Chapter Text
I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.
Alexander the Great
March 2040
Maui, Hawaii
Cassandra Drake, husband to Derek Lowell and father of Evan Drake, was hacking and coughing up blood. Blood was spilled all over her hospital pillow. She never felt so sick before. The sight of her being sick made her best friend, Derek Lowell, sick, but not literally.
Derek tried to visit Cassie in her hospital bed, but the doctors said that he was prohibited from going into Cassie's room unless he wanted to catch an infection. Every day since he came to the hospital, he was trying to get to visit his wife but the doctors continued to deny him access.
Derek tried to convince them that if she had been contagious, then he and Evan would've been infected a long time ago and her coughing had been happening for the last few months and he and Evan did not share any symptoms. It wasn't until the doctors gave the all-clear that he could go in and visit his wife.
Derek ran inside and the sight of seeing Cassie hooked up to an IV with bloody tissues on the bedside table made his heart drop to his stomach.
"Hey there, Cassie," he smiles at her.
Cassie managed to control her coughing for a short time and smiled at him. "Hey D-Man, you're looking healthy today," she said in a raspy voice.
"Yeah, that's because I have a healthy immune system. The doctor says you've been doing well in fighting this disease. Your parents wanted me to tell you they love you and wish you to get better."
"Thank you, Derek." Cassie coughs.
"What's family for?" Derek shrugs. "Cassie, I promise you, one way, or another, I am going to find some cure for all diseases. I am going to cure you. I will sail to the end of the world to get you a cure," Derek promises, his voice determined. "I will go as far as to find a mythical object to heal you,"
"Derek, you really think you can find a mythical object that can heal?"
Derek smiles. "I just found the Peaches of Immortality, the Confederate gold, and the Staff of Moses and you're doubting me?"
"Derek, you don't have to go all out. If we let nature take its course then I'll be fine."
"But you've been sick for months."
"Her life expectancy has gone down," the doctor came into the room absentmindedly. "I'm afraid that the chances of her recovery are not in her favor."
Derek glared at the doctor. "What?"
"Whatever this infection is, none of us have seen it before. It's been invading her body for a few months, building over time. It's a kind of virus or bacteria that builds up so when it reaches its peak, the patient has little to no chance of recovery." He looks at his clipboard. "Which is odd because we found traces of chimpanzee DNA in it. Our theory is that this disease originated from some monkey or chimp; something closely related to humans."
"Then why haven't I been infected?" Derek asks.
"I would say that you and your child are immune but that doesn't make sense for everyone to be resistant and one person being an exception. My theory is that this disease has to be transmitted from the source in order to infect someone."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, let's say this is a super-fungus infection. If someone were to touch this certain type of fungus, they would be infected with the disease that the fungus carries and experience the worst of the effects as it slowly builds up over time. Now, even though the infected person is coughing in other people's faces and in their vicinity, the disease won't infect them because they didn't contract it from the original source, in this case, the super fungus."
Derek narrows his eyes. "So, you're saying because Cassie came into contact with the original source of the disease, she became infected but..."
"Yep. When you think about it, this is a relatively easy disease to fend off. All we have to do is find the source and kill it."
"Oh my god," Cassie gasps. Lemuria. I remember that when one of the natives died in front of me, blood got in my eyes. Was THAT the source of the infection? It makes sense because I started coughing AFTER I came back from Lemuria.
What have I done? Derek internally cried. The curse of the Confederate gold, I couldn't break it. I cursed Cassie. He clenches his fists. Damn it!
"Cassie," Derek turned to her, "I am so, so sorry. This is my fault, I should've-"
"Don't blame yourself, Derek, this is my fault." She looks down. "I got careless."
"No, I got careless and..." He closes his eyes and winces. "Damn it, I can't believe it." He grabs his hair and hisses in pain. "I promise, Cassie, I will make this up to you. I swear, I swear to god, I will heal you up."
"Derek," Cassie reached out. "Don't kill yourself for me; Evan needs a living parent."
"He needs a father and a mother. I promise, Cassie, I will travel to the ends of the world to make this better."
Cassie coughs once more. "Derek, just be there for Evan. If I die-"
"NO!" Derek yelled. "You are not going to die. I promise; I'll save your life." He looks to the doctor. "How many weeks do you think she has?"
The doctor looked down at the chair. "I give her roughly ten days."
"No," Derek gasps and the dam of tears breaks. "No."
"Derek..." Cassie whispers softly.
"I'm not bringing Evan here until I know for certain you're going to be safe." He turns to the exit. "Cassie, I'm not going to say I love you... until you are all healed up."
"Derek, wait."
And Derek exited the room before leaving the hospital.
