Project Legion (Nemesis Saga Book 5)

by Jeremy Robinson

  And that’s when it begins to snow.

  In August.

  The white flakes, courtesy of Solomon’s dramatic finish, take my thoughts back to Christmas. To Endo. To Nemesis. And Hyperion. The world might never know of their sacrifices, but I will never forget it. I’m about to say something nice, maybe even poetic, when Rook beats me to the punch.

  “Any chance I can get a lift home?” he asks. “If I miss diaper changing duty, Zelda is going to put my nards in a vice.”

  “I’m sorry,” Freeman asks. “What are nards?”

  And with that, we have our very own, G.I. Joe style, end-of-episode chuckle. And it’s well deserved. We did just save like a bajillion Earths—not that any of them will ever know.

  “Hands on Bell,” Cowboy says, and we all obey. He turns to me. “Where to?”

  “I’m thinking we hit the showers at the mountain, and then maybe Disney World. If it hasn’t been destroyed.”

  Cowboy gives a nod of his Stetson, and we leave the battlefield behind.

  Epilogue I

  Boyz II Men was right. It is hard to say goodbye, but not to yesterday. Because yesterday sucked goat balls. Today is better, but it feels like the last day of summer camp, saying goodbye to new best friends who you know you’ll never see again. Cowboy and I, along with David, drive the intergalactic bus from one dimension to the next.

  First is Freeman, whose strange future of zombie robots and new humanity remains intact. While we’re there, we meet his wife, Luscious (and she is), his oversized friend and protector Heap, who had apparently been going ape shit in Freeman’s absence and their five children, proving once and for all that they are human. I thank him for his help, and for giving Hyperion life. Had the big robot not become sentient, Maigo would have still been inside, and I have no doubt she’d have made the same sacrificial move.

  Next is Crazy. He too has a wife to see, and an aunt, but instead of being brought straight home, he opts to be left at a florist. Despite having the chance to fill in his wife about what was happening, he opted to hop on board the crazy train without saying a word, not because he’s a jerk, but because he didn’t fear the consequences. So he’s getting flowers and then calling an Uber or something. I think the dude needs to step up his game, but I keep that to myself and just thank him. Without him, we’d be dead several times over, the multiverse would be tearing itself apart and Tucson—which he put back where it belongs—would have been a smudge.

  Turns out Rook was right. His wife, who he calls Queen, steps onto the front porch with an MP5 in one hand and a baby in the other. I can tell she’s about to lay into him, but then she sees me, David, Cowboy and a mostly naked Solomon standing by the Bell.

  She relaxes fully when Fiona takes the baby from her arms and says, “It’s a long story.”

  “That includes us saving the world,” Rook adds. “So you’re welcome for that.” He turns to us. “Speaking of which, next time you bozos need help, I’ll call King.”

  I smile and wave in response, and then I laugh when a golem rises from the ground waving to us, along with Fiona and the baby.

  In a wink, we’re back in Antarktos.

  When Solomon steps away from the Bell, he looks sad, which is odd, because in terms of summer camp bonding time, he’s had less than all of us.

  “I’m sorry,” he says. “For not coming sooner.”

  “I get it,” I tell him. “It was a big ask, and this place is your responsibility. I’m not sure I would have gone with me, either, especially if it put my family in danger.”

  My words trigger an emotional response in the man. The wind picks up around us. Leaves flutter. “Something has changed,” he says, and then he looks to me, “Should you need my help again,” and then to Cowboy, “or need a place to hide that—” He motions to the Bell. “I will not be so slow to act.”

  And then he’s airborne, carried aloft by a churning wind.

  When I turn back to the Bell, David is looking at his watch, forehead creased in concern. “Uhh, I might have got the date wrong.”

  “By how much?” Cowboy asks.

  “Just a few weeks.”

  I look up to shout at Solomon and let him know, but he’s just a speck in the sky now. “Well, I guess he’ll need to pick up some flowers, too.”

  We drop off David last, back in my home dimension. His wife Sally greets us with a smile and some lemonade, which I chug before thanking the man.

