THE VROL TRILOGY

by SK Benton

  Max set the woman down on a cot and, performing a complex cantus that created a time bubble around the woman's midsection, similar to the time bubble he had created around Jessica's burnt breakfast. But this one was in the opposite direction, and exacerbated the growth of the fetus inside her womb. He brought the child to term in a matter of 20 minutes, and then extracted it via a no-touch Caesarean section. Wrapping the newborn baby, a female, in blankets, he consumed some of Lykanrol's food, attempting to bring his stamina and magic timeout levels back up a bit before taking off, but not before causing Sheeva to join her clan mates in oblivion - much in the same manner as Indie. It was quick and painless.

  Max was now a messenger of death, even though he cherished life.

  ###

  Arriving at the encampment that Lykanrol had earlier plundered, Max was recognized by the group leader. He seemed to be a nice fellow, and Max smelled no ill-will, but the man still looked at the newcomer with a bit of caution..

  "Greetings, stranger. I remember your kind actions the other night, and honestly never thought we would see you again."

  "Look, I'm sorry for what happened, but I did at least seal the passageway that Lykanrol was using to raid your camp. My name is Max, by the way."

  "I am Jonathan, leader of our family. What is that you carry in your arms?"

  "It is a child. Lycan, female, left to die in the wilderness. I am unable to care for her, but I was wondering if you could…"

  "Of course, of course. We have a lycan couple that is barren, and I am certain they would welcome the child. Would you stay for a meal with us? We would like to ask some questions."

  "Certainly, but then I must depart. I have a number of people depending on my timely arrival."

  Max walked with Jonathan to the center of the encampment, which had been partially repaired. After meeting the very gracious couple that would raise the baby, Max used some of his unique skills and furthered their repairs, amazing everyone who saw. Mages were not common in that world, and Max made a mental note of finding out why there were magically-enabled objects, but no mages. It was odd, but he was sure there was an explanation.

  "So Max, what did you do to Lykanrol so that they will no longer attack us?" asked Jonathan.

  "I killed them, but only after they tried to kill me. I do not take death lightly, and I value life above all else, but they were bringers of destruction. They even paid a mutant to find and murder me. I couldn't take any more chances."

  Jonathan nodded his head in understanding. "Even though I abhor death, I do understand, and appreciate that what you only kill in the defense of the innocent. May I ask - is the child from their clan?"

  "No," Max lied, "I found her in a burnt-out building that had apparently been attacked by unknown forces."

  "Then how do you know the child is lycan?" asked Jonathan.

  "He is lycan. A very powerful one, too," said Jake, the new father of the orphaned child. "His scent is that of immense power. I've never heard of a lycan-mage before. How did you come about being as you are, sir?"

  "My mother is lycan and my father is… a very powerful mage, but I've never met him before. I didn't even know I was either until about a year ago. You see, where I am from there is no magic or enhanced genetics in humans. Our skills are inhibited due to a frequency shift on my planet, and…"

  "Planet? You are from a different planet? How is this possible?" asked Jake.

  "Jake, there are many worlds in the galaxy, and there are even more timelines. This happens to be a fortunate timeline, as mankind was allowed to live. The demons, in the skies, are actually an alien race called the Vrol. In my timeline, they destroyed all life on Earth. Here they apparently hunt humans, but I've been helping those in the Hollywood area to avoid detection."

  "How is that? We cannot go to Hollywood - when we get near we feel incredible pain," said Jonathan.

  "That's because you have techno-organic tracker devices in your bodies. The trackers enable the Vrol to easily find you as a food source, plus keep you either in or out of a specific zone. I can remove these trackers if you like."

  Everyone looked at Max, dumbfounded, when one of them, a small tabby-orange neko, asked, "No more hurtsh?"

  "Nope, no more pain at all. In fact, my process is quick and you won't even feel a thing."

  "Nothing comes without a price, Max. Especially after all you have done for us, I am certain you will expect payment of some sort, am I correct?" asked Jonathan.

