Emplate stood there watching the whole scene unfold. He knew that he was
safe, and the plan was working. Being in Godiva's museum did bring Rich
down, and Penance was by his side. He saw how scared the two of them were.
They were not ready for something like this. Although, it had helped his
plans to know his father was here. He could hide better from his father,
now. He needed to plan everything according to what they were going to do.
He decided to listen to the conversation. He noticed that Jubilee motioned
Rich and Penance to move forward, in a reassuring way. Godiva then said,
"What is going on?"
His father then said, "Godiva, this statue you received is not a
statue. It is a mutant that feeds off other mutants."
Godiva just looked at him and said, "How do you know this, Cartier?"
Emplate heard his own sister answer that. "Because, Emplate is our
family."
Godiva was shocked. It took her a few minutes to recover from that.
In the meantime, he noticed that Rich and Penance were constantly watching
him. They were watching for movement. He wasn't going to move, due to the
ace up his sleeve. He then heard Godiva say, "You mean that this is a
vampire of sorts."
His father then said, "He probably came here due to the high number
of mutants in the area."
He watched as Rich and Penance started to back away. Sean Cassidy
then said, "Nae, he came here for a different reason." They all knew the
reason he was there.
His father was confused by this, and Godiva then said, "If he's not
here to feast, then why come here?"
Monet answered that question. "You are bait, Godiva."
"What?"
"My brother came down to your museum to lure Rich down here. After
discovering Rich's ability, Emplate decided to use that ability to make Rich
an Emplate. His interest in Rich increased as Rich and Yvette started
falling in love. He was probably hoping that Rich and Yvette would come down
alone. He plans on capturing Rich and Yvette." Emplate knew his sister was
smart, but he was always surprised at how well she knew him.
He watched as Godiva turned to Rich and said, "You just seem to make
enemies, don't you. First was Elane, then Davis, and now this monstrosity."
He noticed that Rich flinched at the second name. Who was this person?
Apparently, the question was on everyone's mind. Rich appeared to
tense even more, and Jubilee said to Penance, "Ask Rich who Davis is?"
Finally an answer arrived from Godiva, "Davis was Rich's best friend,
until he revealed that he was a mutant criminal, and that is all I will say.
Rich hates that and doesn't ever talk about it." He watched as Penance
nodded. Apparently, Rich had told her most of his deep dark secrets.
Monet finally said, "Is he hunting you down? I mean we should be
warned if he is going to attack the school."
Rich finally untensed and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Shut up!
At least Davis is imprisoned. You two never said anything about that
smeghead of a brother that you have when you arrived at the school. Everyone
has told me that." Emplate was both insulted and intrigued by the comment,
as was his father. He then realized that Monet wasn't Monet, but both Monet
and Claudia. This changed everything in his mind. Now, he couldn't kill
Monet, at least not yet.
Cartier was shocked by what he had just heard. He knew the truth
about Monet, but how did they find out. He told Monet never to mention that.
He turned to Monet and said, "How did they find out about that?"
He saw that Monet felt ashamed. He had a feeling that she had been
put in a situation where she had no choice but to tell. The fact that
Richard Cale shouted it meant he must have found out. Monet confirmed his
theory when she said, "Rich found out about the twins. After Elane attacked
the school, I told about it and he told about her."
He watched as Godiva gasped. She then said, "Elane attacked the
school, and you survived. Rich, you are lucky." Whoever this Elane was, she
must be evil.
Monet then said, "We had thought that Emplate had enlisted her help
to capture Rich and Yvette. She failed and believed dead." Cartier didn't
think his son would forgive that failure.
He then went on to the more important question. "How much do
they..." He couldn't get the rest out because he noticed that Godiva was
starting to collapse. Kyuukai had caught her, but he had a bad idea of what
was happening.
Kyuukai looked at everyone and said, "She's been feeling fatigued
lately, but I don't know why?" He had an idea and it confirmed his suspicion
about the statue. Before he could say anything, he saw Rich run toward the
statue with claws ready.
Rich was upset. He ran straight for the statue with claws ready.
He was going to rip Emplate to shreds. Emplate had been feasting on his
younger cousin. Just as he was going to leap at Emplate, Monet jumped in his
way. Whose side was she on? Monet then said, "Rich, you are just giving
Emplate what he wants. He will grab you and disappear with you in tow."
