by SK Benton
Draagh nodded in agreement with his son's words, still unsure whether his experiment would work. He hoped, for Jennie and Liliana's sakes that it would.
Michael spent the rest of the morning slipping about the castle with his father's staff, and then worked on practicing his own rusty cantus skills. By lunchtime he felt he had polished up enough to take a break, and to join Liliana in feeding her precious sharks. Fortunately, vampire wasn't on the menu that day, so he didn't have to watch as a sentient being fled for its life along a predefined death course. They simply threw sides of beef into the water, watching as it all disappeared below the murky turbulence.
"Well, that was certainly enlightening," the archangel said in a droll fashion. He was still uncertain if he should worry about Liliana or he should let her into his inner circle, so he kept her at a slight arm's length, and she knew it. What he didn't realize was that she was also analyzing his character, and was not certain he was the right material to be around her parents.
In essence, they did not trust each other, but he wanted the entirety of his powers back, probably as badly as she wanted the return of her father. It was fair trade, in any case.
###
"My Lord, I am pleased that you are going to assist in the rescue mission, if Draagh indeed can locate Max," said Jennie as she sat at the high table with the king.
"My dear Jennie, I run this kingdom and have many duties, but you and Max have been like children to me. I go not only because I want to get some fresh air, but also because I desire to help extract the unfortunate lad from his current predicament, whatever it may be."
Jennie felt her heart warm a bit after hearing Krynos' kind words. She was still a bit hesitant about bringing Liliana, but was leaning towards her being able to go with them.
"On another note, I believe that within the next three moons you will be able to join us instead of occupying a cell."
"Yes, that would be fantastic. I'm still struggling with the language, but I can at least get the message across," responded the lycan woman. "I swear, once we get Max back I'm going to work with him on it. He was always so good with linguistics."
Liliana walked in and curtseyed to her mother and the king. Krynos motioned for her to approach the table, so she promptly jumped up and took a seat next to her mother.
"I am excited to go on the mission for Max. King Krynos, may I be assigned with your team?"
The little girl knew how to pull strings, a fact of which her mother was well aware. Krynos' eyes grew bright as he smiled.
"Young lady, it would be my honor. We shall fight to find your father - together. And when we bring him home we shall have a celebration that will last a fortnight."
Michael walked into the main dining hall and saw Jennie, Liliana and Krynos seated at the high table. Being new to the Rhönen Dominion, Michael cautiously approached the high table and bowed majestically before Krynos and his guests.
"My Lord Krynos. It is good to see you again," said the powerless Taxiarch.
"Michael! Welcome! Please, have a seat with us. It is not often that one can dine with one of the most powerful beings in the universe."
"Um, I'm not… powerful anyway, my liege," the archangel said quietly.
"Nonsense, my boy!" bellowed the king as he stood up and slapped Michael on the back. "You shall soon be in full control of all your faculties, thanks to your father. Why, he told me so himself!"
"King Krynos!" yelped Jennie, "we weren't supposed to reveal that information!"
"It is perfectly fine, mi yerna," said Michael, "as I was aware of my father's intentions from the beginning. My abilities shall be restored once we have secured the rescue of your husband."
"And rescued he shall be!" boomed Draagh, as he entered the dining hall. "We are going to find Max and bring him home."
"But what if your idea doesn't work, Father? What if I have been damaged beyond repair and your scheme fails?"
"Then we shall continue to look, Brother. We shall not stop. I have spent centuries despising the mon… the humans, but I have gained a new outlook, mainly thanks to these two amazing girls," Gabriel said, to everyone's surprise. He had been travelling across the entire European continent and had arrived at that very moment.
"Hello, Brother. How were your travels?" asked Michael, only noticing Gabriel's arrival via his interjection in their conversation.
"Enlightening, Michael. Did you know that there is a massive quadrinium operation along the Pyrenees mountain range?"
"Quadrinium? Where is this Pyrenees?" demanded Krynos.
