 
Feros and the Underworld Prince

Book 3 of The Gods' Executioner Series

Feros and the Underworld Prince

By A.L. Bridges

Copyright 2013 A.L. Bridges

Smashwords Edition v.3

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be sold or given away to others. If you would like to share this eBook, please purchase another copy for each person. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this and other indie authors.

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means; whether it is electronic, mechanical, or otherwise; without prior written consent from the author.

This novel is a work of fiction. All likenesses of people, organizations, or events are purely coincidental. All characters, organizations, events, and places are used in a fictitious manner.

I would just like to say that I do not advocate underage drinking; however, if you believe that it doesn't happen, then you are just lying to yourself. Besides, if you're from any country besides the US, then you probably don't consider the age of 18 to be a candidate for underage drinking. Hell, in Denmark you can start drinking at the age of 16.

Other Books by A.L. Bridges

The Gods' Executioner Series:

  1. That Which is Unexpected

  2. Mania and the Executioner

  3. Feros and the Underworld Prince

  4. Cole's Haunting Melody

  5. An Imperceptible Ruse Indeed

Visit albridges.blogspot.com for links to the other books and updates on the latest releases.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

References

Underworlds

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Excerpt from Cole's Haunting Melody

Chapter 1: Ooh, Foxey Lady ****

In my dreams, I see a beautiful silver-haired girl with icy-blue eyes, but something about her makes my chest ache. She is playing with a tan-skinned baby with brown hair and hazel eyes. There is light in the girl's eyes, but her face is emotionless. The ache in my chest intensifies.

"Cole..."

****

[September 5th]

"It's time to wake up, Cole," Kita coos in my ears. "Bacon, eggs, and toast are all prepared, but they will become cold if you don't eat them soon!"

I roll over and catch an eyeful of Kita's beautifully tan, naked backside as she wears the hell out of the lemon yellow apron that doesn't confine her bushy white tail. I stand out of bed and walk into the kitchen of Kita's small, one-bedroom apartment. I look into Kita's deep blue, almond-shaped eyes and I give her a kiss good morning before sitting down to eat the breakfast that has been prepared for me.

"So, have you recalled anything about your past yet?" Kita asks while cleaning a pan.

"Not yet, but I promise that you will be the first to know!" I reply as I stuff an egg, half a slice of toast, and two strips of bacon into my mouth simultaneously.

It's an interesting story: about six months ago, I woke up naked in a grassy field without any clue where I was or how I'd gotten there. The only thing I could recall was my name: Cole Treyfair. Luckily for me, Kita had just been passing through that field when she noticed me looking perplexed. She brought me home and has allowed me to stay with her while I try to regain some of my lost memories. The only clues I have so far are the dark red bracelet that is stuck on my right wrist; the silver, three-swirl tattoo on my left shoulder blade; and the five-pointed silver tattoo on the back of my neck that resembles a crown or something.

Well, those and the reoccurring dream of the silver-haired girl, but that isn't something I've told Kita about because I don't want to strain our relationship. Kita and I have grown close over the past six months. Our relationship has evolved into a physical one, we sleep in the same bed, stuff happens... I'll just leave it at that.

"I have to get going, but I should be home at around 4pm. What are you going to do?" Kita asks as she takes off her lemon yellow apron.

"I'll probably wander around the city for a little while and see if I can't find something that will jog my memory before work," I reply.

"Well, just be careful, Cole. I've been hearing some nasty rumors about a lich from the Irkalla district that recently appeared. Apparently he has taken over the local vampire gang," Kita replies. What can a Mesopotamian lich possibly want with a vampire gang?

"Don't worry, I will. Now you had better get going. Don't want to make the boss-lady mad, now do you?" I rhetorically ask.

"Nope!" Kita cheerfully says before she kisses me on the cheek.

"See you later!" she exclaims as she jumps up and does a double front flip. On the first rotation, she morphs into her fox form and on the second rotation, she disappears.

I read the paper while I finish my breakfast.

In otherworld news: the one kilometer stretch of the Arctic Ocean in and around Ilulissat Greenland has been frozen solid for its fifteenth consecutive month following the massive explosion that destroyed half of the small port town, an event that still has the leading experts baffled.

Ilulissat... that's a strange name.

Chapter 2: Déjà vu... DENZEL!? ****

I wash my dishes while admiring the green/blue sky that reflects off of the grey landscape outside the kitchen window. I walk into the bathroom, take a quick shower, and get dressed in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a light grey hoodie. I lock up on my way out and proceed down the three flights of stairs to street level.

The streets are busy with various beings headed to their jobs, or perhaps just loitering around like me. I walk around for a few hours, trying to find something to jumpstart my memory in this world that is devoid of color with the exception of the sky. I'm told that the sky looks different in each district, but I've never been out of Adlivun.

I tend to enjoy my little walks around the district. There may not be much in the way of color, but the energy of the Underworld makes it a pleasant enough place to spend an afterlife, or just a regular life depending on who you are. Some people choose to skip their afterlife and fade out of existence immediately upon arriving. Other times, people are asked to pass on to make room for the more recently dead. I need to recover my memories before that happens, but since I can't remember how I got here, I'm not sure if I count among the dead or the living in the Underworld.

I head to the _Cas_ bar, which is only about six blocks from the apartment. The _Cas_ bar is a type of sports bar that displays the Citadel gladiator fights and also deals in gambling on said fights. I'm not much of a gambler, but I make decent money as a bartender and one of my few friends owns the place.

"Cole! How's that vixen of yours, eh? She seemed a little sore when she was leaving my place last night!" Jericho Archer jokes as I step inside the empty _Cas_ bar. Archer is the twenty-six year old demigod son of a South African man and a Mami Wata, an African goddess of beauty, water, and wealth.

"Haha, not as bad as your sister! She wasn't even able to get up out of my bed this morning!" I reply in similar fashion.

"Nice! Take a seat, the match is just starting. Rum and Coke?" Archer asks.

"Before work!? I'm not too sure if I can handle it, but if you insist, you are the boss!" I sarcastically exclaim as Archer mixes me a drink. I sit down and watch the match on a fifty-two inch LED screen.

It's a rookie qualifying match between a vampire and a centaur. Both of the fighters aren't very talented and they tire fairly quickly. It's starting to look like this match is going to end in a quick draw, but then the centaur jumps and kicks the vampire into the spike wall that surrounds the Citadel and divides the spectator stands from the battle grounds. The fame and fortune that comes with being a gladiator isn't always worth the price of the consequences, especially when dying in the Underworld causes you to fade out of existence, even if you were alive. There is no afterlife for those living in the Underworld.

"Ooh, looks like he's out. I swear, if it weren't for that championship brand that allows you to port to any district in the Underworld, no one would participate in these fights," Archer says.

"You are forgetting about the money, fame, and women," I remind him while finishing the drink that he handed me during the match.

"Well yeah, those too," Archer replies.

"Well, I'd better start doing something that is worthy of payment. Here's to my lost memories and the hopes that alcohol won't hinder my recovery of them, despite the massive amounts of empirical evidence that claims otherwise," I toast and finish my drink.

Just after I set the glass down, a blood-covered Latina woman runs into the _Cas_ bar. She makes it about three steps before her legs collapse and she starts to fall to the ground. I rush over and catch her before she makes an impact. She's very pretty with straight, black, shoulder-length hair, light blue eyes, a slim waist, and about 5'5" tall with a nice bust that is noticeable through her blood-soaked knit dress. I'm cradling her when she suddenly bites into the base of the left side of my neck and starts drinking my blood.

_(5.6 Liters remaining. Concentrate your blood that is in her body and force her head to explode)_ a feminine voice inside my mind says.

"What!? Who are you?" I ask it. No response.

Archer grabs a gun from under the bar and takes aim, but I hold up my hand to stop him. I grab her shoulder and something inside her sings out to me.

"Sleep," I command and her body relaxes. That was pretty cool. I didn't know I could do that. I scoop her up, take her over to a booth, and lie her down. Five vampires walk into the _Cas_ bar and fan out in front of the entrance.

"Give us the girl," the front most vampire demands.

"Why do you want her?" I inquire.

"That's none of your fucking business!" one vampire yells as he rushes forward with a blade aimed at my stomach before his head explodes.

Archer is holding the 'smoking' gun as another vampire flanks him. Archer doesn't see him coming! He's going to get stabbed!

(Not if you have a say in it)

I flash forward and throw myself in the way. I get this strange feeling of Déjà vu as the six-inch knife plunges into my stomach.

"Cole!" Archer shouts as he blows the head off the second vampire.

Vague memories suddenly come rushing back to me, but one in particular makes the most impact: a best friend that I killed after an event similar to this one. However, I can't recall his name or his face. Fragments of older memories return and in almost all of them, that silver-haired girl is there... Who is she?

( _I'll take over from here)_ the voice says.

A silver liquid envelops my head and then everything flashes red. I feel my right hand clap over my stomach as I pull a three foot long blade with a trapezoid-shaped cross guard from it. I rush forward and slice the heads off of the remaining three vampires before they even know what's happened. I stand there holding the blade as blood showers down from the necks of the vampires.

(Don't you just love the tingly feeling of fresh blood being rained down upon us?)

"Cole? Are you alright?" Archer cautiously asks.

I feel the helmet retract as I collapse to the floor with my vision fading.

...

Chapter 3: Executioner meets Azeman

"This is so not cool!" I hear a female voice say with a light Spanish accent as I awaken.

"Just keep counting the coins, Azeman," Archer replies.

An azeman is a vampire from South America that can change into a bat and also has a severe obsessive compulsion to count things. Archer must be using the coins to keep her preoccupied so that she doesn't run off.

"I have a name, you know! It's Reyna Reyes, not that you're interested..." Reyna says.

"You're right. I'm not interested so just count the coins until Cole wakes up," Archer replies.

"I'm awake," I groan as I sit up.

"Welcome back, buddy. Thought we'd lost you there for a second," Archer replies as he hands me a glass of water.

"Thanks Arch. How long was I out?" I inquire.

"About three hours," Archer answers.

"Okay, I still have some time before Kita gets home. Alright Reyna, could you please tell us why those vampires were after you?" I ask politely.

"Well, my father was Alejandro Reyes..." Reyna quietly says, as though that name holds weight.

"I knew I should have shot her..." Archer mumbles and I give him a puzzled look. "Alejandro Reyes was the leader of The Kings, the vampire gang that the lich from Irkalla took over. Supposedly, he was also the ex-husband of the Azeman Queen. She's a vampire princess, Cole."

(What is it with you and princesses?)

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask aloud.

"I'm just the daughter of the head of a vampire cartel... former head," Reyna replies, thinking that my question was directed at her.

"Alam, the lich, kept me around as a trophy. I escaped with the help of my friend, Ernesto. We were on our way to the Mictlan district, where my mother is, when we were caught. Ernesto sacrificed himself to allow me the time to escape, but the other vampires caught up to me anyway. I was stabbed from behind before I ripped out my attacker's throat and continued running. I was partially delirious from blood loss when I got this strange compulsion to come in here..." Reyna says and starts crying when she mentions Ernesto. I move towards her and give her a comforting hug.

"Hey... do you really think that Ernesto would be happy to see you like this?" I gently ask her.

" _He sacrificed himself for you! Do you really think he will be happy if he sees that you've killed yourself!?" the_ memory of a familiar female voice rings through my head.

"No..." Reyna cries into my right shoulder at the same time as another voice, one I recognize as the silver-haired girl, replies with an identical answer.

"Umm... Reyna?" I ask.

"Hmm?" Reyna responds, muffled from my neck.

"You need to stop now," I tell her.

"Hmm...? I'M SORRY!" Reyna exclaims with surprise after detaching herself from my neck.

"You just smell so good!" she explains while looking at the ground and using her finger to play with the left fang that is protruding over her bottom lip. That action makes her look pretty cute and her eyes are definitely doing something for me...

"I guess I'll take it as a compliment then! By the way, how old are you Reyna?" I ask, purely for curiosity's sake... I SAID PURELY FOR CURIOSITY'S SAKE!

"I'm twenty-two," Reyna replies as I put my fist behind my back and Archer inconspicuously 'pounds' it.

(No, you are already cheating on her with that other girl)

The voice explodes inside my head.

"AHH! WHAT OTHER GIRL!?" I scream aloud as I try to work through the sensation of 'brain freeze' that I am currently feeling.

"AH! Other girl?" Reyna yelps with confusion.

"Dude, are you feeling alright?" Archer asks.

"Yeah, just got this sudden headache, that's all. Haha," I nervously laugh.

"Alright, so what we obviously need to do is find some way to get you to Mictlan," I say. I feel some strange need to help this woman.

"Good luck with that. You know how it is, Cole. The gates have been on total lockdown for the past nine months. The only legal way to get through is to have a championship brand..." Archer reminds me.

(When do we compete?)

"Can we do this?" I ask the voice in my head.

(Yes, and it will aid your remembrance)

"Well, I guess I'll just have to become champion then, won't I?" I say aloud.

Chapter 4: I really hope that foxfire isn't real...

"Cole, I know that you're strong, and I know that you've seen plenty of Citadel matches, but did you forget that the battles at higher ranks are fierce and that if you die, you go poof?" Archer reminds me, trying to talk me out of it.

"Yeah, but very few gladiators ever go poof. I'll be fine, Arch! Can you get me signed up for a fight?" I ask.

"*Sigh* Yeah... but you have to tell Kita!" Archer insists.

"That's what I was planning on doing right now. Do you have any clothes for Reyna to wear that aren't so... conspicuous? And a bag that I can wrap this in?" I request while holding up the sword in my hand.

Archer leads us upstairs to his three bedroom penthouse, grabs some clothes for Reyna, and shows her to the bathroom so she can change.

"Thanks, Arch. Oh, and if any more vampires come looking for her, just give them a description of me and say that I killed them all," I tell him as Reyna exits the bathroom dressed in a baggy black sweatshirt and grey sweatpants.

"Sure, just be careful, Cole. Oh, and watch out for Kita's foxfire!" Archer exclaims as Reyna and I exit the _Cas_ bar.

We walk six blocks and then up the three flights of stairs to the apartment.

"Welcome home, Cole! How was... your... day?" Kita asks with a wide smile that falls as she sees me, and further when she sees Reyna. I look down and see a red stab wound in my clothing at stomach level.

"COLE! WHAT HAPPENED!? AND WHO IS THIS!?" Kita shouts.

"Do you mind if I use your shower? Changing clothes didn't help the blood that is on my skin," Reyna asks.

"Sure, it's right over here. I'll tell you the story in a second, Kita," I reply.

I grab a towel for Reyna and show her to the shower. I regale my tale of events that have occurred since Kita left this morning while Reyna is in the shower.

"Cole! What are you thinking!?" Kita angrily asks.

"Kita... when I was fighting, I had this strange sense of déjà vu. I think this is the key to getting my memories back and it's apparent that the 'old me' knew how to fight. Plus, with the money I make from the fights, we can move into a bigger apartment!" I exclaim while leaving out the part about the voice in my head because hearing voices is never a good sign. I'm not worried about it because it somehow feels right to me, but Kita would most likely freak.

"Alright, Cole... as long as you're sure that you're up to this. I don't want to see you go _poof_ ," Kita says after a moment.

"I'll be just fine, Kita," probably. "Now I have two questions for you. First, is foxfire real?" I ask.

"For red foxes, yes. I'm an arctic fox so no, I can't use foxfire," Kita replies as I hear the bathroom door open.

"Okay, second question: can Reyna stay here for a few nights?" I inquire. Kita's eyes narrow in response and my genitals suddenly get very cold.

"The question you should have asked is if I can use foxice," Kita says with a brusque tone as I look down and see that the entire area over the groin of my jeans is frozen.

"Ouch! Okay! Stop that!" I exclaim in a mild panic as I drop my pants to the floor and cup my junk to try to dislodge my balls from my throat. "Please Kita? It'll only be for a few days and if she goes anywhere else, she is likely to be killed before she makes it to Mictlan."

"...Fine, but you owe me," Kita replies with a terse tone before retiring to the bedroom, passing by Reyna and slamming the door shut behind her.

There is a quick rap at the front door and I answer it to find Archer standing there.

"Hey, I got you set up in a rookie qualifier for tomorrow. The previous competitor quit after seeing the match this morning. Why aren't you wearing pan—oh, I guess I should have mentioned foxice instead huh?" Archer rhetorically asks.

"Yeah, you think? So who am I fighting?" I inquire.

"Actually, you are up against one of the former Kings. Could you do me a favor and don't finish him off easily? After the qualifier, I should be able to get you a higher level match and if you barely beat the vampire tomorrow, then the odds against you in your next fight will be higher and we can cash out big!" Archer exclaims.

"Yeah, I guess I can do that, but I have one condition: Reyna has to stay at your place. I'll be staying there tonight as well, just in case any of the lich's gang comes looking for her," I explain.

"Aw bro, come on! I can't let the azeman stay at my place!" Archer exclaims.

"Why do you hate vampires so much, Arch?" I ask, followed by several moments of silence.

"They're the reason I'm dead. I was drained by a vampire and now I'm here," Archer quietly explains a few moments later.

In the Underworld, there are those that are here because they're dead, and then there are those that are here for various reasons, like because they can't live on earth without drawing attention to themselves, such as Kita. Archer and I had never discussed which he is before, but that doesn't change our current situation.

"Just because one drained you, doesn't mean that they're all bad. That is profiling, my friend," I retort.

"I... Fine, but I'd better make a ton of money off of this!" Archer submits.

"Don't worry. It will be convincing, I promise. Let me just go grab some new clothes and then we'll get going," I reply.

I walk to the bedroom, knock softly on the door, and step inside.

"Hey, Archer is going to put Reyna up so no worries. I'm going to stay there tonight to make sure that they'll be safe if any vampires come looking for her in the middle of the night," I inform Kita as I pull out a new pair of jeans and a t-shirt from the dresser.

"Alright... I'll be sure to come and watch you tomorrow..." Kita quietly responds from her prone status on the bed as she faces the wall. She is obviously upset so I lie down behind her, wrap my arms around her, and kiss the right side of her neck.

"I'll be just fine fighting tomorrow. You should have seen me today. I moved so fast that the vampires didn't know what hit them... A single vampire will be easy," I whisper into her ear, trying to sound reassuring.

"It's not that... I'm torn, Cole... I want you to recover your memories, but if you get them back... never mind. I'll see you tomorrow after the match," Kita quietly says. Getting the hint that she no longer wishes to discuss this, I leave the bed.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow," I gently reply as I leave the room.

Archer and Reyna don't say a word as we leave the apartment and walk the six blocks back to the _Cas_ bar with the blue-green sky darkening for the night that the Underworld uses to recharge the artificial daylight.

"Alright, well I have a big day tomorrow so I'm going to bed," I announce when we get into Archer's residence above the _Cas_ bar.

"Okay, goodnight bro," Archer says.

"Goodnight, Cole," Reyna replies as I walk down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms.

(I would suggest creating another Sic blade tonight)

"What's a sick blade? Another one of the swords? How do I do that?" I silently ask.

(SiC, stands for silicon carbide. You made the sword by solidifying your blood into silicon carbide. You can make another one by willing your blood to do so. Go to the kitchen and grab a sharp knife)

I do as she says and walk into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Reyna and Archer are watching TV on the couch.

"Stupid humans... European vampires can't turn into bats!" I hear Reyna exclaim at the TV.

I grab a knife from the block on the counter and slip it into my pocket. I return to my room after seeing that Archer and Reyna are watching _Dracula_ , the 1931 film version.

(Now use the knife to cut open your left arm)

I drag the knife across the length of my left forearm, a little surprised to find that I can't feel it, but less surprised that I don't bleed. I certainly should be bleeding, but something tells me that I've done this before...

(Wrap your right hand over your incision and drag your hand outward while imagining the blade forming in your right hand)

I obey and imagine a companion to the blade I pulled out of my stomach earlier today. I open my eyes, see the trapezoid-shaped cross guard along with the black and red blade, and I know that I'm successful.

(Now get some rest)

I take her suggestion and hit the bed like a sack of bricks.

****

"What do you mean he's alive? Sara, if this is some attempt to make me feel better then it isn't working," the silver-haired girl says.

"I'm not lying, Rei. My mother told me that he is alive and is currently living in the Underworld," an Indian woman with short black hair, green eyes, and square-framed glasses says.

"I have to go then, Sara!" the silver-haired girl exclaims.

"No! From what my mother told me, he has to come back on his own, otherwise he may be lost to us forever..." the Indian woman explains.

"Then why did you even tell me!?" the silver-haired girl angrily shouts with tears in her eyes.

"Because he should be coming back soon. There are people helping him," the Indian woman says.

"Cole... wake up and come back to me, okay?"

****

I awaken to a lithe female form straddling me and biting into my neck. I get this odd feeling that the silver-haired girl will come into the room, but the door remains closed. Then I get a compulsion to grab the straddling female's wrist and make her head to explode, but I ignore it.

"Oh, come on Reyna! You're going to suck me dry!" I exclaim.

(Phrasing)

I burst out laughing as Reyna snaps out of it.

"I'm sorry, Cole! That stupid movie made me hungry and you smell so irresistible!" Reyna explains.

(I understand that you don't want to kill the azeman, but can't we scare her a little?)

"What did you have in mind?"

(You can manipulate the blood that she drank. That is how you put her to sleep)

"Well, I'll resort to that if it becomes a problem... I wonder how much of my blood she has swallowed?"

(0.7 Liters)

"You can tell that too? What are you?"

(Think of me as a secretary that you occasionally use to cheat on your wife)

"I have a wife!?"

(It's a metaphor fool)

"It's okay, Reyna. Something about you is somewhat captivating to me. Just try to restrain yourself," I casually reply.

"Cole... just because I'm sucking on your neck doesn't mean that I'm interested in having sex with you," Reyna says with one raised eyebrow.

"No, I mean that your eyes remind me of... something," I respond, trailing off as I think of the girl with silver hair. Even if the voice said that it was a metaphor, the mention of me having a wife is somehow reminiscent. Perhaps there was a girl that was like my wife... The silver haired girl?

"Oh, okay... Well, goodnight," Reyna says.

"Goodnight, Reyna," I reply as she leaves the room.

...

Chapter 5: The Return of the King

[September 6th]

I wake up at 8am, take a shower, and get dressed in the same clothes that I wore last night.

"Okay, so the match is set to begin at 11am. It's a blades-only rookie qualifying match, so no armor is allowed," Archer reminds me as I eat a bowl of cereal.

"Remember the plan and try to make it look like a challenge," Archer reminds me as the three of us ride the subway that leads to the underground Citadel.

"Don't forget that vampires are fast," Archer reminds me as we step off of the Adlivun subway. The Citadel is divided to have a separate transportation section and seating section for each district so that spectators have to go back the way they came.

"Don't forget to watch for the fangs!" Archer reminds me after we check in and walk towards the Adlivun combatants' chamber.

"Sir, this area is for combatants only," a guard says to Archer.

"DON'T FORGET TO--" Archer yells past the guard that is blocking him.

"DON'T WORRY, MOM! I'LL MAKE SURE TO BRUSH MY TEETH!" I interrupt.

"GOOD LUCK, COLE!" Reyna shouts as I continue to walk down the hall and into the combatants' chamber.

The combatants' chamber looks like a locker room made of black stone. I notice the very large vampire I will be fighting, as well as two guards to make sure that we don't fight before the match. I sit on a bench with a sword in each hand, just waiting. The vampire keeps sneering at me unnecessarily while sharpening a large battle axe that has a crescent shaped blade and what appears to be a mace for a pommel.

"Okay, both of you move to the gate," one of the guards says after a few minutes.

"Let's have a good match. Best of luck to both of us," I say to the vampire as we are waiting for the gate.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING DESTROY YOU!" the vampire snarls in a fashion that makes me think he has extremely small testicles to go with his 'brick shithouse' physique.

(I am so going to enjoy slaughtering him)

The gate opens and the vampire pushes past me and runs off to the right. I walk into the red-lighted stadium and over to the opposite side where I wait for the go light. The battleground flashes green and the vampire takes off in a blur until my eyes suddenly adjust. The vampire appears to be moving much faster than the vampires from yesterday, but I don't feel like he is moving all that quickly—I'm just moving really slowly.

The vampire swings his giant battle axe and I put up both swords to block, which ends with me flying back about fifteen feet. I stand to my feet in time to block and get knocked to the ground again.

(Something is wrong. This vampire is too strong to be just a vampire)

I stand again as my vision suddenly shifts and I see a swirl of colors in an orb over the vampire's torso and a red outline around his body.

(This is most unusual...)

The shift in my vision is enough of a distraction for the vampire to get in a strike with the large metal pommel of the axe, crushing my left hand and disarming me. I slash his arm with my right Sic blade before blocking the axe swing that would have taken my head off as the crowd cheers. The vampire follows up by delivering a crushing blow to my right shin with the mace.

"Ah!" I yelp in pain as my right leg collapses out from under me.

The vampire follows up with a swift kick to my chest, sending me sprawled out on my back. He runs over and kicks my right sword from my hand.

"AUGH!" I scream as the vampire drives the tip of his axe into my right hand.

"Now that you're soon to be out of the picture, all that's left is to kill that spying azeman and continue with Ahriman's plan," the vampire says in a voice that isn't his own, one with a Middle Eastern accent. "Oh, and don't worry. I will make sure to take care of that little bitch of yours. Take assurance in the fact that you can't do anything to stop me! Hahaha!"

" _That little bitch of yours... Can't do anything to stop me!" the_ memories of two different voices echo through my mind.

"Cheza," the world subconsciously surfaces to my lips.

I hear screaming as my memories come flooding back. It's as though the dam that held them just disappeared. I realize that the screaming is coming from me as the vampire continues to laugh.

(Welcome home, Master)

"AHH—Hahaha! You must be the lich, Alam. I must thank you for waking me from my amnesiac slumber. As a reward, here is a taste of what I'm going to do to you," I tell him.

I kick up and across the vampire's face, dislodging the axe from my hand. I rock to my feet and lurch forward to grasp the vampire's temples with my right hand. The vampire begins screaming as I feed my blood through his eyes and into his head. I transmute my blood into Octaazacubane as I throw him about ten feet into the air. He explodes, showering blood down upon me as it rains body parts and the crowd goes nuts.

It feels tingly to be back.

Suddenly, a black cloud strikes down beside me as it forms into a person that has taken a knee.

"Jason?" I ask my blonde best friend who is currently sporting a pointy goatee and a faint golden outline.

"Dammit, CT! Why do you recognize me!?" Jason angrily inquires.

"Oh, I recovered my memories a few seconds ago," I respond.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jason asks in disbelief.

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to grow this goatee and then have it meticulously trimmed on a daily basis to make it look like 'it grew this way simply because I'm evil'? I had this elaborate plan to kidnap Kita and have you come rescue her, where I would have an actress play as Rei and wear a silver wig so that your memories would come back! Now that's all ruined!" Jason exclaims.

"Well, isn't it better that I remember who Cheza is—HOLY SHIT! I THINK I HAVE A KID!" I shout, thinking to my dreams of Cheza playing with the tan baby that has hazel eyes and brown hair.

"JASON, DO I HAVE A KID!?" I yell while shaking him by his shoulders.

"How am I supposed to know? I have CT vision, not omnipotent vision," Jason says.

"I need to go talk to Kita, _now_. Let's grab Archer and Reyna and find Kita," I reply.

I spin around and look for them, but I don't see them amid the thousands of spectators. I call out to my blood that is in Reyna and I feel that she's in the combatants' chamber hallway. I run there with Jason on my heels.

"Cole! Are you alright!?" Archer asks.

"Alright Archer... Jericho... Jerry... fuck, I don't know what to call you now! Anyway, how much do you know?" I demand.

"What are you talking about?" he asks.

"Don't play dumb! I'm just supposed to believe that the son of Tia's good friend Archer just so happened to be in Adlivun where I coincidentally became friends with him? This is far too well arranged to merely be coincidence!" I accuse.

"Well, it looks like you got your memories back! I promised Kita that I would let her explain things first before I said anything," Archer says.

"Fair enough. Now, Reyna, tell me why Alam said you were spying," I demand turning my full attention to her and noticing that her aura has a black, bat-like shape with a swirl of colors for a backdrop.

"What? When did you speak with Alam?" Reyna asks.

"He was controlling the vampire. Listen Reyna, I just realized that I have a child so I'm kind of in the middle of a meltdown. Now tell me the truth otherwise I'm using my blood that you drank to paint the room with your organs," I sternly reply.

"It looks like this is one azeman that's swallowed just about as much as she can take," Jericho mumbles to Jason.

"Phrasing," Jason replies.

"Nice!" Jericho exclaims as he and Jason 'pound it' from their position as spectators.

(That was a pretty good one)

"Agreed Airi, but now isn't the time."

"I work for The Agency. I was sent here to investigate rumors of somebody enhancing the vampires in the Underworld, which have also been seen on earth, because of my ties to the vampire hierarchy in the Underworld. My ex-girlfriend also told me to smack you, her 'sort-of-fiancé,' in the head with a bottle to see if it would shock you out of your amnesia if the situation became dire. Don't worry about having a kid. Natasha doesn't have one," Reyna explains.

"You're a lesbian? Natasha's bisexual? ...Actually, that last part doesn't surprise me in the least. I was referring to Chezarei as to whom I have a child with," I clarify.

"Wait, you had a kid with your sister!? Dude... eww," Reyna says with a slightly disgusted look.

"She isn't really my sister and now isn't the time to discuss this. Alright, let's find Kita. She said she would be coming so have either of you seen her—Oh shit! Alam has her! Reyna, where is he!?" I frantically ask.

"Whoa slow down. What do you mean Alam has Kita?" Jericho asks.

"Alam told me through the vampire that he was going to 'take care of that bitch' of mine, which helped trigger the return of my memories because Illapa said the same about Cheza, but it just occurred to me that he doesn't know about Cheza so he must have been referring to Kita!" I explain without taking a breath.

"He's at the warehouse on the corner of Agloolik and Third," Reyna replies.

"Let's get going, CT!" Jason exclaims.

"I'm coming with you guys," Reyna adds.

"Hold up! You guys are going to need weapons. Let's head back to the _Cas_ bar, get you guys thoroughly armed, and then you can storm the place," Jericho suggests.

"Okay, everyone gather around and I'll port us there," I say as I hold out my right arm for everyone to grab, and then I touch my triskele. Nothing happens.

"I was afraid of that. I'll just take over for now," Jason says and then he ports us to the _Cas_ bar in a swirl of black mist.

Jericho walks around the bar and sticks his hand under the counter. A few moments later, an empty section of wall behind the bar folds down into the floor. Reyna, Jason, and I follow Jericho down the grey stone steps and into an armory.

"Yep, you are definitely Archer's son," I say as I take in the large collection of weapons.

"Do you have any double-bladed swords?" Reyna requests.

"No, I don't. Cole, I've been holding onto these for a few months now," Jericho answers and moves over to a metal box. He lifts the box up with a grunt and slams it onto a workbench

Jericho opens it up and inside are the Obliterator, the Diamond swords, my 10mm auto and its suppressor, my armored jeans, a new holster, and a new jacket in a charcoal grey color with a red stripe across the shoulders. I imagine that the blast incinerated my old jacket as well as the inlay, but Sara definitely had enough extra discs to make a new one. I notice a small jewelry box and when I open it, I see two replacement rings that are identical to the ones that Cheza gave me... over a year ago...

"You two will have to settle for dragon skin vests instead of the custom made stuff," Jericho says, turning his attention to Reyna and Jason.

"The blast melted the metal barrel and springs in your gun, but we were able to replace those," Jericho informs me as I slide both rings into place on my fingers.

"Sweet. Thanks, Jericho. Reyna, if you draw a blueprint of what you want, I can make it out of silicon carbide using my blood. I guarantee that it will be the lightest and the strongest weapon that you've ever used," I tell her while putting on my holster and jacket.

"Really!? Thanks Cole!" Reyna exclaims and then runs off to find a pencil and paper.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I get shneefed in here?" Jason asks.

"Seriously? We're about to mount an assault on a vampire stronghold that has untold numbers of suped-up vampires and a lich! So yeah, let's just start doing blow and jerking off on each other!" I respond incredulously.

"Emilio's dead in the shower!" Jason exclaims and we both start laughing. "Daniel Tosh's joke about an alternate ending for _The Mighty Ducks_! Classic!"

"Definitely! But seriously bro, no shneefing. You may have a problem..." I reply.

"Yeah, you're probably right... I can't wait to show you some of the shit I can do now, CT!" Jason says with excitement while trying to change the subject to something other than his possible cocaine problem.

"Okay, I just remembered that I can't draw for shit. Can I just describe what I need?" Reyna asks after coming back down the stairs.

"Sure, I'll do my best," I tell her.

"Alright, I need a total length of five feet with eighteen inch, straight, double-edge blades on both ends and two X-shaped cross guards," Reyna describes.

I twist my right ring open and slice into my left forearm. I build the weapon to Reyna's specifications and hand her the red bladed staff. _(4.6 Liters)_

"Thanks Cole!" Reyna says.

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, do you have any idea how many in number Alam's force is?" I ask.

"Roughly thirty..." Reyna replies. Now I'll just need to see if their auras are red like the suped-up vampire in the Citadel.

"Alright, put your vests on and let's get going," I respond.

Chapter 6: Party Favors Aren't Always Fun

There are four vampires on the roof of the warehouse and two by the gate. The ones on the roof are armed with rifles (with models that I can't discern at this distance) while the ones guarding the gate only have swords, but they also have red auras.

"Alright, any plans on how to take out the guys on the roof? Normally I would just port behind them and silently execute them, but it seems that I can't port..." I say.

"Just leave that to me, CT!" Jason exclaims with a smile and disappears in a swirl of black mist.

I look on the roof and see that Jason has appeared behind one of the guards. Jason swings his arm and black mist passes through the guard. A second later, the guard throws up a large quantity of blood before falling over while Jason takes care of three more before they know what's happening. Four bodies lie prone on the roof and a black swirl appears beside me about fifteen seconds later.

"Alright, the two guards by the gate are the suped-up variant that I fought in the Citadel and something tells me that the moment we kill them, Alam will know that we are here," I inform them.

"So what do we do?" Reyna asks.

"Okay, here's the plan: you two will engage them as I rush past them, enter the warehouse, kill everyone, and rescue Kita. You two should follow as soon as you finish them, but I'll hopefully have it wrapped up by the time you get there," I break it down.

"Wrapped up? Cole, you could barely handle one in the Citadel, let alone the twenty or so that are in there!" Reyna exclaims.

"Oh ye of little faith! Didn't you know that my boy is a bona fide badass?" Jason rhetorically asks. "Don't worry, CT. We'll deal with those two and join you in the warehouse!"

"Alright, do you need a weapon or something?" I ask.

Jason shakes his head and smirks before the black mist wraps around his right hand until it resembles a blade that is roughly three feet long and sort of triangular. That must be the weapon that Jason used on the other guards. Not entirely sure how that black mist can cut things, but Jason looks confident.

"Thanks Jason. Don't worry, Reyna. You haven't even seen what I can do yet!" I confidently exclaim while slicing my palms open as a precaution.

"Alright, just be careful. Natasha will be crushed if you die... you know, again," Reyna says.

"I will be," I reply as I engage my helmet.

I flash forward and blow past the vampires, distracting them and allowing Reyna and Jason to get the upper hand. I throw the warehouse doors open and step inside to find that I've fallen into a trap. I've got about ten assault rifles trained on me as well as fifteen other vampires with melee weapons.

"Welcome to the party! Sorry I couldn't make it in person," Alam says through a nearby vampire that is cloaked in a red aura. Roughly half of the vampires here are just like him.

"COLE!" Kita screams from the arms of Alam's vampire speaker box. "I'm so glad that you are safe!"

"As an apology for not being there in person, here is a party favor!" Alam exclaims.

Everything slows down as I watch the vampire pull out a gun, press it against Kita's temple, and pull the trigger.

I hear a demonic roar as everything fades to black.

...

I wake up in a large, plush bed with a saline drip and a blood bag being fed into my right arm intravenously.

I wasn't strong enough to save her... I failed... I'm sorry, Kita. I'm so sorry...

After a few minutes, I sit up and look around. I'm in a large black obsidian room that, judging by the décor, is most likely inside of a mansion or palace.

"Airi, what happened after Kita died? All I remember is a roar..."

(In essence, it was your Drive)

"What? How is that possible? My Drive disappeared! He said that my being won out!"

_(_ _You are now We_ _. Your Drive assimilated with you)_

A whole bunch of things just started making sense. Why did I think I would get all of the benefits of my Drive and none of the negatives, like sadistic bloodlust?

"Wait, so why is my Drive out of control now?"

(Your amnesia weakened the barrier and then the intense emotion you felt watching Kita's murder allowed it to gain control? It shouldn't have a will of its own anymore so it most likely won't do anything that you wouldn't... probably)

"What the hell do you mean probably!?"

(I don't know... Look, I'm a little busy right now)

"Busy with what!?"

(Leveling)

"That's monotonous anyway! How can you not keep up a conversation while doing that!?"

(Why can't you give virgin birth?)

"Because I'm not a woman!"

(Exactly. Your argument is invalid)

"How is that an argument!? At least tell me what happened!"

(I'm about to reach fifty though!)

"AND I'M BOUTS TA SLAP A HOE!"

_(_ *Gasp* _You did not just call me a hoe!) *_ Click*

_*_ Beep, Beep, Beep _*_

Damn, I fell for the 'Call Center Ploy'! i.e. the ploy known by call centers world-wide where the person providing assistance tries to be as infuriating as possible while wasting your time in the hope that you will swear at them, giving them reason to hang-up on you so you can start the two hour process all over again.

Well, I guess this is one mystery that isn't getting solved at the moment. I stand up, grab the rolling bag hanger, and walk out of the room. I head down an obsidian hall and suddenly pick up on two voices.

"I can't believe they got Kita... Things are getting serious," one voice says. Is that Pinga?

"Yes, but at least Cole is awake now. He will be able to turn the tide... That is your cue to come in, boy," the other woman says.

I enter the room and see Pinga, whose gaze I avoid, and Jason's mom, Hel. Hel is in her early forties, about 5'6" tall, slim with a pale complexion, and straight dark brown hair that is shoulder length.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save her, Pinga..." I quietly say while still avoiding her gaze. Pinga places her hand on my shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself, Cole. You know that she wouldn't have wanted that," Pinga softly says.

"Yeah..." That only makes me feel worse about losing her.

"Listen, Cole. We have a situation. The Underworld's Supreme leaders—Osiris, Hades, Izanami, and myself—agreed that all of the Underworld would remain neutral in any conflict. Now, someone is trying to take over the Underworld. The more unsavory characters in the Underworld are getting upgrades that make them faster and stronger and it's putting some of them on par with low rung deities. Somebody is backing the lich, and we need you to find out whom," Hel says.

"The Agency's director has also requested your assistance in the investigation with Reyna," Pinga adds.

"Point me in his direction. Alam is going to learn what happens to those that harm the people I care for," I state with an uninflected tone.

"We need to know who is supporting him, Cole. If you kill him, that information may be lost," Hel replies.

"I'll send my blood inside of him and have it rip his consciousness to shreds to find the information, ma'am," I emotionlessly say.

"You can do that? Well if that's the case, then you should be able to find him in Irkalla. First, I should probably give you a Haglaz rune. Take your shirt off," Hel orders.

I'm not entirely sure that I should trust her since she's Loki's daughter, but I take off my shirt anyway. Hel reaches out as black mist swirls around her arm and shoots toward me. I see the face of a dog bite down and I scream out in pain as a burning sensation that is unlike anything I've ever felt sinks deeply into my right shoulder.

I feel my body hit the ground as consciousness evades me.

...

Chapter 7: Have you seen me?

I awaken in one of Jericho's guest beds with a pounding headache. I look at my right pectoral and see what looks like a silver H, but the middle bar is slanted diagonally. It starts looking familiar and I realize that it's the same symbol that was on the coin that Jason gave me in the can of shaving cream.

Man, my head is just killing me... I could really use some water. I stand out of bed and walk down the hall towards the kitchen. I see Jericho passed out on the floor at about the same time that I hear feminine moaning. I turn the corner to find Reyna and Jason hooking up on the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing, Reyna!? I thought you were gay!?" I exclaim.

"I am!" Reyna replies.

"Then what are you doing here!?" I ask.

"CT, have you seen me?" Jason rhetorically asks.

"Yeah, but she's still gay!" I retort.

"Bitch please... Nobody's that gay," Jason says.

"Whatever, I have a massive headache so I'm going to grab a bottle of water and try to sleep it off," I say while pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Yeah, my mom said that you had an interesting reaction to the Haglaz rune," Jason replies as I grab a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Bro, that is so wrong... If you are going to mention your mother in conversation, then you have to pull out at the very least. I'm going to bed. We can talk about this shit in the morning," I say as I turn to walk back to the guestroom.

"Goodnight!" they both say in unison as they resume their previous activity.

****

I find myself floating in the black space again.

"The Haglaz rune will expedite revealment of the grace of the north east face, and then an encounter will take place," the overlapping 'helmet' voice echoes through the darkness.

"Oh look, it's Doctor Seuss with a voice modulator! Where's Sam and his green eggs or Danny DeVito?" I ask.

"Haha! I am looking forward to our meeting, my son."

****

[September 7th]

I awaken to the sweet smell of bacon and waffles. Well it looks like I wasn't dreaming before and Jason really did have sex with Reyna. Every time he would have sex with a girl on the counter, Jason would always clean the kitchen before making bacon and waffles, only forcing him to clean the kitchen for a second time. It's pretty nice that he's back; I've missed his antics.

Memories of my dream pop into my head as I sit up in bed. What had the voice in my dream said? Something about the Haglaz rune and the north east face?

I exit the bedroom and walk into the kitchen where I see Jericho cradling his head at the table, Reyna gawking into the kitchen from the table, and Jason cooking breakfast wearing nothing but an apron... Kita...

"Hey Jericho, can I use your computer?" I ask.

Jericho grumbles in response, but it doesn't sound negative so I head down the hall and into his office. I boot up his computer and Google search 'north east face'. The internet in the Underworld is a one way connection and outgoing information is blocked; however, things have been known to get through to earth, which is why there are cases of people getting email or voicemail from people that should be dead. All that comes up from my search is knock-off North Face gear so I shut the computer down and return to the kitchen.

"So how are you feeling, bro?" Jason inquires as I sit down.

"My head still hurts a bit. I'm a little fuzzy on the details so could someone please tell me what happened? I don't remember anything past Kita's death..." I quietly say.

"Well, we heard a roar as Jason was helping me finish off my opponent. We ran into the warehouse and found you unconscious next to Kita's body, along with hundreds of vampire bits everywhere," Reyna explains.

Yeah, that sounds about right. We eat in silence.

"Why did I have a bizarre reaction to the Haglaz?" I ask after several minutes.

"My mother thinks it has something to do with the blood transfusion that I gave you. She isn't sure what it's going to do, but with you it's bound to be interesting!" Jason states.

Without knowing that my blood cannibalizes any foreign blood that enters my stream, Jason's O- would be the smart choice for a transfusion, but since my blood basically ate Jason's, that can't be why the Haglaz acted strangely. However, since the Haglaz is a religious symbol and it turned silver, I now think it's safe to assume that any religious symbol on my skin will turn silver. After all, that is the third example. I wonder if Kali is the one doing this...

"Alright, so what's the plan?" I ask.

"We go to Alam's hideout and politely ask him what he knows and then we not-so-politely kill him?" Reyna suggests.

"Sounds like a plan to me! To Irkalla!" Jason exclaims.

"After you put on some clothes that aren't cooking related," I say.

"What!? And deny the Babylonian honeys all of this!?" Jason asks in mock outrage while turning around and motioning to his ass. Reyna giggles in response.

"Yes," I bluntly reply.

"Fine, I'll go take a shower. Care to join me, Reyna?" Jason seductively asks.

Reyna looks completely torn. Part of her looks like she really wants to go, but the other part is reminding her that she is supposed to like girls.

"That would probably be a good idea to conserve time," I tell her. Her face flickers for a moment before she nods seriously and follows Jason to the bathroom.

"Do you want to use the other shower? They will probably be in there for a while," Jericho suggests from his position with his head resting face down on the table.

"Yeah, that would probably be best. Want me to get you some water or something before I jump in the shower?" I ask.

"I'm good. I'll grab a bottle when the lights stop making me nauseated," Jericho replies.

I grab a pair of sunglasses and a bottle of water, and set them on the table next to Jericho before walking off to the master bathroom to take a quick shower.

The sounds of Reyna moaning seep through the bathroom door as I pass by on my way to the master bedroom. In the mirror of the master bathroom, I notice that the Haglaz is on my shoulder blade as well. It's almost as if the Haglaz penetrates through my chest. I also notice that my face has changed in the past year. My jawline has grown more defined and my cheeks are sharper... it actually looks like I'm in my twenties instead of in high school. I take a shower, get dressed in my battle gear, and head back out into the kitchen. Jericho is sitting at the table, looking like Ray Charles with those sunglasses on.

"Now all you need is a heroin addiction and a piano," I say from across the table.

"Racist," Jericho mumbles and we both laugh.

About forty-five minutes later, Jason and Reyna walk out of the bathroom and into the other guest bedroom. Ten minutes after that, they both step out of the room fully equipped and ready to go. Reyna is trying to be professional, but her face is still a little flushed. Jason isn't even trying to hide the 'Hell Yeah!' grin on his face, or the bite marks on his neck. I think I'm starting to see how they ended up having sex in the first place.

"So, are we ready to go?" Reyna asks.

Chapter 8: Is a head really necessary?

After the black mist dissipates, I look up and see the black and green sky. It looks like different districts do have different colored skies after all, which is good because the cityscape looks identical to Adlivun.

"Okay, now we need to go to the building on the corner of 4th street and Kur, according to my mother's information," Jason informs us.

"Why didn't we just port there?" Reyna asks.

"Because porting can be sensed by gods and certain magical items if it is done within about a mile of the god and/or item," Jason explains.

"Yeah, having the element of surprise on our side would be nice. So why didn't we do that last time?" I ask as we start walking.

"I didn't know about it until my mother told me while you were unconscious," Jason replies. So Hel must suspect that a god is behind this... as we are walking, I realize something.

"If we're in the Babylonian district of the Underworld, why is everything in English?" I inquire.

"It's not. Upon entering the Underworld, everyone is given the Gift of Tongues so that they read and hear things in their native language, even if something is written in ancient Sanskrit," Jason answers.

About two miles later, we arrive outside of an unmarked building. We start scoping the place out from an alleyway across the road, and oddly enough, there are no guards.

"Is there a chance that your mother's Intel was wrong?" I ask.

"Doubtful... you two stay here while I go check it out. If things get rough, I can always port out more easily without you two," Jason says seriously.

"Be careful," Reyna softly replies.

Jason grins at her and runs toward the building. Something seems to be going on between them... an attachment that is more than just sex, that is.

"Hey, wha—" I start to ask before Jason's swirl of black mist interrupts me.

"Okay, wow. First off, it's clear. Second, follow me... hey Cole? For that information probing thing that my mom was saying you could do, does that require the person to be alive... in the laxest of definitions?" Jason asks as we walk into the building.

This place looks like a furious version of me had already been here. Blood is coating the walls, and most of the bodies aren't even recognizable as bodies anymore. We walk to the back of the building where I see the most complete body we've come across, sitting on a golden throne.

"Or have an unexploded head?" Jason finishes as I realize that the guy on the throne must be Alam.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they need to have an intact head at the very least," I answer.

"What could create this kind of destruction...? Besides Cole, that is," Reyna says.

"Continue with Ahriman's plan."

"The Persian spirit of destruction. I'm really thankful that the fine art of the monologue wasn't lost on Alam or I wouldn't have any clue about Ahriman. You guys, this blood isn't very old so we should probably leave before the auth—" I reply.

"FREEZE!" the authorities shout as a team of five guys storms in, armed with two FAMAS assault rifles, two Uzi submachine guns and a PKM light machine gun. I'm totally expecting to get shot again, but then Jason steps forward.

"Hi there, I'm Jason, Prince of Niflheim. Is Nahid still in command of this unit?" Jason politely asks as he moves closer.

"Ugh! It just had to be him! Colonel, shoot him in the leg, but make it a grazing shot," I hear through an earpiece from across the room as I twist my right ring and slash open my left palm in case things get complicated.

"Umm, ma'am? I'm almost positive that this is actually the prince of Niflheim and I can't shoot him. It would be like shooting Tony Stark!" the Colonel whispers into his headset.

So Jason is known as a billionaire/ playboy/ philanthropist in the Underworld? Or a brilliant actor with a prior cocaine problem? My guess is the first one, as unlikely as the philanthropist part seems, because his possible cocaine problem is anything but prior.

"Colonel, what part of 'shoot him' don't you understand?" the woman, whom I assume is Nahid (and probably Jason's ex), asks.

"Core concept?" the Colonel responds.

At this point, the entire team has taken a more relaxed position with the exception of one soldier with an Uzi who looks like he might be the 'trigger happy' type.

"AUGH! CORPORAL SHOOT THAT MAN!" Nahid shrieks in the earpiece of the 'exception' and he responds by snapping his Uzi up.

I've anticipated something like this, so I'm already flashing forward once I hear Nahid's shrieking. I stick my left hand over the barrel, push some of my blood down it, and block it off with silicon carbide before taking a step back.

"If you're smart, you won't fire that," I warn him as he sneers and pulls the trigger with the gun aimed at my stomach.

"I clearly warned him," I calmly say with three guns trained on me while the corporal is on the ground, screaming and holding his hand.

"Sorry, Nahid. Knowing Jason, he probably did something stupid and totally deserves a grazing shot to the leg, but I'm the reason he's dead in the first place so I feel a bit protective of him," I state loudly enough for her to hear through the headset.

"*Sigh*... Alright everybody, stand down. I'll be there in about ten minutes," Nahid says in everyone's earpiece.

"Thanks for the assist with Nahid. I'm Saquib," the Colonel says while sticking his hand out.

"No problem, I'm Cole. Won't you be reprimanded for disobeying orders though?" I ask as a soldier injects something into Mr. trigger-happy.

"No, Nahid and I are both Colonels, it was just decided that she would coordinate the team while I would lead it in the field," Saquib explains. Is it just me, or did Saquib appear to be slightly cross as he said that?

"So, what exactly happened here?" Saquib asks about five minutes later.

"As far as I can tell based on the destructive pattern, Ahriman came through here and killed everyone, including the only lead we had on an investigation regarding the increase in vampire combat abilities. Since Ahriman had some reason to kill our lead, he has now become that lead," I explain.

"Well then, I've got good news: Ahriman is here in Irkalla. He came in this morning and is scheduled to return to Duzakh tomorrow," Saquib says.

"Thanks for the information," I reply.

It looks like we will be planning for a raid tonight. An attractive Middle Eastern woman with short, spikey, black hair and brown eyes walks into the building wearing army green cargo pants and a black tank top. She has the same body type as Sara, if you add two inches to Sara's height.

"Is this the one?" Nahid asks Saquib while gesturing to me and he nods in response.

"Hmm, he's cute..." Nahid expressionlessly says and then a smile flashes across her face as she gets a devious glint in her eye. Thanks to Tia, I am rather familiar with this glint so I brace myself.

Nahid throws her punch toward my throat with a follow up to my solar plexus. She's fast. Without the glint that indicated her intentions, I never would have seen the first punch coming. She's at least as quick as Tia and the 'red' vampires, but I'm still faster. My vision kicks in and I discover why she is so fast: Nahid is a demigod.

I block the punch to my throat, but I allow the shot to my solar plexus to connect so I can gauge her strength and enjoy the confusion on her face when she punches the 'brick wall' of my jacket. Both her strength and her resulting confusion are considerable. I unzip my jacket and shrug it off before slipping off my holster.

"I don't want to have too much of an advantage," I boast and Nahid smirks in response before engaging me again.

Based on the frequency of her attacks to my body's major vulnerabilities, her use of her elbows and knees, and her use of pre-emptive strikes, I'd say she is most likely trained in Krav Maga. I continue to block and dodge as she presses her attacks with her men cheering her on. I'm in a bit of a rough situation. I can end this fight relatively easily because I have her beat in speed with an equal amount of strength and skill. I want to show her and her men that I'm not someone to mess with, but I don't want to ruin the confidence that the soldiers have for her by destroying her outright. However, I also can't throw the fight because I get the feeling that it would be a grave offence if I allow her to win.

I start slowing down and allow her punches to hit my face, but she catches on immediately. I watch as Nahid becomes angrier the more her strikes connect. Yeah, throwing the fight definitely won't fly so I start striking back while avoiding her face and looking for a way to end this fight without harming her too much. She clocks me good with a powerful hit to my temple that allows me to see stars.

Nahid is following up with two more punches that will likely put me down so I duck down and to the right to deliver an accurate strike to her left ulnar nerve (her funny bone) before repeating the strike for her right arm. With both arms immobilized momentarily, I sweep around behind her as she tries to throw her left knee into my groin. I squat down slightly and put her in a headlock while sweeping out her right leg. I straighten up while bending backwards to relieve some of the strain from her neck. She kicks back with her legs to try and get me in the balls, but I'm out of her range and she can't do anything else offensively without her arms. I wait until Nahid's eyes flutter closed as her body goes slack, and then I immediately let up on the chokehold and gently lower her to the ground.

"Wow... I've never seen anyone beat the Colonel before," one of the soldiers whispers.

"That was quite impressive, Cole. Defeating a daughter Ereshkigal/Inanna's war persona is no simple feat," Saquib says.

Great, so I just possibly made an enemy of the Mesopotamian goddess of the underworld's war persona, as well as the Mesopotamian goddess of fertility, which is the same goddess in some sources. I neglect to respond and just wait beside Nahid until she awakens a few minutes later and regards me with a look of disgust.

"Alright, let's get moving," Nahid orders and then exits the building with four soldiers following her. By the way Mr. trigger-happy is stumbling along, my guess is that he was injected with morphine.

"We should get a drink sometime. Here, I'll write down the address of this great bar I know of that has this really interesting place across the street," Saquib says as if he's speaking in code while he writes down an address in a notebook that he pulled from his cargo pants. He rips out the paper and hands it to me.

" _Be careful of Nahid. She is up to something,"_ is written underneath the address. Could Nahid be working with Ahriman?

"See you around, Cole," Saquib adds as he walks toward the entrance.

"Yeah, see you," I respond.

"Ready to go, you two?" I ask while turning towards Jason and Reyna.

They both nod and Jason ports us back to Jericho's place.

Chapter 9: It can't be both!?

"Hey CT... uh, thanks for having my back, back there... you know that I don't blame you for killing me, right?" Jason asks once we get back to Jericho's.

"I know bro, but I'll still always have your back!" and will probably always blame myself for your death.

"I'm going to try porting using my Haglaz to head back to Irkalla and scope this place out. What are you guys going to do?" I ask.

"We need to go report to my mother about Ahriman. How about we meet back here in about an hour?" Jason suggests.

"Sounds good. Let's get to work!" I exclaim.

"Be careful, CT, and make sure you port out of there if things get too heavy," Jason says.

"No worries! See you guys later!" I tell them and port to the intersection that Jason ported us to in Irkalla. I look at the paper and see that the location that Saquib wrote down is on 16th and Kur, so I port across the street from Alam's building and start walking.

I spend the majority of the next hour walking to my destination, but I finally reach what appears to be an abandoned building. Saquib seemed like a pretty cool guy so I doubt he would send me on a frivolous trip as a prank. Maybe the building is supposed to look abandoned for stealth purposes? I guess I'll go check it out. I can just say that a girl gave me the location and said a party was being held there if I get questioned by guards and I can always port out as a backup plan.

I walk up to the door, but I can't see anything inside through the glass pane on the door. I pull on the handle and the door swings open so I step inside.

"Hello? Is Allison here? She said there was a party?" I ask the dark room, preparing my back story.

"Is anybody h—" I'm interrupted by a blunt force trauma to the base of my skull as an electrical current courses through me.

...

I awaken to find myself chained to the back wall of a concrete cell that is about 15'x15' with a Plexiglas wall in front of me. It seems that I have been captured. How am I even thinking coherently? Isn't being unconscious for longer than five minutes supposed to be evidence of a brain hemorrhage or some other severe head injury?

(Yeah, it's like super bad for you. That's the reason you were unconscious for so long: I had to heal the bleeding in your brain)

"Well, thanks Airi, but where am I?"

"If Apep uses his magical gaze to hypnotize him then you will have a powerful warrior," I hear Saquib's voice say from about one hundred feet in front of me and twenty feet below. The cage must be on the second floor, or perhaps he's in the basement.

I now realize that Saquib was really the one I should have been watching out for. By telling me to be wary of Nahid, I subconsciously trusted Saquib when I had no reason to trust either of them.

"You did well. I was expecting that capturing The Faction's Executioner would be more of a challenge than this... I will contact Apep and by tomorrow, we should have ourselves a powerful new weapon," a second voice replies. The voice reminds me of the crunch of gravel. It's just a hunch, but I'm willing to bet that's Ahriman.

Apep was a giant snake in Egyptian mythology that constantly fought with Ra, the sun god. His characteristics were incorporated by Set, husband/brother to Nepthys, brother to Osiris, and known for killing Osiris and chopping up his body. I think I just discovered who is behind all of this. Now I just have to figure a way out of here. I can't touch my Haglaz with four shackles on each arm. Maybe I can cut myself on the shackles?

...No dice. I'm restrained too tightly and my wrists aren't shackled so I can't just rotate my wrist until it bleeds. The shackles seem to rely on the integrity of the chain to stay locked so if I can just break the chains...

"Are you alright?" I hear a feminine voice quietly ask from the corner. I turn my head towards her, but my shackled arm is blocking my vision so I can't see her.

"Yes, thanks for asking. I'm Cole. How long have I been here?" I question.

"I believe you have been here for about three hours. My name is Naia," Naia answers.

Jason and Reyna are probably freaking out already and they have no idea where I am.

"It's nice to meet you, Naia. Why are you here?" I inquire.

"I do not know. I woke up here and all I could remember was my name..." Naia quietly responds.

"Haha I've been there! I had amnesia up until two days ago. Don't worry, Naia. I'm sure that your memories will return to you," I say while trying to sound reassuring.

"Do you truly think so?" Naia softly asks.

"Of course! And I'm sure you won't need to get stabbed in the stomach or have it be directly followed by the death of your girlfriend..." I say, starting out lighthearted with my demeanor falling quickly.

"Cole?" Naia asks.

"It's nothing... so how long have you been here?" I inquire.

"I have been here for quite some time... It has been really boring and all of the guards pass by me as if I do not exist. I was beginning to believe that I was invisible until you responded to me," Naia replies.

"Well, it's possible that you are invisible. I still haven't seen you yet," I point out.

"That is true, isn't it?" Naia rhetorically asks and then walks into my field of vision. I'm pretty stunned by what I see.

First, I'd like to point out that she is dressed in black lace panties and nothing else. Is there some sort of unwritten rule about requiring various states of undress for girls locked in cages?

(Yeah, what about dudes...? hint hint)

I look down and see that I have been stripped to my boxers.

"Correction: rule about requiring various states of undress for _being_ locked in a cage."

Naia is five feet tall with tan skin, purple eyes, dark purple hair that reaches her lumbar, and breasts that must add quite a bit of strain to said lumbar. Her breasts are probably the same size as Natasha's, but they look much bigger on a frame that is several inches smaller. Now on to the less normal attributes. Her pupils are vertical slits, like a cat's, and she has a purple, devil-like, tail that is about two feet long. She also has purple dragon wings sticking out of her back, which explains why she isn't wearing a bra. I find her to be quite attractive, but her eyes are freaking me out a little.

Is she a succubus? Because that would be awesome and it would totally give me an excuse to sleep with her without feeling guilty.

"No Cheza, I still love you! I was just helping her. It's not like she can fight her nature!" I'll say when caught.

(Planning to get caught before you've committed the crime is a fairly good indication that you shouldn't do it to begin with)

But before that, I have a few very important questions.

"Well, I can see you. Hey Naia, by chance do you remember how old you are, or what you are?" I ask while trying hard to keep my gaze from her breasts, but they just keep staring at me.

(Are you forgetting that you possibly have a child?)

Oh... right.

"No, I do not," Naia responds with a puzzled look on her face.

"Don't worry about it," I reply with a sigh as my hearing picks up activity below me.

"We have him shackled in the cage with the girl," Ahriman says.

"Good. I can use my magical gaze through the glass and th—" a voice that must be Apep says before being interrupted by a siren.

"How can we have intruders!?" Ahriman shouts as I hear a loud smack.

"I don't know, sir! I was careful when bringing him here and he didn't have anyone with him! There shouldn't be any way for them to find us!" Saquib quickly exclaims in a panic.

"COLE! JUST HOLD ON! WE'VE COME TO RESCUE YOU AND WE'LL HAVE THAT DILDO OUT OF YOUR ASS SOON!" I hear Jason shout from below me. I don't even want to know what Jason is picturing my situation to be.

"Naia, I need you to cut open my arms with your fingernails," I urgently say and Naia does so without questioning it.

I quickly form eight RMX explosive crystals in the shape of darts with five milliliters of blood on the inside of each. _(4.2 Liters)_

"Alright, now wedge these darts in between links in each of the eight chains, then stand in the corner and plug your ears," I instruct her.

I engage my helmet while praying that it will be enough to keep my eardrums from perforating. When I'm sure that Naia is a safe distance away and plugging her ears, I detonate the RMX darts. It works like a charm and the chains fall from the wall, loosening the shackles and freeing my arms.

Now that I'm free, I stand, walk over to the clear Plexiglas 'door,' and see the carnage below, as well as a sight that takes my breath away: Cheza, her beautiful silver hair tied back into a ponytail as she flaunts her curves in a skintight, one-piece, black leather suit. The enemy's force is frozen with the exception of Apep and Ahriman. Ahriman is being engaged by Jason and Nahid, who are using black mist/shadow powers to make black hands come out of the ground that try to grab Ahriman, while Apep is fighting Cheza. Apep's lack of golden aura gives me hope for the situation, but also confuses me because Apep is supposed to be a god. Regardless, Cheza seems to be having some trouble fighting the giant fifty foot snake. I need to get down there to help her, so I start the draw for my Mu-cutter to cut through the Plexiglas.

(That will not work. The Plexiglas is approximately forty inches thick)

Since my Mu-cutter is only thirty-six inches long, I don't have any means for getting out now. I beat my hand against the wall in frustration and watch as Cheza starts slowing down, the dozens of frozen vampires having taken their toll. Apep uses his tail to sweep out Cheza's legs and she hits the ground. In my mind, I see Cheza getting to her feet as Apep's hooded head comes down on top of her.

No.

I won't fail again.

I won't lose Cheza.

I feel my body switch to autopilot as I put my left hand against the Plexiglas.

"I create nothing. I preserve nothing. I only _erase,"_ I hear my voice say as it's overlapped through the helmet.

The wall suddenly turns into smoke and is blown away. After leaping over the railing and down twenty feet to the floor below, I see Cheza on one knee as Apep's teeth bear down on her. I flash forward and scoop Cheza up under my right arm as I pass, but I'm just not quick enough. I hear the crunch as Apep bites through the humerus of my left arm. I don't know if it is my Drive that is blocking my pain or if I'm just a badass, but this doesn't hurt all that much.

"That was tasty... I've decided to just eat you instead of turning you into a slave!" Apep hisses after chewing and swallowing my arm.

The chewing part seems very un-snakelike... and now I can't cut my arm out of that asshole once I kill him. I guess I'm down to only one ring now too... for people who are missing their left arms, which finger do they put a ring on to symbolize that they're married?

I say nothing as I set Cheza down and transmute my chewed arm into Octaazacubane. I snap my fingers and Apep's head gets blown out of his ass. Chunks of snake rain down as I turn towards Ahriman. I don't care if he is king of the Daeva, he is still only from a mid-tier pantheon so I shouldn't have too much trouble.

I start the draw for the Mu-cutter while Ahriman is distracted. Ahriman realizes that he is in over his head as the Mu-cutter connects. He makes a run for it, but I rush forward and slice through his neck before he reaches the door. I proceed to quarter his headless body to speed up the 'gold-flaking' process.

"Cole... your arm..." Cheza says from across the room with tears in her eyes as control of my body is relinquished to me.

"Tis but a scratch!" I say as my helmet retracts.

"A SCRATCH!? YOUR ARM'S OFF!" Jason shouts while doing a perfect impression of King Arthur.

"No it isn't... I'm glad that you're safe, Cheza," I say as I walk towards her.

Cheza sprints forward and hugs me in response. I suddenly hear crying that I realize isn't coming from Cheza. I look over and see that it's Jason who's crying while sporting something else.

"Why do you have an erection!?" I incredulously ask.

"Because I'm happy?" Jason replies.

I call bullshit as I realize that he has probably seen every single time Cheza and I have had sex, including the time I can't remember because of the fairy alcohol.

"Really!? It's not that every time you see us, you're reminded of us having sex!?" I shout.

"IT CAN'T BE BOTH!?" Jason shouts back as I start to feel woozy.

"NAIA!" I yell while struggling to remain conscious. Naia appears on the upper balcony, looking over the railing.

"Cole! You are injured!" Naia exclaims as she expands her wings and glides down to our position.

