Shivers
Rei sighed as she opened the door to the disheveled office. (What is with these guys? None of them ever say anything! Then there's that Duo idiot...) Rei pursed her lips as she saw Duo looking at her butt out of the corner of her eye. She resisted smiling as Wufei pushed Duo out of the small room. Hard.
"So where to now?" Duo asked brightly.
Rei stopped and frowned. "Well..." She nodded. "In the next room over, there's one in the plant exhibit. We should go there next."
Wufei stepped in front of her before she could move. "Is this what this game consists of? Running around collecting things?" His eyes narrowed accusingly.
Rei rolled her eyes and stepped around him, moving over the tipped chair. "I told you, this is a puzzle game. It's a little more interesting when you don't know where everything is."
She turned to them before opening the door. They stared back at her, as though expecting something. (They're all so different. Like soldiers...) She frowned and turned back to the door.
The door creaked open loudly and Rei froze. There was a girl about her age standing in the lobby. The girl turned to Rei and froze as well. She had dark blond hair with two small braids clipped together in the back. She wore a knee-length white skirt, white jacket and plain light blue shirt underneath.
"Hello. I don't mean to trespass..." The girl had a slight air about her.
Rei half smiled. (Great. Now I have a little rich girl to lead around.) "You're not trespassing. The museum's closed anyway."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I am Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. And you are..." She held out her hand.
"Rei. But I have to ask you how you got here." Rei reached out her own hand.
But the girl wasn't looking at Rei, but over her shoulder. "Heero?!"
Rei moved out of the way as the girl jumped into Heero's somewhat reluctant arms. The other boys hid snickers behind their hands.
"Oh, Heero, what is this place? Everything seems so empty-" She cut her whining short as she spotted the other boys. "Oh, all of you are here." She turned back to Rei. "Who are you? Do you live here?"
Rei rolled her eyes. "This is going to take a while."
Five minutes later, Relena, the girl, was still hanging on to Heero, but was staring at Rei as though she were crazy. "You mean to tell me that this is some sort of a game with a bunch of spirits running around and you," She looked Rei up and down criticizingly. "Are our only hope to get out of here?"
Rei sighed. "Unless you want to try and find your way through here on your own. But if that is what you plan to do, I should warn you, it took me a few months to figure out this game." She crossed her arms.
Heero stepped out of Relena's hold. He looked at Rei. "Are there any rooms where Relena can stay, without anything that would cause damage?"
Rei made a mental note of his suddenly brisk, slightly irritated tone. She turned around, looking around the large lobby. Her eyes fell on the stairs leading down to a set of paneled doors on the other side of the room. "The auditorium. There's a talisman in there anyway. It's big and dark, but there's no Ixupi there."
Heero nodded and walked over to the stairs, Relena trailing faithfully behind him. Rei half smiled as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "It won't open!" Relena shrieked irritably.
"I know. The panel on the door opens up to a puzzle." Rei moved around the broken showcase and padded down the short set of steps. Relena once again, eyes Rei's outfit distastefully. Rei ignored her and brushed past the blonde and slid open the large stone panel.
The four other boys stood watching from the top of the steps. Under the stone panel was another, this one with a bunch of moveable symbols in four groups. Rei held up the book she had gotten and flipped to a page in the middle. It had the same symbols, only in different places and next to the four directions, north, south, east and west.
Rei's long, nimble fingers carefully pulled out and rearranged the symbols in their correct positions. Within minutes she had them all right and the stone panel slid shut and split in half, opening the door.
She stepped in, vaguely aware of the others following her. Rei waved her hand at the seats filling the floor on one side of the aisle. "Take a seat Relena. This is where you'll be staying until we finish the game. I'll be right back, the talisman is on stage." She walked up to the right side of the stage. She stepped up the short set of stairs there. The small, dragon shaped talisman sat on the other end of the stage. Rei walked silently across, glancing out into the seats to see the boys waiting patiently, and Relena sulking in a seat.
Rei hid her smile. Her eyes went to the podium that sat in the center of the stage. There was a piece of paper on it. (I remember this.) Rei half- smiled as she glanced over it. She froze and snatched the paper up. (Wait, this isn't what it's supposed to say...) She looked down the paper. It was the usual dialogue between the two teenagers who got caught in the museum, supposedly fifteen years ago, one saying they should meet in the basement, and the other saying there were 'things' down there. Rei stopped midpage.
