Lord of the Ministry: Chapter Two - The First Encounter

Chapter Two – The First Encounter

Caligo’s heart was racing, but she kept her face empty as she flowed with the mass of people within the Hartford Civic Center. Her Ministry had spent days here already. Every night she snuck into the building to look around, and every night she wondered why she had been led to this place. There was a large arena-like area inside, but it was always empty, aside from a few men and women that sat in one room and talked into little machines for hours. She was uneasy in this realm only because there was so much going on that she couldn’t understand. Everyone was always going, always in a hurry, always late. It was nothing at all like the Darkside, and she found herself very eager to return. Her gloved hand patted her father’s last letter in the pocket of a pair of pants she had taken, remembering his advice not to rush the Lord of Darkness. She prayed that he was ready to return this time.

Returning her attention to the crowd, she tried to remember the name of the event she had heard some men talking about. Something was going on here that brought all these people. She thought, and hoped, that it wasn’t anything serious because nearly everyone was smiling or laughing. Knowing her way through the maze of corridors, Caligo easily slipped from the crowd and approached a hallway. A man stopped her.

“Sorry, ma’am. No fans are allowed back there,” he said, grabbing her arm. Immediately she tore her arm away. Ever since she had become a Lady, no one dared to lay a hand on her, and any physical contact distracted her and made her extremely uncomfortable.

“I am looking for someone,” she replied.

“Well you won’t find them back there. Now, come on.”

When he grabbed her again, Caligo’s instinctive reactions kicked in. She brought her gloved hand up and broke his nose with a loud crack. He cried out and stepped back, both hands going to his face as blood began to run down his shirt. Taking her chance for escape, she hurried down the hall.

She suspected that men would be looking for her, but there were plenty of hiding places in such a mazelike building. After a few minutes she heard loud popping and whistling noises, and the tremendous roar of the crowd that made her wonder how many people were actually attending this event. Making her way to the arena, she looked down into a massive swarm of people gathered around a kind of platform. Curious, she stepped aside into the shadows and watched. After a grand entrance, two men approached the platform and began to taunt the crowd. Then another man rushed down to them and they all began fighting. Everyone was cheering, so Caligo began to think that this was some form of entertainment.

A man wearing the same uniform as the one she had attacked was coming slowly up the steps, looking carefully into the crowd. Quickly, she went back into the corridor, where the volume of the crowd dimmed. She was starting to curse herself for attacking the man. This could be her only chance to find Lord Undertaker, and she was wasting most of it trying to hide. Her mind distracted as she turned a corner, she nearly walked into a large body clothed in red. Looking up as she jumped back, a masked face came into sight. The quick apology she was going to offer suddenly escaped her as she looked into mismatched eyes. The man seemed just as curious to see her, tilting his head and squinting his eyes in confusion.

“Glen, what’s the hold up?” someone called down the hall. The masked man looked over his shoulder, and when he looked back the woman was gone. “Glen?” He looked around for a minute until his companion’s impatience became intolerable, and finally walked away.

Caligo sighed, releasing the unseeing sigil she had placed upon herself, appearing to form out of the air. Something about that man struck an unknown force deep inside her. She couldn’t understand what it was, but somehow she felt that he was a powerful being. Turning the other way, she began to wander again through the halls. She tried to open herself to any Darkside power, knowing that she would be able to locate such a source, but there was nothing. Though she tried to prevent such thoughts, she was really beginning to believe that the Lord of Darkness wasn’t anywhere close to this place.

At length, the mass of people began to slowly disperse out of the arena. Caligo was beginning to feel the fine, razor-like threads of disappointment enter her mind. Briefly she wondered about searching somewhere else, but this realm was so immense she wasn’t sure where to begin. And if they were gone too long, she knew the Jury would send another Ministry after her own. If she returned without the Lord of Darkness, her entire Ministry would hang for it. For a moment she imagined her Ministry having to remain in the Earth realm for the rest of their days. Shaking her head, she jumped back as a door flew open in front of her. A curse on her lips, her entire body froze as a large frame filled the doorway. Electric green eyes looked in her direction.

“You,” he said. She couldn’t make her voice function. “I’ve seen you before.”