"Yeah, but I'll be okay, Naia... let's get out of this place, everyone," I say as the pain from my arm starts to catch up to me.

"Umm, Cole? Who are you talking to?" Cheza asks as everybody looks at me like I'm mentally unsound. They can't see her...

(Hold out your right hand. You're welcome)

I do so and watch as a dark maroon bangle forms from my blood before I give it to Naia.

"Here, put this on," I tell Naia and she does so without resistance.

"WHOA!" Jason, Nahid, and Cheza exclaim. I'll take that as affirmation that they can see her now.

"This is Naia, she was in the cell with me and... she has amnesia... We're taking her... with us," I say as my vision darkens.

I fall to the ground just before consciousness slips my grasp.

****

Chapter 10: Misunderstandings

I find myself floating in the darkness once again.

"The west face is that which is used to create. The north face is used to preserve and heal. In combination, the capability to restore limbs is bestowed," the overlapping voice echoes.

"What, no rhyming?"

****

[September 8th]

"So what is your relationship with Cole?" I hear Cheza ask from my right side as I regain consciousness to a dull throbbing from the remains of my left arm.

"Cole was the first..." Naia quietly responds, also from my right side.

"What a coincidence, he was mine too," Nahid responds from elsewhere in the room.

"Same here," Reyna says from the same direction as Nahid.

"Eh...? _Cole, you'd better hope that you don't wake up,"_ Cheza maliciously whispers into my ear.

Misunderstandings: Lack of context is crucial. I'm guessing that I'm the first person that could see her, to Naia; the first person that defeated her in combat, to Nahid; and I'm not entirely certain what Reyna is referring to... First guy to drink blood from?

"But don't worry. I've been using Jason for that lately," Reyna adds, making me think that my guess was correct.

I think the best possible thing I can do right now is feign sleep. The voice in my dream was obviously talking about a way for me to create a new arm, but I don't really get it... Maybe Airi will be able to offer some assistance.

"Hey Airi, can you help me make a new arm?"

(It shall be done. Brace yourself as this will be painful)

"Wha—"

"AUGHHHH!" I scream aloud.

Wow, she really wasn't kidding. It feels like I'm dipping what remains of my left arm into a vat of acid.

"COLE! COLE WHAT'S WRONG!?" Cheza shouts over my agonized screaming as Reyna rushes out of the room. Naia and Cheza both look extremely concerned, but in their defense, it does sound like I'm dying. I also see that Naia is now clothed in a backless black dress.

Pinga runs in about a minute later and surveys the situation.

"Pinga! What's going on!?" Cheza frantically asks.

"I'm not sure..." Pinga replies.

(Twenty percent)

"OH THANK GODS! IT'S ALMOST OVER!" I scream.

(Oh... If you are going to interpret it like that: eighty percent)

"SON OF A BITCH! HOW IS THIS ONLY A FIFTH FINISHED!?" I scream.

(Okay, I'm just going to knock you out for a bit because having you conscious is giving me a headache)

...

"Cole! Are you alright?" Cheza asks while gripping my right hand as I open my eyes. She and Naia are hovering over me while Nahid, Reyna, Pinga, and Jason are scattered about the room, most sitting on the black couch across the room

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say with a smile as I reach over and caress her cheek with my new left arm... and it's silver... I'm a little disappointed about the color, but not all that surprised. This thing is going to be a bitch to hide from public eyes though. How is it bending when it seems to be made of silicon carbide? The entire room looks completely shell-shocked.

"Damn bro. When you said that your arm wasn't off, I thought you were just following the script!" Jason exclaims.

"Hey, Jason, go find something hard, like a concrete block or a slab of granite," I tell him.

"Just use the wall!" Jason says in an excited fashion, which gives me the impression that he has an idea of what I'm about to do.

I swing my legs out of the bed, stand, and walk over to the wall. Apparently somebody found my gear before we left because my jacket, pants, and holster are sitting in-between the bedside table and the wall. I keep my strength at human levels and I punch the obsidian wall. It's as though the wall is made of inch-thick drywall.

"YEAH! Fuck you walls! Who's the bitch now!? Doesn't feel so great being on the receiving end does it!?" I yell.

"BRO! THAT WAS TOTALLY BADASS!" Jason shouts.

"I KNOW, RIGHT!? I would totally hack off my right arm just so I can have another one of these, if it weren't for the shit tons of pain that comes with making a new one," I say and then I notice five red dots that are along my radius and five more along my ulna... or at least where those bones used to be. I find a final dot on my palm.

"Hey Airi, what are these?"

(How else are you supposed to draw from your left arm?)

"Nice thinking, Airi. Thanks!"

"Cole, how are you even able to move that? A material that is that hard shouldn't be able to bend," Pinga asks curiously.

(The arm is filled with regrown muscle tissue and is controlled by manipulating your blood. The joints behave in the same way as the plates in your jacket when they are in that semi-liquid state)

"Think of it like a crustacean limb," I answer. Like I'm going to tell Pinga the truth with Cheza standing right there when she already has too much control over my body as it is.

(That was not necessary. Cheza is no longer connected to you like that)

"What? Is there a way to reinstate the connection?"

(Yes, all you need to do is transfer some of your blood into her and it will reconnect with the older blood)

I guess that is something that we will have to do later. Right now, I have a report to make.

"By the way, I found out who is behind this whole mess... I think," I announce.

"You did?" Reyna asks.

"It was Set, obviously," Hel announces as she strides into the room.

"Well there goes my surprise," I mumble.

"It became apparent once Jason mentioned Apep. I relayed the information to Osiris and Isis. Apparently Horus has already taken care of it. By the way, Jason also mentioned that you lost your arm fighting Apep," Hel says.

"Yeah, my left arm got caught when I kept Cheza from being eaten, but I grew a new one... speaking of which, Cheza, why are you here and not with our child?" I inquire.

"Perhaps we should give you two some alone time," Jason says and hustles everyone out of the room.

"To answer your first question, Pinga brought me here to help find you through our connection, but that didn't work. Luckily, Nahid was able to give us the answer to your whereabouts because she'd had someone tailing the traitor that took you. As for your second question, what are you talking about?" Cheza asks.

"When I had amnesia, I had this reoccurring dream of a tan baby with brown hair and hazel eyes that was being played with by my favorite silver haired iroboke neko," I tell her.

"Horny dog? When did Cheza dress up as a dog?" I hear Jason ask from the hall.

"Why does it not surprise me that you know the Japanese word for horny, but not the one for cat?" I shout.

"I thought cat was nyan?" Jason says as he peaks his head around the corner.

"That's the sound that cats make," I clarify.

"No, meow is the sound that cats make," Jason retorts in a tone of voice that implies that I'm the stupid one.

"Nyan is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat meowing," I inform him.

"Oh... then you probably should have gone with ecchi koneko if you were trying to say sex kitten," Jason says and then shuts the door.

I'm not going to say anything about how he knew the word for kitten, but not the one for cat... although, I bet if I were to ask him what kitten is in Japanese, he would probably have no clue without a sexual context.

"Cole, that isn't your child," Cheza says, bringing me back to our conversation.

If a head could explode from mixed-feelings, then mine would cause an explosion on par with a supernova. The good news is that I don't have a kid. The bad news is that Cheza had a child with someone who isn't me.

(Not to mention that the baby was more than six months old and you've only been gone for fifteen)

My chest tightens and I start seeing stars. I'm not even aware that Cheza is saying something to me until she starts shaking me.

"COLE! BREATHE!" Cheza shouts as she smacks me. "The baby isn't mine either. It's Katie's sister's son that I used to occasionally babysit!"

"Oh, thank gods! For a moment there I was thinking that you had a baby with another guy and that there was a possibility that you had cheated on me because that baby is too old to have been conceived after my death!" I respond while semi-chuckling. Cheza gives me a harsh look that makes my ass cheeks tighten involuntarily.

"Yes... about that... Do you ever consider that feeling when you are the one doing the cheating?" Cheza asks with a terse tone.

"WITH THREE DIFFERENT WOMEN!?" Cheza screams. "One of which I'm positive that you met only after you had regained your memories."

"Cheza, I never cheated on you with _those_ women!" I defend. Is it just me, or was my intonation a little off there?

"What do you mean _those_?" Cheza inquires with a very homicidal looking gleam in her eyes.

Shit. The end is nigh for Cole Treyfair.

"In my defense, I had no idea who you were and I was sharing a bed with Kita," I explain.

"Well I guess that I can't be too mad when I slept with five other guys, but in my defense, you were dead!" Cheza exclaims with a slight amount of hysteria. I'm not too sure how I feel about that...

(Master, you are missing the most important detail! Was it five guys at the same time?)

I feel my face fall. I'm not sure if this is a question I want to know the answer to, but I'm asking it anyway.

"At the same time?" I ask.

"ASS!" Cheza screams as she slaps me. "What, do you think I became a giant whore while you were gone!?"

For some reason, the first thing that pops into my head is a fifty-foot tall naked Cheza... the second thing is a whorish Cheza that caters specifically to giants... Cheza's right though. I am being an ass. I should apologize...

(All of them. At the same time. And the bedpost too)

"Well I think that it's a possibility!" I exclaim.

'That probably wasn't the right thing to say,' I realize after Cheza breaks my nose and storms out of the room.

"Having girl troubles?" Hel asks. She must have come in while Cheza was leaving, which I was unable to notice because it's a bit hard to see through my involuntary tears.

"Yeah, though it is mostly just my stupid mouth. Is there something that you needed, ma'am?" I ask.

"I just wanted to thank you for your help. With this insurrection quelled, the last remnants of my father's plan have gone up in smoke. I was able to get you reinstated at the University of Washington so you can finish your degree, if you'd like. The Agency has already taken care of your social security number and your death certificate so that you are officially alive," Hel replies.

"Wait, what about Loki and the war?" I inquire.

"Nobody seems to know where my father is, but the war is nonexistent now. It seems that Chezarei can no longer be used for my father's plans because her blood has become diluted," Hel explains.

It seems that I inadvertently protected Cheza simply by giving her my blood. I feel kind of lost now... The only thing that had been on my mind before I died was protecting Cheza, but that isn't even necessary anymore.

"What about the vampires and the werewolves? Weren't your brothers sort of like their kings?" I ask.

"Not exactly. They ruled over or controlled those they created, but vampires and werewolves have been around longer than my brothers and I. Both have their own hierarchies and tend to govern themselves. The ones that my brothers created have freedom now so they've just assimilated into the existing structure," Hel explains.

"Speaking of your brothers, why were they so easy to kill? Jormungandr was supposed to be a god according to the mythos, but Cheza easily killed him with a couple of ice spikes. Apep was similarly easy to kill for a god," I mention.

"Fenrir and Jormungandr weren't gods, just a type of demigods. I would be the same if I hadn't been promoted to this station by Odin. As for Apep, his defeat ages ago caused a drop in status so he wasn't a god either," Hel answers.

"Huh..." I reply. So what do I do now?

"I guess going back to school wouldn't be too bad of an idea... is Jason going to be coming back to school with me?" I ask.

"No, he will have to remain in the Underworld because he is still technically dead," Hel informs me.

"Oh..." I quietly reply, feeling guilty.

"Jason will be able to return to Midgard eventually. Even I'm able to return to Midgard for one day in exchange for every year I spend in the Underworld because my body is half alive," Hel explains.

Well, that explains how she met Jason's dad and how Jason managed to be born on earth.

"It's about time for you and Chezarei to return home. Bring the winged girl with you. She doesn't belong here anyway. Consider this a parting gift," Hel says and approaches my bedside.

Hel kisses the tips of her index and middle fingers on her right hand, and touches my Haglaz rune. There is an intense burning sensation, but it isn't nearly as bad as it was when I first received the Haglaz. I look down at my right pectoral and see that the H-shape has a second bar in the center that is parallel to the first one.

"This should allow you to port to the Underworld from anywhere, except from other pantheon's domains. That is the reason that your triskele doesn't work here," Hel explains.

"Thank you, ma'am," I reply.

Hel gives me a curt nod and leaves the room. I spend the next five minutes getting dressed and then Jason, Reyna, Cheza, Naia, and Nahid re-enter the room. Cheza just stands there, glaring at me with her arms crossed over her chest, before Jason speaks up.

"Well, it's been real, CT. Next time you come back, I'll show you around Niflheim. It's pretty much the Hollywood of the Underworld," Jason says.

"Definitely! Thanks for your help, Nahid," I say.

"It was thanks to you that we were able to catch Saquib so just consider us even," Nahid replies.

"Naia, since you apparently aren't supposed to be in the Underworld, you are coming to live with me," I say. Cheza's eyes narrow in response, but Naia looks rather pleased.

"Why does he get two winged harem members..." Jason grumbles.

"You had better not be including Lila as a 'winged member' or you'll be on the receiving end of a left hook in about five seconds," I tell him.

"What!? Pfft, no! I wasn't including Lila! I was talking about... SMOKEBOMB!" Jason yells as he flicks all of his fingers out in front of his face, and runs out of the room.

"Idiot... alright you three, hold on," I say to Reyna, Naia, and Cheza while holding out my right arm. Naia and Cheza grab on, but Reyna looks reluctant.

"Don't worry. I can take you down here to see him anytime you want," I whisper to Reyna.

"Who said this has anything to do with Jason!? Maybe the mere thought of touching you repulses me so much that I don't want to do it even if I have to stay in the Underworld!" Reyna snaps.

"Whoa! Is it really necessary to hurt my feelings in order to lie to yourself?" I ask.

"I'm sorry..." Reyna quietly replies.

"Apology accepted. Now I'm making up your mind for you," I say and touch my right shoulder blade.

Chapter 11: WILSOOOON!

"Oh my! There is so much color!" Naia announces when she sees our front yard.

If this is her response to Arizona, her mind will be blown when she sees parts of this world that are actually colorful. I walk up to the front door of the house and stop. Returning home from the Underworld feels weird... I feel anxious for some reason... Well, here goes nothing.

"WELCOME HOME COLE!" Sara and Tia shout as I open the door. I step inside and they both rush over to hug me.

"COLE! WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM!?" Sara screams.

"Eaten by Apep so I made a new one," I quickly explain. tersely

"Who is this?" Tia inquires.

"This is Naia. I met her in the cage we were being held in. She has amnesia and doesn't even remember what she is. Oh, and she's invisible unless she wears that bracelet. She's going to be staying here for a while," I inform them.

"Based on your description, I might have an idea of what Naia is. Let's sit down and have some lunch while we talk about it," Sara suggests.

"Alright. I'm going to go change my clothes first," I say and head towards my room.

"I need to get going. If I leave now, I should be able to make it back in time for my afternoon classes," Cheza says as I head towards my room.

She must be going to ASU now. I walk into my room and see that it is almost exactly as I left it. I start changing into a clean t-shirt and cargo shorts when I hear whispering.

"Chezarei, have you told him yet?" Tia asks.

"Told him what?" Cheza tersely asks.

"About Jarrett," Tia clarifies. "Chezarei, you have to tell him!"

"I don't have to tell him anything!" Cheza expounds. "Now I have to go or I'm going to be late."

My stomach bottoms out as I hear the front door slam shut. Is this how Tom Hanks felt when he finally got off of that island in _Cast Away_? And I don't even have Wilson to help me through it...

"Hey Airi?"

(No, you may not call me Wilson, Master)

So much for that plan.

Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions... or maybe this is a situation that calls for crying in the fetal position while hugging a volleyball. I lie down on my bed and stare up at the ceiling for a little while. I guess that my relationship with Cheza is over. Not all that surprising considering that it has been over a year. It's not like I can even get angry with her. After all, I am the one who told her that I wanted her to be with someone else. It's my fault that things are like this, but I never expected that I would come back from an explosion... Wait a second, how did I come back? My body was destroyed and yet here I am, living and breathing. A knock at my door interrupts my thoughts.

"Cole? Are you alright?" Naia quietly asks as she enters my room.

"Hey Naia... yeah, I'm fine... just thinking, that's all," I respond.

"Something tells me that you are not telling me the truth..." Naia says as she sits down next to me on my bed.

"Things are just a bit different now that I've come back," I reply.

Naia doesn't say anything in response, she just sits there with me. After about five minutes, I decide that we should go get lunch so I start to get up.

"AHMM!" Naia loudly moans.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" I shout as I see that her tail is underneath my hand. I grasp her tail and stroke it gently.

"MMM!" Naia moans in response with her mouth closed. Well this is interesting.

"Cole... can you please... release... my tail?" Naia begs while breathing heavily with tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Oh, umm, yeah... let's go get some lunch!" I awkwardly exclaim.

We exit my room and walk to the kitchen where Tia and Sara are sitting at the table, looking displeased with me. I look over to find that Naia's face is red and she is still breathing heavily, as an added plus.

"Cole... we understand that you must be upset... but that doesn't mean you can just jump into bed with the nearest girl," Sara lightly scolds with a motherly tone.

"No, you've got it all wrong. We weren't doing anything like that. Tell them Naia," I reply.

"Well, while Cole and I were on his bed, he took advantage of his position and caused me to feel good," Naia explains.

"COLE!" Sara and Tia yell simultaneously.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS YOUNG WOMAN THAT CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER WHAT SHE IS!" Tia screams while standing up to slap me.

"Whoa, all I did was grab her tail by accident when I was sitting up!" I defend.

"Yes, and it felt good..." Naia quietly adds.

"Well, alright then. So I think I have an idea as to what Naia is. Based on your description and her appearance, I'd say that she's a jinni; however, her color is unlike any jinn I've ever heard of. The Marid water jinn are blue in color, the Ifrit fire jinn are red in color, and the ghoul shape-shifting jinn are a grey-ish green in color, but there aren't any races of jinn that are purple," Sara explains.

"Well, why don't I just take her to the jinn... homeworld? And see if anyone recognizes her," I suggest.

"No, you can't do that because nobody knows where the jinn world is," Sara replies.

Something isn't right here. There is no way that her mother, Saraswati, wouldn't know where the jinn world is.

(I feel threatened)

"Don't worry, Airi. Just because there is a jinni in the house, doesn't mean that you have been replaced as my Genie!"

(Damn straight! So long as you do not forget to whom you belong... Master)

When we are finished with lunch, Sara catches my attention and motions to her room. I follow her while Tia leads Naia to the couch and shows her the wonders of television.

"You can't take Naia to the jinn world," Sara says after I shut her bedroom door.

"What? Why?" I ask.

"All accounts say that the jinn are a very prideful and arrogant people and that their social structure is set up a lot like humans. Now, in a society full of the most arrogant people you can think of, what do you think would happen to someone that was different from everyone else?" Sara inquires.

They'd be shunned or treated as worthless. I can see where Sara is going with this. In a society like that, it isn't even beyond the stretch of imagination to suggest that Naia may have been given away instead of taken.

"Now, moving on to your problem. What are you going to do about Cheza?" Sara asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask, even though I know what she is talking about.

"So you don't love her anymore?" Sara questions.

"Of course I do! It's just that... she can't have a normal life with me. I've already resigned myself to the fact that I won't have one. My future is most likely going to involve joining The Agency and fighting until I die or I'm old enough for an administrative position. I don't have the right to rob her of normalcy... Have you met her boyfriend?" I inquire.

"Yes," Sara replies.

"Does he seem like a nice guy?" I ask. Some part of me is hoping that he isn't just so I can trump my own argument about normalcy.

"If I say no, what would you do?" Sara suggests.

(Kill him, chop up his body, and pack it into seven parcels that will be strategically placed in seven garbage cans around the city so that when you look at the locations on a map, it forms a smiley face)

"Airi is telling me to kill him, chop up his body, and place his remains in garbage cans around the city that form a smiley face when you look at a map," I bluntly respond.

"Speaking of which, Cheza hasn't mentioned Airi in a long time. Do you know anything about that?" Sara asks.

"Airi told me that our connection has been broken, but it can be reestablished if I give her more of my blood," I reply.

"I see... So what is your plan? Are you going to go back to school?" Sara inquires with a motherly tone.

"I was thinking about it. Hel told me that I've been readmitted to U-Dub. However, it will be difficult to even go outside with this," I say while gesturing to my silver arm.

"That's an easy fix, Cole. We will just have to get a latex sleeve made for it. Until then, just wrap it in medical gauze or cloth bandages," Sara suggests.

"Okay, I just need to have it so the sleeve doesn't cover the hole in the palm or I won't be able to make a draw if it becomes necessary," I explain.

"That should be doable. As for school, I think it would be a better idea for you to stay nearby... in case Naia needs you!" Sara exclaims like she just came up with that explanation on the spot.

"ASU only started classes last week so you wouldn't be too far behind. I could have you signed up for classes and starting there tomorrow," Sara says in a rather obvious ploy to get me to go to the same school as Cheza.

"That actually doesn't sound too bad..." I reply, ignoring the fact that this is a ploy.

Perhaps I'm not ready to give up on Cheza after all.

...

Chapter 12: I don't want to sound jaded or anything...

[September 9th]

After the hour drive to Tempe, thirty minutes spent finding a parking spot (which was much easier in the Maserati than it would have been in the Mercedes SUV, which Cheza took), and another twenty minutes trying to find the building, I was a little aggravated by the time I finally reached my organic chemistry class. I enter in from the bottom of the auditorium and find a seat about halfway up as the professor starts his lecture. I take out a notebook and start taking notes on things I've already learned. I took my first quarter of organic chemistry at UW before Jason's death, but ASU is a semester university so I have to take the first quarter material again until I start to learn something new, which will be in about eight weeks.

About halfway through the class, I notice a girl staring at me out of my peripheral. She is pretty cute, slim with African and Asian features, but I can't figure out why she is staring at me. Maybe she recognizes me from the frat party that I pretty much crashed... I really hope not. That is not the impression I want to make on my first day. Or maybe she is just staring at the ton of bandages that are wrapped around my left arm...

Class ends and I decide to head to the library to try and kill the two hours I have before my next class starts.

'Hayden Library has really interesting architecture to it. It looks like it's made of sandstone with an almost Aztecan feel to it.' I decide as I walk through the grass covered courtyard towards the library.

"COLE!" I hear someone shout so I turn around. The girl from my organic chemistry class, who I now see is about 5'8", is walking toward me.

"I knew that was you when you walked into class! How are you even here? Are you a ghost!? Or were you on some sort of secret assignment that required you to fake your death and deceive Rei?" the girl asks.

Her voice sounds familiar as she talks, but I can't quite place it until she says Rei. This is Katie, Cheza's friend and kind of her supernatural confidant after I saved Katie's life at Cheza's graduation party.

"I guess Cheza didn't tell you that I came back, huh? Let's grab some coffee and I'll tell you all about it, Katie," I tell her.

"Alright, but I'm surprised that you know who I am haha!" Katie cheerfully exclaims.

"Yeah, Cheza has told me about you and it just clicked when I heard you call her Rei," I explain.

In actuality, Cheza hadn't said anything about Katie, but I wasn't about to say that I've overheard the two of them talking over the phone on multiple occasions because of my extrasensory hearing. We grab iced coffee at a nearby café and sit outside.

"So how are you here? I know you died protecting Rei—I spent a lot of time with her trying to help her through it—but I also know that a body was never recovered. So why did you fake your death?" Katie inquires.

"I didn't. I died in a massive explosion and spent the last six months in the Underworld with amnesia. I'm not sure about the other nine months. I came back just yesterday," I truthfully explain because Katie already knows about the supernatural so it would be too difficult to come up with a convincing lie.

"Wow... what was the Underworld like?" Katie asks in amazement.

"A very grey city, but the sky had colors, which made it slightly less depressing than Seattle," I joke and she laughs.

"Haha... I can't believe that Rei didn't say anything. I mean, we live in the same house and I saw her this morning!" Katie exclaims looking slightly peeved.

"Yeah, that is a little strange," I reply and then my hearing picks up a conversation.

"Cheza, do you want to get something to eat?" a man asks.

"No thanks, Jarrett. I'm not hungry," Cheza replies as I see her walking across the courtyard next to a tall white guy with black hair.

"Cole? What's wrong?" I hear Katie ask from far away as a memory is replayed in my head:

"No... you're just the only one that gets to call me Cheza."

"I-I have to go," I stammer as I scramble out of my seat, spilling my iced coffee all over myself as I rush to be anywhere that isn't here.

"Come on, Cheza. You need to eat and I doubt you've had breakfast either," Jarrett says.

"Airi, drown it out! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DROWN IT OUT!"

Suddenly, soothing jazz music starts playing in my head and I feel myself start to calm down as I pass a bench and take a seat. A minute later, Katie comes around the corner while holding my backpack, which I had neglected to grab in my panic.

"Come on. The house isn't far and that coffee will stain if you do nothing about it," Katie bluntly says.

I look down and see that there is coffee all over my grey t-shirt, bandaged arm and some on my cargo shorts. I stand up and follow her, still feeling like a shell. I'm a little surprised when she walks up the walkway and through the door of a sorority house. She leads me upstairs, getting several looks from other girls in the process, and takes me into her room.

"Take off your clothes... so I can wash them" Katie commands.

I take my phone, wallet, and keys out of my shorts pockets and set them on the bed. I strip off my shirt and shorts while Katie observes, and then I unwind my bandage. I hear Katie gasp slightly in response to my arm, but she doesn't say anything as she grabs my clothes and leaves her room. I sit down on her bed and wait. Katie's room is simple: just a dresser, desk, and bed with the mandatory minimum of five pillows on it to symbolize that it belongs to a woman. I also notice that the room has a small bathroom to the right as Katie comes back in and sits down next to me.

"Your clothes should be washed in about thirty minutes and then it will take another thirty for the dryer. So I guess she didn't tell you about Jarrett, huh?" Katie gently asks.

"No, but I knew about him... it was hearing him call her Cheza that really hit me," I respond.

"How could you hear him from across the courtyard?" Katie asks with a perplexed expression.

"I have amazing hearing. It's how I knew who you were, by the sound of your voice. I've overheard a few conversations that you and Cheza have had. Cheza doesn't know about it... I had prepared myself for the fact that seeing them together was a possibility when I decided to transfer here, but I never expected that she would allow him to call her Cheza..." I quietly say.

"Now that I think about it, you are the only other person that I have heard call her Cheza. Hey Cole, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your arm?" Katie inquires.

"I lost it fighting a fifty foot snake that was trying to eat Cheza two nights ago. I made a new one to replace it," I bluntly answer.

"How do you mean, you made a new one?" Katie asks, not bothering to be shocked by the 'fighting a fifty foot snake' part.

"What is your favorite animal?" I request.

"Pandas," Katie replies.

I hold my left hand out and use the hole in my palm to draw out my blood. I swirl it around in the air a few times before I have it take on the shape of a cartoon panda that has a black and red color scheme, because I can't do white without bleeding all over Katie's floor. I solidify it and hand it to her.

"Like that," I say as she stares at the panda in amazement.

"Cole, this is amazing! What is this made of?" Katie asks.

"Silicon carbide nanotubes as far as I can tell," I reply.

"How can you make silicon carbide out of your blood?" Katie inquires curiously.

"It's not just silicon carbide, I can make various types of explosives as well. It seems that I can completely bypass the laws of chemistry and form molecules, so long as the raw elements are in my blood, without having to worry about balancing charges or anything of that nature," I answer.

Katie keeps giving me this look that is either saying that she really wants to throw me down and have sex with me, or she really wants to study me in a traditional lab setting.

"I'm just going to make it clear that I'm not all that okay with you studying me, mainly because it would put you in danger," I explain. Katie looks disappointed for a moment, but her expression doesn't fade entirely...

"Katie! I heard you had a guy in here..." I hear Cheza exclaim as she starts to open Katie's door.

Right... I should have guessed that Cheza lives here too when Katie said that they live together. Then something even more unexpected happens: Katie pulls me on top of her and presses her lips to mine, just before Cheza enters to get the full view.

"COLE!?" Cheza shouts as Katie breaks off our kiss.

Katie gives me a look that seems to indicate that she set up the shot, but now the ball is in my court. My gut instinct is to calmly and rationally explain the situation.

"Chezarei! Umm... this is exactly what it looks like... Could you shut the door please?" I'm still vexed by Jarrett, so I decide to take the low road and tell my gut instinct to fuck off.

Cheza looks like she was just slapped, and then she steps into the room, closing the door behind her. She starts smiling broadly while slowly approaching me. She stands in front of me with a smile so broad that her eyes appear to be closed, not saying a word as I get off of Katie and stand up. I know that physical violence on her part is coming, mostly because of that insanely creepy smile.

Whilst maintaining her creepy smile, Cheza lashes out. I block her right punch to my face using my left hand, block her knee to my groin using my right hand, and block the ice dagger in her left hand using my stomach... wait, that last one can't really be considered blocking.

'I am so insanely proud of her!' I think as I crumple to the floor. She was able to form an ice dagger in a place that has nearly zero humidity in a matter of seconds. Plus, she countered for my anticipation with a perfect double feint that left me wide open for her actual objective! I really want to kiss her, but I'm unable to with my current position in her life... Maybe I would have been better off in the Underworld with amnesia.

"Holy shit, Rei!" Katie exclaims as Cheza storms out of the room.

I stand and walk into Katie's bathroom, where I yank out the knife and toss it in the sink. It will melt in a matter of minutes anyway.

"Cole! We need to get you to the hospital!" Katie frantically says as she rushes over to me.

"Settle down, Katie. I'll be fine. It takes a lot more than that to kill me, see?" I rhetorically ask while showing her my stomach and its lack of bleeding.

"Alright, but doesn't that hurt?" Katie asks.

"Well yeah, but I've had worse and this makes the second time I've been stabbed in my stomach this week and the fourth time overall. Not to sound jaded, but maybe I'm just used to it?" I suggest as her eyes go wide.

"Well, I don't think anyone can say that you're boring!" Katie exclaims with a slight giggle.

"That is true I suppose... By the way, why did you help me lie to Cheza like that?" I ask.

"I'm a little annoyed by how she's been handling this situation and what she did to you by not telling you about Jarrett is ten times worse than what we just did so she can go ahead and be pissed at me!" Katie says with increasing amounts of emotion, followed by a few moments of silence while she calms down.

"Hey, so there's this party on Friday night... Do you feel like going to it with me?" Katie asks while looking slightly embarrassed.

"Sure, I don't have any other plans for Friday anyway. Here," I tell her and hand her my phone so she can put her number in.

She hands my phone back, I call her, and hang up immediately after it rings so that she has my number. We work on our chemistry assignment and Katie helps me get caught up on the past week while we wait for my clothes.

"Alright, well I need to get going to my psychology class," I tell her after getting dressed, whilst slipping my shoes back on.

"Okay, see you tomorrow!" Katie exclaims as I grab my backpack and walk down the stairs.

I see Cheza standing by the door, glaring at me.

"You know, sometimes I wish you would have just stayed in the Underworld," Cheza whispers as I pass by her. I stop and turn towards her.

"What a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing not too long ago," I say with a sad smile as Cheza's face softens.

"Cole, I don't..." Cheza starts as I exit the sorority house.

...

Chapter 13: Why do parties keep doing this to me?

[September 12th]

The next three days went by in a rather monotonous fashion. I would chat with Katie a little bit before class and we would work on our chemistry assignments after class. Apparently Cheza is still cross with Katie and is avoiding her. I drive home after my psychology class on Friday and head to my room when I arrive. I plop down on my bed when I get a text from Katie:

Hey the party starts at 8... so pick me up at 7:45?

_Sure, is the party within walking distance?_ I reply.

Ya it's not too far from the house.

Okay, then I have a surprise for you. Just make sure that you are ready to go by 7:45.

Ok!

It seems like I have some time so I decide to take a nap.

****

"Cole... wake up, Cole... you're going to be late, you lazy bum!" Kita says into my ear.

I turn over and see Kita standing in my room, wearing her yellow apron. I smile at her, then her face suddenly turns pale and her eyes start to glow as I notice the bullet hole in the side of her head.

"I am just one of many that would still be alive if they had never met you. Why don't you join us, Cole?" Kita asks with a crackling voice as she reaches out and caresses my cheek.

****

"AHH!" I scream in terror as I jolt awake.

"Cole?" Naia asks from my bedside.

She wraps her arms around me and waits for me to calm down. I'm surprised to see that my 'combat vision' is active, but even more surprised to see that Naia has the same silver outline that Cheza and I have, while the inside of her aura is a swirl of vermillion and periwinkle. I can worry about her aura at a more convenient time.

"Thanks Naia," I tell her a few minutes later and then I look at the clock.

"Shit, I'm going to be late!" I announce as I jump up and grab some new clothes.

I quickly throw on a long sleeve button-up (to make my bandages less noticeable) and a pair of jeans before applying a few spritzes of cologne.

"See you later, Naia. I'm going to a party. Bye!" I tell her and then, at 7:47pm, I port to Katie's room.

'This is why I told you to be ready at 7:45pm!' I try to say as I look at Katie, who has her hands behind her back in the process of clasping her bra.

"You know, when you told me to be ready at 7:45, I assumed that you would be knocking at the front door instead of magically appearing in my bedroom," Katie says with a slightly embarrassed smile. I turn around and face the wall while she finishes getting dressed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I should have called first..." I tell her.

"Don't sweat it... so, ready to go?" Katie asks and I turn around to find that she is dressed in a white, low cut, mini dress.

"Wow, you look great," I comment.

"You really think so? Even now that I have the dress on?" Katie jokes.

She takes my hand and leads me down the stairs and out the front door. The party is at another sorority that is about half a mile from Katie's. There's a line to get in, but Katie just walks past it and up to a preppy blonde girl by the door.

"Katie! How are you!? Who's your friend!?" the blonde asks in an excited fashion and I immediately don't trust her.

There is no reason that anyone should have to be excited to find out who I am... wow, that's depressing. This night is just getting off to a great start, what with the dreams about dead girlfriends and then the self-depreciation!

"This is Cole. He's in my o-chem class and I've known him for a couple of years. Cole, this is my friend Jamie," Katie explains.

"It's nice to meet you, Jamie," I respond.

"It's nice to meet you too, Cole! Head on in and get something to drink!" Jamie replies in the same excited fashion.

"Thanks Jamie. I'll talk to you later!" Katie says as we walk in the door.

Katie leads me to the bar where we get a couple drinks and then she introduces me to some of her friends.

"So how do you like an ASU party?" Katie asks after her friends wander off.

"It's better than the last one. Last time, I got stabbed in the chest with three swords and had to kill thirteen people," I bluntly say.

"I've heard rumors about that party but... That was you!?" Katie asks as her eyes go wide.

"Umm, yeah. The thirteen frat guys were actually ancient Persian gods that were holding a caged, naked, thirteen year old girl in their secret basement," I explain.

"Wow... that is a lot different than the official story. Supposedly there was some kind of cult suicide that left the thirteen fraternity members dead... anyway, let's go dance!" Katie exclaims as she grabs my hand.

We start walking toward the dance area as I start feeling a sense of dread about dancing. Something answers my prayers as I see people stop dancing and scoot back.

"YOU GUYS! STOP IT!" Jamie screams at the two guys that are fighting. Katie immediately starts dragging me in that direction.

"Jamie, what's going on?" Katie asks.

"Those idiots are fighting over me!" Jamie yells in an exasperated fashion. One of them grabs a bottle and I decide that it's time to step in.

"Whoa, guys! Isn't there a better way to solve this? A way that doesn't involve ruining the party?" I ask after stepping between them.

One of the guys nods in acknowledgment of his wrongdoing after he looks around at the situation. The other guy decides that he isn't finished and decides to throw the bottle at me. I catch it with my right hand and drop it, where it makes a thud when it hits floor. I put my left hand in front of the punch that follows the bottle.

"AUGH!" the guy screams as he pulls his hand back.

"Congratulations, you fucking idiot! You most likely just broke your hand," I tell him as I grab the collar of his jacket and drag him towards the door.

"You will probably want to get some ice for that!" I call out as I toss him onto the lawn and return to the party.

"Thanks Cole!" Jamie cheerily says while handing me a drink to show her gratitude.

"Still unable to go to a party without being involved in a fight I see, eh big brother?" I hear Cheza ask behind me with a slightly malicious tone.

I nearly drop my drink when I hear her call me 'brother,' but I chug it instead so I can buy the time I need to recover and come up with some clever comeback. I turn around and see a smug smile that tells me that she knows what her 'big brother' comment did to me.

"Brother huh? That's funny, I don't recall you ever calling me brother in the shower, or in my bed, or on the plane, or in the Greenlandic hotel, or that time with the beaded cat's tail," I state in a matter-of-fact fashion, watching as Cheza's eyes go wide while her face turns a deep shade of crimson before she storms off.

I hate myself.

"Dude... that might have been a little too far..." Katie suggests.

"You think so too huh...? I'm going to go get some fresh air," I quietly say.

"Do you want some company?" Katie asks.

"No... but thanks," I reply while trying to smile.

I take a right out of the house and start walking. About ten minutes later, I pass by the entrance of a place called Desert Arboretum Park.

"I'm sorry I have to do this," I hear Jarrett say, accompanied by the sound of a gun cocking. I race towards the sound, into the park.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" a female voice asks.

I round the corner and see five men holding a woman at gun point with M4 Carbines. As I get closer, I see that this woman has two bushy, orange and white tails, and a matching pair of ears poking out of her head. I'm not about to watch a fox-girl get shot in the head for the second time this week.

"HEY! LEAVE THE FOX-GIRL ALONE!" I shout as I run over.

"You know the orders: no witnesses. Make it look like a mugging," Jarrett says.

One of the soldiers pulls out a Beretta M9 9mm pistol and fires at me twice. My helmet engages as I dodge the bullets and I'm surprised by what I see: all five of the men have red outlines, but human centers of solid red, blue, or green. The helmet freaks them out and they all start firing their M4's at once. I keep my distance while I unwrap the bandage from my arm. Recalling Tia's lesson's on guns, the M4 has a velocity of nearly three thousand feet per second and I'm not wearing anything that is bulletproof so I can't get in close.

A large fire nova suddenly erupts from the fox-girl, igniting the clothing of several of the men. I use this distraction to close in as one of the men turns his sights on the fox-girl. I flash forward and give him a single left punch to his chest. He squirts blood as he flies about thirty feet with his ribcage completely destroyed.

(FALCON PUNCH!)

I start laughing as I rush forward and punch through the head of the last gunman that isn't currently on fire. The three that are on fire are too disoriented to put up much of a fight so I quickly pulp them.

"Thank you... What is your name?" the Asian fox-girl asks.

"Cole Treyfair," I reply after I retract my helmet.

"Thank you for your assistance, Treyfair-san. You appear to have a yatagarasu flying over you," the fox-girl replies. I look up, but I don't see anything.

"I don—" I start to say until I look back down and see that the fox-girl is gone.

I don't feel like this makes up for Kita, but I do feel that I have atoned for my failure, if only slightly. I do wish I would have gotten her name though, especially with how things are looking with Cheza...

"Oh shit... OH SHIT!" I scream as I pull out my phone to dial Katie's number.

"HELLO? COLE? I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING SO JUST TEXT ME!" Katie shouts over the music and then hangs up.

Meet me in Desert Arboretum Park, like now!

Be ther in 5

I've never been one for smoking, but now seems like a pretty good time. I start searching the bodies and I'm in luck: a pack of Camel Crush that contains three cigarettes and a lighter. I break the menthol capsule in the filter and light one up.

"Cole! You're covered in blood!" Katie exclaims when she sees me at the park's entrance about five minutes later.

"Don't worry... It's not mine," I tell her as I light another cigarette.

(Because if it's not your blood, then why would she need to worry?)

"And since when do you smoke?" Katie asks.

"Since I just killed Cheza's boyfriend," I inform her.

"What? Cole you didn't... kill him because he was dating Cheza, did you?" Katie cautiously asks.

"No, of course not. He and four other guys had M4 carbines and were about to execute a kitsune, a Japanese fox-girl, and then they opened fire on me when I yelled at them to stop... but Cheza will never believe that!" I exclaim as I start to panic.

"Cole, calm down. If you don't tell her, Cheza will never know that you did it!" Katie states in a reassuring manner.

"That won't work... his torso is a pile of pulp. I'll be implicated the moment she hears that... Hell, I'll be implicated the moment she hears that he died, regardless of the how," I say as I hang my head in defeat.

"What did normal humans want with a kitsune anyway?" Katie asks.

"I don't—" I start to say as I remember their red auras. I pull out my phone and dial Natasha's number before listening to it ring five times.

"Sorry, Natasha can't come to the phone for an asshole who has been back for nearly a week and is just now calling her," Natasha answers.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but I'm having a bit of a crisis," I tell her.

"What's up?" she asks.

"I just killed Cheza's boyfriend, but what's strange is the fact that he and four other armed men tried to execute a kitsune... oh, and that they all had red auras, just like the enhanced vampires I fought in the Underworld," I explain.

"Wait a minute, they were human!?" Natasha asks as if this is really troubling news.

"Yeah. Their upgrades weren't really noticeable except for the fact that I was moving at a speed that would have been incredibly difficult to follow, yet they seemed to have no problems tracking me in the middle of the night," I inform her.

"This is really bad news... What's your situation?" Natasha inquires.

"I'm at the entrance to the park where I killed them, standing around with Cheza's friend Katie, smoking a cigarette that I bummed off a dead guy, and trying not to think about Cheza's animosity towards me when she discovers that I killed her boyfriend," I explain.

"Haha! Oh, how I've missed you, Cole! Wait, who's Katie?" Natasha asks.

"She's one of Cheza's friends that I rescued during Cheza's grad party. She's in the organic chemistry class that I'm taking at ASU and we became friends," I tell her.

"Wow Cole... you really have a knack for bringing girls into your problems, did you know that?" Natasha says and I nearly drop the phone. Her words are a crushing weight upon me as I think of Kita.

"Cole? Cole are you there? Cole!" Natasha exclaims.

"Yeah... I'm here..." I reply, sounding like I have something in my throat. I hear Natasha gasp over the phone.

"Cole... I wasn't referring to Kita. I was talking about myself. I don't blame you for her death, Cole... Is this why you haven't called before now?" Natasha gently asks.

"Yeah... that has something to do with it..." I quietly respond.

"Then I forgive you for not calling... Can you please hand the phone to Katie?" Natasha requests and I hand over the phone.

"Hello... I'm not sure, what would it entail?... I don't know... Yeah, I guess I kind of am... Really!? I would!?... He has a harem?... No, we're just friends so no thanks on the harem; otherwise, I'm in... Okay," Katie finishes her conversation while I'm too shaken up to consider listening in to hear the whole thing, and then she hands the phone back to me.

"Okay, so here's the plan. You're going to port Katie and yourself to your house and get cleaned up. I'll meet you both there in about twenty minutes. Don't worry about the park, I've already sent a team for cleanup and they should be there any minute," Natasha says.

"How do you know where I am?" I inquire.

"We're the government, Cole. We know everything... haha just kidding. I'm using your phone's GPS to track you. Now hurry up and get going, and don't worry about Katie. She was just hired by The Agency's research and development division. Oh, and by the way, she is going to be studying you in a lab setting sometime in the near future. Tootles!" Natasha informs me and ends the call.

Chapter 14: Suck it Dr. Scholl's

"Do you mind if we go back to the sorority house first so I can change?" Katie asks after I hang up the phone.

"Sure," I tell her and grab her hand as I reach for my triskele.

"Whoa, I feel dizzy... That is too cool! How did you do that!?" Katie exclaims when she sees that we are in her room. I walk into her bathroom and stand there with my back to the door while Katie changes.

"I don't really know. It's something that only gods are supposed to be able to do, but I've been able to ever since I had this tri-circle symbol branded into my shoulder," I tell her and Katie finishes getting dressed in silence.

"All done. Let's head to your house," Katie says a few minutes later when she's finished changing into jeans and a yellow t-shirt.

"Alright, let's go," I reply and grab her hand.

I port us to my room only to find two armed men standing in it. We all stare at each other for a moment as I notice a red outline around them. They recover and start to snap their submachine guns into firing position, but they never get that far. I backhand both of them using a single swing from my left arm and watch as their heads explode all over my room. I look over at a gore-covered Katie as she slips into shock. At least she isn't wearing her white dress from the party. I lead her to the bathroom where I get jumped.

"COLE! There are a large number of enemies with guns and they have captured Sara and Tia! They told me to take my bracelet off and hide so I ran in here and..." Naia tells me in a flurry of tears.

"Shhh it's okay, Naia. I'll take care of this. Just stay in here with Katie and make sure they don't find you," I tell her.

I walk towards my closet to arm myself, stopping to touch the unfamiliar submachine gun that the two men were armed with. Heckler & Koch MP7A1, thirty round magazine, velocity of 2400 ft/s, loaded with some kind of custom 4.6mm hollow point. These are definitely guns that are geared to be used against body armor, but because of the hollow point bullets, I'd say that they're meant to be used against very agile enemies. I consider handing one to Naia, just in case, but I get the feeling that she would be more likely to panic and accidentally shoot me than any enemies.

With my holster and jacket on, helmet engaged, sword in right hand, gun in left with WFNGC rounds, and silencer attached to my gun, I slowly open my bedroom door and peek around the corner. My extrasensory hearing tells me that there are about four enemies in the living room, roughly three in the kitchen, around three more down Tia and Sara's hall, and two more in the basement.

The three men in the kitchen are wearing combat armor and are armed with MP7A1 submachine guns and red auras. I'm guessing that the rest of the intruders are similarly equipped. I can't get a view on the living room because of my viewing angle from my bedroom doorway and I curse myself for not having a mirror in my room before I get a brilliant idea. I hold out my phone and use the screen to reflect an image of the living room, hoping that nobody notices my arm. According to the reflection, Sara and Tia on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs. I spot three men and one woman in the living room as one of the men approaches Tia.

"Where is he!?" the man shouts and slaps Tia.

"We know he's here! We watched him come home and nobody has left the house so tell us where he is!" the man demands as he raises his hand to slap her again.

That is, until his body hits the floor as the result of a 10mm auto round passing through his skull. I flash out and cut down the nearest enemy while I fire three rounds into the kitchen to take out one more. The team now realizes that something is amiss as they snap their weapons up to start firing. I grab the nearest enemy and press my sword to his throat while I use him as a human shield.

His comrades don't even hesitate to open fire on him while I shoot the other two in the kitchen. I rush forward to slice his gun arm and a leg off of the final enemy in the living room. A bullet sinks into my right thigh as two more hit my jacketed ribs. I turn and fire to take out the two men that came up from the basement as three more bullets hit my jacket.

I walk down Tia and Sara's hallway while expanding my hearing. I can hear the adrenaline altered breathing of an enemy in Tia's doorway, along with another in Sara's doorway. I throw my dead human shield down the hallway and through the guest bedroom door to act as a distraction. Two barrels point towards my distraction, indicating its success. I rush down the hall and slice the head off of the guy in Tia's doorway as I point my gun behind me and unload the remainder of the magazine. I turn and see that I got two headshots out of the last five rounds. I eject the empty mag, reach around behind me, and slide my gun over a new magazine.

I return to the living room and slice through the handcuffs that are binding Tia before I hear gunfire from outside... Natasha! I run out the door just in time to watch the spray of blood that results from a bullet passing through Natasha's neck. She crumples to the ground outside her car as I feel my Drive take over.

"I create nothing. I preserve nothing. I only destroy. _Scatter..._ " I command as I fling my left arm outward. Globules of blood fly towards the five enemies that are outside.

" _Incinerate_ ," I order and watch as the globules explode in giant infernos at head level.

(Acetylene. Chemical formula: HCCH. When combined with oxygen, it creates an exothermic reaction that burns at six thousand degrees Fahrenheit)

I don't remember when I learned that, but Airi obviously does. At a temperature that is four times higher than necessary for cremation, the enemies' heads are pretty much gone and their bodies have also ignited. Thankfully, they're all on the pavement so the fires won't spread. I rush past the driveway gate to Natasha's side and see that she is already missing about a liter of blood. I press my left hand over her neck, the hole in my palm coinciding with the one in her jugular, and I force my blood into her. After about half of a liter, I start to feel woozy.

"Airi, what's going on?"

(It seems that you were poisoned, most likely by the bullet that hit you)

"I thought poisons didn't affect me?"

(Most don't...)

"Well, keep the contaminated blood away from Natasha and finish the job."

My helmet disengages while I finish pumping my blood into Natasha. After instructing my blood to seal off Natasha's wound, I pass out beside her.

****

"Well, wasn't that close?" I hear a crackling Kita ask as I open my eyes to see the pale, bullet-hole Kita floating over me, parallel to my prone position on top of the bed in the master bedroom.

"I thought we were about to have a new member. It would have been nice to see Natasha again. You almost had the death of another girl on your hands, and her only crime is associating with you. Who's going to be next, hmm? Maybe that nice girl, Katie? Perhaps you should just do the world a favor and join us, Cole. What are you living for anyway? Chezarei hates you and everyone who gets near you ends up being worse off. You are just a monster that shouldn't exist so why do you even try?"

Maybe Kita is right... What's the point in continuing on when the woman I love hates me and all I bring is suffering to those around me?

"Here's what you can do: take that revolver, stick the barrel in your mouth, and pull the trigger."

I look at the revolver that is in my hand.

I pull the hammer back.

I press the barrel to my temple.

****

[September 13th]

I wake up in the master bedroom with the memory of my dream consuming my consciousness, along with a feeling that something was off about that dream... then I realize that I'm sharing the bed with Natasha, Naia, and Katie.

(Damn, Bro! Turn your swag off)

"Haha thanks, Airi. I really needed a laugh right now," I tell her as my mood improves despite the aftershock of my dream.

"Hey Cole, are you awake ye—" Cheza starts to ask as she walks in the room at roughly the same time I realize that I seem to be naked from the waist up, and thus, completely naked in Cheza's eyes.

Well, that improvement was short lived.

"Cole... did it hurt when you FELL OUT OF THE WHORE TREE AND FUCKED EVERY BRANCH ON THE WAY DOWN!?" Cheza screams and storms out.

That dream's bullet isn't looking too bad right now...

"Cole... don't think that... please?" Natasha pouts with a pitiful gaze.

(Pouting: if used correctly, it will prevent someone from saying no)

"Wait, you can hear me?" I think.

"Yes, can you hear me?" Natasha thinks.

"Shit... yeah, I can and this is seriously going to fuck things up with Cheza. We cannot tell her about this!" I think.

"Of course not, she'll kill you. But on the bright side, at least I can't feel your emotions or hear Airi!" Natasha replies as though the imminent threat to my life is a tested fact.

"Well, I guess that is something to fall back on if Cheza happens to find out. Have you been able to find anything out about those guys from the park?" I ask.

"Not yet, but I do have analysts working on it and they will be looking into the people who attacked here last night as well," Natasha thinks.

"Don't bother with that. I'm almost certain that the people from last night are part of the same group as the ones from the park. So, since we have time, what's been going on with the snow elves?" I ask as a not-so-subtle way of seeing if she still expects us to get married.

"Haha, don't worry, Cole. With my grandfather gone, the two of us getting married isn't necessary. Things seem to be going well and Pinga has taken over as chief or chieftess or whatever. They had to relocate after Ilulissat was shut down, but everything turned out fine," Natasha replies.

"Well that's good... not that I had any objections to marrying you or anything. I just see us as friends," I explain.

"Right, friends... who occasionally have kinky sex that involves chocolate syrup, peanut butter, and a sexy maid costume," Natasha thinks with a grin and a wink.

"Cole! I figured it out! You were poisoned!" Sara exclaims as she barges through the door, waking both Naia and Katie. How they didn't awaken from Cheza's screaming? I have no clue.

"Yeah, I already know that part. What I need to know is the 'what' and the 'how'," I tell her.

"Well, I'm going to assume that you mean 'what poisoned you' and 'how was it administered'. The 'what' was a mixture of chlorotoxin and ground Datura seeds. The 'how' was a hollow-point bullet with a not-so-hollow point that sent out an electrical pulse when it penetrated your skin. I think that is the reason why you weren't able to immediately neutralize it like you should have," Sara informs me.

I open my mouth to ask Sara what a Datura is when I'm interrupted by a ringing cellphone. Natasha crawls over me to answer her phone, allowing her thong-covered/ essentially bare ass to linger in front of my face... or my perceptions unconsciously sped up at the sight of Natasha's ass, allowing a one second time frame to span ten times that amount... both are equally possible.

"Natasha here," Natasha answers and I listen in on the conversation.

"There's a situation in Seattle. A group of drug peddling midgets are using a new type of steroid to cheat at the Special Olympics and they have started causing trouble for the local law enforcement agency. We are calling in all hands on this one so see if your friend is available for dinner this evening. See you there. Oh, and bring the new girl you hired so I can meet her," a woman with a serious tone says and then hangs up.

"Drug peddling midgets?" I ask.

"It was a code. Apparently there is something big going down with enhanced supernaturals in Seattle and Carla has requested your presence," Natasha explains.

"Alright, when do you want to leave?" I ask.

I need to talk to Cheza about Jarrett, but I really don't want to, so going to Seattle as soon as possible doesn't seem like a bad idea.

"Cole, I have something for you before you leave," Sara tells me.

"Okay. Katie, you're coming with us to Seattle. Your new boss wants to meet you. I'm porting you back to your room so you can pack an overnight bag. Just give me a call when you're ready. Natasha, I need you to find a location for me to port to," I order.

Katie gets out of bed and I see that she is wearing some of Sara's clothing... right, I exploded two guys' heads next to her last night. Well, that explains why I'm in the master bedroom: there's brain matter exploded all over mine. This doesn't explain why everyone was in bed with me, however. I suppose it's not really that important. I port Katie back to her room so she can pack a bag.

"You don't need to stay, Cole. I'll just text you when I'm ready," Katie says.

"It's not that. I have to wait a minute between porting for some reason," I tell her.

"Oh, okay," Katie replies and starts packing.

Thirty seconds later, I touch my triskele, port home, walk to Sara's room, and knock on the door.

"Come in, Cole," Sara says and I walk inside while remembering the question that had slipped my mind so far.

"Were we able to get any information from the surviving enemies from last night?" I ask.

"No, they appear to have ingested cyanide before we could question them," Sara replies.

"How were they able to capture Tia? Those guns shouldn't have been able to do shit against a god," I inquire.

"They captured me first and threatened to kill me if Tia didn't give up... Here, try this on," Sara demands as she hands me a fully armored, one piece leather riding suit that is black with silver accents. There is also a matching pair of black boots. "This is the project I was working on over a year ago."

I think back and remember making a large quantity of discs after I made rings for Natasha and Cheza. I also remember the leather suit that Cheza was wearing when she fought Apep. I try it on and it fits perfectly, except for my left sleeve.

"This is nice Sara, but can we do something about my left sleeve? It seems my plates don't behave in the same way with my new arm. Can we just cut it off?" I ask, wondering if it will somehow compromise the suit's coverage in other areas while also wondering if this suit makes me look a little bit gay.

"Well, you probably could with the Mu-cutter, but it would be much easier if I just cut off the sleeve instead," Sara jokes slightly while smiling.

"Thanks. By the way, do you happen to have something armored that will fit Natasha?" I ask as I strip off the suit and hand it to her. Sara takes it over to her work desk and pulls out a sewing kit.

"Well, a Dragon Skin vest would be just as effective for her," Sara says as she starts to cut the sleeve.

"I don't think so. There's a decent chance that my silicon carbide will give her better coverage now," I tell her before realizing that I've slipped up.

"What do you mean, now?" Sara asks inquisitively as she stops what she's doing.

"It seems that Natasha and I are connected now after I transplanted about a liter of my blood into her bleeding neck last night. You can't tell Cheza about this, Sara! She's pissed off at me as it is and she doesn't even know that I killed Jarrett ye—" I exclaim.

"YOU WHAT!? Fuck Cole! I thought something like this might happen but... Okay, what did you do with the body? Regardless of what the Mafia claims, you can't completely dissolve a body in acid! There will always be remains that can be identified!" Sara panics.

"Relax, Sara. It was in self-defense. He was shooting at me in the park last night when I stepped in to stop him from executing a kitsune woman. I think he might've been a part of the same group that attacked the house last night... Regardless, I don't think Cheza will believe my reason," I explain with a calm tone.

"Well, alright. The only thing I have armored is a second inlay for your jacket," Sara tells me.

"Which she would be swimming in. She's also too tall and her breasts are too big to borrow Cheza's suit without things becoming uncomfortable... well, while we are gone, could you work on solving this problem?" I ask.

"Sure. Why don't you go take a shower while I finish this?" Sara suggests.

I take her suggestion and head to my gore-splattered room for a quick shower while noticing that the master bathroom shower is running as well. After drying off, I wrap a new bandage around my arm and then I dress in jeans and a white t-shirt. I also decide to wear the boots, just to get a feel for them, and not because I want to justify all of my 'boot-cut' jeans purchases by wearing boots for the first time in my life. After clasping the boots shut, I discover that these boots are really comfortable and I'm not at all discouraged when I discover why: the entire inside of the boots are covered in my armored discs, including the soles.

Ha! Take that, Dr. Scholls! Last I checked, you don't have a line of bulletproof soles!

(Are you Gellin'?)

I start laughing when I get a text from Katie saying that she's ready. I port to her room and find her waiting, dressed in business-esque attire with a large purse hanging from her shoulder.

"Uh, Katie? Where's your bag? I did say to pack an overnight bag didn't I?" I ask, honestly unable to remember if I did, and not being a condescending asshole.

"Yeah, it's right here," she says while flashing me the contents of her purse.

I almost break down and cry at the glorious sight. Finally, a girl that is actually using one of those ridiculously oversized handbags for a practical application! I think I may be in love!

"Cole, are you alright?" Katie asks at my teary-eyed-ness.

"Yeah, I think I might be in love, that's all," I sniffle. Katie gives me a perplexed expression before looking at the contents of her purse.

"I know! These panties are like, super cute, aren't they!?" Katie replies with a slightly excited tone.

I blink at her a few times before I silently grab her hand and port us back to the house. I walk back to Sara's room while Katie takes a seat on the couch.

"Just a moment... there, it's all finished," Sara says as she finishes hemming the newly shortened sleeve on the suit. The left sleeve is now the length of a t-shirt sleeve, which would look really stupid because it's no longer symmetrical, but the color scheme matches my left arm so it should work.

"Thanks, Sara!" I reply as I take the suit.

I head back to my room and hang the suit up in my closet.

"Why is Katie going too?" I hear Cheza ask as I exit my room and head out into the living room.

"I got a job with research for The Agency and the boss wants to meet me," Katie explains.

"Hey, Cole? I can't find a good spot and I can't get a picture of the inside because of security reasons," Natasha informs me.

"Pull up satellite images of the roof and I'll see what I can do," I tell her to distract the other two from the next part.

"Have you been there before?" I think to Natasha. She jumps slightly and stops typing on her phone for a second, but she quickly recovers.

"Yes," Natasha responds.

"Clearly picture it in your mind and hold the image," I think. A few moments later, an image of an office pops up in my mind. "Got it."

"Alright, here's the picture," Natasha says while showing me her phone to make it seem natural.

"Alright ladies, you know the drill," I say to Natasha and Katie.

"Be careful, Katie. You too, Natasha. Cole..." Cheza says and then walks away. That's so cold... I guess she just doesn't care about me anymore.

'I wonder if I can step in front of a bullet and make it look like an accident...' I think as I touch my triskele.

Chapter 15: Feros

I find myself in an office as Natasha grabs my hand.

"Carla, this is Katie. Katie, this is the director of The Agency, Carla. Excuse us for a moment please," Natasha says to a redhead that appears to be in her late thirties and looks slightly startled, but mostly amused, by our presence.

This woman reminds me of the redhead from Roger Rabbit... what was her name... Jessica? Natasha pulls me out of the office and into the empty reception room. She turns around and softly closes the door before she bitch slaps me back into last week.

"Cole, if you ever do something like that, I swear to the gods that I will kill Chezarei before I kill myself," Natasha says in a furious monotone.

Heh, great. Now I can't even off myself without taking two innocent people with me.

"Cole..." Natasha gently says and moves closer to embrace me. "Tell me what's going on..."

I don't know if it's because her actions are out of character for her, or if it's the fact that I just realized that the engagement ring I gave her is on a chain around her neck, or maybe it's the fact that I probably can't lie to her right now because of our connection, but I decide to tell her the truth.

"I've started having dreams about Kita. In the dreams... Kita has a bullet hole in her head and two glowing orbs where her eyes are... She blames me for her death and reminds me of all the people that are dead because of me. She confronted me about how I nearly got you killed... She says I should join them before someone else dies and sometimes... I agree with her..." I softly say.

"Cole, that's all in your head... You can't possibly believe that Kita would blame you for her death and want you to kill yourself. Besides, you've done a lot of good too. Just think where Cheza or Lila would be without you. In case you forgot, the answers are dead, and in a rape dungeon," Natasha replies from my chest.

"Yeah... I suppose so," I quietly say.

"Not to interrupt or anything, but we need to go to the briefing," Carla says from the door that I didn't hear open.

Natasha breaks away and follows Carla as she and Katie pass by. We walk to the elevator and take it to a floor marked -2. Carla leads us down two hallways and into a large room that resembles a lecture hall. Natasha and Katie take a seat in the last row, closest to the door, and I sit down in the aisle seat next to them. Carla reaches the stage and a remote is handed to her.

I look around the room and start to wonder how many different types of beings there are in here. I focus and the first aura I notice is Carla's. She has a sparkling black center aura that is quite reminiscent of a whirlpool galaxy. I spot a few others that are the same thing as Carla, a few werewolves, a couple of fairies, a couple of vampires, quite a few humans, and several beings that I can't identify.

I see a guy sitting behind the computer desk on the stage that gets me excited... wait, that came out wrong... he has dragon wings like Naia so I get excited that he might be a jinni so I can ask about Naia. He looks Chinese (but I'm not positive on that) and has a milky-white and bronze swirled central aura.

"Alright, some of you may already be aware of this, but for everyone who isn't, here is the situation," Carla starts and then clicks a button on the remote. The PowerPoint on screen changes to a satellite map of Seattle's warehouse district.

"A local gang of supernaturals is holed up in Warehouse 17. They've been selling crack that has been giving humans 'super' strength and speed. Our analysts believe that this is related to the 'enhanced vampires' incidents. Our objective is to go in and seize the lab—" Carla says until

SO WEZ CAN HAZ ALL DA SCRUMPTIOUS CRACKZ TO OURSELZES!

Pops up on screen, accompanied by a fluffy white kitten that looks cracked out. I start laughing while no one else does, which only makes me laugh harder for some reason.

"Hey new guy, what's so funny to you? Do you not realize that there's probably a good chance that you'll die during this raid, or do you think that you're just so much of a badass that you don't need to know any of this and can afford to laugh at that dumbass's jokes at a time like this!?" a werewolf that is somewhere around thirty years old snarls at me.

"Short answer? Yes. I mean, just look at that cat! I might start dying from laughter just remembering that face but other than that, I'm not going to be doing any dying tonight," I reply.

"SMARTASS!" the werewolf angrily shouts as he gets out of his seat and storms over to me at full speed.

"Ugh... I swear, sometimes it feels like I'm running a frat house full jocks instead of a secret government organization. Anyway, I know he's playing stupid dominance games and that you need to demonstrate that you aren't a pansy, but don't kill him. He's a squad leader and it will hinder the operation if he dies," Carla says inside my mind, sounding slightly more echoic than when I've conversed with Natasha or Cheza.

"Alright. How fast do werewolves heal broken bones?" I think.

"Go ahead and break a few. He should definitely be able to have them healed up by tonight," Carla responds. I watch as the werewolf storms up the stairs before stopping in front of me.

"Anything else you'd like to say before I teach you some manners, smartass?" he asks with an angry tone.

"Yeah, know your place, mongrel," I calmly reply.

I hear a series of sickening pops and watch as just the werewolf's arms transform into giant paws. He must be pretty good because I've never seen this before. I feel Katie grab my right knee, obviously nervous by this whole thing.

The werewolf takes a 1-2 swipe at my face. I use my left hand to smack his right wrist and then his left as his swipes come in. Each smack snaps a wrist and the werewolf howls in pain as I reach up and flick his sternum as hard as I can with my left hand. Judging by the resulting crack and way he kneels at my feet, I'd say I just broke it, which isn't all that surprising when consideration is given to the hardness of my arm paired with the amount of force that a flick can generate. With my left index finger against his forehead, I push the werewolf backwards gently... down the stairs. He tumbles head-over-heels until he lands sprawled out on his back, on the ground near Carla's feet.

I'm greeted with a menagerie of stunned expressions. I start feeling awkward so I do something stupid and try to make it funny.

"Hello. My name is Cole and I might have an anger problem," I address the crowd.

"Hi Cole!" the jinni guy shouts back, giving the exact reply I was hoping for. Thankfully Carla and Natasha laugh because everyone else is a sea of crickets... dead ones... they're quiet.

"Anyway, that's Cole. He will be assisting us with the mission. The mission starts at 2350 local time. I don't need to remind everyone about the dangers of fighting the enhanced vampires or weres so you are all dismissed," Carla says and everyone files out of the room while two people carry the werewolf out.

"Come on. I want to introduce you to someone," Natasha says.

She grabs my hand and drags me down the steps, before pulling me on stage and over to the jinni guy with black wings sticking out of his back.

"Ryuji, I want you to meet Cole Treyfair. Cole, this is my friend Ryuji and one of The Agency's best analysts and tech experts. We went to college and joined The Agency together," Natasha introduces us. Ryuji is a few inches shorter than me with spiky black hair and copper-brown eyes.

