That JET-lag is a really lousy thing, both Rick Grey and Maggie Milage agreed to when they once again sped down the highways of Turkey. The two youths lounged in the backseat nursing their headaches, meanwhile their bosses as before had taken the front seats. Despite previous adventures Firia let Xelloss back behind the wheel, but scolded him to try it like last time. No matter his driving, he still was the only one unaffected by the ground-laws of travelling, which made him most qualified to handle the tricky roads; much to the other's horror.
"You SURE about this, Xel?" Firia asked above the noise of the winds blowing past their heads in the open car. Hair in a ponytail, small round purple sunglasses and humming a strange tune, the Mazoku to her left showed no signs what so ever of the 'event' two nights before. He shot her a rapid glance and smiled his regular happy-secretive smile.
"O'course, my impatient one! My sources are always true. Especially THIS one. I have a good man on the job." He grinned mysterious, eyes fixed on the road ahead (to the others relief). Firia just furred her brow, but didn't feel in the mood for arguing. They soon were at their destination anyway.
Amster Dietrich's eyes shone with excitement just as well as greed, when he eyed the dark formation in the soil on the bottom of the hole. A wicked smile spread itself over the man's features. Rewarding the shadowed figure behind him with a glance, he laughed most evilly to himself. The dark figure blinked a pair of content glowing slitted eyes by its master's joy.
"WHAT??!!!"
The male extra cringed by the shriek his boss produced as he spilled the news of their current situation. So Xelloss' source had been right, -- but it didn't help the temper of Ms. Fanny Conner/Firia. The assembled and currently helpless group of archeologists, assorted workers, and so on watched their project leader turn several shades of red and almost breathe fire (no pun intended).
"He did WHAT?!" Firia hyperventilated and glared at the nearest persons. "AND YOU LET HIM??!!"
"We don't exactly get paid to handle armed soldiers, Ma'am." A random voice in the little crowd piped up. "I'm too old for this..." another sighed; one who sounded much like a certain Mr. Jones. "They had guns, Ms. Connor! What can we do?!" Someone other asked desperate, causing a worried mumble to arise. Firia let her shoulders and head drop in a frustrated sigh. Xelloss walked up and patted her.
"There, there Fi-chan. I'm sure we'll work something out. Mr. Dietrich can't be all that bad, now can he?" She gave him a 'you have NO idea' look. "Oya, oya... I suppose we'll have to prepare for the worst then, ne? But we really should try and talk to him at least." He leaned on his cane, pondering it.
"Right." Firia collected herself and cleared her throat. When nothing happened, she took to her regular method instead and... "HEY!" The assembled people shut up in an instant and stared at the blond woman with hands resting demanding on her hips. Xelloss blinked where he stood leaning on the cane/staff and proceeded to happily 'don't-mind-me' ease his way sideways out of the center of the picture, since everyone then naturally stared at him too.
"Listen up people!" Firia continued. "For everyone's safety, I want everyone to stay at main camp while we try and figure out what to do. Dietrich is clearly breaking the rules when stealing from our area of the dig, and using armed force at that! We'll just have to stay calm. No use to wind yourself up... Hey, I'm talking here! Shut up! ... Until we know all the facts, we stay out of confrontations. Ok? Good. Back to work!"
"What? Aren't we going to DO something?!" Maggie looked up at her friend alarmed. "The jerk is stealing our findings!" Firia sighed.
"It's not that easy Mag, he's got backup!" The older woman massaged her temples. Damn, this was NOT good. Dietrich may be a jerk, but he was far from stupid. He would NEVER do something irrational like this if the stake were not high. Perhaps he'd found something important... Oh Gods, it was just too much! She wasn't used to play this game! Help!
"Now now, let's not jump to conclusions Firi -- eh, Fanny dear. We just go over and have a nice mature talk with the man, hm?" Firia looked at the Mazoku as he began strolling the way towards the scene of the crime.
"Talk?" She didn't sound too convinced of the idea. "Xel, you were the one to say it is supposed to be of utter importance whatever he now has found -- or is STEALING, rather. You think he'll just give it to us if we ask him?" She just got a shrug out of the leaving man. Firia shook her head tired, but followed. And just HOW had Dietrich so suddenly found anything so valued and worth risking so much for? Yet another mystery piece to add to the puzzle. Dizzy. Yes, it most certainly made her feel dizzy.
