"But what if they don't like me?" Rose asked, fidgeting
as Zhani herded her down the hallway.
"Nonsense, my dear...after all, what's not to
like?" the shadow Uni smiled.
"Well, I'm not very talented..." the pink Uni
muttered, her ears drooping. "And I'm certainly not special..."
"Modesty," Zhani scoffed, smirking. Inwardly,
he was growing extremely impatient with her. He'd done nothing but compliment
her all morning in an attempt to boost her ego enough that she'd follow him
back to his room to where he told her he would phone his supposed Uni-based
agency. Magus was likely waiting for his return so that Rose be apprehended
and he and the Pteri could deliver her to Sloth by that evening, and now it
seemed she was going to chicken out completely on him and he'd be left to find
another sucker before the day was out.
No...it had to be her. It just had to
be. He hadn't, in his brief conversations with the others, found anyone to be
nearly as trusting or willing to believe as Rose was...not to mention that he
was so close now to finishing his mission and leaving the entire stupid lodge
behind that the idea of having to backtrack made him want to scream.
"No, I think I'd better stay at the job I have...maybe
it's not up to my potential, but at least I know how to do it well..." she smiled
weakly, turning to leave. "Thanks anyway..."
"But Rose, dear..." Zhani called after her,
trying not to sound like he was whining, even though every nerve in his body
was shrieking in frustration. "Aren't you curious? Even a little? What if they
tell you you'd be better off in a movie studio starring in motion pictures?
What if they could give you those kind of connections?"
"I seriously doubt it..." Rose sighed, stopping.
"Let me think about it a little more, though. I'm not sure I'm ready to drop
everything and run off chasing rainbows."
"But why wait? You could know right now." The
shadow Uni fought the urge to stamp a hoof irately as he began to hastily wonder
if anyone would notice if he simply grabbed Rose and dragged her to the room
to be sedated and captured.
"A little later. I don't think I'm ready to
talk to them just yet," the pink Uni told him, smiling at him. She couldn't
believe the great lengths he was going to simply to make sure she was happy...nobody
had ever done anything like that for her before. At length, realising that he
was helpless for the moment, Zhani relented, sighing heavily.
"All right..." he said quietly. "I suppose they're
not going anywhere, fair Rose," he added, oblivious of the fact she blushed
at his words as he trotted back up beside her. "In the meantime, we have a half
hour before the next workshop...could I persuade you to have a cup of coffee
with me?"
"Of course, Zhani..." Rose grinned, walking
with him back in the direction they had come. "Let me stop off at my room first,
though...I need to run a brush through my mane." The shadow Uni opened his mouth
to protest, but stopped, an idea crossing his mind. Maybe this wasn't a complete
waste after all.
"Come to think of it, I need to get something
from my room as well...wait here for me?" he asked. Rose quirked a brow but
nodded as he walked briskly toward the hotel room he and Magus occupied and
slipped inside. The spotted Pteri was perched against a stack of pillows, his
eyes glued to the television as the latest music video from Wock Till You Drop
blared loudly. "Give me the vial," he commanded.
"Huh?" Magus asked, looking away from the screen
at his partner.
"The vial, lint-for-brains," the Uni repeated,
eyes narrowing.
"Oh...yeah..." the Pteri muttered, fumbling
into the drawer of the nightstand that stood between their double beds and pulling
out a small glass bottle containing the tranquilliser serum they used as a common
form of putting the potential lab subjects in a more "agreeable" state of mind.
The vapours from the serum alone were enough to render a victim unconscious
for up to three hours, and if ingested, it could last up to two days. Neither
knew what it was made of when Sloth had given it to them, but it did its job
well. "What do you need it for?"
"Guess..." Zhani grumbled, crossing the room
and grabbing the vial away, also grabbing a blue cloak and draping it about
his shoulders. "Have the crate ready. I'll call you when its done and you will
help me carry her back here. Understood?"
"I hope you're not going after her on her own
turf," the Pteri scoffed, turning his attention back to the television.
"You're asking for trouble."
"Mind your own business," he snorted. "We're
within spitting distance of being allowed to live our own lives again, Magus,
and the last thing I need to hear from you right now negativity."
"Whatever." The Pteri shrugged, not in the mood
to argue. Zhani parted without a further word, closing the door firmly behind
himself as he pocketed the vial in his cloak, hurrying back to where Rose waited
for him.
"Cold?" Rose asked, regarding his cloak with
a certain degree of curiosity.
"A little chilly, yes," he replied, giving her
a wink. "The air conditioning in these hallways makes one shiver from time to
time." She nodded, not seeming to give it any further thought as they headed
down the hallway together in the direction of her room.
"I'll try not to take too long," she informed
him when they had reached 206. She paused as she opened the door, looking over
her shoulder at him. "You can come in too if you want...just don't get into
anything. As you know, my roommate upsets pretty easily..."
"I would never," Zhani assured her, entering
the room with her, one hoof wandering to the pocket he had placed the vial of
serum in as he nudged the door shut behind himself. He watched Rose steadily
like a cat about to pounce as she puttered about the room, pausing at her suitcase
to fish her brush out of it and beginning to run it through her hair absently
as she continued to talk to him.
He was no longer listening as he grabbed up
one of Dr. Death's white T-shirts that was resting folded on the dresser, gently
uncorked the vial, holding his breath as he poured the serum into the shirt's
fabric and gripping it tightly before beginning to creep up on the pink Uni
who was looking absently out the window, still brushing and chattering.
