by Lucky Charms

Disclaimers: See Part 1.

Feedback is always welcome: luckycharms@e-scribblers.com.

Copyright © 2004 by Lucky Charms. All Rights Reserved.

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Chapter Twelve

Date: August 30, 3021
Time: 3:32am
Location: Brian and Aeryk’s Condo

The early morning is dark and heavy with rain. A fierce storm thunders outside and Aeryk, held close by the sleeping Brian’s embrace, stares blankly at the bedroom window and watches the rain cascade down the glass.

The visions are coming more often now. What does this all mean? That book has become some stupid fairy tale. Aeryk lets out a frustrated sigh. What could that Vincent guy possibly want with a fairy tale? What’s about that book that I’m missing beside some stupid story about Gods and magic?

Aeryk grimaces as Brian rolls over, taking most of the blanket with him. Aeryk tears back some of the blanket back and Brian lets out a slight snort.

Aeryk grins slightly. How cute. He thinks about Brian briefly then returns to the reason why he’s unable to sleep. I thought I was over my family’s death. So why did the death of Jackie’s brother bring it all back? I guess I just associated it with how I felt when I had to stand alone in this massive funeral for my family.

After that, I traveled as far east as I could go. I couldn’t stay in Seattle another moment without thinking of my family. How did I end up in New D.C. anyway? I guess it doesn’t matter; Derryk took care of me then.

I turned out alright I guess. I’m not psychotic in anyway, well, except for the visions I guess.

Man, what’s going on here? Why am I seeing these crazy things? And why is it so hard for me to tell anyone about them?

They’ll probably think I’m some sort of freak, but I told Brian about my first vision and he didn’t seem to mind.

Damn it Aeryk, stop thinking and get back to sleep. You’re going to have a long day and night ahead of you, what with that assignment and all.

Oh, I wonder if Brian ordered... No wait, he probably didn’t. Aeryk grins. As much as I love the boy, he’s so inept at so many simple things. I kinda like it though. Makes me feel needed.

A pang of guilt attacks Aeryk’s heart and he grimaces. He’s so patient with me. That day in the boat really scared me. I thought things would fall apart after that, but he stuck with me. I guess our love got even stronger then, too. He hasn’t tried to force anything on me. He’s always been so gentle with me. I’m trying Brian, I really am. This last week has been good for me; I’ve let that part of my life go bit by bit. I don’t see Jason looming in the shadows anymore. I just see the love in your eyes every time I wake up in the morning, next to you.

Brian rolls over again and wraps his arms around Aeryk with a slight grunt. Aeryk grins slightly as he feels a slight kiss on the back of his head.

"You awake?" Aeryk whispers.

"Yeah." Brian mumbles. "I can’t sleep if you can’t."

"Sorry." Aeryk apologizes as he turns to face Brian. "Got some things on my mind."

"D’you want to talk about it?"

Aeryk gazes into Brian’s dark eyes. "I don’t know. I’m still trying to put things back together."

"You still thinking about your family, huh?"

"Yeah," Aeryk replies softly. "Among other things."

Brian adjusts himself to get more comfortable. "Like what?"

"Us." Aeryk mutters.

"Us?" Brain says in shock. "Why, is something wrong?"

Aeryk looks down for a moment. "Well, it’s about..."

Brian brushes his hand down Aeryk’s face. "Hey, it doesn’t bother me."

"Well, it bothers me. Things shouldn’t be like this." Aeryk exclaims. "I shouldn’t have to..."

Brian silences Aeryk with a light kiss on his forehead. "Shh, don’t worry about it Aeryk. I don’t equate my love for you by getting laid." He chuckles as Aeryk throws a playful punch at him. "Ow, stop hitting so hard. I was only kidding with you."

"I’m being serious Bri," Aeryk states. "I want to be close to you like that, but it’s so hard to."

Brian drags Aeryk into his embrace and lets out a pained sigh. "I’m fine love." He kisses Aeryk on the head. "I’m not as hormonal as I used to be with my ex, you know? I know you love me as much as I love you, and that’s enough for me. Even if we grow old together and never had a single sexual moment, I’d still be happy."

Aeryk snorts with laughter. "What about me?"

Brian chuckles. "So you have changed a bit, haven’t you? I thought those kisses you gave me before were a little too hot for you."

Aeryk gently nibbles on Brian’s nipple, giving him goose bumps. "Shut up, I can be as testosterone driven as the next guy."

"Keep on doing that and I might believe you." Brian grins.

Aeryk’s eyes widen in shock as he feels something brush against his leg. "Brian!" He gasps in outrage.

"I can’t help it!" Brian complains.

Aeryk backs away from his boyfriend quickly, chuckling as Brian tries to bring him back. "Get away from me you sick man!"

While the two lovers are busy wrestling with each other, Jackie lays in her bed staring at the ceiling.

I saw that man again. Who is he? And God is he ugly. Jackie vividly remembers seeing a large, burly man with malicious yellow eyes, and a grotesque amount of body hair. Come to think of it, the man reminds Jackie of a wolf somehow.

