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 13

Date: September 1, 3021
Time: 1:25 pm
Location: Johnson Estate

"So what have you found out?" Aeryk asks.

"Well," Joe pauses a moment as he shuffles through a messy pile of papers. "I really need to talk to you about those visions."

Aeryk blanches. "Okay."

"And there are also a few things I need to talk to you about, mostly the meanings of those Chinese words within the story. I think they may have some significance to whatever Derryk’s looking for."

"You’re awesome Joe." Aeryk grins at the younger boy. "What’s your day looking like?"

"I have to meet a friend of mine later this afternoon, but I’m free pretty much after five."

"How about I call you later and we can set up a time to talk about this, okay?"

Joe nods. "Alright, have fun today." He grins.

"Yeah, shut up." Aeryk retorts playfully. "Talk to you later Joe, bye."

Aeryk shuts off the Opti-phone and turns to see Brian standing behind him, gazing at Aeryk expectantly.

"That was Joe, we’re gonna meet up later this afternoon and talk about his notes."

Brian doesn’t respond, but turns to shut the door to his parent’s room and immediately pulls Aeryk into an embrace. "How are you doing?"

Aeryk indulges in the warmth from Brian’s body and rests his head on his love’s shoulders. "I’m doing okay, you?"

"I don’t like not being able to touch you whenever I want." Brian admits lowly. "This is so hard for me Aeryk, and I know it hurts you too."

Aeryk slowly pulls away, clasps Brian’s hands, and gazes up at him with warm green eyes. "Don’t worry about me love. You do what you have to do." He squeezes Brian’s hand for reassurance. "I’ll stand beside you all the way."

He’s so good to me, how can I possibly ever allow this to happen to him? I love you so much Aeryk it hurts. I have to do this for you, for us. Brian manages a faint smile down at Aeryk. "Thank you."

"I think I hear your Mom calling, lets go down and be social." Aeryk says.

Brian leans down and kisses Aeryk deeply. "A little something to tide me over." He winks.

The two, very reluctantly, part company and head downstairs. "Is everything okay Aeryk?" Barbara asks.

"Yeah, just some work stuff I have to worry about later." Aeryk replies. "Something smells good."

"Ah, that’ll be Brian’s father showing off his new barbeque." Barbara shakes her head before she turns her attention to Brian. "It’s too bad that Alasen couldn’t make it today, I hope she’s feeling better."

"Yeah, me too." Brian replies quickly.

Barbara whirls around when she hears her husband bellow out her name. "Oh dear, I do hope nobody lost a limb." She mutters as she dashes off into the back yard.

Aeryk and Brian slowly make their way toward the patio, trying very hard to keep their respectable spaces, and smile widely as Brian’s mother battles furiously with an inferno George, Brian’s father, has created.

"I wonder why my Mother puts up with it." Brian chuckles.

"Probably the same reason why I put up with you." Aeryk replies, smiling. "We’re on a mission to save the world."

"Oh thanks!" Brian rolls his eyes. "I hope he wasn’t cooking anything I like, I’m starving."

Well after Barbara managed to quell the fire and give her husband a verbal thrashing, the barbeque went on as planned and everyone found a place to sit, eat, and chat the afternoon away.

Brian makes a face when he reaches for his beer and finds it empty. "Ah man."

Aeryk frowns. "You go through those things like it’s water! How about you take a break huh?"

"I need something to drink." Brian mutters, placing his empty bottle on the ground next to him. "Where’s the cooler?"

Aeryk lets out an exasperated sigh and finishes off his own beer. "Get me one while you’re at it."

Brian nods and walks over to the cooler to find some more alcohol. Aeryk watches Brian walk away and lets out another sigh. This is so hard. He looks up at the blue sky and a smile finds its place on Aeryk’s face. At least the sun’s out today. It’s nice getting out sometimes and being around the people you love. Well, for Brian at least.

Thoughts of the many times when Aeryk and his family would literally take over a park and have parties and annual baseball games against his Canadian family cross his mind. Poor people never had a chance against the Americans. He snickers.

Aeryk sees a little girl with long brunette hair and laughing blue eyes dash by and he instinctively places his sisters face over hers. He wrenches his gaze away and turns his attention to a fountain with the likeness of an angel pouring water from her palms into a koi pond.

Aeryk slowly rises from his seat and walks over to the pond and watches the fish dart back and forth in search of some hapless fly to munch on.

"It’s beautiful, isn’t it?" An attractive man with short brown hair and hazel eyes says walking up beside Aeryk.

"Mm," Aeryk agrees, not taking his eyes off the water. "I’ve never noticed this here before, when did Barbara put this in?"

