Access Denied
Roses Are Red, Obelisk Is Blue
Siegfried hung up the phone and sank down into the tub, watching his hair float along the surface of the water. How odd that Kaiba changed his tone so quickly. Bah! Siegfried would figure his rival's motives out later. He had other things on his mind - namely, how to withdraw from this situation with Pegasus without destroying the man. It would be bad business relations to break the brain of the person he wanted to work with.
Unfortunately, the only way Siegfried could see out was to arrange for Pegasus to fall in love with someone else. Such a task fit in the "easier said than done" category. Siegfried's brows knitted together as he thought, putting his genius intellect to the task. Pegasus wouldn't fall in love with just any old person. It would take someone truly special, someone fantastically beautiful, someone utterly desirable - someone like himself!
Siegfried began to laugh at his own brilliance. Of course he could win Pegasus over with his natural charm; no one could resist Siegfried. Once he had Pegasus's attention, he could revert Ophelia's files to their original configuration and then let the man down gently. And, if anything, getting his foot in the door at Industrial Illusions would be even easier with Pegasus thoroughly enamored with him.
The plan would need to go into action immediately, though. The more time Pegasus spent around Ophelia, the harder it would be for Siegfried to win him over. If he left tonight, Siegfried could be on Pegasus's island by morning. Then he would merely have to distract the man from his lunch date with the princess.
For a moment, Siegfried wondered if he should change his behavior as Ophelia. No, he decided. If he suddenly started acting the part of the shrieking harpy, then Pegasus might become suspicious. Also, if Pegasus were with the princess at a time when Siegfried couldn't be in the game, she would follow her primary programming and seek out Pegasus's affections. Therefore, Siegfried was stuck acting the part of the love struck princess. The absurdity of competing with himself for Pegasus's attention didn't escape Siegfried's attention, but a lesser person would offer no challenge.
"You put me to so much trouble, Herr Pegasus," Siegfried murmured before starting to make calls to put everything in readiness. First he woke his pilot to get the jet prepared. "The lavender jet," he insisted, figuring that would make the best impression on Pegasus. With that bit of work out of the way, Siegfried dialed an in-house extension to rouse some of the maids to awaken Leon and begin packing.
Siegfried pretended not to notice how utterly grouchy his hired help sounded. He really couldn't understand why they should sound so put out. Siegfried, himself, was the one who was fixing to put his life on hold to spend an undetermined amount of time on Pegasus's island. All the servants had to do was lose a bit of beauty sleep to prepare Siegfried for this little jaunt. If anyone should be put out, Siegfried decided, it was he.
With a long-suffering sigh, Siegfried rose from his bath. He was accustomed to a maid standing ready with a robe, but tonight there were no attendants. Having little other choice - he would not be so uncouth as to put on the clothing he'd spent all day in - Siegfried tied a towel around his waist and padded out into the hallway towards his room.
When he arrived, Siegfried saw that one of his maids was already packing for him. He gave the woman a curt nod, noting the blush that crept up her cheeks at the sight of his beautiful body. Smirking slightly, Siegfried pushed past the woman to choose a suit from his wardrobe. He didn't look at the woman directly as he dressed, but he caught her reflection in his mirror as she tried unsuccessfully not to watch. "You're supposed to be packing," Siegfried murmured in slight rebuke. The maid's cheeks flushed crimson as she quickly turned her attention back to the luggage.
There was a soft knock at the door. "Siegfried?" Leon pushed his way into the room, eyeing his brother with a tired, but wary, expression. "What's going on?"
"Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle," Siegfried practically sang out to set Leon's mind at ease. "We are going on a little trip! Warmer climes beckon, my brother! We're going to combine a bit of business and pleasure. But we absolutely must leave tonight!" Carefully adjusting the ruffled cuffs of his shirt, Siegfried turned to address the maid. "When you're finished packing, take all that out to the jet."
"Come, come, Leon," Siegfried laughed. He took hold of his brother's arm and began leading him through the hallways. When they reached Siegfried's office, Leon was put to work gathering files on various projects and packing them into a briefcase. While he took care of the paperwork, Siegfried chose several design prototypes to bring along, carefully wrapping each piece of equipment in bubble-wrap and placing it in a box. "One more stop and then we can be off!"
"What are you scheming?" Leon asked as he tried to keep up with his brother's ground eating pace.