Why am I always fighting him in my dreams? Does this mean something, or am I just imagining it? Jackie shrugs as she turns on her side to face the wall. I know I haven’t seem him around before, I mean, who could forget that ugly face? Oh well, no use in worrying about nothing.

I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing? I should’ve called them yesterday, but I was so busy trying to catch up at work.

Argh, I’m such a mess now. Good thing I have Aaron to rely on. He’s such a great guy; I don’t know what I would do without him.

Jackie rolls over again and gazes at her alarm clock. 4:00? Oh man, I need to get back to sleep. Damn it Jackie stop thinking!

Jackie decides to grab a quick drink of cold water to help calm her a bit and drags herself out of her bed. She lets out a groan and stumbles through her dark apartment in search of the elusive kitchen.

After stubbing her toe countless times on various items carelessly strewn about the hall, Jackie finally makes it into the kitchen and she activates the lights.

"Oh God damn it!" She cries, flailing her arms about, as the blinding light assaults her eyes.

After her eyes manage to focus properly, Jackie finds herself a clean glass and pours herself some water.

She walks over to her couch, opens the curtain to the window behind it, and gazes at the fierce storm outside.

"Kinda looks like how I’m feeling inside." She mutters to herself. "I still can’t believe you’re gone Corey. One minute you’re there, joking around and having a good time, the next you just disappear."

She takes a good drink and lets out a sigh, and then turns her attention to the sky above. "You know, I haven’t cried once since you’ve died." She says, snorting self derisively. "How pathetic am I? Your own sister failing to cry at her baby brother’s funeral."

The storm unleashes a flash of lighting and a loud thunder. "I’m sorry, younger brother." She chuckles. "You always did hate it when I called you that, didn’t you? It was a bad habit I started from the get go, huh? But you were always such a crybaby when you were growing up. I would always find you sitting in your own corner on the playground, alone and crying because no one would play with you. Or those times when the kids would pick on you and you wouldn’t fight back." She chuckles. "I always was there to save your butt. But you know want to know something; you turned out better than I did. You turned out a lot stronger and smarter. You always had this huge group of friends around you. I was so proud of you when you graduated from high school and got accepted to Harvard."

With all the sudden rush of memories from her childhood with her brother Corey, Jackie is almost shocked to find a single tear trailing down her face.

"Well what do you know? I can still cry..."

Date: August 30, 3021
Time: 4:28pm
Location: F.Y. Police Headquarters

"I told you Danny, I can’t give it to you now. Things have been pretty busy around here and I hardly have time for myself." Joe says.

"I know, but I really need that ring for my project as soon as possible." Danny pleads.

"Sorry Danny." Joe grimaces. "Listen, I’ll try to get it to you sometime tomorrow okay? I can’t tonight because I have a big assignment."

Danny grins. "You gonna tell me about it?"

"Hell no! You know I can’t do that."

Danny laughs. "Can’t blame a guy for trying."

"And trying, and trying..." Joe smirks, and then looks up as Brian enters his office. "Hey, I gotta go now. I’ll give you a call later."

"So who was that?" Brian asks as he takes a seat across from Joe.

"Ah, just a friend." Joe replies.

"The elusive friend." Brian jokes. "So what’s the plan with tonight?"

"I spoke with Derryk earlier this morning and we have to go ahead for attending the event."

"Great!" Brian says enthusiastically. "What about the Feds?"

"They’ll cooperate with us fully, that is unless the President’s life is in danger..."

"And then they’ll step in, blah blah blah." Brian adds. "So when is it again?"

"It starts at eight, so I asked Jeff to see if he can muster up some surveillance for us. Which means we might have to get there earlier."

"You’re the best Joe." Brian grins as he rises from his chair. "Oh, and the reason why I came here is to tell you that Derryk wants to talk to you about something."

Joe’s stomach turns. "A-about what?"

Brian shrugs. "He didn’t say."

Joe slowly rises to his feet. "Okay, thanks." He mumbles as he follows Brian out of his office and heads toward the Chief’s.

The young man pauses a moment to collect his courage in the face of imminent danger and raises his fist to knock on the door, when Derryk’s voice calls from behind. "Come on in Joe."

Joe nearly faints in shock, but manages to turn the knob with shaky hands and enters the older man’s office.

"Afternoon Joe." Derryk says.

"Hey, what’s up?"

"Last week, we had a theft in the evidence room."

Joe blanches. Uh-oh, this is it.

Derryk glances up at the youngest member of his team grimly. "They took a very old and valuably object, a ring."

Joe gulps deeply. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to update you on the situation as it will affect you later."

Joe looks at Derryk questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"As of right now I’m taking you off of the streets and having you work on a different assignment." Joe lets out a slight sigh of relief; Derryk took it the wrong way. "I had no idea you didn’t like being out on he field."

"Yeah," Joe chuckles nervously. "So what am I going to do now?"