"A few days ago." The man replies. "My name’s Kenny by the way," He holds out his hand. "I work with George."

Aeryk takes Kenny’s hand and shakes it. "Name’s Aeryk, I work with Brian."

Brian scowls when he finds yet another cooler devoid of any alcohol. Damn it people, don’t you realize this is an AMERICAN barbeque. He walks into the house and finds Barbara fussing over a plant. "Mom, please tell me there’s more beer to be had!"

Barbara smiles at her son and motions to the fridge. "You’ll find some in there."

Brian opens the refrigerator door and is welcomed by an oasis of beer. Brings a tear to your eye. Brian reaches in and pulls out three beer bottles. "One for you and two for me." He grins widely.

Brian turns and exits the house and sees Aeryk’s seat empty. "Huh, where’d he go?"

He looks around the large yard and finds Aeryk talking to another man by the koi pond. Hello, what do we have here? He slowly makes his way toward Aeryk and the strange man, smiling at a few people as he walks by, and stops when he notices the man take a step a little to close to Aeryk. Back off buddy.

"So what do you think? Maybe I can call you sometime?" Kenny asks, taking another step toward Aeryk.

Aeryk backs away. "Um, I..."

Brian appears in between Aeryk and Kenny, giving the former a dirty look. "Here yah go buddy." He hands a beer to Aeryk. "Who’s this?"

"Kenny." He replies holding his hand out for Brian. "I work with your father."

Brian glances briefly at Kenny’s hand then back up at him. "Nice to meet you." He lies.

Kenny slowly places his hand back at his side and attempts to smile. "You too."

"How about we head back to our seats bud." Brian says, not taking his eyes off of Kenny. "We’ve got some work stuff to talk about, right?"

Aeryk agrees. "It was nice to meet you." He says to Kenny as he walks off with Brian back to their appointed area.

"What was that all about?" Brian asks as he sits in his seat.

"Sorry, the guy just appeared out of nowhere." Aeryk replies, then chuckles. "Why, you jealous?"

Brian frowns. "I’m just looking out for what’s mine." He states simply. "Oh, would you mind if I hung out here for a while after the barbeque?"

Aeryk shakes his head. "Nah-uh, why?"

"It’s been a while since I’ve actually visited my parents without a huge group around us, I thought it would be nice if I stayed a while."

"Sure Bri, no problem." Aeryk says. "Beside, I have to hang out with Joe while we work on the notes."

"Great," Brian says leaning in to Aeryk to give him a kiss, but suddenly falls back in his seat. "Sorry." He mutters.

Aeryk looks down at the soft green grass. "It’s okay. No harm done." He looks at his watch. "Man, it’s almost five. I should call Joe, be right back."

Brian watches with sad brown eyes as Aeryk rises from his chair and walks into the house. "Aeryk..." He says softly.

Date: September 1, 3021
Time: 8:20pm
Location: Joe’s Apartment

Aeryk smiles warmly as Joe opens the door to his apartment. "Hey, come on in." Joe steps aside and allows Aeryk in then shuts the door behind him. "Sorry about the, uh, mess."

Aeryk looks around the modest apartment and the carelessly placed mess of clothes and various other items. "You have a roommate?"

Joe grimaces. "Yeah, most of this would be his mess." He guides Aeryk into his room. "Have a seat wherever. I left the notes in the other room."

Aeryk nods as Joe leaves and sits on the younger man’s bed and gazes around the room. Various pictures of the latest technological geniuses and countless books on various scientific areas cover the walls. Whoa, my head hurts just looking at those. Aeryk’s eyes trail over Joe’s desk and computer. Dear God, how many things does this boy need? He rises to his feet and walks over to the computer and looks at the several other techno-gadgets. "Hah, Jeff would have a field day with this stuff."

"Actually, he’s seen some of my ideas." Joe says as he walks back into his room.

"I bet he nearly fainted in ecstasy." Aeryk jokes. "So, you ready?"

Joe nods, and then shuts the door. "Thanks for translating the spell by the way. Hopefully that’s one of the things Derryk was looking for."

"Derryk has gotten weird on you too, eh?" Aeryk chuckles. "Don’t worry, he has his moments every once in a while."

"Yeah," Joe replies. "So have you had any other visions?"

"Well, I think I saw the second God, Seiryuu. He spoke to me."

"What did he say?"

"Anata ga son ji desu." Aeryk smiles when he notices Joe’s look of confusion. "Sorry, it means ‘you are the Sacred Child’."

Joe arches an eyebrow. "I see. What else did you see?"