Siegfried paused to catch his breath, wishing that his home office weren't so far away from the wine cellar. "Truthfully? I'm trying to get out of a spot of trouble, and get a new business connection out of the deal. I'll explain everything on the plane, but if you'd prefer not to help your own flesh and blood in his hour of need, then of course you may go back to bed."
Leon glowered at Siegfried, knowing full well that he was being manipulated. Siegfried was pulling at all the strings as he appealed to Leon's curiosity and sense of duty to both family and company. With a growl of acquiescence, Leon followed his brother into the wine cellar.
With Leon traveling in his wake, Siegfried browsed among the racks of wine bottles. The collection had mostly been the doing of Siegfried's father, but he wouldn't notice if any were missing. After having been driven mad in his quest to beat out Kaiba Corp, Siegfried's father was safely tucked away at a rather nice sanitarium in a happy, drug-induced haze. Knowing that he need not worry about filial approval and recalling that Pegasus had a taste for the reds, Siegfried chose several bottles of the finest wine his family had available and placed them carefully, almost reverently, on the top of his design prototypes.
Briefly Siegfried considered bring flowers as well, but decided against them. During this time of year, it would take too long to acquire a suitable bouquet. Besides, Siegfried had to maintain some air of subtlety, and thrusting a dozen roses in Pegasus's face would be far too obvious.
When the boys boarded the plane and Siegfried carefully stowed his box so that nothing would break, he realized Leon was waiting patiently for an explanation. Siegfried yawned and settled into a chair, wondering if he could pretend to drop off to sleep and get out of admitting his screw-up. "What did you do this time?" Leon grumbled. So much for feigning sleep.
"Well," Siegfried murmured, still trying to think of a way to stall. "I seem to have caught Herr Pegasus's eye. I sort of designed a character in Herr Kaiba's game that apparently bears a passing resemblance to Herr Pegasus's late wife. It would behoove us to get Herr Pegasus to fall out of love with the woman." In the face of Leon's glare, Siegfried sighed and told Leon the whole story.
"You are out of your mind," Leon muttered at the end of the tale. "And you're going to drag me along with you. Look, if I help you, you have got to promise me that you'll stop trying to manipulate people like this."
"Cross my heart." Siegfried drew an "x" over his heart with his finger. Leon continued to glare, snorting in disbelief. Siegfried didn't blame him; old habits were hard to break. "Now get some rest, my dear little brother. We have a long flight ahead of us." Without another word, Siegfried stretched his long legs out across the aisle and shut his eyes. He assumed that Leon did likewise.
The smell of fresh coffee brought Siegfried back to the waking world. "Just the way you like it," Leon said as he placed a mug bearing the Schroeder Corp rose emblem into Siegfried's hands. "Cream and sugar with just a hint of coffee. We'll be landing in about an hour. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Nein," Siegfried sighed. He took a sip of the coffee, savoring the hot, over-sweetened drink. "But I haven't thought of a better way to resolve this mess satisfactorily either. So, how do I look?"
"Like you've been sleeping on a plane," came the brutally honest answer. Leon went to the back of the plane and poked among the luggage until he found the toiletries bag. When he returned, bag in tow, he pointed to the floor. "Sit so I can reach." Siegfried sat and allowed Leon to comb the nighttime tangles out of his hair. "You should leave off the suit jacket," Leon muttered as he brushed. "It looks good on you, but it's too formal. And it's all rumpled."
"Everyone's a critic." As much as Siegfried liked this particular suit, he had to admit that Leon made one good point. The jacket was a bit wrinkled from being slept in. Pouting slightly, Siegfried slid the jacket off. "Better?"
"Better." The two boys spent the rest of the flight in companionable silence. Leon took careful care of the primping that normally would have fallen to a maid if Siegfried had brought one along. While his appearance wasn't up to its usual standards of perfection, Siegfried felt that just this once the substandard quality could be excused. After all, one could hardly expect to look one's best when traveling suddenly on such short notice.
Right at ten o'clock local time, with Siegfried beginning to fret over the possibility of not making it before Pegasus's lunch date with Princess Ophelia, the plane touched down. As the boys disembarked, Pegasus's manservant - a stern man that glared at them balefully from behind dark sunglasses, met them. "We," Siegfried announced dramatically to the man, "have come to pay Herr Pegasus a visit. Let him know that Siegfried and Leon von Schroeder have arrived." When the man didn't move, Siegfried began tapping his foot impatiently. "What are you waiting for? Go on. Go announce us properly to Herr Pegasus."
