A/N: CLG's fic (which I strongly recommend you all read) inspired me to get off my butt and write this next chapter. Well, technically I still WAS on my butt while writing, but it's a metaphor, darn it! :P

Well, it's a good thing that I divided this chapter in two, because this part is the lengthiest yet! I was originally going to make this chapter go up to the end of Episode 131, but I decided that enough was enough already! I'll save that for the last chapter...if I don't have to split that chapter up as well!

I apologize if my Alternate Dimension explanations don't make sense, but all I had to go by was canon, which is quite frankly not very much.

I sat on the deck of the ship, slumped morosely in a plastic chair, as the city of Domino came into sight on the horizon. I wondered why it was called "Domino", of all names. Kind of silly thing to name a city...and it wasn't even a Japanese name. Maybe the founder of the city thought up the name at 3 AM while high and drunk.

That last thought made me chuckle, and other people on the boat deck looked at me strangely. They weren't being openly rude or anything...they were Japanese; how could they be rude? Nevertheless, I was sure that they probably all thought I was some sort of lunatic who had snuck on board without paying.

I'd been sitting in this one chair for almost the whole voyage, staring at a dark spot on the wood floor and nibbling on crackers. Also, I hadn't taken a shower in a week, since water had to be rationed on the submarine. I couldn't even remember the last time I had washed my clothes. All that was missing from this image was cartoon flies and stink waves surrounding me.

But maybe those people were right. Maybe I was a lunatic. Perhaps this was all in my head and I'd wake up in some mental hospital, just having hallucinated these past few months...or even my whole life. Thinking about this made my head hurt, so instead I went back over my plan of what I would do after I got off this boat.

Luckily, I did have some emergency cash on me. I wasn't sure if it would be enough, though. There were no direct flights from Japan to Israel, so I'd have to fly to Cairo and get on ANOTHER plane from there. I had no time to look around for the best bargains, so I'd have to get on the first flights that were available. I wouldn't even get to sit in first class, which I had done all my life.

And even if I did have enough money to buy two separate tickets, I'd have to convert my yen to Egyptian money before purchasing the second ticket. And even if I did find my way to Israel...what if things didn't go the way I'd planned? Where would I go then?

I now had an even bigger headache than before, so I decided to just go to sleep until we reached land.

The staring continued even after I left the boat. Proper housewives looked at me in thinly-veiled disgust, as if even setting eyes upon me would soil their sterling reputation. Children buried their faces in said housewives' skirts in fright. There was no way for us to avoid each other...I was riding the subway to the airport, and personal space was nonexistent.

The worst part was that they were all much, MUCH too polite to tell me exactly why they thought me so gruesome. I wondered if it was my haircut.

Well, that settled it. Amon and I were most certainly NOT moving to Japan. In this country, first impressions were everything, and I wasn't making a good impression on them right now. At least I wasn't "showing" yet. Their opinion of me was bad enough without the word "slut" being thrown into the mix.

I thought that the torture session would never end, but it eventually did. Once I got to the airport, though, I had to undergo the process of buying a ticket. My Japanese was mediocre at best, so the clerk and I had a difficult time understanding each other. Since I didn't want to lengthen this process more than necessary, I got a ticket for the first flight I saw.

I then had to wait in the airport for several hours, but I'll just skip over that part. I've babbled on long enough about meaningless things as it is.

When I was finally on the plane to Cairo, I passed the time by thinking about my baby.

It would be a boy. I was sure of that. Don't ask me how I knew that; I just did. Of course, he would be named after his father. I began to construct a rather romanticized image of this baby, leaving out the negative stuff (such as constant diaper changes and being kept awake all night) for the moment.

He would be the most adorable baby ever, I decided, with red hair and dimples. I'd dress him in little sailor suits and those cute teeny baby socks. I would take care of him all by myself, even if Amon made enough money to hire some help. I'd hold little Amon, Jr. all day long, and feed him, and give him baths, and put him to bed...

I must have gone to sleep myself at some point, because next thing I knew it was ten hours later and the pilot was announcing that we would be landing shortly.

Eventually, I did find my way back to Tel Aviv. Don't ask me how, because I don't remember. By the time I got there, I was all out of money, so I had to hitchhike to my destination. I thought about all those horror stories we hear about people getting brutally murdered while hitchhiking, but at this point I decided that I didn't care. At least if I was murdered, it would put an end to this relentless "24/7 sickness".

