To Patricia16- That's all you ever say. pouts It's impossible to have a good convo with you. Each and every review is almost exactly the same.
To DragonFlame Mistress- Hey! Are you implying my stories turn not-cool after the first few chapters? That's not very nice, you know! You might actually hurt my feelings one of these days.
If that's everyone, let's get a move on!
"Virgo! All Virgos are extremely friendly and intelligent - except for you! Expect a big surprise today when you wind up with your head impaled upon a stick!" Rath sang, smiling to himself at the noises coming from the other side of his cell door. He'd been singing the same song over and over again for the past hour or so, and it was driving his guard slowly insane. "Libra! A big promotion is just around the corner for someone much more talented than you! Laughter is the very best medicine, remember that when your appendix bursts next week!"
The guard dropped his gun. He'd finally snapped. There was the sound of keys rattling in the lock, then the door was flung outward, followed almost immediately by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Hard.
"Jeez, you're a softy." Rath muttered, dragging the unconscious guard into his cell and closing the door. "And my singing is not that bad." He added before setting off down the dim hall, stolen gun in hand.
"Hey, Ami?" Minako asked quietly, tugging on Ami's sleeve.
"Hai?" Ami replied, dropping the bag of linens she'd been carrying with a soft grunt.
"Where did Rune-san and that dark-haired boy Death kidnapped come from?"
"Pluto sent them." Ami replied, which was answer enough for any Senshi.
"And why does Rune-san have pointy ears?" Minako pressed.
"Why don't you ask him?" Ami countered.
"Good idea."
"Oh, I hate this place." Rath muttered to himself, zipping around another corner barely in time to avoid discovery. "There are too many fiskin' guards. That weird guy must expect mutiny at any minute to have such heavy security. I hope his minions live up to his expectations. Jackass."
"You shouldn't talk to yourself; it makes you look weird." A small voice at Rath's elbow spoke up, making the Knight of Fire jump three feet in the air with a very un-Knightly yelp.
He came down facing a small girl with loads of pink hair cut just below her shoulders and gigantic red eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" He hissed, trying to slow the frantic beating of his heart. "And what the hell are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?"
"Are you going to kidnap me?" The girl asked instead of answering. "Daddy always said that I should be careful if a prisoner ever escaped, because they would try to kidnap me. Are you?"
"If I do, will you be quiet?" Rath asked, only half meaning it, as he waited for yet another patrol to take itself somewhere else.
"Yes." The girl answered solemnly. "And if you don't kidnap me, I'll scream."
"Well… damn it."
"Do you really have a real dragon?" Rath's newfound traveling companion asked, batting those disconcertingly huge eyes at him.
"Yup. And once we find a good window, you're gonna get to ride him. But remember, you have to be quiet until we're in the air."
"I remember." The girl said, nodding like a bobble-head doll. "Because you're kidnapping me and taking me to your secret stronghold, where there's another dragon, right?"
"Right. Exactly. Here's a good one." With one arm, Rath grabbed the girl around the waist and hoisted them both up on the sill of a large window that some idiot had left open. "Okay, Fire, let's do this."
The dragon nodded and flitted out the window. One short, impressive flame show later, and a full-sized dragon awaited them, hovering impossibly close to the wall as they climbed on.
"Should I scream now?" The girl asked, and Rath couldn't help but wonder just how bored she was, to be so excited about being kidnapped.
"Hold on just a little; I'll tell you when it's time." Once the Knight of Fire was certain they were out of arrow-shot, and that they had a clear escape route, he grinned. "Okay, kiddo, scream to your heart's content."
She obliging did just that.
By the time they reached the base camp, Rath found the pink-haired kid growing on him. He usually wasn't much for small fries as friends, but she was pretty cool, probably because she was pretty desperate for a friend. Kids of evil overlords could get that way.
"If you've got two partners, how come only one came with you?" The little girl asked, as if they were discussing something of serious, earth-shattering importance.
"Someone had to stay home and watch the fort, so to speak. If we all just up and left, Yokai would overrun Draqueen." Rath explained. "Set down a little ways out, Fire, or we might toast Rei's precious trees again."
"Okay," She said, craning her neck from side to side in an effort to take in everything before they landed. "Is Rune's dragon made of fire, too?"
"Nah, Rune's got Water. Sissy elf never lets the poor guy have any fun, either."
"I thought elves were s'possed to do nothing but have fun."
"Not this elf." Rath laughed as Fire landed smoothly. "I bet Rune doesn't even know what fun is."
In truly comical fashion, a flying bucket assisted Rath in a speedy – not to mention painful – dismount.
"Dammit, Rune, what was that for?" Rath demanded, sitting up and rubbing his head where the bucket had connected.
"You're late!" Rune yelled, his pointy elven ears flat against his skull and his fangs showing.
"My escape was as unscheduled as my capture, and you know it!" Rath protested. "I had to seize the first viable opportunity, not run away just whenever!"
"You were dallying, and you know it!" Rune shot back. "What did you do, find a nest of demons and take all day killing them?"
"I wish." Rath snorted. "What I did do is get us a hostage, so stop yelling at me, or I'll take her back."
While Rune was still sputtering, Rath turned to help the girl off Fire. When he tried to put her down, she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and gave him a look that said in no uncertain terms that he was going to carry her.
"We're gonna have problems, aren't we?" The Knight of Fire asked, matching her glare for glare. "You won't be pampered here, you know. You're gonna hafta work just like the rest of us."
"I can work just fine." She informed him before pillowing her head on his shoulder. "But you have to teach me first."
Rei, Ami, and a small crowd of refugees arrived, drawn by all the yelling, and stopped to stare. After the way Rath had behaved with the kids in the temple, nobody thought they'd ever see him willingly holding a child. The sight was so astounding, in fact, that it took Rei and Ami several seconds to realize just which child Rath was holding.
"Chibi-Usa!" Rei exclaimed with a gasp, running up to Rath and his burden. "Chibi-Usa, you're alive!"
"'Course I'm alive." Chibi-Usa said, blinking at Rei. "And I'm a hostage, too, and Rath is my keeper."
"Hey!" Rath protested. "When did we decide that?"
"Right this very minute." Chibi-Usa informed him. "Someone's gotta watch me and make sure I don't run away, right? 'Sides, you kidnapped me, so you hafta stay with me. Those're the rules."
"Suddenly, there are rules for kidnapping." Rath told the air around him, venting a put-upon sigh. "Fine then, but you have to do everything I say, 'cause I'm in charge. Those are the rules, too."
I am so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out!
You've probably all forgotten this story, anyway. Yup, it's quite likely that not a soul is going to read this update. I hope that's not the case, though, 'cause that would make me really very sad, and I can't write if I'm sad.
So if you don't want me to be sad and not write for any of my stories, please review for this one.