"Please," Leon added.
Much to Siegfried's surprise, Leon's "please" seemed to do the trick. The manservant bowed. When he straightened, he motioned for the boys to follow and began walking away.
As Siegfried trailed along, he found himself glad that he'd decided to shed the suit jacket. Even in the winter, Pegasus's island home was temperate enough to make such formal wear uncomfortable. Apparently Germany's frigid mid-winter never reached the island. If Siegfried hadn't known better, he would have assumed it to be early autumn. He wanted to stop and admire the late-blooming flowers of Pegasus's gardens, but the stern manservant wouldn't stop.
When they rounded a corner, they found Pegasus waiting for them. He seemed perfectly at ease in his "public appearance" clothes - the red suit that would have looked hideously garish on anyone else, but which suited him perfectly. "Ziggy-boy! And this must be your brother. Leon, isn't it? I do see the family resemblance." Pegasus called out cheerfully. Siegfried blinked in surprise. He hadn't even been sure Pegasus would remember him; much less label him with a ridiculous nickname.
"Ziggy," Leon snickered, no doubt amused by Pegasus's irreverence.
Pegasus's unorthodox greeting had the added effect of leaving Siegfried off balance. He didn't know whether or not the same informality was expected of him. Siegfried's indecision lasted only a second, though; as he set his box on the ground and bowed to cover his momentary floundering. "Herr Pegasus," he greeted, an impish smile curving across his face. "I come bearing gifts."
Siegfried reached into his box and pulled out a bottle of wine. Pegasus's visible eye widened as he reached for the bottle. "Is that Scheurebe? And a good year, at that! Oh, you delightful boy! It's been ages since I've sampled a fine German wine." Siegfried preened at the praise, pleased that he'd chosen the right tactic for dealing with the eccentric artist. "Croquet, go fetch us some glasses, and one for yourself. And would you like anything, Leon? No? Well, you can't say I didn't offer."
Once Croquet made his escape from his boss's enthusiastic attempts at playing host, Pegasus ushered his guests to a patio table. Siegfried recognized it as the same table Kaiba had set at when they'd come over the summer to ask for Pegasus's help. "So, what sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into now, Ziggy-boy?"
"Nein, nein," Siegfried laughed, widening his eyes innocently. Siegfried knew how to play innocent; it was an act he'd perfected during Kaiba's little Grand Championship tournament. "No trouble this time, Herr Pegasus. We merely came for the pleasure of your company."
Pegasus began waggling a finger at Siegfried, though his expression never shifted out of pleasant amusement. "Don't kid a kidder, Ziggy-boy. I might not be able to tell you the exact time in your neck of the woods, but I know that to get here by now you would have pulled a red eye flight. If I had the time to play your games, I would, but I'm supposed to meet someone in a couple of hours."
"Believe me. It was pure whim on his part," Leon assured Pegasus. He pasted on his sweetest smile and Siegfried could see Pegasus practically melt over the boy's freckles and wide green eyes. "I'm glad we're here, though. It's good to meet the person who was such a help in getting Gozaburo Kaiba out of my brother's body."
Now it was Pegasus's turn to preen, seeming to drop his suspicions for the moment. "Really, now. It was no trouble. I hardly did anything at all."
Siegfried watched in admiration as his brother completely disarmed Pegasus. Leon had tried explaining how he did it several years back when Siegfried noticed that he was successfully conning about half of the guests out of cookies at every holiday celebration the boys went to. "Sure, Siegfried, you're drop dead sexy and could seduce anything you want out of a crowd, but I've got something better working for me," he'd said. "Being adorable can be a far greater power if properly worked. People are more likely to fall for the cute waif act than the sexy lover act." And now Leon turned on the power of cute to allay Pegasus's suspicions. The boy might accuse Siegfried of being manipulative, but he could be just as bad when he put his mind to it.
Croquet returned with the glasses, and Pegasus poured the wine. Smiling, Siegfried raised his glass. "Let us drink to success, gentlemen." At Pegasus's questioning gaze, he added, "Father always said that if you cannot raise a toast to success, then you ought not be drinking. After all, everyone wants to succeed in something. I drink to success in business."
Pegasus eyed Siegfried shrewdly over the rim of his glass, but Siegfried continued his innocent act. He'd come prepared to let Pegasus think that his ulterior motive for this visit was purely to gain a business tie to Industrial Illusions. At last Pegasus clinked his glass against Siegfried's. "And that tells me that this is more than a pleasure trip for you. Ah, well. I will drink to success in love. Croquet?"