"Far from here, King Krynos," stated the newly arrived archangel. "Well outside the reach of your kingdom. But you may indeed meet those in charge and perhaps form an alliance."
"That does sound excellent, my good archangel," responded Krynos, in a grateful tone.
"So, hearing your conversation, I believe that there is something we can do to ensure a lack of further loss."
"What's that, what do you mean?" asked Jennie.
Gabriel held a small medallion out in his hand, giving it to Michael, who awkwardly accepted it from his estranged brother.
"You are important to us - to our family, Michael. This will enable me to keep track of your location no matter where you are. So, in case Father's ghanlo rejects you, we will not lose your location."
Michael nodded and thanked Gabriel, putting the medallion in his pocket.
###
Later that day, in the early evening, everyone gathered for dinner so they could discuss final plans for the following day. Everyone agreed that Draagh and Michael would try to replicate Max's attempt at returning to Machu Picchu, with Gabriel monitoring from The Hub. In case Draagh's staff hurled Michael out on his own, at least they would be able to immediately go to his location. In either case, once wherever Michael was sent had been identified (if he indeed was not sent to Max's ship), Gabriel would join the two and do a bit of recon before Draagh went back to the Rhönen Dominion to retrieve the rest of the team, which was to include Jennie, Bagatelle, Krynos, Donus and Liliana.
Being a small girl with a nascent fashion sense, Liliana insisted that the team have matching battle gear. Krynos thought the idea to be adorable - until he saw her sketches -which included shark logos on their backs. To make it worse, the sharks had ribbons tied around their heads. Krynos commended the girl for her efforts (and her artwork), but made the suggestion that it would be better to keep low profiles and not have fancy logos. The little girl hid her disappointment well, but the king could see that she felt her contribution was inadequate, so he promised her that he would later allow her to design training uniforms for his new Youth Brigade of young lycan trainees. This caused her to cheer up substantially, and she happily sat next to her mother as the rest of the team discussed more critical issues.
"We have no idea what we'll be up against, if we indeed do arrive in Max's precise space/time location. It could be a land much like where Michael was living - peaceful, yet dangerously inaccessible, or it could be completely violent. I cannot stress too much that we shall need to be ever vigilant," Draagh stated in his typically eloquent fashion.
"I like the fact that everyone is positive we'll find Max," said Jennie, who was looking much more hopeful than ever in the past few days. Draagh watched her, hoping for her sake, more than anyone's, that they were indeed successful.
"I am glad to be of assistance, especially as it involves the Gunnarsson family, all of whom I consider to be next of kin. And that also includes you, Bagatelle," said Donus, surprising the former rear admiral.
"At what time shall we arise, then?" asked Michael.
"I believe 6 a.m. shall be sufficient. We meet here for breakfast and then we begin," said Draagh.
Chapter 19 - Loose Ends
Waking up at 7 a.m., Max looked around the small room he had occupied since he was violently tossed into his current world from the Rhönen Dominion. He was going to miss it - a bit - but he was prepared to move on. It would have been eas
y to stay where he was; everyone loved him, and he could certainly earn his keep, but he had to get back to his family and then to his home world. He knew staying in Seven Sins wouldn't help in the least.
Max walked downstairs and smelled breakfast being prepared. Entering the kitchen quietly he saw Jessica merrily preparing the morning meal. She was quite happy, as he had spent the past couple of days teaching her to cook edible meals. He heard some pounding out from the bar area, and peeked out to see Adam crushing coffee beans for their morning beverage. It was nice seeing someone who had been such a pain before finally being part of the clan and contributing. Max was all about contributions - he would practically bend over backwards for anyone who helped.
"Morning, mate. Slept well, didja?" asked the height-challenged clan leader, Dons.
"Hey Dons, yeah, I am well-rested."
"So, is today the day? You gonna take off and try to find home?"