  “I’m just happy to be home,” he says, putting his arm around his wife, and I’m pretty sure he’s not talking about Arizona.

  When I return to the Mountain with Cowboy, we’re greeted by friends and family, still alive and recuperating, Joliet included, but with a monumental challenge ahead. While every other dimension, with the exception of Dimension Zero, was spared from destruction, our Earth took a beating. We’re still here, but the death toll is projected somewhere just shy of a billion, most of those in major cities where the GUSs unleashed their horrors. Those same cities are basically uninhabitable now, and will be for some years to come, as noxious fumes and killer larvae still lurk about. But eventually, these things will be rooted out and humanity will recover.

  And then, we’re going to prepare for war.

  I haven’t seen a Ferox, or even Mephos since he disappeared with the black hole, but I have little doubt this fight will end here. It could be several generations before the Aeros return, but when they do, they’ll find a humanity that’s ready for the fight. Future Betty was lost in Ashtaroth’s explosion, but Zoomb had already reverse-engineered most of what made it tick. We’ve also gotten our hands on several wrecked Ferox ships. All of which means, I’m going to stand on the bridge of my very own Starship Enterprise before I bite the dust.

  Speaking of dust, that’s all that remains of Ashtaroth. There’s even less of the mothership. NASA confirmed that it flew into the sun, which was probably a mercy for the Aeros who had yet to fall beneath waves of Tsuchis. In addition to rebuilding, the biggest challenges faced by mankind are the GUS corpses. While I had thought they were connected to the mothership—Isn’t that how these things work?—it turned out that it was Ashtaroth controlling the mindless gas bags. When the beast fell, whatever psychic link it had to the GUSs, was severed. Whatever giant sphincters the creatures have, let loose and farted out their hydrogen. I hate to think of what all that gas did to the ozone layer, but on the plus side, they’re dead. And now there are trillions of tons of rotting flesh dotting the landscape. Burning them would pollute the atmosphere even more, so for now, people are moving away from the stench. Nature will take its course, and eventually, there will be a lot of very fertile soil left behind.

  I’ve declared today a day of rest. So we’re going to hop in Helicopter Betty, with Woodstock behind the controls, and fly back to the Crow’s Nest, where we feel more at home, and where the fridge is stocked with chocolate pudding.

  But first I need to thank the man who made the salvation of Earth, and all its sisters, possible. I hand a wooden box to Cowboy. He looks at it, unsure of what to think.

  “It’s a small token of thanks,” I tell him, and then I add in a Czech accent, “For saving world.”

  He opens the box and immediately looks both pleased and confused.

  “Are replicas?” he asked.

  I shake my head.

  “I think maybe you were tricked,” he says. “These look new.”

  “Newish,” I tell him.

  He pulls one of the two .44 caliber Colt Peacemakers from the case and inspects it. His eyebrows rise when he sees the nine notches carved into the side of the wooden grip.

  “They belonged to Billy the Kid,” I say, and then I drop the bomb. “David got them for me.”

  Cowboy looks at the weapon with reverence, carefully placing it back in the case. “Is perfect.”

  He shakes my hand and steps back to the Bell, placing his hand on its surface. “I will keep watch,” he says. “Of the multiverse. And you.”

  He
tilts his hat to Collins, who has approached while the others wait by the chopper. “Ma’am.”

  Then he’s gone, and summer camp is officially over.

  I walk back to the chopper with Collins, hand in hand. Once we’re in, Woodstock takes us up. It’s an hour flight from the Mountain to the Crow’s Nest, and we’re making it in far less style than we got accustomed to with Future Betty. But no one complains.

  As we rise up into the sky, I look down at the green mountains below, and then at the charred crater just south of Plymouth. The mountains deflected most of Ashtaroth’s explosion skyward, sparing most of the state, including the Mountain, from its concussive force. But the town of Refuge is gone, and not just burned and flattened. There’s simply a massive crater where the town used to be. A few hundred people lost, but it could have been worse. And in other parts of the world, it is.