Derryk leans back in his chair and rests his head on his arms. "You probably know that Aeryk is busy reading and translating that book that was stolen from me a while ago, he’s also taking notes on it. What I want you to do is, read those notes and locate any pattern or anything you find out of the ordinary."

Joe’s brow furrows slightly. "Um, it’s just a book of spells and stories from what Aeryk said."

Derryk grins. "It’s a little more than that."

"Um, I’ll see what I can do. But can you give me any details as to what I’m looking for?"

"Location, and the hidden spell." Derryk says simply.

Great, thanks a bunch. "Okay, I’ll do what I can." At least he’s not interrogating me. He turns to leave the office.

"Oh and Joe," Derryk begins and Joe freezes with his back turned the Chief. "If you hear anything about the missing ring, please let me know. It’s very important."

"S-sure thing boss." Joe replies quickly and leaves the office. Great Joe, could you possibly be any more obvious?

Joe decides to take a short break from his day and makes his way down and into the lobby.

Recently, Derryk installed a grand fountain with the likeness of a phoenix at the centerpiece. Since then, Joe has spent good amounts of time hanging out around the fountain and allowing his thoughts wash away in the water.

Joe heaves out a contented sigh as he rests on the ledge of the fountain and shuts his eyes and savors the sound of the water trickling behind him.

I swear Derryk brought this here for me. It’s so nice having a little area you can call your own. He looks to his right as he sees a pair of female recruits sit down next to the fountain. Well, sorta call your own anyway.

Joe pulls out the ring he stole from the evidence room and grimaces. What am I going to do now? I can’t come forward with it. I know I’ll be fired! What made me do it? All Danny did was ask me a simple, harmless question. And yet, I was compelled to do it. Something deep inside me beckoned that I steal from the evidence room.

The troubled young man looks up as he hears two familiar voices chattering raucously in the near distance, and quickly stuffs the ring back in his pocket.

Aeryk roars in outrage as Brain, very nonchalantly, grabs his lovers sides and begins to tickle him mercilessly. Aeryk quickly removes himself from Brian’s grip, grabs a baseball bat from a passing recruit and gives chase to his offensive partner.

The site brings much laughter from everyone around them, but Joe’s face remains dark and emotionless. "That should’ve been me." He mutters.

Joe has never been truly comfortable with his homosexuality. Hell, most kids at his high school taught him that it was wrong by occasionally beating him up after school because they thought, and they were right, that he is gay. He has yet to reveal his secret to his cohorts at work, but is deathly afraid to, simply because of his lingering feelings for Brian.

"Why is it so hard to give up?" Joe mutters to himself as he stretches out his legs and leans back slightly. "Looking at those two tells me that I haven’t a chance in the world."

Jackie and Aaron pop their heads out from the bushes behind Joe and snicker lowly. "Target in sight." Aaron whispers.

Jackie raises the hose close to her face. "Ammunition, ready." She chuckles.

The two sneak up closer to Joe, ready to strike. Joe suddenly gets the feeling that somebody’s behind him and he slowly turns around to see a hose nozzle directly in his face. His eyes widen in horror when Jackie calls out "now" and Aaron unleashes a river of cold water on Joe.

Joe manages to remove himself from the icy cold aquatic torture as Aaron mercifully turns the water off, laughing.

"Sorry Joe, we couldn’t resist." Aaron apologizes.

"You looked like you could use a little waking up." Jackie adds. "What’s the matter?"

Joe ignores Jackie’s question for the moment and attempts to wring any water he can from his drenched shirt. "Beside the fact that I’m completely soaked, nothing." He grumbles. "Shouldn’t you guys be getting ready for tonight? I thought the Chief was letting you off early today."

"Yeah," Aaron replies. "But aren’t you coming with us?"

"No, I have a new assignment to take care of." Joe replies and lets out a grunt of irritation. "I’m going to go take a shower and clean myself up a little."

Jackie and Aaron exchange quick glances as Joe walks past them, his shoulders in a deep slump and his footsteps heavy.

"Wonder what’s wrong with ‘im." Aaron asks.

Aeryk races up to the two mischief makers, panting for breath. "Have any of you seen Brain? I still need to bash his brains in for tickling me like that."

Jackie laughs heartily. "Sorry, haven’t seen him."

"What makes you think we won’t hide ‘im, if we do know where ‘e is huh?" Aaron taunts.

Aeryk gives Aaron his trademark stink-eye. "You do, and this bat is after you next." He playfully threatens.

Joe enters the locker room and casually tosses his wet uniform aside on the wooden bench and activates the shower. He really didn’t need to take a shower, as he could easily just change his clothes. Joe just needs to get away from it all and have some time alone to collect his thoughts. At least that’s his excuse.

As with most instances when Joe’s mind has some free space, thoughts of Brian settle in. Joe rests his head on his arm against the cool tiled wall and shuts his eyes as he imagines Brian’s body close to his own.

