"Revelations, Repercussions and Robots Oh My!" by Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen
email: rybreen@theberries.ns.ca
Note: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter but I have been on a mad job hunt for the last couple of weeks and I had to help my sister move out of her apartment so I have been busy. Still, never fear, I fully intend to finish this fanfic so you need not worry that I'll just drop it like so many other authors have done with their own works. I enjoy writing and what's more I enjoy hearing about what you think of my writing. So for the foreseeable future my status as a fanfic writer is secure.
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Capsule Corps Infirmery, 8:00a.m
"Any change Aunt Beru?" Bulma asked as she walked into the infirmery of Capsule Corps.
The older blonde haired woman across the room from her looked up from the test results she had been examining and the look she was wearing was not positive at all.
"I'm afraid not Bulma. If anything their condition seems to be getting worse." , Aunt Beru said with some puzzlement, "For the life of me I can't even determine exactly *what* is happening to them much less how to treat it! The most I've been able to do is give them a strong sedative to help lessen the pain for them."
"So you don't have any idea of what's happening to them?" Bulma asked hopefully.
"No, I have plenty of ideas but that's not enough to go on when you're talking about three persons' lives." Aunt Beru said with regret as she checked the readings on the machines monitoring the three young warriors' conditions.
"Okay then, call if you learn anything." Bulma said as she turned to leave.
"You'll be the first to know." Aunt Beru said solemnly.
Things were certainly not looking good and Bulma Breifs Vegita knew it all too well from the three shaking forms in the infirmery. In that room they had some of the best medical equipment in the city as well as access to the latest treatment data available. After all when you have a husband who nearly trains himself to death or a Father who blows himself up working on something every once and a while it pays to be prepared. However in this case it might not be enought to save the lives of three of her guests from America. From what Giles had said about this Glory person she had more than likely used some form of magic on Buffy and the others and if that was the case then modern medicine might not be able to help. That was why she was going to check on how the former Watcher and the others were doing in searching for an arcane solution. They were all wholed up in the living room looking through a few books that Giles had brought with him to help them defeat Glory. Fortunately since there were not a great deal of references to the hell goddess in his books they were looking at there were other topics that might be of help in there as well. Trunks, Goten and Pan were helping buts since they didn't know ancient languages the number of books they could look through were limited. Still all of them were determined to help cure the three young women although she had a sneaking suspicion that Goten and Trunks had one person in particular that they wanted to save.
Walking into the living room she saw that it had turned into a mini-library in her brief abscence with every table and most spare spaces on the floor covered by a book. Every other place was occupied by those doing the research none of whom had encouraging looks on their faces. Giles, Tara and Willow seemed to make up the core research group which made sense since all three had a working knowledge of sorcery. Xander, Anya, Trunks and Goten made up the second group, most of whom were looking through the english written texts but it seemed as though Goten was actually giving one of the other books a try. True he was probably just looking for pictures that looked like something useful but there was always the chance that he actually knew what he was reading. After all in the time since Maijin Buu Chi-Chi had leaned into Goten much like she used to lean on Gohan when it came to his studies so there was no telling what she was making him learn. In any case she wasn't about to stop him if it might help Buffy, Dawn and Faith get better.
"Any luck you guys?" Bulma asked hopefully.
"None thus far I am afraid." , Giles said as he briefly looked up from the dusty volume he was reading, "There are several spells that come close to matching what is happening to Buffy and the others but there are too many inconsistancies."
"It looks like it's a transformation spell of some kind but most of those finish up within seconds and the larger ones take months to do." , Willow said as she closed the book she had been reading and picked up a fresh one, "The pace of transformation that they're going through doesn't match anything we've read about so far and we're running out of books."
"Any luck with the medical prognosis?" Tara asked.
"No, Aunt Beru is doing the best she can but she is as much in the dark as you guys are right now." Bulma replied.
"Maybe we could go up to Kami's lookout and get Dende to come down and help them." Trunks suggested with a hopeful look.
"Maybe but that still leaves us with the problem of identifying the ailement that is afflicting Buffy and the others." , Giles pointed out with regret, "After all it is dangerous to treat someone without the slightest clue of what is happening to the patient."
"Argh! This is hopeless! By the time we figure out what's wrong with them they could be dead!" , Trunks growled in frustration with a look all to like his father's on his face, "I say we find Glory and take the dragonballs back from that witch!!"
Almost immediately after he said that a thought seemed to cross his mind and he looked over at Tara and Willow and said "No offense."
"None taken." Willow replied before going back to her book.