"That's the plan. I'd like to get started, but I gotta tell you, it's been good here. Thanks for everything you've done for me. Anyone else would've tried to kill me in my sleep -"
The two looked over at the bar where Adam was smashing frozen java beans, prompting them to start laughing, gaining Adam's attention.
"Morning, gents," the fake mage said kindly, "coffee will be up soon. Anything else for you while you wait?"
"I'm good, Adam, but thanks. What about you, Dons?"
"I'm good too, thanks, mate."
Adam gave Max a sincere look, causing him to figure that something was up. "Um… Max, I was wondering. I know you are leaving soon, but could you put my wand back to where it was before you go? I kinda depend on it to… survive, ya know?"
Max nodded, pitying Adam slightly. The fellow had street smarts for sure, and while his self-opinion was a bit inflated, Max was relatively certain that the man could contribute to the clan and not cause further issues. He figured he would probably never see these people again (if he managed to get home), but did desire to leave them in the best shape possible.
"Sure, Adam, I'll fix you right up. You've been doing great and you deserve it. Just remember - no funny stuff, got it?"
Adam looked at the two and nodded. "No worries. I don't wanna sound lame, but I kinda like this new arrangement. Makes me feel like a better person."
Jessica came streaming out of the kitchen, crying her eyes out. She had burnt breakfast and was freaking out, but Max popped up and went back to see the mess she had made. Once she had explained everything, Max attempted to calm her down.
"Hey Jess, no big deal. Let me see if I can track this back a bit."
"What do you mean, Max? Track it back a bit?" asked Dons.
"Yeah - a bit of a backup in time to right before where it started to burn. Pretty easy to do," he said.
Adam's expression changed to something… different. It was like a light bulb went off above his head.
"Max, can I ask you something?"
"Sure Adam, what's that?"
"If you have the ability to command time itself, why don't you just go back to before where you came here? Wouldn't that get you home?"
Max stood in place, stunned. Not only had he not thought of that, but someone for whom he had no intellectual respect brought it up.
"Woah…you know, Adam, that's a great idea. Honestly, I never considered it. All of the complexities in the universe and you come up with a simple yet direct solution. Good work." Max smiled sincerely at the fake mage, causing Adam to be slightly pleased with himself.
Max went into the kitchen and used a cantus to create a time bubble. This was necessary to contain the space/time manipulation in a specific area and not affect the entire club… or city. He then performed his cantus to track back roughly seven minutes - right before Jessica started to ignore her food. Instantly, everything was perfect. As Max released the time bubble, the smell of delicious breakfast again wafted through the air. Everyone simply shook their heads; they were so amazed at Max's abilities, and were a bit sad, because they knew he needed to leave soon.
Sitting back down in the bar area, Max started to formulate a plan. Adam was right - by creating a fairly complex cantus to deal with space/time, he could send himself back. However, he did want to see what the northerly pull he felt was, but first things first. He was hungry, and Jessica's repaired breakfast smelled delicious.
"Jess, you gonna pay more attention to the food in the future, eh?" asked Dons, prompting the girl to nod her head while wearing a silly grin.
"Hey boss, I'll make sure she watches things. Hell, I'll be there helping her," said Adam.
Just then, Pandy rambled into the bar.
"Morning everyone! Food smells great and I'm famished!"
"Heya, sis, slept well?" asked Jessica.
"You know it," said Pandy, as she winked at Dons.
Jessica had long suspected that Pandy and Dons were having a bit of fun in private, but she always chose to not say anything. As long as it didn't affect their sisterly relationship and their ability to work together she didn't care. She also knew that Adam had a massive crush on her, but she wasn't going to have any part of that - she found him a bit creepy and not very attractive. However, she would accept his help in the kitchen without complaint. She was a survivor, and had done much worse in the past, so that didn't even faze her in the least. Pandy, on the other hand, was still young, and although she was also lycan, she was roughly the same age as Dons - and she had much less life experience than Jessica. Much less.
