I am so sorry for the late update! High school has been kicking my butt this new semester and I haven't had a chance to work on any book expect the ones I have on paper. And that's been few. Then, I've been drawing some fanart for my friend as a very belated Christmas present. And these past three weeks or so, I've been in a Fire Emblem mood. For those past three weeks, I've been replaying Path of Radiance. Then, I got Awakening on the 30th and I finished it on Tuesday. So yeah. I've been neglecting my writing and all of you guys for way to long. HOPEFULLY school will calm down enough to let me get on more!

Review replies:

Wolfgirl: Oh they are, are they? Well, we'll see who Claire chooses!

Lightraygirl: That's fine. I've done it before. And a lot of people love Teddy and Sac, myself included :)

One more thing...

This is become my most popular story! Total:

1,019 views!

21 reviews!

11 favs!

I'm so honored, guys! Thanks for loving it so much!

NOW! Chapter 6 is when everything starts to pick up...

Chapter 6

Ahkmenrah

"Larry! We have a problem!"

"Ahk, what's wrong?" Larry bolted into Ahk's room.

Ahk was staring at the Tablet in horror and fear. A sliver of the Tablet's bottom left corner was blood red instead of bright golden. Larry gulped. "That doesn't look good."

A sudden shriek of pain made both men jump and spin around, staring at the entrance.

"Claire!" Jed's panicked voice sounded through the museum.

"Catch her!" That was Lance.

Great rumbling sounded as Rexy leaped forward. "Did you get her?!" Octavius cried.

Rexy roared in confirmation.

"That doesn't sound good." Ahk gulped.

"Come on!" Larry was already racing out.

Ahk glanced at his Tablet and then raced after the night guard.

Claire

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Claire shrieked.

"Claire! Look at me! Focus on—what's wrong with your eyes?!" Jed broke off with a strangled cry.

Her head was on fire and she could just imagine what her eyes looked like: completely blue with no whites or pupils. "My head…!" She moaned, clutching it between her hands.

Claire felt hands grasp her shoulders, and Octavius's cry of protest, "No, Jedediah, don't touch her! She might be contagious!"

"I don't care!" Jed snapped. "Claire, focus on the sound of my voice, or my hands on your shoulders. Just focus on somethin' other than the pain!"

Jed kept talking. Claire slowly dropped her hands from her head and put them over Jed's arms. Her breath was coming in short, ragged gasps as spike after spike of pain ripped through her skull.

"That's it. There you go, focus on me." Jed soothed. "You're comin' back. C'mon, partner, don't give in now!" He added as Claire let out a wail.

"J-Jed…" Claire breathed. She felt her eyes flash normal and back to the different state. "S-smack me… tw-twist my arm… do s-something… to shock me… out of this…"

She couldn't see the look on Jed's face. Another wail rose from her lips and Claire gripped Jed's arms tightly. "Nngh. There you go, partner. Focus on gripping my arms."

"S-shock… me… out of… this!" Claire growled. Another screech of pain ripped through the quiet museum.

"Jed… maybe you should step away…" Larry murmured.

"I will shoot you in your dadgum leg if you try and pull me away!" Jed warned.

"You're guns don't fire."

"I can throw punches."

"Jed…"

"No, Giagantor! Claire is my friend and I will help her out!"

J-Jed… Claire thought through the pain.

"Okay, Claire, I can only think of one way to snap you out this." Jed murmured.

She didn't know what he meant. Before she could ask what he meant, a sharper jab of pain ripped through her mind and she heard a laugh. She felt Jed pull her forward, but Claire managed to cry out, "WAIT!" and pushed him back.

"Little Claire can't handle the spell, eh?"

That voice! It couldn't be…?!

"It is me. Your father. Missed me? How did you manage to hide from me for so long?"

"How have you managed to keep consciousness?" Claire challenged silently.

"I'm a sorcerer. When I died, I sent my spirit into the world to enter into the model that would be made. Though, at the time, I didn't know there would be a model."

"You infected the Tablet, didn't you?" She'd heard Larry and Ahk talking about the little silver of blood red on the Tablet.

"Clever, clever girl. But I should have expected that, you being my daughter and all." Her father sighed.

"Just leave me alone, Caagel."

"Why should I? I vowed revenge on you, and that's just what I'm seeking."

"Claire? Claire, what's wrong?" Jed's voice broke through her thoughts.

Jedediah…

"You should leave me alone because I'm stronger than I was before."

"How so?"

So he couldn't see her thoughts! That helped. Claire growled. "I won't tell you. Live in fear for a while. See how it feels."