"While your idea does bear some merit Trunks there is still the problem of locating Glory and we're pretty much where we started in that respect." Giles commented in an attempt to turn this conversation into something useful.
"Well what if we just follow the trail her stone soldiers left behind them?" , Goten suggested innocently while he took a break from reading, "I mean they looked pretty heavy so they're bound to have left tracks of some kind that we could follow."
The room went dead quiet and for a moment the youngest son of Goku thought he had just made the stupidest suggestion ever.
Then Willow made a dive for the TV remote and immediately turned it on to the local news station which was still covering the events that occured after midnight. As luck would have it they were showing an aerial shot of the street that the golems had come down and sure enough there were indeed what appeared to be footprints in the ground for those who knew where to look. The news people were following a less subtle trail based on the destruction that Glory had caused on her way to Capsule Corps in an attempt to entertain herself and that trail ended once it reached the edge of the city. From there it seemed to stretch off into a rocky desert region where the tracks seemed to disappear as the shifting sands swept away any tracks. This bit of news seemed to pop the bubble of hope that they had hoped to possess and push some even deeper into a pit of hopelessness than before.
"Well so much for that idea." Xander said, disappointment clear in his voice.
"Maybe not ... " Giles said to himself as he picked up a book, seemingly at random and began to flip through it like mad.
This seemed to once again reignite the hopes of those in the room, especially the hope of those who knew him best and had the utmost confidence in his abilities involving dusty old books. It took him a few moments to find what he was looking for but when he did he sent their optimism shooting through the roof as a smile of success lit his features.
"We may have a way to find Glory after all." , he stated as he lay the book open on the table for all to see, "According to this the golems that Glory had with her were constructed from some very potent magicks, they were literally infused with the energy of life. However they were still just stone and so no matter what Glory's intentions it is very likely that bits and pieces of the golems fell off along the way here. If that is so then it should be possible to follow the trail of debris from the edge of the city straight to Glory's hideout."
"Well then what are we waiting for!?" , Trunks said as he jumped off the table and made for the door, "I'll get Dad and the others! Glory's going DOWN!"
"Willow get the orb of Distakos from that box over there as well as the blue bottle that's in there as well." Giles said as he looked through the piles of books for a few moments before picking up a smaller diary looking book up as well as his jacket.
"Right." Willow replied as she focused on her task.
"Tara I'm afraid that you'll have to stay here." Giles said as he finished putting on his jacket.
"Why?" asked the mystified wicca.
"Someone with a knowledge of sorcery needs to watch over Buffy and the others in case things take a turn for the worse." , Giles explained as he hoped for understanding on Tara's part, "It is entirely possible that Glory might try to harm Buffy, Dawn and Faith while we launch our assault so we need someone to act as a barrier. Do you understand?"
"Yeah." Tara replied although making it clear at the same time that she would much rather be going with them."
"Don't worry baby, we'll make sure to leave Glory bashing for you at the end." Willow said as she gave her girlfriend a light peck on the forehead before heading out the door.
"Xander, you and Anya stay put and continue to try and determine what type of spell Glory cast on Buffy and the others." , Giles said before going out the door, "If we fail to get any answers from Glory you may be Buffy's only hope."
"You can count on us G-Man!" Xander said although the way he said it was less than assuring.
With that said the dye was cast and with a bit of luck all would be resolved within the next few hours. However as the former Watcher might have realized had he not been so overcome with optimism was that luck was just the right or wrong combination of oppourtunity, preparation and confidence. They had the oppourtunity as was provided by Giles and confidence was not an issue to those so determined to save their friends but the strength of their preparations were most certainly in doubt. After all there were still bits of information that were lost to them and forces at work that they knew nothing about. Only time would tell whether or not these weaknesses would prove inconsequential or the keys to their eventual defeat at the hands of their enemies.
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Undisclosed Location, Seven's office, 8:15a.m
*knock, knock, knock*
"Come in Nine." Seven said before taking another long drag from his cigarette.
The door opened and admitted the second most influential member of this rogue group of Watchers. He did not have quite the arcane knowledge or power that Seven did but he did have a knack for strategy and he had the respect of the rest of the agents present in the building. That made him very valuabe to Seven but also very dangerous should his dedication to the cause waver or fail entirely. Still there was no sign of that at the moment and hopefully that would not happen before the final phase of the plan was already underway. Once it began Seven would have no further need of the others and could proceed on without them to claim his destiny and assure the safety of this world. For the moment he would play everything close to the chest and monitor matters carefully for anomolies and other things that might cause problems.
