A Fox in the Works Singularity Collapse By Fox Cutter Chapter Four "I am amazed," Rodrick said as he bent down to look at Rhea. "I've never seen a creature like this before. What did you say she was?" "A lioness," I replied as I shared an exasperate look with my sometimes twin sister. She had spent the last hour being poked and prodded by Sir Rodrick, the High Mage and advisor to King Alexander. He was an older man, in his late fifties or early sixties. His short hair was gray with streaks of black. He was powerfully built, and was missing part of his right ear, which looked like it had been bitten off. He was dressed in almost casual clothing, knee-high boots and shoulder-length gloves, both made of dark brown leather. His shirt and pants were fairly normal for this world, but were made of a fine fabric that flowed around him as he moved. The dark brown of the cloth contrasted with his pale white of his skin, which was wrinkled and weathered. He wore a silver half-moon pendant on a braided leather necklace, providing a bright point of contrast to the rest of his clothing. "I have never seen anything like her before," he said as he ran his gloved fingers down her flank, all the way to the base of her tail. It didn't escape me that he was the first person to refer to Rhea as anything other than 'it'. Samantha nodded, keeping her hand on the lioness's head, stroking her ears to keep her calm. Rodrick had recognized her as a fellow mage when they had first meet, and naturally assumed that Rhea was something that she had created. "She's unique," Samantha said. "So I've heard," Alexander said as he walked into the room, he had changed out of the bloody clothing and had taken a bath to judge by his still damp hair. "I've recently heard rumors about an homunculus who helped to save a caravan, along with three people it was with. One of whom was armed with a weapon no one has ever seen before," he cast his eyes to Samantha as he spoke. A smile spread out over the young women's face as she rose to her feet, her tail flicking happily against the back of her legs. "That was us," she said proudly. I hid a wince at the admission, I hadn't wanted to bring that up, and I could see from Ravindar's face that he felt the same way. The King nodded as he looked between the four of us. "It's quite an amazing beast, and I hear that it can even talk." Rhea flicked her ears at that, and let out an annoyed sounding chuff as Rodrick's roving hands reached something a little too tender. "I think you should stop that," Samantha said as she glanced at the lioness. Rodrick paused, and slowly pulled his hands away from her fur. "Yes, yes... it's just that I have never seen anything like her before. She seems more intelligent than any construct I have ever seen, I want to know how you created her." The young woman smiled and waved him off with her hand. "I'll tell you what I can," she said. Alexander nodded and motioned for all of us to follow him, "Come now, dinner is waiting for us. I want to talk to all of you," he said as he walked towards another door. I gave a shrug and followed after him, with Ravindar a few steps behind me. Samantha and Rhea followed a short distance after him, and Sir Rodrick brought up the tail end of the group. We filed into a small dinning room, dominated primarily by a large table. There were places set for each of us, with the King's clearly marked by a large and well padded chair that stood at the head of the table. There was already a man waiting at the table. He was younger than Rodrick, but only by a few years, and was dressed in simple, almost plain, brown clothing. The fabric was coarser than what the Mage, or the King wore. His face had deep lines, and the tips of his fingers were stained black and calloused. He gave the King a nod as we entered, but said nothing. "Fox, this is Zain, my father's advisor, and now mine," Alexander said as we took places at the table. I ended up next to the older man. I offered him my hand as I sat down. He shook it firmly and gave me a knowing smile as I took my place. Rodrick didn't seat himself, but walked across the room to a smaller door in the back. Opening it a bit, he pushed his head inside the room and called out something I couldn't hear. As we all settled ourselves at the table a few of the Palace servants came into the room, quickly setting an extra place at my side, on the floor. "There you are Rhea. You can join us now," Rodrick said as he settled himself down at the table. She nodded and flicked her tail a bit, but didn't say a word as she moved up to the place setting. I looked out over the table, noting that there was a lot of food covering it. It was probably more food than most of the people on this world would ever see in one place, and for the King and his company it was probably a small meal. The servers moved around the table, dishing the food to each of our plates, giving all of us some of everything that was on the table. They gave Rhea significantly more than the rest of us, as she naturally needed more food than we did. "So, did you come to the City just for the coronation?" Zain asked between bites of some sort of blue vegetable dish. I shrugged, "It was partly that, and partly wanting to see the Relics. We were planing to stay a few days, take in the sights, then head back home." "There's a private service at the Church on the Sabbath," Alexander said with a smile. "If you would like to come along with me, you can see the Relics as close as you wish too. You could even touch them." "Are you sure you can allow that?