Eventually, the person who gave me a ride had to drop me off, so I took a bus the rest of the way.

The Rabin Finance Building was surprisingly difficult to find. With such an impressive-sounding name, I had been expecting a shiny, 20-story skyscraper. Instead, it was a nondescript brick structure; only about thirty feet high. I passed by it three times before I realized I had overlooked it.

In the lobby, there were no fancy chandeliers or skylights, like in my father's office buildings. However, it still looked clean and efficiently run. Michael had never been one for showing off, but it seemed like he knew what he was doing.

I'm sure that most of you think I'm crazy for seeking Michael's help, given the circumstances of our last meeting. He had every right to kick me out of the building before I was able to open my mouth. But I felt like this was my one chance to save Amon, and I couldn't think of anyone else to turn to. Obviously, I had failed in doing the job alone. My father would be furious at me for letting Amon go missing, and there really wasn't anything that Mother could do.

The prim-looking receptionist brought me out of my musings by speaking to me in a brusque voice.

"May I help you?" she asked while wrinkling her nose. Apparently, I smelled so bad that she could detect it all the way from across the room.

I walked over (causing the lady to grimace even more), and said in a soft voice that I was looking for Michael.

The receptionist sniffed haughtily at my use of Michael's first name.

"Mr. Rabin is in a meeting right now. Can I take a message?"

I protested that I needed to see him right now. She repeated that that would not be possible.

I think that this was about the time that I started to feel faint. The older woman rolled her eyes when she saw me start to sway on my feet.

"Those theatrics won't work on me, young lady. Mr. Rabin simply does not have time for people such as you. Now leave a message and get out of this building, or I will call security! This is your last..."

I didn't hear just what it was my last of, since I fell unconscious.

"... Good actress, I'm sure. I'm very sorry for this interruption."

I woke up to hear that haughty voice still rattling away. I noted that someone had put me in a chair, and tucked my head between my knees.

And then, I heard another voice. A familiar male voice, to be precise.

"Look, Hadassa, I've heard just about enough of your excuses. You should have called me down here right away! Do you have any idea just who you were treating so rudely? That fine young woman just so happens to be Miss Ekou Garam. Now go make yourself useful, and get something for Miss Garam to drink right now!"

I couldn't see the receptionist get up, but I did hear her say, "Why didn't she just SAY so?" in an exasperated voice before walking out of the room.

As soon as that harpy was out of the room, Michael rushed over to my chair.

"Did you hear that conversation?" he asked worriedly.

I tried to lift up my head to look at him, but he stopped me.

"No, Ekou. Don't try to move yet. You need to regain your strength first."

I heard him kneel down beside me. Evidently, my smell didn't bother him as much as it had the receptionist. I could tell he desperately wanted to find out why I had suddenly shown up in such a disheveled state, but he asked no questions.

The woman returned with some sort of bottle. I raised my eyes up enough to see that it was apple juice. Ugh...I hated that stuff. I therefore hesitated in taking the bottle, but Michael pressed it into my hand.

"You need to drink this," he said gently, "It will help raise your blood sugar so you'll feel better." I decided to be a good girl, and drank half the bottle. I even managed not to make a face, which was no easy task. The disgustingly cloying aftertaste seemed to remain in my mouth forever, but at least it was easy on my stomach. Aside from the crackers and soup, it was the first thing with any nutritional value that I had consumed in over three days. I wasn't sure what the exact amount of time was, since I was too tired to calculate the time difference between Japan and Israel.

I was finally able to sit up straight, and Michael smiled to see me more alert.

"Now then," he remarked, "Would you like to stay at my house for a while? I'll phone ahead and ask the maid to prepare a guest room for you."

Really, I was in no state to refuse his hospitality. As Michael started helping me to the door, Hadassa protested yet again.

"But Mr. Rabin! What about the meeting?"

Michael looked at the woman with infinite patience.

"Hadassa?" he asked.

"Yes sir?"

"To hell with the meeting."

I thought it astounding how Michael decided to help me with no questions asked. It was just like we were picking up where we had left off all those years ago. I had had no idea that any human could have such a capacity for forgiveness. Forgiving people easily was a quality that one did not see in many businessmen. If they were too lenient to their rivals, their business would get eaten alive.

Michael's house was just as unassuming as his workplace. It was half the size of my father's mansion...if that. What was more, most of the rooms were scarcely used, since the house was only inhabited by Michael, his housekeeper, and some part-time employees.