Aeryk goes into detail about the vision he had the night before. "What’s kinda funny is, the kanji you had on your foot matches your Code Name."

Joe furiously writes down all that Aeryk is saying. "Also, about those ‘futuristic’ visions. Have you seen or heard about any of those places before?"

Aeryk shakes his head. "No, and I would think if there were any sign of previous inhabitation of the North Pole, we would know about it."

"You’re talking about the Temple of Genbu?" Joe asks.

"Ah-huh, and in all my Asian studies, I’ve never seen or heard of the temple I read about in the book."

"Which leads to the idea that this is just a book and your visions, a coincidence." Joe mutters. "So why would Derryk want to...?" The sound of a ringing Opti-phone interrupts Joe’s thoughts. "Sorry, be right back."

Joe rushes into the kitchen and activates his Opti-phone. "Oh hey Danny."

A dreadful feeling nags at Aeryk and he rises to his feet. "Huh?" He slowly walks out of Joe’s room and toward the kitchen. What’s this feeling I’m having? Aeryk peers around the corner and spies Joe talking to Danny on the Opti-phone.

In an instant, Aeryk suddenly beholds terrible visions of a horrible looking demon thrashing mercilessly at a wounded Joe.

Just as Joe hangs up the phone, Aeryk gives out a soft cry. "Christ Aeryk, you startled me. What’s the matter?"

"Who was that?" Aeryk asks.

"Just a friend of mine. You okay?" Joe asks, worried about his suddenly stricken friend.

"Who was that?" Aeryk insists.

"My friend Danny." Joe replies. "Aeryk, what’s wrong?"

"Danny, what?"

"I don’t know." Joe says. "He never told me his last name."

Aeryk sighs and leans against the wall. "Something happened. I saw something else just now."

"What was it?"

"I, uh..." Aeryk pauses. "I don’t know."

Date: September 1, 3021
Time: 9:02pm
Location: ???

Danny hangs up his Opti-phone and smiles faintly. "Interesting." He gazes at the ring Joe delivered to him earlier that afternoon and his smile widens.

Danny never would have thought to come face to face with someone who can see him for what he really is. I wonder... The young man rises from his chair and walks over to his mirror and gazes into it. "I wonder if he is the Sacred Child. If so then he must be having visions of the past and the future. Which means he’ll know where the temples are."

Danny’s deep black eyes flash menacingly. "I think it’s time that I visit my friend."

Jen knocks on Danny’s room door then opens it. "Michelle is about ready to head out. Did you get the ring?"

Danny tosses the ancient ring to Jen. "Of course, just like I promised."

Jen catches the ring and gazes at it, a wide toothy grin on her face. "Excellent work Danny. Very soon..." She says.

Yes, you keep on saying that. But just how close are we? "Do you suspect the F.Y. will get involved with Michelle’s operation?"

Jen gives Danny a demeaning look. "The chances of that happening are slim. Be a little optimistic will yah?"

Danny shrugs. "I think we should be a little more careful with how we do things. You’re being very bold with this one Jen."

Jen waves off the comment. "We can afford to be bold. We’re very close Danny, I can feel it." She grins down at the ring once more, before placing it on her finger. "Fits rather nice, doesn’t it?"

Date: September 1, 3021
Time: 9:13pm
Location: Johnson Estate

"You know, Aeryk seemed a little troubled when he left this afternoon." Barbara begins as she hands Brian a cup of coffee. "Is anything the matter?"

Brian thankfully takes the coffee and takes a deep drink. Damn this headache, it better not be a hangover in the morning. "I don’t know." He says. "It might’ve been that work deal he told me about."

Barbara nods and takes a sip of her own coffee. "And how are things at the F.Y. for you?"

Brian shrugs. "As good as it can be. Things have been a little busy lately, which is nice. I can’t stand doing the normal beats all the time."

Barbara smiles. "You’re just like your father when he was your age. He would always go on these daredevil excursions throughout the world and come back beaten, battered, but always with a smile on his face."

Brian snickers. "I would never do half the things Dad did when he was younger."

Barbara chuckles. "Yes, you wouldn’t want to scar that pretty face of yours now would you."

"Mom!" Brian protests.

Barbara laughs. "I’m only joking with you Brian. I know you’re not like that."

The two continue to drink their coffee in silence for some while. Brian shifts in his seat and gazes out into the starlit night. I wonder what Aeryk’s doing right now. Maybe he’s talking to Joe about his own problems. Poor kid, had I known...

"Brian?" Barbara asks.

"What’s up?"

"Is everything alright with you? I’ve noticed a change in you these past weeks."

"Nothing’s wrong Mom, I’m fine." Brian replies, not facing his mother.

