The Company Part 2

The metal clink of the old locks finally turning rang through the underground lair. Shego tossed the keys to where Drakken leaned over one of the others in front of her. She tried to ignore the furrowing of his brow as he caught the keys and let out a deep sigh as he moved to open his. Her own curiosity and interest was at a high, a mixture of learning about whispered mysteries and another to possibly unload what she already knew.

She slid open the metal drawer and let out a slight cough as the dust dislodged from around it. She caught the flicker of a smirk on Drakken's face as he carefully slid his own open. She frowned as she intentionally wafted the falling dust towards him, his expression clearly not amused as he moved to the other side of the filing cabinet and blew at the air towards her.

"Why are you trying to get us both sick," he whined as he cupped his face and waved the air vigorously, "This was your idea, you should be the only one to do so."

"It's your family, you should really be more interested than me," scoffed Shego, "Besides if we were going to get sick, we'd already be from all the temperature changes in this place."

Anticipating him to through together an argument, she grabbed the first folder and waited.

Nothing came.

Shego glanced up to see Drakken staring into the cabinet, no efforts made to rifle through it. She waited a few more beats, knowing he was attempting to form an argument by the racing of expressions on his face as he looked downwards. It settled on pursed lips and narrowed eyes as he began idly flipping papers with little care. A part of her had wanted an argument, at least she could had further pushed the fact he should be more interested in this, not just due to protection but also learning things outside someone's drunken his protests, she knew he had to have some questions about what he did and did not know... she knew she did about her own past.

Her finger paused on the first filled old file in thought. Was there more to her motives of going through this then she thought. For a brief moment she pondered if she was filling some sort of subconscious yearning to have access to her family past as easily as Drakken did. Her thoughts were interrupted by Drakken's gleeful yell.

"These are manuals!" he beamed.

Shego blinked up at him as he held up an old worn builder's manual to an outdated laser. She raised a brow at his excitement as he began to flip through its pages. Without even looking at it herself, she knew it would be useless. Drakken probably had more interesting doodles with easier instructions in the lab bin at the lair. He didn't notice her lack of excitement as he began muttering equations that just sounded like gibberish as she went back to her own file cabinet.

"This one has blueprints for Maria," grinned Drakken as he held up a small laminated book with the dancing doll that inhabited the back of the lab.

"Maria?" asked Shego with a raised brow, "Is it short for something?"

"I suppose it could be a shortened variant of Marianne... but I like Maria better," shrugged Drakken, "Perhaps I can finish fixing her... or make a better version-"

"No," said Shego sternly, "Maria can stay on her own.. and I do mean on her own... If I walk into the lab and she has friends, I'm taking a very long extended vacation... alone."

Drakken looked at her for a beat and smirked.

"What I'm hearing is... you will however... come back," he hummed as he flipped through the book.

Shego scoffed and went back to her own files. As she reached the end of the drawer, Shego held slight disappointment as she closed it. Only finding old financial ledgers, which probably had meaning if she wanted to decipher it. They were no different then the ones she's glanced at in Mama Lipsky's attic long ago, simply older dates. Glancing up at a still humming Drakken, he seemed content to be looking every item in his drawer. Shego opened the next drawer and rolled her eyes as at a quick glance, it was the same thing.

"Is the next drawer of yours the same?" asked Shego. Drakken shrugged, "Could you look."

"I don't want to loose my place," he pouted, "Look at this diamond shaped- Hey!"

Shego shoved him aside and closed the drawer and opened the next one only to close it up again.

"Keys," said Shego as she held out her hand.

Drakken yanked his drawer open with a glare and began trying to find his place.

"Drakken," she waved her hand in his face, "Keys."

"I heard you," he stated.

"Drakken," she snapped. He grumbled and handed her the keys, "Thought so."

"Thought so," she heard him mock under his breath. She reached over and tossed one of his set aside papers on the ground.

"Oh, that was mature," snorted Drakken.

"Mmhmm," smirked Shego as she opened another cabinet, "Oh, well this looks promising."

Shego blinked for a few moments as she saw names on the tops of files. A heavy thick book sat in the front of the files and she snatched it up. It was leather bound with five golden embossed images on the front. The grin spread across her face before she could even identify all of the images on the front. The center held a rigid looking serpent woven into an 'L'. Far more detailed then the images she'd glanced on rings in photos. Four other images circled around it, the easiest being a Gorgon head, easy enough to connect with their Grecian lair home. The other three symbols were not as easy to identify; one a winged serpent, another a horse with a serpents tail of sorts, and finally another serpent with talons and large spikes on its head... all connected by serpent woven ropes around the symbols. Words embossed below it reading, Simul Intexta. Simul Fortis.

The binding creaked as she opened the leather to see a swirled handwriting. She felt herself sitting down against the wall as she took in the writing. Each corner of the yellow-ed page held a symbol each and in the center was the large serpent from the front. Under the symbol the same text as before but written in the space was, 'The Company Manifesto.' Shego didn't have to flip through to know she'd found the very drawer that she had hoped to find, and a book that most likely held the answers to any question either of them could ask.