"Our operative from inside the Capsule Corps building has confirmed that S-4542, S-4543 and anomoly K have all been incapacitated and are entering stage one of the process." , Nine stated with all the professionalism of a government agent, "The others are on the trail of the Beast and believe her to be the source of the affliction of said Slayers and anomoly. Just as you planned Seven."
"Of course, they have no reason to suspect anyone else was involved. Nor will they find the 'cure' that they are so desperately looking for at the Beast's lair." , Seven said as he steepled his hands, "This waste of time will ensure that the Slayers remain ill and distracted until the time comes for the endgame to be played. Perhaps we will even be so fortunate as to find that one of our targets has been eliminated by Glorificus. In any case, on to other matters, what is the status on our misguided bretheren?"
Nine knew that Seven was not referring to the others that occupied the building but rather the main body of Watchers that they had left to pursue their own agenda. He expected that they were all a flutter at the moment trying to figure out what was going on and what they would do about it. By now they no doubt had a full team of operatives combing the crater in Norway trying to find out what had happened even though those in the higher echelons of the Council no doubt had suspicions already. One most certainly believed it was him and was merely waiting for the evidence to be found to support his scenario so that he could attempt to take action. Action however that would be long in coming and be terribly inadequete when they finally decided on something. That was the one thing he had come to despise during his time among the inner circle, they were so weak and secretive in their decision making capabilities. So concerned they were for keeping their anonymity from the rest of the world that they spent endless hours debating various courses of action and when they made their decision it was as strong as a house of cards. Such problems would keep One from taking any serious action for quite a while and by the time he made it through all the red tape it would be too late. The report he recieved from Nine confirmed this and went on to relate a series of meaningless facts concerning the investigating Watcher's progress.
"Yes, yes, but the important thing is that they still have no idea what our master plan is and for the moment that is the way it must remain." , Seven stated with a wave of his hand, "Instruct our agents in the society to continue monitoring activities in Norway but to also keep a close eye on One. With all the protocol involved in an incident like this it is unlikely that he will be able to stop us but it is best to be cautious just in case."
"Yes sir." Nine replied without changing position.
"How goes our little scavenger hunt?" Seven asked with mild curiousity.
"The three you assigned to the task are homing in on the stray item you asked them to find and anticipate aquisition within the hour." Nine repplied efficiently.
"Good. Once they have aquired the item we can move on to phase two of our operation and proceed accordingly." Seven stated as he turned his chair away from Nine.
"Forgive me for saying so sir but do you think it is wise to ally ourselves with them? Their volatile nature could prove to be a problem and could seriously compromise our mission." Nine stated inquisitively.
"Do not worry Nine, I have planned for that possibility as well and I assure you if our future allies become a problem they will be dealt with swiftly and severely." Seven replied with a tone that brooke no arguement.
"Yes sir." stated Nine in surrender.
"Now begin preparations concerning our coastal agents." Seven ordered.
"Immediately." Nine replied before turning and leaving the room.
Soon. Soon the abominations will be no more and nothing will be able to stop me from determining the destiny of this world. Seven thought as he lifted his cigarette to his mouth.
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Undisclosed location, Great Britain, 11:00p.m (local time)
"... and we have completed our preliminary examination of the crater and regret to inform you that nothing salvagable remains." , the plain clothed man stated at the center of the large room, "The mages we brought with us could do nothing to restore the capsules or any of the talismans the demon possessed."
"Thank you for your report Watcher Stevenson, you may go now." said One from his position at the mid-point of the horseshoe like table.
With that said the man nodded his head in a salute of sorts before turning around and leaving the room to attend to the menial paper work that went along with such assignments. If he could sense the tension in the room though he would have been overjoyed that he had managed to get out of there in one piece. The various members of the inner circle of the Watcher council were all tightly strung at the moment as the news they had recieved placed their entire mission in jepordy. Only the inner circle knew of the significance of the demon that had lived in the Kjolen mountains or even why the Watchers society would want anything to do with such a foul demon. However it was a secret that none could be allowed to know lest their dedication to the group falter or change to outright opposition in the blink of an eye. Those of the inner circle who remained however understood the necessity of the demon and what it meant to their order but now it was gone and they had to pick up the pieces.
"This is terrible! What are we going to do now!?" exclaimed Four who was clearly upset and was not ashamed of letting everyone else know it.
"Calm down Four, panicking will not get us anywhere." Eight said in an attempt to calm down his collegue.