"Is it just me, or walking up to a mad man without moral but with a load of thugs with guns, -- is a good idea?" Rick asked no one in particular. Maggie folded her arms and agreed silently with an angry nod.
Dust, dust, and... dust... and a laughing maniac on the other side of a large hole in the ground. Xelloss blinked and looked down the crater-like hole and the mess therein. Earth spread around, and stone. Old stone. The scent (or stench, depending on how much your nose manage) of volcanic materials hung thick over the grounds, accompanied with stirred up regular ground opponents. The scenery sort of reminded him of when the world had rediscovered Pompeii [4]. Pompeii,... Xelloss absently thought. Being buried alive in a deadly rain of brimstone and ashes to the screaming choir of hundreds of humans as their flesh burnt black to their bones, had been a thrilling experience. However, the summary of the event wasn't quite as entertaining. -- He really HAD liked that new villa of Titus'[5]... and digging your scorn body out of several feet thick layers of hot volcanic dirt didn't exactly improve the look of your new toga. Life suck, doesn't it?
"Enjoying the view?"
Xelloss and Firia, who had caught up with him by then, looked at the irritating enemy with the toothpick, who stood and grinned that special grin reserved for just the bad guys on a little larger rock a couple of steps to their left by the crater rim. Not the I am an evil character-grin (which Mr. Metallium also uses, as known), but the I am the evil bad guy which the hero-guys(&Co) must fight. There IS a difference you know. In any case, neither Xelloss nor Firia felt especially happy about Dietrich's greeting.
"No. A pair of cut-off jeans-shorts really would show off a better side of your legs." Xelloss answered politely. Needless to say Amster Dietrich gave him a REALLY strange look from up where he stood on the rock, and even the nearest thugs/guards seemed a bit disturbed. One of the rugged guys scratched his unshaved chin and weighed the rifle he held on his hip.
"Well, y'know... I think he's right, Boss..."
"SHUT UP!" Dietrich shrieked as he descended from his look out point annoyed. The guards scrambled out of the way and reassembled themselves in mean-looking stances towards the newcomers instead. Xelloss just smiled, and Firia felt stupid. Absently Xelloss also wondered if he kept those toothpicks in different flavors, or just the standard mint-scent. He decided it didn't mattered. Perhaps he'd have someone look it up later.
"What do you want?!" Amster Dietrich tried again, this time a lot less up for playing around.
"What do you think, Dietrich?" Firia hissed with a cold stare at her rival. Amster regained the grin and chuckled triumphant.
"Oh. I see. Well, to answer you then. You, my dear Fanny, can do NOTHING." He said in a sweet but hard voice. As said, a jerk, not stupid. "I have all the aces. All." he added and folded his arms confident. "You managed to get your hands on my first find there, my lady... So now I take this from you." With a slow motion of his arm he gestured out over the hole, and the working people therein. "All mine." the reddish blond man closed his fist and tasted the words' sweet aroma. "Power." He grinned when one of the cranes by the crater-side slowly lifted one piece of the treasure up in the air and into full sunlight, behind him.
A large piece of volcanic stone.
Few of the assembled people in witness-range of the event could imagine the value of such an ordinary-looking black rock. Not even those of schooling understood much. Those with a good eye-sight might have gasped and wondered over the strange formations though, in the larger then two men-sized piece of rock. Almost like rough carved limbs of a statue, curves and lines could be hinted on several sides of the stone hanging free in the air now. The outline of a leg, perhaps a shoulder blade... It looked like one or more stone figures, captured in a larger block of the same black stone. "What power..." Amster Dietrich whispered with a dark smile dancing over his lips, engulfed in sparkling awe.
Fanny Conner, Firia Ul Copt, just stared transfixed. Amazing. Old memories of bright hurting lights, screams, and darkness hammered the back of her mind as she stared at the newly uncovered piece of rock.
"Impressive."
Dietrich turned to the purple-haired man by his archrival's side. "Yes, is it not?" He smiled and held up a hand, motioning for the guards. "However, I'm afraid you will have to leave now. I DID ceased this piece of land by force, so no more free shows. We really should stick to the scripts of hostile takeovers, no? LEAVE." The guards and assorted thugs advanced towards Firia and Xel, where they stood.