Joe can almost smell the intoxicating cologne Brian now wears everyday. The sight of Brian’s wide toothy grin and the electric sensation he gets whenever Brian pats him on the shoulder signaling a job well done, all show perfectly within Joe’s mind.

The young man gently brushes his hands down his wet, soap-lathered body and imagines it, as Brian’s own. Joe lolls his head back and allows the water to wash over his face, and allows the object of his affection’s image to take control over his mind.

Joe lets out a soft moan as he hears Brian’s deep voice whisper into his ears about how much he wants his body. The world around Joe vanishes and all he knows now is the softness of Brian’s lips and harsh lustful embrace.

Joe lowers his hand down to his hard penis and begins to tug at is slowly and a jolt of pleasure surges through his body. Brian’s words of encouragement for Joe entices the younger man to work harder and he begins to thrust his pelvis with fervor, a louder moan escapes his mouth.

"Brian..." Joe whispers.

"Joe?" Brian calls and the younger man cries out in horror.

"Oh my God!" Joe cowers to his knees.

"Uh, sorry to scare you." Brian apologizes. "I’m just hiding from Aeryk." He chuckles. "Hey, you alright?"

Joe’s heart continues to beat rapidly as the shock of the possibility of Brian seeing and hearing him attacks his mind. "Uh, yeah. I’m fine."

What was he doing in here? Brian asks himself, and then a thought plucks at his mind. Aoh! "Listen, I’m sorry to barge in here like that."

Joe begins to shiver with nervousness and manages to nod. "Can you, um, throw me a towel?"

Brian complies and waits for Joe to deactivate the shower before tossing him the towel. "I didn’t know anyone was in here." Brian says. "I didn’t hear the shower running until I walked in..."

"It’s okay Brian." Joe replies quickly wrapping the soft white towel around his thin waist before facing the older man again. "You won’t say anything, right?" Joe asks fretfully.

Brian’s eyes widen. "No! Of course not."

Joe sighs his relief. "Thank you Brian." He says as he walks off the tiled floor and onto the lower section where Brian is standing.

"So, uh, what’s up?" Brian asks, trying to avoid the strange silence between the two. Joe blushes furiously and Brian realizes the stupidity of the question. "Sorry, dumb question." He chuckles.

Joe fails in hiding his smile. "I saw Aeryk chasing you. You’re as safe in here from him as anywhere else."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Brian jeers. "Anything bothering you Joe? You seem a little down recently."

Joe shrugs. "I guess I’m just a little stressed out by a lot of things. Chief is having me start this new assignment so I’ll be off the streets for a while."

Brian nods. "Yeah, he told me earlier. Sucks too, it was fun being partners with you. Aeryk can be such a bore at times." He suddenly ducks as if expecting Aeryk to smash him with the bat. "Don’t tell him I said that."

Joe laughs. "I won’t." Okay, here’s your chance. "Hey Brian?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you ever since that disaster at the fund raiser." Joe pauses a moment and collects any courage he can. The young man licks his lips and curses his pounding heartbeat then looks up at Brian. "I..."

Aeryk storms into the locker room, the bat still in his hands. "Thought you could hide from me?"

Brian whirls around and faces his murderous lover. "I was only kidding with you Aeryk!" He raises his hands in sign of peace and backs away.

"Don’t try to sweet talk yourself out of this one, mister." Aeryk replies, reading the bat for a good swing.

Brian cautiously approaches Aeryk, and catches a quick view of Jackie and Aaron hovering in the shadows. "I love you." He says way too sweetly.

Aeryk grins widely and drops the bat with a noisy clatter. "Tickle me again and I’ll be forced to kill you." He jokes as Brian wraps his arms around him.

Suddenly Jackie runs into the locker room, hose in tote, and cries out to Aaron. "Hurry!"

A beam of water unleashes itself on Aeryk’s exposed back and he roars out in horror, tears himself out of Brian’s grip and gives chase to Jackie and Aaron.

"Hey, I’m the only one who can get him wet!" Brian jokes as he chases after Aeryk.

Joe picks up the fallen bat and stares at it for a moment. "Why?" He roars as he takes a mighty swing of the bat and bashes into a nearby locker repeatedly.

The frustrated Joe hurls the bat into the shower area and leans heavily on the accosted locker then slams his fist against it for good measure.

Why can’t I just tell him? It’s not fair, damn it! Joe storms over to his own locker and finds his spare uniform and tugs it on. I can’t let this affect me anymore. This is stupid Joe; you shouldn’t be acting like this. You’re better than this!

Joe makes his way out of the locker room and silently walks into his office and finds a small stack of papers on his desk. "Must be the notes." He mutters as he shuts his door and sits at his desk.

"Lets see..." Joe grumbles as he picks up the first sheet of notes. "The book begins with several cleansing rituals and spells used for protection from evil, yaddah yaddah yaddah..."

Joe skims through the notes, finding it all to be very boring, until he reaches several parts written in red ink.