"Heya Maxie, thanks so much for getting that nasty demon tracker out of me, hun. I really appreciate it," gratefully commented the younger of the two lycan girls.
"No worries, Pandy - it's all good. I just wanted everyone to have even odds when dealing with the alien parasites," replied Max. "In my timeline those bastards murdered the world of my ancestors and then left. At least here you all can make them suffer a bit for what they've done, right?"
"That's the plan, Max," said Jessica, as she laid plates of food out before everyone.
Feral Kids (plus Max) plowed down their food and coffee, unaware of the danger that was approaching, because at that moment a very odd, mutated being was skittering southbound on Brand Boulevard, looking for someone named Max Gunnarsson.
The day wore on, and Max was regretting the fact that he had to leave. He really believed he could teach them a whole lot more, but he had to get back to his wife and daughter, and eventually to his home world. Assuaging his guilt, he busied himself with tasks around the club, easily fixing things with magic, this time not being careful to mask his abilities, and simply power-housing his way through getting things done. It wasn't long before the club was disturbed with a loud, booming voice.
"Where's Max Gunnarsson? I'm going to kill him! Bastard!"
"Dons looked up to see a ragged figure in the doorway, its clothing was shredded to ribbons, making it look like it was a scarecrow that had just been run through a wood chipper.
"Oy mate, what's the issue, eh? Whatcha want with Maxie?"
"He didn't fix me! That bastard didn't do shit! I was just attacked by some demons and they almost killed me! Where is he! I want a refund!"
Marko was visibly upset, having just barely escaped with his life, but no one felt any sympathy for him - he was that much of a jerk.
"You get no refund, mate. He didn't charge a dime. We charged a small fee for organization, so if you want your money back from us that's fine."
"I think I'm owed a whole lot more, you little dick!" yelled the rude lycan.
"Marko, you should come inside, calm down and discuss this with us," said Jessica.
"Screw you, bitch!" screamed Marko. But he barely got the words out of his mouth when Jessica used one of her new, powerful abilities that Max had embedded into her bracelet. By simply pointing at him and muttering a cantus, she caused him to fly out the door and land on his head roughly 50 meters away.
Pandy jumped up and down, clapping her hands, kind of like a little girl.
&nbs
p; "Oh my god, that was so cool! I gotta try. Where is he?"
"Waaaay out there… he hasn't moved yet… oh, there he goes! He's up… aaaaand he looks pissed off too," Jessica stated comically, causing everyone to laugh. Pandy then darted out of the bar, and giggling madly, hung him upside down and slammed his head into a large container full of putrid wastewater, causing him to nearly vomit from the stench.
"Hey Marko! If you were on a boat it would be your turn in the barrel, ha ha ha ha!" Pandy squealed as she repaid the abusive local for his many years of bullying. He was no longer a threat to the clan, even if any of them were caught alone. It was just another great thing Max had done to help them, even though he didn't feel like it was any big deal. For Max it was simply something he could easily do, and he was glad to assist.
Pandy returned to the bar and plopped down next to Jessica, as they, plus Max, then relaxed and enjoyed some beers while the local denizens started to wake up and mill about.
A few kilometers to the northeast, the mutated human known as Kylen walked into a filthy little storefront, startling the owner with his perverse appearance. He was a unique being, and if someone had never seen him before then they would most certainly be frightened out of their wits. Even in a world of Vrol and other odd hominids, Kylen was terrifying. His six legs were scary enough, but it was the mouth in his abdomen that was truly disturbing.
The obscene creature looked at the small storeowner - a normal named Bob (as could be discerned by the ramshackle sign above the entrance, which said Bob's Shop), who had some ancient (and most probably expired) canned goods on his shelves, along with some dried meats in large glass jars. Kylen approached Bob and looked at him with a curious expression, almost as if he were reading the man's mind, which he was not. He was analyzing the weak human - as he did with all of his prey, which was virtually everyone he met.
