by SK Benton
"It is too hot for my wings. I need to cool off," said Gabriel, as he shot back to Johnson's craft, landing next to Max's antimatter bomb.
Krynos had a centipede in his massive grip, crushing its neck portal with one hand, while laying down a spray of charge rounds and keeping others away from his position. Anaita slipped to his side and attempted to hit him with a push cantus, but Gabriel had created a protective, anti-cantus shield around the huge lycan. Noticing her to his back, he swung around and let his Tonado slip loose from his grasp, grabbing the rifle's strap as it rushed by his hand. A quick flick of his wrist guided the massive weapon directly into Anaita's face, breaking her nose and knocking her back a few meters.
"Apologies, my dear. It is not often one such as myself hits a female, but I have been informed that you are much more a warrior, and much less a lady," the king craftily cackled.
"Brother, nullify the protections here," said Michael.
"Certainly. Max, is this your weapon?"
Looking back, he thought out, "Yeah. Why? What's up?"
"We shall need to detonate this. It would be best to surprise everyone."
"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock! But it's a dead-man's switch. It detonates when someone releases that red lever. It's a suicide trip."
"Sherlock? Max, please do not use colloquial phrases while in battle," Michael communicated.
"Sorry, pops. Okay, we need to figure out a way to get these idiots to set off the bomb for us. But how?"
"Max, have you been paying attention to Krynos?" asked Jennie, sounding worried.
Everyone looked over to the far side of the chamber. Krynos was flat on his back
"Krynos is down, and he's not moving," said Max.
"I'll attend to him," said Jennie. "Michael, keep hitting these guys."
Michael wanted to keep Samyaza in place as long as possible. The advantage he had was that they were in the ship of his insectoid creations, and could do significant damage to the craft from the inside. Pummeling the opposition with cantus after cantus, he finally resorted to instigating the heady former Primulus with crude words of insult.
"Brother, do you remember goading me into fights when we were young?"
"Yes, Michael. Why do you ask?"
"I need for you to do the same to Samyaza. Do it now, please."
"Samyaza, you are a coward," boasted Gabriel. "You are not worthy of your bloodline. By the way, you do know that our father banished yours for siding with the ghouls, do you not? Yes, he was in bed with them, and in more ways than one," said a gloating Gabriel, obviously trying to get Samyaza to stay and fight.
"Never! My father was an honorable Primulus. He only sought to restore the natural order," yelled Samyaza, the veins on his forehead bulging out from massively high blood pressure.
While Gabriel went on with his verbal assault, Max continued to hit back at bugs entering from side hallways, while wondering what the hell his wife was doing.
Jennie sat crouched next to Krynos. The thousand year-old lycan king had a dozen bullet holes in his torso, and was bleeding out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth, as well as his chest.
"Krynos, what happened? I thought Gabriel had a shield cantus around you?"
"Rhodium bullets, my child," he coughed, "and the archangel's cantus was only against magical attacks. I shall soon pass on to the Elysian Fields to battle with my ancestors."
Jennie saw Anaita scrambling away, and could smell death in the air. One of her new abilities as a Primulus was the capacity to detect the stench of finality, and it permeated her highly sensitive olfactory organ. Krynos was done. If he didn’t die within five minutes, it would be ten.
"Is there anything I can do? Contact anyone for you?"
"No, young one. Donus shall be king. He is aware of this."
"Mmmm, okay. Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Yes, of course."
"Wanna do something real cool?"
"Speak on, child…"
###
"Your father was an abomination! He eschewed the natural order. Instead, he attempted to recreate Jah's universe in his own image. Your father deserved banishment. He is finished!" screamed Gabriel, apparently getting into his goading act.
Samyaza surged ahead, going to attack to massively powerful archangel out of pure anger. That was his first major mistake. As soon as he was within twenty meters, Michael was able to silently disconnect him from his ship-wide shield cantus. His second error was to try to hit Michael with a clenched fist. The powerful Taxiarch then merely point-punched down at the ground, slamming the reject's head into the cold floor of the ship. All the while, Max noticed that Gadreel was skulking in the background, with Anaita at his side. She had honestly believed she wouldn't be injured, but a mere mortal had disfigured her face, even though it was already on the mend. Max wanted to damage the younger brother of the Grigori leader, but had a solid wall of offensively smelly bugs between him and his quarry.
He looked back and saw Jennie crouched down next to Krynos.
Slipping over to Jennie's side, Max saw a massive and very injured lycan king being held up by his wife, who was tiny in comparison. He could smell the rhodium in Krynos' body and became alarmed, knowing that the metal was the most lethal substance in existence for lycans, as well as vampires.
"Jen! What's the meaning of this? King, you should be in the infirmary. I'll slip you over," he said.
"Max, I shall stay till the bitter end. It is my wish. Do not disobey your king."
"Dude, seriously? You're leaking like a sieve and need medical attention. Rhodium's no laughing matter."
Krynos growled and grabbed Max's hand, with his look changing from defiant to pleading.
"Please, Max. I shall stay."