I felt a bit bad assessing his material possessions when he was being so hospitable. I guess it's just an inborn habit among the wealthy. At any rate, I at least tried to make it look like I wasn't looking, which is more than my father would do.

This is not to say that he was impoverished. The room I would be staying in was elegantly furnished, and had an adjoining bathroom. Michael had even moved his only plasma TV in there. This place was as lavish as my room back home. Well, almost.

The first thing I did when I got to my room was take a shower. The grime and sweat on my body had become almost like a second layer of skin, so I took my time in scrubbing it all off. By the end, the cute bar of soap provided was filthy, and much diminished in size.

Since my own clothes had been taken off to be washed, I got dressed in a nightgown that the housekeeper had graciously lent me. Then I collapsed on the pillow-laden bed and fell asleep. This seemed to be yet another pregnancy symptom...I couldn't get enough rest no matter how I tried.

When I woke up, I was hungry for the first time in days. No, I take that back...I was absolutely ravenous. Again, Michael seemed to have foreseen this, because he had the chef prepare one of the biggest meals I had seen in a long time.

Unlike my family, Michael followed kosher rules, but at this point I couldn't care less. I tried very hard to be polite, but in the end gobbled everything off my plate like a messy dog. Oh, I knew I'd pay for gorging myself like this, but I couldn't stop. Michael politely refrained from commenting on my bad manners.

After dinner, I tried to sneak back to my room, but Michael stopped me and said the words I had been dreading.

"Ekou...aren't you going to tell me why you're here? Of course, I'll be glad to help you in any way I can. I just have to know if anyone's been hurting you."

Hurting me...that had been the exact phrase that Amon had used so long ago. Did Michael have the same intentions?

I resolved that there was no way Michael would see me cry this time. I was much too mature for that now. Yet I couldn't look directly into his eyes without feeling the urge to bawl. My gaze remained entrenched on the floor, to prevent such an embarrassing situation from occurring again.

He waited patiently for my reply. Finally, I decided I had to say something. Of course, there was no way I could tell him the whole truth, but I would try my best.

"I think I need your help," I began.

I said as vaguely as I could that someone important had gone missing, and I needed Michael's help in locating that person. I did not mention Amon's name, but I knew that Michael would be able to see through that.

He didn't ask any questions. He just nodded and said that he would do what he could to help me find this "mystery person". A feeling of calmness finally washed over me. My hard work had been worth it. While I hadn't found Amon quite yet, I was well on my way to doing so.

I turned back once again to go back to the guest bedroom, but Michael wasn't done talking.

"Are you sure that you're all right? I'm worried about your health...you look so pale and tired. You should go see a doctor tomorrow."

I shook my head vehemently. If I went to see a doctor, then he or she would find out my secret, then they'd tell Michael, who then might not want to help me anymore!

Michael looked skeptical at my refusal, but decided not to press the issue further, and bid me good night.

I was exhausted, yet I couldn't sleep yet. I had too many thoughts racing around in my head.

Obviously, Michael thought that Amon was abusing me. He never said so, but he and I both knew it. It made me wonder just what had been said in their little exchange. Had Amon threatened Michael... or perhaps even me? No, Amon was too collected to resort to cheap threats...right?

I was starting to wonder if Amon had ever loved me at all. I wasn't deaf...I had heard the scurrilous rumors about what his social life had REALLY been like at that school. His name had been linked to several girls during his time there, and even a few guys. Servants gossiped over everything, so for a while I had just ignored it. But what if it was true? I still believed Amon when he said that the other girls had no personality...but was personality really everything?

But if he didn't love me, then why did he keep coming back to me? I had thought that we were soulmates for so long, and I was still determined to make this work. I would even let him continue those affairs with the other girls, if that was what would make him happy and keep him with me.

But...what if he would be happiest without me there at all...?

At this point, I thought I heard the very faint sound of a baby crying. I had finally decided a while back that this was all in my head, since there was no way that this baby could have remained a baby for so long. Well, that was just great. I was already pregnant, cheated-on, and living off someone else's hospitality, and NOW I was also hearing voices.

Just why did I keep hearing that baby, anyway? Did it have something to do with that ectopic pregnancy? I preferred to keep that incident buried in the back of my mind, since it was too painful for me to think about.

Now, of course, when I've had a couple of months to remember the details of what happened, the link between the two events is obvious. But at that moment, my brain was pretty much fried from all that had happened.