"And they sound like a nice organisation of
people, Zhani, they really do, but I honestly don't see myself doing anything
mainstream or highbrow. I've spent my entire life doing---" at this point she
looked over her shoulder, seeing the predatory stance the Uni stallion had taken
as he advanced on her. "Zhani...?" she asked, her voice betraying her uncertainty.
"My deepest apologies, fair Rose," he sneered,
lunging forward and pressing the T-shirt against her muzzle before she had time
to react. RoseMadder inhaled sharply at the shock of his sudden movement and
instantly her mind filled with a black fog as she fell to the ground limply,
deeply asleep. Zhani observed her for a moment, waiting to see if she would
get up again. When she remained in a solid slumber, he crossed the room to the
telephone and lifted it from its cradle to dial up Magus and inform him that
it was time to get things rolling.
***
Dr. Death, having laid in bed for an hour and accomplishing nothing but staring
blankly at the ceiling and giving himself a headache, had retired to the bathroom
to soak in the tub for a while, locking the door in case Rose decided to try
barging in without knocking. He had enjoyed silence for nearly 45 minutes before
he had heard the door clatter open followed by Rose's inane conversation and
sighed in exasperation, deciding that the tranquility was over as he climbed
out of the water and toweled off.
He had been in the process of getting dressed
when he had heard a second voice and had paused, startled. It had taken him
only a moment to place that the other voice had been Zhani. His initial outrage
at the stallion's presence was shattered, however, by a dull thud from the other
room followed by an eerie silence. The Techo, confused and suddenly overcome
by a sinking feeling that something was very wrong, quickly finished dressing
and approached the bathroom door, listening intently.
Zhani was speaking again, but it was far too
official-sounding for him to have been talking to Rose, the doctor decided,
silently undoing the latch and turning the doorknob slowly. As he eased the
door open a bit, the first thing he was aware of was the shadow Uni, wearing
an odd cloak for some reason, perched on the edge of Rose's bed and on the phone
with someone.
"I don't care if the show isn't over
for another five minutes, Magus, I distinctly told you--" Zhani was saying curtly.
He paused, looking as though he was listening. "About three hours, give or take,
why?" another pause. "Look, there's no time for that, pinfeathers, we need to
get going!" Dr. Death winced, mildly surprised by the Uni's sudden change of
attitude.
"Magus, please...." Zhani said, sounding exasperated.
"....I know Neopia's Funniest Home Movies is on...what? No I certainly will
not come watch it with you! And you had the gall to say that I was treading
on dangerous ground earlier?? What do you think leaving her here like this is??
Now help me carry her back to the room and get her kenneled so we can be out
of here!!" Another pause. "It is, huh? Fine, but just for a few minutes." And
with that, the Uni curtly hung up the phone and, rolling his eyes with an exaggerated
sigh, paused to look at something on the floor that Dr. Death couldn't see from
his current position and then strode past him to the door. There was a pause
and then it shut solidly, leaving the Techo alone again.
He waited for a moment, and when he was sure
that Zhani wouldn't come bustling back in, he emerged from the bathroom, moving
quickly to the door and locking it with a soft snick of the latch. He didn't
know what was going on, but he would be struck dead before he'd let that shadow
Uni anywhere near him again.
That left another question...where was Rose?
He had heard her come in, but that had been it. The Techo turned slowly, his
eyes freezing wide open at Rose's inert form on the carpet. His first impulse
was that Zhani had done something horrible....but then he relaxed a bit as he
saw the steady rise and fall of her sides. Dr. Death tentatively approached
her, looking down at her uncertainly.
"Rose...?" he asked, crouching beside her and
pressing his palms against her shoulders, turning her onto her back. She moved
easily, and didn't even stir when she was moved. The yellow Techo bit his lip
with mingled worry and confusion. She clearly had been sedated with something,
but why? He checked her pulse, and finding it normal, he half-lifted, half-dragged
her onto the mattress so she could rest more comfortably.
Once the Uni had been situated, Dr. Death slowly
began to pace the room and collect his scattered wits. As his mind recalled
the tidbits of conversation he had overheard Zhani have on the phone, the pieces
of the puzzle fitted themselves together, though the finished product still
didn't make much sense to him. Zhani had intended on apprehending and dragging
Rose off somewhere...but why?
As he mulled this over, his eyes fell on the
shirt rumpled in a heap beside the bed intended to change into after his bath
before Zhani and Rose's entry had startled him and made him pull on his old
clothes. He quirked a brow at it, remembering leaving it folded on the dresser
as he leaned over and picked it up. On the front of it was a green-blue stain
of some sort that, from a distance, smelt faintly of fruit.
Curious, he lifted it to his nose and almost
instantly his head began to swim and red spots danced in front of his eyes.
Wincing, the Techo dropped the shirt to the floor again and fought to keep consciousness.
After a few moments of dizziness, the feeling passed and left him normal again,
if not feeling a little sick. After a moment of debate, he picked up the stained
garment again and folded it over, deciding he'd take it to the only person he
really could think of who'd know what the substance was and whether it was poisonous
or not.
After assuring himself Rose would be all right
and that he had, indeed, locked the door behind him, Dr. Death hurried down
the hall in the direction of the elevators.
To be continued... | 