“I… I…” His eyes were boring into hers, carving her face into his memory. She could hardly believe that he was really there. He was wearing all black, his long hair wet around his shoulders. The tattoos also drew her eye, and she could not tear her gaze away from them as he stepped back.

“Come inside,” he said. She quickly obeyed, each step wavering more than the first.

Inside the room there was a towel thrown over a lamp. He went over and reached out to remove it.

“No,” she said. He looked at her curiously. “Leave it. I… like this better.”

He nodded. “I didn’t start doing it until…” He glanced at her. “Until the dreams… I know this sounds weird, but… I had a dream about you…”

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” she began immediately. “I just… had to know you would be here.”

“Who are you?”

Steeling her sense of honor, she placed a fist over her heart. “I am Lady Caligo, Daughter of Lord Fautor, Commander of the Second Defense in the War of Proditor, sent by the Jury to return our Lord Undertaker to the Darkside and restore the balance of magick to our world.”

He frowned. “Cut the crap. Tell me your name.”

Her eyes narrowed. “I would not lie to you, my Lord.”

Then he laughed. “My Lord,” he mocked.

Caligo’s heart began to swell with hot anger. Something had surely wiped his memory to make him laugh at her! All these years on the surface must have ruined him. The Creator of the Darkside had been reduced to a mere man, who refused to believe in magick, who entertained a mob of these disgraceful creatures who lacked honor. She could see history repeating itself. She would have to force Lord Undertaker back to their realm, lest she and her Ministry face exile, and there he would go mad and provide the next Great Destruction of the Darkside. Her people would turn against each other in trying to place the blame, and there would be another War of Proditor, where men killed men and blood stained the sand all for nothing.

He must have seen the rage upon her face, because he became quiet and watched her carefully. Without thinking, she turned and marched out the door. She would take her Ministry and they would camp outside the veil. They would stop every Ministry that came out. That would result in war , she thought. But she would choose war over another Great Destruction. The magick will fail , her mind continued. What then ?

“Wait, where are you going?” Undertaker called, going after her. He reached out to take her arm, but she immediately spun around to face him, hot tears welling in her eyes.

“Stay away from me!” she shouted. “All you can do is cause pain! All you have ever done is ruin my life! Just stay away!”

And this time she ran. She knocked people down and could hear their curses, but she ran to save her sanity. In the parking lot, she jumped into the van and burned out, honking at the slow moving masses as they went to their own vehicles.

Finally out on the road, she steadied her racing heart and thoughts. There had to be a way out. Surely there must be a way to avoid bringing more pain to her people. But deep down, she knew there could be no other way. If Undertaker did not return, if the magick was not restored, the Darkside and its people would cease to exist. Her mind became numb with the realization that they were all going to fade into oblivion. There was no possible way she could talk sensibly with the man she had met. There was no way to save her home.

Tears strained her eyes again. What did Ultor die for ? What did my mother die for ? Why was there even such a vulgar war if in the end the cause is lost anyway ? Why am I even here ?

Caligo parked the van in the lot of the hotel, and sat for hours, feeling hopeless and faithless for the first time in her life. She didn’t know what to tell her Ministry, and she didn’t want to face them. All she wanted was to run away from it all. Sighing, she got out of the van. Running away was always something she wanted to do, but it was never the answer. Her Ministry depended on her, and she couldn’t bear the thought of abandoning them. She forced herself to regain her composure as she climbed the stairs to her room. Halfway down the hall she sensed that everyone was waiting for her there, but there was something else…

Opening the door, Caligo froze. Standing in the middle of her room was the masked man. Her Ministry rose to their feet, but they did not look alarmed by the intruder’s presence.

“Mistress, we weren’t sure what to do,” Dens began immediately. “This man knows who we are and he claims to know why we’re here –“

“Thank you, Dens,” Caligo said immediately, placing on her own cold mask as she assumed the role of Lady. “Glen and I have things to discuss. I would appreciate it if we could discuss them privately…”

Without question, her Ministry quickly left the room, although Ferus appeared to hesitate as he shut the door behind him.

“Glen?” the man asked once they were alone.

“That is what your friend called you,” Caligo explained. “Please have a seat. I don’t know who you are or what you think you know, but I will speak with you.”