I decided to employ a tactic I often did when things were stressful...go to sleep and think about it later. It took a while, but I eventually did just that.

In a lot of stories such as this, the characters are confused when they wake up in a new place for the first time. Well, I had no such confusion when I woke up the next morning. And if I did, it was all buried by the one instinct that immediately roared to life: get to a bathroom right away.

I knew it had been a bad idea to eat so much food on a half-starved stomach, but I just hadn't been able to rein in my baser instincts. And now, I was having the sickness attack to end them all. The part of me that could still think seriously wondered if I would be stuck in front of this toilet for the entire day.

After a few minutes, someone knocked on my bedroom door. It was the housekeeper, checking to see if everything was all right. I didn't answer, since I was kind of busy at the time. She then walked into the bedroom and tapped on the bathroom door itself, but thankfully walked away after a minute or so.

When my stomach finally stopped heaving, I got myself cleaned up and walked out to the hallway. I saw the housekeeper whispering with Michael several feet away. Uh-oh.

Michael then saw me, and looked at me worriedly. I hoped for the best.

"We got you some new clothes. They're not fancy, but I think they'll do until we can get you some better ones." he stated as he gestured at a large plastic shopping bag.

I hurriedly stammered that getting nicer clothes would not be necessary. Really, I just wanted them out of my way so I could go back to bed.

"Are you sure?" Michael answered. I didn't answer, and he held out the bag of clothing to me.

I had just started to think that everything was okay when he dropped the bombshell.

"Well, get dressed quickly, then. We're going to the hospital."

DAMMIT.

Michael insisted on driving me there in his nicest car. We didn't say a word to each other on the way over. In fact, I wasn't even quite sure where he was taking me. I passed my time by looking out the window, thankful that the glass was tinted so people on the outside couldn't look in and see me.

And then...oh no, he was pulling into the parking lot of Sourasky Medical Center. Specifically, the part of the center where the women's hospital was. I was doomed. I wished I had a big floppy hat and sunglasses, so people wouldn't recognize me on my Walk of Shame. I knew I was probably being melodramatic about all this, but those damn hormones were taking over my body!

Michael still was keeping his silence during the seemingly infinite trek across the parking lot. I couldn't figure out whether it was due to embarrassment or anger.

Then when we got to the actual building, the suspense was built up even further by the long wait. Michael later insisted that we were only in the waiting room for about twenty minutes, but it felt more like twenty hours to me.

While Michael was at the check-in desk, I was bombarded by questions from other women in the room. I stared at them blankly until they got the picture and minded their own business. Really, what was it to them whether this was my first baby or not?

And when they weren't trying to talk to me, they were talking about me. They didn't think I noticed, but I saw how all those women looked pityingly at me then murmured to each other. Obviously, they felt very sorry for the poor unwed teenage mother who was sitting way over in the corner of the room.

There was one scary moment, though. One woman not much older than me tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "Excuse me...have we met before?"

I shook my head while maintaining my "mind-your-own-business" demeanor. But this lady was persistent.

"Really? I could have sworn I've seen you someplace before. But I just can't remember where! Wait...let me think for a second..."

Thankfully, a nurse spared me total humiliation by walking up and informing the woman that it was her turn to be seen by a doctor.

Shortly after that, Michael returned from the check-in area and sat in a chair next to me. We remained silent for a couple of minutes before I flat-out asked him, "Are you mad?"

He sighed resignedly, as if he had been afraid I would ask that. He seemed to be trying to formulate just the right answer. Finally, though, he said something.

"No. Not at you, at least."

"Then who?" I demanded. I was pretty sure I already knew the answer, though.

Michael opened his mouth, then apparently thought better and closed it. He tried to open it again, but once again the nurse stopped the awkward situation by telling me that it was my turn. I noted that she hadn't announced my name where everyone else could hear it, and decided that Michael must have had something to do with that.

At first, the exams they did on me weren't too bad. I just wish they could have gone easy on the blood-drawing. The nurse said they had to test the levels of a bunch of different hormones, but I failed to see why they couldn't just prick my finger like in a blood-sugar test. I also had to provide a urine sample, which was embarrassing, but at least they let me do that by myself. The rest of the stuff was weighing and taking blood pressure and all the things that are common in regular checkups.

