Feros and the Underworld Prince

by A. L. Bridges

  “Natasha… are you trying to make me friendless?” I ask with a halfhearted sternness.

  “You know me, Cole; I’m just trying to knock out the competition!” Natasha exclaims with a smile.

  “Ryuji, take Cole to the tech-lab and get him outfitted with anything he needs. Katie, let’s go introduce you to the Seattle research and development team.” Carla orders.

  All five of us walk to the elevator. Carla and Katie get off on the -3 floor while Ryuji, Natasha, and I take the elevator down to -5.

  “HAREM KING FEROS COMING THROUGH! HIDE YOUR LOLIS! HIDE YOUR IMOUTOS! HIDE YOUR CATGIRLS TOO ‘CAUSE HE RAPIN’ ER’BODY UP IN HERE!” Ryuji shouts as we step out of the elevator and onto the dark blue carpet of the room that resembles an office. I see a total of eight people down here: two women and six men in cubicles.

  “Hey, that’s slander dude! I don’t go around raping anybody!” I say loudly as I notice that one of the women is wearing cat ears and is trying to stealthily take them off.

  “Fine, I retract my ‘rapin’ er’body’ statement but still, HIDE YOUR LOLIS! HIDE YOUR IMOUTOS! HIDE YOUR CATGIRLS TOO ‘CAUSE THEY WILL MOST LIKELY LEAVE YOU FOR HIM!” Ryuji reiterates as we reach a glass door that leads to a section of the floor that is a sterile white and appears to be an armory.

  “Anyway, let’s get down to things you will need for the mission. You will most likely need night vision, thermal vision, tactical armor, submachine gun, combat knife, grenades, C-4, and… radio earpiece.” Ryuji says while piling the items onto the table.

  “Actually none of those will be necessary, except for the radio… never mind, I just realized that I won’t be able to use it with my special helmet. Make sure that Natasha gets one though so I have some way to relay information to you guys.” I say.

  “Yes, your highness!” Ryuji replies seriously.

  “Stop that…” I respond.

  “Cole, can you port Katie back home before the mission?” Carla asks as she walks in with Katie.

  “Sure, are you ready to go now Katie?” I ask.

  “Yeah, can you port me back to my room at the sorority house?” Katie requests.

  I port Katie back to her room and wait an awkward minute before porting to my room. I quickly change into my armored suit and strap my holster over it. I decide to leave my left Diamond sword behind; I most likely won’t use it so it will just be in the way. I return to the armory to find Natasha being outfitted.

  …

  Chapter 16: The Finer Things in Life

  [September 14th]

  “Oh Cole, you take me to the nicest places! This is kind of romantic, isn’t it? A moonlit walk through concrete corridors that smell of piss where numerous enemies may be awaiting us around every corner! How about you throw me up against that wall and we have sex right now!?” Natasha thinks as she rubs her breasts against my left arm.

  “You know, I don’t have feeling in that arm anymore so what you are doing is completely ineffective.” I reply, not mentioning the fact it is also ineffective because of the armored vest she is wearing. I’m wearing my armored suit with my left arm unwrapped and my helmet engaged.

  “I wouldn’t say that it’s completely ineffective…” Natasha softly thinks.

  “Why are you treating this like it’s a haunted house or something?” I ask as I peek around a corner to check for enemies and then for traps as a precaution (even though it’s mostly just wishful thinking that I have the capability to see laser sensors because I can see auras).

  “I’m just nervous I guess… I’ve heard stories about the enhanced vampires and the mortality rate against them is really high, Cole. Every time our forces go up against them, we always lose at least one operator for every enhanced super that we take down. You’ve been up against them, how fast and strong are they?” Natasha asks, her level of anxiety becoming more noticeable.

  “They’re easily as strong and as fast as the Daeva, but not as fast as Tia.” I think to her; there’s no use trying to bullshit her. I feel her tense up next to me.

  “Don’t worry; I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you.” I whisper in her ear.