"Quite right. Still we must work quickly if we are to prevent this situation from getting any worse." Two stated grimly as the cogs of his mind began to turn.
"The obvious thing to do first is apprehend those repsonsible for the destruction in the first place." , Three stated with annoyance, "I don't think I need to state who I believe is responsible for this travesty."
"No you do not. We all agree that Seven and the rogues that went with him are the culprits. They are the only ones who could have known how much this would hurt us and what it would do to our field units." , One stated in a manner that indicated a great weight had been placed on his shoulders, "I had hoped that we would have been given more time to prepare for his rebellious acts but clearly he was more prepared than we gave him credit. The question is where did he get the power to disintegrate an entire mountain and can he perform such a feat of destruction a second time."
"All inquiries at our warehouses came back negative when they first disappeared but after this I am beginning to think that those reports were not entirely accurate." , Six stated with suspicion, "I will go myself to section 9 myself and inspect the inventory to see if my suspicions prove true. I should be able to assess the situation and be back in only a few hours."
"Good. With the 'how' part taken care of we must now look to the issue of what Seven's grand plan is and what we can do to stop it." One said as he stroke his snow white beard.
"I would think that it is rather obvious what he intends to do, destroy our ancient secret and anything attached to it." Ten stated making it clear that he thought the matter was painfully obvious.
"No, I think that there is more to this than we realise. If all he had wanted to do was that why did he wait so long before acting? He could have done this within a week of leaving this circle but instead he chose to wait until now." , One said with concern beginning to filter into his voice, "There is something more going on and we must take action quickly before it is to late."
"What do you think we should do?" asked Three who seemed to have his own ideas about One and his proposed action.
"I believe it may be time to expose the secret to all concerned parties." One stated as he carefully looked about the room to gauge everyone's reactions.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Three.
"Impossible!" declared Five.
"Out of the question!" stated Ten.
Similar responses echoed around the table and only two and eight seemed to hold their thoughts in check which was all that One could hope for under the current circumstances.
"Have you gone *mad* One? You would reveal a secret that has been kept for over seven thousand years!?" Eight asked with disbelief in his voice.
"It has already been unearthed thanks to Seven's actions and I doubt it will take long for it to be deciphered once the change nears completion." , One answered as he began to explain himself, "However I believe it would be to our benefit to aide in the transition since it would undoubtabley upset whatever timetable Seven has in place. If nothing else it might earn a small manner of respect in the eyes of the units and their aquaintences which could lead to reconciliation. You know that solidarity of that sort will be important when the End of Days arrives."
"I think you overestimate their intelligences One. The units' friends may be clever but I doubt even they would be able to uncover the entire truth on their own." , Four stated, "As for Seven I believe that it is too early to be making any sort of plans at the moment. Until we learn more about Seven and the other rogues any success we may inspire would be random at best and possibly even costly. As for the End of Days I believe that the units will have little choice but to return to us when the chaos begins for we have the knowledge they will need."
"Perhaps." One stated in a neutral voice.
"On that note I submit that we should adjourn this meeting until Six returns from his inspection." , Four proposed as he looked at his comrades, "The whole we serve, the whole we protect!"
"The whole we serve, the whole we protect!" chanted the others in unison.
With that the group began to disperse but One remained at his chair, in deep though and introspection if the way he was stroking his beard was any hint. He had made his proposal to the inner circle of the council and while he had hoped that the report given by agent Stevens would change their minds he wasn't surprised when they rejected his idea. They had all been taught in the way of tradition but only he had been around long enough to know that tradition should serve only as a guidepost rather than a rule. Seven's actions had thrown everything into chaos and as such had caused the other members of the inner circle to tighten their grip on tradition as a drowning man would a life preserver. He however knew that times were changing and that unless they changed along with them the Watchers Council would crumble and all they had built would fall with them. The time had come for him to make perhaps the most important choice of his life and at that moment he did not know what he would choose to do in the end.
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Capsule Corps, Living Room, Noon
"This *bites*!" Trunks said as the group of warriors, wiccas and one former Watcher entered the room.
"That just about says it all." Willow said in agreement as she set the armful of books she had discovered back at Glory's hideout onto the table with the rest.
"So I take it by this vocal expression of frustration that the search and destroy was a bust." Xander said as he edged away from Trunks, Goten and the others towards the safest place in the room at the moment.
"We definitely found where Glory had been holed up in but there was no one there when we arrived." , Giles explained as he took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose, "The only moderately positive thing was that they seemed to have left in a hurry and forgot to take a few things along with them."