Barbara places a warm hand on her only son’s and gazes at him meaningfully. "Is it about Alasen?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"I spoke with the DuBois’ the other night, and they said Alasen came home very upset about something. All she could say was your name," She pauses a moment. "What happened with you two?"

Brian heaves out a sigh. "It’s nothing Mom."

"Honey,"

"I said, it’s nothing Mom." Brian interrupts. "What’s happening between Alasen and I is our business."

Barbara lowers her head. "Okay, I just want to make sure you’re alright and happy."

"I’m fine Mom, everything’s fine." Brian looks at his watch. "I should be getting home now."

Barbara rises from her seat with Brian and takes his cup from him. "Alright Brian, don’t be such a stranger okay?" She gives her son a quick kiss on the cheek. "Say goodbye to your father before you leave."

"I will Mom, bye."

Brian waves as he gets into his car and drives off. Before long, he slams his fist on his steering wheel and lets out a curse. "What’s the matter with me? I had the perfect moment to tell her, and look what I did."

Brian shakes his head and takes a turn down the main highway leading into New D.C., the lights of the city glowing brightly in the distance. I only hope Aeryk will forgive me for doing this to him. I know it hurts him, but I’m just too weak.

Brian pushes his car to a faster rate, and activates his M.A. and finds a song most fitting to his mood at the moment.

Crawling in my skin

I can't seem
To find myself again
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence I’m convinced that there’s just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure

What am I going to do now? Brian asks himself. This just isn’t fair! I have to do something about this before I lose Aeryk, and I know I will. I can’t imagine my life without him again. He means too much to me for this to affect our life together.

A pang of fear hits Brian’s heart. But that means I have to face my parents with this. Their faces of disappointment...

Discomfort, endlessly has pulled itself upon me
Distracting, reacting
Against my will I stand beside my own reflection
It's haunting how I can't seem...

To find myself again
My walls are closing in
(Without a sense of confidence I’m convinced that there’s just too much pressure to take)
I've felt this way before
So insecure

Insecure is right. Brian snorts self mockingly. "I am insecure about all this. I don’t know really how my parents will react, but I’m afraid that they’ll look down at me again. I’ve tried so hard to be the son they’ve wanted me to be. Will they love me any less because of who I am?"

There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface
Consuming, confusing
This lack of self-control I fear is never ending
Controlling

Brian lowers the music and calls his home number in hopes that Aeryk’s there. After a couple rings, Aeryk’s smiling face appears on the screen. "Hey gorgeous, what’s up?" Aeryk asks happily.

Brian smiles at his love. "Nothing love, I’m on my way home and wanted to make sure you were there."

"How was your visit?"

"It was okay, nothing special."

Aeryk’s smile fades slightly. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Brian lies. "I’m just a little tired that’s all."

"Oh, okay Bri. I’ll see you when you get home."

Brian pulls his car into the garage and heaves out a sigh. "Maybe I should’ve gone to the park or something to blow some steam. I’m not in a good mood at all."

Brian shrugs it off and steps out of his car, secures it, and then heads toward his condo.

Aeryk opens the door just before Brian reaches it and smiles faintly at him. How does he do that? Brian asks himself. "How do you always seem to know that I’m almost at the door?"

"Psychic powers." Aeryk jokes as he steps aside to let Brian in. "What’s the matter?"

Another testament to his uncanny ability to read me like a book. "I just have a few things on my mine." Brian admits. "I don’t feel like talking about it right now."

Aeryk nods in understanding. "Should we call it a night then?"

"I’m going to stay up a bit longer." Brian says running a hand down Aeryk’s arm. "You go on ahead if you want."

"You sure?" Aeryk asks, worried. "I can stay up if you need me."

Brian leans down and kisses Aeryk on his forehead. "I’m fine. I won’t be up much longer."

Aeryk gives Brian a worried look before nodding again. "Okay, g’night."

Brian watches Aeryk walk off before making his way into the kitchen. "Damn it, where’s a beer when I need one?"

"You better not become an alcoholic or I’ll drop you like a bad habit!" Aeryk calls from their room.

Brian grins. Typical. "Of course not, love of my life!" He teases.

"Yeah, yeah." Aeryk retorts.

Brian decides to have some coffee. Oh damn, I always have Aeryk make the coffee. I don’t know how to work this thing! He looks at the oddly shaped coffee maker and its various buttons and extensions, and then utter confusion sets in. This isn’t funny.

With a huff, Brian makes another decision to skip on the drinks all-together and he steps outside. The bite of the chill wind causes a grimace to fall on Brian’s face.