The masked character sat down in a stiff-cushioned chair and laced his fingers together. “You, dear Lady, may call me Kane. And before you have the chance to question, the mask is staying firmly in place, and I will not explain why.”

“My name is Caligo, and the only question I want you to answer is why you are here.” She took her seat across from him and crossed her legs gracefully as she shot him an icy glare.

“I want to know what you are going to do with the Lord of Darkness.”

Shock vibrated under her skin, but she refused to let it show. “The Lord of Darkness is not here.”

“Yes, he is. His mask may be less obvious than mine, and more difficult to remove, but he is very much here, and you know it.”

Kane’s mismatched eyes were extremely powerful, and she found herself suddenly unable to meet his gaze. “How do you know?”

“It is a spell. It has taken me a long time to decipher it, but I can see it as clear as crystal now, woven into his very skin. He cast it upon himself and only he can remove it.”

“That is intriguing, but what I meant was how do you know of Lord Undertaker? Do you know where I come from? And what exactly did you say to my Ministry?”

“I told them that I knew they had come from the Darkside, the realm Undertaker built, and that I saw you at the Civic Center and that I wanted to ask you a few questions. I am not here to harm you or to disrupt your mission.” He paused, watching her as she stared at the floor. “You are on a mission, correct? I can only imagine how frail the power of the Darkside must be by now.”

“Who are you, exactly, Kane?” Caligo asked forcefully, finally able to look at him again. “You are not one of us. I would be able to feel it if you were.”

“Yes, you don’t know what it is that you sense. It’s astonishing how ignorant my brother’s people have become.”

Her muscles tensed and she suddenly wondered where her sword was. “You are… Lord Undertaker’s brother?”

“Yes. There are those who would call me Lord Kane, those who live in the Shadowlands.”

“The Shadowlands?”

“Undertaker built the Darkside, and I built the Shadowlands. We did it together, you know, side by side, or else it could have never been done. Our realms are even joined at a very sacred place called Sacer. You don’t know any of this?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t think anyone has ever heard of it.”

Kane grunted. “Figures.”

“If I do not bring Lord Undertaker back to the Darkside, it will start another war.”

“There’s been a war already?”

“Yes… When… ” She paused. Even thinking about the Great Destruction now somehow made her feel… ashamed. “Yes, there has been a war.”

“That’s a pity. Then it is my own opinion that you take Undertaker back at once.”

Caligo shook her head. “I can’t. He doesn’t even know who he is… He laughed at me!” Abruptly she stood, her anger swelling anew as she began to pace.

“That is why I have come. I aim to help you, to make him remember,” Kane said quietly.

“How? You said that only he could remove the spell.”

“And with a little encouragement, I think he will do it.”

Pausing, her hands on her hips, Caligo took a deep breath. “What do you want me to do?”

Kane stood. “We’re flying to Detroit tonight. Thursday night, three nights from now, is the premier of a new show for the company, and Undertaker will be there. He knows me and he will trust me. I will bring him to you and we’ll all sit down and talk. You need to follow my lead. I know him better than you, so if I decide he’s not ready, then he’s not ready, got it?”

“I understand.”

A large hand cupped over her slender shoulder. “Don’t worry, Caligo. I want my brother back as badly as you do, even if it is for a separate reason.” Then he went to the door. “Just get to Detroit. I will find you and tell you the rest of the plan later.”

“I will be there,” Caligo replied.

When the masked man was gone, Caligo realized that she was feeling a lot better about their situation. Maybe all hope was not lost after all. Walking to another room, she opened it to see Ferus pacing his floor.

“Yes, my Lady?” he said immediately.

“Tell everyone to pack up. We’re leaving.”

________________________________________

It was done. The first SmackDown! show had aired and the Undertaker had been one of the stars. Sighing, Mark ran his hand through his wet hair, raking it into a braid. If everything had gone as planned, if everything had been so successful, then why did he feel dead inside? The Ministry of Darkness had teamed with the Corporation, and soon the “Higher Power” would be revealed as Mr. McMahon himself. Grunting, he stood hastily and yanked his bag onto his shoulder. It was ridiculous! The Ministry had been his vision – his ! – and Vince had squashed it and turned it into a carnival celebrating the glory of the McMahon family. Sure, it was all a storyline anyway, but Mark had really been enjoying it… even if he had to deal with occasional crazies like the woman from the other day.

