Eric could hear his mom's hesitation as she answered the phone, so he figured that he might as well break the ice first. "Hey mom look I know it's been a long time since we have been in contact, and for the most part I am over it, but I can never forgive that man for what he did to both of us." A long resignated sigh escaped his mothers lips before she cut into what would have been a soliloquy. "Eric I have heard what you have had to say, but I will not sit here while you badmouth the man that stepped in and kept this family from collapsing. You may see him as the bane of your existence, but you must believe me he was the light in my dark and stormy sea."

  "MOM! I didn't call to talk about your new husband and his shortcomings, I know that no matter what I say to you, you won't believe me. He tried to kill me, and whenever you weren't around he treated me like dirt. You still didn't believe me and to this day act like I was looking for attention. Here we are though having the same argument from 7 years ago, and I didn't call about this; I need to see if he can give me a job."

  Andria knew something must be wrong if her son was contacting her to ask about a job through Blake.

"Honey I know we haven't even talk in 7 years, but you must know its hurt me all this time. I brought you into this world with only the best intentions, but I guess the road to hell was paved with good intentions. What I am trying to say is if youre calling me out of the blue like this something must be wrong in your life, and I am here to help you. I'm your mother you need only ask."

  Eric frowned as he listened to his mother expertly dance around everything he had say to put the blame on herself. It always ate him up inside when she'd do this to him as a kid. He decided before the waterworks could be loosened from the grips of his mothers eyes he would intervene. "Look mom I am sorry I haven't been around, but I really would appreciate it if you could get me a job at dads old company, even if I have to work under the man I hate." He smiled as he could almost hear the gears grinding in his mothers head to avenge herself in the eyes of her son.

  It had been silent for nearly 5 minutes before his mother started to speak again. "Alright sweety I will help you, I sent a ping to Blake and will have a conversation with him later to see what we can do. Until then maybe you could come over and visit your poor old mother before..." She didn't get chance to finish speaking before he interrupted her in a stream of mumbled and almost indecipherable words. "Sorry Mom can't right now, I have to find a place to live or I will be stuck in the cold. BYE MOM!"

  One whole week had passed before Eric heard from his mother. It had been so long he was starting to get nervous since he really didn't have another option at the moment he had wasted too much time waiting for his mother. "Eric honey good news! Blake is going to take you on as his assistant on the project they are currently working on. He tells me you can help change the world! Isn't that great sweetie?" He could hear how excited his mom was for him, but he had a tingly feeling in his spine when his mother said Blake's project would change the world. He couldn't really remember why.

  "Sweetie? Eric honey are you there?" His mother had gotten nervous that maybe he had hung up the call. "Yes mom I am here, I am just as excited as you are." His mother giggled a little, oblivious to her sons sarcasm. In fact he was not very happy about this at all, but knowing that the lab he'd be working in was also the one his dad had ran when he was alive made him a little bubbly inside. It also helps that they should pay well too, considering Raven's Loft Technologies are the company that invented the Optical Hollographic Receivers implanted in most people anymore, well if they could afford it.

  "Well I am glad I could help my not so little man when he needed me, It's the least that I could do."

She did seem genuinely happy, but was it self serving happiness, or was she really happy to help me. I couldn't really tell so I figured I'd go along with it for now just to see where I needed to be. "Thank you mom really, but when am I supposed to meet Blake to begin working?" "Oh yes dear, I had almost forgotten. I got too excited telling you the news and spaced out a little hun I apologize. ummmmm... What was it that he had told me again? Oh yes thats it in two days he wants you to meet him at the company lab B-317. He said to tell the main receptionist, and that she would give you directions to where you are supposed to be."

  "Great thank you mom! you have been super helpful, maybe someday soon we could meet up, just the two of us to have lunch together or something." He felt nervous bringing this up, because he hadn't been the nicest to her over the years, what with the isolation and all that. He really did hope he could learn to forgive his mother for everything she didn't seem to this was actually happening. On a side note though he really hoped he could get proof of Blake abusing him in some way to prove to his mother however infentismal it might be that the man had always hated him.