The manservant flashed a brief, enigmatic smile. "Happiness," he added simply, joining the toast.
The men began to chatter amongst each other. At least, Pegasus and Siegfried chattered. Croquet stood by and listened, having no interest in the latest gossip among the rich and famous. Leon, for his part, leaned against his brother's side and began to doze. Siegfried draped an arm comfortably over his brother's shoulders and let the boy sleep.
"You know," Pegasus murmured, "I'm pretty much retired now, Ziggy-boy. You'd have better 'success' dealing with my successors if you want to get your foot in the door. Still, you're welcome to visit for as long as you please. Croquet, go ready a room for our guests."
Once again the manservant trooped back to the house. Siegfried stifled a smile, wondering if this was how Pegasus kept the hired help in shape. "Ja, I know about your retirement." Siegfried poked his lower lip out in an indolent pout. "The Tenmas, however, do not wish to share Duel Monsters with any other company than Kaiba Corp. And so here I am." The best lies, Siegfried knew, were the ones that were true. He had tried to arrange a meeting with the Tenma brothers, and failed miserably. If Pegasus placed a few calls, this much could be confirmed. "Everyone knows Yakou and Getsukou respect you. If you could maybe look over my ideas..."
Wordlessly, Pegasus held out his hand. Hardly daring to believe his good fortune, Siegfried set his briefcase upon the table, taking care not to jostle Leon. He opened the case and pulled out the files he'd had Leon pack, passing them to Pegasus. Surely getting to Pegasus couldn't be this easy!
Pegasus began flipping through the folders, skimming the contents. While he glanced through Siegfried's ideas, Croquet returned and cleared his throat. Pegasus glanced up, smiling widely. "Oh! It's time already! We'll have to finish this later, Ziggy-boy. Croquet, why don't you show the boys to their rooms? They look exhausted. Well, ta-ta." Without a backward glance, Pegasus rose from the table and left to keep his appointment with the princess. Siegfried growled under his breath, his hopes of distracting Pegasus from the date thoroughly dashed.
For the second time that day, the Schroeder brothers found themselves trailing along behind Croquet. The older man said nothing as he guided the boys around Pegasus's home, through hallways interspersed with portraits of the woman Siegfried had modeled the Princess Ophelia after.
The room Croquet led the boys to seemed, at first glance, to be properly luxurious for a guest of Siegfried's stature. A bed large enough for family of four dominated the room. Both Siegfried and Leon cast it longing looks, but they couldn't spare the time for sleep just yet.
Leon crossed the room to the luggage that had been carefully stacked in the corner and began hunting for Siegfried's computer. Siegfried began searching through his box of prototypes. As Leon found and began setting up the computer, Siegfried found the device he wanted - a virtual reality headpiece. For the past few months, Siegfried had been working on a design for a headpiece that would do the same as the over-sized virtual reality pods and put a person's consciousness into the game. Succeeding hadn't been all that difficult, though now he was wrestling with the problem of how to manufacture the headpieces cheaply enough that they could be sold to the general public. If he could find a way around the high production costs, then he could release this exquisite piece of equipment and come out ahead of Kaiba.
Siegfried slid the headpiece on and stretched out on the bed. Leon stretched out the cord from the headpiece and plugged it into the computer. "Good luck, big brother," Leon whispered. Giving Leon what he hoped was a comforting smile, Siegfried turned on the headpiece.
The first thing Siegfried realized as he entered into the game was that Princess Ophelia was once again not dressed for the weather. Yet still she was trooping through the snow to Dame Chat's home. "Stupid woman," Siegfried growled under his breath as he took a moment to look himself over. At least the princess had the good sense to put on a cloak before heading out, but that was apparently the only moment of sensibility that she'd had.
No doubt Siegfried looked stunning as the princess. He wore a gown with a neckline cut just barely low enough to be considered within the bounds of decency, leaving no doubt as to what signals the princess wanted to send Pegasus. A string of pearls looped around Siegfried's neck to draw attention to the bosom area. And, as before, Siegfried's feet were freezing due to the presence of slippers that were never meant for anything harsher than ballroom dancing.
As the cottage came into view, Siegfried plastered on a smile. Pegasus stood out on the porch, waiting. Siegfried quickened his pace and practically threw himself into the man's arms. "Sir Pegasus!" he exclaimed, taking care with his speech. One slip into his native language and Siegfried knew the game would be up. "It is good to see you again!"