The rage died down and he nodded. He slowly stepped back and went over to
Yvette. He was going to be sure that Emplate wouldn't catch him in a neutral
state.
He then said to Godiva, "Can you get us to where the rooms are,
without entering the passageways by this room?" He noticed that she was
having trouble standing up under her own strength. Emplate would pay for
this.
Godiva just looked at Kyuukai and said, "Lead the way." They all
left the room, and in the Bermuda Triangle room, Kyuukai hit some buttons on
the UFO replica. Soon a door opened and they stepped through it.
As they walked through the corridor, Sean said something that made
Rich wonder.
"Godiva, what is the security system like, I mean for the passages, and
rooms."
Godiva replied in detail. "When museum door's close, the secret
passages are sealed off, and the trigger to open them changes from one item
to another in each room. To get into the sleeping area, one has to solve
about three puzzles, without screwing them up. The doors are closed when we
activate the switches up here. As for the one exhibit, we have passcodes on
the doors, that only Kyuukai and myself know. That room is not connected to
a secret passage."
Rich then said, "Perfect for you two." He smiled as she gave him a
nasty look. Then he said, "What if a door is kept open?"
"Unlikely, at 5:00pm, the normal museum closing time, the camera's
lock on the secret doors. If it is ajar, it focuses and sees if anything is
there. If nothing is there, then the door is malfunctioning. Also remember
that these doors and wall were built to withstand the strength of my hair."
Rich had a sinking feeling in his gut, but wouldn't admit it. They continued
down the passages and up some steps. At the top of the steps was a landing,
leading to another set of steps. They followed her up into a larger foyer.
There were rooms all around the area. Godiva then said, "This is the main
living area. It is off limits at all times, except right now. Once everyone
is in here, Kyuukai and I activate the doors, and the doors at the bottom of
the steps close." She then looked at him and said, "Now why did you lash out
like that?"
Everett answered the question for him. "Rich thinks that Emplate has
been feeding of you. The thing is, there is usually a mark and I don't see
any." Everett was right. Rich didn't see any either, and then he remembered
something.
Rich looked at his cousin, and in his best monotone voice said, "Do
you still use your favorite sleeping attire?" He could tell she understood
that this was serious.
She looked at him and said, "Yes, and with the Ben Stein voice, I can
tell that you don't mean it as a joke." Everyone looked puzzled by this, and
she said, "Science teacher on 'The Wonder Years.'" They then understood what
she meant. He could tell that she was worried as well. She looked at him
and said, "You don't think that this Emplate might have..."
He knew she didn't want to say the rest. To her, it was a disgusting
thought in the first place for a man to see her like that, more less touch
her. Rich could only say one thing, and that might not be the best thing for
her to hear. "The only way to tell is for you to be examined, and only a few
of us here knows what to look for."
Angelo had put two and two together when he heard all that, and the
tone of Rich's voice. Now this would be perfect payback for the bet. He had
a feeling that when Rich asked the question about sleep, that Godiva
preferred to be au natural. This, of course, meant that Emplate could have
put the bite on her anywhere. Angelo then said, "Well, if that's the case,"
Rich finished the sentence, "I will check her out." Angelo's was
almost ready to shout when Rich said, "I'm the only one who can do it."
Emma asked, "Why?" Angelo wanted to ask the question as well, but
then he would have received looks from everyone.
Rich, keeping a calm look on his face, said, "One, we need someone
who knows the marks of Emplate's feedings, which narrows it down to most of
us. Second, it cannot be a woman. Godiva would enjoy that abit." Angelo
noticed that she blushed abit at that. He thought about it and if a woman
was examining him, he would enjoy it to, no matter the reason. Rich then
continued, "And it can't be any of the guys here, because they would enjoy
it too much." Okay, Angelo knew he was in that boat.
He heard Cartier speak up. "Why not myself, Richard? I know what to
look for."
Angelo then realized why Rich had singled himself out for that.
Godiva would not be as uncomfortable around Rich in the situation. Rich had
seen her like that before. Before Rich could answer the question, Angelo
said, "Because, Rich has seen her like that. He mentioned that to us." He
could sense that Godiva was amazed that they knew, but he figure that she
knew that Rich had told them. "It is not as uncomforting for him to check,
as it would be for you to check her." He saw Cartier nod and then saw Rich
and Godiva nod.
Godiva then looked at Rich and said, "Ok, let's get this over with."
