by SK Benton
"Heya Gabe. Been a while. Why so gloomy, man? You won the wager. She wanted you, not me, so here I am. Why don't you help them to find the kid? You actually did me a favor. I like this place."
Krynos dropped Michael, flinging him forward as he did so, making sure the unwilling angel landed on his face.
"My sons, did you wager on the affections… of a female?" asked Draagh unbelievably.
"She is one of our kind. Not a monkey such as these," responded Gabriel.
"Are you calling me a monkey?" Jennie demanded of her uncle-in-law.
"You are inferior, yes, that is true, but the ones with which my fallen brother surrounds himself are even lesser beings than you, my niece."
"Piss off, Gabriel. You don't impress me as anything amazing or wonderful. To me, you're just an arrogant guy with wings who-"
In a blur, Gabriel had Jennie's throat in his right hand before she could finish her sentence, but had not counted on the fact that there was a large, and extremely strong lycan king a mere two meters to his side - a lycan king who considered Jennie Gunnarsson much like a daughter. Before he could utter a sound, Gabriel felt a powerful blow to his temple, causing him to release the lycan woman, as he flew into a tree that most ungraciously stopped his motion.
"None shall touch the beautiful warrior Jennie Gunnarsson. Not even an archangel. I gladly sacrifice my life to keep my word," roared Krynos as he prepared to charge a stunned Gabriel.
"Oh man, this is good! Sunny, load up my bong, baby. I'm going to enjoy this," whispered Michael, as he crawled off to the side, not wanting to be trampled by what was becoming quite a turn of events.
Jennie pulled out her stinger and laid a quick 50 rounds into Gabriel's chest as he went to get up at the base of the tree. The only thing it did was shred Gabriel's camouflage jacket - his skin was as prefect and white as the day he was made. Realizing it was as fruitless as the time she tried to shoot Draagh in Machu Picchu, she pulled out her katana as Bagatelle ran to her side - the brother not wanting to die, but fully realizing that it was inevitable unless Draagh intervened. The campers, too loaded to even move properly, simply stood and watched as the beings fought - each one fully capable of destroying the entire campsite in one way or another. Fortunately, the children were some few hundred meters away in an open field as they played with magical toys that Liliana had created for their enjoyment. The little girl, however, being a lycan, had amazing hearing and knew what was going on. She was torn between going to investigate and keeping the children safe, but she chose the latter - for the time being.
Luckily for Jennie and Bagatelle, Draagh slammed his staff into the ground, freezing everyone in place - even Gabriel, as he glared at his team and then at Michael, who was stuck in a ridiculous pose with a waterpipe up to his face and eyes crossed, motionless in the middle of inhaling the pungent smoke.
"Enough! You shall all stop now! Jennie, you shall sheath your sword. Krynos, stay your hand. Gabriel, no more! And Michael, put down that infernal pipe."
The ancient mage waited a moment, and then released everyone. To his surprise, everyone did exactly as he ordered.
"Apologies are in order. Gabriel, we start with you."
"What? I must apologize - for what?"
"We aren't monkeys, Gabriel. We may not have wings and be able to travel the stars in the blink of an eye, but we are definitely not monkeys," yelled Jennie as she rubbed her throat where the archangel previously had her in a potentially deadly grip.
"You are correct, Jennie. I am sorry. It is just that I see what a waste my brother has become, and I resent him for it. Now, shall Krynos apologize for blind-siding me?"
"I am only sorry that I did not cause you to suffer more pain, Archangel. You sought to bring harm to Jennie, and for that there is no excuse."
"Okay, that is kind of an apology," responded Gabriel, knowing he did act in a rash fashion towards the beautiful lycan female.
"I am sorry I shot you Gabriel. I'm sure it didn't even bother you at all, anyway," said Jennie.
"Actually, my niece, it still stings. For a mortal weapon it is quite impressive. What is it called?"