"So you're Feros!" Ryuji excitedly announces.

"Feros?" I inquire.

"Faction's Executioner Run On Sight. It also means wild animal in Latin and is the plural of the Latin word ferus which means fierce or cruel," Natasha explains. I actually kind of like the sound of that...

"I thought you died in your battle against Fenrir when you destroyed half of Greenland!" Ryuji exclaims.

"I got better... and it was only half of a Greenlandic town, not half of Greenland," I clarify.

"Wait a second, you said that you and Ryuji became friends in college, but how did Ryuji go to college with his wings?" I ask Natasha.

"Oh, I went to a college for supernaturals. Have I never told you that?" Natasha explains.

"They have supernatural colleges!?" I incredulously inquire.

"Yeah, Fogquartz University," Natasha answers.

"Your fucking with me, aren't you? That sounds just like—" I start to say.

"Yeah, I know. J.K. Rowling is actually an alumnus," Natasha interrupts.

"So, I take it from your name that you're Japanese, not Chinese. How do you spell Ryuji?" I ask.

"No, you were right. I am Chinese," Ryuji says.

"Then why...?" I inquire.

"For the same reason that my birth parents only wrote my name in English and didn't specify the characters when they dropped me off at the orphanage: to piss me off. My adoptive parents are great though. They're imps and they adopted me because they thought I was one too, but they were still really supportive of me when we discovered I was actually a dragon. Being raised by them in San Francisco was a great time and I was able to get in touch with my roots... you know, because Chinatown San Francisco is the best in the country," Ryuji jokes. I guess that's a no on him being a jinni.

"Oh, so I guess we have a similar upbringing..." I absentmindedly say, which results in a few moments of awkward silence.

"Do you really have your own harem?" Ryuji asks in awe.

"HE SURE DOES!" Natasha interrupts before I can say anything. "He even has a loli peri!"

"Lowly peri...? What are you talking about? Peri's are awesome!" Ryuji exclaims with a slightly questioning look.

"No, Japanese loli," Natasha clarifies. Ryuji's eyes go wide in shock and his jaw drops to the floor.

"Thanks a lot, Natasha. Now he thinks I'm a pedophile!" I angrily think after establishing our connection.

"Cole, how do you think I even know the term loli?" Natasha replies.

"Can I just hang around you in the hopes that some of your swagtastic ways rub off on me!?" Ryuji pleads.

"See? Ryuji and I have been friends for a while. Just don't find a loli catgirl while you are out or he will probably bow down at the mere sight of you while shouting something like 'We're not worthy! We're not worthy!'" Natasha thinks.

"Did I mention that he had a threesome with a maid and a catgirl? Oh, and that the catgirl was his little sister? Oh, and that I was the maid?" Natasha adds as Ryuji looks like he's about to have a stroke caused by too much awesome.

"Hey Natasha, Cole, I'm not sure if I can handle this job. I'm still shaking from earlier and I can't even imagine going through that day after day. I'm not like you, Natasha. I can't remain calm after seeing something like that... how do you do it?" Katie asks, freaking out slightly. This is most likely a delayed response from the buildup of the last few days.

"Katie, you will be fine. Things like this almost never happen and are even rarer in research and development," Natasha reassures her.

"As for how I do it? Experience. I've seen Cole beat a werewolf into ground meat using the werewolf's own leg. I've seen him laugh while he cracked open a god's ribcage for an anatomy lesson while the god was still alive. I've seen him get an erection whilst torturing my ex-arranged-fiancé to death. I've seen what happens to those that hurt his friends and I've seen how hard he is on himself if he fails to save them," Natasha says rather passionately.

"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 loudly exclaim 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 the 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 inquire.

"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 since 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 for the impending mission.

...

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 and 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 from her 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 quietly replies.

"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 orders 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 since 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, flash forward, and wrap my left hand around her waist before I reach back and touch 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 by a black collar around her neck. 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 heart rate are steady as she sleeps. I notice the cropped silver ears sticking out of the top of her head and that she has 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 severed 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 exclaims 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 blessing...)

"*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 sternly announce while glaring 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 request 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 if 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.

"I'm not allowing her to go to some lab to be studied," I stoutly add and Carla smiles in response, which worries me.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that we have the means to get what I need and what you want. She doesn't have to go to a lab and I know of a person whom you trust to not run any harmful tests or procedures," Carla says. It only takes me a moment to realize who she's talking about.

"Having Sara run tests from home is an acceptable compromise," I concede.

"Good. I'll assign Katie as a research assistant and kill two birds with one stone," Carla replies and then we both exit the office.

Natasha's waiting a little ways down the hall, looking like a nervous wreck. She breathes out a sigh of relief when she sees that we haven't killed each other.

"So what was that all about?" Natasha thinks.

"Let's just say that I have someone to introduce you to when we get back home," I reply.

"ALRIGHT! I'M AWESOME!" Ryuji shouts while raising his arms above his head.

"Ryuji, what did Carla say about playing dating simulators in the office?" Natasha scolds.

"What is 'Only the non-pornographic kind, when you have no other work, and if you're going to break rule number one, at least where headphones you jackass'?" Ryuji recites from memory like he's answering a Jeopardy question

"Exactly, don't you have any work to be doing?" Natasha asks.

"Not anymore! Thanks to the swift efforts of Harem King Feros over there—" Ryuji starts.

"I told you to stop calling me that," I interrupt while slowly shaking my head.

"—I was able to get the location of their data transfer before the program they activated could erase everything," Ryuji finishes.

"Well, where is it?" Carla asks.

"A night club in Minneapolis."

Chapter 17: This One is Analogy Heavy

"Alright, we need to move quickly on this. Cole, can we count on you again? We only lost four operators on a mission that would have been a total failure if it weren't for you," Carla asks. I nod in response, knowing that she can just manipulate me into going by giving this assignment to Natasha anyway.

"Ryuji, bring up a blueprint of the building and any relevant information," Carla orders.

Less than three minutes later, a blueprint is projected on screen showing a large structure with twenty foot ceilings and a raised 'second-floor' with a single office at the back of the club.

"The club is owned by Dominic Hader, resident vampire. Special records indicate that he is 143 years old..." Ryuji says. I hear a few groans at the mention of his age.

"I don't get it, what's the problem?" I think to Natasha.

"That's pretty old for a vampire, Cole. The oldest vampire that I've ever met was Reyna's mother and she's 287 years old. Vampires tend to live short, violent lives and they are by no means immortal. I don't think it's confirmed how old they can be, but five hundred years seems to be the record. However, the average life expectancy is just over fifty due to various reasons, mental health issues being up there, but murders are the biggest factor," Natasha explains.

"Murders?" I ask.

"Yeah, vampires tend to kill each other often. There aren't any non-human reasons behind it. They just have a stronger killer instinct, much like weres, so some small sleight like love can usually escalate to murder fairly quickly. Any old vampires that you come across are usually very clever, very strong, and/or very crazy. It also doesn't help that their strength and speed seem to increase with every decade that they're alive," Natasha clarifies.

"Okay, so here's the plan: Delta team will split up and enter the club starting at 1930 local time and disperse throughout the club. Cole and Natasha will enter the club at 2000. Cole, you are going to have to go in unarmed, is that alright?" Carla checks and I nod.

"Natasha will get into position here, while Cole moves over to the bar and orders a drink. Katka, I want you to position yourself near Cole when you see him at the bar. Cole, you're going to finish the first drink, and order a second. Then you are going to spill your drink on Katka, or step on his shoes, or some other stupid provocation for a fight. Katka, you are going to then take the finished drink and throw the glass at Cole, who is going to dodge it so that it hits someone else. Cole, you are going to punch at Katka, who is going to dodge so that you hit the person behind him. When this starts, I want the rest of Delta to just hit somebody. Everybody sees the picture I'm trying to paint here right?" Carla asks.

"Yeah, but wouldn't we need Woody Harrelson, Will Ferrell, and a trained bear to get the kind of panic necessary to distract all of the security personnel for Natasha to sneak upstairs and connect me to their network?" Ryuji jokes. I start dying from laughter and everyone just looks at me.

"I could always just run around in circles while screaming 'AHH! EVERYBODY PANIC! OH MY GOD THERE'S A BEAR LOOSE IN THE COLOSSEUM!' hahaha," I laugh and Ryuji starts cracking up while everyone else just looks at us like we're idiots.

"Riiiiiight... let's save Cole's plan as a backup and continue with my plan. Ryuji, Delta, get ready to leave for a flight out of Seatac immediately. Natasha, Cole, meet us at the Minneapolis office at 1900 local time. You're all dismissed," Carla says.

"People will just never understand us, dude," Ryuji says after I walk over to him.

"I know, right? I think letting a bear loose in the club would be a much better distraction!" I joke.

"Totally. Anyway, I have to get ready to go so I'll see you guys there," Ryuji says as he leaves. I turn my attention to Natasha.

"So I think going home and going to bed would be good right about now," Natasha yawns as she grabs my hand.

"I concur," I reply while touching my triskele.

"IF THAT ASSHOLE THINKS HE CAN JUST REPLACE ME WITH A YOUNGER MODEL, I AM SO GOING TO FREEZE HIS BALLS OFF!" I hear Cheza shout in the kitchen after porting Natasha and myself to the front door. Maybe I can just port us to Natasha's apartment/ house and I'll lie low for a little while...

"Ah Cole! Perfect timing!" Tia exclaims from the kitchen. Oh you bitch, Tia!

"We're home..." I announce, sounding much more timid than I was hoping to, but it's not every day that you hear the woman you love talking about cryogenically preserving your testicles. I round the corner and Cheza glares at me.

"I have never been so disgusted with you in my entire life," Cheza says and then storms toward her room.

That is actually saying a lot considering that she once found me with a naked thirteen year old girl in my bed and assumed the worst.

"AND THAT SUIT MAKES YOU LOOK GAY!" Cheza screams from the hall.

"I don't think so," Natasha thinks.

"Why is Cheza disgusted with me?" I inquire.

"I may have told her that the girl was the newest member of your harem..." Tia replies while avoiding my gaze.

"Can you please explain things to us now, Cole? Who is that girl?" Sara asks from her seat at kitchen table.

"I rescued her from a lab where I'm pretty sure she was being used to manufacture the agent that is enhancing the supernaturals I've been fighting lately. I wasn't going to let The Agency take her to some other lab for study so I brought her here. Carla and I reached an agreement before things got out of hand to the point that I would have been forced to kill her. It was decided that the girl would stay here, you would run the tests, and that Katie would assist you," I explain.

"Why do you feel driven to kill to protect this girl? Is it solely because of her resemblance to Chezarei?" Tia asks.

"Frankly, yes it is. After looking at her aura, there is little doubt in my mind that she is Cheza's half-sister from Fenrir. By the way, where is she?" I inquire.

"She's asleep in the master bedroom," Sara replies.

"Damn... I was hoping to get to talk to her a little bit before we had to head out," I say.

"Where are you guys going?" Tia questions.

"Minneapolis, on a follow-up mission. We need to strike now before the enemy has a chance to relocate. Speaking of which, I'm having some issues with my gun, Tia. The rounds aren't fast enough to connect against these enhanced vampires at longer ranges. I think I'm going to need something with a higher caliber," I inform her.

"A higher caliber won't help the velocity. At this point, only rifle payloads will be faster, unless... I'll discuss it with Archer and see what can be done," Tia replies before walking down the hall towards her room.

"Alright. Thanks, Tia!" I shout after her.

I head to my room and change into my armored jeans, a t-shirt, and my jacket while leaving my holster.

"Natasha, let's go to your place to get some sleep," I think to her.

"The whole 'freezing your balls off' thing has got you too worried to sleep here, huh?" Natasha asks.

"Exactly," I reply. Natasha responds by sending me an image of her apartment.

"Alright, we need to get going. I'll be back late tonight or early tomorrow at the latest," I tell Sara as I walk into the kitchen.

"Okay, just be careful, Cole," Sara says and stands up to hug me.

"Of course!" I reply while breaking away.

I grab Natasha's hand and port us to the image she showed me. We arrive in the entryway of Natasha's penthouse apartment. Off to my right is a modern looking kitchen with chrome appliances, granite countertops, and bar seating that leads into the living room. The living room is simple with just a flat screen, brown leather couch, and two end tables. The far wall has floor to ceiling windows and a sliding glass door that leads out onto a balcony. Judging from the view of buildings and desert in the distance, I'd say that the penthouse is somewhere in Phoenix. What appears to be the master bedroom is through two open French doors on the left wall of the living room, just to the left of the flat screen.

"So... I guess I'll just crash on the couch," I awkwardly say, not exactly knowing where our relationship stands, but knowing that it would be a poor choice to presume things.

Natasha heads into the master bedroom without a word... I guess that answers my question. I sit down on the brown leather couch, which is quite comfortable, and I strip down to my boxers. I really hope that nothing slips through and gets stuck to the couch while I'm sleeping... and that Natasha has a spatula in the event that something does.

"You could do that..." Natasha calls out from the bedroom.

"Or, there is enough room in my bed..." Natasha adds in a suggestive manner.

I stand up and walk into the master bedroom, noticing the giant master bath and walk-in closet off to the left. Natasha is lying on her right side, facing the wall. I slide into bed behind her and turn away from her, onto my left side. Silicon carbide arm decides to veto my executive decision and forces me to turn onto my right side for any amount of comfort. I close my eyes and try to get some sleep.

"We're only going to be sleeping, okay?" Natasha asks as she backs her ass up into me.

My 'other head' seems to notice Natasha's lack of clothing before my brain does and it moves to attention before I ruthlessly beat it down.

"Why are you doing this to us, bro!? Her intention is obvious!" my 'other head' says.

"O-KA-Y?" Natasha reiterates, turning a two syllable word into a three syllable word while grinding her ass against me with every syllable.

There is only so much that a man can take. I allow 'Captain Bonerhelmet' to take the forefront of this mission as I grind myself against her. I throw my arm around her as I kiss her neck before nibbling her earlobe.

"Okay. This will be my first time with the new arm so tell me how you like it while we are _only sleeping_ ," I whisper in her ear.

"Condoms are in the top drawer," Natasha whispers back.

I set my left hand on the hump of her breasts before trailing it down to her navel. When my hand dips into the indent, I continue down further.

(HA! It's like fingering by braille!)

This is one of those times when having no feeling in your hand is a bad thing. Actually, I haven't had a time when having no sense of touch in my hand has been advantageous... although masturbating was slightly more enjoyable... you know, after I got the 'brush strokes' right—I'm not ambidextrous. Natasha's breathing intakes sharply in response, which I'm not sure is a positive thing. My fingers are now rock hard, obviously, but they are also somewhat cold at times.

"Sorry... it gets kind of cold sometimes," I tell her somewhat timidly.

"No, it's fine... keep going," Natasha replies in a sultry tone.

I keep fingering her for several minutes when I decide that I need to step up my game because I still haven't even felt her get close to finishing... wait, how am I supposed to feel her when I can't feel my fucking hand to begin with!? I slide my right arm out from underneath me and grab her ass. I spread some natural 'WD-40' with my right hand before I glide a finger into the 'back door'.

"mmhmm!" Natasha moans in response.

I 'play the back nine' for a minute before I slide a second finger in. I keep that up until my right arm goes 'pins and needles' numb, forcing me to stop. This really isn't a great position for me to be in with my arm... Batter Up!

"Alright 'little head,' we have two runners on first base, but our second base runner just got domed with the ball and has been taken out of the game. It's up to you to bring us home!"

"I can do it coach!"

"I know you can, you crazy little bastard! You have a small strike zone and a corked bat! It's impossible for you to lose! Just get out there, keep swinging, and know that having an unlimited number of strikes is not like taking steroids! It's a skill, dammit!"

I honestly have no idea what the fuck is happening in my head anymore so I just reach behind me with my right hand, grab a condom out of the bedside table, tear the package open, and slide it on while continuing my efforts with my left hand. I reach back into the bedside table, finding the small bottle that I anticipated being present so I 'oil up' and slide 'squeak-free' through Natasha's 'back door'.

"AHHMM!" Natasha screams, but it doesn't sound like she's in pain, so I continue.

Damn, I forgot how tight she is and this is quite a bit worse with my fingers in her as well. I end up at the bottom of the ninth about ten minutes later, but I just keep my blood from going anywhere and continue until I'm sure she's satisfied.

I roll onto my back, breathing heavily while Natasha rolls over into my right side. I take the condom off and toss it into the bedside trashcan before wrapping my right arm around Natasha.

"I missed you, Cole," Natasha whispers while breathing heavily.

"It was a classic case of not realizing what you had until it's gone... I don't plan on giving up so easily this time around..." Natasha mumbles as we drift off to sleep.

...

Chapter 18: The Steel Chair Effect

I awaken with an undeniable urge to take a leak. I unravel myself from Natasha and walk into the master bathroom. Upon hearing Natasha's phone ringing as I finish washing my hands, I trot over and answer it so Natasha doesn't have to wake up.

"Hello, Natasha's phone," I answer.

"Cole! Where in the hell are you guys!?" Carla demands.

"Natasha's apartment. What's going on?" I ask.

"You two should be here, that's what's going on!" Carla yells.

"What are you talking about? You said that we are meeting at 7pm, which gives us about an hour and a half," I retort while seeing that it is 5:29pm and accounting for the one hour time difference in Seattle.

"TIME DIFFERENCE, DUMBASS! I SAID 1900 LOCAL TIME! AS IN, 1900 _CENTRAL TIME_!" Carla screams.

"SHIT!" I shout before hanging up.

"NATASHA! WAKE UP! WE HAVE TO LEAVE LIKE, THIRTY MINUTES AGO!" I yell while shaking her. Natasha jumps awake and then glares at me.

"Why are you screaming?" Natasha asks with a contemptuous gaze.

"Because the mission starts in fifteen minutes!" I exclaim.

"...OH SHIT!" Natasha screams when things finally connect and scrambles to get dressed.

Recalling where my clothes are, I run into the living room to throw on my shirt and jacket. I throw one leg into my pants and start hopping around, trying to get my other leg in. I slip, fall, and catch the end table's corner just above my left eye.

"FUCK!" I scream out as I slide my pants on from my sprawled position on the ground.

"What are you doing on the floor!? We have to go!" Natasha exclaims after running into the room.

"Hurry and send me an image of the place then!" I tell her while grabbing her hand. The image arrives a few seconds later and I touch my triskele.

"Made it!" I announce victoriously as we appear in front of Carla. Ryuji immediately starts laughing.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Carla says in disbelief while glaring at us.

"What?" I ask.

Ryuji turns a webcam towards us, and Natasha and I are projected on the wall in high definition. We look really haggard, my left eye has a large gash above it, and anyone can tell at a glance that there is no way in hell that we haven't had sex recently.

"Okay, Delta team. Listen up. This mission is getting postponed for about an hour so just get some drinks, try to relax, and act casual. My plan will work better if everyone is drunk anyway. The Agency is buying the rounds," Carla orders through a communication system.

"You two have thirty minutes to go home, shower, and try to make it look like Natasha wasn't just involved in the shooting of a porno. Can you manage that?" Carla rhetorically asks.

"Yes ma'am!" we say before I grab Natasha's hand and port us back to her penthouse.

We both strip and hop in the shower together, but this is a 'strictly business' shower. Natasha is able to dry and style her hair in record time, and I port us back with three minutes to spare.

"Much better. Alright, there's a taxi out front that will take you to the club," Carla informs us.

"Here, you will need these," Ryuji says while handing us tiny silicon earpieces and Natasha slips hers in.

"Just speak and I should be able to pick everything up. I'll relay any information if needed," Ryuji explains while I try and fail to put the earpiece in. Natasha smirks at me, takes the earpiece, and puts it in for me.

Natasha and I proceed down to the main floor and into the awaiting cab. Natasha tells the man that we are headed to the nightclub called Izz and we arrive fifteen minutes later. There is a line that has to be at least thirty people long. I consider just doing the normal thing and waiting in line with Natasha, but I decide to act like a rich prick instead. I pull out my wallet, take out a one hundred dollar bill, and hold it up as I walk up to the bouncer. He puts his hand out to stop me, but then he notices that I am indeed holding a one hundred dollar bill that could be his, so he takes that and lets Natasha and I in.

"You go find a table and I'll go get some drinks," I say in case anyone is listening.

It's nice that the music isn't ridiculously loud in this place. I start walking towards the bar, keeping an eye on Natasha as she walks around the dance floor and towards a table by the stairs in the back left corner. I walk up to the bar and wait to order my drink.

"Man, the women in my life are so abusive! I can't believe she shaved my head while I was sleeping," I overhear a guy to my left say.

"Quit your bitching. Having a girl shave your head isn't abuse, it's a prank. My ex-girlfriend _stabbed_ me last week!" I butt in.

"Can you still consider it getting stabbed if she only got your arm?" the guy asks while pointing to my bandaged arm.

"No, I got stabbed in my stomach," I clarify.

"Then what happened to your arm?" the guy's friend asks.

"Oh, she also set my suits on fire," I tell them.

"What does that—" he starts to ask.

"I was still wearing one of them," I explain.

"Wow... I guess it's true that someone always has it worse... Let me buy you a drink," the guy says and I humbly accept.

We start drinking and talking about how crazy the women in our lives are. It's probably around shot number three that I forget what I was here to do.

"Hey yo bitch, you stepped on my sneaker!" a man says behind me.

Oh, right... Katka and the mission. He's supposed to throw something at me and I'm supposed to punch the person behind him to start a giant bar fight. I look behind him and see this cute little curly-haired girl with glasses, whom I could easily characterize as mousey. I have to punch her!? I can't do that!

"Oh, sorry about that. Here, let me buy you a drink to make it up to you," I say.

"COLE! What's going on!? Just follow the plan! Ryuji has been screaming at you for the past ten minutes, and says you have been ignoring him, just blathering away!" Natasha thinks.

"Really? I haven't been able to hear Ryuji at all. And I can't follow the plan," I tell her.

"What? Why not?" Natasha inquires.

"Because there is this cute mousey chick with glasses behind Katka! I can't punch her!" I explain.

"Shit, Cole... Alright, Ryuji has a plan and one of the Delta members is working on it. Just wait for the cue," Natasha replies.

I wait for thirty seconds until I see a steel folding chair sail through the air before clattering on the floor without hitting anyone. Everyone stops and looks at it for about twenty seconds before going back to what they were doing.

"Hahaha did you seriously think that was going to work!? That's hilarious, but the steel chair effect isn't real—steel folding chairs being thrown don't start fights," I say aloud, knowing that Ryuji can hear me.

"I've got a plan, just follow along," I tell everyone.

"Umm, Cole? What are you going to do?" Natasha nervously asks as I make RDX coins that are filled with blood.

"You'll see. Be ready to run upstairs. I think this place is about to get busy," I reply.

"I have to go take a leak," I tell the guys next to me, excusing myself from their company.

I get up and walk over to the DJ's booth.

"Hey, can I make a request?" I ask in a drunken manner as I spot a box near the base of the wall to my right that has several cables sticking out of it that run behind the booth. It looks like it's just far enough away to be taken out without collateral.

"Sure, what is it?" the DJ asks as I stumble and catch myself on the wall. I drop one of the coins on the box that wires the table to the sound system.

"It's, uh... that one song... uh... shit, I can't remember. Hold on, let me go ask again," I reply and stumble away.

While walking back towards the bar, I transmute the blood in that disc into nitrogen triiodide. The coin goes boom and blows the sound system. People start to panic a little, but what we need is a full-scale 'stampeding herd of zebra' level of panic. I toss the remaining nine coins at the ceiling at an enhanced speed. I throw them in groups of threes, transmuting my blood to nitrogen triiodide in midair so that they explode when they hit the ceiling. The groups of threes have the effect of making it sound like burst fire from an assault rifle. Everybody panics and bolts for the door. I see several security guards investigating while several are bolting. My guess is that the bolting ones are human, or just smart.

"That's your cue, Natasha," I think to her.

"Yeah, I kind of caught onto that. I'm already in and I've connected to the computer... What!? Shit!" Natasha thinks.

"What!? What's going on!? Natasha, talk to me!" I ask in an alarmed fashion, thinking that she might've been caught.

"The files had an altered Trojan in them that deleted the files when accessed. It's all gone and Ryuji wasn't able to get anything useful..." Natasha explains.

"Well, let's get out of here before the cops show up and make things complicated," I tell her.

"Yeah... dammit. What a waste," Natasha replies.

I join up with Natasha at the base of the stairs. We duck into the bathroom while the rest of the panicked masses go for the doors and I port us back to the office.

"Damn Feros! Do you know how to crash a party or what!?" Ryuji exclaims when Natasha and I appear.

"You could say that it is something of a specialty of mine!" I grin and reply.

"You two can go home now... we'll let you know if anything comes up," Carla says, sounding kind of defeated as she walks away. I don't blame her. This mission was pretty much an utter failure and we're back to square one on the enhancements investigation.

"Alright Carla. See you guys later," I respond before grabbing Natasha's hand and porting us to Natasha's penthouse.

I look over at Natasha and see that she is rather disappointed with the outcome of the mission as well. I doubt she's in the mood for sex and I doubt she's tired since we slept quite a bit.

"Hey, do you feel like meeting somebody?" I ask.

"What? Who?" Natasha curiously asks, perking up from her disappointment slightly.

I simply smile at her, take her hand, and touch my right shoulder. I look around at the obsidian walls of the familiar bedroom and see that I've succeeded in porting us to Niflheim.

"Where are we?" Natasha asks.

"You'll find out soon enough," I tell her as I sit down on the black leather couch that is about twenty feet from the foot of the bed.

My guess is that Jason can tell when someone ports into the palace, if not anywhere in Niflheim. Hel knows we're here at the very least, so all we have to do is wait. A mass of swirling shadows appears in the room a few moments later.

"CT! What's up bro?" Jason asks as the girls see each other and start squealing. I can't really make out what they are saying, but it's something along the lines of:

"AHH! IT'S BEEN SO LONG! HOW ARE YOU?" they both ask each other before Reyna takes Natasha's hand and leads her out of the room saying "I have so much to show you! Come on! We'll be back later boys!" Jason and I give stunned glances at the door as they walk out. Jason takes a seat next to me on the black leather couch.

"So... what's been going on with you and Reyna?" I inquire.

"I don't know, bro... I think I may be in love with her," Jason admits.

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

This is huge. Like, monumentally big for Jason to be in love with any girl... he has some abandonment issues because of his mother. Thus, as his best friend, I need to make sure that he really does love Reyna before he fucks himself up further and ends up being loveless and miserable for the rest of his quasi life.

"Well, I've never felt this way about a girl. I mean, she's funny and crazy hot and then there's that cute little face she makes when she's sucking my—"

"DUDE!" I interrupt.

"—blood..." Jason continues.

"Oh, I thought you were going to say something completely—"

"from my dick," Jason finishes with a smug grin. I really hope he was just using misdirection for comedic effect and he isn't actually letting Reyna do that. So far it doesn't really sound like he loves her...

"I don't know... I care for her unlike any girl I've ever met... even more than Rei..." Jason says.

"How does she feel about the other girls?" I inquire.

"What other girls?" Jason asks.

"The girls in your harem," I clarify.

"Oh, I disbanded my harem," Jason replies.

"W-w-what!?" I ask in utter disbelief.

"The harem is gone. Reyna didn't approve so I disbanded it," Jason explains. Whoa, this is serious... really serious.

"Well, it sounds like you're in love, bro. If disbanding your harem for a single woman isn't love, then I don't know what is. After all, guys are only monogamous to begin with when we realize that love and friendship are more important than getting laid," I tell him.

"You think so?" Jason asks.

"Dude, I practically know so. Let's go get some drinks and celebrate!" I exclaim.

"Yeah! Let's get fucked up! Oh, but we should probably wait for the girls first," Jason suggests

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," I concur. About a minute passes by in silence.

"I have to ask, what was with the run-around and the clues that led me to Hawaii and Greenland?" I inquire.

"Well, I was trying to lead you to the Underworld so that you could visit, but I had to be careful with the war going on. Directing you two to Hawaii was my way of celebrating your engagement and then I gave you a cryptic message that only you would understand in case someone else got a hold of it. That way, I was able to lead you to Niflheim without implicating either of us," Jason replies.

"Where was I supposed to go after Greenland? Where did those coordinates lead?" I ask.

"They led to the only entrance to Niflheim in North America: San Francisco. If you remember your Norse mythology, Hermod crosses a golden bridge to enter Niflheim. The golden bridge in North America is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Upon arriving there with the golden Haglaz coin, a gate to Niflheim would have opened," Jason explains.

"I guess that all makes sense, especially considering the vampires that Jormungandr had waiting in Hawaii..." I reply.

"So... how's the new arm?" Jason asks.

"It's cool at times, like yesterday when I crushed a vampire's skull like an egg. The extra strength and inability to be cut make it an excellent weapon. Plus, I don't have to cut myself to draw my blood now. However, not having any feeling blows. Sex with Natasha earlier was a little weird because I couldn't feel her. I'm not sure she enjoyed it very much..." I explain.

"Natasha? What about Rei?" Jason inquires.

"We had a bit of a falling out... She has a boyfriend," I tell him.

"Well, maybe it's not that serious!" Jason exclaims, trying to be positive.

"She lets him call her Cheza, bro. He calls her Cheza—called her Cheza," I inform him.

"Damn... she wouldn't even let me call her Cheza... wait, what do you mean 'called her Cheza'?" Jason asks.

"I killed him... Cheza doesn't know that yet..." I solemnly explain.

"Wow... it sounds like you may be getting in over your head... It also sounds like you could really use a drink. Where are those two?" Jason rhetorically asks.

"Maybe they're lezzing out in Reyna's room!" I joke and we both laugh. Then we both jolt upright from our reclined states on the couch.

"They did used to date..." I say.

"And Reyna is supposedly still a lesbian..." Jason adds.

"You don't think..." I say.

"Perhaps we should go look for them?" Jason suggests.

"Yes, let's," I agree.

We stand and walk out of the room. I expand my hearing as I follow Jason to the kitchen. I hear voices so I start heading that way as Jason follows. The voices lead me to a large door.

"Ooh Reyna! That feels soooo good! I'm glad to see that you still have it!" I hear Natasha exclaim through the door. Jason and I press our ears against the door and listen in, despite the fact that I can hear them without doing that.

"What, can't Cole satisfy your needs?" Reyna asks in a kind of mocking fashion.

"Not really," Natasha says. "Especially not since..."

Not since I got this stupid arm! I start walking back down the hall.

"Dude, fuck them. Let's go get trashed," Jason angrily says after catching up to me.

"Yeah..." I reply, sounding demoralized.

Jason claps his hand on my shoulder and ports us to the neon-lighted bar at his nightclub. He snaps his fingers and six flaming shots align themselves on the table. We do three apiece in the course of the next minute.

"I don't know, bro!" I shout over the music. Jason snaps his fingers and the music turns down while two drinks appear on the table.

"My life has just been shitty since coming back... Maybe I never should have in the first place... Maybe I'll just stay here or do what Kita said..." I tell him.

"Whoa, this more serious than I thought!" Jason exclaims as he snaps his fingers.

"Here, smoke this," Jason says as he hands me a lit joint. I do so and pass it to him.

"What's in this?" I ask.

"Haha... just think of it as drug Neapolitan!"

****

Chapter 19: Just Another One of _Those_ Mornings

I wake up at the bar in the night club in Niflheim.

"You've sure been racking up the body count since our last chat," Bullet-hole Kita says from the barstool adjacent to mine.

"I don't feel guilty about that. They were vampires and werewolves that were going to kill a little girl," I reply.

"Yes, vampires and werewolves that had friends, lovers, families..." bullet-hole Kita points out.

"No, they made the wrong choices and paid the price for them. With the exception of you, I'm not responsible for the death of anyone who didn't deserve it," I argue.

"Who didn't deserve it!? WHO DIDN'T DESERVE IT!? WHAT ABOUT THE 1437 MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN THAT ARE DEAD IN ILULISSAT BECAUSE OF YOU!?" bullet-hole Kita screams.

"Fourteen hundred thirty-seven..." I repeat.

"Oh, I see. You didn't consider them did you? What, did you think you could just blow up half of a town and no one would get hurt? Just thinking about the 370 children who never got to grow up because of you just breaks my heart. The least you can do is come and keep them company. Why don't you join us, Cole? It's not like you have anything worth living for anyway. You can't even be of any use to Natasha anymore. It's only a matter of time before she gets smart and throws you away like Chezarei did. You know what you have to do, Cole," Bullet-hole Kita says while gesturing to the gun in my hand.

I pull the slide back.

I press the barrel to my temple.

I pull the trigger.

****

[September 15th]

Have you ever woken up with a massive hangover, little recollection of the night before, wearing a thong that has been stuffed with money, covered in glitter, and in the same bed as your naked best friend, with your ass hurting?

If you have, then you may know what I'm going through right now.

"Bro... what happened last night?" I ask while staring straight ahead.

"Not so loud, CT. My head is killing me... Why are we naked in my bed? And why does my ass hurt?" Jason asks.

"Yours too huh... fuck. What in the hell happened last night?" I wonder aloud.

"WELL! LOOK WHO'S AWAKE!" Reyna announces as she and Natasha barge into the room.

"So did you guys have fun last night? Try some new things? Discover a love of _catching_?" Natasha jokes.

"Well, I guess everything works out then! Natasha and I had a long chat and we've decided to get back together because we are so much better than you guys!" Reyna exclaims and my stomach drops.

I guess Kita was right... Natasha is throwing me away too. It's not all that surprising when I can't even satisfy her... and then there are all the people in Ilulissat that I killed... Kita was right... too bad my gun isn't here... I guess I can always make an explosive and set it off in my mouth. That should be enough to kill me...

"COLE, NO!" Natasha screams as she jumps onto the bed and tackles me.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It was just a stupid prank! Please don't do it, Cole!" Natasha frantically exclaims.

"Natasha! We spent all that time setting this up!" Reyna says somewhat pointedly.

"Sorry, but Cole was going to kill himself!" Natasha explains.

"Wow... that hurts, bro. You'd kill yourself just because you had sex with me?" Jason asks.

"No, he was going to do it because he thought I was leaving him too when this was all a joke," Natasha clarifies.

"Okay, you two have some splainin' to do," Jason says, poorly impersonating Ricky Ricardo.

"Last night, I saw you guys freak out through Cole's connection when you thought we might be having sex, so Reyna and I decided to play a practical joke on you. Reyna started massaging my shoulder and we just waited for you guys to show up. I heard Cole's misunderstanding, thinking that he can't please me sexually anymore with his new arm, when I was actually talking about his shoulder massage, which wasn't that great to begin with. I was going to straighten things out with you, but by the time I got into the hall, you two were gone. Then we got a call from the club at about 1am," Natasha explains.

"Yeah, by the way Jason, what did I say about the drug Neapolitan?" Reyna asks.

"You said 'no drug Neapolitan.'" Jason answers.

"And what did you do?" Reyna asks.

"Drug Neapolitan," Jason replies.

"Okay, I just wanted you to acknowledge it," Reyna says.

"Really?" Jason asks.

"Yep, everything is totally fine," Reyna replies.

(Haha! His ass is so screwed!)

"Anyway, we got a call from the club at around 1am to come and pick you guys up. By the time we got there, you two were gone and the bartender said he overheard that you were headed for the strip club. Apparently Jason got slapped by some girl after telling her 'if I put one hundred dollars on the ground and you pick it up and have sex with my friend in the bathroom, that's not a crime. It's a coincidence!'" Natasha recants.

"Yeah, using a Eugene Mirman joke as a pick-up line does seem like something I'd do," Jason comments

"Then you two decided that you would try again at the strip club. So we head to the strip club to keep you guys from getting arrested and what do we find when we get there? Both of you wearing thongs while strippers stuffed bills in your panties and made it rain on you. We finally got you guys home and in bed at about 3am. Then at 3:30am, we found both of you trying to slide the length of the hallway, which you had covered in canola oil, dish soap, and lube. You both failed rather spectacularly, which is the reason that both of your asses hurt," Natasha explains.

"Well, at least that sounds better than anal sex with my bro... especially since we used up all the lube on the floor. I'd better apologize to Helga for the mess," Jason says.

Natasha's phone starts ringing and she answers it.

"Hello... yeah, we can be there soon. Just give us about thirty minutes... okay, bye," Natasha replies and hangs up.

"Reyna, could you please go and grab Cole's clothes? We just got called in. Come on, Cole. Let's go take a shower. We need to try and get some of this craft-supply-herpes off of you," Natasha says as she grabs my hand and pulls me out of bed.

I nod somberly in response and follow her to the bathroom. I strip off my thong and toss it in the trash. I'm not going to need that anymore. I step into the shower and turn it on as Natasha steps in beside me.

"Hey... are you okay now? You know that I'm not going to throw you away, right?" Natasha asks as she presses up against my back.

"Yeah... thanks Natasha..." I quietly reply.

After washing the majority of the glitter off of me, I towel down and get dressed in my clothes that are waiting for me on the sink's counter when I exit the shower.

"So where are we going?" I inquire once Natasha is also dressed.

"The Minneapolis office," Natasha replies as she grabs my hand.

"See you guys later!" Jason announces from the other room.

"Yep, see you bro," I reply before touching my Haglaz rune.

"Carla, I can't! I'm not cut out for field work!" Ryuji whines as Natasha and I port in.

"Ryuji, we need a second faculty member and a tech specialist. You already know the campus and you are going," Carla orders.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" I ask.

"Ryuji was able to find the source of the Trojan and found that it originated from Fogquartz University. We need you to go in posing as a student while Natasha and Ryuji will go in posing as faculty. The quarter starts next week so your transfer in won't be viewed as suspicious by the students or the faculty," Carla explains.

"Alright, I guess I can do that... I've already missed a load of classes at ASU anyway," I unenthusiastically reply.

"What's wrong with Cole?" Carla whispers to Natasha.

"Don't worry about it. He just had a rough night is all," Natasha replies. Carla pulls her off to the side.

"Natasha, don't break him! If he's like this after a night with you, it means you're riding him too hard!" Carla whispers.

"Hey Feros, I was able to get some information on the guys that attacked you," Ryuji says over Carla's whispering.

"Great, who were they?" I ask.

"It appears that they were Freemasons," Ryuji answers.

"What? Freemasons? Why would an international fraternity be after me?" I inquire.

"Well, I guess it's more accurate to say that it's a sect of the Freemasons that have started calling themselves Templars. As you probably know, the Knights Templar were used as protection for Christian pilgrims during the crusades. What most people don't know is that the Templars main role was hunting supernaturals. This pissed off the larger organizations of supernaturals in Europe until they'd eventually had enough. The supernaturals coerced Pope Clement V and King Philip IV into charging and dismantling the Templars. Then they assassinated both of them and made it look like God's divine punishment based on the dying words of a burning knight, which seems unlikely that you could say anything while being burned alive besides 'AHHHH!' followed by coughing because your lungs would be filled with smoke.

Anyway, this sect of freemasons has taken up hunting supernaturals and they somehow know about you. They seem to be well funded and well equipped, but I don't know where they are getting their backing from. I also don't know why or how supernatural hunters are getting access to supernatural powers," Ryuji explains.

"Alright, can you keep searching for information? I don't like the feeling of this..." I tell him.

"Of course, Feros. I'll keep looking into this while we are at FU," Ryuji replies.

"Alright, Cole. I have you registered for a writing class that will be taught by Natasha, a computer science class that Ryuji will be a teaching assistant for, second quarter organic chemistry, and a kickboxing class. The point of the kickboxing class is to get noticed by the boxing team to get a lead on the enhancement drug. After all, who would value an undetectable substance that would make them faster and stronger more than athletes?" Carla informs me.

"You will have to go in unarmed at first, but we will be able to sneak in a small cache of arms during the second week. Any weapons that you need are going to have to be here when you come on Thursday. Welcome Weekend starts on Friday and you should plan to stay for the whole ten weeks of the quarter, just in case. Finish anything you need to get done before Thursday because you won't be able to port once you arrive at school. There is a detection system that notifies of all porting so you will immediately blow your cover if you do," Carla explains.

"Okay, then I guess we will see you guys on Thursday," I reply.

I grab Natasha's hand and port us to my house.

"Look who's home, Adelaide," Sara says.

"DADDY!" the little werewolf girl yells as she runs toward me, her tail swishing through the hole in her skirt. She hugs my leg and I just stare at her in confusion.

"Hey Adelaide..." I say, sounding really unsure as I pat her head, in between her ears. She looks up at me and smiles—I'm pretty sure I just felt my brain melt.

"Where were you, Daddy?" Adelaide asks.

"I was working sweetie," I reply while still trying to get a handle on the situation.

"But you're home now, right?" Adelaide asks, not pronouncing her r's very well, which only adds to the overall cuteness factor of this tiny creature.

"Yeah, I am!" ...for now. I can't tell her that I'm leaving for a ten week mission in a few days. Adelaide hides behind my leg when she notices Natasha.

"Addie, this is daddy's friend, Natasha," I introduce her and Adelaide pokes her head out to look at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Adelaide!" Natasha says with a warm smile while kneeling down.

Addie nods at Natasha and then hides behind my leg again.

"Don't be rude, Addie. Say hello," I softly say. Addie peeks around my leg again.

"Hello..." Addie quietly says before retreating behind my leg. The 'aww!' look on Natasha's face tells me that she thinks Addie is adorable.

"I need to go talk with Natasha and Auntie Tia in the basement so I need you to watch TV with Auntie Sara for a while, okay?" I announce.

Addie pouts in response and I almost feel my heart stop. She trundles over to the couch and climbs onto it. Natasha follows me into the basement and Tia meets us down there a few moments later.

"Alright, what's going on?" I ask Tia.

"Well, it seems that Adelaide is convinced that the man who saved her is her dad. Sara and I just rolled with it. After all, you did say you were going to raise her," Tia answers with a mischievous smile.

"Well shit... I don't really have a problem with being her father, but I leave for a ten week mission on Thursday," I inform her.

"Ten week mission? Does it have anything to do with why Chezarei and Naia are transferring into Fogquartz University?" Tia asks.

"They're what!? Dammit Carla!" I exclaim and port to the Minneapolis office.

"CARLA! WHAT THE HELL!?" I yell in the office.

"I figured it was only a matter of time before you found out. I wasn't sure if you were going to say yes to the transfer so I arranged for some backup incentives. Naia will be taking classes as a normal student and hopefully this will help her memories return. Chezarei is also going to be taking classes as a normal student. They will be informants that will simply report anything they overhear. They won't be investigating so there is very little danger to them," Carla explains.

"Alright... I don't like it, but you have a point and it's their decision to make. I'll see you later," I concede before returning to the basement.

"It looks like Naia and Cheza are going to be informants on the student body..." I tell Natasha.

"So when do you guys leave?" Tia asks.

"We move in on Thursday," I reply.

"Alright. Well, I have some work to get done. Later!" Tia announces and heads upstairs.

"Okay, now we need to see if we can get you moving faster with my blood. Let's see... with Cheza, all she had to do was envision herself moving faster so let's try that... but she had already used her Drive at that point so maybe we should try sparring instead..." I tell Natasha.

"Are there any melee weapons that you are proficient at using?" I ask.

"Not really... I'm more of a gunslinger girl," Natasha replies.

(I'm going to save you a lot of time and tell you right now that it won't work)

"What? Why not?"

(Natasha doesn't have the compatibility with your blood that Cheza has. The most Natasha can do is utilize your silicon carbide, but she can't control your blood like Cheza can)

"Well, shit... never mind, Natasha. Airi just told me that it won't work. By the way and sorry if this sounds rude, but you don't seem like much of a fighter so why are you an operator?" I inquire.

"You're right, Cole. With my shoulder, close range fighting is disadvantageous for me. That's why I'm a sniper. My ability as an oracle is well suited for it," Natasha answers.

"What? I didn't know you were a sniper," I say.

"Yeah well, carrying around a twenty pound rifle isn't easy when you're my size," Natasha replies.

"You know, I could make a rifle out of silicon carbide that would be considerably lighter. It would also have minimal recoil with my blood in you," I offer.

"That's okay, Cole. Even a rifle made of silicon carbide would still be too bulky to carry around all of the time," Natasha responds.

"Alright... let's go watch TV, I guess," I say.

We head upstairs and relax on the couch. Addie crawls over and sits on my lap as we watch TV.

"So where's Cheza?" I inquire to Sara.

"She's giving Katie a ride back to ASU right now. I spent most of the afternoon showing her procedures and letting her know what we would be working on," Sara replies.

I sit back and relax, enjoying the luxury of downtime for about thirty minutes...

Chapter 20: The Return of the God of Love

"I'm home!" Cheza announces as she walks in the door.

"YAY! MOMMY'S HOME!" Addie shouts as she runs over to Cheza.

If I'm Addie's father and Cheza's her mother then... wow, and here I was thinking that our relationship couldn't get any more awkward.

"Hello Ada!" Cheza warmly greets.

"Look Mommy! Daddy is home and he brought a pretty blonde lady with him!" Addie exclaims.

"Why hello... _dear_ ," Cheza says so maliciously that I feel my ass cheeks involuntarily clench. Okay, now our relationship can't get any more awkward.

"Hey Rei. Were you able to get everything sorted out at ASU?" Sara asks.

"Yeah, it's all taken care of," Cheza replies.

"Hey Cheza... I need to talk to you for a moment," I tell her.

I stand up, lightly grab her by the wrist, and walk down the hall. Cheza yanks her wrist away as I walk into my room. Cheza follows and closes the door behind her.

"What?" Cheza pointedly ask.

"Perhaps you should sit down," I suggest.

"Perhaps you should go fuck yourself," Cheza replies.

"Perhaps... I have some upsetting news for you, Cheza," I tell her.

"If it's about how you got somebody pregnant, don't worry. I'm not upset and I don't care," Cheza responds.

"I killed Jarrett..." I quietly say and wait for the ensuing shitstorm.

"So? I broke up with Jarrett," Cheza replies.

"You what!? When?" I ask astonished.

"About ten minutes prior to walking in on you and Katie. Now if you have nothing else to say, I have things to do," Cheza says as she starts for the door. So the reason that Cheza said she didn't need to tell me was because she was planning on breaking up with Jarrett anyway...?

"It was fake! The kiss between Katie and I was set up because we were both angry at how you were handling the Jarrett situation," I blurt out as Cheza stops with her hand on the doorknob.

"That doesn't fix our relationship, Cole," Cheza quietly replies and leaves.

Damn... if I thought this was my fault before, now...

(Save regret for the things that are permanent... like AIDS... and yes, I'm aware that I could stop at the good part)

"You're right Airi... on both counts. I can still fix this. It will take some time, but I don't want to give up on Cheza."

...but right now I'm tired so sleep seems best. I take off my pants and climb into bed.

****

"It looks like there's a new prospect to be the next to join us, Cole," Bullet-hole Kita says with a crackling voice while floating over my prone form in my bedroom.

"Or are you going to be the one to join us so the little one doesn't have to?"

****

[September 16th]

"Daddy? Daddy are you okay? Daddy!?" Addie asks while kneeling on my chest.

I open my eyes to see her wearing flannel pajamas with tears in her worried eyes.

"Yeah, Daddy is fine, Addie. I just had a nightmare. Let's go back to bed," I tell her while sweating and shaking as an aftereffect from Kita's words. Addie moves off of my chest.

"Okay. Goodnight Daddy!" Addie exclaims while snuggling into my left side. I wonder if she had been sleeping in my bed while I was gone...

"Hey Airi, did you have anything to do with why Addie sees me as her father, Cheza as her mother, and seems so unscathed by the whole 'held captive' thing?"

(...)

"I'll take that as a yes... well, thank you for helping her."

...

"Daddy! Wake up, Daddy!" Addie exclaims.

"Hmm? What do you need, sweetie?" I sleepily ask.

"I'm hungry!" Addie announces.

"Okay... let's go see what Auntie Sara is making for breakfast," I say as I sluggishly get out of bed.

Addie grabs my hand and we walk out into the kitchen. When we arrive in the kitchen, I'm shocked to find that Sara isn't awake. Then I understand why: it's 5am.

"It's still too early for breakfast, Addie," I explain.

"But I'm hungry, Daddy..." Addie quietly pouts.

If I don't hurry up and get this girl some food, I'm going to end up having a heart attack from too much concentrated adorable.

"Alright, what do you want for breakfast?" I ask.

"Hamburgers!" Addie exclaims.

"You can't have hamburgers for breakfast!" I reply... or is that acceptable for a werewolf?

"Cake!" Addie responds.

"Only on the week following your birthday. How about blueberry pancakes?" I suggest.

"Yeah!" Addie excitedly replies.

I don't think I have ever seen anyone so excited at 5am... probably because I've almost never seen 5am. I walk over, turn on the TV, and change it to Boomerang, which is the only network I can think of that will be playing cartoons at 5am and not infomercials. I return to the kitchen and make pancakes as quietly as possible while Addie is engrossed with The Powerpuff Girls. I consider changing it, concerned about the effect of the show's violence on a three year old, until I remember what she is and the world she is growing up in. Ultimately, I decide that if she develops a distrust of monkeys with exposed brains, then she will probably be better off.

"Cole? What are you doing up at this hour?" Cheza groggily asks.

"Oh, sorry if I woke you. Our daughter is hungry so I'm making her pancakes," I explain. A few seconds later, Cheza's face reddens.

"Oh... alright," Cheza replies and walks over to the couch to sit down next to Addie.

"Good morning, Mommy!" Addie exclaims.

"Good morning, Ada," Cheza says, sleep still clinging to her tone.

I finish making pancakes for Addie, Cheza, and myself before I put a cover on the remaining batter.

"Breakfast is ready," I announce.

Addie runs over and climbs up to sit at the table while I cut her pancake into bite sized pieces before applying a small amount of syrup.

"Where's Mommy?" I inquire.

"Mommy is sleeping," Addie says as quietly as is possible for a three year old, and points to Cheza's sleeping form on the couch.

"She must be tired. I'm going to go put Mommy to bed while you eat breakfast, alright?" I say. Addie nods and jabs at a square of pancake with her Disney Princess fork in response.

I walk over to Cheza's sleeping form and scoop her up in my arms before carrying her down the hall and into her room. After tucking her in, I brush a strand of hair out of Cheza's face, bend down, and kiss her before I can come to my senses. Cheza starts kissing me back as she opens her eyes. She continues for a few moments before she reels back and smacks me.

"...That isn't our relationship anymore, Cole," Cheza quietly says as she turns over to go to sleep. I exit Cheza's room and return to the kitchen.

"Daddy, why is the side of your face all red?" Addie asks with a mouth full of pancake. Despite the fact that I only put on a small amount of syrup, Addie still found a way to get it everywhere.

"Don't talk when you have food in your mouth. Daddy was a little clumsy and ran into the door," I say.

"Does it hurt, Daddy?" Addie asks after swallowing her pancake.

"I'll be fine, sweetie. Now, we are going to take a bath," I tell her.

"I don't wanna..." Addie pouts. Must. Keep. From. Caving.

"Come on, Addie. You're a sticky mess!" I exclaim.

"Okay... are you gonna take a bath with me?" Addie asks.

"I... Uh..." I reply, not sure what the proper etiquette is on this.

"Please?" Addie pouts.

"Sure!" Dammit... I'm going to be the world's weakest father when Addie gets older.

There is nothing that I will be able to deny her so I'll have to keep telling her to ask her mother, which will cause Cheza to slowly start despising me for constantly making her play the part of the bad guy which will lead to our divorce and possible resentment of Addie, which will lead to a broken home, which will lead to Addie becoming a stripper... I might as well go to the UK and buy the children's Peek-a-Boo Pole Dancing Kit from Tesco and get her started early for the future that I've already set up for her by being such a little bitch!

However, that can wait. Now, how do I get through this while avoiding awkward questions about dangly bits that Cheza can answer when Addie gets older?

(Wear swim trunks)

"Perfect! Thanks, Airi!"

"How about you sit down and watch TV while I go run the bath? Just don't touch anything, alright?" I say.

"Okay Daddy!" Addie exclaims and then uses her sticky hands to climb onto the couch... at least leather is easy to clean.

Addie starts watching Looney Toons, which I am much more likely to change than the Powerpuff Girls because I don't want her to grow up thinking that a roadrunner, with a top speed of 20mph, wouldn't be caught by a coyote, which has a top speed of 43mph, in an outright foot race. I head to the master bathroom to run a bath without turning the channel. While the bath is running, I quickly put on some swim trunks in my room before running to the kitchen to inhale my pancakes while I have time. I return to the bath and see that the water is at a nice temperature so I grab two towels and a wash cloth, set them on the bathroom counter, and leave to fetch Addie.

"Alright, it's bath time, Addie," I tell her as I pick her up.

"Okay Daddy!" Addie cheerfully replies.

I carry her into the bathroom, set her down, and she just stands there. Right... I forgot that I'm going to have to remove her clothes because she probably doesn't know how. I unbutton her flannel pajama top and take it off, followed by her pajama bottoms. Wow, this is awkward... Putting clothes _on_ a small girl is one thing, but taking them off just feels wrong. With the hard part over, I pick her up and sit in the tub before setting her down. I use the wash cloth to try and get her cleaned up.

"Daddy! That tickles!" Addie squeals.

"You think that tickles? How about this!" I start tickling her which only makes her squeal louder. I decide to stop before I accidentally drown her.

(Ah, the sign of the world's greatest parent: stopping before you accidentally drown her)

I grab the shampoo and move onto her hair, which is also covered in syrup.

"Now I need you to close your eyes and don't open them until I say so," I tell her. I lather up her hair and work on getting the syrup out of it.

"Owie, Daddy! Owie! IT HURTS DADDY! IT HURTS!" Addie screams.

"Sorry, Addie. I've never done this before," I tell her while trying to extract the soap from her eyes.

"COLE! WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Tia screams as she barges in. She looks at the situation, before looking away in embarrassment. I glare at her for her misunderstanding.

"This is a new low for you, Tia," I quietly say under Addie's crying.

"It looks like you forgot new clothes for Adelaide... I'll be right back," Tia says and leaves. I'm able to get the soap out of Addie's eyes and Tia comes back while I'm drying Addie.

"Hey Tia, where is Natasha?" I ask. Since Naia is in the guest bedroom and Natasha wasn't in the master bedroom, I have no idea where she is.

"Natasha drove home last night. Anyway, I'll just be going now," Tia replies as she retreats out of the bathroom.

I get Addie dressed and settled down on the couch before I run to my room to get dressed. I sit down on the couch and Addie crawls over to sit on my lap. We watch cartoons for several hours while I teach her all of the things that are wrong with them.

"No sweetie, animals can't actually talk."

"If you put your finger in the barrel of a gun to try and block it, your finger will come off."

"St. Bernard dogs don't actually carry around alcohol."

"No, lemmings don't actually jump off of cliffs and kill themselves. The only reason that myth is around is because of a documentary called White Wilderness where... never mind," I was smart and stopped before I had to tell her why the nice film makers tossed a dozen lemmings off of a cliff.

"Yes, fairies are real, but they are bigger than that."

"How big are they, Daddy?" Addie asks.

"Well, one of my fairy friends is Mommy's size and the other one isn't much bigger than you. Do you want to meet them?" I inquire, thinking of Aine and Lila, whom I haven't seen in over a year.

"Yeah!" Addie exclaims while standing up off of the couch.

"Alright, let's go!" I reply while picking her up. I carry her over to the entryway, set her down, and cram her shoes on her feet.

"Okay, hold on tight!" I tell her as I pick her up, use my left forearm to support her against my side, and touch my triskele.

"AHHHHHH!" Addie screams in my ear and starts crying as we arrive at the gate in Tir na nOg.

"Shhhh, it's okay. I've got you. Daddy's got you. Shhhh," I soothingly say as I try and calm her down by holding her tightly. Once Addie sees that she's okay, she stops crying about a minute later.

"Alright, you're going to have that feeling again, but don't worry. I'll always have you and I promise that I won't let anything happen to you," I reassure her.

"*Sniffle*... Okay Daddy..." Addie quietly replies.

I port us to Aine's foyer as Addie grasps my shirt tightly. I walk down the right hall and into the dining room, where I see Aine reading with a cup of tea and a scone... the cup of tea and the scone being a snack, not implements for reading with... As far as I know, these are not magical items with the ability to read like a more cannibalistic version of _Beauty and the Beast_ ... because the inanimate objects in the Beast's castle were originally human servants and the little boy becomes a talking tea cup and thus the scone? Is nobody else getting this?

(I get it, Master)

"Thank you, Airi."

"Hey Aine... it's been a while," I greet.

Aine looks up at me and her eyes grow to the size of saucers as she drops her teacup, which shatters on impact with the marble floor.

(Nooooo! Not Chip!)

"Cole!? But... how!?" Aine asks in a state of shock as I stifle my laughter.

"I came back. Aine, I want you to meet _my daughter_ , Adelaide. Addie, this is Daddy's friend Aine, queen of the fairies," I say as I walk towards Aine, putting extra emphasis on my declaration of Addie being my daughter so that Aine knows not to ask any questions right now.

"It's nice to meet you, Adelaide," Aine says with a warm smile.

"Hello..." Addie shyly says before turning her face in towards my shirt.

"Daddy, if this lady is a fairy, where are her wings?" Addie asks in a child's whisper, i.e. one that is very loud because she doesn't know how to control her volume yet.

"Do you mean these?" Aine asks. Behind her, two rainbow-colored butterfly wings, which appear to be made of light, flicker into existence and unfurl themselves. I stare dumbstruck as Addie's face lights up.

"They're so pretty! Look Daddy, pretty!" Addie exclaims.

"They sure are, Addie. Aine, I wasn't aware that you had wings, unlike Lila whose wings are immediately noticeable. Speaking of, where is Lila?" I inquire.

"Lila is at school," Aine answers.

"Oh, when does she get home?" I ask.

"You misunderstand. Lila is going to a boarding school. She won't be home until her next holiday. She left last week, but Dagda gave both of us special cell phones so she calls almost nightly. I'll let her know that you're back the next time she calls," Aine says.

"That probably isn't the best idea... it will most likely only serve as a distraction so it will be better if you just tell her the next time she comes home," I explain.

"Yes, that most likely is for the best. She should be home for winter break in December. Uh-oh, it looks like someone is ready for a nap!" Aine exclaims as Addie yawns and rubs her eyes.

"I think you may be right! Let me just port home and put her to bed, then I'll come back and we can catch up. Tell Dagda for me, will you? Knowing him, he is most likely about ten seconds away from breaking your door down!" I exclaim and port to the gate before porting back to the house.

I carry Addie's sleeping form into my room and tuck her into bed.

"Hey, I just set Addie down for her nap. I have some things to take care of in Tir na nOg, but I'll be back soon," I tell Cheza in the living room. Cheza just ignores me, but I trust her to take care of Addie if she wakes up and I'm not here.

I touch my triskele and port to the gate, where I'm ambushed and a sword is pressed to my throat. I see that Manannan mac Lir is the one holding the sword, which I am guessing is Fragarach and that Dagda has a few questions for me.

"Who are you?" Dagda asks with his familiar Irish accent.

"Cole Treyfair," I reply.

Fragarach is a magical sword in Irish mythology that makes it impossible for one to tell a lie when the blade is held to their throat, or it may just be a magical lie detector. Either way, it is no cause for worry to me.

"Are you being controlled by anyone?" Dagda inquires.

"No," I answer.

"When I approached you at Lila's birthday party and told you that your 'public opinion campaign' probably wasn't going to work, what was your response?" Brighid asks.

"That it was better than doing nothing at all," I respond. Brighid nods and Manannan mac Lir lifts Fragarach from my throat.

"Welcome back, Cole!" Brighid exclaims and gives me a brief hug.

"Welcome back boyo, but how are you back?" Dagda asks.

"I'm sure Aine wants to know too, so let's go to her dining room where we can sit while I tell my story," I suggest.

Dagda nods and disappears with Brighid and Manannan mac Lir close behind him. I port to Aine's foyer and walk to the dining room. We all sit down and Aine calls for a maid to bring refreshments. I spend the next hour recanting my experience, starting with my amnesia and ending with my adoption of Addie and the investigation into the supernatural enhancements.

"Well, that is quite the story, lad!" Dagda exclaims.

"So, how does it feel being a dad? Adelaide is just too cute by the way," Aine warmly says.

"Honestly, it's terrifying. I feel that every second I'm with her, the closer she gets to death because of me. I want to push her away, but every time I hear her call me Daddy, I just feel so... happy?" I say while staring down at the table.

I look up to see everyone warmly smiling at me, which is embarrassing, but it is also infinitely creepy coming from the gruff Manannan mac Lir.

"You're going to be a fantastic father, Cole. Don't worry so much. I doubt that there are safer places in the universe than by your side," Brighid says with warm conviction.

"Thanks, Brighid. I hope you're right. Anyway, I need to be headed home so I'll see all of you later," I say as I stand up.

"Don't be a stranger, boyo. Remember that you're still the god o' love and youth!" Dagda reminds me.

The irony of my love life being in the shitter when I'm the stand-in for the Celtic god of love is not lost on me. I port home and plop down on the couch.

"Did you have a long day, Cole?" Naia asks from her adjacent position on the couch.

"Yeah, I've been awake since 5am. So, are you excited about going to school?" I inquire.

"Oh yes! I am very excited!" Naia exclaims while turning her body towards me.

"What is school like? How many people will there be?" Naia asks, her eyes bright with excitement.

"I'm not too sure. This school is bound to be different compared to what I'm used to," I reply.

"What if no one likes me...? What if I cannot make any friends?" Naia quietly inquires.

"Don't worry, Naia. I'm sure you will make friends and I'll be there as well!" I reassure her.

"Thank you, Cole," Naia smiles with an almost imperceptible sadness in her eyes as she turns back towards the TV.

...

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, Addie is jumping on my balls.

"Wake up, Daddy! It's dinner time!" Addie exclaims as I struggle not to double over in pain.

"Alright... I'll be there... in a second... sweetie," I struggle to say.

"Okay Daddy!" Addie smiles, crawls down from the couch, and runs into the kitchen.

"You alright there, Cole?" Tia asks as she appears beside me.

"I think she popped one..." I groan as I reach into my pants... okay, there's one... where's two!? I can't find two!

"Shit! I can't find the second one!" I exclaim in a hushed tone.

"Let me see," Tia replies as she reaches into my pants and grabs my crotch.

"Ah!" I yelp. This is actually really awkward...

"Cole, hurry up! What are you doi—" Cheza says as she walks into the living room. She glares at me, turns around, and walks away.

"Daddy said we can start without him," Cheza says rather pointedly from the kitchen.

"Okay, there it is," Tia announces as she locates my second testicle.

I limp into the kitchen behind Tia and we sit down for dinner while Cheza glares at me from across the table.

"You know what you two should do tomorrow? You two should take Adelaide to the park," Sara suggests to Cheza and I.

"That actually sounds like a good idea," I reply.

"Around sundown would probably be best. The park should be empty by then so you won't need to worry about disguising her ears and tail," Sara adds.

"Yay! I get to go to the park with Mommy and Daddy tomorrow!" Addie exclaims and then looks confused for a moment.

"What's a park?"

...

Chapter 21: The Essence of Fatherhood

[September 17th]

The day was rather uneventful, but I did get to sleep in until 7am. I got up and went to the bathroom for my normal morning, pre-shower shit. On this particular morning, Cole Treyfair learned what being a father is all about.

"Hey Daddy? What are you doing?" Addie asks through the door, which I thankfully remembered to lock, about one minute after my cheeks hit the seat.

"I'm using the bathroom, sweetie," I try to answer as calmly as possible.

"Why?" Addie asks.

"How about you go see what Mommy is doing?" I suggest.

"Okay!" Addie replies and runs off.

"Hey Daddy?" Addie asks about a minute later.

"What is it, sweetie?" I reply.

"Mommy told me to tell you to stop reading and get out of the bathroom," Addie informs me.

"How about you go see what Auntie Tia is doing?" I suggest.

"Okay!" Addie replies and runs off.

"Hey Daddy?" Addie asks about twenty seconds later.

"How about you go see what Auntie Sara is doing?" I suggest.

"Okay!" Addie replies and runs off.

And with that, I was able to finish my business and take a shower. The rest of the day included Sara starting to teach Addie how to read, Addie drawing a picture for me, and me teaching Addie more of the differences between cartoons and reality.

"No, people die when you drop heavy objects, such as anvils or safes, on their heads."

After dinner, I drive to a nearby park with Addie and Cheza. When we get there, all of the other families are leaving.

"Daddy, why is that lady so big?" Addie asks when she sees a rather obese woman getting into a minivan.

"Airi, what should I tell her?"

(Because she made poor eating choices)

"Because she made poor eating choices," I tell Addie.

"Why?" Addie asks.

(Because she wasn't taught better)

"Because she wasn't taught better," I respond.

"Why?" Addie asks.

(Because her parents didn't love her enough)

"Because her parents didn't love her enough," I reply.

"You love me, don't you Daddy?" Addie asks.

(I love you unconditionally, sweetie)

"I love you unconditionally, sweetie," I repeat. Airi has some really good lines!

(Until you get fat)

"Until you get fat," I tell Addie without thinking.

Cheza slowly turns her head and glares at me. Looks like I might have just given Addie a new complex for her future... and possibly an eating disorder.