Samyaza noticed that Krynos had been injured and laughed out loud. The lycan had numerous bullet holes in his body, and he was dying - that much was obvious. He coughed out spittles of bubbling blood as his breathing became more and more labored. Samyaza smelled Krynos' death and reveled in his defeat.
"Ha! Your much-vaunted king faces his own demise!" Samyaza bellowed across the chamber.
"Krynos, are you ready?" Jennie said quietly.
"Yes, I am, child."
"Sit here. Put your hand on this. Don’t let go until we're gone."
"I shall miss you, child."
"Me too," she whispered back.
Michael stopped his frontal attack and held his hands up, almost as if he were offering surrender.
"What is this, Cousin? Have you tired already?" asked Samyaza.
Michael looked at the carnage on the deck - hundreds of dead bugs covered the floor, their chitinous limbs and torsos littering the enclosed landscape. But Michael didn’t respond. He merely continued walking toward Samyaza.
While Michael kept Samyaza busy Max slipped to Len Johnson and looked over at his wife, his eyes pleading for help. The gorgeous hybrid shot over to him with a local 3D slip, and asked, "What do you need, hun?"
"Johnson. He's coming back with us. We need a trial. We have to disconnect him first."
"Let him die, Max."
"Jen, work with me here. He needs to go on trial."
Jennie groaned and went to help Max tear away tubes and wires that had kept Len Johnson a prisoner inside the Vrol vessel. The two carefully disconnected the slimy wiring that connected his cerebral cortex to the ship, but when they both glanced down at the mass of tubes coming out from between his legs Jennie said, "No. No way. I'm not touching that."
Max grimaced and reached down, yanking a handful of tubes out from Johnson's hindquarters, followed by a cantus that basically kept the despot's guts from falling out.
"Max, that is so nasty!"
"Yup. Well, the last things holding him to the wall are the wrist restraints."
When the final wrist cuff was released, the former dictator fell forward onto his face, with neither trying to break his fall.
"Oops, my bad," said Jennie.
"Baby, slip Johnson out
of here and back to the Revolution. You'll know how to get there because you just came from it, so the coordinates are in your brain."
"Max, what if I get stuck out there? I could die!"
Max hesitated for a moment, and then touched Johnson, slipping the deposed dictator directly to the bridge of the Revolution. Looking up at a surprised Bagatelle, Max again disappeared, coming back in at Krynos' side.
"So, Archangel, what are the terms of your surrender? And do not insult me with a plea for the lives of the monkeys."
Jennie strode forward, dedication and purpose in her gait. She didn't care for anything aside from the Grigori's defeat. "Hey dickhead! This is where it ends - your bugs - your crap behind the scenes. It all ends now."
"Oh, and just how do you manage to terminate our activities, lycan stain?" asked Samyaza.
Gadreel walked up to his older brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. Samyaza seemed to take comfort in his brother's touch and placed his hand over Gadreel's.
"Brother, I must agree. This is where it ends," said Gadreel.
"Jen, what the hell are you doing? Why is Krynos on the dead-man's switch?"
"He's the perfect recipe for winning this war."
"No! Take him to the infirmary! That's an order!"
"Sorry, baby. My orders come from a higher source."
"Who? Did Gabe put you up to this?"
"No hun. Draagh did. Shut up and let's kill these bastards. Krynos is walking dead anyway. There's way too much rhodium floating in his bloodstream, and his health particles are in full freakout mode. Now stop wasting my time."
"Dad," said Max, "the bomb's ready. How are we keeping these guys here?"
"Gadreel shall handle that, my son."
"Huh?"
Samyaza carefully analyzed Max's expression, and could tell the hybrid was preparing to depart. Detecting danger himself, he turned to grab his brother and leave, but instead felt a large hand painfully digging into his shoulder. Spinning around he saw Gabriel.
"You have been a very naughty boy, Samyaza. Now it is time to join the shards of disconnected minds that wander the universe."
"I think not, Gabriel. I… um… hey… what is this?"
A trapped Samyaza turned back around, a shocked expression lining his face, as he saw Max, Jennie, Gabriel, Michael and Gadreel looking at him.
"What is this? Brother! What have you done?"
"I have done nothing, Samyaza. Well, aside from helping to eliminate centuries of your torture, as well as saving the human race - nothing else, brother. However, our uncle provided me with a most effective cantus that negates your ability to leave."
"I cannot depart. Take me from here! Now!"
"No, Cousin. You shall remain here with your beautiful creations," said Gabriel.
Various angels, including Anaita started slipping away, their collective departures leaving loud popping sounds, as Samyaza, the leader of the Grigori, was left alone with his insect underlings.
"I… I cannot slip. I am doomed!"
"That's the idea, asshole," said Jennie before she slipped to the side of a near-unconscious Krynos. Acting fast, she knelt down and slapped the lycan in the face.
"King! Wake up! It's time!"
"Jennie. Yes. Time. I shall count from ten."
"Starting… now!"
"10 - 9 - 8…"
The beautiful woman leaned forward, kissing the king on the forehead. Touching his temples, she became curious.
I wonder what his last thoughts are?
Aside from his countdown, she only detected blank space. But digging down deeper into the recesses of his conscious mind she heard a lone voice - a single word. A name.
