Chapter 9
Rei forgot herself in the shock for a moment, when she caught her surprise and shook her head. (No! No killing while I'm here!) She sidestepped in front of Heero and quickly held her arms out to prevent them for shooting around her. "Stop it." She raised her voice and tossed a hard look over her shoulder at the two men, who now stood further apart, looking as though they were definitely not allies. "All of you."
Heero kept his gun up. "Move, Rei. We're in a war. They are the enemy."
"You know nothing of wars, woman, now move." Wufei growled.
The comment pushed Rei to a few slim inches from his face. "I know plenty about wars," She hissed. "And I know now is neither the time nor the place for one. You two want to settle something, you do it on your own time." She finished with a hard snarl and looked expectantly back at the other two men.
The man to the left, the one Heero called Zechs, tall and stern looking with snowy white hair and a long, gray trench coat, slowly lowered his, gun, but did not take his eyes from Heero. The other man, Treize, dressed far too formally for the location of a museum storage room, was just as tall with short, golden blond hair smoothed back. Also lowering his gun, he gave Wufei a more polite glare.
Rei's stare went to Heero and Wufei who, somewhat reluctantly, lowered their own guns. "Now, if we can all just get along, we can get out of here and back to our lives." She folded her arms and glanced back and forth between the two parties until they all holstered their guns.
Quatre stepped in behind her. "Now that we have a temporary cease-fire, where do we go from here?"
Rei glanced around the room, vaguely noting the size, it was almost as big as the Egypt room, and the various boxes strewn here and there. (Let's see, I need to resolve this conflict, or at least delay it, but there are too many places we need to get to for me to keep an eye on all of them.) She sighed. "We still have to split up." She turned around and stepped back, allowing the others to come into the room. From the corner of her eye, Rei saw a silent, but obvious exchange between Relena and this man called Zechs. (Watch those two.) "Now, since I'm afraid I can't trust some of you," She looked pointedly in the direct6ion of Heero and Wufei. "To make good groups. I'll choose who goes with who." Both Zechs and Treize tensed.
Quatre noticed this with a smiled and turned to them. "Rei is an honest person. She will get us out of here."
Treize nodded slowly. "Yes." His eyes scanned the room. "But where are we?"
Rei sighed. "This is going to sound a little fantastic, but just keep an open mind." She took a deep breath. "You are in Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange and Unusual. There are a bunch of spirits around here, called Ixupi. If you go too close to them and look at where they are hiding, the Ixupi will jump out at you and take a piece of your life's essence. If you lose all your life essence, you shrivel up and die. Got it?" She took another breath and looked at the two men in front of her.
While both nodded slowly, neither, especially Zechs, looked convinced. Zechs half smiled and turned away. "You were right. That does sound very fantastic." He closed his eyes. "But if it's what we have to believe to get out of here, then fine."
Rei rolled her eyes. (What an asshole.) She turned back to the boys standing in a protective group somewhat around Relena. "Now we still need to make groups." Her eyes grazed over the group. "Quatre." He looked up. "You and Treize go out the pyramid we came in, but go down the hall to the left. You'll find yourself in a maze, but it's not too hard, just keep walking around until you find a door. Go in and over to the second door in the room. There is a panel on the wall with a bunch of squares on it. Rearrange the squares to form a painting. It's of some battle scene I think." She waved her hand vaguely. "You two might recognize it." Rei shook her head. "Anyway, inside the door is another jar, and a fortune telling thing. Put in the penny you'll find and the fortune thing will give you a card. Bring both the card and the jar back up here." Rei bit her lip thoughtfully and looked away. "If I remember right, there's a pile of scrap metal somewhere in the maze where the metal Ixupi sometimes is, and right inside the door you go in, there's some boards along the wall for the wood Ixupi. You know what to listen for."
Quatre nodded and looked back at Treize as he turned to leave. Treize hesitated but obliged. He glanced at Rei before he left. "I trust you know what you're doing." He stated simply before disappearing around the corner.
Rei looked towards the empty doorway before she continued. (I hope I do too.) "Duo." She turned to him as he looked up. "You and Zechs go through that door down there." She pointed to the far wall, where a small door stood, somewhat innocently, in the corner. "You'll be in a UFO exhibit." Rei looked around for Relena and approached her. "You have a book they need." She explained quietly, and Relena opened the bag without complaint, though with another glance at Zechs. Rei caught the look, but ignored it, pulling a book out of the bag easily. Rei turned and handed the book to Zechs, who happened to be nearest. He took it with a hint of distrust in his face. Rei, holding her temper, ignored him. "In that book you'll find a bunch of symbols that you have to put in the right order. The flying saucer thing opens up to give you a talisman, I think. Got everything so far?" Only Duo nodded. Rei pursed her lips, but continued. "Go down the stairs and take the first right you see. Go through the room and step in front of the coffin you'll find in the next room. Open it and a skeleton 'should' fall out. Be careful, there might be something other than a skeleton hiding in there." Duo nodded again, catching the warning in her voice. "There's a jar inside. Take it and come back up here."
Duo nodded once again and looked cheerfully at Zechs. "Seems like we're partners! We'd better get going then!"