I was all ready to get out of this place, but then the nurse led me to another room. She handed me one of those crappy hospital gowns and left. This room looked mostly like a normal doctor's exam room...if it weren't for the menacing-looking table with the stirrups, that is!

No, I did not like the look of this at all. I sort of wished Michael were here, just so I would have someone to distract me. But then again, I wasn't sure I wanted him to see me wearing that gown.

I changed quickly, muttering angry curses at modern medicine while trying not to look at the table. I then waited what seemed like an additional twenty hours before the door opened.

"Why hello again, Miss Garam!" said an all-too familiar voice.

It was that doctor. The same one who tortured me with his sickeningly cheerful demeanor while I was recovering from my previous ailment! For once, I would have welcomed one of the fainting fits that had become routine recently, but it didn't happen. All I could do was watch sullenly as he put on his rubber gloves.

Do I want to give all the details of what happened next? I don't think so. I also don't think you want to hear all the details. So suffice to say that I just kept my eyes closed and pretended that it was Amon wielding that thing that looked like a giant, mutated pair of tweezers.

And as if that weren't enough, he had to ask me all sorts of weird questions that I didn't know all of the answers to...always in that same patronizing tone. At least he gave me a prescription for some medicine that he said would help with the sickness. He also told me that I wasn't drinking enough fluids. Well, DUH.

THEN I went to yet another room to get a sonogram done. Michael was able to be in the room this time. He even did a passing job of acting like it was his own baby.

Now this I was interested in. Sadly, I didn't get to see much of anything. I'd heard stories of how exciting it was to see features of the baby and hear its heartbeat, but the doctor said that it was too early to do most of those things. Still, I was able to see something that the doctor called a "gestational sac" if I looked very carefully.

Mostly, I felt a bit disappointed at myself. This was supposed to be a moment where I was super-excited and thrilled about the life within me and all that, but I felt almost nothing. It was just difficult for me to form an emotional attachment with what looked like just a small, roundish blob. I hoped this didn't mean I'd be a bad mother.

As it turns out, things would get even more complicated in a few short minutes.

Dr. Smug-Face was almost done with the exam when something on the screen caught his eye. His brow furrowed, and he moved the sensor thing over to the side a bit. Before I had time to really think about what might be going on, his face brightened.

"Congratulations!" he said in his most cheerful voice yet.

"What is it?" I asked warily.

"You two are the proud parents of twins!"

On the ride home, I tried to recall everything I could about twins.

There were two types, I knew that: identical and fraternal. I hoped that they wouldn't be identical so I'd be able to tell them apart. I thought that I'd also heard that some pairs of twins develop their own secret language.

Of course, now there were about ten billion more things that could go wrong. They could be conjointed or whatever it's called. Or one could hog all the nutrients. Or they could get all tangled up in each other's cords.

I decided to just pretend that I was sure everything was perfectly normal. It helped me hold onto some vestiges of sanity, after all.

For the next few days, I tried to keep myself busy. Michael left me more or less alone, except at mealtimes. And those were enjoyable occasions now, since I had the anti-nausea medication.

Mostly, though, I was focused on finding Amon. Right off the bat, I found one major thing that went my way. That Academy's private computer data files were pathetically easy to hack into. Really, it only took me a couple of hours, and I'm not even very skilled with computers! Why did they ever think it was safe to send Amon there?

And that was far from the most unsafe thing at that island. From what I gathered from my hacking, the school was already under investigation for a whole series of criminals that had been let onto the island. There was one guy just a few months back who had even tried to blow up the whole world with a laser! The board of directors, evidently, had done nothing about this other than issue some vague warnings. The e-mails I snooped through seemed to strongly imply that these wonderful teachers were going to get the pants sued off of them in a very short while.

This was all just side stuff, though. The important thing, of course, was Amon. I found plenty of information about his whereabouts as well. Maybe more than I wanted to know, even.

This...thing...that Amon had been stalking had sucked about ninety percent of the island's population into an alternate dimension. Amon had told me about these dimensions once, one long winter night when we found it difficult to sleep. I thought that he had been making this stuff up, or at least embellishing the truth. It made my head spin to just think about whole other parallel universes inhabited by monster spirits. Sometimes, Amon had said, residents of these worlds had even warped through holes in the space-time fabric to interact with us! I really wished that said monsters would just keep to themselves, and leave Amon alone.