"Anyway, this is the park, Addie. Those are slides, that's a jungle gym, those are swings, that's a play set..." I explain how to use the equipment and then I sit down on a nearby bench with Cheza while Addie goes down some slides.

"So what the hell was that? Are you trying to fuck her up?" Cheza pointedly asks.

"Airi was giving me advice and I repeated what she said without thinking. Cheza, can we talk about us?" I inquire.

"I don't see what there is to talk about," Cheza tersely says while folding her arms across her chest.

"Cheza... I want to be with you... I want us to be a family for Addie... I—grab Addie, take cover in the play set, and shield her from what I'm about to do. I'll handle this. GO!" I order when I spot two armed men in tactical armor advancing towards the playground.

My helmet engages as one of the men spots Cheza running and raises his M4 Carbine to fire. I quickly form a smoke bomb with my left hand and toss it to obstruct his view. I flash forward through the smoke and crush the guy's head with my left hand. I grab his M4 while throwing the body at the second gunman, snapping the carbine's strap. The body knocks the second gunman over and I fire a three-round burst into the second gunman's head to finish him off.

Three bullets whizz past me from the other side of the playground. I launch myself into the air and fire a burst at each of the three enemies that are advancing across the playground. With a velocity of 2970ft/s, the three combatants don't stand a chance at only two hundred feet away, even with their enhanced speed. I have eighteen rounds or six bursts remaining in the magazine. I turn in midair and fire on six of the eight remaining enemies throughout the park.

I land as the final two enemies take cover behind a saguaro cactus. I draw an explosive dart and throw it at the saguaro, five hundred feet away. When they realize that I'm no longer firing, the two gunmen come out of their cover so I detonate the dart. I race forward while they are stunned, wielding the M4 in my right hand like a club. I smash the butt of the M4 into the head of the guy on the right, caving his metal helmet into his skull as I punch through the saguaro to grab the other guy... or that had been the plan at least. I end up just standing there with my hand in a cactus, groping around blindly while the final gunman walks around the cactus and unloads all thirty rounds into my lumbar. All the rounds pass through my stomach, except for the three rounds that are responsible for shattering one of my vertebrae.

"This is Whiskey Tango three, I have neutralized the target. Requesting backup for transport," the gunman says into his radio as I lie on the ground.

Cheza runs up behind him and grabs his head in both of her hands. I watch as the gunman's eyes glaze over, quickly followed by them literally freezing over. That has got to be one hell of a brain freeze. Cheza drops the gunman, puts her hands on her hips, and looks down at my sorry state.

"What happened to you handling it?" Cheza asks in a snarky manner from her superior position.

I watch as one of three new gunmen raises his M4 and fires at Cheza. My Drive takes over and uses my blood to make up for the lack of a complete nervous system as I launch myself into the path of the bullets. Two strike my right shoulder and the other hits my helmet. Using my blood to control my muscles, I stand and hold my left arm out towards the three enemies as it suddenly turns black.

"Gaze upon _Erasure_ ... and return to the _Void_ ," I command.

Black tendrils shoot out of the holes in my arm and wrap around the legs of the three enemies. Glorious screams of panic ensue as the gunmen's legs start turning into dust as the force that is causing them to disintegrate travels up towards their heads. Control of my body is relinquished to me and my arm returns to its regular silver color.

"We need to leave before reinforcements show up," I tell Cheza as the screams stop from the extensive disintegration.

We walk over to the playground and Cheza grabs a crying and cowering Addie. We walk over to the car and I drive us to a Target parking lot, not trusting the limited control I have over the lower half of my body with the three bullets in my spine and deciding that I should eliminate the chance of an ambush during the drive home. I turn off the car, grab Cheza's shoulder, and port all three of us home. I port onto the couch so that we don't fall down when our seats are suddenly removed.

"Cheza, I need you to call Natasha and tell her about this. Those guys will most likely have reinforcements on scene quickly so tell her that anyone she sends should be prepared for a fight," I tell Cheza.

"Cole! What happened!?" Sara asks.

"We were attacked by those guys and I got careless. I have three bullets in my spine that I need removed before I can heal," I explain.

Sara nods and leads me through her room and down into the clinic.

"How many times were you shot?" Sara asks.

"A whole M4 magazine, so thirty but, only three are in my spine," I reply when my right pectoral aches as if to say 'Hey, I got shot too!'

"Wait, I forgot the two in my right shoulder. Those are probably still there considering that Cheza didn't get hit..." I inform her.

"I'll take a look," Sara replies.

"Airi, if you'd please."

I feel that being a father means three things: 1) Never having time to yourself 2) Fucking up the psyche of your child 3) Keeping your child from dying.

I think I hit the trifecta today.

****

Chapter 22: Trip Preparation

"It seems that you have a talent for putting those around you in danger," Bullet-hole Kita crackles as I open my eyes to see Kita floating over me in my bedroom.

"They will all be joining us soon if you hang around, so why don't you just join us in their stead?" Bullet-hole Kita suggests.

"No. I can't do that to Adelaide," I reply.

"Do you really think that you're doing her any favors by pretending to be her father? Do you really think she will live a longer, happier life with you around?" Bullet-hole Kita asks.

"You can end all of this now, Cole. It's as easy as pulling the trigger..."

****

[September 18th]

I awaken in my bed with a feeling that something was unusual about that dream, along with feelings of regret. Maybe Kita is right... am I really doing any good by staying with them or would they all be safer if I wasn't around? I'll be leaving tomorrow, but they won't be safe if they stay here. I try to move out of bed, but I find that my legs aren't responding—my spine must not be fully healed yet.

"Tia, can you please come in here? I have something to discuss with you," I say. Tia walks into the room about fifteen seconds later.

"What's up?" Tia inquires.

"I think you guys should move. Those Templar guys are watching the house. Tailing us is the only way they could have known we were at the park quickly enough to get a team there. This place isn't safe enough for you guys to stay here," I tell her.

"Way ahead of you, Cole. Sara has already found a house and we will be moving there tomorrow," Tia announces.

"Oh, okay... good. I guess I'll just port you guys to the new location then... shit! Since I'm leaving later I won't be able to... I don't think Dagda would mind doing me a favor by helping you move," I respond.

"Just rest up and get healed, Cole. Sara and I will handle the rest," Tia says and leaves the room. I sit up in bed and turn on my rarely used TV.

"Daddy? Are you okay?" Addie asks from the crack in my door.

"I'm just fine, sweetie. I'm sorry if I scared you yesterday," I tell her with a warm smile.

"DADDY!" Addie cries while bursting into my room and jumping on my bed to hug me.

I hug her back while she cries into my shirt for a while. When she finally calms down, Addie sits down next to me and we watch cartoons while I teach her more about reality.

"Despite what that rat is doing, you cannot control someone by pulling on strands of their hair. Neurology doesn't work like that."

I swear, between Cheza, Sara, and I, this kid is going to be a genius. Two hours later, I notice that Addie has fallen asleep.

"Hey Cole?" Cheza asks as she walks in my room. I motion for her to be quiet.

"Can we talk about what happened at the park?" Cheza whispers.

"Sure, what did you want to know?" I ask in a similarly hushed tone.

"What was that, what you did to those soldiers?" Cheza inquires.

"I'm not sure, but it seemed to be a variant on the tendrils that I used against Illapa. My Drive had been the one to use them," I inform her.

"I thought your Drive was gone," Cheza replies.

"It seems that it just assimilated with me instead of vanishing. Airi told me that my time spent with amnesia weakened the barrier between us. Recently, I've been having bouts during times of extreme emotion where my Drive will take over and I'll blackout. It happened after I watched Kita die and as I watched the life drain from Addie's eyes when I first found her," I explain.

"Oh... well, thanks for taking a bullet for me... again... but I can handle myself now," Cheza says in a quiet tone that sounds almost shy.

"I know you can. I was so insanely proud of you when you stabbed me in Katie's room," I tell her.

"Flattery won't get you very far, Cole," Cheza informs me while playing with a strand of her hair.

"That isn't flattery, Cheza. That's sickness. You had just stabbed me and all I could think about is how badly I wanted to kiss you... and how much I wasn't able to," I clarify.

"I-I have to go," Cheza says with a touch of red in her cheeks before standing up and fleeing my room.

I look down at Addie's peacefully sleeping face and realize how much I'm going to miss her during the mission, and how much I'm not looking forward to telling her that I'll be leaving. Natasha quietly knocks on my door before entering.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Natasha whispers.

"My legs feel tingly so that's a good sign, but it'll probably be a few more hours before I can walk," I explain.

"Well, take your time. Carla knows the situation and said that we can leave tomorrow if it's absolutely necessary. Have you told Adelaide yet?" Natasha asks.

"No, but I plan on using Skype while I'm there so that we can still see each other. What are the room accommodations like?" I inquire.

"You will be staying in the dorms, but you will have your own room. Chezarei and Naia will be staying in the dorms as well," Natasha informs me.

"Good. At least I don't have to worry about a roommate blowing my cover," I reply.

"Hey Cole, the silicon sleeve came today. Try it on," Sara says as she enters my room.

Sara hands me a silicon glove that is incredibly difficult to put on. After about five minutes, I'm finally able to get it on. It looks relatively real, but I don't think it will stand up to close inspection. Plus it has a noticeable smell to it.

"Thanks Sara, but I think I'll just stick with the bandages and say that I was badly burned so I use bandages to hide the scarring," I tell her.

"What? Why?" Sara asks.

"Three reasons: One, I can put the bandages on quicker. Two, this won't stand up to close inspection. Three, its smell will probably give it away, especially to werewolves," I explain and as if to exemplify my point, Addie wakes up.

"Daddy, what's so stinky?" Addie asks while rubbing her eye, scrunching up her nose, and looking adorable.

"See?" I say to Sara.

"Yeah... you have a point and I suppose the back story is good enough," Sara concedes.

"Well, I suppose I should help you pack," Sara says.

I watch as Natasha and Sara spend the next half hour going through my clothes and tossing the ones they approve of into a large duffle bag. Sara is about to toss my jacket in when I stop her.

"Sara, can you cut the inlay out of the left sleeve?" I request.

"Sure, I'll be right back," Sara replies.

"Daddy? Why are they putting your clothes in a bag?" Addie asks.

"I... uh, Daddy has to go on a trip for work and he will be gone for a while, but you will still be able to see and talk to Daddy with the computer," I say, trying to sound positive. Addie's expression immediately falls and tears well up in her eyes.

"I don't want you to go, Daddy!" Addie cries as she grabs onto me.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I have to," I reply. I hold her while she cries into my shirt for ten minutes.

"Cole, your jacket is finished and so is lunch," Tia announces from the hallway.

I try swinging my legs off of the bed and find that they are cooperating. I carry Addie into the kitchen while she clings onto me like a baby orangutan. Addie refuses to let go so I sit down at the table and feed her from that position.

"My legs are feeling better so we should probably leave soon. Are you two ready to go?" I ask Naia and Cheza. They both nod in response as Addie starts crying again.

"I want you to be a good girl for Auntie Sara and Auntie Tia, okay? I promise that we will see each other through the computer every night and that I'll come home as soon as I can," I tell her. Addie looks up at me and sadly nods.

I go to my room and grab my bag. I consider bringing my holster to be brought in with the weapons cache, but it's not like my gun will do me any good and I can make swords when I get there, so I decide to just leave the holster here instead. Everyone assembles in living room with their bags.

"Alright, so where are we headed?" I ask.

"A lighthouse on the Huron Islands, on Lake Superior. Here's a picture," Natasha answers while showing me her phone.

"Okay, gather around," I tell them.

"Be safe, Cole, and we'll see you soon," Sara says while comforting Addie.

"Yeah. I'll call via Skype once I get settled in. I love you, Addie," I say.

"*Sniffle* I love you too, Daddy," Addie replies as I touch my triskele.

Chapter 23: School, Pool, and Yaoi

I look around at the evergreen trees and steep cliffs of this tiny island before turning my attention to the nineteenth century lighthouse.

"So you were able to make it today after all, I see. Carla said you might not be able to," an elderly African American gentleman smoking a pipe says from the doorway of the lighthouse's main building. Something feels off about this place... I feel on edge and can't seem to relax.

"Cole?" Natasha thinks and I involuntarily jump in response.

"What are you, boy? The security spells have that effect on humans, but it don't make no sense for them to be effectin' you when you're headed to the school," the elderly gentleman says while inspecting me. He raises a bushy white eyebrow at me before walking away.

"Well, let's get goin' before this one loses his nerve. The name's Regis by the way. I'm this gate's caretaker," Regis says.

Regis walks over to what must have been an oil storehouse, takes out a ring of keys, and unlocks the door.

"Oh, before I forget, do you have any weapons that you want to be snuck in?" Regis asks.

"Are our bags going to be searched?" Cheza inquires.

"Nope, it's somethin' more like a magical detection device that goes off when guns are brought through the gates. So do you have anythin' that needs to be snuck in?" Regis asks again.

We all shake our heads in response so Regis walks into the storehouse and motions for us to follow. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that Cheza packed the Synergistic blades. We follow Regis into the back storehouse, where he presses his hand against a section of the wall. A green light outlines his hand and then a section of the floor opens up and an elevator emerges. We pile into the elevator where Naia watches in fascination as Regis presses a combination of buttons and off we go.

Nearly five minutes later, the elevator dings and the doors open to reveal an underground cavern that contains a dozen other elevator doors. We step out of the elevator as about ten people walk down a hallway to the right marked 'Students'.

"Well it was nice meeting you all. See you around campus!" Natasha says and heads towards the left hallway, marked 'Faculty'. Naia, Cheza, and I follow the flow of students down the right hallway.

"Name?" a preppy blonde with a tablet asks.

"Cole Treyfair," I reply.

"Alright, it looks like you have been assigned to Graythorn Hall. Despite the ominous name, it is actually a pretty nice dorm. Just head up the stairs and follow the signs. Name?" the blonde says as she turns to Cheza.

I consider waiting for Cheza and Naia, but I figure that may look a little bizarre for people that supposedly just met. I proceed up the stairs and find myself looking at clear blue skies, an expansive grass lawn, and loads of gothic architecture in the distance. I guess the elevator acts as some kind of portal.

There is a post with ten signs directly in front of me, along with a three-way split in the path. I see a sign marked 'Graythorn Hall' with an arrow that points left so I follow the cobblestone pathway in that direction. A forest of evergreen trees is to my left as I come across a fork in the path with a sign that indicates that Graythorn Hall is to the right. I follow the sign and continue to the dorm. After passing by some kind of sports field, I see a tan guy that is a couple inches shorter than me, cursing in a language that might be Greek.

"Umm, what's up?" I inquire.

"This stupid sign. I'm trying to find Graythorn Hall, but now I'm lost," he responds without an accent, despite his earlier use of Greek. I look over his shoulder and see a sign that is like the other two signs I passed, except this sign doesn't have an arrow.

"Hmm, this seems to be a problem. I'm trying to find Graythorn Hall as well. I'm Cole, by the way," I say.

"Travis," Travis replies.

"Well, I think that if we were to take another right, we would have traveled in a circle, in which case there would have been no point in taking a left when we got to the stairs when we could've gone straight. So I'm thinking that the left path will take us there," I suggest.

Travis takes a pen out of his bag and draws an arrow leading to the left. I suppose he can always change it on our way back through if I end up being wrong. We start walking there in silence.

"So what are you going to school for?" I ask after about a quarter of a mile.

"I'm not really sure at this point. I'll probably end up joining The Agency out of school anyway," Travis replies.

"Yeah, I'm right there with you. I didn't even sign up for my classes. I just had my advisor do it for me," I say.

"Ha! I wish I could have done that. It took me an eternity to pick my classes! So what sports are you in to?" Travis asks.

"I'm not all that big into sports, but I've been doing martial arts for the majority of my life," I reply.

"I've been kickboxing for the past few years and I played lacrosse in high school," Travis says.

"What a coincidence, I'm pretty sure that I'm taking a kickboxing class," I respond.

"They have kickboxing here? Because that would be awesome if they did," Travis replies.

"I'm pretty sure it was on my class list... look, there it is," I say when Graythorn Hall comes into view.

The dorm has really creepy gothic architecture, the kind that makes you hear organ music and a thunderstorm despite the fact that neither is present. We walk through the wrought iron gate, up the front steps, and into Graythorn Hall. I'm expecting evil scientist's lair, or haunted mansion with paintings that follow your movements, but the lobby area is rather warm with modern furniture and a large ski lodge style fireplace in a partitioned area of the lobby to the left, and a large staircase to the left of the partition.

We head over to the reception desk to the right of the entrance, where I see a familiar looking mousey girl that is reading a manga. I notice that the manga she is reading is yaoi at about the same time that I realize that she is the mousey chick from the night club in Minneapolis that I almost had to punch. This seems a little too coincidental. She quickly puts her manga away when she notices us.

"Hello and welcome to Graythorn Hall. Names?" the mousey chick asks as I read her name tag that says 'Rita'.

"Cole Treyfair," I reply as I look around the lobby and notice a pool table in the partitioned area with walls made up of wooden bars, which makes them pretty much see-through, across from the desk. With how the partition is fashioned, you can see the whole lobby area at certain angles. With it styled like that, what's the point in having a partition in the first place?

"Travis Stamos," Travis replies.

"Hey Travis—" I start.

"Despite my last name and my likeness to him, I'm not related to John Stamos," Travis answers wearily.

"I was going to ask if you like to play pool... who's John Stamos?" I ask.

"You don't know who John Stamos is!? Dude, I think I'm officially in love with you," Travis says in the same fashion as when I told Katie that I loved her, while I hear Rita gasp. I turn toward her to see her eyes wide in excitement as she smiles and bounces slightly.

"No Rita, these are not your yaoi fantasies come to life," I tell her with a scolding tone.

"Yaoi?" Travis asks.

"It's the shortened form of shounen-ai, which is Japanese for boys-love, a genre of manga about gay guys that is strangely popular. Although, I guess it isn't as strange as the popularity of lesbian characters... I mean, if the genre was marketed towards gay guys, I wouldn't find that strange at all, but its fan base is mostly women so I find it a little strange," I explain.

"Hey, this is a light novel, not a manga! Reading something with pictures would be incredibly inappropriate while I'm at work!" Rita expounds.

"Yeah, no. Sorry Rita," Travis says.

"I really need to stop assuming things... anyway, you're in room 602 and you're in room 606," Rita says while handing Travis his room key before handing me mine.

"Read the informational pamphlets on your desks. It's just some basic guidelines, but it also tells you how to get online. If you have any problems, just call down here and someone will help you out. The number is on the back of the pamphlets," Rita informs us and then we head for the stairs.

That's cool that phones work here, but they normally don't in other worlds like Tir na nOg: satellites tend not to cross planar boundaries. So does that mean that Fogquartz isn't on another plane? Maybe the connection works using the same method as the one in the Underworld...

Six flights of stairs with heavy baggage isn't as fun as it sounds. Travis and I walk into our respective rooms that are down the hall from each other. I unpack my stuff and see a copy of my class schedule as well as my id card on my desk, next to the pamphlet that Rita mentioned. I put my id card in my wallet, pocket my schedule, and start thumbing through the pamphlet.

The pamphlet is mostly rules and/or information that isn't applicable to me, like how vampires aren't allowed to drink from students or people in town, and that they don't have to worry about the harmful effects of sunlight because of some kind of barrier, or how weres are only allowed one change per month and only in the designated areas. Although I hadn't been aware that there was a town, the only useful information is the wifi login password. I'm making sure my laptop can connect properly when I hear a knock at my door.

"Hey, you up for a game of pool? I just realized that there's fuck else to do until tomorrow," Travis says when I answer the door.

"Sure, let's go," I reply.

We walk down the six flights of stairs and up to Rita at the front desk.

"May we borrow the pool set, please?" I politely ask.

Rita nods, pulls out the set of balls from beneath the desk, grabs two cues off of the wall behind her, and passes them to us before going back to her light novel. Travis and I walk over to the table, twenty feet away, and set up our game. He breaks and gets stripes. We get about halfway through our game when I decide to play a little joke on Rita.

"Follow my lead," I whisper to Travis.

Travis looks at me and I flick my eyes toward Rita. He smiles and nods in response. He lines up his shot and I do a smacking-ass-grab move that echoes through the empty lobby. Rita looks up from her light novel.

"Tonight, I'm going to fuck you so hard, you won't even remember what year it is," I say loudly enough for Rita to hear. Her eyes go wide and she smiles as she puts her book down. Travis stands turns around to face me.

"Oh, you tease!" Travis replies.

"You're right... who needs to wait for tonight?" I ask as I push him on top of the pool table.

I see Rita start bouncing out of the corner of my eye. Travis grabs the back of my head and pulls me down towards him. Rita start quietly squealing as my face gets closer to Travis's. We stop when we are about six inches from each other's faces, and just start cracking up as we look at Rita.

"Oh damn! That was just too good! Rita, your face is fucking priceless!" I exclaim through my laughter as I look at Rita.

Then the joke becomes really unfunny, really quickly as I notice Cheza and Naia staring at me in shock from the stairs

"So is this what guys feel when they see two hot chicks make out?" Cheza absentmindedly asks.

"Oh... so you guys are in this dorm too, huh?" I ask with a quiet, uninflected tone.

"Yeah. You would know that, had you waited the five minutes it took us to find out," Cheza replies.

"Hello ladies! I'm Travis and I'm not gay," Travis introduces himself.

"Hi Travis. I'm Chezarei and I'm not interested. This is Naia. We came here in the same group as Cole," Cheza replies.

"Well she certainly is as cold as ice, isn't she?" Travis mumbles to me.

"Dude, you have no idea," I chuckle.

"Anyway, Naia and I were just about to go check out the campus. You guys want to come?" Cheza asks.

"Sure!" Travis replies for both of us.

We spend the next three hours exploring the campus. The architecture is all gothic and relatively creepy looking, but also interesting. It appears that all of the buildings are at the center of campus, the entrance is to the south, Graythorn Hall is on the west side, and four other dorms are to the north with two more to the east. The path that leads into town is to the south-east and cuts through the pine forests that surround the campus. There is also a lake to the north-east that is for the water element related students like mermaids, naiads, undines, sirens, etc.

"Well I think that about covers the whole campus. Let's head back now," Cheza says.

"Yeah, I promised I'd call home right about now anyway," I respond.

We reach Graythorn Hall just as the sun sets. We climb the stairs and I learn that the girls are in rooms 510 and 515. I inform them that I'm in 606. Travis and I continue up the stairs and into our respective rooms. I boot up Skype and then I call Sara on my phone when I see that Sara isn't on.

"Hey Cole, how's the campus?" Sara asks.

"It's pretty nice. Naia, Cheza, and I are all in the same dorm so that's convenient. Anyway, get on your laptop and grab Addie please," I request.

"Sure, see you in a sec," Sara replies and hangs up. About thirty seconds later, my Skype starts ringing. I press accept and Addie pops up.

"DADDY!" Addie shouts.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" I ask.

"I'm good, Daddy. Did you know that we're moving tomorrow?" Addie asks.

"Yeah, Auntie Tia told me earlier today. Speaking of which, Sara?" I say.

"Yeah, I'm here," Sara responds.

"How are you guys getting to the new house?" I inquire.

"Don't worry, Cole. Dagda is porting us there. The house is already furnished so all we are bringing is clothing and some things that we can't buy when we get there. Oh, it looks like Rei is calling," Sara replies.

"Alright, I need to get going anyway. Goodnight Addie, I love you!" I say.

"I love you too, Daddy!" Addie replies before I end the call.

I strip down to my sleeping attire, i.e. my boxers, when I remember that the bathroom is no longer conveniently attached to my room. I exit my dorm room and walk down the hall towards the men's restroom. I pass a group of four girls that are about Cheza's age, getting three stares and a wink. Were they staring at my physique or my arm...? Either way, I think I will wear more clothing starting tomorrow.

...

Chapter 24: Welcome Weekend and the Miracles of Fairy Puberty

[September 19th]

Welcome Weekend starts off pretty slowly, mostly just campus tours and information on various clubs and sports. Travis and I tour the commons area in the center of campus that holds all of the informational booths on sports and clubs. I start scanning the auras of everyone there to look for clues, but I don't see anyone with red auras. However, Travis's aura catches my attention. He has a normal white outline, but his central aura is black with a red handprint. I really want to ask him what he is, but it might give away the fact that I can see auras and it will lead to a conversation about what I am, which could be problematic.

"STEP RIGHT UP!" a guy yells under a banner that says 'Test your strength and win $100,' next to an arm-wrestling table with a Foot Locker employee and a strong looking werewolf sitting at the table. The werewolf's red aura is what catches my eye.

Travis and I join the crowd around the table. We watch as a vampire puts up a good fight, but ultimately loses. The vampire walks away from the table, but I notice as a girl (whose aura identifies her as a witch) stops him and hands him a flyer. Next, a werewolf steps up and gets his ass thoroughly handed to him. He walks off and doesn't get a flyer. I need to get my hands on one of those flyers, so I step up to the table. I need to make an impression for a flyer, but I don't want to draw too much attention to myself, so I can't win.

"Okay, on go. 3, 2, 1, GO!" the referee announces.

The werewolf immediately starts pressing against me. I hold him back and throw some extra strength to get him onto his side, but I allow that strength to gradually fade. The werewolf pins me and I walk off.

"Hey, we're hosting this party tomorrow night. You should come by," the flyer girl says.

"Yeah, maybe I will," I reply.

"Great! It's in town. There are directions to the party on the back," she says while handing me a flyer.

"WE HAVE A WINNER!" the announcer shouts. I turn around and see that it is Travis who has just won.

"Just go talk to Penelope for your winnings," the announcer says at a normal volume as he points at flyer girl.

"Look Cole, I won!" Travis exclaims somewhat smugly as he walks toward us.

"Here you go! You should stop by this party tomorrow night with your friend!" flyer girl says as she hands Travis a flyer and a hundred dollar bill.

"By the way, what are you? If you don't mind my asking," flyer girl adds.

"I'm the son of a Hecatonchires and a witch," Travis replies.

If I recall my Greek mythology correctly, Hecatonchires were giants with hundreds of hands that helped Zeus overthrow the Titans. Well, I guess that answers my question about Travis and I didn't have to divulge any information about myself!

"Wow! Well I hope to see you guys at the party!" flyer girl exclaims and walks off.

"So do you want to go in to town for a bite? I'm starving," Travis says as we walk away from the crowd.

"Sure, I'm game," I reply.

We head to the southeast portion of campus to reach the cobblestone path that leads through the evergreen forest and into town. The town seems pretty big, enough so that it requires a subway system. Travis pulls out his phone and uses Fogquartz's restaurant rating system to find someplace to eat. I follow him into the subway tunnels and we hop on the train as it leaves. Looking at a map on the train, the subway system is a giant loop with one train that runs clockwise and a second train that runs counter-clockwise. We get off at the second clockwise stop, which also seems to be the stop for Fogquartz High, the local high school. There is also Fogquartz Elementary, which covers preschool through seventh grade. We walk about four blocks until Travis hangs a left into a quaint looking café and bistro. It's a 'seat yourself' type of place so we sit down at a table in the corner.

"Welcome! Can I get you guys started with something to drink?" a cute little brunette waitress asks as she hands us our menus.

"I'll have a Sprite with no ice," I reply. The waitress frowns in response.

"Is that a crack at me?" the waitress asks.

"What?" I ask with confusion until I look at her aura, which reminds me of a ripple in a pond.

"Oh, no! I meant the lemon-lime soda!" I explain when I realize that she must be a water sprite. Based on her eastern European features, my guess is that she is a Vila from Slavic mythology.

"I'll just have a Pepsi," Travis says.

"Alright, one Pepsi and one 7-UP," the waitress cheerily says and leaves.

I look at the menu and decide on a ham and cheese panini when I hear the door ding as three girls walk in wearing white button-up shirts and navy pleated skirts. What catches my eye is that one of the girls has pearlescent white wings. The peri that the wings belong to is about four and a half feet tall, with a bust size that is visible, and one of the most amazing asses I've ever seen, which is obvious even with her skirt in the way.

(Jailbait ass! Making men contemplate if the sex now is worth the sex in prison later since... sometime in the 1900's when men stopped marrying fourteen year olds)

The peri stops dead in her tracks when she sees me.

"No... he's not here... he can't be here... he's dead... that isn't Cole," the peri whispers to herself as she clenches her eyes shut.

"My gods... Lila?" I say as I stand up quickly.

"Cole...? COLE!" Lila bursts into tears as she rushes forward to hug me.

"Wow, you've certainly... grown, in the past year haven't you?" I rhetorically ask as I hug Lila back and she cries into my shirt.

"COLE! I can't believe it's actually you! But how are you here? You were de—" Lila asks before I silence her by placing my finger on her lips.

"I'll explain everything sometime, but now is not that time," I sternly reply.

Lila pulls out her phone and then hands it to me so I can put my phone number in it. I enter my number and see her friends waiting with a box from the café.

"It looks like you need to get going. I'm going to the university so just call me and we'll meet up somewhere to talk," I tell her. Lila smiles, nods, and wipes the tears from her violet eyes before leaving with her friends.

"So who was that?" Travis asks after the waitress takes our order.

"Just an old friend," I reply. The food ends up being terrific. It's by far the best panini I've ever had.

"Are you interested in dessert? Our gelato is really good!" the waitress says.

"No thanks, I've been trying to cut back on my sweets," I say, when in actuality, I just want to leave the site of that awkward misunderstanding from before. At least now I know to order 7-UP... I suppose I could order Sierra Mist as well.

"I understand. The never-ending battle against calories..." the waitress nods solemnly.

"Yeah, you know how it is. It starts off with a cup of gelato and later on I'm roaming the countryside, killing hookers, don't even remember what happened!" I exclaim. The waitress looks at me warily while Travis just starts cracking up.

"I'll just bring the check..." the waitress says while backing away slowly.

The waitress brings our check a few minutes later and I reach for it to see how much it is.

"Relax, I got it," Travis says while holding up the hundred he won.

"Alright, thanks... I hope you're not expecting me to put out," I reply. Travis laughs, pays, and we head out.

We wander around town for a little bit before I mention that us wandering aimlessly around the high school part of town makes it seem like we are trying to pick up high school girls. We head back to the dorm, so we don't get arrested for suspicious behavior or something, and arrive at dusk. I head to my room and boot-up my laptop. I look on Skype and see that Natasha is on so I give her a call.

"Hey Cole, what's up?" Natasha asks.

"Decided I should probably report in. By the way, how do phones and the internet work in Fogquartz? We're on a separate plane aren't we?" I ask.

"Nope, Fogquartz is actually a small backwater town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. You won't find it on any maps, but it's still on earth. They wouldn't be able to have a pantheon-unaffiliated town of this size in another world because they wouldn't be able to get supplies," Natasha replies.

"How can they have a town here without anybody noticing?" I inquire.

"Connections with The Agency keep the government or media from getting wind of it and regular humans don't come anywhere near here. The magic setup at the lighthouse is a weaker version of the same setup that borders the entire area to keep humans away, which is why all supplies are brought in by supernatural delivery men. There are thrill-seekers that ignore the gut-wrenching panic and try to continue, but they are quickly caught by the local police force, flashed with lights, knocked out, and dumped outside of the barrier," Natasha explains.

"Giving way for alien abduction theories, I imagine... Anyway, I wandered around the commons today, looking for clues. None of the sports or club members had the red auras of the enhanced, but a werewolf that was at an arm-wrestling table did," I inform her.

"It sounds like that might have been the fight club. They've always been rather unorthodox in their recruitment of new members and they only offer bids to the strongest people they can find," Natasha explains.

"What's the fight club?" I ask.

"Exactly what it sounds like: a club where the members train with and fight each other. They hold matches that people can bet on, which fund their club activities and training. They fight against the other combat-based clubs to decide who is going to represent Fogquartz in the annual tournament between the four supernatural schools," Natasha explains.

"Well, I think I caught their attention. I got an invite to some party that they are throwing tomorrow night, after I lost my match. My friend Travis was able to win though, so he is definitely on their radar," I tell her.

"Wait, he was able to win in a competition of strength with an enhanced werewolf? What in the hell is he!?" Natasha incredulously asks.

"He's apparently the son of a Hecatonchires and a witch," I answer.

"Huh... perhaps we should hurry up and recruit him," Natasha says.

"He mentioned that he has intentions of joining The Agency after he graduates," I inform her.

"Hmm... well I think that attending this party tomorrow would be a good step forward. Just watch what you say and consider this to be something of an interview. If you caught their attention, then they most likely took a picture of you and looked up your information. Don't be surprised if club members come up to you to try and get a feel for you to see if you have a place as a fighter. That shouldn't be too difficult, eh?" Natasha rhetorically asks with a sly smile.

"Ryuji and I are going out for drinks with the rest of the faculty in a little bit so we'll try to get any information that we can. So has anything else happened?" Natasha inquires.

"Well, I saw Lila..." I reply.

"You what!? Did she blow your cover!?" Natasha frantically asks with concern.

"No, she didn't. Travis was with me, but I was able to stop Lila before she asked how I was still alive. Travis was curious as to whom she was, but his curiosity seemed sated by saying that she was an old friend," I answer.

"Well that's good. How is she? I haven't seen her since your funeral and I remember her being in pretty rough shape..." Natasha replies.

"She's pretty sexy now..." I say.

"What!?" Natasha exclaims.

"Oh, 'basket full of kittens' sexy," I explain.

"Oh okay... wait, that one doesn't even make sense!" Natasha replies.

"Vexingly sexy..." I absentmindedly say.

"Anyway, she has grown up quite a bit... as well as filled out..." I tell her.

"Cole!" Natasha scolds.

"What!? I'm just sayin'!" I defend.

"Hey Natasha, are you ready to go?" Ryuji asks off screen before walking up behind Natasha.

"Oh, hey Feros!" Ryuji waves. "Have you gotten any leads?"

"I'll fill you in on our way," Natasha tells Ryuji.

"Anyway, go to that party and see what you can find out. I'll check in later, on Monday at the latest. See ya!" Natasha says.

"Okay, have fun you guys!" I reply and end the video call.

I notice that Sara is online so I give her a call next.

"Hey Cole, Adelaide is already asleep. The move kind of took a lot out of her," Sara answers.

"Alright. How's the new place?" I ask.

"It's pretty nice. Let me show you around," Sara says and picks up the laptop.

Sara takes me on a tour of the new place. It appears to be a four-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse with modern furnishings in the living room and kitchen.

"It might not have my clinic and workshop or Tia's armory, but it is close to the local elementary school. I was able to get Adelaide into the preschool so she starts on Monday," Sara informs me.

"Aw, I wish I could be there..." I quietly reply.

I'm a little curious about what sort of disguise that Sara has cooked up for Addie's tail and ears, but it doesn't really matter. I know Sara wouldn't have enrolled Addie in the first place had there been any risk.

"Don't worry, Cole. You will be here for other important moments in her life," Sara tells me with her motherly tone and a gentle smile.

"Yeah... so what is Katie doing now that you've moved? Wasn't she supposed to be assisting you?" I ask.

"I sent Katie a few vials of Adelaide's blood to have her run tests using the facility that The Agency's Phoenix office uses, which is conveniently located quite close to the university, in Tempe," Sara replies.

"Good. Well, I'll call again tomorrow. Goodnight Sara," I say and end the call.

I change into basketball shorts and a t-shirt before heading to the communal restroom. I see the same group of girls from the previous night, but they look slightly disappointed when they see me. I brush my teeth and head off to bed.

****

Chapter 25: Snake Women and Non-Violent Parties

I wake up in my dorm room's bed with Kita floating over me, glowing eyes illuminating the otherwise pitch-black room around me.

"It's actually quite funny, watching you make friends," Bullet-hole Kita says. "Everyone knows that it is going to end horribly, yet you continue to bring people into your life and put them in danger. Join us, Cole... or they will."

****

[September 20th]

I jerk awake to heavy breathing and clothes soaked in sweat. I look over at my clock and see that it is 6:30am. I decide to go for a run around campus to try and clear my head. The campus is nice and quiet this early in the morning. I make a fast-paced lap around the campus and head back into the dorm at about 7am.

I jog up the six flights of stairs and into my room. I grab my toiletry bag, and towel before I head for the showers. I finish my shower before I realize that I forgot clean clothes. It's a good thing that I'm awake so early. I wrap my arm in my old bandages so I'm not being careless, and then I exit the bathroom at a brisk walk while holding my dirty clothes, toiletry bag, and towel.

It only occurs to me after the fact, _after_ I hear the female voice behind me, that I should have wrapped my towel around my waist like a normal person.

"You know, we were a little disappointed with your lack of performance last night, but this more than makes up for it!" a very slender Indian girl from the group of girls that I've seen a few times, says with a surreptitious grin. She's about 5'9" with long black hair, brown eyes, and a breast size on par with Tia's, all wrapped in pajamas. The word lithe comes to mind when I see her, for some strange reason.

"Well I'm glad I don't disappoint. Excuse me," I monotonously say and retreat to my room.

Okay, phase one is complete. Now I just have to figure out some way to avoid her and her friends for a few days when we live on the same floor... I get dressed and read for a while because I have nothing else to do until tonight. I consider calling Lila until I realize that I don't have her number, even though she has mine. I hear a knock on my door at eleven.

"Hey, do you want to go get something to eat at the food court?" Travis asks.

"Sure," I reply and we begin the stupidly long walk from Graythorn to the food court on the north side of campus. We both decide on pizza when we get there and find the nearest table.

"So, have you done anything interesting today?" Travis asks.

"I slept like shit and a girl saw me naked," I reply after swallowing my bite of pizza.

"Sweet! Was it that hot little chick from the café!?" Travis asks excitedly.

"What!? Dude, she's like my little sister!" I exclaim.

"Wait, you had sex with your little sister? Dude..." Travis says with a slightly disapproving tone.

"No, the chick from the café is like my little sister. The chick that saw me naked lives on our floor," I clarify.

"So the chick you hooked up with lives on our floor... you'll have to point her out sometime!" Travis exclaims. I don't bother correcting his misconception that I had sex with anyone last night.

"Are you going to that party tonight?" I ask as we finish our pizza.

"Yeah, are you coming with?" Travis asks.

"Yeah, but I think I'll probably take a nap before we go," I reply.

"Man... I wish I needed to take a nap..." Travis says while staring off.

I look behind me to see what Travis is staring at, only to discover that the Indian girl from this morning is staring at me with a sly grin. The rest of her friends from the dorm are also at the table, but they aren't looking at me so I think it may be safe to assume that she didn't tell them about this morning... yet.

"Anyway, I'm going to head back for that nap!" I rush to say before quickly standing and heading for the door.

I reach the door as I hear the sound of plastic chair feet sliding against the linoleum of the food court, coming from the same direction that Travis had been staring in. I don't dare to look back as I pass through the door and make a beeline for the dorm.

"You can't outrun me, you know!" the Indian girl calls out to me as we near the forest.

I turn into the forest because I'll be able to go full speed without blowing my identity, and a woman's logic dictates that it would be stupid to follow some strange guy into a deserted forest. I duck into the trees and quickly outpace her. When I've put some distance between us, I hide behind a tree and listen for her. I can't hear her anywhere near me, so I start to walk towards Graythorn Hall.

"Yep, there's no mistaking it. You're definitely him. You've got a lower body temperature than a human, despite smelling like one, and you move much faster," the girl says behind me, causing me to jump.

"What the hell are you!? A ninja!?" I yell as I prepare myself for a fight.

"No need to be rude! I'm Nagi," Nagi replies, avoiding my question. I open up my sight and scan her. Her aura looks like a coiled cobra. An Indian snake-girl...

"You're a nagi, not Nagi," I say, recalling that a naga is a snake person in Indian mythology and female nagas are nagis or naginis.

"No, my name is Nagi, but you aren't wrong about me being a nagini. Now would you calm yourself? I have a present for you, but I don't feel like getting punched to give it to you," Nagi replies.

"What present?" I ask as I relax slightly. Nagi moves lightning fast as she jumps and wraps herself around me.

"This one," Nagi whispers as she sticks her forked tongue in my mouth.

I consider biting her tongue off, but then I realize that an assassin wouldn't put herself in the position where her prey would be able to bite her tongue off. I find myself kissing her back before she bites down and I feel a fang pierce my tongue.

(An assassin requires twice the ass and a little bit of sin)

"That was a gift from your brother to keep you from killing yourself," Nagi says as a pain sears my tongue while I find that I'm unable to move.

"He told me to tell you, 'don't go getting yourself killed because mom and dad don't have the resources to bring you back a second time.' Oh, and don't worry. I'll make sure to bring you back to your room... once I'm finished," Nagi says.

The last thing I see is Nagi slipping her panties off from underneath her skirt.

...

I wake up in my bed with Nagi reading a book to my left... aaaaand she's naked... aaaaand so am I.

"Oh, look who's awake!" Nagi exclaims as she closes her book.

"I just want to make it perfectly clear that we didn't have sex. We. Did. Not. Have. Sex," Nagi repeats in a fashion that leads me to believe that I was sleep raped.

"Then why am I naked?" I ask.

"Oh, that's just because I wanted a front to match the back view that I caught earlier," Nagi explains with a surreptitious smile. I look over at the clock and see that it's already 8:30pm.

"Shit! I have to leave. Has Travis come by yet?" I ask as I scramble to put on some clothes.

"No, no one has come by... oh, but there was this one pretty silver-haired girl a couple hours ago," Nagi says. I immediately halt the progress of denudifying myself.

"Please... tell me that you're joking... and that you were at least wearing clothes if you aren't," I beg.

"Okay... but I'd be lying on both counts. She said something about her coming here being a mistake if you were just going to sleep with every whore from here to Baltimore. I'm pretty sure I should take offense at being called a whore, but I have no clue what a Baltimore is," Nagi says as I feel my last chance with Cheza slipping away.

"It's a city in... Cincinnati..." I reply as my love life corrodes around me. I hear a knock at my door so I trundle over to answer it.

"Hey man, are you ready to g—oh, sorry if I'm interrupting," Travis says when he notices Nagi as I finish putting on my pants.

"You're not. Let's go... I really need a drink," I reply, downtrodden as I shut the door behind me.

We leave Graythorn Hall and start walking to town.

"Is that the girl you were talking about earlier?" Travis asks.

"Yeah..." I reply simply.

"So... do you want to talk about what's bothering you?" Travis asks as we walk into the forested path that leads into town.

"Nah, I think I'm just going to try and drink this problem away," I reply.

I do want to talk about it, but I can't without explaining my situation, which would blow my cover. We head into the subway tunnel and wait for a train for about five minutes. Travis pulls a folded flyer from his pocket and checks it for directions before we get off at the second counter-clockwise stop. This part of town seems pretty upscale with large houses and expensive looking restaurants. I follow Travis for about five blocks until we reach a large club.

"This is the place?" I ask incredulously. We walk up to the door where a bouncer stops us.

"Who sent you?" the bouncer asks.

"What was her name again... Jenny! No wait, Penny!" Travis says.

"Whenever I picture her, for some reason Latin cruise ships come to mind... Cruz ships... Penelope!" I exclaim and the bouncer waves us in.

The place isn't packed, but it is a bit crowded. Travis and I head to the bar and yell our drink orders over the music. The bartender hands us our drinks and leaves without seeing identification or money.

"Hey, aren't you the guy that won the arm-wrestling competition yesterday?" an Indian guy asks Travis. I scan his aura and see orange with black streaks... or is it black with orange streaks? My guess is that he's a weretiger, but he isn't enhanced.

"Yeah, that was me," Travis replies.

"That was impressive, man. So do you do any martial arts?" the guy asks as I see a pair of feathery white wings fluttering through the crowd.

"Excuse me for a moment," I say and make a beeline towards those wings.

"Lila, what are you doing here?" I ask as I turn her around.

"Cole? Lookie Aimee, its Cole! Hi Cole!" Lila drunkenly exclaims.

The blonde girl in front of Lila turns around and I recognize her as Lila's fairy friend Aimee, whom I met at Lila's birthday party last year. Aimee's eyes go wide in recognition of me.

"Please don't tell my mom," Aimee pleads.

"How did you two even get in here? Alright, I'm taking you guys home," I tell them without waiting for an answer to my question.

"Aw, come on! Loosen up, Cole! Have a drink with us!" Megan, the brunette fairy friend that I also met at Lila's party, says after coming over with a drink in each hand.

"Fine..." I reply as I take the brightly colored drink that Megan is offering.

"But only one drink and then I'm taking all of you home," I tell them.

"Yay!" Lila exclaims as she clings onto me.

In retrospect, I really should have seen that something was going to go horribly wrong. After all, when in the history of the world has 'only one drink' ever been only _one_ drink?

...

Chapter 26: Waking Up with Disgust

[September 21st]

I awaken in an unfamiliar bed, with a pounding headache, wearing only my boxers, and a small bushy tail sticking in my face that belongs to a familiar looking chinchilla.

"Hello Colton," I grumble and push him away as I notice a magnificent ass next to my right hand... a tan ass, next to my right hand that is mostly blocked from my view by a white wing... Oh you have got to be shitting me!

(Dat jailbait ass! i.e. the last ass you will see other than Ramrod Randy's in block 2)

"Airi, please tell me what happened last night."

(Oh, I think you know what happened. You'd think that your first experience with fairy alcohol would have been enough to warn you that you shouldn't drink it)

"Oh, that little bitch! Wait, so did Lila and I... did we..."

(I recall you telling Lila, 'you're like my little toe. You're short, cute, and I'm probably going to bang you on my couch tonight.' Lila came back by telling you that her place was closer)

"Ugh... I'm so disgusted with myself..."

Lila's bedroom door opens and a boyish-looking man that is about 5'6" with long blonde hair looks at the situation. His eyes narrow when they get to me. He charges into the room with a six inch knife, jumps over Lila, and flies toward me as my vision kicks in and his aura identifies him as a fairy. I use my left hand to stop the incoming blade as it plunges toward my heart.

"What did you do to the princess?" the guy asks with an uninflected tone and a practically pre-pubescent voice.

(As your attorney, you have two defenses: 'But your honor, she gave me that come hither look!' and 'Those body shots were all her. I was just trying to clean her with my tongue, I swear!')

"Never mind, don't bother replying when the answer is obvious," the guy says and pours his weight onto the knife.

I move my left hand down, grab the blade, and snap it from the handle as I push my right hand against his chest, and thrust my hips upward, rolling him off the left side of the bed and onto the floor.

"Would you just calm down!" I exclaim when I have him pinned.

"So you had your fun with the princess and now it's my turn, is that it?" the guy expressionlessly accuses.

"What?" I ask in confusion until I realize that this guy's chest is kind of squishy.

"HOLY SHIT! YOU'RE A WOMAN!?" I shout as I reel back. My attacker of uncertain gender takes this opportunity to get me on my back.

"Yes, you ass. Now sit still and let me kill you so I can kill myself to atone for my failure," she says with a monotone.

"Charlotte, stop screaming... I've got a massive headache. Cole didn't do anything. Nothing hurts besides my head," Lila says as she sits up out of bed.

Lila walks over to her dresser, pulls out some clothes, and throws them on. Well I am just super relieved that I didn't have sex with a fifteen year old!

(Messing with you is just too much fun to resist)

"Cole, if memory serves from the last morning I woke up with you, you owe me breakfast," Lila states as I recall the promise I made to her the morning after I wiped out the memories of her rape.

"Alright, just lead me to the kitchen and I'll make pancakes and bacon," I tell her as I stand up.

"That sounds good... bacon can help a hangover, right?" Lila asks as she opens her bedroom door.

"I'm not sure, but I'll fix you something that will. Do you have any orange juice?" I inquire as I follow her down the hall. Lila stops and turns around.

"Charlotte! Do we have any orange juice?" Lila calls out.

"I'd like to say that young girls that ditch their bodyguards to go to a party and get trashed deserve their hangovers... but yes we do," Charlotte emotionlessly says as she walks out of the bedroom.

I don't know how I didn't realize that Charlotte was a woman. It's obvious to me (despite her nearly non-existent bust) by the rest of her physical features, the way she walks, and the cold glare in her eyes whenever she looks at me.

"Yeah sorry about that... and ease up on your attitude towards Cole. You're in the presence of a god," Lila says sincerely, but finishes in an almost teasing fashion.

"Wait, you're _that_ Cole?" Charlotte asks with her usual lack of emotion, so I nod.

"The one that tortured Aengus Og to death in the middle of a banquet and took his spot as a member of the Tuatha De?" Charlotte clarifies. I nod in response once again.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were dead?" Charlotte asks.

"Yeah, about that... I'll explain over breakfast," I reply as we walk into the kitchen of Lila's rather large penthouse.

Lila pulls out the stuff to start making bacon while Charlotte hands me an apron so I don't get grease burns on my bare chest. Lila and Charlotte leave the kitchen and I start cooking the bacon while pouring two glasses of orange juice. I gulp down one of the glasses and pour some of my blood into the second glass, which I bring to Lila in the dining room.

"Airi, please take care of Lila's hangover and reconnect my blood that is already in her. Please take care of my hangover as well."

(Fine, but don't make this a regular thing)

I return to the kitchen, finish the bacon, and start cooking the pancakes. Ten minutes later, I walk into the dining room holding a platter of pancakes, a plate of bacon, and three plates. Charlotte goes into the kitchen and returns with the silverware, butter, and maple syrup.

"Alright so I want some answers, Cole," Lila demands as she eats her pancakes.

"Chief among them being what happened to your arm? The bandages are really noticeable when you are only wearing that apron and your boxers," Lila says.

I sigh heavily as I stop eating and unwrap my bandages. Lila gasps and gapes when she sees my arm.

"Cole..." Lila quietly says with her eyes full of concern.

"My left arm was bitten off by a giant snake in the Underworld while I was preventing Cheza from being eaten by said snake. I ended up making a new one out of the same material as my swords," I explain.

"But doesn't that mean that you can't feel your left arm?" Lila asks.

"I have no sense of touch with my left arm, but I still have proprioception or the sense of my arm's placement relative to my body. The inside of the arm is all muscle tissue and blood so I can feel the nerves in the muscle, but all nerve endings that were in my skin are gone as a trade-off for having an indestructible arm. That's why I was able to snap the blade of Charlotte's knife earlier," I inform her.

"Oh Cole..." Lila says with a pitying look.

"So why are you at Fogquartz?" Charlotte asks somewhat snidely, but that might just be my imagination because neither her tone nor expression has changed.

"I'm working with The Agency on an investigation. I'm posing as a student at the university to get information. That's why I had to silence you the other day in the café," I say while turning to Lila.

"*Gasp* Is that guy you were with a bad guy!?" Lila asks with an excited light in her eyes.

"No, he's sort of my friend, but my cover might have been blown had I allowed you to finish your question," I explain.

"So if I see you in town, am I not allowed to say hi...?" Lila pouts. This is totally unfair. It shouldn't be allowed for a girl to grow up and become hot yet still retain a cuteness that bends me to her will.

"Of course you can say hi, just don't explain exactly how you know me. Say I'm an old friend or something," I tell her.

We finish breakfast and then I return to Lila's room to find my clothes and get dressed.

"I need to get going. See you around Lila and feel free to text me anytime you want to talk," I say with a smile.

"Alright, thanks for breakfast, Cole!" Lila cheerfully replies.

I walk out of Lila's penthouse and down the hall to the elevator. I ride the elevator down to the lobby where I pass by a security checkpoint before exiting the building that is in the ritzy part of town. I walk to the subway and take it back to the university. When I reach the forest, I check to make sure no one is around before taking a full sprint towards Graythorn. Instead of walking for thirty minutes, I reach the edge of the forest near Graythorn in under five.

"Looks like someone had a long night," Nagi says from behind me, causing me to jump.

"Dammit! Would you stop doing that!?" I shout.

"But it's so much fun!" Nagi exclaims.

"Whatever... I was rushed last night, but I have some questions for you," I tell her.

"Alright, let's head up to your room," Nagi says so we head inside and up the six flights of stairs to my room.

"I suppose the first thing that you want to know is exactly how big my breasts are, right?" Nagi jokes.

"Who is my brother? And my father for that matter?" I ask in a businesslike manner to demonstrate that I'm not in the mood for jokes.

"Sorry... I'm not allowed to answer that... but your tongue should be able to give you a clue," Nagi hints.

I take out my phone, open up the camera app, and flip it to the front camera view. I stick out my tongue and look at my phone to find that there's something silver on my tongue. I zoom in as much as possible before holding the phone steady to take a picture. The picture is a silver yantra, but it isn't the same yantra as the one on my bracelet, which Sara identified as Kali's yantra. This yantra has the same square with T's sticking out of each side, but it has a circle, sun shape, triangle, and then a six-point star at the center. I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume that this is my brother's yantra, but only gods have yantras.

"Wait, how can my brother have a yantra? Only gods have yantras and I'm not even a demigod so it doesn't make sense for my brother to have one!" I say.

Nagi just smiles in response. I don't think I'll be getting anymore answers from her. Well, the first thing I need to do is identify this yantra, and then I can go from there. I need to talk to Sara.

"How is this supposed to keep me from killing myself?" I ask.

"It's supposed to—how did he put it?—calm your mind," Nagi says rather cryptically. I have a suspicion that she might be getting off on my confusion.

"Hey Cole! Are you there? Rita said she saw you come back!" Travis shouts through my door after knocking. I walk over and answer the door.

"Hey, let's go for a jog, I have stuff I need to talk to you about," Travis says while wearing a track suit. I quickly swap my jeans for a pair of basketball shorts before putting on my running shoes.

"Bye Nagi," I say as I shut the door behind me.

Travis and I jog down the stairs and out the door. We start a circuit around the school and we get more than halfway through before Travis finally speaks.

"Did you have sex with your little sister last night?" Travis sternly asks.

"I saw you leave with her and you were both pretty trashed," Travis adds.

"Yes, I did leave with her and I did sleep in her bed last night, but we didn't have sex," I explain.

"Oh, thank gods. I was thinking that the first friend I'd made here was about to go to jail for pedophilia haha!" Travis chuckles as we pass the three-quarter mark, i.e. the elevator portal bank that I arrived in.

"Okay, here they come. You guys know the drill," I hear a voice say, coming from the forest.

"Hey Travis... wait up..." I say while breathing heavily to feign exhaustion. Travis stops and jogs over to me.

"What's up?" Travis asks.

"They seem to have stopped."

"Why did they stop?"

"Should we just rush them now?"

"No, just wait," the group of voices says. I'd say that there are six in total.

"There's a group of people up there waiting to jump me. You should probably get out of here," I tell Travis.

"What!? I'm not just going to bail on you, bro!" Travis exclaims with a determined look.

"Listen carefully: I'm working undercover with The Agency on an investigation. My guess is that my cover was somehow blown and these guys have been sent to kill me. I'm not going to get you mixed up in my problems and let you risk your life," I explain.

"Well, since I'm planning on joining The Agency anyway, I figure that it's better for my career to help you now," Travis says with a smug grin.

"I don't understand why we do this every year. Isn't there a better way to test potential recruits besides jumping them like a group of thugs?" I hear from the forest.

"Shit... my mistake, this is recruitment for the fight club," I say, deflated because I just blew my cover for no reason.

"Well, let's go kick their asses and assure our spots on the team!" Travis replies with excitement.

Travis and I resume our jog. Three werewolves, two vampires, and a wizard, whom are all enhanced, emerge from the trees. Instead of all six rushing us at the same time, they come in waves. Travis plunges both of his hands into the ground and pulls out two gloves that look like cinderblocks. He delivers an uppercut to a werewolf that sends the werewolf flying.

"Irruptus-way Irmavi-fay!" the wizard with a red aura says while his aura flares twice. He rushes at me in a burst of speed before delivering a punch towards my stomach. I move my left hand in the way and watch as the wizard snaps both his radius and ulna, forcing both to protrude from his skin.

"Okay, that's enough!" a werewolf with a red aura commands from his position at the back of the group and they all fall in line.

"You two have definitely proven yourselves. How would you like to join the fight club?" the werewolf asks as he steps forward.

"What benefits come with being in the club?" Travis inquires as his rock gauntlets fall into piles of gravel on the ground.

"You get to fight as much as you want, you get the chance to represent Fogquartz in the annual tournament, and then there are prizes for winning at the annual tournament," a vampire says.

"Sounds good to me! Are you in, Cole?" Travis asks.

"Count me in," I reply.

"Alright, we will have someone guide you to the location from your dorm this Friday at about 6:30pm," the lead werewolf replies and then they all walk off, the werewolf that Travis gave the uppercut to having already regained consciousness. The wizard's aura flares again as he mumbles something that I don't quite catch, but it appears to be a spell for healing his bones.

"Dude, those rock gauntlets were pretty badass," I tell Travis.

"Yeah, my dad has some control over the earth so using the earth to my benefit is easier for me and then it's just a matter of using magic to get it to stay put. I've gotta ask how you did that? That wizard used spells to enhance his speed and to harden his bones to strengthen his punch. There's no way that you should have been able to block that, especially with an injured arm," Travis says.

"Well you already know my main secret, so I guess that showing you the other one can't hurt. Come on. Let's head back to my room," I tell him.

We jog back to Graythorn and up the stairs to my now vacant room. I unwrap my bandages to show Travis my arm.

"Whoa! What is that thing made out of?" Travis asks.

"I'm not too sure, but I have a suspicion that it is made out of some kind of nanotubes because it's insanely hard, but it isn't brittle," I inform him.

"Dude, what are you?" Travis asks.

"Haha that's a good question!" I reply. That's something that I'd also like to know.

"By the way, what language was that wizard speaking?" I ask.

"It was a precursor to Latin that is used for all spells," Travis replies.

"Sounds mysterious," I reply.

"Not really. It's actually just Latin Pig Latin. Everyone who uses magic is supposed to just call it a precursor to Latin because Latin Pig Latin sounds stupid, despite how fun it is to say," Travis informs me.

"Latin Pig Latin... Anyway, I have some stuff to take care of so I'll see you later," I say and we both leave my room.

"Okay, see you later bro," Travis says as we exit my room.

I head down the stairs, out the front door, and into the woods, keeping an ear out for anyone that is following me. When I'm in the clear, I pull out my phone and call Natasha.

"Hello?" Natasha answers.

"Hey Natasha, we have a problem," I tell her.

"YES! WOOHOO!" Natasha screams.

"Umm, Natasha?" I ask.

"You blew your cover right!?" Natasha ecstatically asks.

"Umm yeah, I did. Why are you happy about this?" I inquire, failing to see how this could be a good thing.

"Because I won! I chose today for the pool and I won!" Natasha exclaims.

"What?" I ask.

"The office had a pool going as to when you would blow your cover, and I chose today so I win! People are probably going to bitch that an oracle won, but fuck them! I won! Now, how many people know that are still alive and how many dead people knew?" Natasha questions.

"Umm, just Travis knows... oh and Lila's bodyguard, Charlotte. Nobody else, living or dead, knows," I lie. I decide to keep Nagi to myself until I have more information.

"Tsk... my vote was for forty-three... oh well, I still won the main pool!" Natasha exclaims.

"Why was everybody betting on when I'd blow my cover anyway?" I ask, slightly peeved upon realizing that the reason Natasha was worried about my cover being blown the other day was because she hadn't bet on that day.

"Cole... you are one of the most unsubtle people I've ever met," Natasha tells me in a fashion that is similar to a doctor telling their patient that they have a terminal disease.

"What? How is that even possible? Ryuji has fucking wings!" I point out.

"Yeah and I'd still trust him to do a better job at sneaking into someplace than you. At least he wouldn't use explosives to start a stampede as a distraction. The office's faith in your ability to do this mission stealthily was nonexistent, so much so that when Carla brought up what we should do in the event that you actually complete the mission without blowing your cover, the whole office gave each other these little glances before everyone burst out laughing," Natasha recants.

"Great... anyway, what should we do about Travis?" I inquire.

"Hmm... Let's just hire him and bring him in on the mission! Have you seen him fight yet?" Natasha asks.

"Yeah, earlier today when we were jumped by the fight club, whom I thought were assassins which led to me telling Travis about my identity. He knocked an enhanced werewolf out with one punch," I tell her.

"Sweet! He sounds perfect! He wanted to work for The Agency anyway, right? Tell him he's hired and that he is to pass on any information to you," Natasha says, which translates to 'Hire him, but I don't want more work so I'm going to give that extra work to you.'

"Okay, I'll go do that," I reply.

"Kay! See you in class tomorrow!" Natasha says and hangs up.

I return to Graythorn and notify Travis of his new job, to which he replies "Getting paid to do something I was practically paying to do? Umm yeah, count me in!"

Before bed, I try to give Sara a call on Skype, but she isn't online and won't answer her phone so I decide that my questions will have to wait until tomorrow.

...

Chapter 27: Class is in Session

[September 22nd]

I wake up at 8:30am feeling well rested. I head to the bathroom and take a quick shower before heading to my organic chemistry class.

"Alright, everyone come up and form a line for your books and a syllabus. Have your ID cards ready and for any new students, the books have already been charged to your account so don't worry," the professor, a short bald man in slacks, announces as he walks into the room.

I'm about to get angry for having to pay premium for textbooks when I remember that I'm not paying for them at all. Besides, I can understand doing that for some classes. I mean, where are you supposed to find grimoires? Amazon?

"Read the first chapter for tomorrow. You're all dismissed," the professor says once everyone in class has their books.

Alright, one down and three to go. Next up is Ryuji's computer science class. I get there early and see Naia waiting outside.

"Hey Naia," I say in greeting as I sit beside her.

"Oh, hello Cole," Naia says while playing with her hands, most likely out of anxiety.

"So have you made any friends yet?" I ask.

"No... not yet," Naia quietly replies.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure you will soon. So why did you decide to take computer sciences?" I inquire.

"I sort of like this stuff..." Naia replies as the previous class starts to exit the room.

Naia and I enter the room and we sit down in the front row at Naia's choosing. Ryuji comes in and sits down at a small desk at the front of the room, looking rather nervous. An older man, whom I assume is the professor, walks in a few minutes later. Ryuji starts passing out syllabi as the rest of the students funnel in. The professor goes over the syllabus and explains what we can expect from this class. I find myself getting more and more confused as he goes on while everyone around me seems to understand.

After class finally ends, I decide to introduce Naia and Ryuji so I hold her back as everyone else leaves.

"Hey Fe—er, Cole. So what did you think of computer science?" Ryuji asks as we approach him.

"I think that I am probably going to fail this class and that I'll never need to use this information anyway," I bluntly reply.

"Oh, come on! There are plenty of situations where operators use this knowledge... uh... or so I'm told..." Ryuji says nervously while flicking his eyes back and forth between me and Naia.

"Well, the next time I need to get information off of a computer, I'll just kill everyone in the building and have them send you in," I blatantly say to signify that Naia is already privy to certain sensitive information.

"Well, what if you can't do that?" Ryuji asks.

"Then I'll steal the damn computer and bring it to you," I reply.

"And what if the situation calls for stealth?" Ryuji suggests.

"Then they wouldn't have sent me in the first place!" I respond.

"...you have a point," Ryuji concedes.

"Anyway, this is Naia. Naia, this is The Agency's best tech and analyst, Ryuji," I introduce.

"Dude, did you introduce us just because we both have wings?" Ryuji asks.

"No, I did it because you're both Asian and like computer science," I reply semi-sarcastically. After all, part of the reason I am introducing them is because they like computers. The other part is so that Naia knows of someone else she can turn to if she needs help, besides Natasha.

"Uh, jinn are Egyptian," Ryuji says.

"Okay, so technically Asian," I reply.

"Egypt is in Africa," Ryuji states.

"Shit, seriously? Damn, I am so bad with geography... next you'll be telling me that Sierra Leone isn't an island near India," I respond.

"It isn't. Sierra Leone is a coastal African country. I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Sri Lanka," Ryuji clarifies my misunderstanding.

"Fuck... I seriously need to just sit down with a globe and spend a few hours memorizing the location of every country. Anyway, I did my part introducing you two. Now talk about wings or something. I have to get to my next class so see you guys later," I tell them and head to my kickboxing class.

I arrive at my class as the bell rings. I look around at the large number of females sitting on the gym's padded flooring, and I see Nagi with her usual group from the dorm. Nagi waves me over and I go sit down beside her as a Spanish version of Ewan McGregor walks into the room. The large number of females now makes sense, but I don't understand why a kickboxing class wouldn't be attractive to more males—there are only three of them in this class of thirty.

"Welcome to PE 202: Cardio Kickboxing," Spanish Ewan McGregor says in accented English. I pinch the bridge of my nose and start shaking my head.

"What's wrong?" Nagi whispers.

"I just discovered that my advisor is an idiot who doesn't know the difference between kickboxing and cardio kickboxing," I explain. Or perhaps Carla knows the difference and just wanted to fuck with me.

"Come on, cardio kickboxing isn't that bad!" Nagi replies. The instructor tells us what kind of clothing he wants us to wear.

"And that is basically it. I expect you all to be prepared tomorrow for our actual first day of class. Have a good afternoon," the instructor says and exits the room.

"Cole, this is Stacy, Kacey, and... *Sigh* Sarah," Nagi says.

"Wha—why did you say my name like that?" Sarah asks, looking hurt.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nagi is disappointed that you're name isn't Tracy or something so that all of your names would rhyme, despite how confusing that would be in actuality," I explain and Nagi nods in affirmation.

"Well it has been nice meeting you ladies, but I have another class to get to. See you all tomorrow!" I bid them adieu and head to my English class.