  “No… Cole, these vampires are faster than the reports and the werewolves are fast as well. There are two waiting down the next corridor, you fired five shots and they dodged all of them. You finally get a hit when they are about thirty feet away, but the two bullets that don’t miss, don’t slow them down. Our forces will be decimated in the next five minutes.” Natasha whispers in a panic, making me realize that her tensing was because of a vision.

  “Contact the base and tell them to have everyone fall back. Tell them to equip all of the USAS-12 combat shotguns that are available; those should have enough stopping power. If there aren’t enough shotguns, have them use any assault rifles that are loaded with 7.62mm rounds and tell them to aim for the legs to slow them down.” I say while gesturing to the automatic shotgun that is hanging from a strap by Natasha’s right arm. She touches a button on her vest and starts relaying the instructions as I wait for her.

  Suddenly two vampires with red auras rush around the corner armed with twin short swords; they must have heard us speaking because it’s unlikely that Natasha’s premonition was this wrong. I meet them about twenty feet from my previous position with my gun and Diamond sword drawn, cursing myself for not bringing my second one. I block the right vampire’s blades with the Diamond sword as I block one of the left vampire’s blades with my gun, while the other blade comes down on my left elbow. The blade breaks on my diamond-hard arm; I use the vampire’s surprise to turn my gun and drill two rounds into his head.

  I hear Natasha scream behind me, accompanied by the sound of automatic shotgun fire. The vampire I’m blocking uses Natasha’s scream as a distraction to take a swing at my neck with one of her blades. I catch her sword in the disarm bar, rotate my gun, fire three rounds into her abdomen before shuffling to the side to allow her other sword to come down away from me while I bring my Diamond sword through her neck.

  “Drop your weapons or the girl dies!” an enemy shouts from twenty feet behind me. I spin around and see a werewolf on the ground that is in the process of pulling himself together after having his torso torn to shit by 12-gauge buckshot. The last surviving vampire is standing behind Natasha with his face near her jugular while his left arm is wrapped around her body and his right arm wields Natasha’s USAS-12; why hold someone at gun point when you can just rip out their throat with your fangs?

  “Natasha, when I set my weapons on the ground, I need you to break his hold and drop down.” I think to her, assuming that her training when she was younger or her training as an operator has at least taught her basic moves like that. I get a determined look in response.

  “Hey, you’re the boss.” I say aloud as I slowly lower my weapons onto the floor.

  “Haha! Yeah that’s not going to work!” The vampire laughs at Natasha’s attempt to break his hold. She’s doing everything correctly, but he’s just too strong; he opens his mouth to bite into her neck.

  I flash forward, but I’m not quick enough to get there before the vampire pulls the trigger of the shotgun, which turns out to be advantageous. I side step around the shell and I grab the barrel with my right hand before directing it at the downed werewolf’s head. I reach out and grasp the vampire’s face with my left hand as his fangs scrape against Natasha’s neck.

  Natasha flies out of his grasp as I pick the vampire up by his temples and use my left hand to crush his skull like a carton of eggs. I walk over to Natasha and help her up with my non-gore-covered hand.

  “Are you alright?” I ask.

  “Yeah…” Natasha says, but it is rather obvious that she is shaken up.

  “You didn’t expect them to be that strong did you?” I guess.

  “Pretty much… I’ve fought against vampires, different types of weres, and snow elves, but none of them were that fast or that strong.” Natasha says quietly.

  “When we get back
home, I’ll train with you to see if you might be able to utilize my blood to enhance your speed and strength.” I tell her.

  “Fall back! Everyone retreat, now!” Natasha’s earpiece squawks with an accompaniment of gunfire.

  “I’m calling a full retreat!” Carla says over the radio while cutting the chatter from the other channels.

  “Well you heard the order; I’m going to go end this.” I tell her as I bend down and pick up my gun and Diamond sword.

  “Then I’m coming with you.” Natasha says while picking up her shotgun.

  “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger Natasha.” I argue as I holster my gun; it’s not going to do me much good here anyway.

  “And I’m not letting you go alone Cole!” Natasha says, determined. I sheathe my sword in preparation.

  “Alright…” I concede and flash forward to grab her before touching my triskele. I port us to the building that acts as an operations base, about four blocks away from the warehouse.