'What are those things in the Atlantis exhibit?' One line went in blue ink. 'They're so creepy!'
The next line went in messy black ink. 'Maybe they're anamatronic.'
'Why would that creepy professor put anamatronic zombies in this stupid museum?'
'Who knows. Hey, maybe we could meet in the generator room...'
Rei stopped reading as the dialogue fell back into its original conversation. She folded the piece of paper and continued across the stage and snatched up the talisman. (Shit. This is not good at all. It's going to take us long enough to get through this museum, but now we have to deal with something new?)
Relena was still reluctant to stay in the auditorium by herself, but after a few expressionless commands from Heero, she stayed put.
Rei stopped at the showcase in the center of the lobby. (Where to now?) Someone touched her shoulder.
Rei turned around to see Wufei standing solemnly behind her. His onyx eyes pierced her and Rei once again go the feeling that these boys were no ordinary boys. "You looked alarmed up on that stage. What happened?"
Rei suppressed a sigh and glanced behind him at the others, all who were staring at her. "Something's different."
"What is?" Trowa asked quietly.
Rei pulled the paper from the dirty book in her hand. "This." She handed it to Wufei, who unfolded it and read it. "That paper isn't supposed to say anything about zombies. I never saw anything remotely like a zombie the whole time I played, so this might be just a prank by the two who wrote it, but I don't know."
Wufei scanned the paper and handed it to Heero, next to him. Heero went over it and handed it back to Rei.
She replaced it in the book and turned. "We don't need to go in the Atlantis exhibit for a while, so maybe by then, we'll have an idea of what this means."
"So, where to now?" Duo piped up.
Rei hesitated. (Should we go upstairs yet? We shouldn't need anything more down here... Wait!) "I remember! There's another jar in the office!"
She dashed around the showcase and into the jumbled office. She hopped over the chair and around to the desk. The boys stopped in the doorway and looked at her.
(Which drawer was it? Here!) Rei handed the jar in her hands to Quatre, opened the smallest drawer and scooped out the small pot. She knelt down and tugged at the skirt once again riding up her hips. Holding up the dragon figure, she looked it over. "I think this is the top to the oil jar..."
Duo looked at the jar in Quatre's hands. "Hey, what's this picture thing on it for?"
Rei looked up. "That's the symbol for whatever element it is. Speaking of which, we should get to the library for the book with all the symbols." She nodded and made her way around the desk and hopped around Wufei. The door creaked loudly as she opened it.
She hopped up the set of the stairs at the head of the lobby and opened the door. She turned around to the guys. Sure enough, they were there, silently staring, expecting. Rei resisted a shiver. "There's a hiding place for the wax Ixupi in the candles in here. Just don't look at it if you're next to it." Turning, Rei opened the door wider and walked around the long table, squeezing past the chairs. Books lined the shelves of every wall. There was a ladder on one bookcase.
Rei stopped in front of a bookcase and searched through it. She stopped and sighed to herself. A glance behind her told her what she knew was there. The boys continued to watch her. Ever-expecting. Rei swallowed. (They're counting on me to get them out of here. What if I make a mistake? What if one of them ends up like the corpse downstairs?) She shivered at the thought. (They're counting on me. I have to concentrate on what we have to do.)
Hey my friendly reviewers... How was that chapter??? I know the guys sound like a bunch of puppies or something, but that's how they are... They're expecting orders and missions and stuff, so cut me a little slack on their characters. Anyway, I am in a little dilemma here. I want to put Rei with Wufei, but that's the couple I've always used, so I was considering putting her with Heero. What do you think? I seriously want you to tell me in a review, and I totally expect reviews from all of you!! Oh, and to those who want to know, I am still considering dropping a few other Scouts in, but I'm not sure. And Rei will not transform in here, but, she may still retain a few of her powers still. You'll have to see. Whoa, that was a long note! Um, like I said, review me and I'll have the next chap up soon, maybe sometime during next week if I get enough reviews, * wink wink * So, till then, mis amigos!