  Never having intended on extracting any form of payment from the innocent clan, Max did decide to just ask for information.

  "Well, how far are we from the ocean?" asked Max.

  "About 80 kilometers, south by southwest. Why do you ask?"

  "I need to find a boat. It would be great to go up north, by sea."

  Jonathan appeared to concentrate for a moment, and then said, "I have a cousin with a number of boats. He's in Ventura. His name is Stokey. Just ask for him by name at the pier. Here, I shall give you a hand-written note so he'll know you're a friend."

  "Thanks, Jontahan - I really appreciate it. So, who's first? Let's get the show going."

  ###

  Max finished extracting every single tracker from the camp's inhabitants in less than 40 minutes, and even took a few over to an invisible boundary where they would have started to feel pain, but to their surprise and relief none felt even a smidgen of discomfort.

  After having played with a small area rug, giving the clan's children rides on a magic carpet, Max bid them all farewell, but not before asking Jake and his wife, Rebecca, what they would name their child.

  "Lori - I always liked that name. It has a nice sound to it, does it not, Max?"

  Max nodded his head in the affirmative. Then, smiling, he slowly lifted to the sky as he waved farewell to the good people of the encampment.

  ###

  Arriving back at Seven Sins, Max dropped down onto the roof of the building and took the stairs down into the bar area. Curiously, he found Marko being instructed in the preparation of alcoholic beverages by the normal bartender, who was due to take a vacation.

  "Hey Marko, are you going to tend bar here now?"

  "Yes, and you had better enjoy my bevera… um, I hope you like the drinks I make."

  Max snickered and gave an approving smile. Then motioning Marko over to the side of the bar, he prompted the man to turn around.

  "I am going to remove these trackers from your back now. Hold still for a moment."

  After roughly twelve seconds the trackers were gone, laying on the bar and looking like transistorized organ replacement parts.

  "So those were in my back?" he asked.

  "Yup, that was it."

  "And why did you leave them in me?"

  "Um, Marko, I not only left yours, I took five more from other people and inserted them into you."

  "Why did you do that?"

  "To increase the Vrol's detectable range and make sure you were chased."

  "But why would you do that to a fellow lycan?" inquired Marko.

  "Marko, where I am from, lycans are the protectors of humanity, and I have only seen you be abusive. I know you have the capacity to be good, strong and brave. I just wanted to see you shredded up a bit - call it a lesson learned."

  Marko stared at Max for a moment, almost causing the mage some concern, when suddenly the lycan started to laugh boisterously and slap Max on the back.

  "You truly are a wise one, Max Gunnarsson. I am glad I did not kill you earlier."

  "Um, yeah, right. Anyway, Marko, there is something I need from you."

  "And what would that be?"

  "I need for you to repair your friendship with Jessica. I was told you took her child from her."

  Marko looked as if he was in deep thought. Then, responding, Max could detect no deceit from the odd lycan local.

  "Max, the child was dying and she couldn't cope. She refused to even get it medical attention. I simply took him to a hideaway I had, and th
en comforted him until he expired."

  "But, she told me that you beat her and left her for dead!"

  "All couples have problems. I regret hitting her, but I didn't leave her for dead - she wasn't going to die. That's just Jess being dramatic. As for the kid, that's what I told her. We put that into her head. I wanted her to hate me. I needed her to hate me. It was my side of the family that gave the child his illness, not hers. I was not deserving of her love, so I pushed her away like any smart lycan would do. That being said, I understand that you are leaving and that tonight will be a big party in your honor. I only wish I knew how to make these drinks."

  He looked at the gruff lycan and had a great idea.

  "Marko, come here. I am going to try something."

  Max had loaded his mind with an entire encyclopedia of alcoholic beverages as a hobby when he was back in the Rhönen Dominion, and he used to enjoy treating his subordinates to unique drinks on occasion. He had never imaged he would be using his drink library in what he was about to do.