She was ready to find out the truth.
Paige then spoke up. "What about keeping this hidden? Ah mean.."
He then noticed that she was motioning to Artie, Franklin, and Leech. That
made sense to him. The little kids shouldn't see that. Instantly, Godiva's
hair enveloped the two.
Everett walked over to his side and said, "You were hoping to be the
one to check her out." His friend knew him that well.
"Well, after that sucker bet, I deserve something."
"Well, maybe he might loan you some of his videos that you mentioned."
Right then, there was a loud scream coming from the envelope of hair.
Angelo turned to face Everett and said, "If Rich even returns to the school
with us, because I have a bad feeling that he won't return." He said it
softly, because he didn't want to get Yvette too worked up.
Rich walked out of the hair mass and walked over to Cartier. He
looked at the man and said, "Bad news. Your son isn't gay. From what I have
just seen, he likes women."
Godiva returned her hair to a normal state and said, "That thing
copped a feel and snacked at the same time. I think I need to use the ladies
for a long while." Godiva ran into a door, and he heard a second door slam.
Judging the actions of all concerned, things had just gotten worse.
Yvette realized what was going on. Emplate was here. He lured them
here to capture both of them. It didn't take her long to realize that
Emplate had survived the past few days by feasting on Rich's cousin. She
then realized a more dangerous thing. She saw Godiva's power. Emplate could
have just grabbed them with his dreadlocks and taken them away. For all she
knew, they were right behind them now. She spun around real quick and saw
nothing. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was ready to strike.
She turned, tensed, and almost cut Jubilee. Jubilee looked at her concerned,
and said, "Penny, what's wrong? Emplate can't get you here."
She labored for her words, for it was difficult to communicate when
she was tense. "H-h-how d-d-do y-y-you kn-n-now? W-w-with G-g-godiva's p-p-
power, h-h-his dr-dr-dreadlocks c-c-could h-h-have f-f-followed u-u-us."
"Emplate always tries to out number his foes, or out think them.
Just reaching out and grabbing you is not his style." Jubilee was right.
She relaxed abit more and said, "You're right, sis. I forgot about
that." She then saw Rich was still upset. He was starting to tense up abit.
This worried her abit. She walked over to him and said, "What's wrong?"
She knew it was related to Emplate, but this confused her when he
said, "He should have moved. Nobody can stand perfectly still for half a
day."
Jubilee then said, "What about those British Guards?" Jubilee was
right. Those guys never move an inch.
Jono then said, {I've seen one faint. So there must be a reason Rich
had said that.}
Mondo then said, "Do you think Godiva's ability is long lasting?"
Sean then said, "Wouldn't explain how he managed to stay still when
he arrived."
Cartier St. Croix then said, "Godiva had shown me that he was out of
the box, but when she put him in the room, he was in the crate."
Monet looked at her father and said, "Is that important?"
Yvette thought for a moment. She then said "Emplate could have
removed the box, stashed it in the secret passage, and returned to the spot
he was in."
She saw Emma shake her head. "Security cameras would have recorded
it."
Kyuukai then spoke up. "Ever since that statue arrived, the cameras
in that room have malfunctioned at times, and the passageway door was jammed.
Since we thought it was a statue, we had to work on more wiring for the
room."
Daria then said something. "How far is it open?" Kyuukai held up
her hand's and Daria said, "I think I know what it might be."
Kyuukai then said, "I went down the passage to the entrance. There
is nothing there, and when I tried to move the door, it didn't move."
Yvette glanced at Rich and saw the distraught on his face. He knew
what Daria was driving at. Rich then said to her, {Yvette, give me a little
bit of time to think. If Daria is right, there is only one room that we can
be safe in.} She then watched as he ran down the steps. She had an idea of
where he was heading.
Godiva calmly left the bathroom and reentered the main hall. She was
still disgusted at what had been happening to her over the past couple of
days. She wondered if some greater force always picked on her, but she
always put that aside. When she returned to the group, she noticed that Rich
was gone. She started recalling everything that was mentioned about
Emplate's possible plan. She said, "Where did Rich go?"
Yvette, Rich's girlfriend, answered the question. "He said he needed
time to think."
Godiva inwardly cursed when she heard that. Rich was always one to disappear,
to be alone, when he needed to think. Right now, that could cause major
trouble.
