-1Chapter 4

candle wax, knives, doctors and a goddess.

Dinner ended quietly, the League absorbing the ideas that the tweens had presented, while the tweens sat silently wondering what they were eating. Neither party said much to the other as the meal continued. Each of them returned to their rooms as soon as they finished the meal, or tried too.

Going off in different directions, they attempted to get back to their rooms. None of them had very good directional sense, so Nemo's submarine quickly became a maze. The white walls, the statuary, none of it did them any good as the halls crisscrossed around them.

"Where am I now?" asked Maya. The beautifully decorated halls all looked the same to her, she could have sworn that she had seen this door before, or was it just her imagination?

"Ooof!" grunted a voice as Maya collided with the invisible man. How did she know it was he? Well the absence of a visible body with the sound of a voice might be a clue.

"Mr Skinner?" she asked, looking around for an indication of where he had fallen. Bending over to help him up would have been foolish. Where he was would be a factor, as was what her hand might meet as she reached for him.

"Skinner girl, just Skinner." he said roughly in his accent that reminded the girl of home. "You lost?" he asked.

"Yes, unfortunately." she said, grumbling in her tone.

"This big ol' boat is a big 'un eh?"

"Too big." she agreed. "What are you doing around without any clothes?"

"Keepin' tabs on you and your friends," explained the voice. She tensed, she really didn't like being spied on.

"Why?" she asked icily.

"So you don't get into any trouble is all." he said. Had he been visible, you would have seen him shrugging. She didn't believe him, but didn't know how to phrase it diplomatically. Unlike her friends, she attempted to be diplomatic, mostly. She decided against being completely over the line.

"What kind of trouble?" she asked.

"Gettin' lost, that kind of trouble."

"Why no clothes then?"

"So I can spot the other kind of trouble more easily." She was still dying to know what else he had been sent to find out, but her train of thought was interrupted by his voice. "Like an escort back to your rooms Miss?" he asked. She blinked.

"If I could see you…" she started.

"Oi, that? That's not a problem," he stated. "Hold up your arm." she did so. He settled it around his so she held his arm as a lady should. Leading her to her rooms, neither of them noticed Kie and Art staring at Maya as her arm led her across a hallway. Art gave Kie a puzzled look.

"Skinner?" she asked.

"Skinner." he confirmed. They shook their heads and walked down the hall. Still in search of their rooms, deciding to leave it at that.

†

He had found his way to his rooms with surprising ease. Look about the room, he found a bureau. Stately white, it had a few decorations and a mirror. He shook his head and look for something to do. Finding no books and no writing utensils, he held his hips and shook his head. He felt something in a pocket somewhere and reached into his trench coat pocket. Long and thing, pulling the object out he was surprised to find a penny whistle, also known as an Irish flute. He frowned at it as a knock sounded on the door.

"Yes?" he asked, opening it. One of the officers stood there. The officer stepped to attention and bowed to him. Quietly, Ryder winced. He hated to be bowed too; he hated to be thought of anything better then what he was. He was a human boy, not a god who had to be worshipped.

"The Captain requests your presence on the bridge." The man stepped back from the door, and as Ryder followed him out of the room, he held the flute in his pocket and kept a slight frown on his forehead. He knew how to play it, but wasn't Kali the pipe player? The sight of the bridge stopped the thought. White again, yet silver helms and other various instruments littered the area. Sonar pinged in the background as the officer stepped in, bowed to the captain, turned and left. Ryder stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Nemo looked up at him from his map.

"Ah, Ryder." his accent obvious in his speech.

"Sir." said Ryder, attempting to be humble.

"Do you recall my statement of before?" he asked. Ryder nodded, knowing both what the Captain spoke of, and where this was going. "The Nautilus is a magnificent vessel; my lady will run until Kali brings me to my resting place. I wish to teach you how to handle her." Ryder raised an eyebrow at the idea of 'Kali' bringing him to his resting place, but nodded at the question. Being able to run this submarine, well, that would defiantly be a bonus when… if they ever got back to their time.

"Good. We can start by getting you back to your room so you can have an early start tomorrow." Nemo led the tall man off the bridge and down a few hallways. Stopping in front of the conference room, he looked down the hall. The door directly opposite to them looked closed, but had a small arrow of light leading from the room into the hallway. Nemo frowned at it, and strode down the hall to throw the doors open. As in the movie, the goddess Kali stood there in the white room. This time, instead of having Nemo himself stand there, you saw Kali bending over a spilt candle as it leaned towards the statue. It wasn't burning, but it had fresh wax on the top. Her coat was off, and it looked like she had just been sitting there for a time. She stood and turned the candle still in her hand. Her eyes flickered with something as she looked over Ryder, and they still had a hint of whatever it was as she bowed to Nemo.

