "Idiot... very well, then. I didn't expect them to even get this far, but let's see what happens when I take matters into my own hands." With a piercing shriek, Cecilia turned her sightless eyes towards the full moon and unfurled her leathery wings. Shedding the rest of her disguise, she followed the young criminals from the shadows, moving surprisingly fast for such a large animal. 'This time, they won't have it so easy.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9: 58pm
"Thanks for rescuing me from Touya, Holly."
"Oh, its no problem. Besides, it's getting late and I thought you would like something to eat." The witch gestured over to a McDonald's stand that was among the many other fast food restaurants clustered in the food court. Despite the late hour, the food court was packed, and the two companions barely managed to get a clean table. Jin courteously went to go get their orders and Holly let Kyuro climb out from his hiding place in her bag. "It's about time you let me out." The cat whined, and took up a precarious perch on Holly's shoulder. "Well, if you hadn't attacked that janitor in the bookstore..."
"Hey, I really thought that was a rat on his head. How was I supposed to know it was a cheap toupee?" Holly sighed and gave up arguing with her familiar, it had been a non-stop day anyways. A familiar head bobbed into view among the other hotel patrons and Holly excitedly wave Lyra over. "Hi! Where were you? Kurama and I looked all over for you guys!" The older Admarant sister quickly hugged her friend, whom she had gotten separated from nearly five hours ago. "Oh, you know... shopping, rescuing Jin from an old friend of his."
"Oh, I'm sorry! Is this like a date between you two or something..?" Lyra asked, trying her best to keep the messenger bag that held the sleeping Kurama from being jostled around too much. Holly laughed at the idea. "Me and Jin on a date? I doubt that's ever going to happen!"
"Well, we both know he really likes you..."
"And I could say the same about you and Kurama." Holly sheepishly replied, which caused Lyra to blush a little bit. "Okay, point taken. Oh, here comes Jin. I'll see you later, okay? Bye!" Before the witch could get in another word, her friend was swept up into the congested crowd. "Well, that was...abrupt." Kyuro mewed.
Furiously, Lark ran down the elegant halls, looking for Rogerik. "Stupid, perverted... could have least have told me instead of leaving a bleeping note..." The young girl was so swept up in her own angry musings; she turned a corner in the hallway and crashed into a terrified Yukimi. Both girls cursed, and then noticed whom the other had bumped into. "Yukimi! What happened?!" Yukimi snuck a look over her shoulder and replied, "No time to talk... Shit!" A tendril, composed of sickly looking gray flesh, snaked by her and slashed at her side. The sharp tip of the limb ripped open Yukimi's bag and snatched the paperweight that dropped from it. Both girls quietly watched as the tendril retreated back down the halls and listened as the scuttling sound finally died off. "What was that thing?" Lark asked, bluish-gray eyes reflecting her disgust at the wraith. "I think we better leave, soon." Yukimi said, then noticed that her former savior was missing. "Hey, wait a minute! Where the hell did he go?!"
"Who?"
"Rogerik! He was with me when we were leaving Cecilia's office... oh crap." Both girls shared a knowing look. Lark swallowed and stated, "'Oh crap' indeed."
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Eddie: Well, that ending solves just about nothing! Let's all congratulate KKC for writing another pointless chapter! *claps*
KKC: *sarcastically* I'm thrilled, Eddie. Really, I am... Anywho, let's play "Wheel of Torture!"
Stephanie: O-kay, then! Cue music! *Points towards off-screen, and sixties game-show music starts playing*
Michealla: *sees giant "Wheel of Torture" and whistles* That is one BIG wheel.
KKC: Yes, well for all of you who have read my Halloween fic (and if you haven't, read it, it's funny.), I promised to do Chuu this time around! Although I was tempted to torture Chris... but, a tail's a tail.
Eddie: And you're not bitter.
KKC: *growls* Nope, I'm not bitter. Not one freakin' bit. Who wants to spin?
Eddie: *jumps up and down, waving his hand* Oh, I do! I do! I want to spin the big sparkly wheel! Let me, teacher! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaassseee?!! Huh?! Huh?! Can I? Can I?!
Michealla: Go right ahead, Eddie. Knock yourself out.
Eddie: w00t! *spins wheel. It swirls in its trademark vortex of dizzying colors before landing on "Prostitute Sting"*
Chuu: *walks in* Well, that doesn't sound too bad. ^-^
KKC: *snickers* Hey, Stephanie! Get the bunny suit!
Chuu: Bunny suit?
*Ten minutes later*
Michealla: Come on out, Chuu! We need to get you to the corner of Layfayette and School street before six!
Chuu: *from behind curtain* There is no way in hell I'm coming out!
KKC: Oh, come on Chuu and show us how pretty you are!
Chuu: NO!
KKC: Come on now or I'll send you to alcoholics anonymous.
Chuu: *grumbles and whines, but come out into view. He's wearing a very revealing Playboy bunny outfit (which was originally designed for a woman), leather pumps, and is carrying a little black purse.*
Stephanie/ Michealla/ KKC: Bwahahahahahaha! *collapse on the ground from laughing so hard*
Eddie: That's... disgusting.
Chuu: I am not going out in public like this! People will see me!
KKC: People can see you now. See? *points out at sea of readers* Now go catch that bus!
Chuu: I can't believe I'm doing this...
Michealla: Don't worry, Chuu. Just think of it as community service for the police station.
Eddie: But who's gonna pick him up dressed like that? ...Wait, I don't even WANT to know . KKC: But there's more! We're gonna tell the readers all about your little "outing" next chapter! That is, if they review.
Stephanie: And a twisted chapter it will be. Sayonara!