Mark’s whole body relaxed when he thought of her. He couldn’t even remember the strange name she had given him, but he could see her face clearly in his mind, just as he had dreamed her. Icy blue eyes, raven hair, as sleek and graceful as a stalking feline… She held a kind of beauty he had never seen. Beneath her arctic expressions, he knew that a wildfire of passion and faith was ever burning. He couldn’t say how he knew it, but it was the feeling she gave him. She made him think of all the things that could have him share that same fire. He wanted something to die for… No, he wanted something to live for…

“Hey Mark,” someone called as he went through the garage. He looked up just as the tall man joined in step with him.

“Glen. Nice work tonight,” Mark drawled. Kane had rescued poor X-Pac from another disaster. He wasn’t sure where the storyline was going, but he was beginning to think that Kane may deserve more of the spotlight than he was getting. He was an excellent actor.

“Thanks. Not so bad yourself.”

“Yeah,” he replied indifferently.

“Hey, has Callie gone to see you yet?”

“Who?”

“Callie? Or maybe you remember her as ‘Lady Caligo, faithful servant of the dark’.”

His mind went spiraling out of control. “Did you do that?! Jesus Christ, I thought I had done something real bad to her!”

Glen laughed as they came up to Mark’s truck. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist, especially after the whole thing with Stephanie last Monday.”

“Which I would like to forget if you don’t mind,” Mark said as he unlocked the door, throwing his bag roughly into the cab. His mood was growing darker by the second.

“You alright?”

“Yeah… I’ve just… been feelin’ a lil’ weird lately.”

“Sorry to hear that. You wanna hang out tonight?”

Mark narrowed his eyes as he looked at the masked man. The mask had ceased to bother him a long time ago – Hell, he’d been working with Glen for years – but the man rarely wanted to “hang out”.

“Is somethin’ on your mind?” Mark asked.

“Not really. But Callie’s coming and she’d feel better if you understood nothing was wrong.”

“Oh… Okay, sure.” At that moment he could have cared less if it was Shane McMahon bouncing around asking him to go see a new toy his daddy had bought him. If Callie was wanting to see him, he wasn’t about to disappoint her!

“Great. I’ll come get you at the hotel.”

Half an hour later, Mark was smiling as he stepped of the elevator and into the lobby, feeling much brighter as he anticipated meeting Callie properly. Sure enough, standing next to a tall masked man was the woman from his dreams. She was as tall as Glen’s chest, which was fairly tall for a woman, and she was wearing tight black jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, her dark hair braided back like his own.

“Mark, glad you could join us. This is Callie ,” Glen said. The woman’s blue eyes flicked up at the masked visage for a moment before returning to Mark. She thrust out her hand.

“Nice to meet you,” she said. “Sorry about the other day, Glen thought it would be funny.”

A terrifying thought gripped him as Mark took her hand in his. “You both ain’t… together, are you?”

“No,” they both answered immediately, and she pulled her hand away, even though he didn’t want to let go.

“Oh.” He couldn’t help that his grin spread wider. In fact, he tried to stop it, feeling like an idiot. “So, where we goin’?”

“Actually, I have something I need to take care of. I just wanted to make sure you both got together, so have fun. I’ll talk to you later, Callie.” Her mouth was hanging open as she watched him start to walk away. “Bye, Mark.”

“See ya on the plane, Glen.”

Then the masked face was gone, and they stood together awkwardly for a moment.

“Uh… You like pubs?”

“Do I like what?”

“Pubs. You know, we can eat, have a beer…”

“Oh… Sure.”

“Follow me.”

Leading her out into the parking lot, Mark opened the door to his black truck for her and let her climb in first. She seemed pretty tense, especially now that Glen was gone, so he was determined to show her that he was a gentleman despite his tattoos and leather. A few minutes later they pulled up in the lot of a small, out-of-the-way pub called "Ben’s Brickhouse". The owner, Ben himself, smiled when he saw Mark walk in.