  Placing his finger on Marko's forehead, he used a data-push cantus to force feed his bartending knowledge into the lycan's brain.

  Marko immediately started juggling three, then four - then five liquor bottles without spilling a drop, and making 5 unique beverages for requesting clients. Max had created the best bartender in the Milky Way Galaxy, completely on a whim.

  "Max! I feel great! I know all of these drinks!"

  "Yeah, you look great doing it too, but look, after your shift you're going to patch things up with Jessica, ok?"

  "Sure thing, I will. But where is she? I can't smell her anywhere. I think she left."

  Max sniffed the air and was also unable to detect her scent. Jessica wasn't anywhere close to Seven Sins.

  Chapter 20 - Warp

  "Socrates, I am ready to go. Father, please hold onto me as I attempt to slip to the predefined location."

  "Query: Shall I argue with you and suggest you not go, as I did with Master Max so many months ago?" asked the sentient computer assistant.

  "No, no, no, my old friend. I do not think that will be necessary. No, simply stand back and watch us go," Draagh said with a bit of laziness.

  They were in Draagh's former quarters - the same room that Max had virtually wiped out when he tried to slip to Peru of the 29th century - and failed. Draagh had even attempted to set up his furniture exactly as it was on that day. As Socrates floated around almost in nervous fashion, he watched while Michael maintained a look of concentration and the immortal Primulus donned his bubble head.

  "Father, I do not believe that this is the time to imbibe in the herb, would you not agree?"

  "Perhaps you are right," replied the old mage, as his bubble disappeared, "besides, if Jennie were to show up we would be-"

  "Already here. Good move ditching the fish bowl. I wouldn't want anything to go wrong, understand?"

  "Good morning Mrs. Gunnarsson. It is indeed a pleasure to see you again," Socrates said with his utmost sincerity, while attempting a redirect from Jennie's potential wrath.

  "Good morning to you too, Socrates. I hope you slept well."

  "I do not sleep, but your concern is noted. Thank you. Query: might I suggest you remove yourself from the impending sphere of influence?"

  "Yes, of course. I just wanted to say good luck to everyone," said Jennie, as she quickly departed the room.

  "Can we just get going? I need to get this over with. It's entirely possible that I'll be tossed off into an unknown timeline and stuck forever."

  Michael was starting to get nervous, and Draagh needed him to be a bit calmer. Max had apparently been quite confident in his abilities, but he was also in a great hurry. The old mage firmly grasped Michael's jacket and said, "Go for it."

  Michael slammed his father's staff down to the ground with a great concussive affect as a massive energy sphere collected around the two, blasting furniture and clothing all over the place. As had happened before, Socrates was basically disassembled and reformed after the two, father and son, had departed the plane. Jennie went running in as Socrates reformed.

  "Well? Do you know anything yet?"

  "No, I am sorry. I do not. Oh, wait, Draagh has informed me that he is in Machu Picchu, and that Max's ship is there. He is in the correct timeline, and he retains his staff.

  "Jennie nearly dropped to her knees. She definitely did not want to hear that they had gone to Max's ship. Their last, best hope was that they would be transported to where Max had been sent. She was about the burst out in tears when Socrates yet again spoke.

  "However, Michael is not with him."

  "What does that mean?" cried Jennie.

  "It means we found where Max is," said Michael, surprising both Jennie and Socrates.

  Standing there behind them were Michael and Gabriel, the latter's wings spread out wide, almost as if he were puffing out his chest.

  "I put a tracker on Michael and immediately retrieved him. I have the coordinates and am sending them to you right now, Socrates."

  "Th-thank you, Gabriel," stuttered the electronic assistant.

  "Socrates, why are you afraid of Gabriel?" asked Jennie, prompting the brothers to burst out in laughter.

  "I like playing with his particles," Gabriel snickered, referring to his habit of running his fingers through the sentient being's face and causing him to temporarily dissipate.

  "It is not a pleasant sensation, Lord Gabriel," Socrates responded indignantly.