Have noticed a strange ringing sound and slight headache when reading this section. Joe says to himself. "That’s odd. They actually started when that story started." He says aloud as he thumbs through the pages and back, he comes across another section complaining about visions. "I’ve been seeing this strange turtle I’ve named Genbu, seeing as that’s the only thing the damned turtle says to me, for God knows how long. It involves a temple I’ve never heard about before, presumably in the North Pole seeing as I had one of those out of body experiences when I nearly drowned. I’ve read about three other Gods Seiryuu, Suzaku, and Byakko. While I haven’t had any visions about them yet, I’m sure I will eventually."

Joe leans back in his chair and thinks for a moment. "This is one helluva strange book. No wonder Aeryk hates it." Visions huh? Maybe I should ask him more about those later.

Aeryk, Brian, Jackie, and Aaron lounge by Brian’s car and chatter mindlessly about the nights coming event.

"So Jeff is working on his bugs right now." Aeryk says. "Have you seen those things before? They’re so cool!"

Brian laughs at the childish tone in Aeryk’s voice. "Want me to get you one for Christmas honey?" He taunts.

Aeryk shoots a dirty look at Brian, but fails to hide his amusement. "Have either of you been in the White House before?"

Aaron shakes his head. "Nah, I’m still a Brit in ‘eart." He announces proudly as he places his hand over his heart.

Jackie snorts. "Then go back to where you came from you pompous fool. We don’t like outsiders."

Aaron grins back at his partner. "And miss out on all the American ‘otties? I think not."

"Say, does anyone know what’s been bothering Joe recently?" Brian asks. "I caught him in the shower and he, seemed really bothered about something." Hot and bothered to be exact.

"Joe doesn’t really talk to anyone that much." Jackie replies. "I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a few skeletons in his closet."

"All the same," Brian says. "I’m a little worried about the kid. He’s the youngest member of our group and we all know how intimidating we can be." Jackie snorts at the comment. "Maybe one of us should try to talk to him a little?"

Brian, Jackie, and Aaron all turn their gaze at Aeryk and he sighs in defeat. "Alright, I’ll try to talk to him later. Lets just get ready for tonight."

Brian smirks. "We’ll meet at the White House at seven-thirty."

"Cool, I’ll tell Brent and Jeff before I leave today." Aaron says. "I still have a few things to take care of here."

The four nod in agreement then Brian and Aeryk get into the Porsche and drive off. "So what do you think is wrong with Joe?" Aeryk asks, waving to Jackie and Aaron as they walk off.

"He said he wanted to tell me something before you burst in threatening to kill me." Brian replies. "Maybe I should be the one to talk to him."

"Yeah, mister sensitive." Aeryk taunts.

"Hey!" Brian cries. "I’m sensitive, aren’t I?"

"Of course you are." Aeryk grins as he squeezes Brian’s leg.

Brian’s Opti-phone rings and Aeryk removes his hand and gives Brian a sullen look. "It’s your Mom." He mutters, looking at the caller I.D.

Brian gives Aeryk an apologetic look as he switches on the phone. "Hey Mom, what’s up?"

"Hey honey." Barbara smiles. "Hi Aeryk. Do you have plans this weekend?"

"Depends on what you want." Brian jokes.

"Your Father is having one of those "end of summer" barbeques. You both should join us."

Brian moans. "But Mom, Dad will have all his boring partners there!"

"Then don’t talk to them." Barbara responds simply.

"I hate it when you make it impossible for me to argue with you Mother."

"Then don’t try to argue with someone who knows you better than yourself." Barbara chuckles and she turns her attention to Aeryk. "How are you doing?"

"I’m doing alright." Aeryk replies.

"It’s a good thing you’ve moved back in with Brian. He was a wreck with you gone."

"Mom!" Brian protests.

"You were!" Barbara retorts. "Aeryk, he would never admit to you how miserable he was without you hanging around."

Brian scowls. "Alright Mom, that’s enough. I’ll talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye sweetie." Barbara says, and then hangs up the phone.

"I swear she can be so annoying sometimes." Brian shakes his head in disbelief. "Sorry about that."

"For what?"

"I know it’s hard for you. Believe me, it’s hard for me as well." Brain takes Aeryk’s hand and holds it tightly.

Aeryk looks down at the interlocked hands and sighs. "I’ve lived with you being with a woman. I think I can live with this." Though I don’t know for how long.

Brian smiles faintly. "I’m trying Aeryk." He gently kisses his loves hand. "Try to be patient."

It has become a mutual understanding between Aeryk and Brian that the latter would be unable to tell his parents about his homosexuality for the time being. Which is understandable to Aeryk, though difficult.

"I am." Aeryk admits. "It’s a little hard though."

Brian’s demeanor falters slightly and grimaces as he pulls to a stoplight. I’m sorry Aeryk. I know I promised myself that I would do anything to prevent you from suffering. Believe me when I say that it’s hard for me too.

"...So he told me we could pick them up now if we wanted to." Aeryk says, and then turns to Brian. "Did you hear what I said?"