I reach my English class and a sense of dread fills me because of what I see, and she doesn't appear to like seeing me. Cheza scowls at me as I walk into the otherwise empty classroom.

"It wasn't what it looked like," I say as I sit down beside her, referring to the sight of Nagi naked in my room that she was greeted with on Saturday. I figure that an empty classroom with no witnesses is definitely the safest place to have this conversation. I mean it's not like there's a chance that I'll get stabbed or anything!

"Yeah, I'm sure!" Cheza sarcastically exclaims.

"Cheza, how many times have I said that sentence, or something close to it?" I ask.

"...five," Cheza replies after a moment.

"And how many times have things been exactly as you thought they were?" I ask, being careful to keep my tone away from the 'talking to a child' setting.

"...Zero..." Cheza replies as she seems to calm down.

"Alright, so who was she and why was she naked in your room?" Cheza asks.

"I haven't told anyone else about this, so don't say anything... she works for my brother, or so she says," I tell her.

"Your brother?" Cheza asks perplexed.

"Yeah, she was told to give me a present to keep me from dying, along with a message to not die again because 'mom and dad' don't have the resources to bring me back a second time," I recant while leaving out the method of how I would be dying.

"What was the present?" Cheza asks. I stick out my tongue and show her the silver yantra. "What is that?"

"It's a yantra, a symbol for Hindu gods," I explain.

"But if your brother gave you a yantra, then that means... but you aren't a demigod, are you?" Cheza asks.

"No... the first step is for me to find out exactly whose yantra this is and go from there..." I explain.

"Wow... I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions..." Cheza apologizes.

Oh my gods... I'm still dead aren't I? There is no way that Cheza would be apologizing otherwise!

"Ass!" Cheza lightheartedly exclaims as she jabs my kidney with her elbow.

"Whoops... did I say that out loud?" I reply as more students start walking in.

All of the students arrive, the bell rings, and Natasha still hasn't shown up. We wait around for five minutes before Natasha strides in the door with a confidence that states her belief that she isn't late, the bell just rang early. Although, it could just be her ensemble.

Natasha is wearing a women's suit with a skirt that is so short that her garter belts are clearly visible. She is probably flashing her panties to the entire front row, provided that she is actually wearing any. That isn't even mentioning the amount of cleavage that the top of her ensemble is showing, and to top it all off, she's wearing a pair of wire-frame glasses that look insanely sexy for some reason that is beyond me. In other words, I'm pretty sure she just gave every male in the room a hard-on, and probably a few of the girls. Natasha meets my eyes and smirks at me.

"Welcome to English 123, or writing for idiots. I'm Professor Holmstrom. In this class, I'll assign you things to write about and then grade them for grammar and whatnot. I should tell you that I award extra credit if the paper is funny and I find that I dock points if it's boring. I don't dock points on purpose of course, but I do tend to be a tougher grader when faced with boredom," Natasha announces. I just realized that, before this moment, I had no idea what Natasha's last name was.

"I don't have a syllabus for you guys or any of that shit, but I'll make it really simple: have fun writing and I'll give you a 4.0... so long as whatever you write about isn't boring. I suppose I should give you guys a prompt for tonight's assignment... okay, a one page paper on the best night that you don't remember because of alcohol!" Natasha orders.

"Um, ma'am? Isn't that a little too private?" a girl asks.

"Hmm... I suppose you're right... I know! I'll share my own experience so that we're all even! The best night I can't remember because of alcohol was at the birthday party of a fourteen year old... wow this story is already starting off pretty bad. Don't worry though, it gets worse. So I ended up getting trashed on fairy liquor and made out with this girl, who was eighteen at the time. Anyway, I ended up having a threesome with her and her brother," Natasha says, getting a large 'ooh,' from the class.

"I guess I should make it clear that they weren't actually related. So the sister was dressed in a sex kitten costume while I was dressed in a maid outfit. I woke up in her brother's bed with my ass hurting, but the best part was probably the fact that chocolate syrup was smeared all over the sheets and walls and that there was an empty jar of peanut butter on his night stand. Top that, bitches! I look forward to reading your stories tomorrow! Be sure to turn them in online tonight before the deadline at 11:55pm and you can access the drop box for this class through your student account," Natasha says and walks out of the room, dismissing the class.

"Cole, meet me in my office," Natasha thinks.

I gather up my stuff and follow my classmates out the door. Thanks to our connection, it is a simple task for me to tell where Natasha is and it appears that her office is three floors above me. I head up the stairs and down a hallway before I reach her office. I knock and open the door to the small 10'x10' office that only holds a desk and a couple of bookcases, to make it look like it belongs to an English professor. Natasha is standing in front of her desk, shuffling through some papers.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask as I walk in, closing the door behind me, and approach her from behind. Natasha quickly spins, grabs my shoulders, and pulls me on top of her as she sits on her desk.

"I'm your teacher wearing a sexy outfit and we're alone in my office. Fuck me, right?" Natasha suggests.

"I'm not sure that's such a great idea..." I reply. Suddenly I get this image of Natasha calling out my name while masturbating. "Now it seems like a better idea..."

"Haha, I guess Tia was right about Cheza not having used that on you, huh? Why that girl was leaving such a weapon unused since Tia gave her the idea in Hawaii is beyond me. Well, hurry up and get started, Cole! I'm not wearing any panties anyway!" Natasha exclaims.

"Why, Miss Holmstrom! I do believe that you're trying to seduce me," I reply with a sly grin.

"Is it working?" Natasha coyly asks. I unzip my pants in response.

So I start fucking my teacher against her desk. We go at it like that for a while before I spin her and start hitting it from behind, with Natasha bent over her desk. I smack her ass and she starts moaning louder, drowning out the sound of her door opening. I continue in my duty as I turn my head to see Naia and Ryuji standing in the doorway.

"Hey guys... what's up?" I ask, somewhat stunned and slowing in my rhythm.

"What exactly is going on here?" Naia asks.

"Well, my professor seduced me, invited me into her office, and convinced me that I was a naughty boy in need of punishment. I didn't take too kindly to said punishment so I decided to return it to her in kind," I reply, now fully stopped and trying to deflect the awkwardness with humor.

"Please don't tell Cheza about this..." I beg, giving up on deflection.

"Well, it's a little late for that. She was standing outside the door when we got here, looking rather flustered," Ryuji replies. Fuck... as if my relationship with Cheza couldn't get any more tenuous at the moment.

"Could you guys give us a moment?" Natasha asks from her prostrate position on her desk.

Naia and Ryuji close the door behind them and I withdraw myself from Natasha. Shit! Why can't I stop fucking up with Cheza? Maybe this is just a sign from the universe that I'm not meant to be with her...

"Don't worry. I'll talk to her and explain things. It will all work out, I promise," Natasha thinks.

"I've got homework and stuff so I'll see you tomorrow," I reply and leave her office.

I pass by Ryuji and Naia without a word, and head back to Graythorn Hall. I head up to my room and flop down on my bed.

(Do not fret, Master. Everything will work out as it should in regards to Chezarei)

"You really believe that, don't you?"

(Have I ever lied to you, Master?)

I'm pretty sure that Airi has lied to me before, but her words are still oddly reassuring. I walk over to my desk and pull my organic chemistry book out of my backpack. I get about halfway through the chapter when I begin to question why I'm doing this at all. My original career that I had in mind is basically forfeit now. I'm far too adept at killing for my future to go in any other direction.

(This is true... for the present future at least)

I'm about to ask Airi what she means when I hear a knock at my door.

"Hey bro, want to go get some dinner?" Travis asks when I answer the door.

I go and get dinner with Travis in the food court. We idly chatter and head back to our respective rooms. The only point to eating together was just so that we weren't eating alone anyway. I finish my chemistry reading before writing my one page paper for Natasha. She already knows about my 'best' nights that I don't remember, so I decide to tell her about the night that Cheza roofied me as a punishment for flirting with her friend.

When I'm finished with my homework, I boot up Skype and see that Sara is on so I call her.

"DADDY!" Addie screams when the call is answered.

"Where have you been, Daddy?" Addie asks on the verge of tears.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Last time I called you were already asleep. I promise that I'll try and talk to you more regularly from now on. How was your first day of preschool?" I ask.

"It was a lot of fun! There was snack time and nap time and I got to play with other kids!" Addie exclaims excitedly.

"That's great! Are you excited to go back tomorrow?" I inquire.

"Yeah!" Addie replies in an overly animated fashion.

"Come on, Adelaide. Your bath is read—oh, hey Cole," Sara says while walking into the room.

"I wanna talk with Daddy some more!" Addie pouts.

"Be a good girl and go take your bath, Addie. I promise that we will talk tomorrow," I tell her.

"...Okay... I love you, Daddy..." Addie quietly replies.

"I love you too, sweetie! Sara, I need to talk to you about something so can you ask Tia to give Addie her bath?" I ask.

"Come on, Adelaide. Let's go take your bath," Tia says while entering the room before Sara has the opportunity to answer.

"Thanks Tia!" I reply. Tia shuts the door behind her as she and Addie exit the room.

"So what did you need to talk about?" Sara inquires.

"I recently met a nagini that gave me a present... and she said it was from my brother," I inform her and stick out my tongue to show her.

"I can't really see it through the webcam. What is it?" Sara asks. I pull out my phone and send her the zoomed in picture of my tongue. I hear her phone ding over the webcam.

"I know that it's a yantra. I'm hoping that you can answer whose. The present came with a message from my brother that was telling me to not die again because mom and dad don't have the resources to bring me back a second time," I tell her as she opens her phone to look at the picture.

"What!? But this is... this makes no sense!" Sara exclaims.

"I need to talk to my mother. I'll get back to you tomorrow. So has anything else been going on?" Sara asks.

"Well I discovered that Lila is attending high school here, woke up next to her naked in her bed on Sunday morning, and it's only the first day of classes, but I've already had sex with one of my teachers and Cheza has already found out about it. On the plus side, I have a lead in the investigation so this may be over relatively quickly," I say as Sara goes slack-jawed.

"Don't worry. nothing happened between Lila and me, despite the fact that I don't remember anything because her friend dosed me with fairy alcohol. Oh, and the teacher was Natasha," I add and Sara relaxes slightly.

"Alright, well I'll look into this yantra. Talk to you tomorrow," Sara replies.

"Yep, see ya," I say and end the Skype call.

...

Chapter 28: Stacy's Mom

[September 23rd]

"So, Cole... why is your left arm like, always bandaged?" the blonde Stacy asks during our cardio kickboxing lesson.

"My left arm was really badly burned so I keep it wrapped up for self-conscious reasons," I blatantly explain.

My patience is running thin with punching and kicking that only connects with air, and the music that Spanish Ewan McGregor is playing isn't helping anything.

"Oh, um... sorry," Stacy replies, looking embarrassed for asking.

"Don't sweat it, but if you really feel bad, you can answer some of my questions," I suggest.

"Shoot," Stacy responds, looking almost hopeful at the chance of redemption.

"Okay, where are you from?" I ask.

"Burbank, California," Stacy replies.

"Huh... do you live with your parents?" I ask.

"I live with my mom," Stacy replies and a smile crosses my face.

"Huh... does your house have a pool?" I ask.

"Umm... yeah, it does," Stacy answers, looking confused.

"Huh... if we went to high school together, would you invite me over after school to hang around by the p-p-p-poo-oo-oo-ool?" I ask.

"Uh, sure?" Stacy replies, more confused than ever, but I think Kacey and Sarah have caught on to the joke, based on their giggling. Nagi doesn't appear to understand at all, but I didn't expect her to anyway.

I decide to leave it there for today. We finish the class and I change back into my normal clothes in the locker room before making my way to English. I sit down in the middle of the class, away from the four other males that are currently in the classroom, who are all in the front row. Cheza walks in the classroom, completely avoids looking at me, and sits down next to me. Needless to say, her actions confuse me greatly.

"Don't worry. Natasha explained things and I get it. You're a guy and have things to take care of to keep you from going around the country, murdering strippers. Besides, I'd rather have you doing it with Natasha instead of some random girl," Cheza says with a hushed tone.

I'd like to point out that she and I could have sex and it would solve all of those problems, but I don't.

"I know, Cole... I'm just not quite there yet..." Cheza quietly replies. Did I say that one out loud too?

Natasha comes in the classroom wearing a similar ensemble to the one she wore yesterday, but appears to have traded the stockings for pantyhose and has buttoned her shirt up a bit. She assigns the prompt for tonight.

"It was brought to my attention that some people don't drink for religious or legal reasons or whatever and some people asked me what they should write about, to which I replied 'you figure it out.' Apparently that wasn't obvious enough for those people so I'm just going to tell you all directly: you're in college now, so if you have the dilemma of not having the experience that I've told you to write about... MAKE IT UP! I'm not fact-checking this shit! I'm never going to call you out and say 'I see that you wrote about the time you got in a knife fight with a carnie because you thought he was rigging the non-existent prizes for donkey rides... show me the scars.' So for tonight's prompt, you all know what to do. Class dismissed!" Natasha announces.

After class, Cheza and I walk back to the dorm together. We chat for a bit and she tells me that I need to call Ada more often. We head back to our respective rooms and I work on my assignments for a few hours until I hear a knock on my door at about 6pm. Travis invites me to dinner and I tell him that we should invite Cheza and Naia as well. He agrees and we head down to the fifth floor. I leave inviting Naia to Travis while I go knock on Cheza's door.

"Hey Cole, what's up?" Cheza asks.

"Do you want to go get dinner with Travis, me, and possibly Naia?" I inquire.

"Umm... sure. Let me grab my jacket," Cheza says with a bit of uncertainty and retreats into her room.

I'm going to take her willingness to go as a sign that our relationship is getting better... Now, how do I keep from fucking it up? Travis and Naia join me in waiting outside Cheza's door. She comes out about a minute later and we all walk to the food court. Cheza joins me in line for Asian food while Travis and Naia head to different sections. We get our food and I see that Travis has gotten us a table, so I lead Cheza in that direction. A few minutes later, I notice Naia looking around lost so I wave her over.

"Chezarei, Cole, there is something I wish to speak to you about, but..." Naia says while glancing at Travis.

"You don't want me to hear it? That's fine. I'll just plug my ears," Travis offers.

"No, that is quite alright," Naia replies, appearing to change her mind about Travis.

"Well... Ryuji invited me to have dinner with him this Friday... what should I say?" Naia asks in a slightly embarrassed fashion.

"I haven't met Ryuji. Is he a nice guy?" Cheza asks, directed at Naia and me.

"Yeah, he is," I reply. I still wouldn't trust him around Addie though...

"I doubt that there is any man that you would trust when it comes to Ada. Well, do you like him, Naia?" Cheza asks. I really need to stop saying my thoughts out loud.

"Yes... we have a lot in common and he is fun to talk to..." Naia replies.

"Well then, I think you should accept his invitation to dinner," Cheza says.

"I agree completely," I add.

This is going in a direction that I had not been expecting when I introduced the two of them. I look across the table and see that Travis is sort of moping.

"I'll work on setting you up next, Travis," I tell him and he perks up a bit.

One of the girls in my cardio kickboxing class might be perfect for him. Which reminds me: I still need to work on my joke for Stacy...

I call Sara when we all get back to the dorm. I talk to Addie about her day for a little while before telling her goodnight and that I love her. Sara puts Addie to bed and then comes back and sits down in front of the computer.

"I wasn't able to get ahold of my mother today, but I'll try again tomorrow," Sara informs me.

"Alright, is there anything else?" I ask.

"Yeah, I received a call from Katie today. Her analysis of Adelaide's blood is complete," Sara replies.

"And?" I inquire.

"The enhancement works like a virus that bonds with its host until it becomes irremovable. The virus in Adelaide appears to be a more primitive strain and is missing the agent that allows a third party to control the virus's host, but is more deeply ingrained into her, as though it had been inserted into the embryo," Sara tells me.

" _Thanks to the injection that Father gave me before he sent me on my mission to create the girl..." the_ memory of Fenrir's voice surfaces in my mind. I thought he had been talking about Cheza at the time, but it makes sense that Addie would have been conceived under similar circumstances.

"So will this be able to help The Agency?" I inquire.

"Yes, they should be able to synthesize a drug with this information," Sara replies.

"Good. Now all I have to do is stop the source of the enhancements. Well I still have assignments to complete before bed so I'll talk to you tomorrow," I say.

"Alright, goodnight Cole," Sara says and ends the call.

...

[September 24th]

After encouraging Naia to accept Ryuji's date in computer science, I head to my cardio kickboxing class. Spanish Ewan McGregor is setting up the music for class when I arrive.

"Excuse me, Professor? That is a Bluetooth stereo, is it not?" I ask.

"That is correct," the professor states.

"Then I have a suggestion. Perhaps it would be a good idea to allow a student to pick the music for class every other day. Most people have MP3 players that also have Bluetooth capabilities so that wouldn't be a problem. It could act as a morale boost and it would give the students more incentive to be excited about class," I spiel.

"Hmm... that actually sounds like a good idea... I like it! How about you bring in the music for tomorrow and we will do a test-run?" he suggests, playing right into my hands. Must. Resist. Urge. To. Cackle.

"Yes, Professor," I reply and walk over to the girls with my hands in my pockets so that I don't hunch over and start rubbing them together. This means I have two more questions to get through to have the perfect setup for tomorrow.

"Hey Stacy, has your mom ever gone on a business trip?" I ask about halfway through the class.

"Umm, yeah... I like, think so," Stacy asks with a perplexed expression.

"Huh," I reply and then I wait for about fifteen minutes before I ask my next question.

"Hey Stacy, which job do you think I would be better suited for: mowing lawns, or as a masseur?" I inquire.

"What?" Stacy asks.

"It's kind of like a psychology test... just answer the question, please," I reply as I hear Kacey giggling, but Sarah looks confused.

"It's from the music video," Kacey whispers to Sarah.

"Umm... masseur, I guess," Stacy replies.

"Alright, thanks," I say and leave it at that for today.

After English, Cheza and I walk back to Graythorn and I head up to my room. I finish my assignments before Travis knocks on my door. We do a repeat of last night for dinner, only this time Naia is excited about her upcoming date instead of wondering how she should reply.

I talk to Addie on Skype again, once I return to my room after dinner. I tell her I love her and then Sara gets on.

"Okay, so I talked to my mother and she said that she can't tell me and I'm not allowed to tell you that the yantra belongs to Ganesha," Sara says.

"Well that is stupid that you are not allowed to tell me. I guess I will just have to figure it out on my own," I reply in a robotic fashion before smiling at her.

"Well, I have some stuff to finish for school so I'll talk to you later. Night Sara!" I say.

"Goodnight Cole!" Sara replies and hangs up.

I access my music management program for my phone, let's just call it uTunes, and I transfer all of the music by the Fountains of Wayne that I have on my laptop onto my phone. With my stuff for school finished, I access Wikipedia and search Ganesha. I discover that he is one of the most widely known Hindu gods because of his elephant head. His picture includes a lotus flower and a snake coiled around his neck. He is the Deva, or god, of intellect and wisdom, which puts him on par with Saraswati: the Devi, or goddess, of intellect and wisdom. Well, I can now see how Saraswati is connected, but not how she fits into all of this, or why she wanted this to be kept secret from me. I decide to just sleep on it.

Tomorrow should be rather amusing.

...

[September 25th]

I walk into my cardio kickboxing class with a bit of a pep-in-my-step. I sync my smartphone to the Bluetooth stereo before joining the girls in my usual spot. I have the song set to play on track number fifteen, so I wait forty minutes before asking today's question.

"Hey Stacy, if you caught me jacking it in your bathroom to the sight of your mom in a bikini, what would be your response?" I ask, trying to be as serious as possible when I hear the opening guitar riff to Stacy's Mom by Fountains of Wayne.

"WHAT!?" Stacy replies while Sarah and Kacey start giggling. Even Nagi laughs, but I don't think it's because of the actual joke, just the side effect. The singing in the song comes in and Stacy's face is priceless. She listens while connecting the dots between the lyrics and all of the bizarre questions I've asked her in the past few days.

"REALLY!?" she somewhat shrilly replies. Sarah, Kacey, and I are all dying from laughter.

"My gods! That was sooo worth the three days of setup!" I exclaim.

"Okay, that's it. The next time you guys want to know something about Cole, you can ask him yourself!" Stacy replies in a melodramatic manner.

"Well, even though your use of the stereo appears to be for an elaborate joke, I still believe it is a good idea. Starting next week, every other day, someone can play their music," Spanish Ewan McGregor announces.

With class over, I change and head to English while deciding that I won't tell Cheza about Ganesha until I have more information. I sit down beside Cheza and we sit through class in silence. Natasha assigns the new prompt before going through and reading a couple of the papers that are her favorites. Luckily she's smart and keeps the writers anonymous. She also actually takes the time to teach us something by going over the rules for some common grammatical mistakes that she keeps seeing

The rest of my day follows the pattern that is very quickly becoming routine: walk home with Cheza, assignments, dinner with everybody, nightly chat with Addie and Sara, bed.

Tomorrow is my first fight club meeting so that should be interesting.

...

[September 26th]

"Cole, I need to speak to you after class," Natasha thinks during English.

"Alright, that about covers it for today. Have a good weekend everybody!" Natasha announces and leaves the room. I gather up my stuff and slip it into my backpack.

"Ready to go?" Cheza asks.

"Actually, I have to talk to Natasha about something so I'll see you later," I reply.

"Reeeeeally... I think I'll join you," Cheza responds in a way that tells me that she's coming whether I like it or not, so Cheza and I head upstairs to Natasha's office.

I knock on Natasha's door before entering. Natasha looks at Cheza and raises an eyebrow.

"So we require a chaperon now, eh? Fair enough... You have your first meeting with the fight club tonight, right?" Natasha asks. I nod in response.

"Well make sure to be careful and keep your eyes peeled for clues about the enhancements. Tell Travis to keep his eyes peeled too," Natasha says.

"What does Travis have to do with this?" Cheza asks.

"He was hired by The Agency and we were both recruited by the fight club," I answer.

"This is really the only lead we have so try not to fuck it up, Cole," Natasha says with a lighthearted tone, but I can tell that she's a bit worried about this.

"Don't worry, everything will work out fine. I'll make a report tomorrow," I reply while trying to sound reassuring.

Cheza and I return to Graythorn Hall, I finish my assignments, and I call Addie to talk to her, knowing that I won't be able to later tonight. After I tell Addie that I love her and end the call, I decide to take a nap before Travis and I have to leave.

...

Chapter 29: Who needs Flunitrazepam when you've got _style_? ****

I awaken to knocking at my door at 6:26pm. I trundle out of bed and answer my door.

"Hey bro, are you ready to go?" Travis asks while wearing a track suit.

"Oh... umm... yeah," I groggily reply. I start to step out into the hallway before Travis stops me.

"You should probably put some pants on first," Travis informs me.

"Right... pants," I trundle back inside and pull on a pair of jeans before heading back out.

Travis gives me a sideways look, but doesn't say anything. We head downstairs and find that Penelope, the girl from the arm-wrestling contest, is awaiting us. She also gives me a sideways look before smiling at us and walking out the door. She's no Lassie, but I'm pretty sure she wants us to follow her.

"So where are we going?" I inquire when we walk onto the path that leads into town.

"You'll see," is all she says and continues walking.

When we are about halfway into town, Penelope turns left into the forest. This is starting to feel like a trap so I prepare myself and follow after her. We walk for about a mile before I spot a small cabin. Penelope makes a beeline for the cabin and we enter it. It appears to only be a small unfurnished cabin with a fireplace... until I recall that my life is a series of Scooby-Doo mysteries. I have no doubt that a brick in the fireplace opens up a secret passage that leads underground.

However, Penelope doesn't do that. Instead, she flicks the light switch in a bizarre interval of three. I feel the ground beneath my feet shift before Penelope turns toward us and gestures outside. Travis and I turn around and exit the cabin to find that the forest is gone, and in its place is a huge training facility. There are three separate padded training areas, each the same size as the one in the basement in Arizona. Travis and I join the five other recruits that are lined up in front of the already established members, who are all wearing training gear... right, well at least this explains Travis's and Penelope's sideways glances at me and my choice to wear jeans.

I see the lanky blonde wizard whose arm I snapped, giving me a discontented gaze while a weretiger steps forward. He's an Indian guy that appears to be a professional body builder, with black hair in a buzz cut and brown eyes. I realize that he is the same weretiger that was talking to Travis at the party.

"Good! Now that we are all here, I'd like to welcome you to the fight club! I'm this year's president, Jeremy Jacobs, but everyone calls me JJ," Jeremy addresses. What's bizarre is the fact that his aura is the normal white color.

"This is our vice president, Ryan Ericson," Jeremy says while gesturing to the wizard, who takes a step forward.

"And this is our senior captain, David Bese, but everyone calls him Beast," Jeremy says and gestures to the large, brown-haired, werewolf with a red aura that halted my and Travis's recruitment test.

Considering that the vice president and senior captain have red auras while the president doesn't, I think that Jeremy might be out of the loop. I notice that roughly a third of the club's members have red auras.

"Like most of the supernatural world, the fight club covets strength over most everything else. Positions in the club are chosen based on how well you can fight, besides the positions of president and vice president. Those two positions are always chosen by the previous president before they graduate and are based on who is best fitted to lead. So, to start things off, you recruits will be having a mini tournament to decide your ranking within your class," Jeremy explains.

"You can go all out, but no kill shots. This is fighting to incapacitate only. Penelope over there will be using healing spells to get you all back up and running, but you will be pretty sore tomorrow as an aftereffect, which is why we always do this on a Friday. Now before we begin, do any of you not have a problem fighting a woman?" Jeremy asks. The rest of the guys just look at each other, so I speak up.

"I don't have a problem with it sir, so long as she's trained. My combat instructor beat the misconception that all women are fragile, dainty creatures out of me; however, that doesn't mean I don't treat them as such until I'm positive that they're a threat," I explain.

"Good man! What's your name?" Jeremy asks.

"Cole Treyfair," I reply.

"Alright! Nagi, Cole will be your opponent," Jeremy says while looking past me and I feel my stomach drop. I look over at who he's talking to and I see Nagi smirking at me.

"That's fine. Since the other three mats will be occupied, is it alright if Cole and I have our fight in the forest?" Nagi asks.

"Sure, just don't rough him up too badly haha!" Jeremy exclaims.

I follow Nagi into the cabin, where she flicks the light switch in the same pattern as Penelope. I open the door and we walk out into the empty forest.

"What are you doing here!?" I ask.

"I joined the fight club, what else?" Nagi replies. I'm not sure if I believe her... this all seems a little beyond coincidental.

"Do you know why I requested that we fight out here?" Nagi asks. No, but I get the feeling that I'm about to.

"I want you to fight me at your full capacity—your unarmed full capacity—so no invisible blades, swords, bombs, throwing spikes, tentacle-thingies, just punching and kicking, but I want you to use that left arm to its fullest," Nagi explains.

"I don't think that's such a great ide—" I start to say before Nagi delivers a full-speed roundhouse kick to my left arm that sends me flying into a tree. I'm able to strengthen my right side before my impact so I don't break anything, but that was nuts!

As I think that, a pinecone falls from the tree and hits my head... Oh nature. Thou art a cruel mistress, but rather punny.

"So have you changed your mind?" Nagi asks as I recover.

I see that Nagi isn't going to let me out of this without a fight, so I charge at her. Perhaps I can discourage her if I show her what she's up against. Nagi backs up to dodge my first kick, which lands her in front of a tree. I charge in a very linear fashion and throw a left punch as hard as I can. Nagi easily dodges, but I wasn't exactly aiming for her. My fist makes contact and the tree trunk practically explodes.

"That's better! More!" Nagi shouts as the tree cracks and starts falling toward the cabin.

I probably should have accounted for that... to correct my mistake, I spin and backhand the tree with my left hand. More of the trunk splinters as the tree spins and the top hits the ground, lifting the trunk into the air before gravity slams the tree trunk to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and pine needles. Great, now I can't see shit!

"A smokescreen doesn't work on beings that can see the infrared spectrum," Nagi whispers into my ear from behind.

I spin to catch her with a punch, but that appears to be exactly what she was expecting because why else would she be kneeling down? The spin leaves me hovering over her as she plants a double-footed kick into my chest that sends me sailing through the air before I come crashing down to the ground. I recover as Nagi is coming down on top of me with her right knee aimed for my stomach. I quickly roll to the right and throw my left leg over her head when she lands, bringing my heel down on the back of her neck as I lock her arm with my right leg.

"Not bad, but are you forgetting that I'm a nagini?" Nagi asks. Nagi's clothes collapse as she turns into a snake and proceeds to slither into my pant leg.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop, that tickles! Stop flicking your tongue all over the place! WHOA! No Nagi! Bad touch!" I shout as I hop around like an idiot that has a snake in his pants. Nagi might consider this foreplay, and in actuality it doesn't feel bad, but it's weirding me out on a whole new level.

"Can we get back to our fight please?" I yell.

Nagi slithers up my chest, out through my collar and pulls back to look at me. I think she's trying to say that nobody said we weren't still fighting, but it's a little hard to tell when snakes don't have facial expressions. She springs out of my collar, smacking my chin with her tail on the way out. Nagi changes back in midair and lands facing me, about ten feet away. Would you just look at them bounce...

"We could continue, but I think it will be pointless if I don't put some clothes on first. What do you think?" Nagi asks as she bounces on the balls of her feet.

Boingy boingy boingy boingy boingy.

"I'll take the way that your head is nodding as a yes!" Nagi giggles and fetches her clothing.

"Do we really have to continue with this?" I ask as Nagi finishes dressing.

"Alright, how about if you can lay a single hand on me, I'll submit," Nagi suggests. I like this idea better than having to incapacitate her.

"So all I have to do is grab you in your human form, and we can be done with this?" I specify.

"That's correct," Nagi replies.

"Okay, let's start," I say and Nagi takes off into the woods.

I pour everything into speed as I chase after her. I'm only a little bit faster than her, and she seems to be much more agile than I am. I can't help but think that my brother might have given her some enhancements or something because all nagas can't be this fast... my brother... I wonder if this is some sort of test of my abilities?

I get within about six feet of her, but her agility is really playing in her favor in the forest. I fling my left arm out at a tree that is fifteen feet in front of her. I transmute the blood that flies from my arm into nitrogen triiodide just before it hits the tree. It explodes with a puff of purple smoke, distracting Nagi and allowing me to tackle her to the ground.

"I thought I said no bombs?" Nagi says with a sly smile while looking up at me.

"That wasn't a bomb, it was a chemical that just so happens to turn into a cloud of smoke with a report," I reply.

"I'll take it, but only because I know that you would have beaten me outright in a race and most likely with swords as well. So, should we head back... or do you want to continue with what we were doing earlier?" Nagi asks in a sultry tone. That is a tempting offer...

"Let's head back," I reply as I get off of her and help her up.

"So, how do you know Jeremy?" I ask on the walk back to the cabin.

"What makes you think I know him?" Nagi inquires.

"By the way he talked to you, mostly," I reply.

"Well, you are correct. He's an old friend that I've known for a while," Nagi answers.

"Does he know who I am and about my brother?" I ask.

"He knows that I'm here on assignment and he knows that I'm a priestess. That is all," Nagi replies.

We walk the remaining distance back to the cabin in silence. When we finally make it back, I look at both of us and see that our clothes are a mess. Nagi flicks the light switch combination and walks out first.

"So who won?" Jeremy asks.

"Cole did. We decided on a race after a tree nearly fell on the cabin," Nagi replies. Jeremy looks surprised, but quickly recovers.

"Alright, then I guess it will be Travis and Cole facing each other to decide who will be captain," Jeremy says.

"That won't be necessary JJ. Travis and I have fought before and I know that I can't beat him," I lie and Jeremy raises an eyebrow in question.

"Well alright, if that's the case, then Travis is the captain for the freshmen recruits. See everyone here on Monday at 4pm," Jeremy says, dismissing the club.

"Hey Cole, I want Penelope to check on you and Nagi before you two leave," Jeremy says as everyone moves toward the door.

Penelope comes over and examines Nagi before she comes over and examines me. She gives Jeremy the okay before exiting the room.

"So... would anyone care to explain which of you is lying?" Jeremy asks as he walks over.

"Either Nagi is lying about being defeated or Cole is lying about Travis defeating him, because there is no way that Travis could defeat Nagi. Don't get me wrong, the kid is talented, but he wouldn't stand a chance against a Nagas priestess. So which is it?" Jeremy accuses.

"Travis never beat me," I reply.

"Why did you pass on being captain?" Jeremy asks.

"Being a leader just isn't really my style," I answer. Jeremy glares at me for a long while, but I don't break.

"Fine... just don't let the other freshmen know that Travis isn't the strongest, or you'll be forced to take the position," Jeremy replies.

We all leave the training room and walk through the forest. Jeremy bids us a goodnight and heads toward town while Nagi and I walk to Graythorn Hall.

"Is JJ trustworthy? I assume that you know why I'm really here. Do you think it would be a good idea to tell him?" I ask.

"Well, you can see as well as I can that he isn't enhanced and he's been trustworthy as long as I've known him, but the choice is yours," Nagi replies.

"Wait a second, you can see auras!?" I exclaim.

"Being a priestess does come with certain perks, Cole," Nagi says with a sly smile.

"What does my aura look like?" I ask.

"It's silver," Nagi replies.

"What about the center aura?" I inquire.

"Center aura? What are you talking about, Cole?" Nagi asks.

"The central aura that is unique to each species? Yours looks like a tan, coiled cobra," I reply.

"Huh... Cole, all I see are outlines of energy around people, and since it's a gift bestowed by the gods, I'm relatively certain that's all they see as well..." Nagi responds.

I wonder if she can see my Mu-cutter... Tia hadn't been able to, but for some reason Cheza can...

(Since your ability to see the Mu-cutter is because of me, only you and Cheza will ever be able to see it. I couldn't have you accidentally cutting yourself in half, now could I?)

Well that's good to know. Nagi and I continue back to Graythorn in silence. I return to my room and strip to get into some clothing that isn't torn to pieces, when I receive a text:

Hey bro, forgot to tell you but the rest of the freshmen decided to go out for drinks. You in?

I look at the time and see that it's 11:16pm.

Yup. Text me the address.

I throw on jeans and a t-shirt as I get the address from Travis. I head to Nagi's door and knock on it to invite her along, but she doesn't answer. I head down to Cheza's room and knock on her door.

"Hey Cole... you know it's kind of late, right?" Cheza answers, wearing tiny track shorts and a tank top.

"Is there a better type of booty call?" I inquire. I just couldn't resist and Cheza doesn't look too amused.

"Do you want to come with me to get drinks with some people from the fight club?" I ask. Cheza stares at me for a while, which gives me an excuse to stare at Cheza's beautiful icy-blue eyes.

"...Okay... let me get changed," she finally replies and turns around to flash me a most magnificent view while she walks into her room. Admiring her may be the thing I've missed most during little tiff.

"Yeah, I've missed that too..." Cheza quietly says as she slips off her shorts and pulls a knit dress over her head.

Damn, I said that out loud too? I really need to stop doing that... Wait, am I really saying these things out loud? I've never had this problem before and it only ever happens with Cheza... I need to test this.

"Cheza, if you don't want me to throw you down on your bed and fuck you into next week, say something," I think with my hand covering my mouth.

Cheza doesn't respond... Wait, isn't that kind of a loaded question? What if she really does want me to throw her down?

"Hey Cheza, I woke up naked next to Lila last weekend!" I think with my hand covering my mouth. Cheza still doesn't respond.

Well, there's my answer. There's no way in hell that Cheza wouldn't respond had she heard that I was naked in bed with Lila last weekend. However, this doesn't mean that it isn't intermediate... Maybe I should just slip some of my blood into her drink, reconnect our link, and take the guess work out of it... Wow, that's creepy.

"You ready to go?" Cheza asks. I nod and we begin our walk into town.

Now that I'm thinking about it, and not that I ever would, but I'd be a very successful date-rapist. Just a few drops of blood and I can knock a girl out without there being any evidence that there was anything in her system... Why in the hell am I thinking about this!? Damn, Cheza looks great in that sweater dress... For fuck's sake! Why was that my follow-up thought to an inner monologue on date-rape!?

Cheza and I arrive at the bar and we enter without any issues. Travis waves us over to the table, and we start doing some shots as he informs me that the bar is owned by a fight club alumnus. That explains why we're getting served so easily. We're all drinking and having a good time before the rest of the night becomes a blur.

...

Chapter 30: Yoga Pants and Ninjas

[September 27th]

At 11:44am the next morning, I awaken to a naked Cheza on my right side, softly breathing on my bare chest. Looking around, I realize that we're in Cheza's room and that I'm naked except for the bandages on my left arm. I try to recall my memories from last night, but they aren't coming easily. All I can remember is that Cheza and I made out a little, got naked, cuddled in bed, and fell asleep. I'm fine with only that—it's still progress. I move slowly to extract myself from Cheza's grasp, but she squeezes tighter.

"Please stay... just for a little longer... can we just pretend that the last sixteen months haven't happened yet?" Cheza quietly begs with her eyes closed as a single droplet slips out of her left eye and rolls down onto my chest.

Her words nearly bring me to tears, simply because of how much I wish they were the truth... As such, I decide that my best course of action is to kiss her forehead and gently stroke her hair with my right hand. We stay like that for about fifteen minutes until my bladder can no longer handle the strain. I get out of bed and look around, only to find no sign of my clothes.

"Hey Cheza, do you have any idea where my clothes are?" I ask. She grumbles and turns over in response. I'll assume that's a no... what do I do now?

(You can: A. look a little harder, B. make the trek in the nude, or C. wear some of Cheza's clothes)

I decide on option A, but nothing turns up so I fall back on option C. Nothing she has fits of course, but I narrow it down to tiny track shorts or yoga pants as the things that I have any possibility of wearing without ripping them. Basically this is a decision between looking like a gay roller-skating prostitute, or a topless transvestite on his way to yoga. I go with the one where the possibility of my dick and/or balls slipping out is least likely.

I step out into the hallway wearing a pair Cheza's yoga pants and I'm able to make it to the stairs without incident. I swear that these pants are possessed. They can feel my cock and balls, they know that neither are supposed to be there, and they are violently trying to push both of them out through the waistband. With how well my junk is outlined in these things, I would feel more appropriately dressed wearing nothing but a thong in public.

Voices in the stairwell cause my heart to leap into my throat. I skirt around the corner and pray that the voices aren't exiting on the fifth floor. The voices fade out on the third and I take the opportunity to sneak up to the sixth floor. Now all I have to do is make it to my room without being see—

"Cole!?" Stacy asks from behind me.

I slowly turn and see Stacy, Sarah, Kacey, and Nagi in various states of shock, surprise, and/or laughter. Nagi quickly pulls out her phone and snaps a picture before I can get a word in. Damn you, uPhone and your ability to go from lock screen to taking a picture in under five seconds!

"Rough night?" Kacey snickers.

Should I throw a smoke bomb and make my escape? No, that might set off the fire alarm, which would only increase the number of people seeing me wearing yoga pants. I decide to go with misdirection instead.

"What? Don't judge me. This is how I spend every Saturday morning: pretending to be a ninja. Since I've been seen, I have failed in my objective and self-evisceration may be called for. Now, if you will excuse me..." I reply with a serious tone before retreating down the hall and into my room where I start dying from laughter because of the looks on their faces. Despite the fact that they now have photographic evidence of me wearing yoga pants, I still feel like I won.

My laughter reminds me that I still really need to take a leak so I grab some clothes and my toiletry bag, take off Cheza's yoga pants, and wrap my towel around my waist before heading to the bathroom. I walk into the bathroom, set my clothes down, handle my business, and then I hear the door open behind me.

I turn to find Travis walking through the door wearing pink booty shorts that probably have something like 'Juicy' written in glitter on the ass, which really is a terrible thing to advertise. That is something that you should be seeing a doctor about, not telling strangers by writing about your condition on the ass of your shorts. It's not like you see men wearing slacks that say 'It's been more than four hours' written on the crotch... Then again, you would hardly need an advertisement to notice an erection...

"Not. A. Word," Travis says while covering his junk. I can guess what has happened.

"That's why I went with the yoga pants earlier, to make sure nothing slipped out," I tell him as I walk into a stall, and turn on the shower.

"So how was Chezarei?" Travis asks as he turns on an adjacent shower.

"What?" I ask.

"Don't play dumb. I saw your arm wrapped around her as you both stumbled out of the bar at 2am. Plus, I can't think of any other reason why you would have to wear yoga pants this early," Travis says.

"Can I borrow some soap?" Travis asks and I set my body wash on top of the partition.

"Because I _like_ the feeling of having my junk forced up towards my waist?" I sarcastically suggest as I turn off the shower.

"Dude, please tell me that you hooked up with her last night and that you, like me, couldn't find your clothes so you had to wear her yoga pants, and didn't just confess to me that you enjoy cross-dressing," Travis begs as he finishes his shower and hands me my bottle.

"I woke up naked next to her this morning," I tell him as I throw on my jeans and t-shirt.

"Sweet! Could you do me a favor and go to my room and grab some clothes for me?" Travis asks.

"No, but you can use my towel to go get your own clothes," I reply.

"Thanks bro!" Travis exclaims as I hand him the towel and head back to my room.

I start reading when Travis knocks on my door about fifteen minutes later.

"Hey, do you want to go get some lunch?" Travis asks as he returns my towel.

"Sure, I could eat," I reply.

"Cool, let's go to that café again," Travis suggests.

"Ugh..." I respond.

"Come on, dude. I doubt that waitress even remembers!" Travis says.

"Fine," I concede. After all, the food had been good.

Travis regales his exploits from last night on the way to the café.

"So I had her bent over her desk..." Travis says as we walk into the café.

"Hey! Sprite guy!" the waitress exclaims when she sees us, but she seems to be good-natured about it. Travis continues the tale of his exploits while we are eating, and on the way back to the dorm.

"So then I—" Travis continues while we pass through the forest leading to the university.

"I wish Cole were here... He could help us... Cole... Cole... COLE!" I hear Lila's distraught thoughts in my mind as I see an image of the floor of a clothing store with people on the ground next to her.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT!?" Travis shouts as my helmet engages.

"Got to go, explain later," I reply and touch my triskele.

"Lila, what's wrong?" I ask, as a 10mm auto round passes through my right scapula, into my lung, and out through the front of my chest.

I turn around and see a werewolf holding a Colt Delta Elite in his right hand, looking stunned by my sudden appearance. Based on the trajectory of the bullet, the gun hadn't been aimed at anyone until I appeared in its path, but that doesn't change the fact that this fucker just shot me. I move the bandage covering my palm aside, pull a Sic dagger from my left hand, and slice off the werewolf's hand. As the gun and the severed hand holding onto it fall, I snatch them up in my left hand and fire two rounds into the stomachs of each of the three armed men in this high-end clothing store. I realize that I still have two rounds left in the magazine so I fire a round into the guns of two men that are still armed and drop the empty gun. Grabbing Lila, I touch my triskele and port us to her apartment.

"COLE!" Lila cries and hugs me.

"Are you okay?" Lila asks as I let my Sic dagger clatter to the floor.

"Lila?" I hear Charlotte ask.

"Yeah... I'll... be... fine... I... just... need... to... rest," I gasp out like a fish without water before I turn and collapse facedown onto the couch. Why is this happening? I should be able to stay conscious with one working lung.

(A rib fragment from the entry wound poked a tiny hole in your left lung. I'll have both fixed in a few hours)

...

"No, like I told you before, Princess Lila was with me the whole day and there is no one matching that description here," Charlotte says in her familiar monotone before slamming the phone down.

"Gods, they just won't give up. Oh, how are you feeling, Cole?" Charlotte asks before I open my eyes. She's good.

"Cole!" Lila exclaims next to me. I open my eyes and see Lila's concerned face with Charlotte hovering around behind her.

"I'm fine now. It seems a rib fragment had popped my only remaining lung after the bullet passed through my other one. That's all fixed now though. What time is it?" I inquire.

"Almost eleven," Charlotte replies.

Ten hours? Shit... that's an unusually long time.

(So it took me a little longer than usual! It's not like you had anywhere to be!)

"Sorry... thanks for your help, Airi."

(You're welcome)

"Your phone kept ringing earlier so I dug through your pants, discovered that you dress to the left, and handed the phone to Lila," Charlotte says.

"But my phone was in my back pocket!" I exclaim.

"Yes, it was," Charlotte answers, as though my statement had been a question.

"I saw that you had received a few calls from Chezarei so I texted her back, telling her that you were with me and currently unable to answer the phone," Lila informs me.

From a third party's perspective, this seems like the right choice of words in case I didn't want to tell Cheza that I had gotten shot. However, given our recent relationship, Cheza could interpret 'unable to answer the phone' as having sex, and 'with Lila' as with Lila. I just pray that Cheza hasn't seen her lately and that Natasha hasn't mentioned what I said about Lila...

"I need to get going," I tell them as I stand up.

"Are you mad that I sent that text to Chezarei?" Lila timidly asks and I see the image of the small girl I saved sixteen months ago.

"Of course not," I tell Lila as I hug her. "I just don't want to worry her further, that's all."

"Well, the police have been calling and asking about the porting they detected, as well as a man with a silver helmet," Charlotte informs me.

Great... I need to get to Natasha so we can come up with a plan.

"Okay, thanks for the warning," I reply.

"Here, let me get you one of Lila's sleeping shirts. The bullet holes in your current one may attract attention," Charlotte says as Lila pulls away from me.

Charlotte heads down the hall and into Lila's room. She comes out and hands me a men's large, plain white t-shirt from Hanes that has the back cut out. Lila's eyes go wide and she starts to look nervous when she sees the shirt.

"Umm..." I start.

"This shirt is definitely not yours," Charlotte says with an uninflected tone. Well, I guess that clears up my suspicion that this shirt might be the one that Lila wore after I rescued her.

"I agree that the bullet holes will attract attention, but that shirt will hardly be inconspicuous. I'll just go shirtless and refrain from stopping by any diners to avoid not being served. Do you mind if I leave my shirt here? Oh, and my Sic dagger?" I ask as I strip off my shirt.

"Sure, that's fine, Cole. By the way, how did you know I was in trouble?" Lila asks.

My heart stops in my chest. I can't tell her 'oh, it's probably because of my blood that's inside of you,' because it would lead to me explaining why I put my blood in her originally, which may unlock her memories of being raped by Fenrir. Plus, it might lead to me having to tell her that I spiked her orange juice with my blood last weekend, but it's mostly the rape thing.

"I don't really know... I could just tell that you needed me so I touched my triskele and ported to you," I lie, hoping that she doesn't know the details of what I need to port.

"Well, thanks for saving me again," Lila says as she hugs me. I pat her on the head and she giggles, just like last time, even though she's a foot taller now.

"Anytime!" I softly tell her with a smile before disengaging.

"I'll see you guys later," I say as head for the door.

"Bye Cole!" Lila waves as I pull her front door closed.

I walk down the hall, take the elevator to the lobby and walk out the main door. As I walk down the street, towards the subway, two things happen: a group of drunken girls calls out to me, and I realize that I should text Cheza and tell her I'm coming so she won't worry. I pull out my phone and hold the home button down until my phone beeps twice.

"Text Cheza," I command.

"OK, I can send a text to Cheza for you... what would you like it to say?" Airi's voice replies from my phone.

"On my way home, I'll explain everything when I get there—"

"YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" a police officer shouts as he ambushes me from an alleyway.

"—send," I finish as the policeman pushes me towards a squad car that had been coasting behind me.

So much for not making her worry...

Chapter 31: Schrodinger's Zombie Cat

"Good morning. I'm Detective Sanchez," an azeman says as she enters the interrogation room at roughly 1am.

"Good morning, Detective Sanchez. Am I under arrest?" I inquire.

"Nope, I just want to have a quick, friendly word with you," Sanchez replies.

"Is this the standard protocol I'd see if I looked up 'quick, friendly word' in the police handbook?" I ask.

"No, that usually involves a tube sock and a couple of oranges, but I'm not too partial to citrus this early in the morning," Sanchez tells me.

"And I don't like orange juice unless there's vodka in it," I reply. Sanchez lets the silence hang in the air.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" I finally ask.

"You," Sanchez says.

"What about me?" I ask.

"Who are you?" Sanchez clarifies.

"Philosophically, theosophically, or paranormosophically?" I reply.

"Paranormosophically?" Sanchez asks.

"Yeah, I felt I needed three so I took anthroposophy and combined it with paranormal so that it would apply to our situation because neither of us is exactly human," I explain.

"Let's start with name," Sanchez says.

"Slevin Kelevra, k-e-l-e-v-r-a Kelevra," I reply.

Sanchez looks at the two-way mirror and nods. Courtesy of my extrasensory hearing, I listen as someone on the other side of the mirror starts laughing.

"This fuckin' guy!" I hear a person say, muffled through the mirror. Sanchez's phone starts ringing.

"What?" Sanchez tersely answers.

"Detective, you've obviously never seen the movie _Lucky Number Slevin_ , have you? This entire conversation has almost been a parody of it! Anyway, his name is Cole Treyfair. He's a student at the university," a male voice says from the phone's speaker.

"Thanks," Sanchez replies as she narrows her eyes at me and hangs up her phone.

"So, Cole... where were you today at around 1pm?" Sanchez pointedly asks.

"Well I know that I would have preferred to be having lunch with you," I say with a smile and a wink. Sanchez's face falters for a split second before she glares at me.

"Do you want me to get the oranges? I can promise you though, there will be no vodka," Sanchez says with a malicious quality to her voice.

"That depends... will it be considered foreplay?" I inquire while raising an eyebrow. Sanchez looks pretty furious.

"Do you want to spend the next twenty-four hours in a cell!?" Sanchez asks, venom dripping from her voice.

"Is there a cot and will you be joining me? I might even let you have a drink. I'm told that I'm quite tasty!" I tell her with a wink. Sanchez is literally shaking with rage. She looks like she's going to blow at any second when her phone rings.

"WHAT!?" Sanchez screams into the receiver.

"Sanchez, you should calm down and get the fuck out of there! We just got the information: The Faction's Executioner, also known as Feros, is Cole Treyfair!" the male voice frantically says.

I guess the cat is out of the bag... who in the hell is out there stuffing cats into bags to try and see if they can make their way out of them?

(The Germans... aw, Schrodinger)

"Wouldn't that be letting the zombie cat out of the box...? Wait, Schrodinger was Austrian, not German."

(Whatever)

"What, _the_ Feros? Killer of gods? The one that destroyed a town and a snow elf village in Greenland before killing Fenrir? This can't be him, Feros is dead!" Sanchez argues in a hushed tone while turned away from me and holding her hand over her mouth and the receiver.

"Well, the word from some of my Agency friends is that Feros is alive. Apparently he was helping on a mission a few weeks back and this werewolf captain picked a fight with him. Feros beat him without getting out of his seat and while only using a single hand! And then he took out an entire gang of enhanced supers after the rest of the operators were ordered to fall back! This would also explain the porting as well as the reports of the silver helmet!" the voice exclaims.

Sanchez looks at me, uncertainty apparent in her eyes. She stands up, exits the room, and comes back about a minute later.

"You're free to go," Sanchez says as she slides my phone and wallet over to me.

"Thanks. See you around, detective," I reply and touch my triskele. They already know my identity so there is no point in me taking the subway.

I port to my room and toss myself on my bed. I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm watching the shit hitting the fan and now it's about to spray all over the place... where in the hell did that saying come from? Did somebody actually take their shit and throw is at a fan to see what happened? Or were two monkeys being observed as they had a poo fight and one toss went high, hit a fan, and sprayed all over the observers, who then jotted down their findings in a lab journal to report the crucial observation of what happens when shit hits a fan?

I should probably call Natasha...

"You know it's like 2am, right?" Natasha answers.

"Natasha... we have a slight problem," I tell her.

"What did you do, get Lila pregnant or something?" Natasha asks.

"I may have exaggerated the slightness..." I reply.

"How is getting a minor pregnant a slight problem!?" Natasha exclaims.

"The Fogquartz police force knows that I'm Feros..." I respond. Natasha is silent for a few moments.

"How?" Natasha asks with an exasperated sigh.

"Well, last weekend I gave Lila some of my blood to cure her hangover and that reconnected with my blood that was in her from when I manipulated her memories. Today, there was an armed robbery at the store Lila was at and she called out to me to help her. I ported there, dispatched the robbers, and ported Lila to her home, where I passed out on her couch from two punctured lungs. The police called multiple times while I was unconscious and then they picked me up when I left Lila's penthouse. I didn't give anything up during the interrogation, but they were able to get my name from student ID and connected the name Cole Treyfair to Feros," I explain.

"Speaking of which, why the fuck did I use my real name in an undercover investigation!?" I ask.

"Yeah, looking back that was probably poor planning, huh?" Natasha replies.

"So what do we do?" I inquire.

"We rely on Travis... just do what you can, but tell him that once the knowledge of you being Feros gets out, he needs to distance himself from you to have any hope of continuing with this investigation. You should probably tell him tonight," Natasha informs me.

"Alright, I'll go do that. Talk to you later," I reply and hang up.

I grab a shirt, put it on, and head to Travis's room. I softly knock for about three minutes.

"Dude... it's 2am, couldn't this have waited until morning?" Travis answers in his boxers. I barge past him into his room.

"Okay, I need you to listen carefully because this shit is important. I'm The Faction's Executioner, Feros. My cover has been blown by the Fogquartz police for porting and it's only a matter of time until the student body knows all about it. When it gets out, you have to distance yourself from me, like everyone else is most likely going to, if we want to have any hope of continuing this investigation," I inform Travis and he stares at me blankly for a few moments.

"I understand..." Travis replies.

"Alright, I have to go talk with Cheza now so she doesn't worry anymore. Sorry for waking you up," I apologize and leave.

I head downstairs, gently knock on Cheza's door, and brace myself. Cheza angrily throws her door open and glares at me.

"So now you're fooling around with Lila too!?" Cheza accuses. I walk past her into her room and she slams the door behind me.

"No, I'm not," I say.

"Then what were you doing at her house to where you couldn't answer your phone!?" Cheza shouts.

"I was passed out on the couch with two punctured lungs," I explain. Cheza's face instantly changes from anger to concern.

"I heard Lila call out to me so I ported to her location, just in time for an armed robber's bullet to pass through my right lung. The entry wound of the bullet caused a shard of rib to poke a hole in my left lung before I took out the robbers. After grabbing Lila and porting to her penthouse, I passed out. I woke up ten hours later, left Lila's place, got picked up by the police, spent the last three hours in an interrogation cell, and had my identity as The Faction's Executioner discovered," I inform her.

"They know about Feros? Shit... what are you going to do?" Cheza asks. I should have known that she'd already know my nickname.

"Watch as everyone becomes afraid of me and distances themselves... My part in the investigation is pretty much over. We're relying on Travis now," I somberly reply. Cheza walks over and embraces me.

"You know I'll be here, right?" Cheza softly asks.

"Yeah... thanks, Cheza," I respond as I hug her back.

"Come on, let's get some sleep," Cheza says as she takes my hand and leads me to her bed.

...

Chapter 32: The Gravitational Pull of a Fan and a Shit Meteor

[September 28th]

After waking up next to Cheza at about 11am, the day proceeds rather normally. Naia, Cheza, Travis, and I all go to dinner where Naia tells us about her date with Ryuji and thanks me for introducing the two of them. When I get back, I call Addie and try to explain why I wasn't able to call last night without telling her that I was unconscious after being shot. I promise that I will call again tomorrow night and tell her that I love her before ending the call. I go to sleep, dreading the following day.

...

[September 29th]

My stomach is a knot of anxiety as I walk to my organic chemistry class, but I don't hear even a whisper from any students about Feros. After chemistry, I head to computer science.

"Hey Cole, has shit hit the fan yet?" Ryuji asks as he starts walking next to me.

"No, not yet..." I reply.

"Well that's good. Anyway, thanks for introducing me to Naia. I really like her," Ryuji says.

"No problem, but do me a favor and tell her that she should probably stay away from me in the coming future if she still wants to make friends. If she gets angry at you, tell her I told you to relay the message and if that fails, tell her to talk to Cheza. She'll explain the situation," I request as we walk into class.

"Sure, I can do that," Ryuji solemnly replies.

"Thanks," I tell him and then I take a seat. Naia comes in a few minutes later and sits down next to me.

"Hello, Cole!" Naia cheerfully says.

"Hello, Naia. Ryuji has something he needs to talk to you about after class," I reply. Naia's face grows incredibly concerned.

"Is he breaking up with me? I thought our date went well but... were we even going out? Can it even be considered breaking up if we were not going out!?" Naia asks while on the verge of tears.

"Whoa! Relax! I am positive that isn't what he needs to talk to you about. I'm also positive that he likes you, probably as much as you like him," I reassure her. Naia's demeanor turns back, telling me that I've repaired my error.

Class ends and I make my way to kickboxing. The girls greet me normally and class goes on as usual.

"Bye Cole, see you tonight!" Nagi says as I head off to English.

"Ooh! What's happening tonight?" Kacey teases.

"Well, we will both be sweating and rolling around and by tomorrow, both of us will be sore. There is also the possibility of one of us having some bruising or a concussion," Nagi says, deliberately making it sound dirty despite the fact that all of those things are true. I hear girl squeals in response to Nagi as I walk out of range.

I head into the locker room to change and head to English class. I sit down next to Cheza when I arrive.

"I haven't heard anything so I take it that things haven't exploded yet?" Cheza asks. I nod in response.

"Hey is everything still going well?" Natasha thinks as she walks in the room a minute later.

"*Sigh* I'm happy that you guys care about me, but I do tire of repeating myself. Yes, everything is fine for now," I inform her. Natasha smiles and starts class.

After class, Cheza and I walk back to Graythorn together. We walk up the stairs and I'm surprised when she continues with me up to the sixth floor. She follows me into my room and plops herself down on my bed. My heart rate picks up until Cheza pulls a magazine out of her bag and starts thumbing through it. I sit down at my desk with a sigh and I pull out my class assignments.

"Do you mind me hanging out in here?" Cheza asks.

"No, it's just that I..." was expecting something different when you jumped on my bed...

"Oh... sorry... I guess I should have made my intentions clear... would a blowjob make you feel better?" Cheza asks and I perk up for a moment until a crushing depression hits me.

"No thanks..." I reply when I realize that it's basically a pity blowjob and there are few things more depressing than that.

"What, am I not good enough!?" Cheza asks, looking hurt.

"No, I just don't really like blowjobs," I tell her, which is partially true.

"That isn't true!" Cheza replies.

"I'm not going to force you into giving me a blowjob because of my misunderstanding! Besides, I'd much rather be wearing your thighs as earmuffs, if you know what I mean," I tell her. Cheza closes her magazine, stands up, walks over, and sits on my lap while wrapping her arms around my neck.

"You know, there is a position that will allow us to do both," Cheza says in a sultry tone before she nibbles on my ear.

I move my left hand along Cheza's thigh, up towards her skirt. She tenses up and gives a sharp intake of breath when my hand reaches the apex of her thighs.

" _He's really self-conscious about his arm so be careful of your reaction to it when you guys are hooking up. Fair warning though, it can be a little cold and hard. Just think of it like a vibrator and it won't be a surprise,"_ Natasha says across the table from me at an unfamiliar restaurant.

Suddenly I'm back in my dorm, making out with Cheza again. I start rubbing her when someone knocks at my door. I consider ignoring it until I realize what time it is, meaning that must be Travis reminding me about fight club. I disengage from Cheza, pick her up, and set her down on my bed on my way to answer my door.

"Come on, we have to get going," Travis tells me when I answer the door.

"I'll see you later, Cheza," I tell her.

Cheza nods with a flushed face and heavy breathing as I leave my room. Travis and I walk to the club room in silence. We arrive in the training room and I see that only the freshmen are here, with the exception of Jeremy.

"Where are the rest of the club members?" I ask.

"Didn't anyone tell you? This training room is only for the freshmen. Each class has its own facility. I'll be here for the first two weeks, but after that, you will be relying on your captain for guidance," Jeremy replies.

"Alright, everyone pair up. Cole, do you mind partnering with Nagi again?" Jeremy asks.

"No, I don't have a problem with it," I reply.

"Good. Okay everyone, sparring and teaching each other is the best way to get better, so get to work!" Jeremy announces.

With only three mats and four pairs, two pairs have to share a mat or rotate so Nagi and I sit this round out.

"We are going to have to tone it down. You know that, right?" I whisper to her.

"Yes, but are you sure that you'll be able to?" Nagi whispers back.

I don't think I'll have any problems restraining myself, until Nagi and I are up. We start sparring and I realize what she meant. This is practically unbearable. Constantly holding myself back and pulling my punches is far more irritating than cardio kickboxing. I somehow make it through, and head back to the dorm with Travis after practice.

"So have you heard any rumors yet?" I ask Travis.

"No, not yet," Travis replies.

"Maybe I'm just blowing this thing out of proportion. I've seen too many movies where a secret like this gets out and the effect is instantaneous the next day," I say hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe," Travis responds.

"Who knows, maybe the fact that I'm Feros won't get leaked at all!" I exclaim.

Why do I even think shit like that? It's equivalent to asking for that bad thing to happen.

...

[September 30th]

I wake up the next morning feeling pretty good as I head to my chemistry class. I sit down and catch a lucky break when nobody sits next to me. I finish class and then I head to computer science. Naia sits next to me when she gets into class.

"Cole... I'm not going to abandon you just because everyone will avoid you," Naia whispers to me.

"Naia, if you stay near me, you won't be able to make any friends and I don't want that. You were so excited about coming here and I'm not going to ruin your experience by having everyone shun you because of your association with me. I'd rather you just avoid me and make friends like you originally planned," I tell her.

Naia doesn't say a word for the rest of the class and I don't say anything as I leave for kickboxing. I notice people looking at me warily as I enter class, so I avoid everyone and head to the back of the gym.

"Cole, we just wanted to let you know that we don't believe the rumors about you being Feros," Stacy says as she, Sarah, and Kacey walk over. I feel my stomach drop in response.

"Thanks... but the rumors are true... I am Feros," I tell them. Stunned silence follows for the next few moments.

"Well, then we don't believe the stories about you," Stacy says while Kacey and Sarah look unsure.

"Yeah! I mean, there's no way that you tortured and killed those people or blew up half of Greenland... right?" Kacey asks uncertainly.

"...I think I'm going to leave class early today," I reply and trudge out the door.

I pass by a few people that look at me with fear or disgust while everyone avoids me. I think I understand how these things happen so quickly in movies, well besides the obvious fact that they aren't going to waste precious minutes with a gradual build-up. People work likes herds of animals. If a deer sees other deer avoiding a third deer, they will instinctually avoid that third deer. So I'm pretty sure that less than a quarter of the student body knows about Feros, but the other three quarters of the student body sees that quarter avoiding me, so they too are avoiding me.

There doesn't seem to be a class in the classroom prior to my English class today, so I walk in, take a seat, and let my head rest on the table with my arms hanging at my sides. I look up when I hear the door open about thirty minutes later. My classmate recognizes me, turns around, and walks out the door. I sigh and let my forehead thud to the table. I hear the door open again ten minutes later, but I don't look up. There's no need to scare away another person. That person heads up the steps of the auditorium, walks down my row, takes a seat next to me, and entwines her familiarly smooth and chilly hand in mine.

"Rough day?" Cheza asks pityingly.

"You could say that..." I reply without lifting my head.

Well, everyone pretty much hates me, but at least I still have Cheza. She's all I need.

" _He's been really depressed, Chezarei,"_ Natasha says in front of me as I'm suddenly standing in her office.

" _Did you know that he's practically suicidal? I had to stop him from killing himself last week when he thought that I was 'throwing him away.' He's been having these dreams about Kita that are fucking with his head and I don't know how much longer I can keep him sane. I tried playing the part of the caring girlfriend, but the fact remains that we are just friends. He needs the kind of support that only you can give him. You still love him, don't you?"_ Natasha asks.

" _Of course I do..."_ Cheza's voice says from my throat as my head involuntarily turns away from Natasha. _"I just don't know if we can be together..."_

"Chezarei, look at me. If you don't stop jerking him around, we are going to lose him."

Next thing I know, I'm back in the classroom, staring at the table. People have started shuffling into the classroom, but I still haven't looked up. Okay, it's rather apparent that I'm somehow getting images of Cheza's memories, but that shouldn't be possible considering that we aren't connected... then again, I'm almost positive that she has been reading my thoughts lately...

"Airi, what's going on?"

(Fuck if I know, dude... er, I mean, Master)

Natasha walks in the room and begins class.

...

"So, are you ready to go?" Cheza asks when class ends.

"Are you sure you want to still be associating with me? Nothing good can come from it," I tell her, offering her a way out.

"Cole... I'm not going anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, all these people can go fuck themselves," Cheza tells me with a gentle smile.

"Well, if you're sure..." I reply with a smile as I grab her hand.

I reach through my shirt collar and touch my triskele, porting us back to my room. My identity as Feros is going to be common knowledge soon anyway, so why should I continue walking anywhere?

"You know, I forgot how convenient that is... Perhaps I should just have you port me to all my classes," Cheza says with a surreptitious smile.

"Haha I'd be happy to, mistress," I reply.

"Hmm... I've really missed having you call me that," Cheza tells me with a sultry tone as she pulls my head down towards her. She kisses me deeply before I pull back.