The city just outside the condo is still brightly lit and alive despite the late hour. "God I wish I could be out there, having fun instead of thinking so damn much." Brian murmurs. "What am I going to do? I can’t keep on doing this to myself... to Aeryk. Why am I so scared? So what if they don’t agree with the way I live my life, I haven’t cared for years!" You’re lying to yourself Brian. A quiet voice calls. You do care, and it hurts you to.

Brian heaves out a sigh and falls onto a chair he and Aeryk placed on the balcony. He looks over at the other chair and imagines Aeryk sitting there, silently drinking his morning coffee and gazing at him with loving green eyes.

"I do care, don’t I?" Brian asks the image of Aeryk. "You’ve never seem to care about what people say or think about you. You’ve always seem to embrace everything and did things the way you wanted to. Why can’t I be more like you huh?"

You don’t want to be like me Brian, I’m the weak one remember? Who did I run to when I was sad? Who was the one that stuck up for me when I was being teased by the guys in our training class? The imaginary Aeryk asks. I love you just the way your are Brian. I can’t tell you enough how much of a wonderful person you are inside and out.

Brian nods and turns his attention away. "What should I do then?" He gazes up at the star filled sky.

I have faith that you’ll do whatever it is that makes you happy in the end Bri; you’ve always been like that. You get things done.

"But what if I loose you again? I know how much it hurts you, lying to people."

If that happens, it would be on my convictions and not yours. You aren’t at fault here, remember that.

Brian can almost feel the soft touch of Aeryk’s hand on his face. "But I promised you I would never harm you in anyway."

Life is pain Brian. This is how I live. You are what makes the pain go away, do you think I would give that up for anything?

The feeling of Aeryk’s body so close to his own gives Brian a feeling of total warmth and security. "I love you so much Aeryk."

I know you do... I know you do...

Brian heaves out a sigh as the warm feeling suddenly vanishes. He looks at his watch and sees that it’s well past eleven and he slowly rises to his feet.

A new confidence enters Brian’s mind and he slowly slides the balcony door open and steps inside. I can do this. I know I can.

Brian enters the hallway and sees the bedroom light shining softly through the cracked door. He slowly opens the door and sees Aeryk propped up, asleep, on the bed with a book in his hand.

Now if this isn’t the cutest thing in the world, I don’t know what is. Brian smiles as he walks into the room and shuts the door behind him. He silently begins removing his clothes and tosses them near the closet, knowing full well that Aeryk, had he been awake to see this, would kill him. Brian then looks into his drawer for a pair of comfortable shorts, places them on, then walks over to the end of the bed where Aeryk is sleeping soundly.

"How can one so small hold such power over me." Brian chuckles softly as he runs his finger along some rogue strands of Aeryk’s soft brown hair. "I hope I really do make you happy Aeryk. I’m trying my best to confront my fears."

Brian leans over and kisses Aeryk gently on the lips and he wakes up with a quiet moan. "Hey you," Aeryk begins with a slight tired smile. "Everything okay?"

Brian takes the book from Aeryk’s hand and places it on the end table. "A little better, thanks." He runs his hand through Aeryk’s hair again. "You doing okay? I didn’t mean to worry you."

"What kind of boyfriend would I be...?"

"If I didn’t worry about you." Brian finishes with a grin. "I know, thank you." He then rises to his feet and walks over to his side of the bed and slips in.

Aeryk wraps his arms around Brian and lands a kiss on the nearest available flesh. "I love you." He mutters, about to fall asleep again.

"I love you too." Brian kisses Aeryk again and shuts his eyes.

Date: September 19, 3021
Time: 11:18am
Location: National Museum of Lost Cultures

"Security..." Aaron gawks at a woman with a slick black hair, kept in a tight bun, and gray eyes wearing a modest black power suit. "You want us to do security?"

"Yes." The woman responds without a hint of emotion. "I have spoken with your Chief and he was more than happy to comply." She hands him a sheet of paper for him to read. "Everything is in order."

Jackie tears the paper from Aaron’s grip and quickly skims the order. "I don’t believe this." She sighs handing the paper back to the woman. "Anything else we can do for you Ms. Langley?"

"There are some important people coming in this afternoon." She begins, her voice as icy as her demeanor. "I don’t want anything going wrong. It’s bad enough that the police have yet to find whoever was responsible for the break-ins the past week. I will not stand for the F.Y. allowing the same mistakes." She snaps turning on her heels and storms off toward her office.

"Lovely lady." Aaron says with an obvious hint of humor.

Jackie nods in agreement. "How about we walk around and get a feel for the place?"