As everyone in the group started talking to each other in a more civilized manner, some laughter even broke out and Draagh saw that frayed nerves were starting to mend. They still had to deal with Michael, who was over in the corner loading up another bong hit, but Draagh had a trump card up his sleeve and was about to put it to good use. He walked over and brusquely picked Michael up by the collar of his tunic, steering him out of the campsite, while Jennie showed Gabriel her stinger, and Bagatelle and Krynos traded tips on power punching.
Liliana sat in the open, grassy field with her group of admirers, performing little tricks that really didn't accomplish a whole lot, but looked impressive in any case. The cantus that the children liked best was the one where Liliana took some common insects and transformed them into a larger, more attractive bug that did movements on command. She had magically and genetically programmed a simple core language into the creature's system which resembled the machine language of Earth's late 20th century. Machine was a language that was used to make wired and wireless remote controls for commanding devices such as drones and terrain-based toys, so it was perfectly appropriate for her natural creation. Children took turns making the odd creature do flips and jumps on command.
Michael watched the young lycan with great interest for some minutes before the girl even noticed that her great-grandfather had returned with someone in tow.
"Grandfather Draagh! You are back!" she called out happily, but then quickly grew a look of sadness, as it had appeared that he did not find the one they were searching for. In fact, she believed that Michael was just another disheveled camper.
"My dear Liliana, please my child, come over here. I require your assistance."
Liliana looked over at the kids and said, "Okay kids, our playtime has come to an end, and we need to let the bugs go back to what they were."
The children let out audible sounds of disappointment as Liliana blinked at the oddly built creature, causing it to fall back into the separate entities from which it had been created. Michael looked at his father with an expression of pleasant surprise, nodding his head as he said, "Who is she, Father? She is obviously lycan, but also a minor-mage?"
Liliana skipped up to the two and then curtseyed to the new arrival.
"Good morning, sir. I am Liliana Gunnarsson, daughter of Jennie and Max, and I am a mage - at your service."
Michael tried not to snort with laughter, finding her mannerisms to be so precious. He set down on one knee, bringing himself at eye level with the girl, as he bowed his head slightly.
Liliana? It is a pleasure to meet you. So, you say that you are the daughter of Jennie and Max? Then, that would make me your… grandfather. Max is my son, you see, and…"
"Max and Jennie are my adoptive parents, so I cannot claim blood relation to you, kind sir."
Looking up to Draagh, Liliana then plainly stated, "So Grandfather, I am to assume that this is the Michael we were seeking, and that our mission was a success?"
"Well, my dear. Yes, it is he who we sought out, but the mission… well, the mission has not been successful," responded Draagh with a sad tone to his voice.
"How so, Grandfather? I see him standing here in front of us. Is it due to the quarreling I heard while I was caring for the children?"
"No Liliana. It is that Michael does not wish to help us. He wants to stay here."
The little girl looked up at Michael with giant, glassy eyes filled with sadness. It was a look that no being with any bit of compassion could resist.
"You… do not wish to… help? Why? My father is missing. Why would you not want to find your own son?"
"My dear granddaughter - it is that I have a good life here and I long ago tired of being what I once was - a violent being who only sought battle and-"
Before he could finish, Liliana's glassy-eyed look of sadness turned into a
face of extreme rage and concentration. Thrusting her hand out, she screamed, "Electrincantatio quassatio!" blasting Michael off into the sky, and watching as he landed in a heap on the far side of the field.
"Oh my, Liliana. Have you been practicing your cantus enhancement techniques?" Draagh asked with a bit of amusement. "That was quite impressive."
"Yes, Grandfather. Was it not excellent how I launched him such a great distance? And without the use of a levitation cantus, either! Shall I disintegrate his clothing while he hangs upside-down from a tree and we allow fire ants to consume his flesh?" she morbidly responded while wearing a smile of total satisfaction.
"Oh no, my dear, that will not be necessary. I believe he absorbed the message," Draagh said, trying not to show his concern for Liliana's apparent ease at which she concocted torturous retribution.
The little girl was quite proud of herself, and for good reason. She had already surpassed most adult minor-mages with her innate abilities and was delving deeply into the full capabilities of magic, thanks to Draagh's tutoring. The two then walked over to Michael, whose clothing was still smoking from the charge of Liliana's blast.
