Inane Verbiage

Epilogue /

"I still can't believe that Ay screwed himself over in the end," I can't help but comment as I lean against the leather seat. "He was all evil cackles and triumphant grins when he threw the damn stone over the Eiffel tower."

And I really can't - even now it kind of feels sort of surreal and just rather... anti-climatic, really. Honestly - what with everyone going all bonkers over that damn stone and the fate of the human world at stake because of that blasted ex-pharoah, you'd expect things to go out with a bang or something of that sort.

Not, you know, me going into Ghost Skin Mode and plunging down the bloody tower to catch the stone before it hits the ground (and failing because gravity's a bitch) then to touch ground just to gawk at the stone as it breaks into two perfect halves in front of my stunned eyes, sucks a surprised Ay all the way to it a la Aladdin and claps shut again.

There wasn't even some awe-inducing flash of light or bang.

Not even when I unhook the necklace from my neck, cautiously edge forward and press it on the stone.

No - it all does is give a little shudder (rattle - same difference) and a sort of sigh, and leave me feeling silly and kind of... unsatisfied.

Although I must say that the look on Ay's face when the stone is being all vacuum cleaner on him was kind of comical - he reminded me of Jafar when he was being sucked into his lamp for good (you know, from Aladdin?), what with the flailing arms and dramatic 'nooooo!'s. Karma makes me happy sometimes.

Still.

"And Hades!" I scowl at the memory as Eros fails to muffle a laugh from his spot on the other end of the taxi (ass). "'I'll take it from here, necromancer spawn?' What kind of horrible, pretentious proclamation is that? After the cliché movie entrance with those ridiculous thunder claps, no less!"

"It's not like you would've known what to do with the stone anyway," he points out, as the balding middle-aged man that is the taxi driver eyes us from the rear view mirror. He probably thinks we're a bunch of lunatics. Ungrateful man. "Especially when you couldn't remove the pendant."

"Don't remind me," I grumble, resisting the urge to sulk over that. "It was pretty, and now Hades is probably having fun flaunting it to his latest ghost mistress."

Because Persephone is another ridiculous story humans cooked up, apparently.

Or so he claims. I haven't been in the Underworld long enough to find out the truth, but I strongly suspect those ghostly women are just for show.

He'd probably dunk me in the Pit for that though, so I normally pretend to take his actions at face value.

"If he can dig it out of the stone in the first place."

Good point. I shrug in reply - after all, it really isn't my problem any longer. "Actually," I start, a thought suddenly occurring to me. "Now that Ay's stuck in the Underworld for good, what do you suppose will happen to his beloved Cat Army?"

Because if it turns out that they're still running around after it all... well. I don't think Gaia will be all that grateful.

"Don't worry," Eros replies reassuringly. "While you were all conked out after Hades took the stone from you I did a quick check around the city. Judging by the bewildered expressions on the people stumbling out of houses, I'd wager that Ay's potions wore off the moment he got thrown back into the Realm of the Dead. The residents of Paris are probably having a field day trying to find homes for a sudden influx of confused, armored and otherwise-ordinary cats at the moment."

I breathe out a sigh of relief at that, even as a light flush rises up my cheeks at the rather embarrassing memory of myself fainting from exhaustion and hunger into Eros's arms like some swooning damsel.