Derek had been sitting in his car for the last few hours in a crying state. After pulling up to his home, he stayed in his car and let out all the emotions burst out of him. He sat there in the driver's seat, banging on the wheel and sobbing the life out of him for about twenty minutes (time flies by fast) before resting his head on the wheel. Once he was all cried out, he climbs out of the car and walked into his house. His son was hanging out with his parents for now and Derek had the house to himself.
All alone and surrounded by no one and no interference, Derek pulled out his computer and began checking his email notifications. He had seen Simon and Angie a text message earlier about helping him find rejuvenating objects from various and when they said they found something promising, they said they would send him an email.. He had been waiting anxiously for that email.
Derek couldn't stand this waiting game anymore; he needed something to distract him and beer seemed to do the trick. He only drank a little bit because he wanted to be sober for when the email finally came through but what was supposed to be one sip turned into two and then eventually ten. Pretty soon, Derek was pacing around the living room, an empty beer bottle in his hand and ready to chuck it at the wall if he didn't get a response in time.
He thought he heard the sounds of his notification on his computer before his drunken mind realized it was someone knocking on the door.
Who is knocking on the door at this hour?
He throws the beer bottle at the wall and breaks it. He paces over to the front door and without looking through the peephole, opens the door to find Niko.
"What do you want?!" he snaps at his cousin.
Derek reels back. "Wait, have you been drinking?"
"What does it matter?" He covers his mouth. He said something else but it was mumbled behind his hand. He put his hand down. "Come on in."
Niko nearly gagged but he walked in while avoiding eye contact with Derek and staying a good ten feet away from him. "I finally deciphered that Lemurian text." He looks at the ground. "It took me a while to get my rusty Sumerian back in shape but I finally figured out with that text said."
"What?" Derek sighs.
"Infection." Niko looks down at the ground. "Apparently, that part of Lemuria that hadn't sunk was a quarantine camp for the Lemurians." He clenches his fists. "A disease that originated from the Lemurians became infecting and killed them off one by one. The Lemurians infected with this disease were sent to the island for quarantine and the plan was for them to stay there before they could come up with a cure. But as you saw, the Lemurians were very much still alive, which leads me to come up with a theory: they evolved to become asymptomatic carriers through millions of years of evolution."
"It was the curse," Derek said without emotion. "The Confederate gold curse. Had I never come across that cursed coin, Cassie never would've gotten infected." He sighs and sits down on the couch. "I would cry but I'm too tired to cry." He picks himself up suddenly. "I am a murderer." He grabs Niko's shoulders. "I have murdered my wife. History repeats itself because my father-in-law lost his mother from a young age and Evan is going to lose his mother before he even turns one." He lets go of Niko's shoulders and steps back. "I have to find something to heal Cassie." He ran a hand through his hair in a sloppy manner. "Where can I find something to heal my wife up?"
"It's my fault," Niko claims. "Had I deciphered that tablet sooner rather than later, then maybe, we could've caught it before it built up inside of her.
Derek looked up at the ceiling. "I deserve to go to Hell' I don't deserve to go to Heaven after what I've done." With what his drunken mind can member, he told Niko what the doctors said about Cassie's condition. "Because it is a new disease, there is no immunity nor any existing vaccines. This disease builds up in the body for months before finally attacking its hose." He looked at his hand. "I'm so grateful Evan is not infected but I'd trade placed with Cassie in a heartbeat."
"Me too.." Niko closes his eyes. "I should've deciphered the text sooner."
"I never should've gone on that Confederate gold adventure."
PING!
Derek's computer finally rings through and a notification sound chimes. Nikko went over to the computer and opened up the latest message.
Angie and Simon Vincent found something that may prove that the Golden Fleece exists. When Niko relayed this information to Derek, Derek suddenly sobered up.
"The Golden Fleece..." he slurred. He shook his head. "Greek mythology, huh? Greek mythology isn't real."
Niko narrows his eyes. "Oh, and the Staff of Moses is? Or the Peaches of Immortality and the Philosopher's Stone. And didn't Uncle Nate discover the four labyrinths built by Daedalus and his son?"
"The Golden Fleece," Derek repeated, "legendary fleece or blanket or whatever from Greek mythology that can heal anything." Derek puts his hands on the desk to steady himself. "There's proof that it exists?"
Ever since he got back from his adventure with the Staff of Moses and took Cassie to the hospital, as soon as the thought of her contracting a fatal disease crossed his mind, he had contacted his contacts from all over the globe to look for a rejuvenating mythical object that has the ability to heal anything. He knew that he should've been looking for practical medicine but in their line of work, if objects that can turn humans to gold exist then there's a fairly good chance that something like the Golden Fleece exists.
"The Golden Fleece?" Derek slurred. "Holy hell." He looked at the email but his drunken state couldn't quite read it. "Where do we start?"