"That and the fact that she hadn't rigged the place with explosives like back in Sunnydale." Tara stated in an attempt to make the good things outweigh the bad.
"Didn't really need 'em thanks to Vegita." Krillin mumbled.
"What was *that* cueball!?" Vegita yelled as he turned on the only warrior smaller than himself.
"*Yipe* .. N-n-nothing Vegita!" Krillin replied with more than a little worry in his voice.
"Coward! I'm going to train. This time don't interrupt me unless you have something better!" Vegita declared before leaving the room.
"Is it just me or does he still have a bit of an anger management problem?" Xander rhetorically asked everyone in the room.
"I've tried to teach him a few relaxation techniques but they never quite seem to work." Goku said with mild disappointment.
"His idea of relaxing is pounding some halfwit demon into silly putty." Krillin stated humorously.
"True, physical venting of negative emotions does seem to calm him better than just about anything else but it's getting harder and harder for him to find a demon that'll last more than a few seconds." Goku stated as he scratched his chin is puzzlement.
"While I'm sure how to divert Vegita's destructive tendencies away from helpless humans is important can we please return to the task at hand?" Giles asked with a slightly dazed expression on his face.
Willow took this as her cue as she picked out a book from the pile they had aquired from Glory's and said "Well I did manage to find out how she was looking for the dragonballs."
This immediately managed to bring everyones' attention to the redhaired wicca which she wasn't entirely sure she wanted. Still she had said something important so she guessed it was time to back it up with something before she looked like a complete idiot.
"Apparently she was using a modified version of a scrying spell to home in on the dragonballs based on their temporal significance." Willow explained to more than a few non-comprehending faces.
"... And in english that means what?" Xander said for everyone who wanted to ask but couldn't for sake of pride.
"The dragonballs play a very important part in the events of this world, they've literally been responsible for many gigantic events both good and evil." , Willow said as she mentally rolled her eyes at the lack of intelligence some of these people had, "Therefore Glory used her scrying spell to look into the future to see where someone else would find it since it would be significant event and just get there before them."
"Then why doesn't Glory already have all the dragonballs right now?" Goten asked with interest.
"Well there are many reasons but it comes down to someone having to desire the specific dragonball she's after so if they're destined to find it Glory will be able to see them finding it in advance." , Willow explained like she had heard Ms. Calender explain computor stuff to Giles, "Then of course there is the standard limit on how far in the future a scrying spell can look so she's probably finding them as fast as she can."
"Is there anything in there about what she might have done to Buffy and the others?" Anya asked with mild curiousity.
"Unfortunately no which is strange because usually a spell that is designed to attack three people at once requires some prior planning." , Giles replied with more than a little frustration, "I can only assume that her status as a qausi-hell-goddess allows her to skip such mortal constraints."
"In other words we're back where we started this whole mess this morning?" Xander asked with disbelief.
No one even bothered to answer that question since the answer was painfully clear. All of them felt a certain degree of frustration at the current situation and everyone wished that The Powers That Be would cut them just a little bit of slack. Was it too much to ask that they be given even the beginnings of a way to help their friends overcome whatever was causing them so much pain? Did the Fates decide to deal them all useless roles in the events that would transpire in the next few days? In the minds and souls of everyone in the world there is at least some belief that they are in control of their own destinies and that if they don't like what's coming they can change it. However it is during times like these that they are shown that there is a limit to how far they can alter the path their destinies will take. In some cases in all their lives when they have been made to realise that some things simply must be, despite their wish for matters to be otherwise. Only time would tell how everything would play out for Buffy, Dawn, and Faith. About the only thing that the group could say with certainty at the moment was that at least they had been granted this brief respite from their tasks.
Just then, without warning, an object came flying through the living room window shattering glass before slamming into the floor, skidding and bumping into the couch so hard it almost tipped it over even with the people sitting on it. Almost at once, some faster than others, everyone moved to see what had broken their moment of calm and when that question was answered by their eyes they wished they had not seen it. Lying unconscious on the floor with his clothes in tatters and injuries clearly showing up on his body was the noble warrior Piccolo. Cuts, bruises and burns were visible everywhere and it was clear that whoever had done this outclassed the Namek in virtually every way possible. That in itself was frightening considering that ever since Piccolo had fused with both Nail and Kami he had become one of the most powerful warriors on the planet. Even though he was nowhere near as strong as Goku, Vegita or Gohan were Piccolo could still hold his own against just about any type of opponant. What worried most of them in particular was what did this mean for the rest of them? Piccolo had gone missing about a week or two before Buffy and her freinds showed up and no one had been able to find him despite the most diligent searches. That usually meant that Piccolo did not want to be found and was activily avoiding them when they searched. All of these things were going through the minds of those present and of all those there Xander had the phrase that nicely framed it all.
