Job Nine: 
The Dots

    "It talked when I touched it. I'm telling you it is NOT normal or safe." Anghiari was sitting on the opposite side of the room, and was almost hissing like a cat.

    "It's a freaking ball. I highly doubt it can do that much damage!" Ahura was treating the ruído branco like a baseball. "Sin's looking up all the information now, so take a deep breath and relax."

   * Relax? How can an assassin relax?*

    "He has a good point you know," Anghiari said in absent minded agreement.

    "You heard him?" The thief was wide-eyed, and he almost dropped the silver-gold artifact.

    Before Anghiari could answer, the data translator interrupted. "I read all of the data on this thing, and it's almost unbelievable. I'll spare you all the boring details and tell you straight out, that the White Noise is the "key" to the Hai Wings and the Zai Crystal, and that it also has an companion piece that's been lost for ages."

    There was a long silence as Anghiari and Ahura Mazda both made their way to the data translator. They both took their "designated" positions to see the screen and the translator clearly. The their stood to the right, peering at the screen and the assassin stood to the left with her hand on the back of the translators chair. Gi was the first to break the silence, "You mean at little golden ball has the power to change the face of the Earth with the help of the Hai and the Zai?"

    "If you mean to turn the face of the Earth into green Jell-O, no it doesn't have that power."

    "You know what I meant!"

    *Um... guys?* The egg jiggled a bit.

    "What Mister Egg?" Ahura Mazda did not bother to turn around.

    There was an awful crack as the wyrm slammed its full body weight into the side of the egg. To the dragon's surprised it gave was as soon as he hit it, and he came tumbling out onto the soft plush sofa.

    The newborn wyrm blinked as it looked up at the ceiling. Was it just his imagination or was he sticking onto the... sofa? That is what Ahura had called it. *Ahhhhhhura?* the baby dragon called as it struggled to free itself from the sagging sofa.

    "My heavens!" The thief rushed to the dragons' side. "Y-you hatched! You're really a dragon!" He hoisted the wyrm off of the sofa easily. "And you're blue with... very sharp spikes on your tail."

    Regretfully the thief, in all of the excitement, hand not noticed the fact that the dragon had quasi-backspines as well as spikes on his tail, so he had cut up his hands. Holding back several curses he made his way to the sink and set the dragon next to the percolator as he washed and bandaged his hands.

    "You need a name then, Mister Wyrm is it?"

    *I guess... but what are you doing to your hands?*

    "Washing them, and bandaging them."

    *Why?*

    "I cut them on your tail."

    The wyrm blinked and craned its neck. It knew it had a tail, but how could it cut things? *What... are those things on my tail?*

    "Spines, I'd guess."

    *You mean you don't know?*

    "I don't know much about Bishen dragons in the first place. You probably know more than me and you're just a wyrm." Ahura finished bandaging his hands, and turned to the ladies. It was curious that they had remained so quiet during the whole episode, after all he would expect a snide comment from Sin.

    They girls were rather amused, and Anghiari was rather watery eyed. Gi was the first to speak, "My heavens! He's so adorable! How on Earth did he get stuck with you?"

    A growl came from the thief, "Let's get on with business, shall we?"

    "Let's." Sindiri, for once in her life,  pulled up the graphical interface and proceeded to set up a presentation of all the facts she had gathered about the White Noise, the Hai, the Zai, and the mysterious item. "All we need to do is connect the dots."

    That was easier said than done.

***

    *I think Raphael is a good name.* The little blue dragon said as he watched Ahura pace across the room.

    "I think it's perfect, but my opinion doesn't matter." The bondmate replied as he finally sat down on a wooden kitchen chair. The group, with the exception of Raphael, had been contemplating the data on the items and not one had managed to come up with a correlation.

    *May I put my two cents in?*

    "Go ahead," Sindiri smiled as she fiddle with some more information.

    *Gi said that the gold and silver thing talked when it touched her. Is it possible that Gi has something do do with the Wings?*

    "It also spoke when I first touched it." Ahura said while scratching the side of his nose.

    "It most certainly didn't speak when I touched it" Sin said, "I'll add that to the data."

    *Well, what did it say to you two?*

    "Connection made, for me." Ahura's eyebrows arched. What was his new bondmate getting at?

    "Connection completed, data found." Gi let out a sigh, "I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means."

    "Honestly though, what makes you think that Anghiari is connect to the Wings?"

    *Well, Ahura Mazda, she does have two rather useless wings and it doesn't hurt to use your imagination. Maybe the Wings aren't what we think they are. They could be something completely different! They are a mystery, after all.* The gave a dragony smile.

    "Solving mysteries is all well and good," Ahura waved his finger, "but when you solve it you'll just brush it off and say "Oh, so that's what it was," and I don't enjoy doing that."

    "We don't need a battle of the intellectuals at the moment," Gi cut in, "Ahura, what did you do with that music box?"

    "It's in my room... why?"

    "I think Raphael helped me to connect the dots."

    "Before I get up I want to know what dots have you connected."

    An exasperated sigh came from the assassin. "All right Ahura. I'm going to tell you straight out, I think that you're involved with the Zai Crystal and I'm involved with the Hai Wings. After all, that alien said that music box would serve you well and that little box matches the description of the other item." She continued, "What are the chances of that?"

    "Highly unlikely, I pulled it into the computer and it said that it was a .0001 percent chance."

    "That's reassuring and all, but how could we be connected to something like that?"

    *Osiris--I hate to interrupt, but I wanted to ask you this for a while....*

    "What?"

    *You say that you're not like anyone else because you're genetically altered... why were you altered in the first place?*

    With a fluid motion the thief slipped out of the room and went to hunt for the music box. He called back to his bondmate and comrades, "After this we're going to the local museum, I need to find something there."

    *Well, he avoided that rather nicely.*

    Gi patted the wyrm atop the head. "I don't know what's wrong with him, but I'm sure you can figure it out. I'm also sure you can break his womanizing habits."

    The wyrm did his best to shrug. His bondmate was currently cold turkey, but after he realized the dragon's skills he would surely warm up to any question. If that was not true, the little dragon could always over charge the credit cards he had taken from the unsuspecting thief's wallet.