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow, "They are considered Holy." He frowned a bit, then nodded his head. "Yes, yes, the Relics are under the purview of the Highest. Sometimes I forget myself when it comes to such things, but until the Church can appoint a new Highest there is a void. A void in which I am free to walk through without too many problems," he said with a laugh as he bit into his food. "I see," I said as I sank back into my chair, watching the young man eat. He seemed a bit excited, almost bouncy as he sat in the chair, not behavior that I would expect from someone who had just lost his wife. It started to worry me just a bit, and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. We fell into silence for a few moments as we continued to eat. Rhea had already finished her meal, as large as it was, and was contentedly liking her paw clean. Rodrick glanced down at Rhea, then back up to Samantha, "Tell me, who did you train under?" he asked. She smiled a bit, and gently set down her silverware, "I really didn't train under anyone. I've been self-taught by a rather hard life." The older man nodded, tenting his fingers a bit as he rested his shoulders on the table. "Which would explain why you were able to create something unlike anything I have seen before. No one taught you what couldn't be done. It also explains why she is more intelligent than is usually allowed." "Well, I like to break the rules," Samantha replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "You like to brag," I said with a smirk. She laughed and shook her head as she threw a piece of bread at me. I caught it easily in my fingers and popped it into my mouth. Alexander shook his head, looking a bit amused by our antics. "And what about you, what is your relation to these two?" he asked Ravindar. "I am Fox's bodyguard," he said with casual ease. The King smiled, "A bodyguard! I didn't know you were that important Fox," he said to me. "Or do you have a price on your head." I frowned a bit as I stabbed my fork into a piece of meat. "It's a bit of both really; I've managed to piss off a few powerful people in my adventures." He chuckled and nodded his head, "I can imagine. You have probably angered the Church by preventing the Highest from killing me... I hope he will tell us what he was trying to do," he said, an over-expressive frown crossing his face. "He was trying to take power," Zain said as he took a drink of his wine. "With you and Astadia dead the Church would be able to take control, like they have always wished to." Lovely. A major dispute between the Church and the State. Historically it was a battle that usually killed everyone around it, and we had just landed right in the middle of it. I decided then and there to pull the plug on the whole operation, and just head home. "I'm glad that didn't happen," Rodrick said as he wiped his face clean, then carefully cleaned each finger of his gloves. "That is not a war I wish to become involved in." Samantha shrugged, "I've learned to stay away from religion if I can help it," she said as she finished her wine. "I'm not surprised," the High Mage replied. "The Church has denounced even the concept of a female mage, and in some of the smaller villages has managed to get them killed. They are growing in power too, so watch yourself out there," he said. She grimaced and crossed her arms over her chest, one of her hands drifting to where she kept her gun. "You're being quiet," I whispered down to Rhea. <> she said to me, whispering, even though I was the only one who could possibly hear her. "Wrong how?" I asked, wishing I had the same mental ability as she did. Even better would be the mental link we shared when I was in my non-morphic form. It would have been better than just whispering. <> she said. I frowned, and let out a soft sigh. "I see." "Well," Alexander said, hitting the table with his open palm, "It's getting late, and we all have had a long day. My advisors and I need to discuss how to handle today's events, so I will have you escorted to your rooms, and we will speak again in the morning." "Very well," I said as I rose to my feet, Rhea rising to stand at my side. "Thank you for the meal, and thank you for putting us up for the night. I hope you sleep well," I said as I walked over to Samantha, placing my hand on her shoulder. She gave me a glance, nodded, and rose to her feet, only taking a moment to pour herself a fresh glass of wine. Ravindar, of course, was already at my side, opposite of Rhea and staying close to me. One of the Palace servants came up to us and told us to follow him to our rooms, I gave one glance back at the King as we walked out of the dining room. King Alexander sighed as the door closed, leaving him and his advisers at the table. Pouring himself a glass of wine he waved the servants out of the room, and waited patiently as they hurried out. "Rodrick," he said. The Mage waved his hand, casting a spell onto the doors, locking them so no one could enter the room. "So," Alexander said, taking a long drink of his wine. "I want to know what the hell happened!" he snapped, slamming his goblet on to the surface of the table. "I would think that was obvious," Zain said, his lips pressed into a thin line. The King let out a low growl, "The plan was obvious! The Highest kills Astadia, I kill him, the war is back on and we take control of the Church. So what in the name of the Twelve Saints happened today?" "We played our parts to the letter! We pulled his strings to the point that he believed he was making the plans, but none of us ever expected those four to show up," Rodrick said as he started to undo the clasps on his gloves. "There was nothing we could do to account for them." "So I see; it was just an accident that they happened to be there," Alexander asked with a slight scowl. Zain picked up his wine glass, as the Mage did the same. "Yes Your Majesty, it was simply a coincidence," Zain told the King. "Bullshit!" Alexander yelled, sweeping his arm across the table, scattering the plates and glasses over the wood and onto the floor. The two older men gave each other a smile and placed their glasses back on the table. The new King rose to his feet, and started to pace around the table. "Things like this don't happen by accident-- people like that don't show up by accident, and don't interfere with my plans by coincidence"" he declared as he marched around the room. "What are you saying Your Majesty?" Rodrick asked as he pulled one of his gloves off, reveling his scared and broken fingers. "That someone planned this? That they knew what we were planning and took advantage of it?" "Yes!" the King said as he slammed his fist against the table. "Astadia's death can be played to help us restart the war, but even with The Highest in prison the Church still has the majority of its power. There is no way we can take control." Zain nodded, tapping his fingers on the table as he picked up a piece of spilled food. "So, do you believe