"Look what I found it," said Shego as she began to carefully flip the page.

"What?" asked Drakken and then after a second, "Where are you?"

She watched his head peak around the corner and then look at where she sat. He raised a brow and then looked at the files in the drawer for a second before Shego held up the book. Drakken put down the the folders he was holding and moved to sit next to Shego. Watching his expression, she could see the curiosity in his own eyes. Any reserve or irritation he'd had about the filing cabinets seemed to have vanished as she watched his hands recoil from clearly wanting to take the book from her. Her hands instinctively gripped it harder despite his retreating as he scooted even closer to her.

"This is much older than my grandmother," said Drakken as he looked at the date as they turned the page, "My grandmother wasn't even alive in 1890."

"I think that's just the establish date there, genius, thus the 'est.' before the number," snorted Shego. Drakken rolled his eyes, "Besides, maybe someone else wrote it, she just had it."

Shego flipped towards the end of the large book and heard Drakken sputter as she looked at any date in the back and noted the writing.

"This has different handwriting. It's probably multiple writers and it only goes to 1950's- There's a lineage chart in the back," Shego flipped a few pages back to see names in elegant writing.

"Don't spoil the ending," whined Drakken. Shego raised a brow at him, "What?"

"I'm looking at the spoiler, right now," stated Shego. Drakken looked confused before frowning and reaching over the flip the pages back.

Shego let out a sigh as she flipped the rest of the pages back to the start and flipped the second page showing all the symbols again, but with names under each image and a small notes with them. The familiar central serpent insignia was obviously the symbol for the Leviathans. It had less detail then the cover and looked like an ink stamp that might have been made for letters. The note under it stating 'Founders. 1890. Head and Heart.'

Her eyes ghosted to the upper left to the Gorgons, which looked like it's general name, tho Shego notes that there was more details in the serpent like hair then came through on the cover. 'Joined 1925. Armor and Shield.' Shego's eyes drifted to the far right to where the winged serpent was. The rendition almost felt like a more human-ish top half then the one on the cover. Perhaps these were earlier depiction then the cover, assuming this was logged after its establishment considering the dates listed under the images, especially this one. Typhon was written swiftly next to the images and the writing, like the others stated there joining of The Company. 'Joined 1910: Health and Aid, ' there was something almost unsettling about the image.

Moving past the image to under it, fell onto the winged horse serpent that had, Hippocampi. Shego paused at the word, thinking about the more common word of hippocampus which she knew had something to do with the brain... but given by the image had more meaning. Her eyes looked at the notation, 'Co-Founder, 1890: Supply and Serve.' Letting an audible hum out at the reading of co-founder, she waved Drakken's hand away from flipping the page as she looked at the final image of the more rigid looking serpent. Basilisk. The image differed then the front again, there looked to have a sharper beak like face on the serpent, but she moved passed that to the notation. 'Joined 1900: Support and Archive.'

"Mythological serpent related creatures? You think it was coincidence or intentional?" asked Shego as she flipped the page.

"You take too long looking at the page," grumbled Drakken. Shego narrowed her eyes, "You do."

"Could it be, you don't actually read the page?" asked Shego. Drakken didn't make eye-contact with her and looked down at the page.

A wall of text greeted them and she heard Drakken scoff at the intricate writing. Before she could tease him further, something moved onto her foot and she swiftly looked down to see a large centipede paused on her barefoot. Her immediate reaction was to shriek and blast it, tossing the book in the process.

"Ow! Shego!" whined Drakken, rubbing his head from where the book smacked him, "What are you doing?"

Her skin crawled as she looked at the blasted spot and the fact she saw it scurry into under the cabinets. It made her vastly aware they were into an underground lair that hadn't been tended in years. Instinctively she brushed off her pajamas and shivered as she looked up the stairs. She picked up the discarded book and moved closer to the stairs, looking for a switch.

"No apology?" scoffed Drakken from where he sat on the ground.

"Help me find an off switch for the stairs," stated Shego as she looked around the stone frame.

Drakken muttered under his breath but he began looking around the door frame from the other side.

"Found it," he announced proudly. He flipped something and a loud grinding noise erupted the stair well began shooting things in all directions.

"Did you?" snapped Shego as she jumped away as items flew down the stairs towards them.

Drakken hastily flipped something out of Shego's sight and then it all stopped with a clatter of items falling down the stairs. Shego glared at him as he gave her a sheepish grin.

"I flipped it the wrong way," he cleared his throat and indicated to the stairs, "After you?"

Shego crossed her arms and he gave her a nervous look before heading towards the stairs.

"I meant- after me," he stated before stepping over items and walking up the stairwell.

With an agitated sigh, Shego followed after him. Giving another look to the room around her before ascending the stairs, the book tightly in her grip. Any sleep the two might have planned, she knew would wait. The book in question would entice them till morning, but her excitement wavered as she took each step. There was no telling what might be revealed in the book, or in the documents in the lair below... and while she knew Drakken seemed to have let his curiosity win for now... it was only temporary and there was no telling what might flip that switch off again.

Sorry it's short...