  Two days seemed to fly by as he got everything in order to go to his job. He stood outside the sleek black tower soaring over 40 stories tall to prominently display itself life a giant Raven defending its nest. Giant sliding glass doors keeping all light out of the building slid open like a sleek sarcophogi entombing the entryway to hell, and preventing the light from penetrating its insides. Two giant ape like men guard the doorway to keep all unwelcome visitors from entering the premises. "Geeze this place could only be better with a flambouyant man in a tuxedo talking about the beauty of the moonlight, and asking to drink from my neck."

  As he got closer to the doors, the two Gorillas moved closer to block passage to the complex, and began to grunt. Well ok maybe they didn't grunt, but I have an over active imagination I mused to myself. Then I was pulled from my self inflicted revelry as the two behemoths began to speak. "Who are you , and why are you here?" Geeze this guy sounds like Lurch I am half expecting him to say you rang. Before one of the men could get their hands around my neck to throw me off the stairs leading up to the building I spoke up. "Sorry Gentlemen my name is Eric Kenwood, and I am hear to meet up with Blake Carter to start a job today." 'Man these guys have me questioning myself, that almost came out of as a question.'

  The mountain of a man began to talk into his OPR's wrist attachment. Seemingly satisfied he began to move away from the doorway to let me inside. "Stay out of trouble young man." He smiled at me in a sickening manner yellowish teeth prominently on display. "I would hate to have to make you leave the premises." I could hear no jovialness to his voice, so I had no doubt that he would in fact love to throw me down the enormous set of 15 stairs. "Yessir, I have no intention of causing problems." I smiled at him hoping to alleviate some of the tension that seemed to pool in the air.

  I walk through the black portal of an entryway into the main foyer of the building, it was deftly quite aside from the constant click clack of the keys on a keyboard echoing from the main desk. Blood red accents on the furniture, and floor seemed to almost decidantly cover a majority of the room giving it an almost Dracula like quality to the place. Walking up to the main desk the secretary slowly looked up at me but didn't stop her excessive typing. "Yeah I am here to see The Count, I mean Blake Carter." She didn't seem to find my attempt at humor funny, when she began to tell me where I was supposed to go as her eyebrows stay continuously raised.

  "Yes Mr Kenwood, the boss said that you would be arriving today, First I need you to sign some H.R. paperwork, then we can get you an I.d. badge and get you on your way to work." An aura of malisciousness seemed to radiate off of her person as she spoke to me. I wasn't sure exactly how to deal with the situation so I began to smile awkardly hoping we could get this shit show on the road. Three hours later we finally managed to get all of the paper work and the I.d. Badge settle, she sent me on my way to a back wall set of elevators. Stepping into the elevators enclosed space I began to recount her directions mentally. 'Ok hit the button for floor b-3, and when the doors open back up I need to go left, left, straight, and then right. Man thats a long way to go, who the hell builds a maze like basement in a business like this seems like a fire hazard if you ask me.'

Stolen novel; please report.

  Finally reaching the door to the lab he was supposed to be in Eric had to steel his nerves, for behind this door stood the creature of all of his nightmares. The man he had loathed for the last 10 years of his life, even more so after the incident. Using his I.d. badge the door slid open to one of the most brightly lit rooms in the entire place. A massive computer lined one entire wall of the inside of the lab, lots of small computer stations were set alongside the main computer. In the middle of the room was a hover pedastal with a floating ring stuck in stasis, it was an unbelievable sight, as the ring looked to be entire made of crystalized diamond. Almost appearing as if the ring had been grown that way as it did not look like it had been cut in any way.

  The door opened again, but Eric was too enraptured with the jewelry to notice anyone coming in. "How nice of you to join me boy. You know I was surprised when your mother told me that you were asking for my help. I almost couldn't hold in my laughter, the utmost joy that I felt you had finally fallen enough to the point to ask me for my help!" Eric knew who it was right away but kept himself steady so that he didn't lose his only chance at a decent paying job. I put on my biggest fake smile I could muster, before turning around to look at the man who disgusts me. "Howdy Blake, yeah sorry about that I never thought I would ever have to ask you for your help, but you know life is crazy like that sometime."

  That didn't seem to make him happy, but it sure made Eric happy to see the mans frown so prominent on his face. "Anyways dear boy we have a little experiment to work on, and don't worry you won't come to any harm. WHat you were looking at before I came in is what you fathers team managed to discover in the Antarctic ice shelf. What your father didn't know about this fine specimen is that it has interesting properties, it can power an entire city block on the amount of solar energy it can absorb, but that is only a minor benefit." He began to smile again as he continued talking. " Why do you go ahead and pick up that ring, and put it on."