that the Church was involved in this?" "I don't know, but we still have a loose end with The Highest. If he talks to the others in the Church they will know both that we were involved, and what he believed the plan was. I just wish that interloper hadn't stopped me from killing him." Rodrick pulled his other glove off as he watched the King move around the room. "How did he stop you?" "He reasoned with me," Alexander said as he dropped back into his chair. "The monster," Zain said with a smirk. The young man laughed and shook his head as he removed the simple gold crown. "That was what I thought at the time. I want to knew who sent them, who know about our plan." "Are you sure that they knew anything about our intent?" Zain asked. "The bitch was running towards the alter before The Highest even had his blade drawn," the King shouted as he took another drink of his wine. "If she didn't know was going on, why did she do that?" Rodrick shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know Your Majesty, but there must be a reason." "We already know the reason; she knew, they knew, and they came to stop it," Alexander said with a soft sigh. Zain tapped his fingers on the table, rubbing his chin with his free hand. "You know, we might be able to use this to our advantage, and still fulfill our original goals." "Really?" the King asked as he made a fist with one hand, and wrapped it in the fingers of the other. "And how exactly do you suggest we do that?" "Samantha," Zain replied. "We can use her to pull all the loose threads together." "Right," Rodrick said, a smile spreading over his face. "As a female mage the Church would take issue with her. What if they were to say... kill her?" Zain waved his hand, "Not just kill her, that won't be enough! No, we need for her to be killed inside the Holy City. Killing the King's Hero would give us ample reason to move in and take control of the Church." "So kidnap her from her room tonight," the King said, a smile on his face. "If we could make it look as if the Palace Priests did it not only can we remove them, we can also deal with The Highest as well." The High Mage smiled and nodded his head, "Yes Your Majesty, that is a good plan, a very good plan. That still leaves us with the other three. I would like to examine the homunculus in great detail. I want to know how she was created." "I agree, and there is also the bodyguard to deal with, and Fox will probably want to rescue his friend," Zain added. Alexander chuckled, "Oh yes, he will, but we clearly can't let him leave the Palace. Perhaps we can arrange for Ravindar to lead the rescue mission, leaving Fox and the beast here. Once that happens we can simply capture them both and then kill the bodyguard." Zain nodded as he resting his chin on his steepled hands, "It's a good plan, Sire, and one I believe we can execute with minimal effort for us." "Then do it! I want the girl out of the palace by morning, and the rest will simply take care of itself," the King ordered as he leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face." * * * "Wait, wait," I said with a wave of my hand my head working around what Samantha had just told me. "Let me see if I understand this. You're saying that everything is off by two decades, but the date is still the same?" She nodded as she relaxed on the large bed, kicking her legs gently as her cloth tail flicked over her rear. "That's what it looks like." I nodded, "That would explain a few things about Little Fox., Alright then let's compare some dates. I'll start, and you give me the year. July 20th--" I started. "1949, Man landed on the moon," she finished. "How about this, December 7th?" I smiled, "1941, Pearl Harbor," I answered her, pausing for a moment to think of a different date. "Let's see... July 4th?" "1756, that's an easy one," she said with a smirk as she tapped her tail on the top of the bed, <> Rhea said as she took a few steps away from the closed door. "Ravindar, back in disguise," I said snapping my head around to look at my bodyguard. He had his Matrix Chip turned off and was back looking like his normal tiger self. Without a word he turned his unit back on, the light from the unit dying down as a knock came on the door. I stood up from my seat on the floor. "Yes?" I called out. The door cracked open a bit and a servant pushed his head into the room. "Excuse me sir, but we are getting ready to turn in for the night." I nodded as I walked over to the door. "Thanks for telling me," I said. He shook his head. "I'm here to escort your female companion to her room," he said. Samantha stood up, and brushed down her skirt, "And why would I want do to that?" she asked. "Well you are a Mage, so clearly you are not married," he said as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. "If you are not married you cannot be in the room with either of them," he pointed between Ravindar and myself. I noted that he was dressed in the same kind of light blue clothing as the Priest from the wedding had worn. I shrugged. "He has a point I guess," I told my friend. "I don't see any harm in going with him, it's just for the night." She let out a sigh, her tail dropping to the ground. "All right," she said as she picked up her bag and her cloak. "I'll see you in the morning," she told us as she walked toward the door. The servant held the door open for her, and then let it close behind her. I let out a sigh, looking at the bed, "Should I take it, or you?" I asked Ravindar. "You take the bed Fox, I can make do on the floor," he told me as he switched off the Matrix unit once more. "Thanks," I told him as I pulled back the covers and quickly shed most of my clothing. "You're welcome Fox. Pleasant dreams," he told me as he gathered a pillow and blanket and settled near the door. Rhea had already taken a spot curled up at the end of the bed. I gave him a smile as I put out the lamp next to the bed. "I don't dream," I reminded him as I curled up and drifted off on the lumpy mattress. I was right about one thing... I didn't dream the whole night long. But that was when the nightmare started. To Be Continued... ----- This story is copyright 2005 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy reprints limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.