Zechs did not smile, but turned his glare back to Rei. "I don't take orders from children."
Rei blinked slowly and clenched her fists against her indignant comeback. Surprisingly, it was Heero who spoke up. "Go, Zechs. Just listen to her so we can get out of here."
Zechs' glare shifted and he turned away, leaving Duo to follow awkwardly behind. They swiftly disappeared through the door on the other side of the room. Rei looked after them a moment. (Getting out of here is going to take even longer if he isn't going to listen to me without Heero's backup.) She held in her sigh. Turning around, Rei looked around the remaining people, quickly running over a few things.
"Okay. Trowa and Relena, stay in here." Rei noticed Relena tense and quickly explained herself. "There's a puzzle in that big box over there," Rei pointed to the other side of the room at a box easily the size of a large car. "Where you have to rearrange a bunch of wires to get a jar. It one of the hardest puzzles in the game, so you could be working on it for a while. When everyone gets back here, I'm counting on you two to," She cast Trowa a hard look. "Make sure they get along."
Trowa nodded sharply. "Solve the puzzle and keep everyone from hurting each other."
Rei smiled softly. "To put it bluntly."
Trowa turned silently and padded silently over to the huge box. Relena, hesitating, shifted back and forth. Finally, she turned and followed Trowa. Rei looked down at the floor. (Stop feeling guilty. You know where you're going next. Relena can't go there. Especially if she can't even handle seeing a corpse inside a coffin.)
Relena's P.O.V.
Relena stood next to the box, watching the trio from the corner of her eye. (Okay. Wufei was with them last time, and they came back not speaking. Calm down. They might have another argument. Stay calm.) She turned her attention to Trowa, who was already at work on the mass of tangled wires inside the sizable machine that had rested inside the box. Reds, greens, blues and yellows were all twisted together within the wires that somehow cut off at their middles and connected with another wire of a different color. Trowa pulled and turned at the wires, connecting this one to that.
Relena sighed again and looked back over at Heero. Her heart stopped in her chest. (What?!) Heero was now practically right up against that girl! Relena tensed her grip on the bag and managed to pull her face into a calm mask as the three passed in front of her through the door on the opposite wall. (I think I'm going to need some help in dealing with this.)
I'm so sorry for the short chapter, I was going to do all this stuff, but I got to this point, and I was just sick of this story. My original fic is coming close to its end, and I've got a billion ideas flying around in my head, making this fic very hard to write. Once again, lots of sorrys, but this is how things are right now. But, then again, if I get lots of reviews *wink wink* I might update again with the rest of this chapter. ^_^ See ya then!
Rei forgot herself in the shock for a moment, when she caught her surprise and shook her head. (No! No killing while I'm here!) She sidestepped in front of Heero and quickly held her arms out to prevent them for shooting around her. "Stop it." She raised her voice and tossed a hard look over her shoulder at the two men, who now stood further apart, looking as though they were definitely not allies. "All of you."
Heero kept his gun up. "Move, Rei. We're in a war. They are the enemy."
"You know nothing of wars, woman, now move." Wufei growled.
The comment pushed Rei to a few slim inches from his face. "I know plenty about wars," She hissed. "And I know now is neither the time nor the place for one. You two want to settle something, you do it on your own time." She finished with a hard snarl and looked expectantly back at the other two men.
The man to the left, the one Heero called Zechs, tall and stern looking with snowy white hair and a long, gray trench coat, slowly lowered his, gun, but did not take his eyes from Heero. The other man, Treize, dressed far too formally for the location of a museum storage room, was just as tall with short, golden blond hair smoothed back. Also lowering his gun, he gave Wufei a more polite glare.
Rei's stare went to Heero and Wufei who, somewhat reluctantly, lowered their own guns. "Now, if we can all just get along, we can get out of here and back to our lives." She folded her arms and glanced back and forth between the two parties until they all holstered their guns.
Quatre stepped in behind her. "Now that we have a temporary cease-fire, where do we go from here?"
Rei glanced around the room, vaguely noting the size, it was almost as big as the Egypt room, and the various boxes strewn here and there. (Let's see, I need to resolve this conflict, or at least delay it, but there are too many places we need to get to for me to keep an eye on all of them.) She sighed. "We still have to split up." She turned around and stepped back, allowing the others to come into the room. From the corner of her eye, Rei saw a silent, but obvious exchange between Relena and this man called Zechs. (Watch those two.) "Now, since I'm afraid I can't trust some of you," She looked pointedly in the direct6ion of Heero and Wufei. "To make good groups. I'll choose who goes with who." Both Zechs and Treize tensed.
Quatre noticed this with a smiled and turned to them. "Rei is an honest person. She will get us out of here."
Treize nodded slowly. "Yes." His eyes scanned the room. "But where are we?"
Rei sighed. "This is going to sound a little fantastic, but just keep an open mind." She took a deep breath. "You are in Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange and Unusual. There are a bunch of spirits around here, called Ixupi. If you go too close to them and look at where they are hiding, the Ixupi will jump out at you and take a piece of your life's essence. If you lose all your life essence, you shrivel up and die. Got it?" She took another breath and looked at the two men in front of her.