"Man, when it rains it *POURS*!" Xander said with more than a little bit of anger at God who seemed to think they could use a little more bad news.
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England, Same Time
*knock, knock, knock*
"Come in" said the old man from his hunched over position at an old looking desk.
The door opened in compliance and a good looking young man strode it with a look on his face that hinted that he was rather uneasy about being called here. That was understandable given who he was and who had requested his prescence at this juncture. Still he was able to keep his composure for the most part making it look as though this was just another visit that was no more interesting to him then the last one. There was no sense in jumping the gun when there was no need and he preferred to wait before making any rash decisions. After closing the door and locking it he approached the old man and came to a stop a few respectful paces away to wait until his prescence was acknowledged. It seemed like hours passed before the old man finally stopped what he was doing and turned around to face his expected guest.
"I am glad you were able to come with such speed old friend." , the Old Man stated, "We don't have a great deal of time left to us so I must make this little meeting brief. I have an assignment for you that is completely 'under the table' as they say."
"Does this have anything to do with the storm of activity that has come over HQ?" the young man asked.
"Yes, in fact it is at the very heart of it. The rogues have seriously destablized the very foundation of our organization, threatening to send it crashing down around us." the old man stated gravely.
"You mean the-" the younger man began before he was cut off by a wave of the older man's hands.
"Yes. The others are hesitant to step away from the old status quo and foolishly believe that the old way can be repaired and preserved despite the damage that has been done." , the old man said with mild anger at those who followed this line of thinking, "I however have a different opinion and you are the only one I trust to help me carry it out satisfactorily."
With that the man went over to a large and old safe that was tucked away in the corner of the room and immediately began to turn the dial and enter the combination. It took a while but eventually the last of the tumblers fell into place and with a turning of the handle the door of the safe opened to expose the contents inside for all to view. The contents themselves varied, some being scrolls while others were various metallic objects of various forms but by far the largest of the safe's contents was a large but ancient metal box. It was that box that the old man lifted from its place in the safe and brought it over to the young man before setting it down gently in front of him. The box was ancient, that was clear from its appearance and the way it had apparently been crafted, and it seemed to exude an ancientness that few objects in the world produced. The language inscribed on it was nearly indecipherable and only a select few had any idea how to read it. This was not only because it was ancient but also because it was not of this world, it belonged to a race of beings that had once existed far from this world in more ways than one. With such mystery clearly present on the surface it was no doubt a temptation for the young man to reach down and take a look inside. However his respect for the old man prevented this and so he waited to see what the significance of all this was and why he had been summoned.
"I require you to leave for the Future City at once and deliver this box and its contents to the field units." , the old man explained, "You are free to examine the contents of this box so long as you do it in a safe environment and make sure that all the items reach their intended reciever."
"Are you certain this is wise sir? If this is what I believe it to be your position in the Council could be seriously compromised if not destroyed utterly." , the young man said with concern, "Not even your most dedicated supporters would stand by you when news of this came out."
"I know full well what will happen when the others find out but there is no other way to resolve the situation properly." , the old man stated as he walked over to a window and looked out, "This secret like all secrets was bound to be revealed someday. Despite the reservations of my collegues I believe now is the time for the truth to be known and for old deceptions to be moved to the side. That is part of the reason I asked for you in particular to come here, because I know I can trust you to see this assignment through to the end."
"What makes you so certain that I can succeed in this mission? It won't take long for the others to find out what you have done and then they'll be on me like nobodies business." , the young man stated with noticable worry, "I doubt I'll be even able to get to Future City before I have an unfortunate accident along the way."
"I have no doubt because you are not like other men my friend." , the old man said with a grin coming over his features, "Yes I know of your secret but do not worry, it is one I will take to my grave."
"Why you sneaky old goat!" , the young man said in disbelief, "Fine. I'll deliver this package for you but you owe me big time for this!"
"Keep safe Pierce and be sure to keep your head." the old man stated as the young man known as Pierce picked up the box with both arms.
"I will if you will O' Connel." Pierce said humerously before opening the door and leaving.
"I'll try old friend, I'll try." muttered Old man O' Connel as he took a bottle of Scotch from the drawer of a table next to the window where he was standing.
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