  So we’ll count our blessings, lick our wounds and on Monday, the FC-P will head back to work, kicking ass, taking names, and keeping our eyes, and guns, aimed at the stars.

  I lean back in my seat and look at the crew around me. Woodstock and Lilly are in the cockpit. Collins is nestled into my arm on one side, Maigo on the other. Hawkins and Joliet sit across from us, heads leaning on each other. Watson, Cooper and Ted Jr. sit beside them, arms around each other.

  Our family is safe.

  Feeling peace for the first time in a long time, my body relaxes and my eyelids grow heavy. Then my nose twitches.

  My headphones crackle. “What’s that smell?” Hawkins asks.

  “Wasn’t me!” Woodstock shouts.

  Lilly starts laughing. “Breakfast burrito.” She slugs Woodstock’s shoulder. “Vengeance is mine!”

  While everyone has a good laugh beneath their shirt collars, I turn my thoughts to the Goddess of Vengeance. It’s strange, but I’ll miss her. Even stranger, I’ll miss Endo. He never did find out that Mephos was impersonating his sister, but that’s probably for the best. If he died believing he was saving her, I wouldn’t have wanted to take that away from him. He wasn’t a good man, but when push came to shove, he gave his life, turning the Goddess of Vengeance into an angel of mercy.

  Epilogue II

  The Aeros homeworld was in chaos. Reports of the disastrous assault on Earth had been relayed back through the cosmos, the news delivered by one of many black, circular satellites that had been observing the operation. Already, plans for a second assault on Earth were being drawn up, as members of the High Council gathered together for the first time in millennia.

  The collective might of the Aeros would be brought upon Earth all at once, led by the brilliant scientific and military minds seated around the council chamber. They had been overseeing the conquest of galaxies and never once had they been defeated so soundly. Even worse, the Ferox had been part of the resistance. The victory would bolster their ilk throughout the cosmos.

  “This cannot stand,” a ruling member shouted.

  It was met by cheers and shouts for vengeance. Without Pentuke present, disorder ruled the meeting.

  Mezatuke, grandson of Pentuke, decided this was his chance to claim leadership. The Aeros sword needed a hand to guide it, and there were many here who would support him. He stood from his seat, raised his hands and shouted, “Brothers! Aeros! Hear me now. We must band together if we are to destroy our enemies and reclaim our dignity.”

  Silence fell over the chamber.

  The response was even more impressive than Mezatuke had hoped for. Hands still raised, he turned to look over his brethren. That was when he noticed none of them were looking at him. Their eyes were on the center of the chamber.

  He turned and looked.

  A single Ferox stood beside a bell-shaped device.

  “I have a better idea,” the Ferox declared, and then grinned. “We all die.”

  Mezatuke recognized the black hole containment unit a moment before it opened and sucked him in.

  The Aeros homeworld followed him, stretched out, spaghettified and tortured for what would feel like eternity.

  Epilogue III

  An endless ocean surrounded her.

  Comforted her.

  And though she explored its depths, and the icy surface covering them, she heard no voices.

  No cries for help.

  No wails for vengeance.

  Just endless quiet, and the voice of her Voice, marveling at the new world they found themselves on, in love with the idea of spending his years with her in this place.

  The details of how they arrived here were shaky. There was intense pain. Something like death, and then cold and pressure. When they had awoken, the face of the robot, Hyperion, stared back at them. They stayed motionless in that cold deep, their bodies ruined, but regenerating. Time lost meaning while bodies healed, and then one day, the robot, who Nemesis genetically remembered being killed by, thousands of years in the past, reached out its big hands, grasped her by the shoulders and gave a nod.

  Directed by Endo, Nemesis did the same.

  And then Hyperion was gone, off to live its own life, somewhere in the wide universe, which it could traverse for all its days if it chose to.

  A school of bright pink and blue bioluminescent creatures swam past, some half the size of Nemesis herself. But they paid her no heed, wary of the queen of monsters now in their midst. She followed the creatures, indulging Endo’s curiosity, taking pleasure in the beauty of their new world.

  Neither of them knew where they were, only that they were beneath and free from the torment that had plagued Nemesis from her first memories of Earth to her last.