"Captain." she said quietly, retrieving her coat. Walking past them, she didn't even flinch as Nemo closed the doors with a snap. Waiting until she was out of sight, Nemo turned to his new protégé.

"Why does she fear you?" he asked. The question caught Ryder off guard.

"Huh? .. Umm… I… We…" he stammered. Nemo shook his head.

"Fear is something that can exist in any form, and it destroys. She is fighting it, but she is already breaking inside, how much longer can she hold up before she loses the will to live?" he asked. Ryder looked mortified.

"But … I… " he started.

"Quiet." said Nemo. "Do as you need to do. If you need to do something that makes her fall apart inside, and yet it is not your fault, then she must come to terms with herself. Whatever she does after that is not your fault." Somehow, Ryder wasn't convinced.

†

He was lost again. This ship, augh, BOAT, was a pain in the ass!

"Too damn big. Big big BIG!" he growled to himself. He could not tell if it was the water pressure, water itself, or something he had eaten. Maybe he would pay a visit to Nemo to request kitchen duty, just so he could see what he was eating. He grimaced. He did not like water much, and he hated washing pots and pans. It was just so… WATERY!

Kriss walked down the hall, attempting to find his room, when he heard a voice.

"Ow… Ow!" He blinked as a door opened down the hall. He recognised the voice. Kali? He rounded the corner as he heard footsteps behind him. It was Kali as he suspected, standing at the corner with a candle in her hand. She was picking at white stuff on her other hand and it looked like she was biting either her tongue or her cheek.

"Kal?" he asked, "You ok?" she looked up at him and he caught a glimpse of her hand. Covered in wax, it also sported a burn, and he sucked in a breath. "Ouch." She grimaced.

"You're telling me."

"What did you do anyway?"

"Nemo opened the door when I was meditating; I held the candle as it tipped over as to not get banned from the room because I dumped wax on the statue of Kali. Therefore, I have a burn and the wax dried on my hand. I am not one of those people who can stand glue guns and heat on my skin." she explained, picking off another piece of wax and wincing as it took her skin with it.

"Stop!" said a voice behind them. "You'll pull off the skin of your hand with this wax." Hands reached in between the two of them to take her injured one and lift it up to the air and light for inspection. Kal blinked as Doctor Jekyll looked at her hand. As he scrutinised her palm, he took the candle from her other hand and handed it to Kriss. "Here." Kriss blinked as well, Kali grinned slightly, and then winced as Jekyll poked at the wax.

"Ow." He sighed.

"I can't see a damned thing in this light, come with me. Both of you." he said, gently guiding Kali by her hand and not watching Kriss to see if he followed them. Made to sit on his bed while the doctor rummaged threw his supplies for things, Kriss stood by the door. "You, boy. Come here." Kriss moved to where Jekyll was standing and was automatically loaded up with many things. "Hold these." Kriss and Kali blinked as they looked at each other. Moving back over to where his patient sat, Jekyll turned up the electric light above his bed and sat beside the girl to scour her hand.

"Ow." He gently worked some tweezers under the wax and levered it off. It hurt. A lot… but it did not pull half as much skin off as the other method did, Kali noted. After taking all the wax off, he examined the bubbled burn.

"You really have quite a burn here Kalypso."

"I swear it wasn't my fault," she said threw clenched teeth. His habit of turning her hand to see it better exposed it to air, and the air hurt her skin. Gently as he could, he moved a finger over her skin as she gritted her teeth to keep from crying out.

"Hand me some of that herb cream," said Jekyll. Kali raised her eyebrows. This guy could really be demanding when he wanted to be. Kriss obeyed without a word, which caused Kali to be even more surprised. Slowly, they bandaged her hand and tended to the burn. Examining it after they let her have her hand back, she found it almost more efficient then the modern way. Looking up, she saw the doctor sneak a look at Kriss, who was calmly putting the things away. Turning around, Jekyll extended a hand. With somewhat of a glance of relief, she watched Kriss shake it. Therefore, Jekyll had an apprentice and she herself was apprenticed. Good. Two friends down, four to go.

No, 3. Three and only three. She mentally corrected herself. She had decided earlier that it was time to get over Ryder. Now, before anyone used that feeling for him against her or him. Besides, he would never love her and he had Sora at home waiting for him to get on MSN. Why keep forcing herself into his life? He had his own destiny ahead of him, as she had hers. A small thank you later, she left. The two remaining got down to business of teacher and student. Kriss noticing things quickly.

