Colin's posts

Aly was stunned, to say the least.

"Oh, Eke..." she said.

"It's... it's gorgeous." she told him. "It's so beautiful." she went on.

"I've never seen anything like this before." she then said further.

"Where did you ever find this?"

"Nobody knows you have it." Hal assured her.

"Just me." he said.

"I will come for it when the time comes to take it to its final resting place... wherever that may be." he then told her, taking another drink of coffee.

"Oh, and to say thank you, as well as keep up appearances, I brought you something else." he then said, handing her a box of premium expensive assorted chocolates... the kind that were stupidly hard to get ahold of, but well worth the pain and effort of obtaining.

"For me?" Aly asked.

Eke nodded.

"You... didn't have to get me anything..." she said, blushing.

She then accepted the box and looked at it, before mentally preparing herself.

"All right." she said quietly, before slowly opening the box.

He shook his head.

"No." he replied.

"We're trying desperately to find it, though." he told her.

"As for throwing it in a volcano, that might end up being the solution." he sighed.

"I'd love for this world to be rid of it." he muttered.

"At any rate, thank you SO much for this. I know it'll be safe with you."

"You would think." Hal responded.

"But not THIS time." he said.

"This artefact is very special, in the sense that if it is ever paired with another artefact, then certain disaster will befall the world." he told her.

"Eventually. It builds up to that." he went on.

"And if the two are anywhere close to each other, then they start exerting an obscene amount of influence over those around them, causing them to do whatever is necessary to combine them." he told her further.

He then dug into his pocket, and produced a small, long wooden box.

"Here." he said, handing it towards her.

"If you must know, it is the Nox Pen." he then informed her. "And if you are willing to hold onto it for me, I would be greatly appreciative." he said.

"It's just until the Council and Triad can find a more permanent and safe solution for storing it."

Hal grabbed the mug and took a drink of the liquid within.

"Ahhh, lovely." he said.

"And yes, I have a VERY big favour to ask of you." he told her.

"Quite possibly the biggest favour I have ever asked of anyone before." he continued further, pausing for a moment.

"I know that sounds like an exaggeration, and it probably is..." he then admitted. "But regardless, this is something of the utmost importance." he stressed.

"I want you to look after an artefact for me."

Hal had a very serious look in his eyes, and she knew that this was NOT a social call, but his expression lightened a little when she offered him some coffee.

"Please." he said, entering the house.

"Angela, I have something to discuss with you." he told her.

"Something of the utmost importance." he went on as she shut the door.

"I assume Liv isn't home?" he asked.

Ryker noticed that Eke was back, and he heard him call out to Aly.

Aly appeared within a minute, making her way towards Eke.

"Eke?" she asked.

"Are you all right?" she asked him.

"Physically, that is." she then clarified. "I can tell you're emotionally doing well, from that smile, at least." she added with a lighthearted chuckle.

Levi withdrew his hand, and the map disappeared.

"Ready." he said.

"Thank you so much, once again." he told Hal.

"Anything I can do to help." Hal responded with a smile.

"Just know that any signs that say 'employees only', MEAN it." he warned.

"We have some very dangerous materials and creatures here. Don't snoop where you shouldn't be." he continued, his tone almost alarmingly serious.

"But those sections are very clearly labelled." he added, returning to a lighter tone.

"Excellent!" the demon called to him.

"You go, kid!" he finished.

"Sure thing, Eke!" Ryker finished, before sighing.

"You KNOW she's only mentioned that once or twice." he then said to the demon. "It's hardly something that would be at the front of the mind." he went on.

"Even when you help, you're an arsehole." he then grumbled.

"Duh. Demon." his other half responded curtly.

Hal nodded.

"Of course." he responded.

"See that, there?" he asked, gesturing to a light blue panel on the wall.

"Yeah..." Levi replied.

"Touch it with your palm." Hal told him.

Levi got up and did so, causing a 3D schematic of the building to project from a small hole near it, with a glowing red dot on it.

"These are positioned strategically around the building." Hal said. "Red dot means 'you are here', obviously."

Ryker thought for a moment, and sighed.

"Sadly, I know nothing about females." he replied, before he looked to have a small facial spasm, and something new happened. Something Eke hadn't seen before.

Half of Ryker's face was normal, while the other half looked like he'd been taken over again, and the divide was right down the middle.

"I do." the demon declared.

"So THIS is how we're doing things now?" Ryker grumbled.

"Stuff it." the demon shot back, before looking at Eke.

"I'VE had females in the past before. And I've been paying attention to this little one." he continued, sounding almost creepy.

"You need to give her something that at least shows you give enough of an inkling to THINK about it." he told Eke. "Like something related to her liking to sing."

Levi looked at Ally and shrugged.

"No." he replied. "Not really." he said.

"I can see pluses and minuses for all of the options, but they all seem to equal out in the long run." he told her.

"So I'm good, no matter what." he finished.

Hal, meanwhile, was organizing the papers, and putting them away in folders dedicated to each of them.

"..........." Ryker was silent for a moment, before taking the necklace out.

"...heh." he chuckled.

"This is absolutely beautiful." he told him.

"Seriously, this is the nicest thing I've ever seen." he went on.

"Eke..." he then whispered, before hugging him again.

"Thank you."