  That was the best gift they could be given.

  Solitude had come at last, and the goddess of vengeance finally knew peace.

  THE NEMESIS SAGA IS COMPLETE.

  …FOR NOW.

  Keep turning the pages for concept art,

  fan art, and more!

  A NOTE ON GUEST STAR CHARACTERS

  If you enjoyed the special guest star characters in Project Legion, and would like to know more about them and their origins, check out these books.

  Stan ‘Rook’ Tremblay, Fiona Sigler, and Richard Ridley appear in the Jack Sigler Thrillers: Prime, Pulse, Instinct, Threshold, Ragnarok, Omega, Savage, Cannibal, and Empire. Rook also appears in the novella Callsign: Rook. Fiona also appears in Herculean. While Ridley is mentioned in most of the above titles, he really plays an important part in Pulse, Threshold, and Omega.

  Solomon Ull Vincent, Kainda, and Mirabelle Whitney appear in The Last Hunter – Collected Edition, and Mirabelle is also the star of Antarktos Rising.

  Milos ‘Cowboy’ Vesely appears in SecondWorld and Nazi Hunter: Atlantis (which is also known as I Am Cowboy).

  Dr. David Goodman and his wife Sally play starring roles in The Didymus Contingency (which is now available in an author’s preferred, Tenth Anniversary Edition).

  Josef ‘Crazy’ Shiloh and the Dread are the stars of MirrorWorld.

  Freeman is the star of XOM-B (which is also known as Uprising in paperback).

  Mark Hawkins, Avril Joliet, and Lilly all get their starts in Island 731 (which is also currently being published as a comic book).

  Finally, you can read more about Eddy Moore, the Ferox and the Aeros in Raising The Past.

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Project Legion is the fifth and final novel of the Nemesis Saga. When I wrote Project Nemesis five years ago, my expectations and goals were at war. On the one hand, I wanted to make Nemesis the United States’ first truly iconic kaiju. Kong doesn’t really count (though that could change with the new movies), and Cloverfield never really caught on. On the other hand, no one had ever tried launching a new kaiju property as a novel.

  No one.

  Ever.

  Stories about giant monsters are inherently visual. Capturing their size and scope with words is tricky, and then creating a realistic world in which they can exist in a way that the reader is able to suspend disbelief… I wasn’t sure I could do it. But here w
e are, five books in, and Nemesis’s popularity is still growing. We’ve seen her in a video game and a comic book, she’s captured in tons of fan art, and there are even larger Nemesis projects in the works! Even though this five-book story arc has come to an end, Nemesis is far from retired. In fact, she’s just begun her rampage. What the future holds, I can’t say, but there could be new Nemesis novels, comics and…well, to achieve my iconic goal, something with a larger audience.

  But for me, all of Nemesis’s success is just part of the fun. Before Nemesis, the only kaiju novels were a few Godzilla books released in the ‘90s. So there was no kaiju subgenre in existence, but that didn’t mean the niche didn’t exist. When I coined the term, “Kaiju Thriller,” I had no idea it would catch on. I’ve now seen dozens of novels labeled as Kaiju Thrillers. Even better, some of them are fantastic. But here’s the cool thing. It wasn’t just me who did that, or even Nemesis. It was you, the readers, who sank your teeth into the fledgling subgenre and kept on chowing down. I’ve now released two new, non-Nemesis novels (Apocalypse Machine, and Unity) under the Kaiju Thriller banner, and the response has been amazing.

  All of this is to say that Nemesis and the Kaiju Thriller genre are just getting started. It’s sad to say goodbye to characters who have become friends (there is no character I enjoy writing more than Hudson), but I think we should look it as more of a metamorphosis than an ending. Big things are in the works, and I have no doubt that my amazing, kaiju-loving readers will be on the frontlines with me. Monster-sized thanks to all of you!

  If you enjoyed the book and want to help the fledgling Kaiju Thriller genre grow into something monstrous, please spread the word and post reviews at your online retailer and at Goodreads. Every single one makes a difference!