Brian snaps out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

"I said we could pick up our tuxedo’s now if we wanted to." Aeryk replies patiently.

"Can you do it?" Brian asks. "I’m a little tired right now."

Uh-oh, something’s wrong. "Sure Bri, you okay?" Aeryk asks.

"Yeah, just a little tired." Brian replies softly.

Aeryk decides it best to leave Brian alone and the two ride in silence for the remainder of their ride home.

Date: August 30, 3021
Time: 6:10pm
Location: Aeryk and Brian’s Condo

Brian gives Aeryk a gentle kiss and slowly shuts the door behind him. "What’s wrong with me?" Brian grumbles. "I shouldn’t have blown Aeryk off like that. It’s not his fault, it’s mine."

Brian runs his hands through his deep black hair and heaves out a sigh as he falls heavily onto his couch. He then stretches out his long legs and rests his head on the arms of the couch and gazes blindly at the ceiling.

"It’s getting more and more difficult each day." Brian whispers. "I thought I could deal with it for at least a while until I got settled with Aeryk, obviously that’s not the case."

Something deep in the back of Brian’s mind has been nagging him constantly to come forth with the truth to his parents. While he has tried to on a few occasions, the time just didn’t feel right. Aeryk was in the room during one of Brian’s conversations with his Mother over the phone, and he backed out. He broke down in front of Aeryk and his love rushed over and comforted him.

"I’m just afraid, pure and simple." Brian mutters. "I can just see the look of disappointment in my parents eyes. They’ll ask questions about Alasen I know I can’t answer. And what about Aeryk? What will they say about him? I couldn’t bear them to hate him, or me."

Brian rolls over onto his side and shuts his eyes, hoping to black out the cruel world around him. "I want to, but I can’t."

Brian slowly falls asleep and finds himself dreaming about him walking slowly around a vast, dark forest.

"Aeryk?" Brian calls. "Anyone here?"

Brian’s heart races as he hears a muffled cry and a loud thumping sound coming from the near distance. He thinks the worst and he forces his unruly legs to carry him through the thick foliage.

Brian comes to a stop as he turns a corner and sees a small trail of blood. He cries out in horror when he finds Aeryk’s body laying in a mangled position on the ground just feet away from him.

Luke appears from the darkness, a strange and forbidding looking weapon, which has two large metal balls with a nasty looking blade on them and is connected to each other by a chain, floating around him.

Brian looks up with tear filled eyes. "Y-you...?"

Luke casually wipes off a blotch of blood from his face and nods. "With these." He sneers and then twirls the two large balls with his thumbs.

A fury unknown to Brian wells up inside his body and a warm feeling swarms over his head. A bright red kanji for "ogre" suddenly appears on his forehead and Luke takes a step back.

With a loud cry, Brian charges at Luke. "I’ll kill you!"

Luke’s eyes flash menacingly. "Ryuuseisui!" He calls and one end of his weapon hurls itself at Brian.

Brian cries out as Aeryk gently nudges him awake. Startled, Aeryk cries out to and falls onto the floor.

"Crap Aeryk, don’t scare me like that." Brian says as he rises to his feet to help Aeryk up.

"Sorry, I thought you heard me." Aeryk apologizes. "I got the tuxes and..."

Brian pulls Aeryk into a fierce embrace. "I love you." He says lowly.

Aeryk pulls away from Brian and looks up at him, perplexed. "I love you too. Are you doing alright?" His brow furrows.

"Yeah, I just had a strange dream, that’s all."

"Wanna talk about it?" Aeryk asks.

Brian smiles. "No, I’m fine. Let's get ready okay?"

Date: August 30, 3021
Time: 10:13pm
Location: The White House

"Any sign of him?" Brian asks as Jeff and Brent walk up.

"Nothing." Brent replies.

"The bugs haven’t sensed anything either." Jeff mutters. "I’ve talked to the Secret Service and they’re still having problems locating him."

"Then he is here?" Aeryk asks.

"They saw the name on the guest list, luckily enough." Jeff replies. "For all we know he could’ve left..." Jeff is interrupted by the sound of Aaron’s voice over his hidden earpiece. "Go ahead Pyro."

"You’re gonna love me for this," Aaron begins with an obvious hint of humor. "Look up above you at the left balcony."

Jeff nods, motions to Brent, Brian, and Aeryk and they all look up to see Luke chatting with several individuals.

Aeryk nearly falls over in shock. "What in the hell...?"

Jeff chuckles briefly before becoming serious. "Great, we’re all under the Washington portrait."

"See you there." Aaron says.

A short while later, Aaron and Jackie meet up with the rest of the group. "He’s still up there." Brian says. "Has anyone seen the President?"

Jackie nods her head. "He’s way over on the other side of the building."

"Good, we should alert the Secret Service that we’ve located our suspect and are about to move in." He nods to Jeff who takes a few steps away and begins conversing with the Secret Service agent close by. "When all that is settled we’re going to split up in our normal groups and do our best to prevent him from escaping and harming anyone."