"I love you, Cheza. I've always regretted that I didn't say that enough while we were together. I'm not going to make that mistake again," I tell her.

Cheza looks at me for several moments and starts shaking slightly.

"I can't take this anymore!" Cheza shouts as she rips my shirt off, and I don't mean she quickly pulled it over my head—she literally ripped it off.

Cheza pushes me onto my bed, jumps on top of me, and straddles me as she unbuttons her shirt.

"So, shall we continue from the other day?" Cheza asks with a perfect 'Tia' smile.

"Or vould you razher I gazher a car bazzery and speak vith zhe German accent?" Cheza whispers into my ear.

"Who says we can't do both? ...Minus the car battery..." I tell her with a sly grin.

"Fine, no car bazzery... but you must address me as mistress!" Cheza demands.

"Of course, mistress! I would never dream of calling you anything else!" I say as Cheza turns around and unzips my pants.

I stick my head up her skirt, not wanting to be outdone. For whatever stupid, self-conscious reason, I start to question if any of those five guys were better than me, which totally throws off my groove.

(I'm sorry, but you've thrown off the emperor's groove)

"Sooooooooorrrrrrryyyyy!" I think as a picture of a little old man being thrown out of a window and off of a cliff in Peru pops into my head.

" _Well I guess that I can't be too mad when I slept with five other guys, but in my defense, you were dead!"_ I hear Cheza's hysterical voice say from my throat as I look down at myself lying in the bed in Niflheim. This is pretty freaky.

(Why did you lie to Cole like that? We both know that Jarrett has been your first attempt at dating since Cole, courtesy of Katie's concern, and you haven't even slept with him yet)

"I know, I panicked! This is all a little overwhelming..."

I'm back with my head up Cheza's skirt, stunned by my realization. I haven't been seeing Cheza's memories. I've been seeing Airi's! Which means that Cheza is still connected to Airi, despite Cheza no longer being connected to me. So what is Airi really? A personification of my blood seems like a good answer, but my instinct is telling me that is incorrect...

"Co-oole!" Cheza whines as she shuffles her hips slightly.

I move her panties to the side and get to work. The fact that it has been a really long time for Cheza is apparent when I feel her finish less than a minute later as she moans out in ecstasy.

"Let's stop here for today. I have club practice in little while and homework that needs to be finished before then," I tell her as I stand, put my dick back in my pants, and sit down at my desk.

Cheza pouts in response, but doesn't say anything as she pulls a magazine out of her bag, lies on her stomach, and starts flipping through it. Cheza's ass just looks so inviting in that skirt... you know what? Fuck homework. I walk up behind Cheza, slide her panties off, and lie down on top of her in one smooth motion.

"I changed my mind," I whisper into her ear as I pull out of my pants and slide myself in.

"AHmmm!" Cheza yelps as she bites into my pillow.

"Sorry! Should I stop?" I ask, thinking that I might've hurt her. She shakes her head in response so I continue. I reach around and massage her breast with my right hand as I kiss and nibble the left side of her neck.

"Mmm... MMmm... MMM!" Cheza moans, muffled by my pillow.

A few minutes later, I feel Cheza clench up as she nearly sends me over the edge. I quickly pull out and I become stuck with the age-old dilemma of where to shoot my load. Despite what is portrayed in pretty much every pornography video since the beginning of cinema, I highly doubt that women enjoy being covered in semen, so Cheza is out. I look around my room feeling like the Terminator analyzing potential threats as everything in my room gets highlighted in red: walls, nightstand, trashcan, ripped shirt, laptop, homework, desk, imaginary cat. I spend all this time stuck in my little fantasy that I nearly hit Cheza, but I pull away at the last minute and shoot my nightstand lamp's shade.

Well, at least it's not a cat.

Chapter 33: Everybody Knows, but Some Don't Care

After round three, I check the time and start freaking out.

"Shit! It's already 4:05pm!" I announce to a possibly sleeping Cheza as I jump out of bed and rush to dress in basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and running shoes.

I bolt out the door when I realize that I'm being ridiculous since I can just port there! I touch my triskele and think of the woods near the cabin. I jog into the cabin and flick the light switch three times. Everyone stops and looks at me when I enter the training room.

"Sorry I'm late. I was a little... preoccupied," I announce.

Nobody says anything and just stares at me instead. Okay, this is awkward... Nagi becomes my savior when she walks up, grabs my hand, and leads me to a mat.

"So, who were you doing that left you so preoccupied...? Oh, my mistake, I meant what were you doing," Nagi asks with a sly smile.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," I reply.

"That is true... but what does it have to do with you?" Nagi asks.

I don't bother with a response as we start sparring. It seems that nobody is working and is just watching us instead. Nagi tells me that I'm too distracted with a shot to my groin. Thankfully, it was only at about quarter strength, but still enough to drop me to the ground.

"Ooh... even if he can kill gods, I suppose he is still a guy," I hear the crowd whisper as I clutch my balls to protect them from further injury.

"What is everyone doing standing around?" Jeremy asks as he enters the room.

"Ah, Cole! Good, you're here. I need to talk to you. Let's take a walk," Jeremy says.

"Um, Mr. President? I don't think he can get up," one of the freshmen says.

"Fine, I'll just ask here. So, what is Feros doing at Fogquartz University?" Jeremy asks. Maybe I can turn this questioning in my favor to steer suspicion away from Travis and the others.

"What else? Going to school. I transferred from a human college because I was sick of constantly having to hide what I am. I had to do that here too, but at least the smallest show of my abilities wouldn't have given me away like it does in human society," I reply.

"Why was Travis able to beat you before? From all the stories, you should have been able to mop the floor with him. It's not like everybody can go around killing gods," Jeremy inquires. I think he's giving me the opportunity to ensure the current hierarchy with the freshmen, prior to it being challenged.

"Well, you can't believe everything that you hear. The only way I stayed alive against the gods that I faced was through tricks and by being one step ahead of them. I never fought on fair grounds and I would always taunt the gods to blind them to my tricks. Blinding them was always the easiest part because of how cocky gods are. They never perceived me as a threat until it was too late. However, in a fair fight in hand-to-hand combat, I'm not all that great. I'm not that much stronger than an average werewolf, or much faster than an average vampire," I explain.

"How are you alive? I thought the consensus was that you were dead?" a freshman asks.

"Early release for good behavior," I reply.

"Alright, with that out of the way, let's get to work! The intermural tournament between the clubs to decide who is representing Fogquartz in the tournament is less than a month away!" Jeremy announces and everyone returns to their mats to continue sparring.

...

After practice, I port back to my room only to find that Cheza is still naked in my bed... in fact, I don't think she's moved. I start freaking out as I check for a pulse.

(She's fine, Master)

Well, I guess that answers that question. I think I'll go fetch us some dinner. I port to the food court and start to wonder what Cheza would like for dinner as I'm vaguely aware of a girl yelping in surprise. There's Italian, Asian, American, Greek, Indian, salad... I could always go with her favorite... then again, I'm not even sure if that's her favorite anymore.

"Hey Airi, do you have any idea what Cheza wants for dinner?"

(Well, she's currently having a dream about pudding, so that would be a good choice. Her favorite food is still fettuccini alfredo, Master)

"Pudding and Alfredo it is! Oh, is it chocolate, vanilla, or swirl?"

(Swirl)

I wait in line for my cheeseburger before getting in the Italian food line. People are pointing and whispering to each other, but I just ignore them. After getting the Alfredo, I head to the desserts line for pudding. I grab a Pepsi for Cheza and a Mountain Dew for myself before porting back to the room. I set the food down and attempt to wake up Cheza.

"Cheza... wake up, Cheza..." I softly say while gently shaking her. "Cheza, if you don't wake up, I'll eat all of the pudding."

"MY PUDDING!" Cheza shouts as she jolts awake, head-butting me in the process.

"Ouch... why is your forehead so hard?" I ask while holding my right eye.

"Sorry Cole... did you get me food!?" Cheza inquires.

"Yeah, I went and retrieved dinner for both of us," I reply as Cheza looks at what I brought her.

"Oh, Cole... I love that you know me so well!" Cheza exclaims as she hugs me. Naked hugs from Cheza are so much better than normal ones.

"Thank you, Airi!"

(You are welcome, Master)

After finishing my hamburger, I wait for Cheza to finish her dinner before porting to the food court to return the tray and the dishes. I port back to the room only to find that Cheza is gone...

Was I too clingy? Did I freak her out by being too clingy? Or does she just not love me anymore? Or did she decide that she didn't want to be shunned by everyone for being with me? I wouldn't blame her if she did...

"AM I TOO CLINGY!?" I shout after I touch my Haglaz rune and port to Niflheim.

"Bro! We'll talk later. You're not too clingy, but you seriously need to leave!" Jason replies as he continues to bang Reyna on the bed.

"Jason... don't be... rude!" Reyna exclaims, seemingly unfazed by my sudden appearance and the fact that she and Jason now have an audience.

"You're right... like always," Jason concedes and stops his rhythm.

"Of course I am," Reyna says, slightly out of breath.

"Cole, do you want to join in?" Jason asks, completely serious.

"Not like that, you pendejo! I meant that you should ask him to _please_ leave or offer him a drink, not your girlfriend!" Reyna yells.

"What!? I thought you were implying that you want to have a threesome with Cole!" Jason expounds.

"My bad... glad to see you guys are doing well!" I say over their arguing and touch my Haglaz to port back to my room... that was awkward.

(By the way Master, Cheza is in the bathroom)

Wow... I feel like an idiot. What the hell was with my reaction? Maybe I should get my hormone levels checked or something because that was not the thought process of a healthy male in his twenties. After grabbing my toiletry kit, I head to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"Hey. Do you want to watch a movie?" Cheza asks when I walk back into my room after brushing my teeth and washing my face.

She's sitting on the bed, wearing nothing but one of my white dress shirts, which she's only buttoned at solar plexus level. The result is an exposed navel and a gracious amount of cleavage that is totally distracting.

"Um... uh, yeah... I would just like to take the time to say that I am a fan of this look!" I tell her as I put my bag away, grab my laptop, and walk over to the bed. I hand the laptop to her so she can pick out a movie while I slide into bed next to her. Cheza sets the laptop on my lap and snuggles into my right side. About ten minutes into the movie, Addie's face pops up on screen.

"Daddy! And Mommy's there too!" Addie exclaims.

Cheza quickly checks to make sure her goods are covered. I don't remember there being some kind of auto-accept feature for calls on Skype...

"Hey sweetie! How was your day?" I ask.

"Good! Daddy, why are you and Mommy in bed?" Addie inquires.

"Because it's bedtime, sweetie," I respond.

"It's about time that you two got back together," Tia says behind Addie, making air quotes when she says together.

"We were just watching a movie!" Cheza expounds for reasons unbeknownst to me.

"We totally did earlier though," I whisper.

"Cole, you do realize that, even with Tia's hearing, the laptop's microphone won't pick up your whispering... but I can, because I'm sitting six inches away from you," Cheza says with an uninflected tone.

"Right... we totally did earlier though," I repeat at a normal volume to Tia. Cheza just glares at me.

"Anyway, it's bedtime for you too, so we will talk to you tomorrow, Ada," Cheza says.

"Okay, goodnight Mommy! Goodnight Daddy! I love you!" Addie replies.

"Goodnight sweetie, we both love you too!" I tell her and end the call.

Cheza and I continue to watch the movie, but I fall asleep before it's finished.

...

Chapter 34: Pleasant Surprises

[October 1st]

After waking up next to Cheza, I go about my day. Everyone avoids me in my chemistry class, as well as in my computer science class. I catch a few glances from Naia that tell me that she isn't happy about abandoning me, even if it is my idea. Class ends and I head to cardio kickboxing. I avoid even looking at the girls and decide on a spot at the front of the room, next to the door.

"Nagi, what are you doing?" Sarah whispers.

"What do you think? I'm going to join Cole," Nagi replies.

"Nagi, he's Feros!" Stacy whispers back.

"So what? He's a nice guy," Nagi says.

"Nice guy? He practically admitted to torturing and killing people yesterday!" Kacey replies.

"One thing I've learned about Cole is that he hates hurting people that don't deserve it," Nagi tells the girls and walks over to me. She takes the spot next to me and just smiles at me.

"Thanks, Nagi," I tell her with a slight smile.

We punch and kick at the air for forty minutes before something really unexpected happens.

"Well, that concludes today's class. I will see you all tom—" Spanish Ewan McGregor says.

"DADDY!" Addie screams as she bursts into the room, runs, and jumps at me with her tail swishing excitedly through her shorts.

"Addie!?" I ask in astonishment as I catch her in midair.

"I finally found you, Daddy!" Addie giggles.

"Cole, who is this?" Nagi asks.

"This is my uh... daughter, Adelaide," I tell her.

"Addie, this is Daddy's friend, Nagi. Can you say hello?" I ask her.

"Hello..." Addie shyly says.

"Daddy, she looks like Auntie Sara!" Addie says in a child's whisper.

"That she does, sweetie. How did you get here?" I ask while Nagi just stares at the bundle of adorable in my arms. I notice Stacy, Sarah, and Kacey cautiously moving forward to get a better look.

"I walked from school," Addie replies.

"Sweetie, you can't just go off on your own!" I scold, realizing that she must have come from the elementary school in town.

"But I wanted to see you, Daddy..." Addie says with tears forming in her eyes. I hug her tightly.

"It's okay, but you can't run off. I'm sure you've made your Auntie Sara very worried!" I explain.

"I'm sorry..." Addie replies.

"I have to go call Auntie Sara so I need you to stay here with Nagi for a little while, okay?" I say to Addie and she nods in response.

"Nagi, do you mind keeping an eye on her while I go change and make a phone call?" I ask.

"Yeah, of course!" Nagi exclaims with an almost hungry look in her eyes.

"Snakes don't eat babies, right?" I ask, now unsure if I should leave Addie in her care.

"Not unless they're in egg form... but I may make an exception for this one..." Nagi says while still hungrily staring at Addie before she's starts drooling a little bit... or that might just be my imagination.

"Don't worry, Cole. We'll make sure that Nagi doesn't eat her," Stacy says. I turn around to see her, Kacey, and Sara smiling behind me.

"Thanks, you guys. I'll be right back, Addie," I say.

"Okay Daddy!" Addie replies and waves as I head towards the changing room.

I change back into my jeans and t-shirt, and pull out my phone to find that Lila has sent me a text.

Hi Cole, I just passed a tiny werewolf version of Chezarei that was walking around town and appeared to be sniffing the air. Thought you might be somehow connected.

I text her back so she doesn't worry:

Hey Lila, that was my daughter, Adelaide. I'll introduce the two of you later.

Next, I call Sara.

"Hey Cole, what's up!?" Sara asks in a panicked fashion as I hear a crash in the background.

"Relax Sara, Addie is with me," I tell her.

"Really!? Oh, thank gods!" Sara exclaims while letting out a sigh of relief.

"So when were you planning on telling me that you had moved to Fogquartz?" I ask.

"When you were done or when you wanted to come home for a break. I didn't think it was necessary to tell you how close we are when you wouldn't have been able to come and visit," Sara explains. I guess that sort of makes sense...

"Alright. I don't have time so I'm just going to bring Addie with me to my next class. I'll bring her home later," I tell her.

"Okay, I'll cancel the search party. See you later," Sara replies and hangs up. I notice that I received another text from Lila while I was on the phone.

DAUGHTER!? You and Chezarei had a baby!?

No, Adelaide is adopted and is actually Cheza's half-sister. It's really complicated but Adelaide doesn't know about the sister thing so Cheza is her mother as far as Adelaide is concerned, and I'm her father. By the way, why were you in town during school?

...I wanted to get something good for lunch so me and some friends kinda skipped fourth period...

Lila... just don't make a habit of it!

Thanks Cole:) Ttyl!

I head back out to the classroom to fetch Addie.

"Thanks for watching her, you guys," I say once I see that no part of Addie has been eaten.

"No problem, Cole. She is really like, too cute!" Stacy exclaims. The three girls seem to be warming back up to me.

"Where's her mother?" Kacey asks, slightly suspecting in tone.

"Currently waiting. See you guys later!" I reply as I take Addie by her hand and lead her to my English class.

"Look! Isn't that Feros!? What is he doing with that child!?" I hear a woman whisper as we pass by.

"Feros totally kidnapped that little girl..." I hear a guy whisper.

"Alright sweetie, you're going to get that feeling of falling again, but don't worry. I've got you," I tell Addie as I pick her up.

"Okay Daddy!" Addie replies and I touch my triskele.

Addie has her eyes shut tight and is clenching my shirt in her hands as we arrive in the classroom. Cheza still isn't in class yet so I come up with a devious plan.

"Hey Addie, we're going to play a little joke on Mommy, okay? Just hide under the table until she sits next to me, then pop out and surprise her," I tell Addie.

"Okay Daddy!" Addie exclaims.

"Watch your head," I tell her as I grab the top of her head and gently press it down so that she doesn't hurt herself.

"*Gasp* What is Feros making that little girl do under the table!?" I hear a girl behind me ask. I notice that I'm getting a lot of dirty glances in my direction.

"GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER! WE'RE PLAYING A PRANK ON HER MOTHER, YOU SICK BASTARDS!" I shout and everyone starts looking guilty. I knew that public opinion of me was low, but this is ridiculous. Cheza walks in the room a minute later.

"Hey, where's Ada?" Cheza asks.

"Aw... she's under the table. We were planning to surprise you," I reply, disappointed. My guess is that Sara called her.

"Hi Mommy!" Addie says as she crawls out from under the table.

"Ada..." Cheza says using her strict tone.

"You can't be running off on your own. You could get hurt, and then daddy would get hurt killing whoever was responsible, do you understand?" Cheza asks loudly enough for everyone in the classroom to hear.

That was probably a smart move on her part. Now that the knowledge of Feros having a daughter is out, the added threat of death to anyone that harms her isn't a bad thing. Then again, you would think that an additional threat would be unnecessary with my reputation.

"Yes Mommy... I promise I won't do it again..." Addie replies while looking at the floor.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's go to lunch!" I proclaim.

"YAY!" Addie yells as Natasha walks in the room.

"What's Adelaide doing here?" Natasha thinks.

"From what I've gathered, she followed my scent from the elementary school. Apparently she, Sara, and Tia moved into town," I explain.

"Yeah, I know. The house they're staying at belongs to Carla's family. I would have said something, but Carla told me not to. Following your scent all the way here is really rather impressive for a werewolf her age," Natasha informs me.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm taking Cheza and Addie out for a family luncheon so we will be leaving now," I tell her.

"Okay, the prompt for tonight is embarrassing misunderstandings," Natasha thinks.

"Alright. If at least five people don't write about how they mistook Feros hiding a three year old girl under a desk for a prank as something sexual, give everyone in the class a failing grade," I tell her as I pick Addie up.

Cheza grabs my arm as I touch my triskele and port us to my room. We drop off our bags before I port us onto the pathway that leads into town. I set Addie down on the cobblestone path so she can walk. It's not like she's heavy, but she is cumbersome in a way... perhaps it has to do with bulk. I feel her tiny hand grab ahold of mine and I look down to see her grinning up at me as she holds onto Cheza's hand as well. When I look at Cheza, I see that she too is smiling at me and I realize that, for the first time in a long while, I'm truly happy.

Is this why men let these short people live in their houses? For happiness? I lead everyone to the café and bistro that Travis and I went to. We sit down and the same brunette waitress from before comes over.

"I'll have a 7-UP," I tell her.

"Good choice!" she smiles back and we both laugh. We place the rest our order and our sprite waitress walks off.

"So what was that?" Cheza asks, somewhat vexed.

"I came here with Travis and ordered a Sprite, the lemon-lime soda, and the waitress thought I was hitting on her because she's a water sprite," I explain.

"Oh, okay..." Cheza says, now looking somewhat embarrassed.

The waitress comes back with our drinks and takes our order about five minutes later. The door dings open about four minutes after that and a sudden crash behind me causes me to turn around in my seat. I find three guys around the waitress while one roughly grasps her wrist as she tries to pull it away.

"I'll be right back," I tell Cheza as I stand up.

"Cole... I still want to eat lunch so try not to kill anyone," Cheza complains. I smile at her in response and walk over to the altercation.

"Let go of me!" the waitress demands.

"Hello, I ask that you please unhand my waitress now as I would like to have my lunch in the near future," I politely ask.

"Fuck off, this doesn't concern you!" the guy holding onto the waitress says.

I scan the three guys and see that they are a wizard, a snow elf, and... a dryad? Or maybe a wood elf? His aura looks like a tangled mess of brown tree roots and he's also the one that is grasping my waitress.

"Well, seeing as you are interrupting my lunch with my family, I'd say it does concern me," I reply.

"I don't give a shit!" the wood elf angrily says.

"Leave," I reply after allowing my face and tone to fall.

The wizard's aura starts to flare up so I quickly pop him in the face with my right hand.

"Surprise spells are hardly sporting," I let him know from his position on the ground while blood dribbles from his nose. The other two guys start squaring up for a fight so I quickly engage my helmet.

"Leave," I repeat in the creepy voice.

The guys stare wide-eyed at me for a moment before they help their friend up and leave. I retract the helmet and help the waitress to her feet before returning to my seat.

"Congratulations on not killing anyone," Cheza nonchalantly says.

"Thanks," I reply.

The waitress walks over with our food a few moments later.

"Thank you for saving me. I'm Jessica," Jessica introduces herself.

"I'm Cole," I reply.

"Umm... are you?" the waitress timidly asks.

"Yes, I am Feros. Hold your pens, ladies! I will not be signing any autographs today, no matter where you want them!" I stand up and announce to the otherwise empty café. I'm a little surprised when she giggles politely instead of making a hasty retreat.

"I know that those stories can't all be true. Anyway, enjoy your meal!" Jessica says with a smile before walking off.

I sit back down and find Cheza angrily eating her food. We eat our meal in silence and Jessica comes out with a cup of gelato for Addie.

"I'll be right back with the check," Jessica says with a smile in my direction.

"Yummy!" Addie announces as she digs into her cup.

"Slow down Addie or you'll get a—" I start to say.

"Owie! Owie, Daddy!" Addie complains. I rub her back until her brain-freeze goes away.

"The next time that happens, roll your tongue in an O, like this," I show her. "And then press it to the roof of your mouth. The bottom of your tongue should be warm enough to warm up the roof of your mouth and end your brain-freeze," I watch for several minutes as Addie looks adorable while trying to roll her tongue.

"I can't do it, Daddy..." Addie pouts.

"Hey Airi, can you do something like send her the muscle memory for rolling her tongue? I assume that my Drive pumped some of my blood into her when it fixed Addie's neck wound in the warehouse so I should be able to do the same thing that I did for Cheza, right?"

(You are correct. I'll instill the image now)

"Try again, sweetie. Like this," I tell Addie and stick out my rolled tongue. It takes her a couple seconds, but she finally manages it.

"I DID IT!" Addie squeals.

"See? I knew you could do it!" I tell her.

Teaching this kid to ride a bike or ice skate is going to be really easy... well, the bike part will be. I doubt sending her the muscle memory on my failed attempt at ice skating will be at all helpful. I pay our bill and we head out the door.

"Bye, Cole! Come back soon!" Jessica exclaims as we leave, causing Cheza to glare at me. I shrug in response as if to say 'what do you expect me to do?'

"We should probably head to the house now. Do you know where it is?" I ask Cheza.

"No, it's not like I've ever been there," Cheza pointedly replies. I think she might still be a little upset about Jessica...

(You think?)

"Alright Addie, you are going to feel like your falling again. Just remember that I won't let anything happen to you," I tell her as I hoist her up.

Addie nods and buries her face in my shirt as I grab Cheza's hand. I touch my triskele while picturing the living room from the virtual tour of the house that Sara gave me.

"Hey guys," Tia says from the couch.

"Adelaide. Would you care to explain why you ran away from school?" Sara says in a tone that frightens me slightly as a residual from my childhood and it causes Addie to start cowering into my shirt.

"Mrs. Parker told us to tell our parents about Parent's Day next week and I just wanted to see Daddy!" Addie cries into my shirt.

"She has already apologized and promised to never do it again," I tell Sara with a tone that implies that she should lay up a bit. Sara's expression softens as she moves closer and attempts to hug Addie while I'm still holding her.

"I was so worried about you," Sara tells Addie with a slight crack in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Auntie Sara!" Addie cries as she turns around in my arms to hug Sara.

"Now that that is settled, let's all sit down and spend some quality time in front of the TV," Tia suggests.

We take that suggestion and all sit down on the couch. Addie squirms into what appears to be her favorite spot: my lap.

"Are you going to be coming to Parent's Day, Daddy?" Addie asks about ten minutes later as she bends her head backwards to look up at me.

"I, uh... I—" I start to answer, not seeing any reason why I wouldn't be able to now that my cover is blown, when Cheza interrupts me.

"Of course Daddy and I will be coming!" Cheza decides for us.

Why do I get the feeling that this is going to turn out horribly? I picture mass panic as a bunch of people run around like spontaneously combusting bunnies, but I doubt that will happen... right?

...

Chapter 35: Parent's Day

The next week goes by rather quickly. The majority of the student body continues to ignore me as rumors of my status spread, but Stacy, Sarah, and Kacey were still warmed up to me after seeing Addie. On Friday, Stacy waves me over to join her and the other girls in cardio kickboxing. Their acceptance of me feels a little strange, but not unpleasant. The fight club members generally avoid me so I end up sparring solely with Nagi.

Cheza and I spend a lot of time together. Every night, I port us to the food court to grab dinner before returning to one of our rooms. We've started sleeping together on a regular basis, but haven't really done that much in the way of sex. On Saturday, Cheza suggests that we take Addie out to lunch again. We go to the same café, at Cheza's suggestion, and I realize that this is a test. Jessica acts somewhat flirtatious, but I act coldly in response. Jessica brings out a free cup of gelato for Addie after our meal and I respond by paying the check without another word. I suppose I passed the test because Cheza looked pleased with me as we took Addie home.

On Sunday, I notice that she'd started wearing my wedding ring, the ice blue and lotus-shaped one, on her left ring finger.

"I've decided that we're getting married again," Cheza informs me when she notices my attention on the ring. She sounds confident, but uncertainty breaks through a little bit at the end. I'm a little choked up, so I just nod in response.

"Technically, our five year engagement is still in effect. And while I've made great strides with my part by both getting shot in the leg with an arrow and by sleeping with my college professor, I have yet to see you attempt to grow mutton chops or go deer hunting!" I joke and she laughs.

"I'll get right on that!" Cheza replies with a smile and softly kisses me.

After our conversation, I started wearing my ring over the bandages on my left hand since it wasn't getting any use on the right and to signify to Cheza that I'm matching her commitment.

...

Something interesting happens on the following Wednesday.

"You're Feros, right?" a girl asks behind me in the food court as I'm in the process of deciding what to have for dinner.

"Umm... yes?" I reply while turning around to see an attractive blonde with an aura that looks like a blue river running through a dark space. Based on her aura and facial features, I conclude that she is most likely a nixie, a German river sprite.

"How about you come back to my room and we have a little fun?" the nixie seductively asks.

"Um, thanks for the offer, but no thank you," I reply.

"Oh, come on!" she says as she takes a step closer and runs her hand down my chest.

"I really need to be going now!" I exclaim, sounding slightly panicked as I jump back and touch my triskele.

"Where's dinner?" Cheza asks as I reappear in my room.

"You know, I think we should go have dinner at the house with Addie tonight," I reply while trying to sound casual.

"That sounds like a good idea... let's go!" Cheza says while eyeing me suspiciously before resigning and grabbing my hand.

I port us to the house and we have dinner while I'm still slightly shaken up by the whole thing. It's strange to be somehow seen as attractive for being Feros.

...

[October 10th]

Parent's Day finally comes on the following Friday. Cheza dresses me in khaki slacks, which she went out and bought me, a blue polo shirt, and a tie. Cheza is dressed in a knee-length black skirt and a white button-up shirt that reveals a modest amount of cleavage.

"Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Cheza complains. I grab her hand and port us to the house.

"You two do know that it starts at 11am, right?" Sara asks when she sees us.

"Yeah, so which direction do we start walking?" I ask, seeing that it is already 10:54am.

"Take a right out of the door and go straight. It's only about a ten minute walk so you won't be too late," Sara says.

"We wouldn't have to worry about that at all had Cole been able to get over his irrational fear of slacks!" Cheza says accusingly.

"Hey, I'm still convinced that they're pure evil. Now let's get going!" I exclaim and grab her hand as I head for the door.

"Have fun you two!" Sara shouts as we exit the house.

Cheza and I walk to the school rather slowly because Cheza is wearing heels for whatever stupid reason. We arrive at the school, check in with the front office, adorn our visitor's badges, and arrive at Addie's classroom at 11:06am.

"Sorry we're late. We're Adelaide's parents," Cheza announces to the eight kids and twelve parents in the room as she opens the door.

"That is no problem! Why don't you two introduce yourselves?" Mrs. Parker says cheerfully.

I quickly scan her and guess that she is part water nymph, based on the watery aspect of her aura mixed with her Mediterranean features. She appears to be in her late twenties, and is slightly on the heavier side.

"Hello, I'm Adelaide's mother, Chezarei Treyfair. I'm currently attending classes at the university," Cheza says. My heart skips a beat upon hearing how she addresses herself.

"Hi, I'm Cole, Adelaide's father, and based on how my wife dressed me, I'd say that I work at Best Buy," I say, getting some laughs from the four other men in the room.

Cheza and I take our seats next to Addie and Parent's Day commences. The kids show us what they've been learning and we have arts and crafts time together. One of the mother's reads a book to the kids before snack time that consists of animal crackers and Capri Sun.

"Mrs. Treyfair? Would you mind helping me out with the puppet show for the kids? Usually my TA helps me, but she's been out sick for the past two days," Mrs. Parker comes over and asks during snack time.

"Sure, I would love to help," Cheza says and follows Mrs. Parker over to the puppet theater. Mrs. Parker hands Cheza a puppet, which she slips on her hand and inspects it as she tries to work it.

(The scariest three-way is when there are only two people)

I choke on my strawberry-kiwi Capri Sun as I start cracking up. Cheza glares at me and I excuse myself from the room for a moment. I head to the bathroom in this wing of the school and I squat down to relieve myself into the urinals built for small children, the tops of which only come up to my knees. I wash my hands, return to the classroom, and quietly enter so as not to interrupt the show. I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at the irony when I see that this skit is about conflict resolution that doesn't involve violence. Cheza, the woman who stabbed me, is playing the advocate of non-violent resolution. After the puppet show, Parent's Day concludes.

"Thank you all for coming and I look forward to seeing you all again at parent-teacher conferences in a few months," Mrs. Parker says as everyone shuffles out of the classroom.

Cheza, Addie, and I walk back to the house, Addie smiling cheerfully as she walks between Cheza and I while grasping our hands.

"So how did things go?" Sara asks when we walk through the front door.

"They went well. There weren't even any people that started running around whilst screaming!" I tell her.

"Now I have to get back because, despite missing all of my classes today, I still have club practice. Are you coming, Cheza?" I ask.

"Yeah, but only because I don't want to walk back in heels," Cheza replies.

"Alright, we'll see you later. I love you, sweetie!" I tell Addie as I give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which I still feel slightly uncomfortable about, but it feels fatherly to show your daughter some affection.

"I love you too, Daddy!" Addie exclaims.

"Bye Ada, I love you," Cheza says while bending down to hug her.

"I love you, Mommy! Bye!" Addie says and waves as I grab Cheza's hand and touch my triskele.

"Alright, I need to go get ready so I'll see you later," I tell Cheza when we appear in her room.

"Okay, let me know when you get back and we'll go grab dinner," Cheza says while giving me a kiss goodbye. I walk upstairs to my room, change into my standard training clothes, and port to the woods outside the cabin.

"Hey everyone, what's up?" I say as I enter the training room.

"Hey Cole, where were you today?" Nagi asks.

"I told you yesterday that I was going to Parent's Day at Addie's school," I reply.

"Oh, right," Nagi says as recognition dawns on her face.

"Alright people, gather around," Jeremy says.

"As some of you who were paying attention know, today is my last day here. Starting tomorrow, Travis will be in charge as captain. Just continue training like you have been and you'll be ready for the tournament coming up in a few weeks," Jeremy announces and gestures to Travis.

"Let's get to work!" Travis says and we get to it.

...

Nagi and I are walking back to the dorm after practice when my phone starts ringing.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Cole! Adelaide's gone!" Sara exclaims.

"Shit, again?" I reply.

"No, she was kidnapped!" Sara clarifies. I stop dead in my tracks.

"What happened?" I ask, trying to remain calm and I hear Sara take several deep breaths to calm herself.

"Adelaide and I were walking back from the grocery store when a woman, who seemed to know Adelaide, called out to us and invited us into a café for free gelato. I had a cup of tea that must have been drugged because I woke up and Adelaide was gone! I went into the back and found the owner unconscious on the floor!" Sara exclaims, sounding panicked again by the end.

Well that answers the who and the how, but I can't find any motive for why Jessica would do this.

"Don't worry, Sara. I'll get to the bottom of this," I reply and hang up.

"Nagi, I need you to help me out by telling Cheza to take Ryuji, Naia, and Natasha to the house and tell her to stay there with them. If you could help keep them safe, I'd appreciate it," I ask of her.

"Sure Cole, but what's going on?" Nagi inquires.

"Addie's been kidnapped and I'm going to rescue her, but I'm afraid that the same people will go after anyone I care about. I'm not too worried about Cheza because she can protect herself, but the others are fair game," I quickly reply.

(Master, I've located Addie)

"Where is she?"

(Head that way)

I hear this little ping in my head like sonar coming from the right.

"Thanks Nagi," I say and take off at full speed in the direction of the ping.

Chapter 36: Nightmares Do Come True

Two minutes later, I'm across the campus, nearing the edge of the lake on the north-east side and the ping goes off rapidly. The ping suddenly swerves around behind me and I turn to see a hollowed out tree. I touch the hollowed tree and I'm a little surprised when my hand goes through it, causing a ripple in the tree. I engage my helmet and walk through the tree to find a concrete staircase leading down.

"Welcome Feros. You are earlier than I was expecting. Our messenger that delivered the ransom letter hasn't even returned from your dorm yet. Your dear wife should be joining us shortly, if those two assholes can manage not to screw it up," Ryan Ericson, the wizard vice president of the fight club, says as I walk down the steps. I'm not at all worried about Cheza. The guys they sent don't stand a chance against her and Nagi.

"DADDY!" Addie calls out to me with tears in her eyes.

"Everything is going to be alright, sweetie," I tell her reassuringly.

Addie's standing next to Ryan as he holds a Beretta 92 9mm handgun to her right temple at the back of the room. I see Jessica standing near Ryan, looking at him with an expression of admiration on her face. There are roughly fifty enhanced supers armed with melee weapons in the room, twenty of which I recognize from the fight club. I don't see any of the freshman or Jeremy here, but I spot David Bese, the senior captain, standing near the back of the room. I also see the wizard, wood elf, and snow elf from the incident in the café last week, and they all seem to be freshly enhanced. All of the pieces just clicked into place. Jessica must've called those three to set the stage for my rescue after we ordered our drinks last week. Since rescuing people is not something Feros is known for, Ryan knows me on a different level than what is based on rumors, or the person pulling the strings does.

I'm contemplating my ability to get across the room before Ryan can pull the trigger... I could try porting to the spot behind him, but he's definitely within a range of one hundred meters. What good is it to reach the spot if I get cut in half in the process? Worst rescue ever.

"Surely you've realized that you cannot make it across this room before I can pull the trigger. With my enhancements, I can pull the trigger before you make it halfway. Oh, and don't even think about porting. If you disappear, the first thing I'm doing is pulling the trigger," Ryan says.

"So here's what's going to happen: You are going to get in that electrified cage made especially for you, and once you are securely inside the cage, I'll let the girl go," Ryan explains while gesturing to the Plexiglas cage to my right.

Seeing no other options, I trundle over to the cage and step inside. A vampire walks over and locks the cage.

"Alright, I'm in the cage. Let Adelaide go," I tell him.

"Yes, but you are not secure!" Ryan exclaims.

"Electrificatus-way Ohercitus-cay," Ryan says as his aura flares. My legs suddenly give out from beneath me as a strong electrical current passes through them.

"DADDY!" Addie screams.

"Let. Her. Go!" I grunt out.

"Yeah, about that... I've changed my mind," Ryan smirks.

"NO!" I scream.

I look into Addie's frightened ice blue eyes and watch helplessly as Ryan's finger squeezes the trigger. Addie's body collapses onto her left side as her permanently open eyes glaze over and the pool of blood beneath her head slowly expands.

" _Daddy! Daddy. DADDY! Daddy... Daddy? DADDY!? Daddy. Daddy! Daddy? Daddy. Daddy! Daddy? DADDY! Daddy. Daddy? Daddy! Daddy. Daddy? DADDY! Daddy. Daddy!..._ _I love you too, Daddy,"_ memories of Addie's voice echo through my head.

Tears roll down my face as I realize that I will never hear that voice again...

She will never call me daddy again...

I hear a demonic roar reverberating from deep within me. My Drive has nothing to do with it, just like it has nothing to do with the overwhelming urge that tells me that everyone in this room is going to die.

"You're dead... You're all dead... Slow, agonizing, and fearful... that is how you are all going to DIE!" I scream and slam my blackened left hand into the ground.

The cage evaporates around me as the fluorescent lights in the ceiling explode in a wave from my position to the back of the room. Tendrils that look like black vector arrows and behave in a snake-like manner shred my bandages and seep out of the holes in my left arm.

Screams of terror erupt in the room as the tendrils quickly slither forward, disconnected from my arm. Everyone scrambles to get as far away from me as possible, but considering that I'm blocking the only exit, there is no escape. I expect that these tendrils might cause everyone to evaporate, like what happened with the Templars in the park, but what they actually do is far more terrifying... and far more satisfying. Each tendril that makes contact with one of the enhanced supers causes their skin to disintegrate while leaving them alive. It's like they know exactly what I was planning on doing to each and every one of them, and has decided to expedite the process for me.

I revel in my victim's agony as I get blindsided from the left by a partially transformed David. He slams me into the wall and starts tearing the shit out of my torso with his paws, basically turning it to mush, but I can barely feel it. My body is completely numb. I backhand David with my left hand, forcing him to drop me. After delivering a left uppercut to his jaw, I slip around behind him and get him in an armlock. I grab his left paw with my left hand, wrench it back, place my right knee between his shoulder blades, and rip his left paw off. As he howls in pain, I swing the massive clawed-paw at his stomach, effectively eviscerating him. One of my 'snakes' attacks David and flays him as his body hits the ground.

I slowly walk over to where Ryan and Jessica are holding each other and cowering in the corner beneath the only remaining fluorescent light, surrounded by my 'snakes' that are reared back and coiled, daring Ryan and Jessica to move.

(They've been shown fear... now show them anguish)

I disengage my helmet and wait for the minute that it takes for all of the screams to die out from blood loss, just staring at Ryan and Jessica. I see a glint on the ground about five feet away. I walk over and pick up the Beretta 92F that has ten rounds remaining in the magazine. Four of the five spent rounds had been fired into the floor, presumably in an attempt to shoot the 'snakes'. As for the other one...

I walk back to Jessica and Ryan, grab Jessica by her hair, and drag her away with her crying in the process. Ryan tries to follow after her, but the 'snakes' keep him in place. I place Jessica on her knees about six feet away, facing her towards Ryan.

"Go ahead. Lie to her. Tell her that everything is going to be fine," I order Ryan while Jessica cries. "Look into her eyes... as I pull the trigger."

The bullet travels through Jessica's brain and splatters gore across Ryan's face. Ryan winces as tears form in his eyes and I find his emotional anguish to be incredibly satisfying.

"I'll make a deal with you. If you tell me who has been backing you and where you got these extra forces, I will make your death quick and painless," I offer to Ryan as I let the gun fall out of my hand and onto the floor. He stares at me defiantly in response.

"Let me clarify. I consider the deaths that everyone in this room received to be quick. Usually, I take a much more hands on approach when flaying my enemies," I smile devilishly at him.

In a room full of blood, surrounded by dead bodies, after splattering his girlfriend's brains all over his face. Yeah, the term 'devilish' fits. Ryan's defiant face starts to break.

"Usually, I go through—strip by strip—peeling the flesh from my enemies. And I presume you've heard the story about how I dripped some of my blood into a snow elf's mouth and used that blood to make his stomach explode. Those pale in comparison to what I have planned for you... provided that you don't cooperate," I add with my devilish grin.

"HORUS! It was Horus! He was providing the drug for the enhancements and he had the extra forces brought in by his assistant who goes to the university for this plot! He was the one that ordered me to kill the girl!" Ryan spills almost faster than I can keep up.

"Who was this assistant?" I inquire.

"It was a chick with purple hair, eyes, wings, and tail! I didn't catch her name!" Ryan scrambles to answer.

Naia...

"Thank you for your cooperation," I tell him.

I let my 'snakes' evaporate as I walk past them to get to Ryan's quivering form. I hover over him for a moment before I spear my left hand into his mouth. While supporting his head up with my right hand, I forcefully wrench my left hand down and snap his jaw. Ryan starts howling as the bottom portion of his mouth dangles from his skull.

"Are you referring to how I said I'd give you a quick and painless death?" I ask with a devilish smile in response to his screaming.

"I changed my mind."

I pierce Ryan's abdomen with my left hand, grab a handful of his small intestines and pull them out. That handful goes into Ryan's open mouth and down his throat, as do the six other handfuls it takes for Ryan to choke to death.

I stand up and walk through the lake of blood to Addie's body. My knees splash as they hit the floor. I close Addie's eyes, scoop her up, and cradle her body.

"I'm sorry, Addie... I'm so sorry," I cry as I hold her to my chest. "I promised you that I'd never let anything happen to you... but I failed... Kita was right... I should have done this a long time ago..."

(You cannot rest just yet. There are still those who must answer for this)

"He will pay... when I'm through with him, Horus will be so utterly destroyed that he'll be wiped from the fucking history books," I say as my tone drips with malicious intent.

"But first, I need to see Naia... and make arrangements for your body," I say while I brush the hair out of Addie's face and a tear splashes on her cheek.

(Return her to the Void)

"Will this affect her going to the Underworld?"

(Beings such as her and Cheza do not go to the Underworld when they die)

"What do you mean?"

(Return her to the Void)

I caress her left cheek and then Addie's body loses density as she turns into a cloud of smoke. I start frantically grasping at the smoke as it disperses, but my hands just flow through it—my efforts futile as tears return to my cheeks. After sitting there for a while, I slowly stand and trundle past the bodies and up the steps.

It's time to go see Naia.

Chapter 37: A Truth Revealed

"Cole! Are you alright?" Cheza asks when I port into the living room of the house. Cheza's face falls, no doubt my expression revealing to her a truth that has yet to be said.

"Whe... Where's Ada?" Cheza inquires as I see Naia walk into the room.

I flash forward towards the wall, grabbing Naia by the neck as I pass, and proceed to slam her into it.

"Addie's dead," I reply to Cheza as everyone in the room starts freaking out, with the exception of Naia.

"And you're at least partially responsible," I tell Naia as I hold her against the wall.

"Cole, what are you doing!?" Ryuji frantically asks.

"She works for Horus. She let in half of the forces that the vice president of the fight club had and is partially responsible for the bullet that Ryan put in Addie's skull," I say while staring directly into Naia's eyes.

A tear rolling down Naia's cheek is the first sign that everything isn't as it seems. The second sign is the fact that her face isn't showing confusion and/or fear, but resignation and guilt.

(Hurry up and kill her so we can go find Horus)

"No, not yet... she still has information that I need."

"Cole, just let her go and we can sit down and talk about this," Ryuji pleads.

"No... that won't work," I reply.

Before Ryuji can respond, I slam Naia into the wall, causing her to gasp, forcing her mouth open. I cover her open mouth with my left hand and pump some of my blood down her throat.

"Airi, you know what to do."

Naia doesn't struggle or anything of the sort. She just closes her eyes and accepts her fate. With my eyelids becoming heavier by the moment, I lower Naia's body to the ground and pass out beside her.

****

I find myself floating in the dark reaches of Naia's mind. I keep expecting the movie theater screens to popup, but nothing does. I float around for a bit when I start hearing voices, so I head towards them. There's a bright flash of light and I suddenly see a man with a falcon's head standing in front of me. This is either Horus or Ra, but my money's on Horus.

The body that I'm occupying, which is most likely Naia's, holds out a letter for Horus. Horus takes the envelope and flicks his finger out, transforming it into a talon. He drags the talon through the top of the envelope, removes the letter, and begins reading it aloud.

"I, the Ifrit King, offer this marid/ifrit hybrid as a sign of my and my people's allegiance to you, our lord Horus. She is eight years old and her name is Anai. Do with her as you wish," Horus reads.

"Well I suppose I should give you a name... from today onward, you will be known as Naia," Horus dictates with a creepy smile that quickly turns into a scowl, which perplexes me given his falcon head and thus his lack of lips.

"What are you slow or something? Nod in agreement!" Horus orders and Naia's head quickly nods.

"Good. Now come here," Horus commands and Naia's legs move forward. Horus sets his hand on top of Naia's head.

"Ecutus-say Irma-fay Acitus-tay."

My vision blurs as the body falls over before a forward blur of memories, during which I feel disconnected from the body. I pick up on the unwanted sexual advances by Horus, until a time when Naia is about fourteen or fifteen and Horus takes her virginity. I see images of what must be magic lessons from Isis. I don't know what else the Egyptian goddess of magic would be doing with Naia that involved circles and incantations. Her admiration for Isis is easily felt in each of her memories of her. The memory stream slows down and finally stops on an event that is from a few months prior.

"I've decided that we need The Faction's former executioner out of the way to further my plans to take over the Underworld. He is currently in the Underworld looking into the enhancements so I'm going to have him captured. This is where you come in: you are going to befriend him in captivity by telling him you have amnesia. He should be able to relate to this because he previously had amnesia, up until yesterday when a lich reported through Ahriman that he regained his memories. He shouldn't have any problems seeing you, but if he can't, just observe the situation and report back to me. Now, in all likeliness, he will be broken out of captivity by his friends and/or various gods, and will take you with him. Once you are close to him, I want you to manipulate his dreams. Right about now, the lich should be controlling a vampire to execute the Executioner's fox girlfriend right in front of him so this will most likely be a sensitive topic, and a good way to haunt him into killing himself. Don't attempt to kill him yourself because you will most likely fail and it may leave a trail back to me if you succeed. Head to Duzakh, meet up with Ahriman, and don't tell him anything he doesn't need to know," Horus commands.

I figured that I was in the Persian district of the Underworld on that occasion, but I never got confirmation on it.

"Yes, Master," Naia's voice replies.

So Horus set the whole thing up while having all intents of sacrificing Apep and Ahriman... he obviously thinks things through and has no problem sacrificing pawns when the need arises. He also seems to be very well informed when it comes to me... Taking him out is going to be tough.

Naia's memories surge forward again as I see her spend over a day in Ahriman's cage awaiting my arrival. The memories pass by Naia coming to Arizona before slowing down. I watch as Naia sneaks into my bedroom while I'm sleeping and rests her hands on my head.

"Omnium-say Utavi-may Ortua-may Upressio-say Epetivi-ray," Naia whispers, her vision blurring slightly on the last word.

Naia stands next to my sleeping form with her hands on my head until I jolt awake. The memories flash forward and stop a day later, on a memory of her laying her hand on my cheek in the master bedroom.

"Anxi-say Epetivi-ray," Naia whispers and crawls into the master bed, next to a sleeping Katie. I recall having two dreams that I felt were odd after I woke up, and the one I had in the master bedroom was one of them.

(In all of the dreams involving Kita, the setting of the dream is the place of your last memory. Those two dreams you felt were strange should have taken place in the driveway and in the underground clinic, which is where your last memories were; however, they took place in the master bedroom and your bedroom because they were supplemented with Naia's knowledge of your body's location. Illusion magic of that nature can't be done unless you open your mind to your victim's in kind)

"Wait, I was in Niflheim for one of the dreams. How did Naia set up the spell for that one?"

(She never did. That spell requires two instances of contact with the sleeping victim to initiate. From then on, the spell keeps a reoccurring theme and the victim's subconscious fills in the rest)

"Thanks for clearing that up, Airi."

The memories advance and stop on one that is from approximately three weeks ago. Naia is in the forest behind Graythorn Hall with her hand on top of an elaborate circular glyph that has been carved into the forest floor and is emitting a faint purple glow.

"What do you mean the dreams have been blocked!?" Horus's voice echoes furiously through my mind.

"I apologize, Master. I do not understand what is going on," Naia replies.

"Ugh... consider yourself on standby for the time being," Horus says and ends the communication, causing the purple glow to fade.

Naia's memories flash forward and stop on one that seems to have taken place yesterday. She's back in the forest again, with her hand on another circle that has been drawn in the dirt.

"Tonight, you will open the gate for twenty enhanced vampires that I am giving the wizard as backup. Soon, the werewolf girl is going to be kidnapped to get Mr. Treyfair to surrender himself. Apparently the wizard knows the route that the girl takes to school. The electrified cage that I gave the wizard the blueprints for should be enough to hold Mr. Treyfair," Horus's voice echoes in my mind.

By the sounds of it, the thing with Jessica was just an unexpected opportunity type of thing...

"Please Master! Promise me that you won't harm the girl!" I hear Naia beg.

"Is it because she reminds you of yourself when you were young?" Horus asks but Naia doesn't respond.

"Very well. I shall give the wizard strict orders to not harm the girl," Horus replies.

This explains Naia's reaction. She was under the impression that Addie wouldn't be harmed. Yet Horus ordered Ryan to kill her regardless... he's going to pay for this. I wonder why he ordered Cheza to be taken too... he must of known that she could have destroyed the wizard's full force easily.

(For shits and giggles?)

"Yeah, probably. Alright Airi, I'm ready to get out of here."

Naia's memories disappear and I'm left floating through the darkness once again.

(There is one last thing you must address while you are here. In the first of Naia's memories that you witnessed, Horus was utilizing a specified spell used by gods to control the lesser species. This one prevents Naia from disobeying her orders and from speaking about her orders to anyone or for any reason. It's that golden string over there to your right.)

I look to my right and see a golden rope that is roughly an inch in diameter floating through the darkness.

(You have the capability to destroy it and free her, which is as simple as grasping the string with your left hand, or destroy her for her part in Adelaide's murder, which is as simple as grasping her head with your left hand. The choice is yours)

The choice is easy.

****

I jolt awake on the floor.

"Cole!" Cheza screams. It appears as though she has been crying for a while.

"Sara, I need my armored jeans, jacket, boots, and holster. Where are they?" I ask.

"Cole, slow down and explain what's going on! How did Addie di—" Sara cries.

"WHERE ARE THEY!?" I demand loudly, causing her to jump slightly.

"They're in the closet of your room, down the hall, first door on the left," Sara replies, cowering almost imperceptibly and making me feel horrible because of it.

I hop to my feet and walk down the hall. My room is simple: just a desk, a dresser, and a full-sized bed. I open the closet door on my left that contains only my jacket, holster, jeans, boots, and armored suit. I pass on the suit. For my plan against Horus, my suit isn't going to work because he most likely doesn't know about it. I grab my equipment and some clean boxers before walking into the bathroom across the hall for a quick shower to wash the blood off of me... most of it Addie's...

I return to the living room after dressing, as Naia gets to her feet. I draw my Sic dagger from the pouch and bring it to her neck.

"I understand that you truly didn't think Addie would be harmed because Horus promised you she wouldn't be, despite ordering Ryan to kill her regardless of what happened... I'm not sure if I'll ever forgive you, but at least your will is your own now. Just know that if you ever betray me again, I'll use my blood inside you to make it look as though your internal organs have been run through a blender," I tell her as I stare into her guilt-ridden eyes.

"I love you, Cheza. See you around," I say with sadness and a half smile as my words of farewell.

"Cole, wait!" Cheza yells as she lunges at me, but I've already touched my Haglaz rune.

"What's up bro? You look like your about to go to war... did something happen to Rei!?" Jason asks as I appear in his room.

"No, it's Addie..." I reply solemnly until I realize that he never got the chance to meet her.

"What's happened to Adelaide?" Jason asks. Right, the CT channel.

"She was killed..." I reply.

"Well, let's hurry up and go find her then!" Jason exclaims.

"She isn't here. Apparently beings like her don't go to the Underworld," I inform him.

"Then where would she go?" Jason asks.

"I don't know... I'm here to kill Horus. He's the one that ordered her to be killed," I explain.

"That's going to be tough... you know he's a head of a Category 3 pantheon, right?" Jason says.

"Category 3? I thought the scale went from low tier to supreme tier?" I ask.

"Nah, they changed it last year and just numbered the categories one through five," Jason clarifies.

"Yeah, that makes way more sense... I don't care what category he's in, he's still going to die," I malevolently reply.

"Alright, let me grab my gear and we can get going," Jason responds and starts for the door before I stop him.

"No, if you come with me, it will get you, your mom, and possibly all of Niflheim involved. I don't want to accidentally cause political implications with my revenge," I tell him.

"I can't let you go alone, man..." Jason softly says with a pained expression.

I close in on him and give him a 'bro hug' i.e. a hug in which our pelvises as far apart as physically possible while still providing enough bodily contact to constitute a hug.

"So, uh... what's goin' on in here?" Reyna asks while leaning against the doorframe, licking the bottom of the lid of her pudding. We break apart our hug since we both still have some pride left.

"Are you two going to kiss next or skip straight to plowing each other, followed by some cuddling?" Reyna adds while taking a bite of her pudding.

"Not a good time, Reyna," Jason says while choking up as I just glare at her.

"Why, what's up?" Reyna inquires.

"I'm in the process of exacting my revenge against Horus, but Jason is insisting that he won't let me go alone," I explain.

"What did Horus do?" Reyna asks.

"He killed Adelaide..." Jason replies for me.

"Who's Adelaide?" Reyna inquires as her eyes narrow.

"She was Cole's adopted three year old daughter..." Jason solemnly says and I hear the crunch of a plastic cup.

"He's dead... I'll go grab my stuff," Reyna furiously replies.

"No! Both of you need to stay out of this! I will handle it, but I don't want to start an Underworld war!" I tell them.

"Alright CT... but you aren't stopping me from giving you a lift to Duat," Jason concedes.

"That would be good actually, because I have no fucking idea how to get there," I reply.

Jason grins at me, grabs my arm, and a swirl of black mist surrounds us. A yellow sky is the first thing I see as the black mist dissipates. In front of us are high black walls that appear to be made of sandstone. I can just make out the top of a black pyramid over the walls.

"You even walked me to the door, what a gentleman!" I sarcastically say.

"Dick!" Jason replies and punches my left arm.

"Ow, ow ow ow!" Jason exclaims as he grabs his hand while I laugh at him.

"That is so not fair... you... you're coming back, right?" Jason asks uncertainly.

"Bro, I'll be back in like an hour with stories of how I made Horus eat his own dick," I confidently reply.

"I'm looking forward to hearing them, CT!" Jason smirks and disappears in a swirl of black mist.

Sorry for lying to you Jason... but this might just be my last stop.

Chapter 38: Assault on Duat's Palace

I leap up onto the eight foot wall, glad that I'm wearing my boots because there is a lot of broken glass up here.

"Halt! You are trespassing! Leave immediately or you will be summarily executed!" I hear from below me.

I look down and do a double take at the pack of six dogs below me before gawking for a few moments as my mind processes that they aren't exactly dogs. The creatures are each about the size of a small bear, with the hind legs of a hippopotamus, the torso and front legs of a lion, and the head of a crocodile. In other words, I'm pretty sure I can outrun them. I'm also pretty sure that these are Ammit's children, the creature that eats the hearts of those that Anubis and the scales of justice deem unworthy.

"No offense intended... okay, a little offense intended, but you guys don't seem very threatening to me," I tell them. The leader's crocodile mouth opens.

"We are the offspring of the Devourer of Death!" the leader expounds without moving his... her... its mouth, which is really creepy. Its mouth just sits there open, and words come out.

"Riiiight... anyway, I came to see Horus. He and I have some business to take care of," I reply.

"Leave now!" the leader orders.

I could just kill them, but I really don't want to look like the bad guy in this one.

(C23H30N2O in smoke bomb form)

"What is it?"

(3-Methylfentanyl, a fast-acting sleeping agent of sorts)

I do as Airi suggests and spend the next twenty seconds acting like I'm thinking things over while I build a four layer smoke bomb that is RMX-nitrogen triiodide-RMX-Methylfentanyl. _(5.6 Liters)_

"This is your last—" the leader starts to say as I throw the smoke bomb.

The bomb explodes with a puff of purple and white gas. The pack scatters before they start passing out in mid-stride. Well, that worked out pretty well. I jump off the wall and start walking towards the black pyramid as I form two more of those bombs, staying myself from transmuting my blood inside of the second layer of the bombs so they don't explode in my pocket. _(5.2 Liters)_

I head for a set of doors that automatically open as I approach. As I walk into the lobby, I notice three things: the black sandstone floors and walls appear to have a layer of glass over them, there is elevator music being played, and I hear growls from three more packs. The doors close behind me and I get the feeling that they're locked.

The packs start advancing on me, which is fine because I only have two bombs for three packs so forcing them closer together is advantageous for me. I wait until they are about six feet away, when they form one large pack, and then I throw both bombs while transmuting the triiodide. My helmet automatically engages as the bombs explode, knocking out the majority of the pack. The few that are still conscious scatter, except for one that jumps at my jugular. I move my left arm in the way and the crocodile mouth of the creature bites down on it. Crocodiles can bite down with a force of 3700psi. That much force on an object that can't be broken shatters a great number of teeth. As it releases my arm, I punch it between the eyes while following with a quick uppercut, jarring its brain and rendering it unconscious.

Now to find Horus. On each side of the room is a sweeping staircase that connects to the same balcony that lies in front of me, which matches the glass and black sandstone interior of the rest of the lobby. My intuition tells me that that is the correct way to go, or it could be the fact that there are no doors so the stairs are the only way to go.

"WHO ARE YOU TO DARE TRESPASS IN MY DOMAIN!?" a loud voice booms throughout the lobby.

Suddenly, ten gods form a half circle in front of me, each wielding a khopesh sickle sword. A man with grey-green skin appears on the balcony with a smoking hot Egyptian woman in a tight fitting, strapless golden dress that shows off her significant frontal 'attributes' (and most likely the rear ones as well) standing beside him. I don't recognize the gods around me so they must be minor gods, but still, fighting ten category three minor gods is not a fight I'm looking forward to so I think diplomacy may be my best bet. I disengage my helmet to appear more amicable.

"Osiris, your Highness," I say while giving a slight bow.

"Isis, the pictures of you do not do your beauty any justice," I say while repeating the bow to Isis.

"I apologize for the rude entry, but I have some business to handle with Horus. Do not worry about your guards. They have simply been incapacitated," I inform them.

(Yeah, about that... 3-Methylfentanyl is actually a powerful, fast acting, opioid so hopefully this will turn out better than it did for the Spetsnaz in 2002)

"Airi... do you mean to tell me that I dosed all the guards with the same chemical that had more than a sixty percent mortality rate when used during the Moscow theater hostage crisis? What part about not wanting to look like the bad guy did you misunderstand!?"

(Core concept? Well at least you didn't kill everyone! Besides, I doubt the mortality rate will be nearly that high with supernatural creatures)

"Did you consider the possibility that it wouldn't knock them out and instead make them killing machines that are impervious to pain?"

(...but it did not do that)

"*Sigh* I guess you do have a point..."

"And what business might this be?" Osiris asks, snapping me out of my inner dialogue.

"Killing him for the murder of my three year old daughter," I reply.

"Did he directly kill her?" Osiris inquires.

"No... he ordered someone to," I respond.

"Well then, I see no proof that he has done anything wrong," Osiris expounds.

Keeping my emotions in check, I put my hands behind my back, twist open the ring on my left finger, and slice open my right wrist.

"I also know that he is the one behind the enhancements that the supernaturals have been getting as of late and that he was the one that was actually behind the attempt to take over the Underworld a few months ago," I tell him as I start the draw for my Mu-cutter while keeping my hands behind my back and hoping that nobody will notice the puddle of blood forming behind me.

"Do you have any evidence to verify your accusation?" Osiris asks.

"...None that you can physically see," I reply.

"Enough of this charade. Kill him," Osiris orders before my Mu-cutter has the chance to connect. Isis suddenly stops him.

"I like this one," Isis whispers to Osiris.

"Seriously? *Sigh* Fine, capture him then!" Osiris commands and disappears.

I vaguely play with the fantasy of being in a James Bond scenario that calls for me to sex my way out of it and I consider surrendering.

"That won't be necessary. Follow me, boy," Isis says with a 'come hither' look and finger motion.

The ten gods lower their khopeshes and allow me to head up the stairs. I reach the top of the stairs to find Isis walking down the hallway. I follow after her and see that my previous estimate of Isis's rear 'attributes' was not incorrect. She takes a right into a room and I quicken my pace to catch up to her. The room is pitch black when I enter and the door slams shut behind me. I'm about to engage my helmet and draw a Diamond sword, but then the lights kick on. The room is made entirely of gold, even the elaborately large four poster bed. Isis is at the golden bar along the right wall, pouring wine from a golden carafe into a golden goblet.

"Would you like a drink, Cole? Or do you prefer to go by Feros?" Isis asks with her back to me.

"If you knew who I was, why did you ask me back here?" I ask as I take a seat on the bed and unzip my jacket to give the appearance that I'm relaxing.

"I figured I'd try talking to you instead of having you try to kill those ten gods," Isis replies as she walks over and takes a seat on the bed while handing me a goblet of wine.

"Unlike my husband, I am not so blinded by my love for my son to be to unable see the possibility that he was planning something, what with all the trips to Duniya al Jinn, the jinn plane," Isis says and takes a drink. I repeat the action so as to be polite.

"That's where he is now, by the way. I started suspecting something when he killed Set before the report from Hel even came in that Set was supposedly behind the enhancements. It all seemed too well timed to be coincidence, but Osiris just turned a blind eye to it. Where did you get the information about Horus?" Isis inquires and takes another drink. I do the same considering that Airi didn't throw up the 'poisoned' flag.

"The information came from a wizard that was working for Horus at Fogquartz. I also got some information from the jinni Naia," I reply as Isis finishes her wine.

"Did you kill her?" Isis asks, slightly alarmed.

"No... speaking of which, my reputation isn't exactly known for being an amicable person, so what made you think I wouldn't just kill you?" I inquire.

"Mostly because Hel holds you in a rather high regard and because you don't seem like the type of guy that would hurt a woman without significant threat. By the way, do you find me attractive, Cole?" Isis seductively asks while leaning towards me, giving me a terrific view down her dress.

"I... uh... " I get caught with my foot in my mouth instead of saying something smooth like 'If I were pressed to answer, with your olive skin, amber eyes, and the way that both of your breasts are staring at me, I'd say that I am indeed attracted to you. Oh, would you look at that! Here is a conveniently placed bed!' ...okay, so maybe 'smooth' isn't the appropriate word choice.

Isis smiles at me seductively as she reaches behind her back. A slow zipping sound and the gradual downward slide of Isis's dress accompany the front of my pants becoming pressed for space. I down the remainder of my goblet, regretting not asking for scotch or vodka or something to make me feel a bit more like Bond. Also because, according to the legends, this is the woman that had sex with her brother's detached penis so I'm pretty sure it's safe to assume that things might get a little weird... but if I want more information on Horus, this is the best way to do it.

(She also may or may not have a diaphragm made of honey and crocodile shit up her twat at this very moment)

"Seriously?"

(Yes, that was the ancient Egyptians most common form of contraception. They had some pretty fucked up practices by today's standards and there's still a great deal that you are unaware of)

I start contemplating asking for several more drinks, or just calling the whole thing off, when my thoughts are interrupted.

"MILADY DON'T! COLE IS SPEAKING THE TRUTH REGARDING HORUS!" Naia shouts as she bursts into the room with Hel right behind her.

"Oh you bitch! You always have to ruin my fun, don't you!?" Isis says accusingly, but lightheartedly, to Hel.

"Haha! Right on time! Payback completed!" Hel announces.

I have to admit that this child-like side to Hel is slightly creepy compared to her business side, but it's also a little endearing.

"Oh, come on! That was nearly two hundred years ago!" Isis expounds.

"And I told you that I would have my revenge, and now I have!" Hel giggles... this is officially freaking me out.

"Are you unharmed, Cole? I thought Milady was torturing you..." Naia asks.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Isis was just giving me some information about Horus," I inform her.

"That didn't look like all that she was giving..." Hel says with a sly grin. Then things get even creepier as Hel wipes the expression from her face and goes back to being her usual self.

"Anyway, my son and Reyna are back in Niflheim with your fiancée, your girlfriend, and Pinga so we had better get back. Naia, do you wish to stay here?" Hel asks with her 'all-business' tone.

"Yes, for now," Naia replies. Hel nods and grabs my arm.

"I have so much to tell you, Milady! I met a boy, his name is Ryuji..." is the last thing I hear before the black mist consumes Hel and I.

Chapter 39: Bum-Rushing is not Allowed

"COLE!" Cheza screams when she notices me port into the room with Hel.

