There were several more or less strange chairs in the room; Saint Germain sat comfortably on a rattan one, it being one of the less strange ones there. There were more around, and he was amused by the fact that Hector had actually found a couple of them. The chair room was a crazy idea anyway, but it was a nice little challenge.

Hector would show up eventually, and Germain wasn't planning on being around when that happened, but the Devil Forgemaster still needed to get past the Minotaur at the arena between the forest and Cordova Town. That battle would take a moment; of course, all Saint Germain was doing was observing. He also knew what would happen once Hector reached Cordova Town and made it to the other side, but he was not going to interfere. He couldn't interfere, and there really wasn't much he could have done anyway.

He took out his pocket watch and checked the time. Around now Isaac would have made it to the other end of the town and be setting up a battle. A test, Germain figured. It was unlikely for the man to want to kill Hector just yet. There were so many details in this event that did not match, but he hoped things would work out in the end. He would still have to deal with Zead, too.

"Yes, Zead..." He said aloud, looking at his pocket watch again before putting it away. Germain hadn't yet figured out what the man was after, with aiding Hector and all. The one thing he did know was that Zead was certainly up to no good, but for the time being, all he could do was to continue avoiding the monk. If he could really be called that. Germain smiled, adjusting his hat and was just about to stand up when a blade appeared out of nowhere and was placed at his neck. He frowned slightly and shortly considered teleporting away, but he decided to see what this was about.

"Ah, Zead. Speak of the devil," Saint Germain said with almost a cheerful tone. "How clever of you to find me here."

"So this is where you've been hiding," Zead replied, pressing the edge of the weapon so close to the time traveller's skin that it almost made Germain bleed. "I could say you were clever as well, to come here where flow of time is somehow warped. Your doing, obviously. The reason for this idiocy I have not yet figured out, but-"

"But this is just a fun little game, and it certainly has no effect on anything," Germain said, moving his right hand a little in an attempt to push the blade away, but Zead leaned closer and stopped him. "Quite amusing I would say. Perhaps we should discuss it another time, as I must be off. You could just as well put the blade away, as you cannot kill me here, and you know it just as well as I do."

A cruel smile formed on Zead's lips. "I could certainly try," he hissed. "Don't forget you aren't supposed to interfere. Are you sure this thing of yours affects nothing? No matter now. Perhaps I could not kill you, but," Zead grabbed Saint Germain's jaw with his fingers and leaned close, staring into the man's eyes. "You are aware there are other things that could happen to you, other than just... death." With that, he pressed a forced kiss on Germain's lips.

"A kiss of death, so to say, actually quite accurate" Saint Germain remarked as Zead moved away. "However, I would not fall that easily. And are you certain these other things would all be something I would not like?" He smiled in a way that obviously annoyed the monk, as Zead decided to try if he could kill Germain at that particular moment.

The blade cut through where Saint Germain had been a second earlier, but Zead swore aloud when he found that the man was gone again, evading his strike.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came Germain's voice from behind the monk, and Zead turned around and glared at the blond. "You know you can't get me in a place like this, so why even bother to try?"

Zead put his blade away and folded his arms. He knew the time traveller was right - he couldn't kill him, not in this space. "But you cannot escape from me forever. I will catch you, sooner or later."

Germain tipped his hat. "That, we shall see about. Catching up with me isn't going to be an easy task, even for you."

"You are aware that you should not be here anymore, and you should not be trying to change anything," Zead said. "If you insist on sticking around, I will deal with you in another way." Even if he couldn't kill Germain, it wasn't stopping him from hurting him, and Zead silently called for a small scythe floating in the air behind the blond, and then commanded it to attack the man.

"Ah," Germain said, then teleported to the side, a fraction of a second before the scythe hit him. "It seems you are not willing to play nice at all, so I best be off. Goodbye." With that, the air rippled shortly around him and he vanished before Zead had time to attack again.

The monk smirked. Saint Germain truly annoyed him - but if the man was not willing to stay out of this, then he would just have to keep him out of it. All he would need was a simple trap.

Author's notes:

Wrote this for a writing meme thing. Because Saint Germain is AWESOME, and because I also get to blame it all on MarsDragon! Fic title included! :D

- Lady Harken (June, 2006)