†

Getting back to her room, she reviewed what she had learned. All of her friends that she cared to think of were accounted for. Art was the cook's help, Maya was with Mina, Kriss with Jekyll, and Kie was repairing. She would have tried to recruit Skinner, but she knew the back home, Kie was a mechie, a mechanic underclassman. He would not mind. In fact, he probably would not mind it at all. She lay back, attempting to get herself relaxed. Flexing her hand slightly, she winced. What she wouldn't do for healing powers. She just wanted sleep. Sleep could save the world, and heal a land. For her, it was the only thing keeping her going. Tomorrow would not exactly be early, she figured the spy would be the kind to sleep in, but it would still be earlier then she wished it to be.

Damn, she wanted her music. Anything, her room, her clothes, her computer, anything to brush away the day that had come from their dreams. She didn't like being used. Really, that's what they were. They were pieces in the place of Quartermain. She felt it. The sorrow seeped threw the walls like a noxious gas. To an extent, it suffocated. It hurt to breath, because then the sorrow would come flooding into her lungs and seep threw her body. She thought back on the day. Scoffing at herself for things she had done wrong. She was still angry with herself for that kiss. There could have been a different way for him to be broken from the pain. She could have thought about that and found some other way. What about that speech earlier about the future? Was that bull or what? "Everyone is equal and free"? Huh, that was that complete bull. Half the things she had said there had been wrong. How could she? Letting people believe the lies of a mind of someone who wished for better. Equal and free, feh. If all people were equal and free and such, then their wouldn't be racism and stuff of the like. Clichéd was an understatement in this instance. Try complete lies on the part of someone with an overactive imagination. Letting her head lie back into the pillows, she yanked the knife she had left in her belt out of it. Out of curiosity, she yanked the sheath off the stiletto. Laying the knife across her hand, she looked at the blade and the hilt. She had told herself many a time that no one would miss her if she died. This particular night and day had continued the idea. The only reason she had never actually done it, was that she knew she had a good future; she just was hesitant to go looking for it. Besides, who would keep the rest of the world sane and fairly ok from her insanity? Someone had to be completely insane, yet sane enough to keep the world intact.

"If I died tomorrow, no one would miss me."

Coughing haggardly from the memory, she let her hand grasp the hilt, and she let her eyes slip shut. Just for a moment. It was wrenched suddenly from her hand. Eyes not open yet; she let loose half a growl and a catlike snarl and brought her hand across where the attacker would be. She felt her left hand rake flesh, felt liquid on her fingers, and heard a light male voice grunt in pain.

Kali opened her eyes to see her burnt hand dripping with blood, and Ryder holding his throat. In his other hand, he held the knife. The door was slightly open, and he stared at her. Partly with fear, annoyance, and anger. Her own feelings flashed in a jumble. As if a highway of thoughts drove threw her mind and heart all at once, the drivers all suddenly lost control of their vehicles, and all crashed into each other. Her throat and her stomach turned into a knot. He stumbled backwards as her face lost the primal catlike snarl, and a combination of fear, remorse and worry crossed her face.

She moved off the bed and towards him, hiding her left hand from her vision. He backed against the door, closing it. He couldn't talk, and coughing, he raised the knife against her when she came close. Blocking out the pain of his pain somewhere in her mind, she grabbed the wrist with the knife against it and put it to her throat. He looked at her with confusion. She figured it fair trade. Something was telling her to try this, and if it didn't work, or he didn't want it, she figured that it was fair trade for him to spill the same amount of blood on her.

Raising her left to his neck, she moved his away as gently as she could. His eyes were closed as he lay back against the wall in pain from it. She felt the knife move against her throat, but didn't slow with what she was doing. Touching her hands to the wound, she felt energy leave her, and saw the wound close. She felt the cool steal of the blade leave her skin as her vision went black.

†

And thus, how to leave a cliff-hanger on my part becomes apparent.

I guess, wait for the next chapter… I dunno… Thanks to those who have been reviewing, and to those that keep coming back, Thanks for coming here. I watch the stats, and you guys keep making it nice for me to write. Its nice to know that my stuff is being read, … or hopefully read… I can hope, I can dream, the like .
Any suggestions at all people? I went kinda blank for ideas, so that's why it took longer to write… that and I had my computer confiscated for a time. Heh heh…. Uhh… yeah, I have a laptop, so my parents like to confiscate it when I "get out of line" grimace we all know it eh? Parents… sheash. Anyway, this writer is gonna upload this chapter, and get off to bed. Because Im tired, and its almost midnight here… damn the evilness of school the next day. sigh Alright all, see you in chapter 5.