Rei sighed as she opened the door to the disheveled office. (What is with these guys? None of them ever say anything! Then there's that Duo idiot...) Rei pursed her lips as she saw Duo looking at her butt out of the corner of her eye. She resisted smiling as Wufei pushed Duo out of the small room. Hard.
"So where to now?" Duo asked brightly.
Rei stopped and frowned. "Well..." She nodded. "In the next room over, there's one in the plant exhibit. We should go there next."
Wufei stepped in front of her before she could move. "Is this what this game consists of? Running around collecting things?" His eyes narrowed accusingly.
Rei rolled her eyes and stepped around him, moving over the tipped chair. "I told you, this is a puzzle game. It's a little more interesting when you don't know where everything is."
She turned to them before opening the door. They stared back at her, as though expecting something. (They're all so different. Like soldiers...) She frowned and turned back to the door.
The door creaked open loudly and Rei froze. There was a girl about her age standing in the lobby. The girl turned to Rei and froze as well. She had dark blond hair with two small braids clipped together in the back. She wore a knee-length white skirt, white jacket and plain light blue shirt underneath.
"Hello. I don't mean to trespass..." The girl had a slight air about her.
Rei half smiled. (Great. Now I have a little rich girl to lead around.) "You're not trespassing. The museum's closed anyway."
"Oh. I'm sorry, I am Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian. And you are..." She held out her hand.
"Rei. But I have to ask you how you got here." Rei reached out her own hand.
But the girl wasn't looking at Rei, but over her shoulder. "Heero?!"
Rei moved out of the way as the girl jumped into Heero's somewhat reluctant arms. The other boys hid snickers behind their hands.
"Oh, Heero, what is this place? Everything seems so empty-" She cut her whining short as she spotted the other boys. "Oh, all of you are here." She turned back to Rei. "Who are you? Do you live here?"
Rei rolled her eyes. "This is going to take a while."
Five minutes later, Relena, the girl, was still hanging on to Heero, but was staring at Rei as though she were crazy. "You mean to tell me that this is some sort of a game with a bunch of spirits running around and you," She looked Rei up and down criticizingly. "Are our only hope to get out of here?"
Rei sighed. "Unless you want to try and find your way through here on your own. But if that is what you plan to do, I should warn you, it took me a few months to figure out this game." She crossed her arms.
Heero stepped out of Relena's hold. He looked at Rei. "Are there any rooms where Relena can stay, without anything that would cause damage?"
Rei made a mental note of his suddenly brisk, slightly irritated tone. She turned around, looking around the large lobby. Her eyes fell on the stairs leading down to a set of paneled doors on the other side of the room. "The auditorium. There's a talisman in there anyway. It's big and dark, but there's no Ixupi there."
Heero nodded and walked over to the stairs, Relena trailing faithfully behind him. Rei half smiled as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "It won't open!" Relena shrieked irritably.
"I know. The panel on the door opens up to a puzzle." Rei moved around the broken showcase and padded down the short set of steps. Relena once again, eyes Rei's outfit distastefully. Rei ignored her and brushed past the blonde and slid open the large stone panel.
The four other boys stood watching from the top of the steps. Under the stone panel was another, this one with a bunch of moveable symbols in four groups. Rei held up the book she had gotten and flipped to a page in the middle. It had the same symbols, only in different places and next to the four directions, north, south, east and west.
Rei's long, nimble fingers carefully pulled out and rearranged the symbols in their correct positions. Within minutes she had them all right and the stone panel slid shut and split in half, opening the door.
She stepped in, vaguely aware of the others following her. Rei waved her hand at the seats filling the floor on one side of the aisle. "Take a seat Relena. This is where you'll be staying until we finish the game. I'll be right back, the talisman is on stage." She walked up to the right side of the stage. She stepped up the short set of stairs there. The small, dragon shaped talisman sat on the other end of the stage. Rei walked silently across, glancing out into the seats to see the boys waiting patiently, and Relena sulking in a seat.
Rei hid her smile. Her eyes went to the podium that sat in the center of the stage. There was a piece of paper on it. (I remember this.) Rei half- smiled as she glanced over it. She froze and snatched the paper up. (Wait, this isn't what it's supposed to say...) She looked down the paper. It was the usual dialogue between the two teenagers who got caught in the museum, supposedly fifteen years ago, one saying they should meet in the basement, and the other saying there were 'things' down there. Rei stopped midpage.