  “Now you aren’t letting me.” I say while pushing her into a chair.

  “COLE!” Natasha angrily screams as I sprint out of the building at full speed and head back to where we just were, blurring past the operators as they retreat.

  I walk down the corridor and take a left at the intersection, remembering the route to the central chamber from the maps that were displayed at a secondary briefing for mission personnel that was just before the start of the mission. I’m nearing the center and I still haven’t found any resistance. I walk up to the double doors that lead to the central chamber and listen in; It seems that all of the enemy forces have fallen back as well because there are too many heartbeats to count, definitely over thirty.

  “HURRY UP! WE NEED TO DESTROY ALL OF THE DATA BEFORE THEY REGROUP!” a male voice shouts.

  “But sir! What about the mission data?” a different male voice asks.

  “It’s already been backed up and sent back east.” The first male voice answers.

  “What about the girl?” a female voice asks.

  “Kill her. We can’t risk her falling into their hands and she is no longer needed.” The first male voice replies.

  Looks like that’s my queue to step in; I kick the doors in and stride into the room to find it full of red auras. I look over and see a female vampire drinking from the neck of a young girl. The young girl is wearing dirty light blue footy pajamas and is chained to the wall with a collar. She has silver hair and light blue eyes that darken as the life fades from them. She’s like a three year old version of Cheza…

  I hear a demonic roar before I blackout.

  …

  I regain control to find myself cradling the body of the young girl. The chain and collar are gone, her neck wound is gone, and her breathing and heartbeat are steady as she sleeps. I notice the cropped silver ears sticking out of the top of her head and a bushy silver tail. I focus my vision and scan her aura. Finding out that she is a werewolf isn’t all that surprising, but what is really surprising is the borderline of silver around her white outline. Given the silver in her aura with her physical appearance, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that this has to be Cheza’s half-sister and Fenrir’s daughter.

  I look around the room and I’m not surprised in the slightest by what I see, although I am a bit confused. Everyone is dead, that much is a given with me involved, but the condition of the bodies is what confuses me; the bodies are missing giant chunks from them, all in circular shapes. There’s a body about ten feet from me that only has a bowl shape from nipple level and up; there is no sign of the shoulders or head, but there are two severed arms nearby that have curved cuts in them. All of the cuts are perfect, as though they were made by my Mu-cutter, which is a possibility I wouldn’t rule out if it weren’t for the lack of body parts.

  (FOCUS! Remember what the leader said? This girl is somehow involved in all of this. What do you think a government agency that is desperately outclassed will do with her?)

  Airi is right; she’ll be experimented on to try and find a way to match the enhancements… I won’t allow her to go from one lab to another. She should go home to her mother, but chances are that her mother is already dead. I touch my triskele and port back to the house.

  “COLE! You scared the hell out of me! If you are going to port home, at least port to the front door!” Sara screams as I appear in the kitchen.

  “Sara, take this girl, get her cleaned up, and if anyone from The Agency asks, she isn’t here. I’ll explain later.” I quickly say.

  “Cole… I’m concerned. I know that you are trying to build a harem, but don’t you think she is a little young?” Tia asks in a completely serious tone.

  “I don’t have much time but a) I’m not starting a harem and b) I agree with you, Tia; that’s why I’m going to raise her.” I reply to Tia’s bullshit.

  I’m not sure where the whole ‘raise her’ thing came from, but it feels right and it sure works as a distraction for Tia and Sara, who both look like I just slapped them.

  “Congratulations! You are now both aunts/ grandmothers! I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I say and then I port to the operation’s base.

  “COLE! Are you alright!?” Natasha screams when I port in.

  “Yeah I’m just fine; don’t worry, the blood isn’t mine.” I tell her.

  “What blood?” Natasha asks.

  I look down and see that she’s right; there isn’t a drop of new blood on my black and silver suit. What the hell is going on? There had been blood everywhere in that room, so how am I not covered in it?

  “Never mind; anyway, the central chamber is clear and there shouldn’t be very many enemies left, if any at all.” I announce.