Uh-oh... she does not look pleased...

Cheza approaches me slowly and I prepare myself for the possibility of another stabbing, but it never happens. Instead, Cheza flings herself at me, wraps her arms around me, and begins bawling into my shirt.

"IDIOT! I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO! ...not again..." Cheza bawls.

"I'm sorry, Cheza..." I softly tell her as I hold her.

"*Sniffle* He killed _our_ daughter so I'm coming with you..." Cheza sobs.

"...Alright... but only if we reconnect first," I tell her as I hear a sniffle to my right. I turn my head and see Jason crying... and once again he has a fucking erection!

"Bro, do you _seriously_ have a boner right now!?" I accuse as I release Cheza.

"No, I _sarcastically_ have a boner right now," Jason replies.

"Regardless, if this happens again, I'm forcing my blood down your throat, knocking you out, and then I'm going to delete any memories you have about the CT channel!" I say.

"Perhaps we should give you two some alone time. Feel free to use the bed, or the couch, or the walls to 'reconnect'," Jason responds.

"What we need is a bucket, not some time alone," I reply.

"CT, I just don't understand you sometimes! First you're threatening to delete all my memories of the kinky sex that I've watched you and Rei have, and now you want us to stay and watch you two have kinky sex that involves a bucket! Make up your damned mind!" Jason shouts.

"You are an irreconcilable idiot..." I say while staving off a headache and shaking my head. "I have to transfuse my blood into Cheza to connect us in the way we were before I died. The bucket is to drain some of Cheza's blood into so it doesn't just make a mess on the floor."

"Can the blood be ingested to do that?" Reyna inquires.

(Yes)

"I'm told that it can," I reply.

Reyna tweaks her head upward in thought before shaking it dismissively, perhaps remembering that blood doesn't taste good to people who aren't vampires so no one would drink it when there are other alternatives.

"So what's the word with Horus?" Reyna asks.

"According to Isis, he's on the jinn plane, Duniya al Jinn. Based on what I saw in Naia's memories, he has the backing of the jinn so he most likely has an army covering his ass," I answer.

"So what's the game plan?" Jason asks.

"Port to Duniya al Jinn and slaughter my way through the army until I reach Horus," I reply.

"That sounds like a piss-poor plan that will end up getting you killed," Natasha says.

That's kind of the point... I only need to stay alive long enough to kill Horus, then I can disappear so nothing like this can ever happen again.

Natasha walks over and gives me a swift uppercut to my solar plexus through my unzipped jacket, doubling me over and leaving me breathless.

"Cole! You are not offing yourself!" Natasha shouts.

Shit... well, there goes my plan to reconnect with Cheza, knock her out, and port to the jinn plane while she's unconscious.

"Cole? What were you planning to do?" Cheza inquires with a hurt expression.

"His plan was to knock you out and launch his little suicide mission so that no one else has to die because of him!" Natasha angrily answers for me. Cheza gives me a concerned look, but doesn't say anything.

"Hel, I recall something about you having undead armies?" Cheza asks.

"Yes I do, but they are unable to fight anywhere besides the Norse planes," Hel replies.

"I think I may have a solution to your problem... I'll make some calls tomorrow. Anyway, it's getting late so let's get some sleep. Chezarei, I should have some sleepwear that will fit you. Natasha, I'll show you to the guest bedroom and I definitely have some pajamas that will fit you," Reyna says.

"Cole, you and Rei can sleep in here while I shack up with Reyna in her room," Jason tells me as everyone leaves the room.

"Have the sheets been cleaned recently?" I ask.

"Maids change the sheets daily," Jason smirks and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

I strip down to my underwear and climb into bed, concerned about what may be awaiting me in my dreams.

****

"DADDY!" Addie calls out as she runs across the room. She leaps at me and the room spins.

"DADDY!" Addie cries with the gun pressed to her temple.

I watch the bullet pass through her head. Her body slumps to the ground, her dead eyes staring back at me as the room shifts.

I'm holding the gun to the back of Jessica's head as Ryan watches with a horrified look on his face. I laugh at him as I pull the trigger and Jessica's brains splatter across Ryan. I look down at Jessica's body, but I only see Addie with a confused expression on her face and an exit wound in her forehead as the gun shakes in my hand.

****

I spring upright only to find Cheza straddling me in bed. I wrap my arms around her and start crying into the soft button-up shirt that is covering her chest. She wraps her arms around my head and holds me tightly.

"It's my fault she's dead... she had her entire life in front of her, yet I stole that away from her," I quietly say into Cheza's chest.

"You didn't take anything from her. You gave her the love of a caring father. Horus and Ryan are the ones that stole her life away," Cheza replies.

"No... Ryan may have pulled the trigger and Horus may have given the order... but I supplied the weapon. She wouldn't be dead had she never met me," I quietly expound.

"You can't blame yourself for this. You're a good man, Cole," Cheza whispers.

"No, I'm not. A good man doesn't do the things that I've done," I reply.

"You only gave them what they deserved," Cheza tells me.

"Nobody deserves to go out like that..." I respond, thinking of the emotional anguish I put Ryan through before giving him a brutal death.

"Okay, so maybe you went a little overboard with the force feeding of his own intestines, but I would have done something along the lines of slowly shoving a knife up his urethra," Cheza tells me.

I look up at her sadly smiling face and move my mouth to hers, despite the fact that she was just talking about torturing someone by shoving a knife up their dick-hole.

"Wait, how did you know what I did? And why do you taste coppery?" I inquire.

"For the same reason that I've been talking to you without opening my mouth," Cheza thinks with a smile on her face.

"You were stuck in your nightmare and I couldn't wake you up, so I thought that if we were reconnected, I would be able to. So I bit into your neck and sucked out some of your blood, which I don't understand why vampires like so much because it wasn't very tasty..." Cheza adds.

I reach up and touch my neck to find that the left side has been torn open, but isn't bleeding. I guess that Airi just allowed my blood to flow for Cheza to reconnect us.

"I love you, Cheza," I whisper and she presses her mouth to mine.

Cheza swings her leg off of me and lies down to snuggle into my right side.

"Cheza, you know that you can cry for Addie anytime you need to, right?" I think to her.

Cheza nods her head a few moments later as a couple of droplets hit my chest.

...

[October 11th]

Try as I might, I end up staying awake through the night, my memories giving me a fright, and I didn't just spend the last two hours thinking up that rhyme, alright? Cheza is squeezing me tightly on my right side. As I reach over and brush away the tear drop in the corner of her eye, Cheza's eyes flutter open. She groans and stretches, looking fantastic in that shirt, while moving upward to kiss me.

"Good morning," Cheza whispers with a smile, but a profound sadness is in her eyes. I try to probe for the answer, but the door between our minds is slammed in my face, causing me to physically recoil back slightly.

"It's nothing. I'm going to hop in the shower," Cheza says and gets out of bed. She walks into the bathroom and I hear the click of the door locking before the shower turns on.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the creatures known as females, but in my short time on this planet, I have learned that phrases like 'everything's fine,' and 'it's nothing,' are usually strong indicators that everything is not fine and something is wrong. I stand up out of bed and walk over to the bathroom door. Now how to get the door open? I could use explosives, but that will defeat the purpose of sneaking up on her to catch her in the act. This also means that shooting the lock is out. I could try slicing through the doorknob, but then Cheza would hear the thud when it hits the floor.

What I really need is for the doorknob to just disappear... oh, right. I grab the doorknob with my left hand, recalling that I have the ability to make things disappear like smoke, presumably through some means of superheating to a gaseous state or by splitting the bonds between molecules until there are just free-floating atoms left. Well, Jason will most likely forgive me for the door. What was it my Drive had said?

"I create nothing. I preserve nothing. I only _erase,"_ I whisper, but nothing happens. Then the doorknob starts gradually loosing presence until disappearing from sight. Perhaps my attempt at this was just too slow or the molecules weren't broken apart in scattered enough patterns to give the cool smoke effect.

I quietly push the door open and see Cheza's naked ass. The guy from Happy Madison Productions says _Terrific!_ Then I notice Cheza's hands are by her face and her body is heaving spastically, as though she were sobbing.

(Less terrific)

I silently strip off my boxers, open the shower door, and step inside behind her. After quickly wrapping my arms around her, Cheza becomes rigid and turns around to face me.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't notice that something was wrong just because you blocked me?" I ask.

Cheza responds by audibly sobbing into my chest. I hold her tightly as the warm water buffets our bodies. Once she's calmed down enough, I pour some shower gel into my hand and start scrubbing us up. I start tickling her just to get a smile out of her in a lame attempt to make her feel better.

"It is pretty lame... but thanks," Cheza thinks with a teary-eyed smile.

After shampoo and conditioner, we get out and towel off when I learn something interesting. It seems that, regardless of the shampoo Cheza uses, the smell of her hair always reminds me of frozen mandarin oranges. I wonder what I smell like to her...

"Bananas usually, sometimes with a kind of coppery tang, which I don't really mind, but I imagine it makes you smell delicious to vampires. Like if Orange Julius made a blood smoothie..." Cheza thinks as she puts on the t-shirt and jeans that she was wearing yesterday.

"I actually really missed that smell while you were gone. When I first moved into the sorority back in July, one of the girls cut off the tip of her finger while making a banana smoothie and I started bawling... you're not going to leave me alone again, right Cole?" Cheza asks as she halts her movement. I finish pulling my jeans on before walking over and hugging her.

"No, I promise that I won't leave you again. Watching you try to follow me the first time around was the one of the most painful experiences of my life, and one memory that I wish would have just stayed forgotten," I think.

Recalling how I felt watching her sobbing on my bed as she dragged my switchblade through her throat, I realize that I truly mean it. Extracting myself from her life cleanly is impossible, so I guess my only choice is to get strong enough to protect everyone I care about... alienating everyone else isn't a bad idea either... I should make a 'people I'm stuck with no matter what' list and focus on protecting them while cutting myself off from everyone else, like Travis... shit, did anyone tell him what's going on?

"Don't worry. Natasha told him about it and that the case would most likely be settled very soon," Cheza butts in.

"Good," I reply as I put my t-shirt on.

"So, do you have any plans for an assault on Duniya al Jinn?" Cheza asks.

"Well, my plan of bum-rushing them all by myself doesn't seem like it will fly anymore, but that doesn't mean I can't take out a great deal of them at once to protect you guys if you're coming with me," I tell her and exit the room.

"Cole, what are you scheming?" Cheza asks with slight concern as she follows me out of the room and down the hall.

I walk past the kitchen to Reyna's bedroom door. I knock twice and wait so I don't accidentally walk on them having sex again.

"What's up bro?" Jason asks whilst shirtless.

"I need a place to train with roughly forty homunculi or flesh dolls. In absence of those, I can work with pig carcasses," I tell him.

"Sounds like you're going to be doing something fun!" Jason says, snaps his fingers, and swirl of black mist overtakes Cheza, Jason, and I.

Jason ports us to some sort of training facility that is a large circular room, roughly one hundred feet in diameter. He snaps his fingers and two scores of homunculi appear.

"Thanks, Jason. I'll just port us back when I'm done," I tell him.

"Can't I stay and watch?" Jason asks with a questioning look.

"Normally I'd say yes, but I don't trust the things I'll be using. They seem to follow my will, but if I lose control, they may end up leaving you without any of your skin. The only reason I'm letting Cheza stay is because I know they won't hurt her with the amount of my blood that is in her," I inform him.

"Alright CT... I'll see you guys in a little while!" Jason says with a grin and a swirl of black as he disappears.

"Cheza, do me a favor and pull out your phone to record the results in the notes app. I also need you to have a stopwatch app open," I request. Cheza nods and gets ready.

"Gaze upon erasure, and return to the void," I command while holding my left arm out.

And nothing happens.

"Gaze upon erasure, and return to the void," I command with slightly different enunciation while flinging my left arm out.

Once again, nothing happens.

I start flailing around like a child throwing a tantrum for a few minutes before Cheza puts her hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it! It happens to everyone sometimes and I don't think any less of you because of it!" Cheza says with a half-smile, which only serves to exacerbate my frustration.

I sprint forward and punch my left arm through the torso of one of the homunculi, when a crazy thought pops into my head.

"Hey Airi, is it possible for me to spin the blood around in my hollowed out left arm to create a kind of vacuum effect to suck the blood straight from my enemies and replenish my own supply?"

(Hmm... theoretically yes, but it would take some time... definitely not something you would be able to do without taking cover)

"Still it's a good thing to have under my belt in case of emergencies."

"Let's head back. I'll try again later," I tell Cheza and she walks over to grab my hand. I touch my Haglaz and port us to Jason's room.

"Perfect timing, I was just about to have Jason go get you two," Reyna says.

"Why? What's up?" Cheza asks.

"We are going to Mictlan."

...

Chapter 40: Mictlan, Azeman, and Vampire Society

As the black mist dissipates, I notice the greyscale stucco buildings around us and the orange sky. The orange darkens by the moment as the simulated daylight in the Underworld fades.

"So, would anyone care to explain where in the hell we are going?" I ask.

"You'll find out soon enough," Reyna replies as a limousine pulls up.

"Duchess, I have been instructed to deliver your party to the mansion for dinner with the Queen," the driver says as he opens the passenger door to the limousine.

Reyna enters without a word and motions for us to follow. Jason, Natasha, Cheza, and I get in the limousine and the driver leaves. About fifteen minutes later, the stucco buildings disappear and all I see are palm trees and other types of tropical foliage. Since this is the Aztec district of the Underworld, I suppose the foliage isn't all too bizarre, but greyscale plants are rather disturbing...

"So... while you may have two princesses, I'm banging a duchess! I am totally kicking your ass in harem bingo now!" Jason whispers to me.

"A duchess is technically of the same rank as a princess," I respond.

"So that means..." Jason replies.

"I'm still _winning_ ," I sarcastically whisper. Jason gives me a defeated look and stares out the window.

Fifteen more minutes pass by until we reach an elaborate metal gate with the initials M.R. ornately displayed on the front. It still takes five more minutes once we pass the gate, but we finally arrive at a large Tuscan style villa with huge Corinthian columns bordering the steps leading up to the front door. The palm-leaf Corinthian columns tell me that the house was definitely custom built, as any architect would have matched the plainer looking Tuscan columns with a Tuscan villa. All five of us walk up the steps and the front doors open for us.

"Welcome home, Duchess," a brunette maid in uniform on the left greets Reyna with a light French accent as we walk through the ornate double doors. I quickly scan her and am surprised to find that she's not only human, even if there is something slightly off about her center aura, but she's also alive.

"Would any of your guests care to freshen up before dinner? Perhaps I can help this one more... _personally_?" a short-haired Latina azeman maid asks from the opposite side of the doors while staring at my throat with a hungry expression.

Cheza edges closer to me as I form a smoke bomb in my pocketed left hand. If it comes down to it, I should have no problems throwing the bomb, grabbing Cheza, and touching my Haglaz before anyone can recover.

"That is quite alright. An escort to the dining hall is all that is necessary," Reyna replies.

"Pardon my intrusion Duchess, but the Queen has required proper dining attire as several others will be joining the dinner party," the French maid informs us.

"Of course there are..." Reyna replies through gritted teeth with a tone that implies that she's thinking something along the lines of 'Dammit!'

"Will this suffice?" Jason asks after snapping his fingers.

I look around and see that Jason and I are dressed in fitted tuxedos while Reyna and Natasha are dressed in tight fitting satin evening gowns. Much to my delight, Jason has dressed Cheza in the black halter top dress with the slit up to her left thigh that she wore for her birthday party last year. I turn back to the maids and notice that Jason has taken the liberty of shortening their uniforms to mini skirt sizes. Reyna rolls her eyes and lightly smacks his arm so Jason shrugs and snaps his fingers, returning the uniforms to their basic knee-length skirts.

"Yes, those will do nicely. Right this way," the French maid replies. Her curled hair swishes as she quickly turns and walks down the hall that is in front of the entryway.

After walking for about fifty feet, we pass through a sitting room before the maid leads us out onto the covered patio that borders an open-air courtyard. The courtyard has a pool at the center with an ornate garden providing little visibility beyond the small sliver that can be seen from the front gate. I notice that Corinthian columns border the patio all the way around the courtyard. The maid leads us around to the left and through a glass door on the left wall of the courtyard.

She takes a right down a hallway and we pass several other servants, all of which hungrily stare at me. I find it a little odd that all of the male azeman have auras that would be undistinguishable from vampires except for a small black dot at the center, which could be a tiny bat if I looked more closely. I can't help but feel like I'm walking into a trap as I hear voices coming from beyond an archway up on the left. Reyna suddenly stops just before the archway while the maid continues into the room.

"Introducing Duchess Reyna and her party," I hear a man announce a few moments later.

Reyna walks into the room as 'her party' follows after her. The large dining table in the room has a total of six vampires and one azeman sitting at it. Three vampires are standing in the shadowy corners of the room, along with another azeman. My guess is that the seated ones are some kind of vampire nobility, based on their attire, and their bodyguards are the ones in the corners. All of the vampires look at me somewhat hungrily once I enter the room, with the exception of the azeman bombshell at the head of the table. The bombshell of an azeman, who appears to be in her late thirties, simply looks at me with interest while seemingly amused by my reaction to all of the attention.

"Bringing a snack to dinner, Duchess? Bad form," a seated blonde woman smugly says while eyeing me as we take our seats.

Why are all these vampires only eyeing me?

(Because you appear to be a delicious smelling human to them, and human blood is apparently the most delicious to begin with. You're like the vampire equivalent of a molten fudge-stuffed brownie)

"Great..."

Reyna ignores the woman and turns her attention towards the azeman at the head of the table.

"Everyone, this is my mother: Maria Reyes, Queen of the Azeman," Reyna introduces.

"Mother, I'd like to introduce you to my friends, Cole and Chezarei," Reyna says while gesturing across the table.

"And of course you remember Natasha," Reyna says while gesturing to the seat on my right.

"It is nice to see you again, Natasha," Reyna's mother says with a rather heavy Spanish accent.

"It's nice to see you too, Maria! How have you been?" Natasha politely asks.

"Well things have been rather drudging, but I'm hoping to change that," Maria replies with a smile in my direction.

"And last, this is my boyfriend, Jason," Reyna says while gesturing to her right.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Prince of Niflheim," Maria politely says.

Jason stands and walks to the head of the table, causing the azeman bodyguard to go on alert.

"The pleasure is all mine, madam," Jason replies while bowing and kissing Maria's hand. I have to do a double-take to confirm that it's actually him.

"I would ask that you refrain from altering my maids' uniforms while you are here," Maria says with a sly smile.

"Of course," Jason replies with a slightly embarrassed smile as he returns to his seat.

Servants bring out silver platters that contain our dinner. They lift the covers away and reveal it to be steak, which ends up being quite tasty and a welcome distraction from talks of politics that are floating around. I am able to learn that the other vampires are the vampire rulers of various Underworld districts, and that there is a king who heads the European vampires in the way that Maria heads the azeman. While Maria holds standing over the azeman, she doesn't seem to hold any real authority over the vampires assembled here.

"So Mother, have you given any thought as to the favor I asked?" Reyna asks after dinner.

"Yes, but first I think some dessert is in order. I'm sure Cole wouldn't mind providing some refreshment," Maria says while giving me a smile with a certain gleam in her eyes.

I form a diabolical plan as Reyna opens her mouth to object.

"I would be happy to. If you would be so kind as to supply some glasses and a knife, I'll drain some of my blood into them," I reply, interrupting Reyna.

"What blood type are you?" Maria asks.

"AB negative," I inform her.

"Just like wine, different blood types, when used with different wine glasses, change the way the pallet tastes it," Maria replies as she snaps her fingers. A servant brings out a wine glass with a vase-like shape.

"Umm, you do know that those glasses are designed around a fallacy that certain sections of the tongue are used specifically for certain tastes and nothing else, when that's actually total bullshit?" I inform her.

"Is that true?" Maria asks. I nod in affirmation.

"Hmm..." Maria looks at the wine glass thoughtfully for a moment before she takes it and smashes it over the servant's head.

"Throw all these ridiculous glasses out and educate my wine/blood aficionado... painfully!" Maria screams before licking the blood dripping from her hand.

I politely smile at her, remembering what Natasha had said about old vampires being insane. Thankfully, Jason just follows my and Reyna's lead so we don't have a Queen of Hearts 'Off with her head!' moment on our hands.

"Also, Cole still requires several normal glasses," Maria calmly states.

A servant comes over with a knife and eight standard wine glasses. She sets the tray on the table in front of me and leaves to grab more glasses. I take the knife and cut open my right wrist, while faking a wince, and I hold my hand over the first wine glass. I fill up the glasses at a natural speed so as to not raise any suspicion _(4.8 Liters)._ Once the last of the eight glasses are full, the servant takes seven of them and passes them out to everyone while I hand the eighth glass to Reyna and feign anemia, like a human would had they just lost a liter of blood. While the vampires are busy gulping down my blood, I slip the smoke bomb from my pants pocket and roll it underneath my chair. I notice Maria smiling at me as I also notice that she hasn't touched her glass, which means that she knows who I am and intended for me to do this...

"Now that dessert is concluded, my daughter has some business that she wishes to discuss. Or perhaps we would be better served by Cole discussing it?" Maria announces with a sly smile. I stand from my chair to address the table.

"I need an army for an assault on Duniya al Jinn to put an end to the enhancements that have been spreading around, and to get my revenge against Horus for killing my daughter. I ask for your assistance in this task by allowing me to borrow your warriors for the assault," I announce.

"And why would we ever do something like that?" a man asks while chuckling.

"Because all of your lives hang in the balance," I reply.

"What do you mean?" the blonde woman cautiously asks.

"Let me put it this way," I say while unraveling the bandages from my left hand. I hold out my left hand as I form a four inch figurine of a hollow vampire while making the RDX as translucent as possible.

"Let us assume that this figure represents any one of you," I explain and fill up the inside of the figurine with blood. _(4.6 Liters)_

"And let us assume that this blood inside the figure represents my blood that is inside any of you," I say as I walk over to a nearby window and crack it open.

"Now, let's assume that what happens to this figure when it impacts the ground is what can happen to any of you," I tell them as I toss the figurine out the window and snap my fingers for effect as I transmute my blood for the resulting explosion.

"Any questions?" I ask as I sit back down while everyone looks out the window at the crater with purple smoke flowing from it.

The three bodyguards behind me start to move to take me out, while the fourth assumes her place behind Maria. Jason snaps his fingers and stops two of them, but the third keeps coming. I'm about to blow the smoke bomb under my seat and port away, but Cheza reacts a little faster. Cheza blurs, moving at a speed that is quick, even to me. I turn around in my seat and find that she has driven a steak knife into the heart of the third bodyguard, and is freezing him internally. His eyeballs freeze over and Cheza twists the knife before removing it, causing his body to shatter into frozen meat cubes and shattering the knife in the process. I notice that the two guards that have been stopped by Jason have black mist swirling around their ankles like bolas.

"I'll leave it to Maria to coordinate the forces. Remember that this does benefit all of you as well because it's only a matter of time before those enhanced vampires decide to try and take power from you. Have a good evening," I say and then I nod at Jason before grabbing Cheza's hand as Natasha grabs my right shoulder. I proceed to port the three of us out of there and back to Niflheim.

"Thanks for your help back there, Cheza. Do you guys think I handled that okay?" I ask.

"Well... reason might have been a better substitute, but it seemed to me that that had been Maria's plan all along. Remember what I said about old vampires being crazy, and smart? You might have inadvertently given her control over the majority of all vampires," Natasha replies.

"That and/or you made an enemy out of some of the most powerful vampires in the world, and should be wary of assassination attempts in the future... well, more wary," Cheza adds.

"Wow... thanks sunshine... oh well. If it helps me get Horus then I don't really care," I reply. A black mist swirls in the room as Jason and Reyna appear.

"Okay, so everyone is officially scared shitless of you, except for Reyna's mother, but we should have some vampire warriors for the assault now," Jason announces.

"Hey Jason? Could you change our clothes back now?" Natasha asks.

"What? Oh, sure," Jason replies, snaps his fingers, and I go back to wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

"I'm pretty tired so I think I'm going to go to bed," Reyna announces and there are murmurs of agreement.

I can't go to sleep... What's waiting for me will be far worse than the consequences of not sleeping... but I don't have the right to deny all of them sleep simply because I can't.

"You know what we should do? Get really drunk!" Natasha suggests as she grabs onto my right arm.

"That sounds like a great idea, Natasha!" Cheza adds while she grabs my left.

"You guys... thanks... but if you want to go to sleep, don't worry about me," I reply.

Jason and Reyna had already decided apparently, because the next thing I know, Jason is clapping his hand on my left shoulder and porting all of us to his booth at the nightclub. He snaps his fingers and a menagerie of drinks cover on the table, some normal and some with flamboyant neon colors.

"So Neo... have you decided on which pill to take? Have you decided that you wish to discover how deep the rabbit hole goes?" Jason asks in his portrayal of Morpheus. I grab a neon colored drink and chug it before downing a second, quickly followed by a third.

"I need to use the restroom," Cheza announces.

"Me too," Natasha adds as Cheza stands from the booth.

"Come on, I'll show you where it is," Reyna replies and leads them down the hall.

"If two lesbian women go to the bathroom together, which is an act in which straight women experiment with lesbianism, why do they do it?" Jason asks.

"Well, as good as that if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest riddle sounds, they are most likely talking about us. So, how are things between you and Reyna?" I ask now that Jason and I are in the rare situation of being alone together.

"Pretty good. She admitted that she loves me, so that's pretty cool," Jason says.

"I'm happy for you, bro!" I tell him.

"Thanks. The whole conversation was pretty weird though..." Jason replies.

"Weird how?" I ask.

"Well, it started off with her telling me that she's killed people. My reply was 'who hasn't?' This caused her train of thought to falter for a few seconds before saying that she wanted to kill me at one point," Jason says.

"Did you tell her 'I trust you' after the conversation that sounded more like a domestic violence lawsuit waiting to happen than a confession of love from the vexingly sparkly vampire that subsists entirely on animal blood, or the vegan food of the vampire world?" I inquire, remembering a conversation not unlike the one Jason is describing in a book involving a more famous romance between a vampire and a human, which I read so I could justifiably say that I disliked it.

"Haha you caught on just like I did! No, I actually replied by saying 'are you breaking up with me?' Which caused her to panic and say 'What!? No!' To which I replied, 'Because all of my girlfriends admitted to wanting to kill me right before they broke up with me.'" Jason says as I start laughing.

"Hahaha seriously?" I ask.

"No haha just Nahid, but our entire relationship was just an endless cycle of angry sex so that doesn't really count hahaha!" Jason laughs before recovering so he can finish.

"Then Reyna told me that she loves me and I told her that I love her, then we had sex and you walked in halfway through, babbling something about being clingy. Speaking of which, how are you and Rei?" Jason inquires.

"Better now, which I partially attribute to having to act like parents for..." I reply before trailing off and grabbing another brightly colored drink while hoping that this really is fairy alcohol and I haven't just been chugging cosmos.

"Cole, you are too uptight. Here, smoke this," Jason says while snapping his fingers and passing me a pipe.

"Nah, I'm good," I reply as the girls come back.

"Come on, take it! Smoke this!" Jason responds lightheartedly.

"Nah, I don't want to smoke," I tell him.

"This is not an option. You either smoke this or we have a problem," Jason says sternly while over enunciating every word. I take the pipe from his hand while trying not to laugh.

"Jason..." Reyna scolds, obviously not getting the joke.

"This ain't no damn after school special! Smoke it!" Jason orders as I suck down a hit.

"I make Brian Gumble look like Malcolm X, huh motherfucker?" Jason asks and I start cracking up as I pass the pipe to him. Jason takes a hit and holds it in.

"I'm Wayne Brady bitch!" Jason says with a cracked voice as he tries not to exhale and Cheza starts laughing along with me.

Natasha is chuckling slightly, but I wonder how much of it is from her connection to my mind and how much of it she actually understands. Reyna is looking as lost as ever while I take another hit from the pipe and have another drink for scientific research to see if it is possible to 'fuck away' your dreams.

...

Chapter 41: Just Another One of _Those_ Mornings... Again

[October 12th]

I wake up in Jason's bed with a pounding headache, but thankfully this time there is an absence of ass pain and glitter. I look around the room to try and get my bearings and I notice something interesting: all five of us are sprawled out on Jason's giant bed, and we're all naked. Well, at least there are women in the bed with me and Jason this time...

"Hey Airi? What happened last night?"

(Well, you got drunk and high enough to put a normal person into a coma, so congratulations on being alive)

"How did we all come about being naked in bed?"

(After your egregious over imbibition and after all the girls were quite drunk as well, you went all nineteenth century on their asses and declared that Cheza, Natasha, and Reyna were suffering from 'female hysteria' and administered the cure with the help of your assistant, Jason von Fingerbang. Jason retorted by saying "That's Doctor Jason von Fingerbang. I didn't go to eight years of fingerbanging school to not have doctor tacked onto my name!")

"What was the treatment?"

(Can't you guess? Vaginal massage until the patient achieves a 'hysterical paroxysm'. That is correct: nineteenth century doctors decided that the treatment for alleged 'female hysteria' was something that they also saw as hysterical. Although, it did lead to the invention of the vibrator so I guess it all worked out. Speaking of which, we are out of D batteries again)

"I should just start buying them in bulk at Costco..."

(Anyway, one thing led to another and Jason had just enough sense left to realize that the club's booth wasn't the place for your five-person orgy so he ported everyone back here and you two "tag teamed that shit!" Although, it seems that you and Jason had some sort of unspoken ground rules and neither of you hooked up with the other's girlfriend; however, there was an interesting incident involving you both paying special attention to Natasha at the same time as Cheza and Reyna hooked up while watching... it was around this time that the batteries died...)

"Alright, I get it! I'll stock up at Costco the first chance I get!"

I slowly get out of bed and look around for my boxers, which are nowhere to be found. Fuck it, I'll just go to the kitchen naked. I quietly shut the bedroom door behind me and walk down the hall towards the kitchen. I grab a glass from the obsidian cabinet and pull out a carton of milk from the black fridge.

"So it looks like you guys had fun last night," Hel says behind me, causing me to jump and come close to knocking over the glass of milk that I just poured.

"Um... yes ma'am," I reply while trying to cover myself. Hel snickers and gives me a sly smile for my attempt.

"What are you doing up at 7am?" Hel inquires. I shrug in response.

"I have been giving some thought to your predicament of having to fight an army," Hel says.

"You have?" I repeat, trying to pay attention to the conversation and shed my embarrassment.

"I have. If I remember correctly, you have ties with the Tuatha De Danann. Why not ask them for assistance in this matter?" Hel suggests.

I hadn't even thought of that, but will Dagda be able to grant me aid? I know he's always helped me in the past, but this is a different type of matter entirely.

"The next thing you need to do is scout out the situation by going to Duniya al Jinn to determine what you are going up against. Naia should be able to help you get in, or I should say that without her, you'll never get in," Hel informs me.

"And the last thing that you need to do is to learn your control over the Void," Hel tells me as she steps closer.

"Using the Void isn't like using your other abilities... It isn't a force that can be commanded because in actuality, you hold no power over it," Hel whispers into my ear and then turns around and walks down the hall.

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? How can I have control over something yet hold no power over it? Well, she is right on all counts and if the Void can help me take down Horus, then I'll learn to control, yet not hold power over, the fuck out of it!

After I go talk to Dagda. I touch my Haglaz to port to the house in Arizona before waiting a minute to touch my triskele and port to Tir na nOg. Remembering my lack of dress, I touch my triskele at the gate to clothe myself in jeans and a t-shirt before porting to Dagda's palace.

"Cole!? What happened!? You look terrible!" Brighid declares when she walks into the white marble foyer that I ported into.

I touch my triskele and conjure up a mirror. Brighid's right. I look terrible, most likely from the lack of sleep that I've gotten since Addie died. With the exception of a few hours of high/drunken sleep last night, I haven't really slept since her death...

"Yeah... I guess I haven't been sleeping much lately..." I tell her as she wraps an arm around me and leads me to a white leather couch. Brighid sits beside me and turns toward me.

"What's been going on?" Brighid asks with concern across her face.

"...You were wrong, Brighid... she's dead," I reply as a single tear rolls down my right cheek. Brighid pulls me into her slightly plump form and I feel myself calm down.

"I'm so sorry, Cole," Brighid gently says. "How did she die?"

"Gunshot to the head. I force fed the trigger man his own intestines, but I'm in the process of going after the one who gave the orders: Horus," I reply and Brighid pulls back to look at me.

"Horus? God of war, the hunt, and the sky, as well as a head of the Egyptian pantheon, Horus?" Brighid asks incredulously. I nod in response.

"Isis told me that he is currently in Duniya al Jinn. I'm going after him, but I'm pretty sure he has the backing of all jinn so he most likely has an army of flying soldiers that are also some of the most powerful magic users in the universe," I explain as I build up to asking for help before Brighid interrupts me.

"Say no more, Cole. Of course we'll help you. You're part of the Tuatha De, part of our family, and Horus is going to learn what happens when you harm our family. Manannan mac Lir will assemble a force at his palace in Mag Mell and have them ready for you. He and my father are actually in Mag Mell right now. Perhaps you should go pay them a visit while I make the preparations for the soldiers," Brighid suggests.

"That sounds like a good idea, but how do I get there?" I ask.

"Mag Mell is a Celtic plane, so you should be able to port there simply by saying the name. The planes should know what you mean and take you where you need to go," Brighid replies.

"Alright, thanks Brighid," I tell her as I stand up from the couch.

"Mag Mell," I say as I touch my triskele and the ground shifts beneath me.

I should have anticipated that the Celtic Underworld would be different, but I didn't think it would be this different. I wasn't expecting to port to a beach with Marram Grass in front of me and the sound of waves behind me, and the last thing I was expecting was color. An aroma of barbeque hits me, causing me to look around for the source. What appears to be an open air shack is about two hundred yards to my left on the beach. I start heading that way as the scent of pork fills the air and I realize that I haven't eaten today. I hear laughing as I approach the rear of the shack.

"So this lad, he turned an' said... an' said... oh hell. It was somethin' about priests or bears..." I hear a male voice with an Irish accent say. I round the corner and see three men at the bar, two of which I recognize.

"Cole! How are you, boyo? Take a seat!" Dagda drunkenly proclaims when he sees me. I take a seat on the round bar stool that has a back on it as a mug of beer appears on the bar for me, next to a large platter of bacon.

"This beer is brewed by Goibhniu and the bacon is from Manannan's own pigs," Dagda adds.

I remember that Goibhniu is the Celtic god of brewery and smithing as I take a sip of the beer. It was said that his beer had certain healing properties and even granted the drinker invulnerability. I don't know about being invulnerable, but I do feel less tired after drinking it.

"Cole, this is Nuada, the original high king of the Tuatha De Danann. Nuada, this is Cole, the newest member of the Tuatha De," Manannan mac Lir introduces us with his usual gruff tone as I eat a strip of the most delicious bacon that I've ever tasted.

"It's nice to finally meet you, lad. It looks like you have a hand like mine used to be! Too bad Miach is no longer around to heal it..." Nuada says with a thick Irish accent.

"It's alright. I still have full functionality of my arm because it's not made of silver like yours was," I reply, remembering that the reason Nuada stepped down in the mythos was because he had his hand cut off and the high king couldn't have any flaws. He was given a prosthetic made of silver before Miach restored Nuada's hand, but then Miach was killed in a fit of jealousy by his father, leading to the knowledge of the healing properties of herbs to be lost to all but Airmed.

"So why is Mag Mell so different?" I inquire.

"Mag Mell is a higher Underworld plane, like Elysium and several others. Annwvyn is the Celtic district in the Underworld city," Manannan mac Lir replies.

"I suppose that makes sense. With the number of underworlds that some mythologies have, they have to be somewhere. Anyway, Brighid is in Tir na nOg preparing an army for me to help my assault on Dinya al Jinn," I inform them.

"COLE! What be the meanin' o' this!?" Dagda demands.

"She's dead, Dagda... Addie was killed, and Horus is the one who pulled the strings. He's currently hiding out in Dinya al Jinn, most likely with an army of jinn backing him... I can't get to him without your help..." I nearly plead.

"I'm sorry to hear that, boyo. Of course you'll have our assistance. I'll even lead the charge myself! Just don't make it sound like you're takin' control o' the Tuatha De!" Dagda proclaims.

"Sorry, I'm just a little... upset," I solemnly reply.

"I understand, lad. Is not easy loosin' a child," Dagda softly says.

"Yeah... anyway, I need to get back to Niflheim," I tell him.

"Alright, we'll send word when the force is assembled," Dagda replies.

"Thanks, Dagda. I'll see you soon," I respond and touch my triskele to port back to earth before waiting a minute to touch my Haglaz rune.

It's only 8am by the time I return to Jason's room, which makes me think/hope that Dagda and friends were still partying from last night and hadn't just woken up and gotten shitfaced immediately... Then again, they are Celtic Irish, so I'm not inclined to immediately rule it out either. No one else is awake yet, but instead of risking sleep and thus a dream, I port to the training grounds that Jason showed me yesterday. I think that the best time for a scouting mission will be tonight so I might as well work on using the Void until then. Thirty-nine homunculi remain on the training grounds and the body of the one I killed is inexplicably missing.

"Alright, now how do I control something without commanding it or having power over it?" I think aloud.

(Consider your relationship with me. You do not hold power over me, yet I work with you as a partner. That is what you must do: treat the Void as a partner whose gate you control)

"Yeah, but you're a part of me."

(Who is to say that the Void is not a part of you?)

I understand Airi's point so I close my eyes and focus on using the Void.

"I need your help. I need your power to protect those too stubborn to run from me. I need it... to avenge Addie," I say aloud.

"Gaze upon _Erasure_ ... and return to the _Void_!" I say as I hold my left arm out.

My arm flushes black as a total of ten tendrils shoot out of the holes in my left forearm and surge toward the homunculi. Giant holes of perfectly circular shapes get blasted out of them and the body parts just disappear like they were sucked out of this world. The tendrils cut through the ranks in a fanned out pattern, taking all of the homunculi out before disappearing as my vision blurs and I see stars.

_(Good work, Master)_ is the last thing I hear as my body hits the ground and my eyes close shut.

****

"Daddy! Wake up, Daddy!" Addie exclaims.

"Hmm? What do you need, sweetie?" I sleepily ask.

"I'm hungry!" Addie announces.

"Okay... let's go see what Auntie Sara is making for breakfast," I say as I sluggishly get out of bed. Addie grabs my hand as I grab my bedroom doorknob. I open the door and the room shifts out from under me.

I'm kneeling in the middle of an ocean of blood, nothing but red for miles around me, while somehow floating on the surface as I cradle Addie's corpse to my chest. Addie's body turns into smoke that slips through my fingers. The black smoke coats my skin before seeping into my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. As I feel myself slip below the surface of the ocean of blood, one thing consumes my mind:

Horus. Will. Pay.

****

"Cole... Please wake up, Cole," Cheza quietly cries to my right.

"I'm alright, Cheza," I think to her.

"COLE!" Cheza screams as she hugs me.

"You ass! You can't scare me like that!" Cheza cries into my ear.

"Sorry. I was working on some new stuff and something strange happened. What time is it?" I ask.

"It's a little after seven. I woke up at 9am and wondered where you were. Airi told me that you were unconscious in the same place as yesterday so I smacked Jason around to wake him up. He ported us there, we saw you on the ground, and then we brought you back here," Cheza sniffles.

"Shit, it's already that late? I have to go pick up Naia," I inform her.

"Why do you need to go get Naia?" Cheza asks defensively.

"I... uh..." I stutter while trying to think up an excuse that won't lead to Cheza coming with me on the scouting mission to Duniya al Jinn.

"I'll go grab my suit and the Synergistic blades," Cheza says and quickly leaves the room before I can get a word in edgewise.

I swing my legs over and stand up out of the bed to look for my jacket, boots, and armored jeans.

"I'm coming too," Natasha says when she enters the room.

"No, Natasha. This is just a scouting mission and the fewer people we go in with, the better," I explain while locating my jeans.

"Exactly, it's a scouting mission. Have you ever done any scouting? Because scouting is in my job description. Not to mention that my abilities as an oracle can really help out in situations that call for stealth," Natasha explains.

"Fine," I concede. After all, she is correct. I have no clue what I'm doing.

"I'll go grab my suit," Natasha says as she starts to leave the room.

"Wait, what suit?" I ask.

"The one that Sara gave to me before Pinga ported us here. After we pick up Naia, we should port to The Agency and get outfitted. I'll call Carla to have her send the requisition order," Natasha says while leaving the room.

I locate my jacket and holster. I unclip the bottom pack and stick it to my lumbar before throwing my jacket on. After waiting for a few minutes, I decide that the girls are taking too long so I port to Duat alone.

"Cole?" Naia asks in Isis's room as I hear a phone ring.

"No, it's fine. Hel just came for a visit... Yes I'll tell her to follow protocol next time," Isis says into the phone and hangs up.

"Do you need something, Cole?" Naia inquires.

"I'm going on a scouting mission to Duniya al Jinn and Hel has informed me that I need your help getting in," I tell her.

"I do not know if that is such a good idea..." Naia replies.

"Please Naia! You're the only way I can get to Horus to exact my revenge for what he's done!" I beg.

"Alright... but I am coming with you. I am not going abandon you on my home world," Naia concedes.

"Thank you. Let's get going. Natasha and Cheza are waiting for us back in Niflheim," I tell her. Isis walks over and embraces Naia.

"Be safe," Isis says.

"I will, Milady," Naia replies while returning the hug.

Naia breaks away from Isis and I port the two of us to Niflheim.

"Okay so when he gets back, you'll hold him down and I'll cut his balls off," Cheza says in a malicious tone as I port in behind her.

"Don't you want to have kids?" Natasha asks to her right. Both of them are dressed in skin-tight black leather, but now isn't the time to appreciate it. I need to get out of here, but I still have about fifty seconds before I can.

"Right... so we'll restrain him, chain him to the bed, and hold him hostage until he pumps a baby into me... then I'll cut his balls off," Cheza replies.

"What, am I not allowed to have any fun!?" Natasha asks.

"Fine! We hold him hostage until he pumps a baby into you too!" Cheza responds.

"No, I just want to sit on his face while you two are working on the whole baby thing!" Natasha explains.

"Oh... yeah, that's cool," Cheza replies.

I back away slowly, naturally freaking out as I touch my right shoulder blade. Fuck Naia at this point. It's everyone for themselves.

"BRO! YOU HAVE TO HIDE ME!" I shout as I port into Reyna's room.

"What's going on?" Jason asks whilst on top of Reyna.

"NATASHA AND CHEZA ARE SCHEMING TO USE ME AS A BREEDING STUD BEFORE CASTRATING ME!" I scream.

"What!? That's terrible!" Jason exclaims while he continues pumping Reyna, completely taking away the concern for the situation that is present in his tone. "Where did you hear this?"

"I ported in behind them while they were arguing about it so I got the fuck out of there, but I left Naia behind so they probably know I'm here!" I reply in a panic as Jason finally stops and stands up to talk to me.

"Alright, why are they mad?" Jason asks.

"Probably because I went to pick up Naia without their permission because they were taking too long!" I quickly spill.

"The solution is simple bro! Quick, strip off all your clothes, jump in the bed, and pretend that Naia is a lying bitch and you've been here having a threesome with Reyna and me the whole time," Jason tells me.

"...GENIUS!" I announce as I rip off my jacket, shirt, before hopping around while trying to pull off the remaining leg of my pants.

"The men we are in love with... are idiots," Reyna says from door. I slowly turn around and see all four girls staring at us from the doorway.

"Cole, put your clothes on this instant and port us to The Agency's Seattle office. Natasha has requisitioned some equipment for us," Cheza demands. Jason snaps his fingers and my clothes reappear on me.

"Thanks bro," I solemnly say and trudge toward them.

"By the way, we were angry because we thought you had ditched us and gone on the scouting mission alone," Cheza explains and I relax a little bit, knowing that my jewels are currently safe.

Naia, Cheza, and Natasha grab onto my arm and I port us to the armory in Seattle. Already prepared on the table are two sets of night/thermal vision goggles, a carbon fiber bodied M110 sniper rifle with a six-inch suppressor, and three 'spotter' scopes with a 50x zoom.

"Having night vision goggles is a good foresight. Jinn have excellent natural night vision so there will be few, if any, lights on when we reach the Shehar metropolis," Naia commentates as Natasha slings the four-foot rifle over her back. Cheza and Natasha proceed to strap on their goggles and grab the scopes while I slip a scope into my pocket.

"Alright Naia, where to?"

...

Chapter 42: Duniya al Jinn

My boots sink into the sand after I port us to the scene from the picture. Majlis al Jinn, or the meeting place of the jinn, is a gigantic cave in Oman that is quite adept at making you feel small when you stand in it. The only light is that of the moon streaming in through the entrance of the cave that is over three hundred feet above me. Naia walks up the pile of sand and rocks that have fallen from the entrance, towards the beam of moonlight that hits the peak of the pile. Cheza, Natasha, and I follow her up the pile and watch as she cups her hands and dips them into the moonlight like it's a liquid.

The beam of moonlight becomes very liquid-like as it fills up her cupped hands and overflows down onto the sand. The liquid moonlight envelops all four of us in a giant yellow-white bubble. I feel the ground shift beneath my boots and the bubble suddenly pops, revealing us to be in a large sandstone gazebo. Various Persian spires and tear-drop domes stretch off into the distance as I look around at the large city that is devoid of light with the exception of the moon.

"Welcome to the city of the jinn: Shehar," Naia says, shaking slightly once we step out of the gazebo.

"Are you okay?" I ask as Natasha and Cheza turn on their goggles.

"I am fine, but I am a little nervous. It has been over a decade since I was last here... since my parents..." Naia trails off.

"It's alright, Naia. We're right here with you and I'll make sure you get back to Ryuji," I say with a smile. Naia breaks into tears and wraps her arms around me.

"I'm sorry, Cole! I'm so sorry... for everything," Naia bawls.

I stand there, wrap an arm around her, and let her work through it. It's at around this time that I notice that the streets around us are completely empty.

"Hey Naia... Is there a curfew in place or something?" I ask with a hushed tone as I activate my helmet.

"*Sniffle* Not that I can remember," Naia replies as Natasha tenses up and starts breathing heavily.

"COLE! Trouble!" Natasha gasps out and I see a ball of fire headed straight for her. I push her out of the way as the fireball chars the sand.

"Where did it come from!?" Cheza asks.

"Three of them, ten o'clock," I reply while looking at the three silver and vermillion auras hovering in the sky.

The ifrits that the auras belong to are about seven feet tall with tan skin, red hair, red wings, and a red tail. Their wingspans reach about fourteen feet and they're wearing modern combat vests that must have been altered to allow for wings.

"Where!?" Cheza asks again.

"Ten o'clock! In the sky!" I answer.

"WHERE!?" Cheza screams and then the answer hits me: normal people can't see jinn.

A metal canister hits the ground and explodes on impact. My helmet protects me from the effects, but Naia, Natasha, and Cheza aren't so lucky. The flash-bang grenade stuns them badly as the three jinn advance on our position. I distance myself from the girls and charge the jinn. The ifrits swoop down and slice at me with scimitars. I block with my left arm and swing it back at them, forcing them back a few feet and shredding my sleeve in the process. I quickly pull my gun from its holster and take them out before they have a chance to regroup. Their bodies hit the sand and I walk back over to the girls, who are still incapacitated from the grenade. Reinforcements are going to arrive soon...

"Sorry, Cheza," I think as I push the three girls together and use Cheza's hand to touch my Haglaz rune. Luck appears to be on my side as the three girls port back to Niflheim (hopefully), leaving me alone in Shehar.

"Cole! Dammit, Cole!" Cheza shouts through our connection. Good, it looks like they did land in Niflheim.

"Airi, please block all calls for the time being."

(Yes Mr. Treyfair)

"What's the status on my blood levels?"

(4.6 Liters)

"Shit... I'm going to need all of it for my plan to work. Looks like it's time to try out that blood vacuum theory."

(6 o'clock. Eight winged enemies)

A squad of eight ifrits, four armed with FAMAS assault rifles and four with scimitars, approaches me. I switch my gun to my right hand and launch myself at them when they are about thirty feet away and ten feet up. My guess is that when these ifrits woke up this morning, they weren't expecting a being without wings to shoot into their domain to fight them head on, and that's exactly why I'm doing so. I spear my left hand through an ifrit's stomach, grabbing ahold of his spine while I blow holes through the heads of three of his comrades as I pass by.

The ifrit in my left hand screams in pain as I hit the rooftop below. I begin swirling the blood inside my left arm to build a cyclone for suction as I hear the thud of three bodies hitting the rooftop behind me.

(Move forward five feet)

After diving out of the way to narrowly dodge the three fireballs that had been launched at me, I turn to fire on the remaining four ifrits. At fifty feet away and alert, they are able to swoop out of the way and the one remaining ifrit with an assault rifle returns fire. _(4.8 Liters)_

Damn! Airi wasn't kidding when she said this would take a while! I take five rounds to the chest and drop to a knee, feigning injury. The gunner drills a dozen more rounds into my chest, shoulders, and head to make sure I stay down and gets a headshot on his comrade in the process. I fall backwards, pulling my... blood bag? On top of me. _(5.0 Liters)_

The ifrits take the bait, land on the rooftop next to me, and cautiously move closer to confirm their kill. When they're within six feet of me, I bolt upright and put two rounds through each of their skulls. I drop my current blood bag, switch my gun into my left hand, eject the nearly empty magazine, reload with JHP rounds, switch it back to my right hand, and pick up a new blood bag. With the amount of speed these ifrits possessed, faster bullets will definitely be beneficial.

"So Airi... I don't suppose you come with a built-in GPS that can tell me where to find Horus?"

(Jump off the roof and head west)

"Seriously?"

(Horus will most likely be in the palace, which is most likely at the point with the highest elevation. Reinforcements are coming so head west)

"Uh..."

(That's to your right)

"You know me so well!"

I follow Airi's instructions and jump to the ground while keeping up the slow drain on my blood bag. I start running to the west, getting deeper into the city as I head uphill towards the most concentrated area of tall buildings. The hills in Shehar would break natives of Seattle or San Francisco with their steepness. _(5.4 Liters)_

(Sentries. Take cover around this corner)

I press my body up against the adobe wall in an alleyway as a flying ifrit patrol team passes overhead.

"So what are we searching for?" a sentry asks while stopping above me as I hold my breath.

"Dunno. Reports coming in say that ten are confirmed dead, and one is unaccounted for," the other sentry says.

"Do you think it was the MGFC?" the first sentry asks while pulling out a pack of cigarettes and slipping one between his lips. He snaps his fingers and a flame appears on the tip of his index finger. He lights his cigarette before shaking his hand to extinguish the flame.

"Who else could it be? Those damned ghouls would be the only ones to take a snack with them as they left anyway," the second sentry replies nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I suppose... so, how's the wife?" the first sentry asks.

"She's good. The baby is due soon so the mother-in-law is staying with us, which sucks of course. I'm trying to convince her to get out of the city, it's getting too dangerous," the second sentry replies.

(5.8 Liters. Restoration complete)

"Yeah, but it's not exactly safe outside the city either. Did you hear what happened last week? A member of the forty-fifth lost his wife and kid after some ghouls raided a group of refugees that were leaving the city," the first sentry says.

"Weren't the forty-fifth one of the most outspoken regiments against Horus?" the second sentry asks.

"Yeah, well, not anymore. Makes you wonder if Horus might be the one behind it..." the first sentry says while finishing his cigarette. The second sentry hits his arm.

"What a preposterous thing to suggest! That is completely impossible! Hehehe!" the second sentry laughs nervously.

"You're right! What was I thinking! Hehehe!" the first sentry repeats and then they both fly off.

So it looks like there is some kind of conflict going on and not everyone is on Horus's side. I may be able to work with this. I quietly lower the body to the ground now that I'm finished, and a gun barrel is suddenly pressed into my right side.

"Well, it looks like we've located the missing body. You're coming with us," a gruff voice says behind me.

I consider fighting back for a moment before I realize that this is the quickest way for me to get to Horus. The jinni behind me gives me a push forward and we start walking. Judging by the sounds of the footsteps behind me, I'd say that there are only three jinn. We walk for about three blocks before I'm led down a narrow alleyway. I'm stopped in front of a blank wall as a tan man that is about six feet tall with light blue hair and devoid of wings or a tail, steps in front of it. This has to be a marid jinni, a water-related jinni that is described as having the strongest magic.

He puts his hand on the wall and mumbles "Olutus-say," as his silver and periwinkle aura flares, before stepping back. I notice that there is now a two-foot square hole in the wall as a jinni that is around 5'8" tall with green hair and grey-ish skin steps forward. He must be a ghoul, a type of jinn associated with the desert and described as shape-shifting carrion eaters. He transforms into a hyena and trots into the hole. A few seconds later, a slab of stone to my right lifts up, revealing a staircase.

The jinni behind me gives me a directing push towards the stairs. I head down the stairs as I start to realize that these guys aren't with Horus. At the base of the stairs are ten jinn, all with FAMAS assault rifles trained on me, guarding a large steel door. The jinni behind me starts frisking me and starts to pull my gun from its holster.

"Here, just take the whole pack," I say as I quickly yank off the pack and hand it to him before he has a chance to respond. Several of the jinn in the room tense up in response to my helmet-altered voice... or maybe it was just my quick movement.

"No funny business once you're in. If you move in a threatening way, we will put you down without hesitation," the jinni says as I get my first good look at his green hair and grey-ish skin.

The steel door slides open and I walk into the room, slightly startled by what I'm seeing. Instead of the secure war room/bunker that I was expecting, there are froths of silk dangling from the ceiling that border a path leading up to a sitting area with dozens of plush, brightly-colored, silk pillows. Lounging on top of the pillows is a beautiful marid woman that is about five and a half feet tall with long periwinkle hair, wearing a black cocktail dress and smoking a slender foot-long pipe. I swear that I've seen this woman somewhere, but I just can't place it. Her light blue, cat-like eyes study me as I come to a stop about ten feet from her 'throne'.

"My Queen, we have brought one of the perpetrators of the event," the ghoul that had been leading me says.

"Hmm, very good. Where are the others?" the Queen exhales a cloud of bright pink smoke.

"We do not know, my Queen. There are traces of other footprints, but they disappeared," the ghoul replies.

"Why don't we ask our friend here?" the Queen suggests as she turns her attention towards me. The pink smoke begins to fill the surrounding area. I start to disengage my helmet so I can have a conversation, but I'm halted.

(Caution. This smoke is imbued with magic. It appears to be something of a deception detection spell along with a scanning agent that will tell her what you are. There doesn't appear to be any mind-altering or illusion magic so she doesn't seem to want to control you... yet)

At Airi's warning, I keep my helmet engaged. There is no point in lying about the girls since they already know that they were here.

"I had three companions, but they were in my way so I sent them home," I reply.

"You eliminated nearly a dozen ifrits single handedly?" the Queen asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, your highness," I reply.

"What are you? Most beings can't see the jinn... are you one of Horus's new creations?" the Queen inquires.

"Horus's creations? What has that bastard been up to!? ANSWER ME!" I demand as I take a few unconscious steps forward.

(Behind you)

I quickly turn while forming and throwing explosive darts into the barrels of the four FAMAS rifles that are pointed at me. I detonate them as the ghoul from before charges at me with a large dagger aimed at my stomach. He's faster than the enemies I'm used to, but I'm still quicker. I grab the blade of the dagger with my left hand, his wrist with my right hand, and redirect the dagger across my body while tugging downward. With the ghoul off balance, I kick out his legs and forcefully pulling downward. He twists onto his back while I fall onto his chest and turn the dagger in his hand towards his neck.

"CEASE!" the Queen shouts and I halt my current action of driving this dagger into the ghoul's neck.

"To me, it appears that we are on the same side," the Queen says and I stand up. I hand the dagger back to the ghoul, handle first.

"I'm on no one's side. I just want Horus to pay. Once I get to him, he will be begging for death for hours in retribution for my daughter," I maliciously respond.

"Then we both want the same thing. I know what it feels like to have your child taken from you... to have them stolen from you... but what makes you think that you are capable of defeating Horus, god of the sky, the hunt, war, and a head of the Egyptian pantheon?" the Queen asks.

"Because killing gods is in my job description," I reply. The Queen smiles at me in response.

"Horus is currently at the palace of that bastard, the Ifrit King. Horus has been performing unethical experiments on our people. He takes jinni of all races to the laboratory in the palace and they're never seen again. The Ifrit King even gave his own hybrid daughter to Horus," the Queen vehemently says and I immediately think of Naia.

"Rumor has it that Horus has been trying to develop some kind of super jinn or some new breed of soldier. We have been planning to overthrow the Ifrit King for months for his involvement with Horus, but we haven't had the force necessary to do battle against the Ifrit King _and_ Horus," the Queen explains.

"I can help with that. Can you get me to Horus?" I inquire.

"There is actually a passageway that leads directly into Horus's laboratory that is relatively unguarded, presumably because there are few people crazy enough to willingly confront the head of a Category 3 pantheon. We can show you how to get there so long as you keep Horus preoccupied long enough for our forces to eliminate the Ifrit King," the Queen responds.

"Then I'm in," I reply and the Queen smiles.

"Welcome to the Marid-Ghoul Freedom Coalition," she says.

"Just to be clear, I'm not joining the MGFC. We are simply working towards a common goal," I reply.

"COLE!" Cheza's voice explodes in my mind.

"Cheza?" I think as I feel that she is headed towards me.

"You guys should open that door, like immediately!" I say to the guards.

"Why?" the ghoul from before asks.

"Just hurry up and open the door!" I demand. The guards look to the Queen and she gives them confirmation.

I quickly walk through the steel doors and up the steps as the trap door opens. Cheza informs me that she's arrived by tackling me back down the stairs.

"COLE! WHAT THE FUCK!?" Cheza screams. This is just a guess... but I think she's angry.

"Are you okay?" Cheza asks as her ice blue eyes soften.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Cheza angrily screams while her eyes suddenly narrow.

"Are you hurt?" Cheza asks, concerned once again.

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU SEND ME BACK!?" Cheza screams as her eyes start to glisten. I think I might've broken her...

"I'm sorry, Cheza, but keeping you safe is always my priority and you couldn't even see the jinn, let alone fight back, so I did the only thing I could think of to protect you," I try to explain.

"You're always doing that! Stop trying to protect me all of the time! You just don't get it... I always want to be by your side, regardless of the consequences..." Cheza softly replies as I watch a tear leave a sparkling trail down her left cheek.

"Okay... next time, I promise I'll keep you by my side, no matter what," I tell her.

"Cole... I want to get married... like actually married with a ceremony and a dress and everything..." Cheza timidly says.

"That sounds nice," I reply.

I feel Cheza's happiness through the connection as her face lights up. This is the face that I could definitely look at every day for the rest of my life. I imagine Cheza waking me up after having made breakfast for me whilst wearing only an apron... just like Kita... I imagine us starting a family together and playing with our child... just like Addie... but before any of that can happen, Horus will pay for those he has taken from me. He will pay dearly.

(Yes, we will see to it that he rues the day that he ever crossed us; however, I do not approve of your plan)

"What? It should work! Horus is very well informed about me so I can't just charge him with the Mu-cutter, especially since he's as strong and as fast as Dagda. By allowing him to exploit the fact that my waist isn't covered by my jacket and armored jeans, and letting him cut me in half, he will be lured into a false sense of security, causing him to start monologue-ing, which will buy me the time to pull myself back together and launch a surprise Mu-cutter attack!"

(Yes but that plan only works under several serious fallacies. 1: we don't know that he knows about the chink in your armor. 2: we aren't positive that he'll monologue. 3: you assume that you can pull yourself back together after being cut in half when you couldn't even keep your severed little finger attached long enough to fool around with Cheza)

"...Wow, it sounds really stupid when you put it like that."

(Right?)

"Do you have an alternative strategy?"

(Yes, but you are not going to approve, which is why I went above you)

"Above me?"

"Cole, you aren't stopping me from helping you fight Horus," Cheza says with a tone that promises death to whoever stands in her way.

"Alright, so what's your plan, Airi?"

(First, transfuse two liters of your blood into Cheza)

"How do you expect me to go into battle while two liters low on blood?"

(You won't be. You will give her two liters of your blood while sucking out the last two liters of hers)

"So your plan requires Cheza to only have my blood in her?"

(That is correct)

"Hey Queenie! How long will it take you to assemble your troops?" I shout into the throne room from where Cheza has me pinned at the base of the stairs. The ghoul says something about insolence, but it's drowned out by the Queen's response.

"Approximately two hours," she replies.

"Perfect. We're going to need to do this thing tonight before Horus realizes that I'm here and gunning for him. I need someplace where I won't be disturbed for about an hour," I inform her.

"I'll have a room set up for you. We need to move to a safe house as she might've compromised our position," the Queen replies.

"Alright, I'll just follow you. Come on, Cheza," I say as I turn my attention back up to face Cheza.

"Cole, who were you talking to and where are we going?" Cheza asks as she gets off of me.

"...You know, this is exactly the kind of situation I was talking about," I say as I look around the room at the dozen jinn that are watching us.

"Oh... there's a jinni in here isn't there," Cheza says with a smattering of embarrassment on her face.

(Allow me to assist you with that, Chezarei)

"AH! Whoa! Is this how everything looks to you, Cole? Do you see auras all of the time? Wow! My aura is so pretty. No wonder you like looking at me so much!" Cheza says as she moves her hand in front of her face.

(Chezarei is currently linked to your senses)

I look around the room and demonstrate to Cheza what she has been unable to see.

"Um, Cole? Why do all these jinn have guns?" Cheza asks.

"Cheza, this is the MGFC, the Marid-Ghoul Freedom Coalition. They are opposing Horus and the Ifrit King who supports Horus so they will be helping us get to him. This is the Marid Queen, head of the MGFC, and the person I was talking to," I introduce as the Queen walks over.

"I'm Tali and we need to change locations immediately. A scout just reported that a small squadron is headed this way," the Queen quickly says.

"Dagda must've headed back then. I'm Chezarei. Sorry for giving away the location of your bunker," Cheza replies.

"And I'm Cole," I say as I take Cheza's hand and follow Tali back into the throne room.

"What's this about Dagda?" I think to Cheza.

"Dagda ported me here and said that he would cause a distraction while I found you, before porting back to prepare the army," Cheza replies as everyone files into the throne room and shuts the steel doors.

"Hopefully we will have this wrapped up before he even gets here!" I think as five guards work on moving the dozens of pillows aside.

A steel trap door with ten steps is revealed once enough pillows are pushed aside. Given Cheza's lack of tripping down the steps, I'd say that Airi probably switched her vision back. We walk single-file down into a tunnel and the tunnel starts to branch off. I continue to follow Tali as guards in groups of twos and threes proceed down different branches. Once we're all split up, only two guards with FAMAS rifles and the ghoul remain with Tali, Cheza, and I.

"Here, you may need this in case things get rough," the ghoul says as he hands me back my holster pouch.

"Thanks. What's to stop the enemy from following us down the tunnel?" I ask.

"The bunker is wired with laser grids that detonate explosives when the throne room doors are opened while the tunnel's door is also open. Explosives are also wired to collapse the tunnel along certain points," the ghoul explains.

"Yeah, that would probably do it," I reply and we walk in silence for the next half mile.

"Hey, don't you think that Tali looks a lot like Naia?" Cheza thinks.

"I was actually thinking that she looked familiar not too long ago," I reply as Tali stops in front of a blank wall. She puts her hand on the wall and mumbles something I'm unable to catch before a light-blue light flows downward from the top of the wall to outline a door with complex looking glyphs on it.

"We are here," Tali announces as the door silently opens.

...

Chapter 43: History Rewritten, First Sights, and Ryan Gosling

"Here you are. Will you be needing anything else?" a marid butler asks after he shows Cheza and I to a silk décor bedroom in the large house.

"No, that will be all. Thank you," I reply.

The butler gives a slight bow and closes the door behind him. I shrug off my jacket, remove my pack, take off my boots, and sit down on the bed. Cheza removes her shoes and joins me.

(Use your ring to slice open your right palm and both of Cheza's palms. Then lie down on the bed a relax with both of your hands clasped together)

I cut open my right palm before quickly slicing into Cheza's palms. Cheza scoots up into the bed and turns on her right side, facing away from me. I lie down behind her, wrap my arms around her, and grasp her hands that she has held in front of her chest with her palms facing away from her.

(I'll handle the rest. See you two in a little while)

****

I wake up to find myself floating through the darkness once again.

"Cole? Where are we?" I hear Cheza ask to my right.

"Cheza? What are you doing here? To answer your question, this is my subconscious... perhaps. This is where the silver door was that unlocked my Drive. That gate is gone now though," I reply.

"Then what's that?" Cheza asks and points behind me. I turn around and see the silver door floating in the darkness.

"What the..." I absentmindedly say and make my way towards the door.

I rest both hands on the double-doors' handles and pull them open. There is a flash of light and I'm greeted with an unfamiliar scene being projected in the doorway in a two dimensional fashion, as though the doorway were a movie screen. The scene is shot from an angle that is about three feet off of the ground and is of Uncle Eric, standing in the middle of the desert, talking to a tall blonde woman that is almost familiar...

"Mom?" I say in shock.