"Yes, yes! Let's go!" Rick piped up nervously from behind, where he and Maggie had stopped, just in case.
Dietrich grinned. "Listen to your little boy over there my good sir, he does have a point."
Firia felt a nerve snap. She stomped her foot.
"How DARE you! You, you!!" Dietrich backed a step in sheer surprise by the outburst, loud as it were. "Read the signs! The Contracts! This is my dig! MINE!"
Dietrich glared at her. He sneered. "Oh, REALLY? Too bad. I'm the one with the winning hand M'Lady, face the facts and lay down all ready!"
The two archeologists stared angrily at each other as the thugs started to advance more, grabbing Firia by the arm and firmly pushing her away. Even Rick and Maggie were shooed together and back to them. Xelloss decided he should jump back in. Time for act two... even though act one was just staring to get entertaining.
"Ah-ah, Dietrich-san. Seems you've forgotten a very important part here... " He teased in his classic manner. The goons gave him suspicious looks and held their nice dangerous weapons ready and threatening in a manly way, or so they thought anyway, while last mentioned leader with a toothpick looked up questioning at him.
"Oh, is that so?" The human middle aged man grinned as a short and skinny figure crept up behind him, looking silently at the little surrounded group before them. "I have this game, me dearies." He threw back his head and laughed. But when Xelloss' smile didn't even bend, the laugh slowly but surely died out and were replaced by a silent suspicious stare.
"... See, Dietrich-san you forgot," With a dark smile spread over his face the trickster priest flipped up a card, and held it in a delicate grip between two fingers by the side of his face. Dietrich stared cold at the card. "The Joker. Never underestimate The Joker, Dietrich-san. The unknown part of every game."
Xelloss grinned wide as his voice trailed off, and was replaced by the startled scream of a man and some gunshots. Everyone looked up surprised and stared at the unconscious thug on the ground before they noticed the newcomer who stood behind the fallen male.
"Oh shit. Wolfpack." Rick Grey said and held his head, looking nervously about for an escape-rout.
"What the...??!!" Everyone else either said or thought. The nearest guards lounged themselves at the new guy.
Standing tall and slim, dressed in simple clean black pants and an oriental-looking long-sleeved tunic, the newcomer became a rather amusing contrast to the loud men pointing their assorted weapons and fists at him. A faint predatory smile touched thin pale lips and he flicked a bang of short white hair from his face. Lupine eyes sparkled behind dark glasses, and he jumped.
Two charging men clashed together with a loud crash where the new guy one second earlier had been standing, sending blood from broken noses and a couple of teethes flying. One second later they both fell to the ground knocked out. They were soon followed by one of their friends to their side -- who was greeted with a similar fate after a violent meeting with a well-aimed flying kick to the jaw, which would have made the makers of "Matrix"[6] jealous.
The remaining guards just stared as the black-dressed man landed with feline grace and came to stand strict hands-on-back by the side of Sel/Xelloss Metallium. Xelloss smiled closed eyed at their opponents, turning to their leader. Amster Dietrich stared back and blinked rather surprised. He then turned red.
"Get them! Get them! GET THEM, NOW!"
"Oh no." Rick Grey whined, and hell broke loose. No, not THAT Hell. One thing at a time...
The guards and thugs jumped at the three men and two women, who did their best to either get out of the way in Rick and Maggie's case, annoy the shit out of them by skillfully avoiding them in Xelloss case, and loudly throwing angry insults in Firia's case...
"THIEF! RAT! JERK! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COME HERE AND TAKE MY LIFE-WORK YOU SON OF A -- BASTARD! IDIOT! GARBAGE!"
The both famous and infamous historian and archeologist Amster Dietrich turned one shade redder for each insult and loose plank his female opponent threw at him, and finally after five minutes of shouting, he apparently regained his speech and clearly had had enough.
"BLASTED WOMAN! I've searched for this for years! It is mine damn you! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS REALLY IS! I will -- " The rest of whatever he was about to say was choked away as his raged female opponent got a hold on his throat and shook him violently. Soon both of them were engaged in a rather comical mix of fighting and wrestling up upon the crater rim.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt ya, much..." The goon chuckled evilly and approached the two very innocent young assistants who did their best to stay out of the way. Rick and Maggie looked at each other and then back at the goon. 'Yea, RIGHT you won't.'