Jessica Langley, the director of the National Museum of Lost Cultures, has shut down the museum to public viewing that morning as to prepare for a potential client whom is considering placing a great deal of money into the museums budget.

Aaron and Jackie were suckered by none other than Derryk into proceeding to the Museum under the assumption that they were in dire need of assistance. What type of assistance was never specified however.

"Wow, would you look at this!" Aaron cries, waving Jackie over to where he’s standing.

"What is it?" Jackie gawks looking at a large metallic device with a glass door and a couple metal racks set inside. Four other racks of swirled metal sit on the top of the foreign looking object along with several knobs along a board overlaying it.

"A stove?" Aaron gasps. "No way!"

"God, how primitive were these people?" Jackie gawks looking at the stove with intense interest.

"Actually it came from a ruined city in Kansas." A woman with long white, almost silver, hair and crystal blue eyes says with a velvety voice. The modest, yet revealing, blood red dress hugging her lithe body as she practically floats over to Aaron and Jackie, her red high heels tapping lightly on the tiled floor. "Topeka I believe."

"Uh," Aaron stammers. "Wh-who are you?"

"Michelle Gregory." She offers her hand to Aaron. "I’m here to meet Ms. Langley."

Aaron gently clasps Michelle’s slight hand and shakes it. "Aaron Michaelson and this is my partner Jackie Skiffington."

Michelle and Jackie shake hands. "I’m a little early I’m afraid." Michelle says, smiling. "Would you like to join me for a tour?"

"Actually," Jackie begins.

"Sure!" Aaron interrupts.

Michelle smiles at Aaron and the three begin their tour of the large museum. "Excuse me," Jackie begins. "Why would the museum want to keep things from the pre-earthquake era."

"Probably to keep a perspective of the world we lost." Michelle replies. The group continues their tour and gaze around the vast amount of artifacts and treasures of cultures long lost, some lost not too long ago.

They are about to turn into the Ancient Asia exhibit when Jessica thunders down the corridor. "Ms. Gregory, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting." She darts a nasty glare at Aaron and Jackie. "It would seem that I was ill informed of your arrival time."

Michelle smiles. "I was here earlier than scheduled, my apologies."

"I see you’ve already taken a tour of the museum?" Jessica inquires.

"Yes, and I’m very impressed. If would you like, we can get down to business?"

A flicker of emotion in Jessica’s normally deathlike eyes shines for a moment. "Of course." She steadies her growing excitement. "My office is just this way."

"Nice meeting you two." Michelle says as she walks off with Jessica.

Jackie darts a dark glance at Aaron. "Could you be any more obvious?"

"What?" Aaron asks innocently. "Let’s go look in that Asia exhibit, eh?"

"Oh my God it’s true!" A familiar voice rings through the halls.

Aaron and Jackie turn to see Aeryk and Brian staring at them in disbelief. "I thought Chief was joking when he told us." Brian says.

Jackie scowls. "Yeah, shut up."

Aeryk chuckles as he and Brian walk up to meet their friends. "Don’t get your panties in a bunch, I’m only teasing."

"So how long are you two s’possed to be here?" Brian asks.

"Only for today I guess." Aaron replies. "We’re ‘ere to make sure nothing gets stolen."

Jackie snorts. "Yeah, the damn police haven’t been able to catch whomever is trying to break into the museum."

"Any idea what they’re after?" Brian asks.

"Take your pick." Aaron replies. "You’ve got countless numbers of priceless artifacts in ‘ere."

Aeryk spies the Asia exhibit and a grin takes over his face. This could be cool... He says to himself as he sneaks off toward exhibit hall.

Aeryk steps into the dimly lit room and gazes at the vast amount of statues, paintings, and various other artifacts taken from ancient, and recent, Asia. Aeryk has this almost obscene obsession with anything Asian, which is the reason he learned a couple of the languages from there. Heaven...

Aeryk passes by several racks with various weapons from China, and looks at several scrolls written in Japanese, when something catches his eye. "Huh?" He turns and sees a simple looking necklace with a yin-yang amulet.

"There’s something about this..." Aeryk steps toward the glass encased necklace and gazes at its simple beauty. He reaches out a hand to touch the glass when a raucous voice calls to him.

"What are you doing?" Brian demands.

Aeryk turns on him. "Just looking, no need to get all pissy."

"We need to get going." Brian says.

Aeryk nods, turning back to the necklace one more time before he allows himself to be dragged out of the room by Brian.

Date: September 19, 3021
Time: 10:17pm
Location: National Museum of Lost Cultures

Jessica heaves out a sigh as she gazes at the check laid neatly on her desk. "I can’t believe it." A grin cracks her face. "I can’t believe it!" She lets out an overjoyed laugh and stamps her feet on the floor repeatedly.