'What are those things in the Atlantis exhibit?' One line went in blue ink. 'They're so creepy!'
The next line went in messy black ink. 'Maybe they're anamatronic.'
'Why would that creepy professor put anamatronic zombies in this stupid museum?'
'Who knows. Hey, maybe we could meet in the generator room...'
Rei stopped reading as the dialogue fell back into its original conversation. She folded the piece of paper and continued across the stage and snatched up the talisman. (Shit. This is not good at all. It's going to take us long enough to get through this museum, but now we have to deal with something new?)
Relena was still reluctant to stay in the auditorium by herself, but after a few expressionless commands from Heero, she stayed put.
Rei stopped at the showcase in the center of the lobby. (Where to now?) Someone touched her shoulder.
Rei turned around to see Wufei standing solemnly behind her. His onyx eyes pierced her and Rei once again go the feeling that these boys were no ordinary boys. "You looked alarmed up on that stage. What happened?"
Rei suppressed a sigh and glanced behind him at the others, all who were staring at her. "Something's different."
"What is?" Trowa asked quietly.
Rei pulled the paper from the dirty book in her hand. "This." She handed it to Wufei, who unfolded it and read it. "That paper isn't supposed to say anything about zombies. I never saw anything remotely like a zombie the whole time I played, so this might be just a prank by the two who wrote it, but I don't know."
Wufei scanned the paper and handed it to Heero, next to him. Heero went over it and handed it back to Rei.
She replaced it in the book and turned. "We don't need to go in the Atlantis exhibit for a while, so maybe by then, we'll have an idea of what this means."
"So, where to now?" Duo piped up.
Rei hesitated. (Should we go upstairs yet? We shouldn't need anything more down here... Wait!) "I remember! There's another jar in the office!"
She dashed around the showcase and into the jumbled office. She hopped over the chair and around to the desk. The boys stopped in the doorway and looked at her.
(Which drawer was it? Here!) Rei handed the jar in her hands to Quatre, opened the smallest drawer and scooped out the small pot. She knelt down and tugged at the skirt once again riding up her hips. Holding up the dragon figure, she looked it over. "I think this is the top to the oil jar..."
Duo looked at the jar in Quatre's hands. "Hey, what's this picture thing on it for?"
Rei looked up. "That's the symbol for whatever element it is. Speaking of which, we should get to the library for the book with all the symbols." She nodded and made her way around the desk and hopped around Wufei. The door creaked loudly as she opened it.
She hopped up the set of the stairs at the head of the lobby and opened the door. She turned around to the guys. Sure enough, they were there, silently staring, expecting. Rei resisted a shiver. "There's a hiding place for the wax Ixupi in the candles in here. Just don't look at it if you're next to it." Turning, Rei opened the door wider and walked around the long table, squeezing past the chairs. Books lined the shelves of every wall. There was a ladder on one bookcase.
Rei stopped in front of a bookcase and searched through it. She stopped and sighed to herself. A glance behind her told her what she knew was there. The boys continued to watch her. Ever-expecting. Rei swallowed. (They're counting on me to get them out of here. What if I make a mistake? What if one of them ends up like the corpse downstairs?) She shivered at the thought. (They're counting on me. I have to concentrate on what we have to do.)
Hey my friendly reviewers... How was that chapter??? I know the guys sound like a bunch of puppies or something, but that's how they are... They're expecting orders and missions and stuff, so cut me a little slack on their characters. Anyway, I am in a little dilemma here. I want to put Rei with Wufei, but that's the couple I've always used, so I was considering putting her with Heero. What do you think? I seriously want you to tell me in a review, and I totally expect reviews from all of you!! Oh, and to those who want to know, I am still considering dropping a few other Scouts in, but I'm not sure. And Rei will not transform in here, but, she may still retain a few of her powers still. You'll have to see. Whoa, that was a long note! Um, like I said, review me and I'll have the next chap up soon, maybe sometime during next week if I get enough reviews, * wink wink * So, till then, mis amigos!