People had known about these dimensions for longer than I had thought. As far back as ancient Rome, they were writing on the subject. Julius Caesar himself had found something important, but the ship containing the information had been wrecked somewhere in the Mediterranean. The Academy people were trying to retrieve this information to bring the students and teachers back. Some of them thought that some of the valuables had never even been transported on the doomed ship. As the days went on, the talk in the e-mails tilted more towards finding the specific island with all this hidden treasure.

At first, I considered just letting the Academy officials handle this the rest of the way. It seemed like they now had a good plan to get everyone home in one piece. But then I started to wonder...what if Amon would be better off over there than here?

Ironically, it was Michael's actions that started this line of thought. I had discovered the reason he didn't have as much spare money as my family. Apparently, he liked to give his millions away to charity foundations! I was no stranger to philanthropy, but I'd never seen anyone as enthusiastic about the whole idea as Michael was.

He was so selfless...and I knew that would be his downfall. As long as he didn't keep this money for himself, he could never advance to be the influential man that my father was. And one night when I was lying awake in bed, my mind started drawing parallels between Michael and Amon.

How could I have been so greedy? Amon cared too much about Sid to get anywhere in life. His first priority was always Sid's happiness, not his own success. I knew that Amon was destined to be a King, and there was no way he could do that in the present circumstances. As much as I hated the idea, as heartbroken as it made me, I would have to let Amon go.

But then...what would I do? Would I be able to make my way in life as a single mother, cast out by my family? Or would I have to marry Michael to save my own skin? He had said that he would take care of me for as long as I needed it. I knew now that he was sincere, but I also knew that I wouldn't be happy with him. It was either Amon, or nobody.

Of course, I wished nothing but the best for Michael. I hoped that he would find a wife who made him happy. He would be a great husband...for any woman except me, that is.

I couldn't leave Michael just yet, though. First, I had to stop Amon from returning to this world. And I would need Michael's help for that.

Michael wasn't too thrilled about my latest plan, which I announced on the fifth morning of my stay.

"Now Ekou," he attempted to cajole, "I do want to help you, but this may be going a bit too far. I don't want to do anything that would get you in trouble with the law, and I don't think you should be risking your health, either. Let the authorities take care of this, please? For your own good?"

But I would have none of it. Finally, he gave in.

"All right, then, if this is the only thing that you think will work. I'll fly you to that island later today. But you absolutely must call me if you feel that you are in any danger. I still don't like the idea of this at all."

I agreed, but I knew full well that I'd have to be on my own for this. Michael would mess up all my plans if he tried to help me. I felt very ungrateful thinking that, but it was the truth.

The flight over didn't take too long. It was an incredibly tiny place off the coast of Egypt. In fact, if I hadn't been sure of the coordinates, it might have escaped our notice.

Michael shouted at me to be careful for about the millionth time as I left his helicopter. He wouldn't even let me leave without a GPS tracker, emergency flares, and a cell phone.

I wasn't sure just what this "treasure" would look like. All I knew was that it was a tablet buried inside an old ruin. Well, the ruin was easy to find...it was a giant Roman coliseum right in the middle of the island! But where should I start digging? After thinking for a while, I decided to just start hacking in random places.

My first attempts turned up nothing. I got covered with dirt and rock dust, my arms ached from swinging the pickaxe and moving the equipment, and I was starting to feel queasy even with the medication. I thought momentarily about just giving up and letting them bring Amon back, but I mentally slapped myself at this thought. I had to focus, or I would never get the job done!

Finally, when it seemed like I had littered half the building with gouge marks, I thought I found something. It looked like the bottom huge drawing of some type of dragon. That had to be it...how many huge stone tablets of dragons could one place hold, after all?

It looked like it was too high up for me to reach by myself, so I set up a ladder to reach the rest of the picture.

After several hours, as I was finally making some headway in my work, I heard a helicopter approaching the island. If this was Michael blowing my cover, I thought, I was going to be seriously pissed.

But no, this wasn't Michael's helicopter. This was a whole swarm of them landing! And...OHSHIT those were the guys I had tried to "interrogate" last week! It looked like they had even more soldiers with them this time. I had to find a place to hide, quickly! I jumped off the ladder and ran behind the nearest wall.

I was still clinging onto hope that they wouldn't be able to find my excavation site. But the sensible part of me knew that my plan was ruined. All I could hope for was that they wouldn't find me. If they did...I would have to resort to extreme measures. I had a little surprise in store for them if they tried any funny stuff.