"Why you—"

Her father's presence suddenly faded and then a jab, more painful than all the others combined ripped through her skull. Claire screeched and cried out, "Jed! Do it! Snap me out of it! Hurry! Before he kills me!"

She couldn't focus on anything around her, just the painful jabs that were coming in waves after waves through her mind. She felt Jed pull her forward and she groaned as another sharp jab tore through her mind. Jed's hand brushed a lock of her hair out of her face and then he kissed her.

That shocked her out of Caagel's attack really quickly. Her eyes quickly changed back to normal and widened as she stared at…

Wait, LANCELOT?! Lance had kissed her?

Claire shoved him and scrambled backwards. "What are you doing?!" She shouted.

"Protecting Jedediah from possible harm." The knight explained. "And saving you. Win-win."

Jed was glaring at Lance with barely contained rage. His fists were clenched and Octavius had to hold him back. "You dadgum knight! I would have been fine! You didn't need to protect me! What have I always said? I don't like to be manhandled! I'm not some tiny figurine!"

"Well, technically, you are a tiny figurine for twelve hours of the day." Claire couldn't pass that one up.

Jed froze and turned to her. She grinned a weary crooked grin. Jed started laughing. "Even when you're in a lot of pain and really tired, you still manage to make sarcastic remarks. I love it."

Lance moved to help Claire up but Jed pushed past him and helped the Highlander to her feet. She tried to walk and nearly fell over. Jed caught her. "You okay?"

"I will be." Claire grunted.

With the dusty blond cowboy's help, she managed to limp over to Lance. Before he could speak, she slapped him. "That's for making me think Jed was kissing me." Then she hugged him. "But I can't stay mad at you forever. Thanks for saving my life."

"I will never get women." Lance sighed. He hugged her back.

Claire broke off and limped over to the receptionist's chair. She flopped into it and rubbed her temples. Jed hovered near by and the others all watched her with a worried expression. "I'll be able to explain in a minute." The throbbing was fading and her strength was returning.

Finally she sighed and stood up. "I know what's causing the illness on the Tablet."

"What?" Ahk asked instantly. He realized he'd interrupted and flashed an embarrassed grin. "Sorry."

"It's fine, Ahk. 'Tis your tablet, after all." She smiled. "Anyways… it's my father… Caagel. He's a sorcerer, and a strong one. Everything that just happened with me there was his doing. He's… had a grudge against me for years. Ever since I tried to kill him, that is. He finally found me, and now he's going to take everything from me… you, my friends, and the Tablet, which means my life." She couldn't stop her gaze from flicking to Jed. She sighed and looked away.

"So that means that if the blood red color spreads all the way up the Tablet…" Nick started.

"We… die?" Attila finished.

"Yes." Claire rubbed her hand over her face. "I might be able to slow it down… but I don't know how much." She sighed. "Oh, I'll be able to tell you guys when it—nngh!" She hunched over.

"Claire?" Jed put a hand on her back.

"I'm fine." She panted. "As I was saying, I can tell you guys when the color spreads. It just spread a little bit more there."

"So you can slow it down somewhat?" Ahk asked quietly.

"Yes." Claire nodded. "But I can't stop it." She looked at Larry. "We have to go to Scotland's museum. My brother is there. He's just as good as my father at sorcery. He should be able to help us. But… there's a catch… Caagel is there too. We'll have to be really careful."

"I'll talk to Dr. McPhee tomorrow." Larry promised. "And if you aren't too tried, could you slow down the illness?"

Claire bounced to her feet. "I'll get it done right away."

She hurried off before anyone could offer to go with her. She froze as footsteps sounded behind her. Her bow was in her hand in a flash, an arrow knocked and ready to fire. "Who's there?" She growled.

"Hold your horses, partner! It's me!" Jed came around, hands up.

Claire sighed and put her bow away. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry. I'm just worried somethin' will happen again." His eyes sparkled with worry.

"Don't worry, partner. I'll be fine." She felt a little pleased to use the cowboy term, but it sounded really weird.

Jed was obviously surprise. "Okay, not goin' to lie. It sounds weird hearin' 'partner' in a Scottish accent!"

"Aye, laddie." Claire agreed. "It sounded weird to my ears too."

They continued on to the Tablet. The blood red color was slowly creeping up the tablet, thankfully. It would take a while for it to completely take over the tablet. And with Claire's spell slowing it down, it'll take even longer.

But they had to hurry. They couldn't delay, not with what the outcome would be.

Well that was tense. And Claire can use magic?! Who would've known? *chuckle*

QotD: Do you think Claire's brother is a good guy or a bad guy?