"My son, I would like for you to again meet your granddaughter, Liliana Gunnarsson. As you can see, she is hell-bent on finding her father, so I would recommend cooperation, lest we leave her here in your care. I am sure she could find all sorts of experimental magic to use upon your attractive visage, rendering you quite undesirable to all of your… wives."
"Yes, like releasing things on you that crawl up your butt and eat your guts and-"
"Liliana, my dear, that will be quite enough. I believe this is where we give Michael a chance to respond," said the old mage.
Michael stood up, with a bit of difficulty, and looked at the little lycan girl who had just basically beat him like a wet rag with a mere mention of two words. Liliana glared at him, her arms crossed and lips pursed tightly.
"Oh please, Grandfather, I would be more than willing to practice on Max's father here. After all, if we cannot find my father, I will only desire to inflict pain and suffering on anyone who ever had anything to do with his disappearance - and that includes anyone who refused to help find him. How does that sound to you, father of my father? And… what shall I call you? If you refuse to assist us I shall call you… road kill. No, how about I simply eliminate you if you do not assist us?"
"Now Liliana, my dear, we do not kill people. Only those who would do us harm," advised Draagh.
"I'll help," squeaked Michael with a tone of resignation to his voice. "After all, who could refuse the gracious request of such a lovely and talented young lady?"
"You simply desire to continue living… Grandfather Michael," the cute little girl said with a triumphantly menacing tone.
Jennie, Krynos, Bagatelle and Gabriel had left camp and walked out to the field where Draagh, Liliana and Michael were standing. Upon seeing them approach, Liliana happily ran and practically jumped into Gabriel's arms, the archangel awkwardly holding the girl before gently setting her down.
"Tio! Grandfather Michael said he is going to help us!" the little girl yelped with a voice of total innocence.
"And how did you come to make this pass, little one?" asked Krynos.
"She kicked my ass. See? My tunic is ruined. And then she said she was going to let things crawl up my butt and eat me alive," complained the powerless Taxiarch as he pointed to burn marks on his roughly-woven cotton shirt.
"It was an electrical cantus, and quite impressive I must say," added Draagh. "I threatened to leave her here with Michael for further magical experimentation if he did not comply with our wishes."
Jennie looked at her daughter with masked pride, knowing that Draagh would have never left the girl alone on a strange world in order to wantonly torture her grandfather, but at the same time found the threat rather amusing.
"So Gabriel, it seems that you have become close with my granddaughter," stated Michael while showing a bit of angst in his voice.
"Uncle Gabriel is not afraid of who he is, father of my father. He helped us to find you, so that you could help us to find my father. He has been gone for quite some time and needs our help."
"Yes I have, Michael. For a mon…mage, she is quite amazing, but Father has a need of your genetics. I only hope that they have not been damaged due to your constant abuse of that infernal plant."
Gabriel almost slipped and said monkey, and Jennie knew it, but let it pass. Some habits are sometimes hard to break - especially Gabriel's that went back hundreds of thousands of years.
"I believe I am quite well, thank you very much. So, I understand you are acquiring your own world, if I heard correctly. Good for you! My son must be pretty darned important for our father to agree to give a psychopath like you his own planet in order to find me. Chalk it up to genetics, dear brother-"
In a flash, Gabriel shot over and physically pinned the powerless angel up against a large redwood tree, a massive, clawed hand digging at his throat.
"You shall assist Father in his mission, and he shall do for me that which Jah had denied."
"Yes, Gabriel. We made an arrangement, and you shall have your world. In fact, I believe I have already picked it out, but first things first. Let him go. Now," commanded Draagh.
Gabriel released his brother, and then looked at him scornfully.
"I only do this for your children. The females are quite… amazing. I am also certain that your son is… adequate. As he is technically my nephew - something I have never had during my entire existence, I believe I should like to meet him. Erm… again. You should also want the same, Brother."
"Oh, I do! I most certainly do, but I would like to properly meet the others in this rescue party," Michael managed to choke out, as he rubbed his neck.