Jeff steps back up. "Everything’s taken care of. The President will be moved to a safe location. They also asked that we not blow up the White House if at all possible." He adds with distaste.

Brian frowns slightly. "Whatever."

Aeryk looks up. "He’s still there, so we better hurry."

Brent nods and proceeds to put in his own earpiece and activates it. "Where to boss?" He asks Brian.

"You and Shadow take the northern hallway. Willow, you and Pyro take the southern. Monk and I will come from the west."

Brian and Aeryk quickly rush down the hallway in search of the flight of stairs leading to the upper hallway.

"You like this don’t you?" Aeryk grins as he activates his earpiece.

"What do you mean?" Brian replies, following Aeryk’s example.

They find the steps leading up. "Being the boss. I could practically see your head swelling."

Brian grins toothily. "Shut up."

Jeff and Brent stop as they reach the corner facing the balcony Luke is standing on. "Okay Ogre, we’re here." Jeff says.

"Same with us." Jackie adds.

"Great." Brian replies.

"So how do you plan on getting him away from his little friends?" Aeryk asks.

"The direct approach." Brian replies simply.

"Alright then." Jackie says. "Who’s going to take the fall?"

"I’ll take care of it." Brian says. "Monk, watch my back."

Aeryk arches a brow. "Cocky tonight, aren’t we?" He grins as he hears Jackie and Aaron’s laughter in his ear.

"Just watch me." He mutters before he starts walking confidently toward Luke.

"And the fun begins." Aaron mutters dangerously, fingering his gun.

"Keep your cool Pyro." Brian warns. "We’re dealing with a lot of important people and a mass murderer."

Luke looks up just as Brian approaches him and smiles faintly. Well my, what do we have here? Where are your little friends good looking? Luke takes a quick look around and instantly notices the remainder of the F.Y. officers then smiles.

"Excuse me Mr. D’Mer?" Brian asks. "Might I have a quick word with you?"

Subtle, but I’m not going to go down that easily. Luke grabs in his pockets and tosses a few small balls at Brian, and just before they are about to hit him, they explode in a fog of mace. Luke grins and does a graceful back flip onto the floor below him, landing with little trouble. "Damn these shoes." He grumbles before taking off into the crowd.

Brian falls to his knees and grunts in pain and Aeryk calls out an order for Jackie and the others to follow him as he rushes to Brian’s side. "Here, follow me." He grabs the other man’s hand and guides him to a small fountain on the wall.

Aeryk splashes a small amount of cool water on Brian’s eyes. "Better?" He asks.

Brian rubs his eyes for a brief moment then nods. "Yeah, which way?"

Aeryk motions for Brian to follow him and they rush down the hall, receiving questioning glances from the rest of the crowd.

"What’s going on?" Brian asks.

"He’s making his way toward the front doors." Jeff replies. "Oof, sorry." He mutters as he runs into Congressman.

"Do what you can to cut him off!" Brian orders.

"Already taken care of." Aaron says as he manages to cut off Luke’s escape. "Going somewhere?"

Luke scowls then bolts down the opposite direction. "Damn cops."

Jeff and Brent appear before Luke and he halts to a stop. "You’re under arrest Luke," Jeff begins. "Give it up."

Luke snorts and turns just as Aaron and Jackie slowly make their way up to him, guns ready.

Shortly afterward, Aeryk and Brian meet up with them. "Why do they always run?" Brian asks, panting for breath.

Luke backs up against a large window and gazes at his would be captors. "It’s the end of the line." Jackie calls. "Put your hands in the air so we can see them."

A feral grin appears on Luke’s face as he slowly raises his hands. "Thought you’d never ask."

Brian and the other pull out their guns and aim them at Luke. "I don’t like the tone in his voice." He mutters to Aeryk.

"Just walk over and arrest him okay?" Aeryk replies softly.

Brian nods, places his gun back in its hilt, pulls out his cuffs, then walks over to Luke and begins giving him his Miranda.

Suddenly Luke’s coat is torn apart as the strange weapon from Brian’s dream becomes a horrifying reality. One side of the weapon hurls itself at Brian and he ducks out of the way. "Watch it!" He calls and the F.Y. officers scramble for safety.

The other half of the weapon crashes into the window, giving Luke an escape route. Luke laughs raucously as he jumps out of the window. He lands softly on the green lawn of the White House and begins rushing for the main gates.

A pair of guards, and their watchdog appears and orders for him to stop. "Don’t they ever give up?" He continues to charge toward his freedom and the guards unleash their dog.

Luke stops and frowns in irritation and mentally aims his weapon at the Doberman. The dog leaps in the air at Luke, but receives a lethal mouthful of Luke’s weapon.

The guards gasp in shock at the dead animal hovering in the air, dangling in a bloody mass on Luke’s weapon. With a thought Luke hurls the dead dog at the guards and they collapse to the ground. "Evening gentlemen." Luke laughs as he makes his way to a black car waiting for him in the shadows.