"Likewise, Princess," Pegasus murmured as he pulled Siegfried closer against him. Siegfried tilted his gaze up to savor the joy on Pegasus's face, but he found himself with only a brief moment to enjoy the view as Pegasus captured his mouth. Pegasus's hands drifted down Siegfried's back, cradling Siegfried still closer against his body as he deepened the kiss.
When it at last occurred to Siegfried that this sort of kiss might be just a tiny bit out of character for the princess, Pegasus was already pulling away. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Siegfried flashed Pegasus a genuine smile. "You missed me," he teased.
"And you missed me, too," Pegasus countered, still holding Siegfried in the circle of his arms. Siegfried nestled against the warmth of Pegasus's body. Idly, he reached up to trace his fingers along the length of Pegasus's jaw. "You forgot your gloves again, Princess."
"So I have," Siegfried sighed. He tried to think about the sorts of things a love struck princess might say, and settled for the corniest line he could come up with. "Because I knew I could count on you to keep me warm, Sir Pegasus."
Pegasus began to laugh as he led Siegfried inside. Immediately, the smell of cooking food tickled at Siegfried's nose. The sphinx balanced a platter easily, taking it to the table. "Greetings, sister and her mister. We shall soon eat many a tasty treat." She prodded a blanketed bundle with one of her lion's paws. "Up with thee, lazy bones. Let's hear none of thy moans. Thy mate is due to return and tell us what he has learned."
Dartz peered out from under his nest of blankets and glared balefully at the beast. He turned his basilisk stare to Pegasus and Siegfried. Without even thinking about it, Siegfried buried his face against Pegasus's chest. The vampire made an amused sound in the back of his throat - a sort of chuckle that never quite escaped. "I know what I'm hungry for." The sphinx promptly kicked him again. "Violent beast," Dartz grumbled.
"If thou dost not behave, all that pretty hair I'll shave," the sphinx threatened, shaking a rather large knife in the face of the vampire. When she decided that the vampire looked suitably contrite, she began using the knife to carve up some sort of roast beast. Siegfried didn't want to think about what else that knife might have been used for.
During the entire exchange between the monsters, Siegfried realized that Pegasus had been stroking his hair soothingly. Siegfried sighed contentedly as he leaned against Pegasus, enjoying the moment. He couldn't ever recall anyone holding him like this before; his family never having been overly affectionate. Now, though, Siegfried could see what he'd been missing. This was nice.
Pegasus drifted an arm down to Siegfried's waist and led him to the table. "This all looks absolutely delicious," he told the sphinx. Siegfried nodded in agreement, avoiding the sphinx's gaze as Pegasus pulled out a chair for him. The two humans and the sphinx began sampling at the meal. The vampire sipped at a bottle of blood.
Siegfried carefully moderated how much he ate. Since the food wasn't real, he knew that he could eat everything on the table and still be as hungry as when he started. When he returned to the real world, he would definitely request a meal from Pegasus. Coffee and wine, after all, do not make filling meals.
"I want to go find my Pegasus," Dartz announced as the meal drew to a close.
"Thy mate does run late," the sphinx murmured casting a worried look at the door.
Dartz nodded and rose from the table, wringing his hands in worry. Siegfried watched the nervous gesture, wondering what the vampire would do if something had happened to the vampire Pegasus. The sphinx watched for a moment, and then went to the cottage's one bedroom. When she returned, she carried a pair of sensible boots, which she held out to Siegfried. "We will go to seek our friend. Will you help us to that end?"
Siegfried nodded as he took the boots. He kicked off the silly slippers gladly. Searching the forest would provide him with ample alone time with Pegasus. Surely he could manage to create a rift between Pegasus and the princess. "You have such a good heart," Pegasus whispered, slipping Siegfried a quick kiss on the ear. "You and I can search the ground while the monsters take to the air."
Once Siegfried's feet were suitably protected from the snow, everyone trooped outside. The sphinx took off right away. Dartz paused long enough to create wings. Siegfried had never seen the process before and found it fascinating to watch as the vampire pulled shadows about his body as if they were a cloak. When he finished, he bowed to Pegasus and Siegfried. "Thank you for helping us."
"Not a problem," Pegasus assured the vampire. "What are friends for, after all?" Dartz smiled and took hold Pegasus's hands, placing his lips lightly over the pulse. Then he repeated the gesture with Siegfried before launching himself into the air.