  Everyone around me looks completely stupefied, with the exception of Natasha. Carla recovers almost immediately.

  “Ahem… good work, Cole.” Carla says.

  “Thanks. I’m not too sure how much information you will be getting from the place though; they had been destroying data when I got there. I did overhear the leader say that all their data had been backed up and ‘sent back east,’ though.” I report.

  “We should be able to work with that information alone; thanks for the help, Cole.” Carla says with a smile, which seems to be slightly out of place.

  “Way to go, Feros! Carla only smiles when she’s extremely pleased. I’ve seen more years in The Agency than I have smiles from Carla!” Ryuji says as he pats my right shoulder.

  “This might just be a hunch, but couldn’t it be because she’s simply never happy to see you?” I ask. My statement gets laughs from Natasha, Carla, and a few brave souls from around the room; Yay! I’m making friends!

  “Despite the fact that Carla used magic to make it so I puked every time I heard the word ‘imouto’ so I wasn’t able to watch my shows or play my games for a whole week after I taped firecrackers to the light bulbs in her office for Chinese New Year, I know she loves me!” Ryuji insists.

  (Never underestimate the delusional prowess of the male otaku)

  Does that make Carla a witch?

  “Hey Natasha, is Carla a witch?” I think.

  “Yes, she is.” Natasha replies.

  “A witch that can use telepathy? Does that mean she knows that we can telepathically talk to each other?” I inquire.

  “She won’t know unless we continue to talk to each other because our faces will give it away.” Natasha replies.

  “I’d like to speak with both of you… in private.” Carla butts into our conversation, once again sounding more echoic than when I speak to Natasha.

  “Yes ma’am.” I reply aloud as Natasha looks a little pale. At least Carla hasn’t found out any of my more threatening secrets… yet…

  “Airi, please start screening my calls from Carla to ensure that she doesn’t overhear anything that I wouldn’t want her to know.”

  (Yes Mr. Treyfair… Umm, Mr. Treyfair?)

  “What is it Airi?”

  (We have a slight problem… or a bles
sing…)

  “*Sigh*… I’ll pay for it.”

  Natasha and I follow Carla back into an office. She ushers us in and closes the door behind us.

  “Natasha, how much of his scheme do you know about?” Carla asks. Natasha looks confused as I feel my face blanch.

  “Airi, throw up all barriers.”

  “Ma’am?” Natasha asks in confusion.

  “I know that he ported from the central chamber and was gone for just over a minute before he showed up in the operation center, which coincides with the time limit between porting.” Carla says.

  It seems that Carla doesn’t know about the girl yet so she must not be reading my mind and thankfully Natasha doesn’t know anything. Can she feel it when I port? Jason had said something about some people and items being able to detect porting within a mile. Well, she obviously knows about my time limitation when porting.

  “Natasha doesn’t know anything.” I say sternly while I glare at Carla.

  “Natasha, you are dismissed.” Carla orders while meeting my glare. Natasha looks uncertainly back and forth between Carla and me.

  “Please leave, Natasha.” I say without breaking eye contact with Carla. Natasha begrudgingly trundles out the door.

  “So, why is it that I can’t read you? There are very few beings that I’ve come across that I haven’t been able to read, Sara being one of them.” Carla asks as I remain silent.

  If it comes to down to it, I’ll kill her to protect that girl. I should be able to kill her and then quickly port out, but will Natasha be held accountable?

  “You aren’t a telepath yet you are still able to communicate with Natasha somehow… so, why don’t you explain yourself?” Carla asks.

  “I’m trying to decide whether or not I’m going to have to kill you to keep the girl safe.” I say with a serious tone. In her defense, Carla doesn’t even look scared.

  “Who did you find in the central lab? How is she connected to all of this?” Carla inquires.

  “A three year old girl that I’ve grown attached to. The leader placed an order to kill her because they couldn’t risk her falling into ‘our’ hands and that she was no longer needed, right before I stepped in.” I say while judging her reaction. It should be obvious to Carla that this girl is somehow involved in the creation of whatever is enhancing the enemy forces.