While both nodded slowly, neither, especially Zechs, looked convinced. Zechs half smiled and turned away. "You were right. That does sound very fantastic." He closed his eyes. "But if it's what we have to believe to get out of here, then fine."
Rei rolled her eyes. (What an asshole.) She turned back to the boys standing in a protective group somewhat around Relena. "Now we still need to make groups." Her eyes grazed over the group. "Quatre." He looked up. "You and Treize go out the pyramid we came in, but go down the hall to the left. You'll find yourself in a maze, but it's not too hard, just keep walking around until you find a door. Go in and over to the second door in the room. There is a panel on the wall with a bunch of squares on it. Rearrange the squares to form a painting. It's of some battle scene I think." She waved her hand vaguely. "You two might recognize it." Rei shook her head. "Anyway, inside the door is another jar, and a fortune telling thing. Put in the penny you'll find and the fortune thing will give you a card. Bring both the card and the jar back up here." Rei bit her lip thoughtfully and looked away. "If I remember right, there's a pile of scrap metal somewhere in the maze where the metal Ixupi sometimes is, and right inside the door you go in, there's some boards along the wall for the wood Ixupi. You know what to listen for."
Quatre nodded and looked back at Treize as he turned to leave. Treize hesitated but obliged. He glanced at Rei before he left. "I trust you know what you're doing." He stated simply before disappearing around the corner.
Rei looked towards the empty doorway before she continued. (I hope I do too.) "Duo." She turned to him as he looked up. "You and Zechs go through that door down there." She pointed to the far wall, where a small door stood, somewhat innocently, in the corner. "You'll be in a UFO exhibit." Rei looked around for Relena and approached her. "You have a book they need." She explained quietly, and Relena opened the bag without complaint, though with another glance at Zechs. Rei caught the look, but ignored it, pulling a book out of the bag easily. Rei turned and handed the book to Zechs, who happened to be nearest. He took it with a hint of distrust in his face. Rei, holding her temper, ignored him. "In that book you'll find a bunch of symbols that you have to put in the right order. The flying saucer thing opens up to give you a talisman, I think. Got everything so far?" Only Duo nodded. Rei pursed her lips, but continued. "Go down the stairs and take the first right you see. Go through the room and step in front of the coffin you'll find in the next room. Open it and a skeleton 'should' fall out. Be careful, there might be something other than a skeleton hiding in there." Duo nodded again, catching the warning in her voice. "There's a jar inside. Take it and come back up here."
Duo nodded once again and looked cheerfully at Zechs. "Seems like we're partners! We'd better get going then!"
Zechs did not smile, but turned his glare back to Rei. "I don't take orders from children."
Rei blinked slowly and clenched her fists against her indignant comeback. Surprisingly, it was Heero who spoke up. "Go, Zechs. Just listen to her so we can get out of here."
Zechs' glare shifted and he turned away, leaving Duo to follow awkwardly behind. They swiftly disappeared through the door on the other side of the room. Rei looked after them a moment. (Getting out of here is going to take even longer if he isn't going to listen to me without Heero's backup.) She held in her sigh. Turning around, Rei looked around the remaining people, quickly running over a few things.
"Okay. Trowa and Relena, stay in here." Rei noticed Relena tense and quickly explained herself. "There's a puzzle in that big box over there," Rei pointed to the other side of the room at a box easily the size of a large car. "Where you have to rearrange a bunch of wires to get a jar. It one of the hardest puzzles in the game, so you could be working on it for a while. When everyone gets back here, I'm counting on you two to," She cast Trowa a hard look. "Make sure they get along."
Trowa nodded sharply. "Solve the puzzle and keep everyone from hurting each other."
Rei smiled softly. "To put it bluntly."
Trowa turned silently and padded silently over to the huge box. Relena, hesitating, shifted back and forth. Finally, she turned and followed Trowa. Rei looked down at the floor. (Stop feeling guilty. You know where you're going next. Relena can't go there. Especially if she can't even handle seeing a corpse inside a coffin.)
Relena's P.O.V.
Relena stood next to the box, watching the trio from the corner of her eye. (Okay. Wufei was with them last time, and they came back not speaking. Calm down. They might have another argument. Stay calm.) She turned her attention to Trowa, who was already at work on the mass of tangled wires inside the sizable machine that had rested inside the box. Reds, greens, blues and yellows were all twisted together within the wires that somehow cut off at their middles and connected with another wire of a different color. Trowa pulled and turned at the wires, connecting this one to that.
Relena sighed again and looked back over at Heero. Her heart stopped in her chest. (What?!) Heero was now practically right up against that girl! Relena tensed her grip on the bag and managed to pull her face into a calm mask as the three passed in front of her through the door on the opposite wall. (I think I'm going to need some help in dealing with this.)
I'm so sorry for the short chapter, I was going to do all this stuff, but I got to this point, and I was just sick of this story. My original fic is coming close to its end, and I've got a billion ideas flying around in my head, making this fic very hard to write. Once again, lots of sorrys, but this is how things are right now. But, then again, if I get lots of reviews *wink wink* I might update again with the rest of this chapter. ^_^ See ya then!