  "Ah, very good! Yes this is very good indeed," murmured Draagh as he popped into the room. "Shall we analyze this location?"

  "Gabriel grabbed me so quickly I didn't even have a chance to see where I was," said Michael.

  "Brother, you were in transition and it appeared as if you were stuck, touching both planes. It actually enabled me to get to you even more quickly than I had planned."

  "Cool! Now can we get this show going… please?" interrupted young Liliana, who had been observing everything ever since she heard the explosion that trashed Draagh's room.

  "Little one, you must be patient. We still have to analyze the data from the location," Gabriel said plainly.

  "Yes my Lord, it is true. There appears to be a negative time shift with the location," said Socrates.

  "What does that mean? Negative time shift?" asked Jennie.

  "Not all timelines are synced with each other," answered Michael, "and some are slightly askew, but in this case it appears to be even more drastic. Socrates, how much is the shift gap?"

  "Approximately 4,380 hours… basically six months."

  "But how does that affect us? What does it mean?" asked Jennie

  "My dear, it means that… Socrates, please correct me if I am wrong, but it means that when one traverses to that plane they will lose six months. In essence, when Max arrived, if he is indeed in that location, nearly six months had already passed here in this plane. It is called a negative time shift, as it is a time loss for the traveler. Coming back it could be a positive shift, but it gets a bit… erm… dicey from there," responded Draagh.

  "But Grandfather, would the traveler not regain the lost time upon return?" asked the ever inquisitive and bright Liliana.

  "Well, it doesn't always work out that way, my dear. In any case, we cannot risk lost time, so I am going to have the unfortunate task of informing King Krynos that he will be unable to accompany us."

  "What do you mean, old friend? I am unable to go on your grand mission?" bellowed Krynos, having just entered Draagh's trashed former quarters.

  "Ah, Krynos. A good morning to you," said Draagh. "As you have arrived at an opportune moment, I might as well ask you - could your kingdom survive without you for six months?"

  "Six months? Of course not! I only once ever was away for a fortnight, and castle operations were already in a state of chaos."

  "Yes, well that is what I assumed, my friend. You see, where we believe young Max is happens to have a bad time lapse, so even if we go for a day, six mo
nths will have passed here. I am afraid that…"

  "I understand," interrupted the king. "Although it saddens me, I am sure that your team shall fare well. Donus, I will need you here as there is no replacement for your great skills."

  Donus bowed slightly, understanding the situation.

  "Does this mean that I will miss out on six months of educational opportunities? And… who will feed my pets? Oh no! This is tragic! Jennie, what should I do?"

  Liliana looked out desperately at her mother and around at the crowd before answering her own question.

  "I shall accompany the team. I have the rest of my very long life to learn, and I am sure that good Donus will care for the sharks in my stead, am I not correct, sir?"

  "But of course, young Miss Gunnarsson. Your pets shall be well taken care of," responded the lycan master commander.

  "But if we go there now will it be another six months for Max, if he is even there?" asked Bagatelle.

  "Yes, Luigi. That is quite possible. However, we shall not notice a thing. We shall simply arrive, but when we step on the soft earth in that location, this timeline shall be six months ahead of us, and as Max is static in his new timeline we may well arrive after he has spent a good six months there," said Draagh.

  Bagatelle shook his head, totally unable to comprehend, but was as willing as ever to go find Max.

  "Socrates, where exactly is this location, relative to the normal timeline?" asked Draagh.

  "My Lord, it appears to be just west of what was called Hollywood, in Los Angeles, California, in the former United States of America."

  "Ah, that would explain the geographical shift. You see, when I first made Max aware of my existence, we were both in Machu Picchu, Peru. I then slipped him to a hardened computer facility in Los Angeles so he could review vids of the Vrol invasion. I am imagining that Marnn's staff is at an equivalent distance from Los Angeles, but towards the north. That is, if my guess is correct. We shall know upon arrival in this new dimension."