Once they were alone, Pegasus took Siegfried's hand and began leading the way into the forest. Siegfried opened his mouth to protest, thinking that might be a good way to start creating a rift, but he closed it again as he saw the grim look on Pegasus's face. Pegasus wasn't flirting, so scolding for such actions would be wasted. Instead, he concentrated on searching for signs of Pegasus's vampiric doppelganger.
Siegfried had lost all track of time when he heard a low growling. Both he and Pegasus whirled around to face the incoming threat, neither expecting it to be the missing Vampire Lord. The monster crouched against a snowdrift, blackened burns covering its body. The vampire turned its head in their direction, tracking by sound, unable to use its fire-blinded eyes. It let out another growl - a sound to warn off anything that might mistake it for prey. Siegfried felt ill at the sight of his creation in such a pitiful state.
"Other me," Pegasus murmured soothingly. The growling ceased at the sound of a familiar voice. "Ophelia, go back to the house." Pegasus kept his voice soft and steady as he crept closer to the vampire. Siegfried started to protest, but Pegasus shook his head. "He needs to feed, Princess, and I don't think he's in any shape to be either careful or picky with his meal. Now go back to the house where it's safe."
Pegasus's tone brooked no argument, nor could Siegfried think of any reason to stay that wouldn't blow his cover. He wanted to stay, though. Even though he didn't want to admit it, the monster was partly his responsibility, for he was the one that had programmed awareness into it. Silently, Siegfried began scurrying back towards the cottage.
Siegfried had only gone a short distance when he heard a twig snap behind him. "Sir Pegasus?" he called out uncertainly. Only a raucous laugh answered in reply as some rough-looking men stepped into view.
"Boss is going to love this," the biggest of the bunch grinned, revealing yellow, gnarled teeth. "Here we was trying to figure out how to bust into the castle, and we find the princess all by her lonesome. This is just too easy. Now come along all peaceable-like, missy, and there won't be any trouble." The man slapped an oversized cudgel against his meaty palm to emphasize exactly what sort of trouble there would be if Siegfried chose to resist.
A quick check showed Siegfried that he was surrounded by a group of NPCs. Reasoning would be nearly impossible unless they were programmed to be reasoned with. Siegfried didn't think the group looked like the reasoning sort, however. Still, he saw no harm in trying. "You could let me go," Siegfried pleaded, removing the string of pearls from his neck. "I could pay you. These are worth a pretty penny."
"Now come along all peaceable-like, missy, and there won't be any trouble." The repetition was accompanied by the man smacking his palm with the cudgel again. Siegfried smiled a little as he realized the game sprite was running slightly outside its program parameters. It wouldn't have been repeating itself otherwise.
However, Siegfried realized that nothing short of brute force would free him from this situation - brute force or out-thinking the program. "Very well," Siegfried sighed. "I surrender." By playing along, maybe he could learn what was going on.
The bandit that had been doing all the talking stepped forward. He began tying Siegfried's hands, paying no attention to the pearls still in his clutches. Then he ripped off Siegfried's cloak and hung it on a tree branch. One of the other thugs began smearing soot onto the cloak and snaring a scrap from a feathered cloak onto another branch.
Siegfried watched the bandits impassively, piecing together their actions. As near as he could tell, it looked like the Burning City and Floating City were about to be framed for the princess's abduction. "This looks like a clever little plan," Siegfried told his captor, hoping to pump him for some more information.
"Clever, indeed!" the man chuckled in the same irritating guffaw Siegfried had heard earlier. "Bandit King Zero never would have thought of this. But we've got a new leader now - a better one! And once all the sides in the war finish bashing at each other, we'll step in and take over! The world's going to be ours!"
"Someone certainly has humble goals," Siegfried muttered sarcastically. His captor seemed to have nothing more to say, however, as he began tugging Siegfried along. He never noticed as Siegfried snapped the string of pearls and began dropping them off at regular intervals.
The group stepped into a clearing and Siegfried cringed at the sight of their transport. "Horses," he groaned. Why did it have to be horses? One of the beasts whickered a bloodthirsty greeting. Siegfried's captor threw him over the back of a solid black horse and bound his wrists to the saddle horn. As they started off, Siegfried continued to drop pearls, hoping that Pegasus would be able to find the trail and rescue him before the horse decided to enact whatever murderous plans surely must be filtering through its equine brain