"What happened while I was gone?"
Daria then said, "We were talking about how Emplate was staying still,
and he needed help to pull that off."
"So?"
Sean then said, "I think we were all coming to a conclusion that none
of us wanted. That Emplate is not alone. I think that we all believe that
Aura is here." Aura. That must be Elane.
"That would explain the malfunctions, but how could she hide?"
Monet started to speak at that question. "Maybe she can ..." She
trailed off and appeared to be looking straight ahead. What had just
happened to her?
Jubilee just looked at her and said, "Great, there she goes. Spaced
out again."
Cartier then said, "Somebody get her attention, and hurry!" There
was urgency in his voice.
Emma seemed to agree with his urgency. "We will need her help to
stop Emplate."
Sean looked at Cartier and said, "Any suggestions on getting her
attention?"
Cartier just said, "Try anything!" This was a different urgency then
breaking her out of this state. He was afraid of something, but he didn't
want to show it. She could read his actions since he had been spending time
at the museum.
Jubilee walked over to Monet and yelled in her ear, "Hey M, your
brother is coming to kill us. He said he was going to force you to watch."
No movement from Monet.
Everett walked over to Jubilee and said, "I know she has a crush on
me, and she considers herself a princess, so forgive me for this." He then
kissed Monet.
Jubilee just said, "It would wake me up, but she is still out." It
was obvious that Everett felt a bit guilty. He probably thought he had
cheated on Jubilee.
For an hour, everyone kept trying different approaches to snap her
out of her state. Some of Angelo's tactics were a little off the wall.
Jubilee tried insulting her. Daria changed her arm to a steel pipe and hit
Monet with it. All that happened there was a scream from Daria. It was at
that moment that Godiva noticed a shadow in her peripheral vision. She
turned to see a shadow moving down the stairs. She noticed the blue eyes of
the shadow and realized that it must have been Yvette. She must be heading
for Rich. Now was a time to get Monet out of this spell she was in. She
went to Kyuukai and said, "I have an idea." She whispered her plan and they
moved over to either side of Monet.
They whispered something into each ear and Monet blinked and jumped
away from the two. Monet looked at them horrified. All she said was, "Mon
Dieu."
When everybody looked at them, Godiva said, "What we said doesn't
matter right now. Yvette has just left the area. She probably went to Rich.
We have to find those two, or Emplate will have what he is looking for."
It was then that Sean took charge. "We will have to split into teams,
just in case Emplate is moving about. Each team will search a room and let
us know if they run into Emplate, or find Skitz and Penance."
Godiva didn't know how this was going to be taken care of, but she
started to think about the tour. She remembered the reaction that Rich and
Yvette had during the tour. She then said, "I think we can rule out two
rooms. The Demon's room is the last place they would go near, and judging by
Yvette's reactions, the Inhumanities room is out as well. Also, the
presentation room has no place to hide, so that is out."
Sean just nodded and said, "Ye heard Godiva, so lets split up. We
have nine rooms to search, and we don't know when Emplate is going to move."
She carefully listened as Sean picked out the teams, and who was given each
room.
Yvette slowly walked into the room. The room still scared her, but
she thought out what Rich had said. This was the only place the two of them
would be safe if Aura was with Emplate. She had heard Godiva say that the
doors could only be open by passwords, and only Godiva and her lover knew the
passwords. Also, there was no secret passage into the room. This room was
the safest room in the whole museum. She slowly moved through the room and
saw Rich sitting on a step. She saw what he was looking at. A model of a
device called a Guillotine. She shuddered when she saw the blade. She
decided to let him know she was there. She thought for a moment and said in
his ear, "A penny for your thoughts."
He reached his arms around her waist and pulled her down, until she
was lying across his lap. She looked her lover in his eyes and smiled. He
just said, "'A penny for your thoughts.' Did you want me to take you up on
that offer?" He gave her a quick kiss and then said, "You figured out that
this was the place."
She sat up on the step and said, "Yes, but why are you looking at
that device?"
He turned to face her and said, "Think of it as a symbol right now.
The man who invented it, created it to give a painless execution to it's
victims. Some time later, that same man was executed by the machine. Ironic,
isn't it."
She didn't understand what he was driving at. "So.."
He then said, "Isn't it ironic that the place that you feared most,
is the safest place in the whole museum?" She then realized it. He was
right. This device could represent the situation they were in.