“Well I’ll be damned if it isn’t the Lord of Darkness that just waltzed into my bar!” Ben exclaimed. One friendly pat on the back later, he turned his grin to the icy woman who appeared more tense than if she had a gun aimed at her temple. “Who is this lovely lady you’ve brought with you tonight?”

“Callie, this is an old friend of mine, Ben Earlzon.”

“Nice to meet you,” she replied mechanically.

“The pleasure is all mine, ma’am. Your usual table tonight, ‘Taker?”

“If you don’t mind.”

Ben nodded and led them to a table far in the back corner, only partially visible to the rest of the bar. “Would you like your usual burger as well?” he asked Mark with a smile.

“You know me too well. Callie, what would you like? It’s on me.”

“The same.”

“Two hot burgers on their way. I’ll make sure nobody bothers you tonight.”

An hour later, after finishing their food and drinking more than one pitcher of beer between them, Mark was starting to believe he was going nowhere as far as this woman was concerned. He was never usually the talker, but somehow she had him sharing every minute detail about his career, how strange yet exhilarating traveling all over the world could be, past relationships and how they went wrong, and she even had him bragging about his collection of motorcycles. He had yet to even find out if she had any siblings, where she grew up, what she did for a living… nothing!

“Callie, we’ve been sittin’ here for a while now, and I still don’t know anything about ya,” he said, leaning forward. She was still as tense as a sharp piano string, tracing one slender finger along the decorative carving on the table.

“What do you want to know?” she asked nonchalantly. He had a feeling that she wouldn’t be as indifferent about answering though.

“Well… what brings you to Detroit?”

“I’m traveling with a group of friends.”

“Okay. Where are you from?”

“Southwest from here.”

“You’re being pretty discreet.”

“I barely know you.”

He sat back. “What’s your family like?”

“My father is in the military and I hardly see him. My mother and my brother are dead.”

They took turns sipping their beers during an awkward silence. He had no family to speak of either, but he thought the subject would be best left alone.

“Glen told me you came up with the Ministry idea,” she said suddenly.

“Yeah, I did. Of course, what you see on TV is different than the vision I had.”

“What was the vision you had?”

“Well… I don’t really know. It’s hard to explain…” At least she was acting interested now.

“Did you really dream about me?”

Mark took a long drink. What ’ s the right answer to that question ? “I think so. Kinda like déjà vu, you think?”

“Have you had any other dreams like it?”

He shifted in his seat. “You know, I don’t really like talking about this…”

“Don’t you ever think that it is something trying to speak to you?”

It was her eyes. Something about her eyes seemed desperate for an answer… even just for the hope of an answer. “Maybe,” he said.

“Don’t you ever feel like there is something missing? And you keep trying to find it but you don’t even understand what it is?”

His green eyes stared solidly into hers. Finally, they were on the same page. “All the time.”

Callie leaned back against her seat, releasing a deep breath, and appearing to be more relaxed than ever since he had first seen her.

“That’s good… I mean, I feel that way too… sometimes…”

“I like you, Callie,” he said, surprising himself. “And I really want to get to know you, if you’d let me.”

She gazed up at him sympathetically. “It’s complicated.”

“What isn’t?” She shrugged and seemed to shrink into her seat. “Callie…”

“Caligo,” she snapped, but calmed immediately. “My name really is Caligo. I can’t stand Kane calling me that.”

“Caligo,” he said softly. “I feel like you’re trying to avoid something.”

“I am.” After a moment, she leaned toward him again. “I know you thought I was crazy the first time we met, saying that I needed to bring you back to the Darkside and everything else… But… It’s true.”

“Oh, come on, Callie!” he said angrily. “Did Glen put you up to this?”

“Caligo!” she responded. “And…” Pausing, she huffed and tried to regain her calm. “Can we go somewhere for a minute? Someplace away from people?”

He stared at her. Damn , she is something else . “Why not?”





Author's Note: Cliffhanger, I know! A long time in coming, I know that too! The next one (I'm not gonna lie) will probably be a long time in coming as well. I say that, but you ladies have gotten me to jump-start my writing, so maybe not. :P At least the story is rolling now and all I've got to do is add wood to the fire! YAY!