  Unsure of what to do Eric froze as his brain and body seemed to fight itself, he didn't want to please Blake at all, but he did want to feel that ring around his finger. His body won the fight as he seemed to inch around and slowly grasp the ring in his right hand. The ring itself seemed to seemed to radiate power as he fingered the ring excited to penetrate the depths of its power he slide the ring slowly over his finger.

 The God's are ready to Play Eric....Are you?

  He was shocked when the blue screen seemed to appear from nowhere into his line of sight, no matter where he turned his face it seemed to permiate ever space his eyes moved to. Uneased by what was happening he turned to speak to Blake to get grasp on whatever was happening, only to see the biggest smile on his face, and the same words were present on the big moniter behind him. "Blake...what exactly is going on, and where did this blue thing come from?" "To answer your question young Eric let me first tell you story of when I first found the ring."

  "You see it was last year when I finally managed to find where your father had hidden the ring. Then the people who had been in contact with me since the day I killed your father revealed who they really were and what they wanted from me. You see they told me that they were Gods, and they wanted me to help the catalyst plant its seeds on our planet, and that I would gain more power than anyone on our puny little planet would think possible. They told me that all I needed to do was find the one destined to enact the enchantments on the ring that would allow its inherent power to be unleashed upon the world. If I could manage this one task then they would reward me with power unimaginable to either you or me.

  Erics heart started to beat faster, the only thought on his mind was that Blake had killed his father. The fact that 'Gods' had told Blake to do it seemed unimportant to Eric as that thought to prominence in the forefront of his mind. "As I am sure you have noticed there are strange symbols written on the floor, now let me tell you it wasn't easy to write all that strange jibberish in accordance to their wishes, each letter would make my skull throb with pressure. Eventually I got tired of being the one to do it, and tried to get my assistant to do it, well let's just say that was a mistake, because his head exploded the minute that he started to carve the symbols with my blood on the floor. This of course meant that I head to restart now that he had ruined the ritual with his own blood." He paused and turned around when the big monitor behind him became a flurry of activity as new words appeared on the screen.

The time is upon us mortal, you must enact the ritual stop showboating, and enact our plan...or DIE!

  TSK...Blake clicked his tongue against his teeth, seething in rage that would not be allowed to continue his speech, and gloat over his nemesises son. Calming himself enough to continue his speech at least calm enough to form coherent sentences. "As you can see boy our time here is short, I'd like for you to have known that your sacrifice would bring upon a great change to the world, for the better. I wish I could say I am sorry for doing this, but really I am not, like father like son I do this with great pleasure for my masters."

  Eric could barely believe what he was hearing, in fact he didn't believe any of it, even the blue screen could be some kind of sophisticated OPR hack. He always knew Blake was a psychopath, but now he had even more proof of that if he ever would have doubted himself he would be wrong. "What the hell are you babbling about you nutjob. What is all of this talk with gods, and the greater good? What do you think is going to happen aside from going to prison if you hurt me." Eric started to feel sick to his stomach as the pressure from the ring intensified.

  "My dear boy, I would say you would see soon enough, but you'll be dead in a few seconds." Blake pulled a tranquilizer gun from his waist band, and shot eric in the forehead. "That dart is filled with concentrated mixture of heroin, and ketamine, your heart will stop long before you can say another word child." What Blake couldn't have account for was just as Eric hit unconsciousness his face with the dart slammed into the ground releasing a spray of blood all over the meticuously crafted runes on the flooring.

  "NO NO NO NO NO..I was supposed to be the one to receive the benefits!! This is not fair! all the time it took for this plan to come to fruition, and it was ruined by this boys inability to die the right way!!!"

Eric heard none of this as his black world became filled with blue, like a turbulant ocean his thoughts ebbed and flowed in many different direction. As all of his thoughts began to fade into oblivion, a glow brighter than the sun boomed into existence, and over took the darkness in a blaze of turquoise.

Catalyst Accepted, Seeding process beginning. 50%...65%...89% 99%.....100% Seeding finished Eric Kenwood: Rebirth Imminent. Achievement Received:Kissed by a Goddess(1)