Carmen
Jennie gave him a startled looked and disappeared, slipping to her husband's side.
At that moment, a massive group of ground bugs swarmed the chamber near where Len Johnson used to be. Clicking excitedly, the hive mind went crazy when they spied Krynos on the floor.
"[What is this? Another human? It speaks.]"
"[It looks large and delicious. Vrol shall eat it.]"
"[Yes, Vrol feed. It is our purpose.]"
"Goodbye, Brother," said Gadreel.
Samyaza let out a blood-evaporating scream as his mortal enemies (and now-estranged brother) easily vacated the premises, leaving him trapped and alone with millions of insects, as well as his remaining underlings.
At that same moment, Krynos König's lifeless hand fell from the dead-man's switch.
###
Max Gunnarsson stood on the bridge of the Revolution, watching a brilliant light in the distance. The illumination grew in size until it nearly encompassed the entire outside view screen. After a few moments, it dissipated into nothingness.
"Ensign, status!" demanded Bagatelle.
"Sir, the Vrol vessel was destroyed."
The bridge erupted into cheers, as hats were thrown and applause rung out. However, Bagatelle wanted proof, and quickly silenced his staff.
"Silence! Ensign, are you sure?"
"Admiral, it was destroyed. Krynos released the switch," said Max. "He had a comm which would have enabled me to track him in side space had they escaped. Plus, I disabled their hook drive before we came back," he finished, as he looked down at Len Johnson. The former dictator was covered in sticky, black goo, and tried to move as he slowly regained consciousness.
"Ah, he awakes," said Bagatelle. "Greetings, Mr. Chairman."
Len Johnson, traitor to all humanity, merely held his trembling arms up, wrists together. He felt there was nothing Bagatelle could do to him that would be worse than what he had just been through.
"Throw him in the brig," commanded the admiral, giving Johnson his just deserts. Two large security officers (both lycans from the Rhönen) picked Johnson up and dragged him off. The former dictator fell limp in their grasp, not even protesting.
"Admiral, are all Vrol off the ship?" asked Max.
"I can verify that, Max," said Michael, as he walked back onto the bridge. "I just performed a scan, and all have been eliminated."
"Hey Gaddy, what did you do back there?" asked Max.
"Captain, your grandfather and I had a plan. However, my brother, being quite paranoid, always kept me under strict surveillance, so I had to play the part of double-agent."
"And you had nothing to do with my wife's demise?"
"Hey! I'm still here, dork!"
Max smiled at his now-immortal wife. "Just getting some background, sweetie."
"No, Captain. I had nothing to do with it. In fact, do you not remember me warning you all of the danger posed to Mrs. Gunnarsson?"
"I do remember that. Anyway, what do you plan on doing now? Your brother is dead and you're basically free."
"A number of Grigori still exist, Captain. I am assuming Anaita will be their default leader, and we should bring her to justice."
"Wow, you know, I never thought of that. Is there a Prīmulī court or anything?"
"No, son. Our justice is more of a direct nature," said Michael.
"Um yeah. You're right there. Well, Gaddy, welcome to the family, I guess."
"Thank you Captain. I appreciate the gesture, though I believe it will probably come to a vote."
"Sounds good. Until then, no more of this Captain crap. My name's Max," he said, extending his hand.
Chapter 41 - Undesired Changes
Max, Jennie, Gabriel and Michael stood before Krynos' throne, watching, as Prime Commander Donus, now King Donus, uneasily ascended and took a seat. Each person in the audience dropped down to a single knee and bowed their head to the new sovereign of the Rhönen Dominion. Dozens of subjects of the kingdom were present, all having heard the sad news of King Krynos' passing. He was the only king they had ever known. Through centuries of hard work he brought order and wealth to his lands, all the while gaining his subjects' love and appreciation. Aside from locals, numerous troops from Isamu's samurai clan were also in attendance, each bowing in respect to the new lycan king
.
"It is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne. Krynos was a king like no other. I can only hope to be half the leader he was," said Donus.
"My liege, I believe you shall be a fine king. You have the love and respect of all in this land, and of course, us to back you up," said Max, giving his friend a kind wink.
"Thank you, Captain. Please, if you would, retell the tale of Krynos' passing, so that it may be recorded into the history of the Rhönen Dominion for all to read."
Max started to again tell Krynos' story, conveniently leaving out the part where the king had murdered Jennie. The castle historian furiously scribbled away on parchment, recording the events that emanated from the mouth of the off-worlder.
A short while later, Max, Jennie and Michael had joined Clarisa, and were looking out through the massive, gaping hole that had been a wall in the quarters the woman shared with her lover. Liliana was asleep on the couch, snoring lightly. She had tried to stay awake for her parents' arrival, but nature took its toll - she was bushed.
"Wow," said Michael, while trying to use some English slang. "That's one big-ass hole."
Jennie looked at him with a quizzical expression, while Max tried to suppress his laughter. However, Clarisa had an opposite reaction.
"What? Big-ass hole? She could have killed us!"
"Mom, you saw what she did on the ship. She leveled half of beta deck. They haven't even begun to repair the damage."