Soon after she realizes how childish she’s acting, Jessica quickly recovers her icy demeanor and smoothes out her tussled hair. She then rises from her desk, shuts off the lamp and heads out of her office and locks the door.

Jessica takes a moment gaze about the dimly lit museum, her life, and smiles faintly. "Finally things will get a little easier around here." She mutters to herself.

Aaron and Jackie both let out a yawn as Jessica walks up to them. "Everything ready?" Aaron asks.

"Yes, thank you." Jessica replies. "I’m sorry to keep you both here so late, I do appreciate it."

Jackie nods and smiles. "Not a problem." She lies. Though I’d rather be in bed right now.

"I can’t believe the night guard called in sick." Jessica continues. "I’ll be sure to have a talk with him."

And there goes ‘er chilly personality. Aaron smiles to himself. "It’s no problem." He says. "We’ll make sure no one gets in ‘ere tonight."

Jessica nods curtly and heads toward the main entrance. "I’ll have someone to relieve you in the morning." She calls.

Aaron and Jackie frown slightly as the woman locks the doors behind her. "Charming." Jackie mutters.

"She did seem almost pleasant for a while there." Aaron says. "Almost."

The two shrug it off and look around the museum. "This place gives me the creeps." Jackie says. "Kinda like the places where you see those mummies come to life in the old horror movies."

Above the Asia exhibit room, a dark shadow looms over the glass dome and gazes down into the hall below. Finally, I’ve found it.

Michelle has been searching for the past week for the necklace that Jen desires so terribly. Until then she was at a loss for what to do, when she over heard a conversation between Jessica and another worker about needing greater financial support. Michelle then got the idea to pose as a rich woman with a keen interest in the ancient world. It got her in the museum’s vaults and sight on hundreds of priceless artifacts and the object of her desire. She persuaded Jessica to display the necklace, as trying to get into the vault would be virtually impossible. Jessica, at first, was reluctant at displaying the only artifact she had from such an impressive and fascinating era of Chinese history.

To hell with the book, ring, and the statues. We’ve already gotten that taken care of. Michelle grins as she pulls out his glasscutter. "No time like the present." She pulls a dark hood over her head and face and begins her attempt at breaking in the museum.

"I can’t believe they haven’t put in a security system yet." Michelle scoffs. "Maybe that money I ‘gave’ her will go to that purpose." She continues to chuckle to herself as she skillfully etches through the thin dome glass, knowing the check she gave Jessica is counterfeit.

Just as she is about to cut through the last inch of glass, Michelle places a large suction device and applies it to the glass circle. With the device in place, she cuts through the last piece of glass and lifts it up and places it gently on the ground beside her. Michelle then secures the rope around her waist, checks the lever bolted beside her, and then begins her slow descent into the building.

With a muffled tap, Michelle lands on the tiled floor of the Asia exhibit and searches around the dimly lit room for the necklace. "Ah-hah." She whispers as she releases the rope and walks toward the ancient artifact. "Jen better pay me well for this."

Michelle places delicate gloved hands on the glass surrounding the necklace when she hears the heavy footsteps of booted feet. "Damn it, I thought I got rid of the guard." She mumbles as she rushes to hide behind a large thick round pillar. She quickly lets out a curse when she notices the thin rope dangling from the open ceiling.

"I can’t believe there isn’t anything here to eat!" Jackie complains as she and Aaron approach the Asian room.

"Just ‘old your ‘orses," Aaron replies. "You ‘ad a big enough dinner."

"Hey, what’s that?" Jackie says when she notices the rope hanging in the middle of the room.

"Look’s like we’ve got company." Aaron says as he pulls out his gun.

Michelle looks around for something she can use to distract the two F.Y. officers long enough for her to think of a plan of escape. She finds a battle staff with a jagged blade on the end and picks it up.

Michelle jumps out from her hiding spot and hurls the staff at a pair of startled officers who jump out of the way. "Hold it!" Jackie calls aiming her gun at Michelle. "Put your hands in the air where we can see them."

Michelle slowly raises her hands and takes a quick glances at the necklace just before her. Hm, a little daring, but it’ll work. Faster that Jackie or Aaron can react; Michelle lurches forward, tears off the glass case and tosses it at Jackie.

Amidst the sound of shattering glass and cries of outrage, Michelle grabs the necklace, shoves it in a small pack and dives out of firing range.

"Damn it, she’s a regular deer that one." Aaron grumbles. "Where is she?" He slowly moves around the room in search of his query. "Come out, come out where ever you are."