SCMACK!
The young man and woman watched as the large mercenary's eyes rolled up and he collapsed with a silly grin plastered over his face, revealing a tall slim smiling male standing behind him clad in black. Maggie stared, Rick smiled nervous.
"Eheeh,hiiii there, Mr. Wolfpack!"
"Ahoya, Rick-san..." WP answered simply and turned to the next thug, stage left, all in a very cool fluid professional-looking martial arts kind of way.
"What, was.. THAT?" Maggie asked as the new guy who apparently was on their side, had moved onward. Rick cringed and sighed.
"Oh.. THAT was just WP-kun .. Right! Mr. Man-in-black himself... Should have known the Boss meant him when he said it was a 'special man' he had on the case..."
"Special private agent, huh?"
Rick nodded sadly.
"Something like that, I have NO idea. He just comes and goes here and there... And creeps me out."
"Why's that?" Maggie asked as both of them found a rock to hide behind.
"It feels like he wants to eat me."
Maggie leaned to the side and gave her partner a strange look. "Say what?"
"Naw, just gnaw a little on a leg or two." Wolfpack answered with a sneaky grin as he sparred off two other guards from the left side to stage right, startling Rick to a degree that he almost jumped into Maggie's arms.
And then there was much noise, chaos, and random silly fighting going on.
"RAAAAAAAH! Incogn!"
Amster Dietrich raged as he and Fanny Conner more or less slid down the inside of the crater as they tried to kick each other's butt or at least severely put the other out of business. Needless to say, Amster was loosing. But the skinny dark figure responded to its master's call. Licking dry lips and blinking yellow eyes, it hissed and prepared to jump down the crater-side and at Firia. Dietrich laughed dry where he sat with Firia's arm in a chokehold around his neck. They would NEVER dodge that! He had the aces! He had the knowledge! So she was strong, but this time this darn woman would not take his prize. They were only humans after all. But he had something MORE...
"What are you laughing at, you bastard?" Firia shouted enraged as he seemed to lay off the fighting for a while. Suddenly a chilly feeling touched her gut. What the? Amster Dietrich grinned darkly as the small dark figure of a man moved pass the crane and down towards them.
"So THAT is how you managed to pull it off, Mr. Dietrich. Most impressive, for a human."
Both Firia and Amster looked up to see Xelloss standing in line with the shadowed figure. He stood there in his expensive clothes, arms folded, looking at the figure.
"Mazoku."
Dietrich's eyes widened remarkably. Firia gasped. How the hell did THAT get here? Could Dietrich... No, no -- he couldn't have, or could he? Xelloss just smiled at the startled creature.
"Working for humans. Isn't that a little low, even for something as inferior as you?" He asked cheerily. The creature in the shape of a skinny dirty little man hissed and snarled.
"Ho-how? Y-you kno -- " Amster Dietrich just stammered, shocked.
Crunching together in a twisted inhuman way the creature lunched itself at Xel, eyes and body glowing with a dark aura. Above, the battle sent dust and loud noises over the edge of the crater down to the people within. The few of Dietrich's people working down there had wisely enough evacuated the area, when their boss had ordered the guards to attack. So by this critical moment, the small crater were only a hole of dark stones, sand, two dirty archeologists engaged in a fighting grip, and one mysterious purple-haired aristocrat. Plus one demon minion.
If Amster Dietrich was shocked all ready, it didn't get much better when the easy looking target of his summoned minion of darkness easily as a fish in water.. moved out of the way. Incogn, the small rouge demon/Mazoku, landed on all four with all it's before human traits gone, leaving only a slimy black body of something small and devilish to glare back at them with small demonic yellow eyes. It shrieked and turned tail, jumping straight at the first intended target: Firia. Firia yelped and released Amster in shock. Amster in his turn then scrambled backwards and watched wide-eyed as the purple-haired man he'd by his people been informed to be named Sel Metallium, disappear and reappear in the direct path of Incogn's jump. The leaping demon roared and released a blast of pure dark energy towards the target in response. Sel Metallium reached out with his free hand, spreading out his palm as in a stop sign. The energy met the palm, exploded in a burst of inverted light, and bounced itself back to its origin. Incogn shrieked as it was thrown back and torn away by the tripled echo force of it's own attack. Not a hair in Xelloss' perfect cut fell out of place. In own turn, the shock-waves bounced off the steep walls of the man-made hole and set off a series of powerful whirlwinds up towards the skies. A snap as loud as a gunshot brought both archeologists back from their respective shocks, to harsh reality... A reality that says that wooden cranes are NOT built to hold huge pieces of lava rock in storm winds. Fanny Conner and Amster Dietrich watched with horror through the last swirling dust how the lifting crane cringed and cracked. The strange piece of stone dangled in its ropes and suddenly seemed extremely fragile.