Then she thought about it more, "But, that means Emplate could
capture us in here. It means that this place could be our doom." He then
smiled and she realized that he had thought of that, and had a way around it.
"What's the plan?" she asked.
He just said, "I'm going to make sure we aren't apart. We won't have
to worry about that until later. Emplate won't move until the museum closes,
and Aura won't look for us, because she has to keep Emplate still. But there
is one problem."
She started to tense up. She then said, "What's that?"
"Can't communicate. All the metal in here is interfering with our
communicators."
"So, we're all alone. And no one will look for us in here."
Rich then said, "The only way they can know we're in here is if we
mess with the camera.
Godiva said that one still works."
"I wonder if they are going to use it?"
"I don't know, but I bet that they might not. They know we can hide
in shadows." He had a point.
Yvette then looked into his eyes and said, "You are always thinking
about me, aren't you?"
He smiled and said, "I can't help it. I would risk my life for
yours."
She smiled and leaned closer. "Kiss me," she whispered. He just
nodded and they kissed. She put her arms around him and they started to
french kiss.
Elane Bonstien watched the screen that was linked to the camera of
the Inhumanities Room. It sickened her to see Rich happy, but at least now
she could ruin his life. She turned around and faced her lover. "They're
alone, and in the Inhumanities room."
Emplate, the main enemy of Gen X, walked over to her and said, "Then
they know you are here. Too bad for them that I know one of the passwords
in. You were right to suggest this plan, my love. Rich came when he heard
that I was here. I just wish that he and Penance came here alone."
"Don't worry. I plan to do something about it. I helped you feed
off Godiva, didn't I?" He nodded. She knew it was awkward for what they
did, but she enjoyed watching him feed off Godiva. She just wished that
Godiva wasn't a sound sleeper. The screams would have been music to her
ears.
Emplate then looked at the monitors and said, "Something is afoot."
She glanced at the monitors and saw that almost every room had two people in
it. In the Myths Room was Emplate's father and sister. The creatures room
played host to Jubilee and Synch. In the Extraterrestrial room was Mondo and
Daria. She hated Daria, due to her defeat back at the school at the hands of
the girl. In the Ghosts exhibit was Emma Frost and Godiva, and in the
exhibit next to it was Chamber and Husk. She wouldn't mind hurting that hick
again. On the other side of the Inhumanities room was the Inner Earth room,
with the two strange boys in. Then in the room on Ancient Civilizations was
Banshee and Kyuukai, and in the last room before the Hall of Demons was Skin
and Franklin Richards. She wouldn't mind beating up Skin again. She was
thankful that Emplate had told her all their codenames.
"They must be looking for Rich and Penance. They might just find
them before we can act."
"I doubt it," her lover said, "because of what I had put Penance
through, the Inhumanities Room is being ignored. She must have shown fear
about that room."
This puzzled her. "Why would they be in there then?"
"I've seen into Godiva's mind. That room has other purposes, and
such, it is sound proof, communication proof, and private. There is no
passageway into the room, and the doors have passwords on them."
It finally hit her. "They must have figured out that I'm here. No
way in, and no way for me to attack them."
Emplate just chuckled and said, "But, I can get in. You will have to
keep everyone else from getting in, and as luck would have it, both Godiva
and Kyuukai are on the wrong sides."
"Run that past me again?"
"The door to the Inner Earth room is opened by Godiva's password,
and Kyuukai is on that side, and vise versa for Godiva." Elane smiled at
what that meant. She had seen Kyuukai put her code in and had memorized it.
"We could ambush the two lovers, but we better make sure that no one
can help them."
"Do you have an idea?"
"There is an override control on this panel for the doors. I say we
close the museum early. Then you enter the room, changing the password, and
capture them. I will follow in the other door, doing the same, and we shall
leave." He nodded and she threw the switch to shut down the museum.
Almost instantly, the lights dimmed and a display showed every door
locking, and triggers being set for the passages. Then, something happened
that she didn't expect. A voice spoke and said, "Museum has now been shut
down due to an incident. All precautions of lockup initiated." She glanced
at the screens and everyone was bewildered, except for one person. She saw
Rich staring at the camera, and in movement so quick, she saw a blur of
movement before the monitor turned blank.
Emplate just looked at her and said, "He knows." They then headed
into the passages. Rich was lucky last time, but his luck was about to run
out.