Just as Aaron reaches her pillar, Michelle leaps out and lands a sidekick to his stomach and follows up with a right punch to his face.

Jackie lets out a cry of outrage and sends a blast of plasma energy at Michelle’s back, but the shot fails to faze her. "What the?" She sends another blast but with the same result.

Michelle turns on Jackie and snorts. "You can’t hurt me with such toys." She says.

Aaron rises from the floor and latches onto Michelle and binds her hands and neck. "What was that now?"

Michelle grunts as she sends her foot straight into Aaron’s face, which frees her hands and she turns on Aaron and slams her foot into his stomach again and sends him careening into a pillar.

Jackie drops her gun and charges Michelle and sends her own foot onto her opponents back. "How’s that?"

Michelle turns around and attacks Jackie with a barrage of kicks and punches. "You’re good. Kickboxing?"

"Yeah, three time world champion." Jackie announces as she sends a successful left hook across Michelle’s jaw.

Michelle falls back, dodges one of Jackie’s kicks, and performs a outward crescent kick across her face. As Jackie falls to the ground, Aaron appears again and tears at Michelle’s face. "You bloody..." He tears off Michelle’s mask. "Michelle?"

Taking advantage of Aaron’s confusion, Michelle lands one final punch on Aaron’s face and rushes to the rope. "Pleasure seeing you two again, but I’ve got to run."

The stunned and bloody Aaron feebly reaches for his gun and shoots a desperate shot at Michelle, which misses completely. And as Michelle ties the last bit of rope around her waist, Jackie dashes toward her. "Ah-ah." She performs a graceful back flip, kicking Jackie square in the jaw in the process, presses a button and begins to soar high into the air to safety.

"Oy, you alright." Aaron pants.

"Yeah, you?" Jackie replies.

Aaron nods and grimaces in pain. "Nearly broke my jaw." He mutters. "Jessica’s not going to be ‘appy about this."

Jackie chuckles. "Who cares right now? Let’s call the Chief and let him know what’s going on."

After a brief phone call and a few choice phrases from Jessica, her and Derryk arrive at the museum along with an ambulance.

"Where is it?" Jessica demands.

"She got away with it." Jackie replies as a paramedic applies a bandage to a cut she didn’t know she had.

"How could you let her get away with such a priceless artifact?" Jessica roars.

"She caught us off guard." Aaron snaps. "Where was the security alarm that could’ve alarmed us?"

"That’s what you two were for." Jessica retorts. "And look at this mess."

"Do you have any idea what she looks like?" Derryk asks.

"It’s Michelle Gregory." Jackie says.

Jessica ceases her ranting. "Wh-who?" Jackie repeats herself. "I can’t believe it." She falls numbly to her knees. "What am I going to do? I’ve been given money by a thief."

Derryk gives Aaron and Jackie and apologetic look. "Sorry guys, I had no idea."

Jackie smiles. "A day off would be thanks enough."

Derryk chuckles. "Done. I’ll go see if I can deal with the Ice Queen for a moment."

Date: September 19, 3021
Time: Midnight
Location: ???

Michelle stumbles into the den and falls onto a soft couch. "God that so wasn’t worth the trouble." She grumbles as she turns her face toward the fire.

"Problems?" A silken voice calls from the darkness of the other room.

"Nothing I couldn’t handle. Where’s Jen?"

"With Vincent, more than likely." The voice replies with a hint of laughter. "I see you’re bleeding. But I suppose you wouldn’t feel it after such an accident."

Michelle grimaces as the vision of the horrible day when she got struck by lightning as a little girl flashes through her mind. "No, I guess not." She replies emotionlessly. "I guess I’ll have to give her the necklace in the morning. What are you doing up so late?"

"Doing some studying," The voice says hauntingly. "Danny has given me some interesting information regarding our ‘Sacred Child’."

Michelle gasps. "Have we found him?"

"Maybe, but that’s for me to find out."

"What do you mean?" Michelle asks sitting up on the couch and facing into the darkness.

"It’s my turn to play Jen’s little game." The voice replies.

Michelle shakes her head. "I wish I knew what Jen is really up to. Why us?" Michelle waits for a response but is doomed to disappointment. "Oh well, I’m going to bed now. Good night."

"Good night." The voice coos.

A man with deep blonde, almost brown, hair and sky blue eyes gazes at a picture before on the table and begins to chuckle to himself. He holds up the picture closer and smiles faintly at the man with brown hair and jade green eyes and his chuckle deepens to something more sinister. "Aeryk..." He whispers.

Continued in Part 14

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