"Michael, please meet Krynos, king of the Rhönen Dominion of the 43rd century. This is where your son trained and is also young Liliana's home. Over here is Rear Admiral Luigi Bagatelle, the brother of the amazing woman whom we know as Jennie Gunnarsson," said Draagh.
Jennie and Bagatelle waved to Michael, who looked around at everyone, especially impressed by Krynos' large size, and even more so by Liliana's use of magic that he had earlier witnessed.
"So, as I have yet to brief my son on our mission, I believe it is in the best interest of all involved that we return to Krynos' castle at this time," the old Primulus continued.
The entire group walked back to the campsite so that Michael could make proper goodbyes to his friends. After wiping the tears from the faces of a number of women, he collected a couple of belongings, one of them being a rather large waterpipe. That didn't go off too well, as Liliana glared at him and made multiple glances at the ground, so he reluctantly set the pipe down with some resignation.
"Um, King Krynos," Michael asked quietly, "I assume there is a lot of meat served in your land, am I correct?"
"But of course, good man!" boomed the lycan king. "In fact, tonight I believe we have not only beef, but also caribou on the menu!"
"Thank the stars," exclaimed Michael, who had not eaten animal protein in over two decades. Gabriel had made sure that Michael was on a world where animal flesh and byproducts were indigestible by humans, thereby only facilitating a vegan lifestyle.
Liliana ran over to the children whom she had befriended, giving them all hugs (while holding her breath), and then ran over to the porridge thief from earlier and again wagged her finger at him, saying, "Hey loser, you had better feed the kids before hitting the pipe in the morning. I shall find out if you do not, and then I will come back and make you into a giant bug that the children can push around. ¿Entendés?"
The man stared at her with a look of abject terror and slowly nodded his head as he watched her turn around and skip back to her group - just like a little girl - who commanded nature… and thrashed grown men with mere words.
Chapter 16 - Welcome Home, Mickey
The team appeared in the same field out in front of the castle from w
hich they had earlier departed, and as usual, Liliana went to take the newly-arrived to see various things, the first being her pet sharks. Krynos allowed the little girl to claim the sharks as her pets, partly because she gave them attention and feeding, but also due to the fact that she had basically saved his kingdom a year before. Liliana got a lot of leeway, even when castle servants ended up in the burn ward. Jennie, however, was not so forgiving, but this time she allowed her daughter to drag her new grandfather (even though he looked like an uncle at best) to see her pet fishies and the rest of the castle. It was early in the day, so there was plenty of time to secure quarters for the archangel. Still, he was hungry, so he leaned down and whispered into the girl's ear, "Liliana, I am so hungry. Could we please first go and get something to eat, and then I promise to go everywhere with you?"
"Of course… um… what shall I call you?"
"Well, I never really thought about that. Here is an old name I know of - how about Saba?"
"That sounds silly. I shall call you Michael," she responded matter-of-factly.
"Sounds good to me. Now how about some food?" Michael asked as he salivated from the thought of delicious plates of meat.
Liliana was about to answer when a massive Great White breached from the moat, prompting the archangel to grab the girl and jump back.
"Why does everyone do that?" she cried out, pushing him away. "They are pets! Let us go eat. We shall come back and feed them once our hunger has been satisfied."
Michael looked over at his brother Gabriel, who was stifling a snicker as he shrugged his shoulders. Then, spreading wings out wide and upward, he shot up into the air at blinding speed, creating a mild shockwave behind him.
"I remember having those," Michael pined, wishing he had his abilities back already.
The team, minus Gabriel, sat in the main dining hall casually eating, but at the same time being entertained by Michael's voracious appetite. He hadn't consumed any animal protein in a quarter century, and was severely lacking; made evident by his lean musculature. Liliana would occasionally stop him and show how she used her eating utensils, like a civilized lycan, and urged him to do the same. He just grinned and kept stuffing delicious, steaming chunks of barely-cooked animal flesh into his mouth, his body readily accepting the nutrition and almost visibly filling out, as if everyone was watching a time-lapse vid.