Brian and the others bolt out of the White House just as Luke dives into the car. He turns a smug grin at the six, nods his head, and takes off into the night.

Brian lets out a snarl of frustration. "Damn it!"

"So did you find out what we need?" Jen asks, handing Luke a glass of champagne.

Luke pulls out a business card. "The next best thing."

Jen grins widely. "Excellent work."

"Jessica Langley is her name." Luke says handing the card to Jen for her to inspect. "She’s the director of the Museum of Lost Cultures. She spoke very enthusiastically about the legend of the Four Gods."

Jen looks up with interest. "Did she say anything about the locations of the temples?"

Luke shakes his head. "I was about to find out when the damned F.Y. showed up."

Jen scowls. "Danny told you they were going to be there Luke." She hisses. "You could’ve worked faster."

"Talking any time before the movie would’ve been impossible." Luke retorts testily. "Be thankful I managed to get her business card, or we never would’ve gotten this far."

Jen frowns deeply. "In any rate we’re one step closer to having the necklace."

Luke takes a healthy drink from his glass. "I can have it for you by..."

"No," Jen interrupts. "You’ve done enough. We have to let the others have their chance."

Luke snorts. "This is all one big game with you, isn’t it?"

Jen salutes Luke with a toast. "Life is one big game, if you know how to play it properly." Jen ignores Luke’s sarcastic chuckle and reaches over for her cell phone. "Vincent? Find Michelle and have her meet me tomorrow." She says simply before hanging up the phone.

"Drop me off at the Blue Dragon, will yah?" Luke asks.

Jen sighs. "I don’t know how I put up with you. Just try to stay conspicuous."

Date: August 30, 3021
Time: Midnight
Location: Aeryk and Brian’s Condo

"My mom left a voice message, she said to be home around noon or so." Brian heaves out a sigh as he slips into bed with Aeryk. "God I’m so tired." He groans.

Aeryk turns on his side and wraps his free arm over Brian’s chest and sighs. "At least we don’t have to work in the morning." He says while rubbing his love’s chest.

Brian inches his arms around Aeryk and squeezes him closely. "I don’t wanna go tomorrow. Think of an excuse will yah?"

"Of course not. What else will we do tomorrow beside sit around and do nothing?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Brian replies. "I really don’t want to be around all those old boring people."

Aeryk snuggles in closer to Brian and inhales the vestiges of his cologne. "There are some things in life you have to do, that you don’t want to."

True. Brian thinks. That also means I’m going to have to face up to who I am sooner or later. He looks down at Aeryk and smiles before kissing his head.

Aeryk lets out a sigh of contentment and rests his head on Brian’s chest. I’m so lucky to have him in my life. I feel as if nothing in this world can hurt me anymore. This warmth, I can’t get enough of it. That feeling, that electric surge that goes through us whenever we touch each other, wow!

Brian lets out a yawn. "Good night baby." He whispers.

Aeryk kisses Brian on the spot nearest to his mouth and slides off. "Night."

After a few moments of attempting to get comfortable, Aeryk manages to fall asleep. He then begins dreaming about him standing alone in a familiar dark room. Ah crap!

Suddenly an enormous blue dragon appears from the darkness, hissing at Aeryk.

"Seiryuu." The dragon says.

Though Aeryk knows this to be a dream, he still falls back in fear. "W-what do you want with me?"

"Son ji." The dragon roars.

Aeryk stares up at the dragon, confused. "Huh?"

"Anata ga son ji desu." The dragon says.

Without warning, the dark room becomes a lush bamboo forest. Aeryk gasps in shock and he looks around his surroundings. He spies an oddly familiar temple in the distance and makes his way toward it. The dragon, Seiryuu, vanishes in a blast of white light.

Aeryk slowly makes his way up the vast, ancient steps toward the temple and pauses when he hears the unmistakable sound of combat. He then races up the steps and is shocked to see the black haired man from his dream, the kanji for "ogre" shining brightly on his forehead. He also sees five other men and a woman, each with kanji glowing on various parts of their bodies. Aeryk spies seven other people, six men and a woman.

"What the?" Aeryk mutters. "They’re all from the story. What’s going on here?"

Much to Aeryk’s further shock, the seven individuals with the glowing kanji slowly begin to change form. "Brian!" Aeryk cries as the black haired man changes into Brian’s form.

"Derryk, Jackie, Jeff, Aaron, Brent, Joe!" Aeryk cries when he recognizes all seven of them. Derryk having the kanji for "star" glowing brightly on his neck. Jackie with the kanji for "willow" glowing on her chest. Jeff with the kanji for "water well" glowing on his exposed knee. Aaron with the kanji for "wing" glowing on his arm. Aeryk catches the symbol for "sadness" glowing on Brent’s palm as a strange white light emits from his hand. He then sees Brent leaning over Joe, the kanji for "stretch" glowing on his foot, the light healing a wound on the young man’s shoulder.

"What’s going on here?" Aeryk asks, completely thunderstruck.

Continued in Part 13

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