NO!
Literary THROWING Dietrich out of the way, Firia leapt to her feet and ran towards the crumbling structure not too far ahead up the steep slope. Xelloss snapped his head up in time to see his new business partner run past like possessed, and the last wailing sound of the crane's wooden arm was heard as it snapped and broke under the pressure. Amster Dietrich screamed helpless and Xelloss gasped when he realized what she was about to do.
Time is a very strange thing. It's never a sure measurement. One eternity, or one second. Sometimes there's just no real difference.
Xelloss felt himself reach out in slow motion and scream as he watched the huge dark shape of the structure tumble down towards the ground and the golden figure running up beneath it. Dust and dirt swirled up in angry turmoil and protests as the ancient piece of stone pummeled down before and above the female shape. One second. The roar of the stone somehow suddenly halting its direct fall to the ground. Two seconds. It torn down the steep crater-side towards the bottom with by gravity caused an incredible force.
Then it stopped.
The broken crane dangled in the faint usual wind over the plane. The late afternoon sun cast sharp long shadows over the dig site and the few people still remaining there. Slowly opening his eyes, Xelloss Metallium looked down where he stood. Hands reached out in front of himself, body leaned forward, the palms of his gloved hands resting on the far end of the rough ancient piece that all but a second earlier had been falling to a sure destruction. The smallest crack... But it was whole. Something had taken the impact when it would have met the ground. Xel stared down at the hunched together figure that he was bent over, as he had halted the last of the rock's slide with his demonic strength. Dirty, scraped bloody and trembling, Firia chipped for air where she sat pushed to the ground by the push.
"Not even Scully[7] would even TRY and scientifically explain that as a bad case of steroids." Rick said flatly and wide-eyed by the side of an equally moved Maggie. Wolfpack just stood silent by their side by the crater rim, arms folded on his back and eyes behind dark shades.
"I... I'll get our people." Maggie managed and hesitantly backed away from Rick's side and started running back towards the Conner camp. With one last glance towards his boss, Rick Grey followed her. Wolfpack turned and silently watched them leave. He looked out over the area where all sorts of junk lay spread around after the fight, and the fallen Dietrich troops. He smiled, and vanished. As did the wasted goons.
Down in the crater, Firia felt two supportive hands grip her shoulders as he kneeled down behind her. "Now, didn't you save the day... You crazy dragon you..." Xelloss hushed emotionless voice asked her, and her strained muscles collapsed in a fit of trembles after the sudden and shocking use of the old draconian strength.
Still sitting on the dirty ground, Amster Dietrich watched his opponents with new eyes. The purple man enclosed his female rival in a supporting hold as she collapsed where she sat. The item of the struggle lay quiet at the end of the slope, a deep trail in the crate side behind and above it. It looked worthless. Amster Dietrich was not the type to give up but he still knew when he had lost. This round.
When Maggie and Rick fifteen minutes later returned with backup, the only figures left at the battleground was the female head of the dig and her male guest, sitting where their assistants last saw them. Of Amster Dietrich and any battle, no signs at all could be seen.
[4] - Pompeii; The famous Roman city south-east of mount Vesuvius in Campania, Italy, buried under layers of volcanic ashes n stone by Vesuvius' eruption 79A.C. Rediscovered in late 16th century, but no more serious digs started until 1748+. Pompeii is most famous because of the very well preserved city seemingly 'frozen in time', complete with the last marks of the population which died during the eruption. Haven't been there myself, but sure wouldn't say no to a trip there. HOWEVER. This is no history lesson, so just go look it up if interested.
[5] - Emperor Titus. The Titus Villa at Pompeii.
[6] - the by now cult/classic-classed movie, 1999.
[7] - female main lead from TV show, "The X-Files".