That old fat guy was jabbering away in Japanese. I couldn't understand all of what he was saying, but it seemed like that he was surprised that the tablet was already half dug-up.

And maybe they would have just gone about their business so I could charge them while they were busy. But then the old fat guy's long-haired friend smelled a rat, and stepped closer to where I was. He was looking right at me! I knew then that my gig was up.

"We were wondering where you were! We know that you know about the tablet!" said the long-haired guy in a mocking voice.

Well, there was no use pretending that I was invisible anymore. I slowly stepped out where everyone could see me...but I was holding my surprise behind my back.

Somehow, they seemed to be under the delusion that I was the person who had sent Amon to the school! Now that made me want to kick all those guys in the groin. To think that I'd make Amon go to a place like that!

I retaliated that they must have spies too, so there! Yeah, I knew I sounded like I was Sid's age, but what more could I say at that point? At any rate, they tried to brush it off, making it sound like that their spies were okay, but my spying wasn't. Hypocrites.

Then Long-Haired Guy said that it was high time to start excavating. There was no way I could let that happen. If they took the tablet away, then they'd bring Amon back, and he'd never get to become King!

I couldn't wait any longer. Now was the time for the surprise. I had wired the tablet just in case this happened. I'd just press one button, and it would all explode in their faces! HA!

Of course, the soldiers acted like I was holding a Weapon of Mass Destruction. Long-Haired Guy told them to calm down.

Old Fat Guy told me not to be stupid. I didn't even try to reply to that.

I could have pressed the button right then and ended this whole mess...but I didn't. My finger was right there, yet I faltered. What if the blast was stronger than I intended, and I hurt someone? I really didn't want to kill unless my own life was in danger. Worse yet...what if I hurt myself? Worst of all, what if I hurt my children-to-be?

I couldn't let them know I was considering all that, of course. If they thought I had an ounce of empathy, they'd pounce all over me. So I once again informed them that destruction of the tablet was imminent.

And then, I committed the fatal flaw. I let them distract me. Long-Haired Guy brought up the subject of Amon, and I couldn't keep my idiot mouth shut. I ended up blabbing some of our deepest secrets. Well, except for our whole relationship thing. I don't know what would have happened if I had let that slip.

By the time I caught my mistake, it was too late. Those soldiers rushed at me before I could detonate the bomb. For an instant, I was afraid that they would gang-rape me while Old Fat Guy and Long-Haired Guy looked on. But all they did was pin me down. At least I fell on my side when they tackled me.

This time, they said, they weren't going to let me escape. They made me stand back up, and marched me to the helicopters...only to run into Michael.

I have no idea what tipped him off, but something did. And now he looked positively shocked at the way the soldiers were handling me. I hoped that he wouldn't pull that "that's no way to treat a lady" crap. Because I wasn't a lady at all, and he knew that.

Thankfully, he didn't do that. He seemed to compose himself, then walked over to the soldiers.

"Who is the leader of all this?" He asked. One of the soldiers pointed to Long-Haired Guy. Now that was strange...all this time I had thought that Old Fat Guy had been the boss! Apparently, Michael knew or had heard of this man, because he immediately started addressing him as "Pegasus Crawford". Which was a stupid name in my opinion, but it sure beat the hell out of "Long-Haired Guy".

Michael started whispering to this Pegasus Crawford. I caught phrases such as "mentally disturbed", and "I'll take care of all this". When they were done talking, Pegasus Crawford motioned at the soldiers to let me go.

"Well, this is against my better judgment, but Mr. Rabin here says he'll keep a close eye on you." he said in English. I spat at his feet to show him my undying gratitude.

I didn't complain about the whole "mentally disturbed" part. I was mentally disturbed, and I knew it fully well. I just hadn't been aware that Michael was that astute.

I had failed. Now that those people had the tablet, they would bring Amon back, and nothing would change. I'd have to take it upon myself to make sure that Amon became King. And to do that, I'd have to be waiting for him at the Academy.

Michael was very unhappy about me setting off yet again, but I convinced him that I wouldn't try to blow anything up this time. Good thing he was such a wimp, since any reasonable person would have put their foot down. As soon as we got back to his house, I packed my bags with what few possessions I had.

As Michael gave me money to buy the airplane and boat tickets, he said, "Just be careful, okay?"

I could find no response. All I could do was say good bye and walk to where the taxi was waiting outside the front gates, and hope that this time I would finally be able to help Amon on the proper path.