"Inti, you have already helped us out a great deal by supplying the blueprints on the blood warriors, but we need your help again. We need you to raise the boy. He won't be able to get the worldly experience that he needs if he's raised on Mount Kailash," my mother says while gesturing towards the source of the recording and I realize that she's gesturing to a five year old me.

"Why not stay here and raise him like a human?" Inti asks.

"This body is already greatly weakened. if I don't return to Mount Kailash, this incarnation will be destroyed completely, along with whatever city I happen to be in," my mother replies.

"I understand. The boy will be well cared for and I'll send updates on his progress," Inti says.

"That will be unnecessary. We used the incarnations of Kali, and Durga to act as a guide that will be able to give us reports on him in real-time," my mother informs him.

"Are you talking about his Drives?" Inti asks.

"We used Bhairava for his Drive and decided to combine all the Drives into one. No, this guide is something more of his conscience that will stimulate the growth of his powers when the time comes. Speaking of which, here," my mother explains and hands Inti a bottle of pills.

"We don't want him using his Drive until we are sure that he can control it so have him take these pills. We will send new ones when he runs out," my mother adds.

"I've already implanted false memories of my death and funeral so he won't ask any questions. However, as a side-effect, he will be silent and rather unresponsive for quite some time. It will take more than a year for him to snap out of it," my mother informs Inti.

"Alright, I'll hire a private tutor so that he won't fall behind with schooling," Inti says.

"That has already been taken care of. Did you think it was a mere coincidence that Saraswati's daughter's resume was on your desk this morning? Wait a while to start combat training and choose someone who you think will be appropriate, preferably a lesser god that is trustworthy. You of course already know the importance of keeping his identity and purpose a secret. I have to go now, but we'll keep in touch. Bye Inti," my mother says.

The silver doors slowly swing shut.

****

[October 13th]

I gasp awake with my arms tightly wrapped around Cheza. I roll onto my back and try to catch my breath. What the fuck was that?

"Cole..." Cheza softly says as she turns over into my right side and drapes an arm over my stomach.

Okay, I can now say several things for certain. 1: Uncle Eric knew about what I am. 2: Airi is some weird combination between Durga, Hindu goddess of righteous victory, and Kali, Hindu goddess of change and destruction; while Bhairava, an incarnation of Shiva that is associated with destruction, is somehow involved with my Drive. 3: my mother knew about the gods and used blueprints of the blood warriors for something, most likely something to do with me. However, this also brings up multiple questions that I have no hope of answering. What I need is to speak with Nagi. I swing my legs off of the bed and stand up.

"Cole?" Cheza asks.

"Come on, it's time to go see Horus," I tell her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Cheza inquires.

"I need to talk to Nagi, but we need to take care of Horus first," I reply, and head toward my jacket and boots. I stop when I hear a gasp.

"What?" I ask as I turn around to find Cheza staring at me wide-eyed.

"What's on my back!? GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" I scream while frantically clawing at my shirt as I remember that the jinn plane resembles the Middle East i.e. the worst possible place to have something on your back... with the exception of Australia, where freaking everything is trying to kill you. I finally rip my shirt in half and throw the remains on the floor only to find that there is nothing on it.

"Cheza... why did you just make me waste a perfectly good shirt?" I calmly inquire as Cheza just stares blankly at my torso.

"I know, I'm one beautiful son of a bitch with amazing pectorals and washboard abs that would put Ryan Gosling to shame, but you've seen those dozens of times and they aren't going anywhere so you don't need to stare!" I sarcastically exclaim.

While my 'physically active' lifestyle does keep me fit and I do have decent abs to the point that I'm not embarrassed to take my shirt off in public, I'm hardly a beautiful Canadian bastard like Ryan Gosling: a man that could walk down the street with his shirt off to the tune of three fatal car accidents, two heart attacks, and a round of applause, and that's not even counting any women that happen to be nearby... The people in this fictional scenario are applauding Ryan Gosling, not the five or more dead people because I'm not quite cynical enough to believe that everyone in the world is that much of an asshole.

Honestly, I'm just happy that I haven't been confused for a sixteen year old since I've been back from the dead, most likely thanks to my now gaunter cheeks. It could also have to do with the fact that I can now grow a beard, even though it is constantly at a five o'clock status. If there's one thing I can thank the gods for in my somewhat shitty life, it's for making it so my facial hair naturally looks like I'm thwarting a terrorist plot, which coincidentally is sort of what I'm supposed to be doing right now anyway... Shit, has Cheza responded yet?

"Cheza?" I ask as I take a few steps towards her, now concerned that she hasn't responded.

"Cheza!" I say as I caress her cheek, causing her to yelp loudly. "What's going on?"

"I... I was just looking at your aura," Cheza replies while continuing to stare at my torso.

"You can see my inner aura!? What does it look like?" I immediately inquire.

"You've never seen it?" Cheza incredulously asks.

"Well I know that the outer aura is silver, because it surrounds my Mu-cutter, but I don't know what my central aura looks like because I've never seen it in a mirror... Then again, I've never looked in a mirror specifically for that purpose," I explain.

"Yeah, I've seen the silver of your Mu-cutter before, but I've never seen the silver outline that you have now. What I've been staring at is the orb in your stomach. I keep getting lost in it... it feels like it's sucking me in..." Cheza trails off.

"Well, what does it look like?" I ask, trying to keep Cheza focused.

"It's... black... with cracks of silver that streak through it like lightning, but the black seems as though it's swallowing them, like a black hole," Cheza says with heavy use of simile.

"Actually, 'black hole' is a misnomer. They tend to be the brightest things in the sky because they compress gasses, which are ignited from extreme friction, which cause cosmic blasts of fire," I stupidly say because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that women love to be corrected when they're trying to make a point.

"Smartass... you're lucky that you're cute," Cheza says as she kisses me. I think she actually means 'you're lucky that I don't stab your bitch-ass for interrupting me,' or perhaps I'm just over analyzing it too much.

"Cheza?" I say when I notice her blank stare once again.

"Sorry. The black reminds me of looking into two mirrors that are facing each other so that they appear to go on forever when you look into one... Anyway, you should probably get dressed," Cheza says after shaking her head to snap out of it. I grab my jacket and pull it on while noticing that Cheza is trying to avoid looking at me.

"Alright, let's go," I tell her once I put on my boots and holster. There are two quick raps at the door before it opens.

"Mr. Cole, I have been instructed to lead you to the Queen," a butler says as he opens the door. His eyes flick to the floor to look upon the remains of my shirt before returning to me.

"We didn't have sex. She just gave me indication that something was on my back so I frantically tore off my shirt when I remembered this place is technically part of the Middle East and the Middle East is home to scorpions and camel-eating spiders or whatever other giant-ass spiders that you guys have," I explain.

The butler gives me a look that clearly states that he didn't ask.

"Lead on good sir," I say while pretending that the last few moments didn't happen.

Cheza and I follow the butler out the door and down the hall to the right. The butler leads us into a living room where Tali is sitting on a silk pillow in front of a square low-table with her back to the door, dressed in combat armor.

"Well, this is it. The MGFC forces are in position and ready to move at my word. This is the day that has been the fruition of over a decade of hatred for the death of my eight year old daughter, Anai. I can empathize with the way you feel towards Horus because it's the way I have felt towards the Ifrit King for twelve years, but that ends tonight. Tonight, I shall have my revenge," Tali says while swirling around an amber-colored drink in a crystal glass. Why does the name Anai sound familiar...?

" _She is eight years old and her name is Anai. Do with her as you wish,"_ the memory of Horus's voice replays in my mind.

Holy Shit! Naia is her daughter! I need to tell her that her daughter is still alive! But...

"Tali, are you only doing this for revenge?" I ask. Tali turns around to face me.

"Well, it's also to free the jinn from Horus's experiments and the Ifrit King's tyranny, and to allow the ghouls to stop being treated as second class citizens, but I'd say that about sixty percent of my personal motivation is revenge," Tali replies as she sips her drink.

"Cole, what are you waiting for? Tell her about Naia!" Cheza thinks.

"I can't," I reply.

"What!? Why not!?" Cheza angrily asks

"Cheza, the majority of this woman's motivation comes from revenge for the death of a daughter who isn't actually dead. Hypothetically speaking, what if I told you that Addie was still alive and I had lied about her ever dying?" I suggest.

"...I'd drop everything and go see her," Cheza replies in a deflated fashion.

"If we tell her about Naia right now, we will lose her support and be unable to get to Horus. As much as I don't want to, we have to keep Naia a secret for now," I think.

"Well, I think it's about time we started this, don't you?" I suggest.

She knocks her drink back, grins, and puts her hand on a glyph that has been drawn into the table. I recognize the glyph as being the same one that Naia used in the forests behind Graythorn Hall to contact Horus.

"Start the operation," Tali orders once the glyph starts to glow a light-blue. I hear several explosions in the distance indicating that the MGFC teams have received the order.

"This way," Tali says as she stands and walks out the door.

Tali leads us down a hallway and into a foyer where I see a dozen armed and armored jinn, both marid and ghoul, waiting for us. She gives a curt nod and six of the soldiers file out the front door, followed by the three of us, followed by the remaining six soldiers.

"Isn't it a bad idea to give away your home's location by using the front door?" I ask.

"I won't be coming back. If we succeed, I will be sitting on the throne in the palace. If we fail, I will be dead. Either way, this ends tonight," Tali replies.

We head up the street to the sounds of explosions and gunfire in the distance. I consider drawing my gun to be prepared, just in case, but then I realize that my gun is practically useless when I'm surrounded on all sides by guns with bullet velocities that are twice as high as mine.

I feel Cheza's hand inside mine and a revelation suddenly dawns on me: Cheza still does not have much combat experience. Well, it's a little too late to tell her to go home now.

"Here we are. Cole and Chezarei, you two will go in first and engage Horus. The rest of us will continue on so I can command the battle for the palace. Good luck you two," Tali says after stopping in front of an inconspicuous looking adobe archway.

"Thanks for your help, Tali. Once this is all over, we have someone that you need to meet. See you on the other side!" I tell her.

"Definitely. If there's anyone that can defeat Horus, it's Feros," Tali replies, causing several bewildered glances in my direction so I retract my helmet. "Huh... I always thought you'd be older."

"Wait, so Feros actually exists?" the ghoul, whom I now suspect may be Tali's chief of security, asks.

"Of course I exist," I reply with a tone that suggests that he's an idiot.

"We don't get much news from the other world here, but you've become something of a boogeyman to the jinn over the past year. You're basically the jinn equivalent of how humans view Sasquatch: people claim that he's real and claim to have seen him, but the majority thinks that you don't exist. The only reason I guessed who you were is because I'm better informed than the general populace," Tali explains.

"Anyway, good luck, Cole."

Chapter 44: Horus vs. Feros

Cheza and I head through the archway and into the following tunnel. When the tunnel becomes pitch black, I re-engage my helmet and the night vision kicks in.

"Cole, I can't see anything," Cheza thinks when we are a good distance into the tunnel.

"That's alright. I can see fine. Just stay close," I reply.

It looks like Tali was correct. This place seems to be completely devoid of troops. We continue walking until I see a light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel lets out into a large white room with several large cages directly to my left, lab tables with various equipment about fifty feet to my right, and around three hundred square feet of empty space in front of us. A white metal railing is on top of the wall in front of us, and who do I see leaning against that railing but the one I've been looking for: Horus. I feel rage build up inside of me as his stupid hawk face smirks at me. How the fuck can a beak smirk anyway!? He turns around and starts walking away.

"Cole, I'll take care of the ifrits, you go after Horus. I'll catch up soon. Go!" Cheza commands as I notice the ten ifrits in lab coats to my right.

I get a running jump at the wall, grab onto the top of the railing, and look down. I see Cheza throw an icicle at an ifrit, but he just uses a fire blast to melt it away. Perhaps I should go assist her...

"No, Cole. I've got this!" Cheza reassures me. I decide to trust her and pull myself over the railing to the second floor.

"HORUS!" I shout.

Horus is leaning against a bench along the back wall. He is wearing his signature, red and white, double crown called a pschent, a white and gold skirt that reaches down to his calves, several bracelets around his tan ankles, and nothing else.

"Feros! So we finally meet, face to face. I have been greatly anticipating this meeting for so long! I even built a new toy specifically for it! But you seem to have forgotten your toy. Go ahead and form your Mu-cutter, I can wait," Horus replies.

"You son of a bitch! I'm going to fucking destroy you for what you've done!" I yell back.

I cut into my right wrist with my ring and start the draw for my Mu-cutter. I chance a glance back over the railing and see that Cheza is having a little trouble with the ten ifrits, but she seems to have realized that fire and ice don't mix so she's taking them on in closer quarters with her Synergistic blades. I watch Cheza jump and scissor cut the head off an ifrit before I turn back to Horus.

"I very much doubt that. You see, I know all about you, Cole. I know that your jacket and jeans are bulletproof and stab-proof up to a certain force. I also know that your Mu-cutter has a range of less than one hundred ten centimeters from your inability to cut through Ahriman's Plexiglas cage. With those two things in mind, I made this," Horus says and turns to the table behind him. He slips a black glove onto his right hand before picking up a long black handle with a ball on the end that is about six inches in diameter. My silver aura indicates that my Mu-cutter has connected. _(4.3 Liters)_

"Tell me, did that girl call out for her 'Daddy' before the wizard killed her?" Horus asks with a smug grin, which I still cannot fathom.

I charge him as a response. His weapon definitely has more range than mine, but I can fix that just by cutting through the handle. Horus meets my charge half way and takes a swing. I hold up my Mu-cutter and angle it so that the mace-like ball will miss the left side of my body when it is severed. The comet hitting my left arm, luckily just below where my artificial arm starts, sends my body sailing through the air and notifies me that I've miscalculated. My body solidly impacts the room's right wall and leaves a sizeable dent, but at least I've taken care of Horus's weapon, and I happen to have missed the stairs that are five feet to my left. Small miracles, right? I look up from slumped position against the wall and I see that Horus is still holding his complete mace. What in the hell?

"Do you like my toy? I really have your friend Jason to thank for the idea. Using the Void as a weapon is quite ingenious and my business partner was able to help me make this one," Horus tells me as I pick myself up.

Alright, so Horus has himself a weapon that can reconnect after getting cut. I'll just have to dodge it instead of trying to disarm him. I charge at him again and take a step back when he takes a swing. Horus swings again in the opposite direction so I dodge again, which is difficult even with my rage-enhanced speed. Our altercation begins to look like some kind of dance as I spin and shuffle to dodge his swings while I keep advancing to try and get within a three foot range as he backs up.

I get him backed up to the bench along the back wall when he swings diagonally downward from left to right. I shuffle a foot to the left and bend left at the waist so the swing swishes past me without putting me out of range and giving Horus the chance to escape. I'm about follow up with a swing of my own when I feel a metal prong jab into my now exposed right side.

"AUGHHHH!" I scream as Horus hits me with an electric shock from some kind of cattle prod that must've been on the bench.

My legs give out from underneath me as I feel my heart stop. Horus follows up his jolt by slamming his mace into the right side of my helmet. I feel my neck break from the force as my body slides along the floor until its momentum is stopped by the wall. Before I have time to react, Horus flashes over to my position and brings his mace down on the bangle on my right wrist, crushing both and disabling my Mu-cutter.

"I don't see what Loki was so worried about! Once your tricks are known, you couldn't be easier to defeat! And don't even think about exploding. You wouldn't want to be responsible for the extinction of the jinn after the tragedy in Greenland, would you? Loki just looks foolish now, hiding away and only communicating with me via an array of communication circles. Perhaps I should just continue my research, end my partnership with Loki, and make my own artificial sentient beings to take over the world with... Not that any of this concerns you. You'll be dead. Permanently out of the equation this time. I'll feed you to Ammit myself!" Horus roars his laughter while standing over me. Well, it looks like the monologue part of my plan wasn't incorrect.

(I'll give you that, but another fallacy that you didn't consider is that he might not use a bladed weapon, rendering his bisecting you improbable)

"COLE!" Cheza screams in my mind as I see her crest the stairs that are across the room from my position.

I watch as Cheza's eyes turn silver while her irises remain their natural icy-blue. She flashes towards Horus as fast as I could and carves several frozen incisions into his body before he knows that she's even there. Cheza slams her foot into the ground and three black ice spears erupt from the ground to pin Horus in place. Horus is able to dodge all but one, which stabs him through his solar plexus, but it isn't enough to hold him in place. I try to move using my blood to overcome my paralysis, but nothing is working.

(The electricity did a number on your control. It will still be at least another thirty seconds before you can recover)

Horus swings his mace at Cheza and I send her instructions, suddenly realizing what the black glove on his hand is for: only the ball of the mace is solid while the handle is like smoke so the glove is needed for him to even hold the weapon. Cheza steps closer and lets the handle pass through her head as she rapidly stabs Horus in the stomach with both blades while he's backed up to the wall. The stab wounds freeze over, preventing them from immediately regenerating. She gets in a dozen stabs before Horus lets the mace slide through his gloved hand before grabbing it halfway up the handle, effectively shortening the length to two feet. He brings the mace down vertically now that the ball is close enough to hit Cheza. Cheza dives to the right and slams her hand into the wall, about six feet to the left of my position.

A black ice spear erupts from the wall, into Horus's back, and out through his chest; however, this means little to Horus. He pulls himself free from the wall and swings vertically at Cheza. With the wall to her left and my prone body behind her, she dives to the right, which seems to be exactly what Horus planned on. Horus grabs Cheza by the throat with his free left hand as she comes out of her roll. He picks her up and slams her into the ground as his left hand freezes from being in contact with Cheza's body. Horus tosses her up into the air like a ragdoll before swinging his mace, hitting her square in the chest. I watch as blood flies from Cheza's mouth, her eyes wide with surprise while her pupils are pinpoints, before she goes sailing into the far right wall. She slides down its length before landing face down on the floor.

"CHEZA! Airi!?"

(Twenty seconds)

"You watched as I took your girlfriend. You watched as I took your daughter. Now you get to watch me personally take your wife," Horus tells me while slowly walking towards Cheza.

My rage takes over as something more primordial than my Drive fuels me. I watch as the silver in my arm is overcome with jet black—I assume that my helmet has done the same. I bring both my arms up to my head and quickly twist it back into place.

(It seems that the Void is recognizing you as being worthy of more power)

"Hey, Unclefucker!" I call out to Horus with my helmet modulated voice having eliminated the higher pitches.

"*Sigh* By the gods, do you not know when to give up?" Horus slowly turns around as I stand up.

(Let us show him the true power of the Void)

"Fine... I guess I'll just have to beat you to a pulp, shatter both of your legs, and then force you to watch!" Horus shouts and charges at me.

I simply stand there while he closes in on me. He takes a swing at my head and I move my left hand up to intercept it.

"So it seems that you've figured out the trick," Horus says as a bit of uncertainty crosses his face while I hold the ball in my left hand.

" _Disperse_ ," I command.

The ball, handle, and even Horus's glove, turn to smoke and disappear. Horus now looks very uncertain about the whole situation as he jumps back to put some distance between us. I slowly walk towards him until Horus's eyes flick upward, at which point I lunge at him as his aura flares. Horus barks a spell that sounds like "Avum-cay," blasting a hole in the ceiling. I barely miss him as he flies up through the hole. Of course a sky god would be able to fly. Horus is already fifty feet away and fifty feet up by the time my boots hit the rooftop, a distance that is too far for me to jump. When I realize that he's headed in the direction of Shehar's gate, I roar my frustration at his fading form.

(So you are just going to allow him to escape? Perhaps I was mistaken in choosing you after all)

No. He's not getting away. I won't allow it.

I sprint at full speed for the edge of the rooftop before throwing myself at Horus. I quickly sail through the air and close the gap between us to about twenty feet before I start slowing down. Damn it! I'm not going to catch him!

(But Master, you are already within range)

I hold my blackened left arm out in front of me as I start to fall. Eight black tendrils shoot out of the holes in my arm, piercing Horus's shoulders, hands, thighs, and feet before they hook around each and pull him towards me as he screams in pain. We both start falling like rocks as he isn't able to fly now too. I point my arm downward and the tendrils move Horus beneath my feet. Horus's aura starts to flare so I quickly bend down and stick my left hand in his beak while wrenching his head back.

When we are about ten feet from the ground, I withdraw my hand from Horus's beak and flick my left arm downward. The tendrils slam Horus into the ground with enough force to slow my descent and cause a crater in the tiled ground. The tile underneath me tips me off that I'm not just in any old section of Shehar. We appear to be in the courtyard of the Taj Mahal, if the Taj Mahal had dozens of different jinn that have been interrupted in the middle of a firefight and are now staring at Horus and I. Horus is still dazed when the tendrils lift him upright and pull him into my left fist.

"THIS! IS NOT! GOING! TO BE! QUICK!" I shout as I play paddle ball, with Horus's face being the ball and my left fist being the paddle. I've just now realized that I sound quite a bit like James Earl Jones when my voice is modulated in this way. It's not quite as eerie as the other voice, but it is far more badass.

"THIS! IS NOT! GOING! TO BE! PAINLESS!" I scream, punching Horus's face with each exclamation so that he can't cast any spells.

"YOU ARE! GOING! TO SUFFER! FOR WHAT! YOU HAVE! DONE!" I yell as I reach around to my pack and grasp the hilt of my dagger with my right hand.

Horus's swollen, bleeding eyes widen as I grasp his tongue with my left hand. He frantically tries to pull his head back when he sees the dagger moving slowly towards his tongue. I enjoy every decibel of his ungodly screeching that erupts as I slowly saw through his tongue. Thankfully gods don't have blood so I don't have to worry about losing my grip! His tongue will regrow, but I should be able to finish before it gets a chance to.

"Now that I don't have to worry about you casting any spells, how about we have some real fun?" I softly ask into Horus's ear hole as I retract my helmet, not wanting a filter for what comes next. I hold my left arm out as the tendrils hold Horus up about five feet from me. Focusing completely on how I felt when Addie died, a black 'snake' forms in my hand.

"You know what to do," I whisper to it.

The snake shoots from my hand and moves around Horus's body before traveling up it. Unlike before, mere contact with the snake doesn't result in all of Horus's skin being immediately stripped off, but it does strip off in the area the snake touches. A few moments later, Horus is completely skinless with the exception of his still feathered head. His screeching causes a shiver that is so deep that I think I might be having a seizure. I wait for about a minute as Horus's skin regenerates, leaving Horus breathing heavily when it does.

"Hmm... again," I command the snake. I close my eyes and drink in the screams as though I were listening to an opera. Three minutes later, Horus's skin has regrown and he's stopped screaming.

"Again!" I command, sounding absolutely giddy. Once again, Horus's wails do not cease to please me. Another three minutes go by and Horus has healed.

"Aaaaaaand once more!" I command, my tone implying that I should be bouncing and clapping. I hear myself chuckling in response to Horus's screaming.

"You know, it's just not quite the same without the blood..." I tell Horus once his skin is back. "What should I do next... oh, I know!"

My tendrils lay Horus down while keeping his left hand up. The tendril in Horus's left shoulder and the one in his hand start to pull in opposite directions while twisting his arm. I pour all the strength I can summon into the punch directed at Horus's left elbow. At the moment my punch connects, the tendril in Horus's hand twists and rips his forearm off. I laugh at his screams while the tendril in his hand releases the severed arm as it disintegrates. I repeat the process for his right arm and both legs, the legs taking quite a few more punches to break.

"And finally, the Coup de Grace!" I exclaim whilst beaming.

The four newly unoccupied tendrils that I have surge into Horus's chest and weave their way through his ribcage before pulling in opposite directions. I'm not entirely certain that the tendrils have the strength to do it alone, so the tendrils in his shoulders and thighs lift Horus up and repeatedly pull him into my punches. I start to question my capability to do this without my Mu-cutter until, a dozen hard punches to his sternum and collar bones later, I hear a marvelous crack as his ribcage gets torn asunder and his body starts to flake apart.

Going on instinct, I reach my left hand into his chest and place it on the golden mass. The golden mass in Horus's body turns into black smoke and almost looks like it's going into my arm. The inside of Horus's chest seems to melt slightly once the smoke is gone. It kind of looks like lava that has solidified into volcanic rock upon cooling, with its smooth ridges leading back towards the spine. The absence of the golden mass stops the disintegration of Horus's husk-like corpse, notifying me that my revenge has been achieved and that my fun is over... or is it?

I look around at the armed ifrits in front of me, and the marids and ghouls behind me, while smiling broadly. The soldiers all back up uncontrollably in response to my attention.

"Oh, look... targets!" I announce just loud enough for them to hear.

I feel a ripple of panic start to consume the jinn around me as a blur hits me from my right and tackles me to the ground.

"COLE! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Cheza screams as she repeatedly punches me in the face.

Cheza gazes into my eyes, carefully observing while she stops punching me. As I wonder what she is looking at, an image is projected into my mind:

My face, contorted with an evil looking smile, but the things that are the most disturbing are my eyes. They're completely black, and not black like pupils where they will show a reflection. No, my eyes are the kind of black that gives one the impression that they have the ability to suck the light out of a room. Cheza tackles me and my silver irises slowly surface as Cheza punches me. She stops and watches as the black fades to white in my eyes, and as the black fades to silver in my arm.

"Cheza... I'm so glad that you're okay," I tell her, unable to look into her eyes... unable to admit that while I was killing Horus, at some point I had forgotten about Cheza...

"Idiot... I was worried about you..." Cheza gently replies and leans over to kiss me. She sits up and gives me a stern look while straddling me.

"You are not allowed to kill anyone else here, do you understand?" Cheza scolds.

"But mooooooom!" I reply, causing Cheza to smile.

"Well it seems like you're back to your usual self. Can we go home now?" Cheza asks as she gets off of me and helps me to my feet.

"Almost," I tell her while turning towards the palace and engaging my helmet. The ifrits in front of the palace tense up and start to bring up their weapons.

"If you have any sense of self-preservation, you will accept this hostile regime change and lay down your weapons! I will give you ten seconds to decide before I decide for you, despite what my better half just said!" I shout to the ifrit soldiers with my voice modulated back to 'eerie' levels instead of 'Sith' levels. They shoot glances at one another before an ifrit places his rifle on the ground and the others follow suit.

"Smart choice, boys... and girls," I say as I look at them and spot three ifrits that are about a foot shorter than the rest, realizing that they're female ifrits, a fact that is difficult to tell under their modern combat armor.

I grab Horus's husk by the neck and drag it along as I head up the white marble walkway towards the palace. At the end of the walkway are two, twenty-foot tall, white marble doors. I attempt to pull them open, but they refuse to budge so they must be barred. I free up my left hand by switching the husk over to my right before placing my left hand upon the center of the doors.

"I create nothing. I preserve nothing. I only _erase_ ," I say aloud as my arm momentarily flushes black.

"Showoff," Cheza thinks while grinning at me as the doors turn into smoke, revealing that a large marble crossbar is what was jamming the door until that too turns to smoke.

There is a wall of approximately fifty ifrit soldiers at the end of the throne room, about one hundred feet away, all with guns that are trained on me.

"If you don't want to end up like this guy, I'd suggest that you put down your weapons," I tell them as I slowly lower the husk to the ground and slide it over to them with a kick, or at least that had been the plan.

The husk stops at about the halfway point. A single brave soldier walks over to inspect the husk while keeping his FAMAS rifle trained on me. Are the jinn sponsored by the French or something? Everyone and their mother has a FAMAS assault rifle, which is way too many for them to have gotten an illegal shipment, not to mention the fact that I haven't seen a single gun of a different brand in this whole place. The ifrit taps the body with his foot to make sure that it won't explode or something before taking a closer look at it.

"HOLY SHIT! THIS IS HORUS!" the ifrit shouts. "You guys have to get a load of this, he is seriously fucked up!"

"Yes, he is, and I'm the one who did that to him," I announce. I hear murmurs of disbelief so I turn around towards the door.

"Can I get a witness!?" I shout to the ifrit soldiers that are standing around and watching me. They just look around at each other and then back at me. "Seriously? I'm trying to do this without having to kill anyone so if someone could just come over here and explain the situation so I don't have to slaughter my way through your buddies to get to the king, that would be good."

Upon hearing this, one of the female ifrit soldiers and one of the males walk to the doorway to recant Horus's ass-kicking. By the time their tale is finished, roughly half of the ifrits have set down their rifles.

"You are just going to abandon your king like this!?" someone shouts from the back of the room, and he sounds like a pompous dickhole.

"Kill the traitors!" the Ifrit King commands.

One incredibly loyal soldier that is standing at the back of the room, jumps into the air and takes aim at me while I consider my options. I could try shooting him, but he would most likely dodge them at one hundred feet away and it would most likely cause a shoot-out. Perhaps I should try darts. I can throw those things pretty damn fast... I touch my right finger tips to the hole in my left palm and draw four darts. I flick my hand out in a horizontal fashion with hopes that if he tries to dodge one, he'll move into the path of another. The ifrit sees them coming and swoops up to dodge all of them, only to smash his head into the ceiling and come crashing down to the ground— I suppose that works too. I follow up by racing towards the king before anyone that is still loyal gets any ideas.

"It's time for you to answer to Tali for what you did to Anai and for what you've done to our friend Naia," I tell him as I grab him by his royal coat collar and drag him off of the throne. Cheza watches my back as I drag the king down the middle of the throne room

"Yphon-tay Ineris-cay!" the king barks.

I hear Cheza yelp and I turn in time to see her get engulfed in a swirling pillar of flames. The smell of burning hair reaches my nostrils just before I lose myself. I roar at the king before tearing off his right wing, quickly followed by his left and his tail while he screams out in agony. The jinn in the room panic and swiftly vacate before I start pounding the king's limbs into pulp with my blackened left hand. Blood begins splattering my helmet before I notice that the king has gone into shock and passed out. I feel the heat of the inferno against my back start to dissipate.

I look over my shoulder to see all that's left is a scorch mark...

" _Flay_ ," I command while setting my left hand on top of the king's chest. His coat, dress shirt, and skin fly off of his torso in ribbons as the pain causes him to jolt awake screaming. Now that he's conscious, I give a pelvis shattering punch to his groin, which hurts me ever so slightly by association, before wailing away at his stomach with my left hand. Pink foam starts to bubble out of his mouth by the time I reach his ribcage, and continues after I make sure to shatter every one of his ribs. I scream as I smash my fist through the king's head and about six inches into the tile.

With tears running freely down my cheeks, I disengage my helmet and drag myself over to where she was. I place my right hand on the scorch mark.

"Please... bring her back... just give her back to me!" I pray as my tears pile up on the scorch mark, mixing with the ash so that little black flecks float through the droplets.

I wait, but I hear no response.

"I can't do this anymore... Fuck it," I announce.

I reach around to my back and wrap my left hand around the grip of my gun. I remove my gun from its holster, press the barrel to my temple, and close my eyes as I think of Addie and Cheza.

"I'll see you both soon."

The last thing I hear is the sound of a gunshot.

Chapter 45: Epilogue?

"So that's it. That's how my story ends. As I sit here, floating through the darkness with this laptop, typing out the story of my life, I can't help but feel like the universe has had the last laugh. Addie and Cheza are nowhere to be found so I'm left here. Alone. Forever. After all, it's not like there's a conveniently placed door behind me that I just failed to notice the entire time that was spent typing this out..."

I chuckle to myself before looking over my shoulder, only to find a silver door, conveniently placed, that I just failed to notice the entire time that was spent typing my story out. I close the lid of the notebook before standing up and floating over to the silver door. I wrap my hands around the handles of the double doors and slowly pull them open.

"We need you to retrieve a girl. Loki will be having Fenrir pick her up soon, so time is of the essence," my mother says via webcam on the computer in Uncle Eric's office. The computer shows that she is talking to Inti, but I don't see him.

"What is her significance?" Inti asks as I hear his voice exuding from the position of my throat. This is confusing. Unlike last time, the scene isn't shot from my point of view, but from Uncle Eric's. My mother snaps her fingers and a manila folder appears on the desk. Inti opens the folder and reveals it to be a dossier of Cheza with a baby picture of her.

"She is the first artificial angel and she is a complete success. Loki was able to genetically alter Fenrir and had him rape a snow elf woman since they are genetically closer to angels or jinn than humans are. If Loki manages to gain access to her, he will be able to easily manufacture artificial sentient beings to rival the power of the angels or jinn," my mother answers.

"It sounds too risky to leave her alive and I'm sure that The Faction will want to eliminate her," Inti replies.

"Normally I'd agree; however, this girl has certain properties that make her compatible with Cole. That is why you are going to lie to The Faction when the time comes and say that Loki believes her death is required to start Ragnarok," my mother says.

"This girl is going to be the balance to the second 'unpredictable madman'? But she's only around two years old," Inti points out as he looks at the dossier. When did Inti know about Cheza? I was under the impression that he saved her while interrupting Fenrir when she was eight years old.

I catch a glimpse of something that causes a great deal of confusion: a date of birth that is set only thirteen years ago. What? That's not right. Cheza is only two years younger than I am.

"Retrieve the girl and bring her to Saraswati. Saraswati will bring the girl to Mount Kailash where we will make some minor alterations to make her more of a match, age just being one thing we will change," my mother replies.

"I understand. I'll leave for Siberia immediately," Inti says.

"Good. And do bring a jacket. The shores of Lake Baikal get quite frigid this time of year," my mother replies.

I sit back and watch as Inti ports to a dark, wintery forest. The frozen crunch beneath his feet is noticeable as he walks through the otherwise silent forest for a little over a mile, until he reaches a log cabin and the sound of snarling wolves. Inti pulls a Desert Eagle .50 caliber handgun out of his coat pocket, enters the cabin, and quickly dispatches the pack of five giant wolves. A man and a blonde snow elf woman are lying on the ground, both bleeding heavily. The man is dead, his throat having been torn out by the wolves, but the woman is still alive. She looks at Inti with fear in her eyes as he walks over to a cabinet in the back left corner and takes out a crying bundle of blankets.

"Mama!" the bundle cries as the woman pleads with her blue eyes. Inti removes the blankets to reveal a baby Cheza that can't be more than two years old.

"Don't worry. She will be well taken care of," Inti says in Russian, but the meaning finds its way into my mind. Inti aims at the woman's heart and pulls the trigger.

Inti slips the gun back into his coat pocket before porting someplace with tropical plants and giant leaves. I see stone columns and realize that he's in the pool-adjacent garden of a large house. An Indian woman is to the right of Inti, lying on a white, pool-side lounger, while wearing a red bikini and reading a book. She sets her book down, stands up, and takes a crying baby Cheza from Inti.

"The alterations will most likely take about six months," Saraswati says in Indian-accented English as she lays her right hand on top of Cheza's forehead, causing her to instantly fall asleep.

"Alright, I'll await her word," Inti replies and returns to his office. A few moments later, there is a knock at the door.

"Uncle Eric? Sara asked me to tell you that dinner is ready," a nine year old me says from a crack in the office doorway as the silver doors slowly close.

Okay... what the fuck just happened?

(I still have something else to show you, Master)

"Airi?"

The silver doors reopen to the garden with Saraswati standing next to an eight year old Cheza.

"As you can see, we accelerated her age by six years. We also sealed her powers away and implanted her with false memories that should bring her closer to Cole, as well as disabling the Westermarck Effect in her so she won't be able to see Cole as her brother," Saraswati states.

"Won't that mean that she could also become attracted to me?" Inti asks.

"Yes, but to counteract that, we also implanted the idea that Cole is the only 'bee' to Chezarei's 'flower'... that is a horrid analogy, but you understand what I mean. As a precaution though, you should probably spend as little time alone with her as possible. While Chezarei won't be able to see Cole as a brother, this won't stop the boy from seeing her as a sister. He'll get over it though... probably. Anyway, all the rummaging through her brain has left her like this, but that should make the boy naturally gravitate towards her because she will remind Cole of himself," Saraswati says while gesturing to a doll-like Cheza.

"Consensus among us dictates that Loki will try to take her eventually, which works out in our favor because it will allow Cole to naturally hate Loki, giving him a cause to fight without us telling him to," Saraswati adds.

"What should we tell The Faction?" Inti inquires.

"Bring her up at the next meeting. The backstory is that her death will lead to Ragnarok if she's killed on a specific date. Someone will suggest that we kill her to permanently end the threat. That's when I'll chime in and suggest that killing her may inadvertently start Ragnarok and that we don't have enough information to chance it so protecting her from Loki is the only course of action," Saraswati answers.

"Is it really worth keeping her around?" Inti asks.

"Surely you've heard the stories about Shiva's rampage on earth that is only stopped by Parvati's influence, and the stories of Kali's rampage on earth that is only stopped by Shiva tricking her. That boy has both of those influences in him. Without the balance that this girl will provide, there's a chance that he might lose control and cause destruction of legendary proportions," Saraswati replies.

"Will he really be that dangerous?" Inti inquires.

"That boy was designed to be Loki's killer—to be Shiva's influence on this plane—and Void help us should he ever go rogue," Saraswati says as the silver doors close.

****

I jolt awake while gasping for breath in a four poster bed with a silk bedspread. How am I still alive?

(That would be my doing, Master. I blocked the oxygen flow to your brain while partially engaging your helmet to stop the bullet)

"Cole!" I look around the bedroom and see Nagi by my bedside.

"Good... I was about to be seriously fucked if you were dead... _and that bitch Kanta would have never let me hear the end of it,"_ Nagi mumbles.

Dead... Cheza...

"Cheza's fine!" Nagi quickly blurts out. "She's with your family. Are you ready to go meet them?"

"What are you talking about? Cheza's dead... I watched her go up in flames and I smelled her burning," I solemnly reply.

"No, she was remotely ported to Mount Kailash. She's alive, but she is missing some hair. She's just lucky that your mother or father happened to be watching, unlike the incident with Adelaide... I was sent to come and get you since remotely porting people takes up too much energy to be done twice in a row. I found you passed out on the floor when I got here and the Queen helped me carry you here to recover," Nagi informs me.

"Is she telling the truth?"

(She does not appear to be trying to deceive you)

I feel a wave of relief wash over me before I remember the scene in the silver doors. What am I supposed to tell Cheza? Should I just bottle it up and let guilt consume me or should I tell her, jeopardizing our relationship and possibly leading to me losing her forever? What Airi said in Hawaii about loving Cheza being my fate makes more sense now, but she never mentioned anything about Cheza loving me being her fate and that she has no real choice in the matter.

"I need to tell Dagda to call off the assault first," I say with a slightly downtrodden tone.

"Alright, let's go," Nagi replies.

I stand up from the bed, grab my jacket, and pull it on before walking out of the room with Nagi. We walk through the courtyard of the palace and sprint to Shehar's gate. Upon arriving there, I touch my triskele, port us to earth, wait a minute and touch my Haglaz rune to port us to Niflheim.

"Cole! You're okay! Where is Chezarei?" Naia asks after I port into Jason's room.

"Long story. Where's Dagda? I need him to call off the assault," I tell her.

"He should be coordinating the forces with Jason and Reyna, but I don't know where specifically," Naia replies.

"That will work, thanks Naia!" I say while grabbing Nagi's arm and dragging her out the door. I head down the hall to the right, feeling for the faint connection that I have with my blood inside Reyna. I know I'm getting close when I hear shouting. I pinpoint the room with the shouting and throw the doors open.

"Hey guys, I'm fine, Horus is dead, and everybody can go home now. Thanks!" I announce to Jason, Reyna, Natasha, Dagda, Brighid, and Manannan mac Lir as I enter the large meeting room.

"CT! You alright, bro?" Jason asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Well, except for when I tried to blow my brains out because I thought Cheza was dead, but that's a long story. Anyway, Horus is dead so call off the assault. Oh, before I forget, Brighid? Can you take Naia to Duniya al Jinn and take her to see the Queen of Shehar?" I ask.

"Well what's in it for me?" Brighid inquires semi-sarcastically.

"The chance to see a touching mother-daughter reunion after they've been forcibly separated for more than a decade. Oh, and the mother is under the impression that her daughter is dead. Or it might turn into a huge catfight because the daughter thinks her mother just gave her away..." I reply.

"Either way, it sounds interesting, so I'm in," Brighid says.

"Thanks. Now, I need to get going so I'll see you all later!" I reply as I walk out the doors. I head back to Jason's room to talk to Naia.

"Naia, I need you to do me a favor," I tell her as I enter the room.

"Sure, Cole. What is it?" Naia asks. I walk over to the desk that is located about ten feet to the left of Jason's bed, and I pull out two pieces of paper, two envelopes, and a pen.

"I need you to deliver this letter to the new Queen of Shehar. If anyone asks, say it's from Feros or Cole and refuse to leave until you've talked to her," I tell her as I finish writing a letter to Tali that says:

Tali—

This is your daughter Anai. She goes by Naia now after Horus renamed her. She also thinks that you were involved in her father's plan to give her to Horus. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before, but I couldn't risk taking away the majority of your motivation for helping me get to Horus. I hope that you will be able to forgive me someday.

—Cole

"I don't know if I can do that, Cole..." Naia timidly replies.

"Please Naia! You're the only one that can do this!" I plead as I write the second letter, this one to Naia:

Naia—

Your mother didn't know about your father giving you away and thought you were dead all these years. All that I ask is that you try to forgive her. Oh, and I'm sorry for deceiving you into meeting her by delivering a letter to her.

—Cole

"Okay... I'll do it..." Naia replies with uncertainty.

"Thank you, Naia. Tell anyone who stops you that you were ordered to deliver the letter and personally see to it that the Queen reads it. While the Queen is reading the letter, I want you to open this letter and read it for instructions on what to do next, but you absolutely cannot open it before then, do you understand?" I ask as I fold the letters, slide them into envelopes, and seal them before writing 'INSTRUCTIONS' on the envelope with Naia's letter. Naia nods and I hand her the letters.

"Thanks, Naia. I've already talked to Brighid and she has agreed to take you to Shehar and stay with you, which should help for a smooth delivery. I have to get going, but I'll see you around. Bye Naia," I tell her as I grab Nagi's hand and port to Saraswati's house.

"Cole, how did you know where we were going?" Nagi asks while giving me a suspecting look.

"Lucky guess?" I try to say as least suspiciously as possible, but I'd say I failed considering I accidentally turned a statement into a question. Nagi opens her mouth, but is thankfully interrupted before she can ask.

"Huh, you're early. I wasn't expecting you for at least another five minutes," Saraswati says while wearing a red cocktail dress as she sashays across the garden, 'sashay' being the only word I can think of that adequately describes the movement of her hips and their eye-catching properties. "It's nice to finally meet you, Cole. I'm—"

"Saraswati, I know," I finish for her before realizing that I fucked up.

"Oh... and how do you know that?" Saraswati asks with a surreptitious smile. I start sweating bullets for a brief second, realizing that it might be impossible to lie to the Hindu/Buddhist goddess of knowledge, before the answer dawns on me.

"Because it's obvious that beauty runs in the family... unlike breast size," I say while staring at Saraswati's chest that is straining the material of her dress, hoping that she will misinterpret the sweat for the fact that India is hot and humid, or for arousal.

This statement isn't entirely factual. While Sara and Saraswati are both attractive people in their own right, they look absolutely nothing alike, except for their green eyes. Saraswati's skin is darker and her face is rounder compared to her daughter, and Sara is about two inches shorter than her mother.

"You are such a naughty nephew!" Saraswati richly laughs.

"I suppose I should take you to my brother now," Saraswati says as she rests her hand on my shoulder.

I blink and find myself in a vibrantly colorful place that defies all logic. We are standing in the center of a vermilion pagoda that sits on a chunk of grassland that is no bigger than one hundred square feet and appears to be floating. The sky is several different hues of red, orange, and pink as I see a peacock flying through it with a rainbow trailing from its tail. In front of me is a floating walkway that follows along the disconnected cliff side to my left, as it slowly rises in elevation before veering to the left and out of sight. Oh, and the cliff to my left has a waterfall flowing off the edge, which wouldn't be bizarre if it weren't for the Dr. Seuss-esque fish that are slowly falling down it.

"Come, it's this way," Saraswati says and starts walking along the floating pathway.

"Good morning!" a pair of fish says in unison while flowing down the waterfall as I pass by.

I mouth 'what the fuck' as my way of dealing with the strangeness of this place. Of course, as I think that, the furry-looking trees from _The Lorax_ spring out of the ground on either side of the walkway. The trees start following me. Yes, you heard me correctly. The fucking _trees_ start fucking _following_ me. Every time I take a step forward, trees pop up on either side of the walkway to mark my progress. Naturally, I start losing my fucking mind and run as fast as I can until I reach a fork in the road. Horton is at the fork in the walkway, pointing his trunk to the left while pretending to be an elephant-shaped directional sign. I turn left and keep running as the path essentially results in a U-turn that leads upward. I reach a golden lake that has a waterfall draining into it on my right.

"Hello again!" a pair of fish says before plopping into the lake. I look upward and see a floating island with a walkway protruding from it and trees bordering the walkway. But I had been running up!

"Mom, Dad, I swear to the Void that if either and/or both of you come out here dressed as the Lorax or The Cat in the Hat or anything Seuss related, I will lose my shit!" I shout upward. Laughter booms across the sky, which I recognize from my dream in the Underworld.

"Too much, eh?" my father, Shiva, asks as he materializes in front of me.

Shiva is about 6'6" tall with long black hair that is tied in a bun on top of his head, with a golden five-point crown sitting in front of the bun. His physique gives the impression that he spends every waking minute at the gym, his eyes are silver, and he is holding his trademarked Trishula, an Indian bladed trident. I suddenly have a flashback to the basement where I fought the Daeva and how my sword had split into three points that reminded me of a trident. Shiva is married to Parvati, who must be my mother. Then again, since I'm not a god, I'm not actually their son, am I?

"Just a bit. Where's Cheza?" I inquire.

"Just a moment, brother," Ganesha says as he ports in with Nagi beside him.

"I'd like to apologize for what happened with Adelaide. I never expected that would happen in response to the magic being blocked. Nonetheless, I am partially responsible and I hope that you will accept my apology," Ganesha explains while I try not to stare at his trunk.

"Apology accepted. Now, I would like to see Cheza," I reply.

Shiva smirks at me and snaps his fingers. We appear in a house that is all white marble and glass. Looking out the windows, the house appears to be underwater. I look to the right and see a kitchen with my mother and Cheza chatting in it. I nearly break into tears as I rush over, wrap my arms around her waist from behind, and pick her up off the ground.

"AHH! Cole!" Cheza squeals with laughter as she squirms around in my arms before managing to turn around.

"I thought I'd lost you..." I whisper into her leather-clad stomach as I hold her tighter.

"What...? I'm sorry, Cole. I figured that you would know I was okay when you saw that my suit was gone and since silicon carbide has a melting point of five thousand degrees, it would be impossible to melt without killing everyone in the room," Cheza gently says as she wraps her arms around my head.

"The thought didn't even cross my mind. I just saw the scorch mark after smelling you burning and..." I trail off while thinking of the aftermath.

"Cole... do you mean to tell me that you thought I was dead for all of THIRTY FUCKING SECONDS BEFORE YOU TRIED TO KILL YOURSELF!? I WAITED A WHOLE TWO WEEKS BEFORE TRYING THAT!" Cheza screams, suddenly angry. I set her down and look into her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cheza, but like I've said before, I'm just not as strong as you," I tell her while getting my first look at her hair.

Cheza's hair, which once hit her back, has been shortened to her neck. The cut isn't uniform and is rather pointy/jagged looking, but it looks good and gives me an unexplainable urge to just throw her on the kitchen counter and have my way with her, after asking my parents to leave the room of course.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Shiva asks.

"Just some girl-talk that continued after I was done cutting her hair. It turns out that I have quite a bit in common with our soon-to-be daughter-in-law," my mother replies.

"Great, so I'm in love with the woman that was like a little sister to me for a decade, who just so happens to be like my mother... can I go cry in the corner now?" I ask and everybody laughs.

"So why did you bring me here?" I inquire after a few moments.

"To celebrate your use of the Void without your Drive! I'm proud that you were able to figure it out without help from Kali and Durga, the one you called Airi, even if Hel had to provide some assistance," Shiva says.

"Sorry that we weren't able to return Airi when we restored your body. It seemed like you two were becoming friends," my mother adds.

If I haven't been talking to Airi, then who have I been talking to?

(I am the same as I always have been, Master. I assimilated with Durga and Kali in the very beginning. When you're body was destroyed, Durga and Kali vanished and Bhairava was separated from your consciousness. Only I remained)

"Airi... just what in the hell are you?"

(I am that which is most difficult to grasp. That which breathes life. That which all things return to in the end)

Okay... that is one cryptic message that will have to wait to be deciphered.

"But—" Cheza starts to say.

"Yeah, that was a bit of a bummer, but I was still able to get along fine without her!" I interrupt.

"That you were, my son! You even came up with that arm! When your mother sent you the instructions for restoring your arm, I expected you to regrow a flesh one, but now you don't have to worry about it getting cut off again! With the Void and the other tools at your disposal, you are now ready to fight Loki!" Shiva declares.

Now I see why I was brought here. I'm simply supposed to do what they created me for and fuck everything else? Slaughter my way to Loki, regardless if the people I love get caught in the crossfire?

"*Sigh*... I can't do this—this killing thing—anymore," I tell him.

"What are you talking about!? You are good at killing!" Shiva exclaims.

"Because that's all you made me to do!" I retort before pinching the bridge of my nose and shaking my head.

"I'm taking an indefinite leave of absence," I tell them.

"You can't just walk away from this!" Shiva angrily replies. I narrow my eyes at him in distaste before turning to Cheza.

"Cheza, I need to speak to my parents alone. It'll be quick," I tell her.

"But—" Cheza starts to say before I snap my fingers while thinking of Cheza being at the pagoda, hoping that I have some control over this place since I'm its rulers' _son_. Cheza disappears as I turn back to my parents.

"I can forgive you for what you've done to me; however, I cannot forgive what you and Inti have done to Cheza. Aging her six years and mind-fucking her into loving me is going too far. Her mother was still alive when Inti shot her and she probably would have made it too, had he not blown a hole through her heart," I sternly tell them.

"Cole, how do you know about those things?" my mother asks with a suspecting tone.

"I don't know, I don't care, and I'm done... with all of it. I'm done killing and watching the people I love die solely because you can't come down to earth to handle your own problems and kill Loki yourself. All of those gods were right... I'm just a monster—a tool created solely for killing your enemy. Well, now this monster is telling you both to go fuck yourselves," I assert and snap my fingers.

I arrive at the pagoda and before Cheza can angrily yell at me, I press my lips to hers and grab her hand.

"I love you, Cheza."

I snap my fingers, and we leave Mount Kailash.

[End of Book 3]

[Next week, the secret of the island ____ will be revealed ]

References

Have you come across something in this book and thought 'I know I've heard that before, but I can't remember where it's from'? Well that's what this section is for! I have marked down every reference in this book that wasn't self-explanatory so that you don't have to wake up at 3am and shout "Got it!" when you finally remember.

1: The song 'Foxy Lady' by The Jimmi Hendrix Experience, from the album 'Are You Experienced,' was spelt 'Foxey Lady' in the North American release of the album because of a typo.

2: Denzel Washington starred in a movie called _Déjà vu,_ and in a cartoon on Comedy Central called _Drawn Together_ there was a character that would be easily distracted by someone saying Denzel was nearby and shout, "DENZEL! Where!?"

3: _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_ , from the black knight scene.

4: The movie _Wayne's World_.

5: The movie _Semi-Pro_ with Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson.

6: _The Boondocks_ , the episode where Granddad fights an old blind guy.

7: The Cuban husband character from the 1950's sitcom _I Love Lucy_ , played by Desi Arnaz.

8: In the first _Borderlands_ video game, the shield vendor occasionally says "Who needs a medical license when you've got _style_?" I used a similar format for a chapter title in _Mania and the Executioner_ , but I neglected to reference it.

9: _The Emperor's New Groove_

10: Louis C.K. makes a joke about cumming in his cat's face. 'It's her fault for watching! Cum on my cat's face once, shame on me... I don't have a cat.' I think it's from his Chewed Up comedy special, but I'm not positive. It might be from his Shameless comedy special... it's definitely one of those two.

11: Callback to a joke in Mania and the Executioner about the movie _The Five Year Engagement_ with Jason Segel and Emily Blunt.

12: _Alice in Wonderland_ , a book that started off as a story told to the author's ten year old girlfriend, which was then written down at her request, presumably while the author wasn't taking naked pictures of her... the girl being the one that was naked, not the author. And no, I only wish I were making this up. Admittedly, there is no confirmation that Lewis Carroll was actually a pedophile, but it certainly looks that way to me.

13: _Chappelle's Show_ , season 2 episode 12.

14: This is a reference to how the show _Lost_ would get viewers to watch by saying that some major secret was being revealed next week, only to have nothing big happen in the following episode.

Note: In case no one caught on, the _Cas_ bar is a clever pun on Casbah (or Kasbah) which is an African fortress. Now the _Cas_ bar deals in betting on the Citadel fights; and what is a citadel, kids? That's right. A citadel is also a fortress. Aren't I punny? Or is that a double entendre?

Underworlds

The Underworld is set up like a giant greyscale city where each underworld from every pantheon is a district of the city. These are the districts mentioned in this book and the mythologies to which they belong.

_Adlivun_ : Inuit Underworld, described as frozen wasteland ruled by Sedna. Souls brought there by Pinga were said to have to stay for one year before being able to move on.

_Annwvyn:_ Welsh Celtic Underworld ruled by Arawn that is the land of souls that have departed the world.

_Duat:_ Egyptian Underworld said to be geographically similar to Egypt, but with lakes of fire, walls of iron, and trees made of turquoise. Ruled by Osiris and home to several gods, including Anubis.

_Duzakh_ _:_ Persian Underworld that was described as terrifyingly dark, pungent, and narrow. Ahriman and other Daeva reside here.

_Irkalla_ : Babylonian/Sumerian Underworld ruled by Ereshkigal. Instead of a heaven or hell type of underworld, Irkalla was more of a place where the dead went and decomposed.

_Mag Mell_ : Celtic plane of paradise where Manannan mac Lir is originally from. Said to be an island far to the west. Passage to Mag Mell is said to be attained through death or glory, similar to the Norse's Valhalla.

_Mictlan:_ Aztec Underworld ruled by Mictlantecuhtli. Described as being far to the north and comprised of nine levels. Souls of the dead had to endure trials that included winds that tore off flesh, rivers of blood, and jaguars.

_Niflheim:_ Norse Underworld for those who didn't die in battle. A realm of ice and cold ruled by Hel.

Acknowledgments

First off, I'd like to note that my portrayal of amnesia in this book is very 'Hollywood'. In other words, it's total bullshit. What's described in this book is what is known as psychogenic or dissociative amnesia, retrograde amnesia, or a fugue state, which are extremely rare. Real-life amnesia isn't as simple as the person finding the memories and everything is all good because the cause is more likely to be from a stroke or a brain infection. The most common types of amnesia prevent the patient from forming new memories while leaving long-term memories and personality traits intact. The most accurate portrayal in cinema is probably the character Dory from _Finding Nemo._

Writing the third book took twice as long as both the first and second books, despite being only a few thousand words longer than the second book. I thank my family and friends for the suggestions they gave me.

Thanks go to Daniel Schwen for his photograph of New York that I edited for the book's cover.

I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who has read the series so far. If you enjoyed this book, please tell your friends about the series and write a review. The review doesn't have to be long or complex, just it being in existence helps me continue doing what I enjoy while providing some entertainment and a distraction from the lives of some who really need it.

Indie authors thrive based on reviews from readers so I thank each and every one of you that takes the time to write one.

About the Author

A.L. Bridges was born and raised in Washington state. He currently resides in Phoenix Arizona and wonders why in the hell anyone decided to settle in the middle of the desert when it is so stupidly hot there.

A.L. Bridges is currently attending a university in Arizona, focusing on finishing his degree in biomedical sciences, and writing in his spare time.

Feel free to email him at albridgesauthor@gmail.com with comments, criticisms, or suggestions.

For updates on the latest books, visit http://albridges.blogspot.com

or follow him on Twitter @Albridgesauthor

Excerpt from _Cole's Haunting Melody_

Chapter 1: Some Questions Answered

[October 14th]

"Cole, are you alright?" Cheza asks as we stand in the garden at my aunt's house.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine!" I defend as I look directly into her now suspicious eyes.

She should be turning fourteen in May, not twenty. I should tell her... after all, she has the right to know. However, it will bring up the modifications that force her to love me, and in that regard, I'm terrified.

I'm terrified of her reaction.

I'm terrified that she'll despise me.

I'm terrified that she'll leave.

"Cole... please don't lie to me..." Cheza softly replies.

I feel myself caving... I step closer to Cheza and caress her cheek with my right hand, my fingertips brushing against the jaggedness of her recently cut hair that still has an inexplicably sexy appeal.

"I—" I start to say.

"Nephew," Saraswati says behind me with her noticeable Indian accent and I go on alert as I turn towards her. "Do not fret. I'm here on behalf of Parvati."

"What does my mother want?" I question.

After basically telling her and my father to go fuck themselves

"Well now this monster is telling you both to go fuck yourselves."

Never mind, there is no basically about it. I specifically told them to go fuck themselves. After slighting two of the most powerful gods in the universe in such a fashion, I doubt my mother has anything nice to say to me.

"Parvati wanted me to tell you that she'll handle your father and that you can take as much time as you need. We still don't even have any information on Loki's whereabouts so there is no reason for you to not take some time off," Saraswati informs me.

Well, that is certainly not what I was expecting.

"Based on your expression, I take it that you are confused. Come, perhaps I can clear up some misconceptions that you are currently experiencing," Saraswati says and walks further into the garden.

I follow after her with Cheza close behind me. The foliage becomes denser until we round a corner and the path opens into a furnished vermillion pagoda, not unlike the one that acts as a gate on Mount Kailash. I walk up the steps into the pagoda and take a seat across from Saraswati on a large silk-cushioned couch while Cheza sits down next to me.

"Would you like a drink?" Saraswati asks and snaps her fingers. Two glasses appear on the glass table in front of me. I pick it up and take a drink, finding that it's mango lemonade.

"Thanks. How does that work here? As far as I've seen, being able to conjure things into existence only works on godly planes and I'm not even sure how it works there," I say.

"While my house is technically on earth, it and the surrounding property are part of my domain. As for how it works, these things aren't actually brought into existence. They are simply taken from other places. Haven't you ever had something mysteriously disappear on you?" Saraswati questions.

Does this mean that the gods have a highly vested interest in singular socks?

"However, certain things are created directly from the Aether, or the Void," Saraswati adds.

"What is the Void?" I ask.

"It's the fifth element, so to speak. It's the basis of all things. It is where all gods come from, where we get our power, and what we return to if we die, or so I theorize. We don't know for certain. My brother has five 'faces,' as it were. The fifth, Isana, looks to the north-east and is directly affiliated with Akasha, or the Void. Because of this, Shiva has a deeper connection with Void than any other god," Saraswait answers.

So my Drive was able to use the Void because my Drive was really an incarnation of Shiva so it knew about my godly origins... wait a second, Airi had said that Bhairava, who was my Drive, was disconnected from my mind when I died. If that's true, then who had been taking over my body to use the Void before I was able to?

Airi is the only one possibly capable of doing something like that...

"Now, I believe we should move on to you," Saraswati says.

"Me?" I reply.

"Yes, you. You seem to be under the misconception that you are an ayonija, an artificial child. This is incorrect. While you have been altered, you were born of your mother's womb and are very much her son," Saraswati explains.

"If I was born from a god and a goddess, then why am I not a god?" I inquire.

"The incarnation that your mother is currently using is mortal, or at least it was at the time of your birth," Saraswati answers.

"But wouldn't that make me a demigod?" I ask.

"This is where things get confusing. The original plan was to have you born as a demigod while making alterations to you using blueprints from the blood warriors, along with a few other alterations that would allow you to fight against gods. However, you came out with the aura of a god-made sentient being like the jinn. What's even stranger is that we were able to bring you back to life upon your death by rebuilding your body. This shouldn't have been possible because of the nature of other sentient beings. Upon their deaths, beings with silver auras rejoin the Void. There is no Underworld for them," Saraswati explains. And since Addie and Cheza are similar beings, they too don't have an Underworld...

"So why did you bother making a new body for me if you thought I wouldn't be able to return?" I inquire.

"Because your aura was still in play, so to speak. Thus, Shiva created a new body for you while Parvati gathered your aura and spent nine months joining the two. Upon finishing, Parvati discovered that your mind was still disconnected so she enlisted the help of Pinga and Hel to put you in a situation where you could recover your memories without the threat of your enemies finding you," Saraswati informs me.

"Why didn't you just send me back to Cheza?" I question.

"We were concerned that a shock like that might cause you to become permanently disconnected from your memories," Saraswati replies.

"Okay, I guess that sort of makes sense. So why go through all this trouble when surely there are other gods that can defeat Loki?" I ask.

"Because you're the only one that can do this," Saraswati says, but my 'bullshit' meter goes into the red.

"No, really," I reply.

"*Sigh*... Can't you just accept that answer? Fine, the truth is that Parvati wanted to have another kid. She told my brother, my brother responded by porting in a bunch of baby goats, telling her that she could take her pick, resulting in Shiva sleeping on the couch for a year," Saraswati responds.

"Haha! Totally worth it!" I exclaim.

"My brother thought so too. He eventually caved at around the time that Loki took over the Norse pantheon, and decided that he could intervene while giving Parvati what she wanted. He did something similar with your brother, Murugan, when Tarakasur was a problem," Saraswati says.

I remember Murugan being a god of war and victory that was specifically born to fight a demon in a Hindu legend, but not much else.

"Alright, that seems realistically plausible to me. So why did they make it so I have a Caucasian bone structure?" I inquire.

"Parvati thought life in America would be easier if you were Caucasian," Saraswati explains. Well, she wasn't incorrect...

"Then why am I so tan?" I ask.

"That was a compromise between Shiva and your mother," Saraswati answers. I have a few more questions, but...

"Well those are the only questions I had," that I can ask with Cheza here, anyway.

"Oh? Well, I'll be here if you ever need to talk," Saraswati replies with a knowing gaze.

"Thanks, Saraswati," I tell her, grab Cheza's hand, and touch the Haglaz rune on my right shoulder.

Chapter 2: Destination Decisions

Cheza and I appear in Jason's room in Niflheim. I immediately strip off my jacket, pouch, and boots before a swirl of black mist announces Jason's arrival.

"Hey CT, glad to see that you're both safe," Jason says.

"Hey bro, I'm really tired so let's talk tomorrow," I tell him.

"That's cool. You and Rei can just crash here. I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Jason replies and leaves the room.

I pull off my jeans while Cheza strips out of her leather suit. We climb into bed and Cheza snuggles into my right side.

"Sorry if my hair still smells burnt..." Cheza whispers.

"Don't worry, it doesn't. It smells like frozen oranges, just like always," I think to her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Cheza thinks after a few moments.

"Maybe... I think a vacation will help. Now we just have to decide where we are going," I reply.

"How about Australia?" Cheza suggests.

"No," I respond after thinking about it for all of a tenth of a second.

"What? Why?" Cheza asks.

"Three words: Poison, poison, poison. All of the poison. My gods, there is so much fucking poison. Even the cute-looking beaver-duck hybrid things are poisonous, and they're mammals," I reply.

"But you're pretty much immune to poison!" Cheza points out.

"That doesn't change the fact that everything on that continent is actively trying to kill you. They have saltwater crocodiles, tons of sharks, rockfish, box jellyfish, blue-ringed octopi, and even their fucking snails are poisonous!" I tell her.

"Okay, so we'll just stay out of the ocean!" Cheza suggests.

"Dingoes, more crocodiles, cassowary i.e. giant birds with six-inch dagger claws that kill people for fun, and emu i.e. giant birds that I believe are immune to bullets after the Australian Army was sent in with .50 caliber machine guns to kill 20,000 emu that were devastating local farms and only managed to kill a thousand of them after shooting 10,000 rounds over the course of a week. The bullets they were using punch fist-sized holes through people and the army still only managed to kill a thousand of them! Plus there's the magpie i.e. a non-giant bird that takes joy in swooping down and attacking people's eyes!" I exclaim.

"Cole?" Cheza asks.

"Their ticks can fucking paralyze you! And don't even get me started on their spiders! The redback spider males have to copulate with the females, which happen to be ten times their size, while the female eats them! Then there's the Sydney Funnel spider, whose bite can kill you in forty minutes, is frequently known to charge at people, and it can even fucking swim! Then there are their tarantulas. How can a giant hairy spider get more terrifying? When it eats fucking birds, that's how!" I exclaim.

"Cole," Cheza says in a somewhat exasperated fashion.

"Then there's the cute and cuddly Koala, which I'm naming 'the murder bear' in an act of foresight for when they learn how to use guns. Finally there's the kangaroo, which haven't killed anyone that I know of, but that didn't stop one from trying to kill a ninety year old lady, her two grandsons, and two police officers! And my only defense against them is that I know that they can't hop backwards thanks to Daniel Tosh and his love of Snapple facts!" I exclaim.

"COLE!" Cheza screams and smacks me. "I GET IT! WE DON'T HAVE TO GO TO AUSTRALIA!"

"Now, let's go to bed. We can discuss where to go on vacation later," Cheza says and snuggles back into my side. I take her suggestion and close my eyes.

****

"DADDY! DADDY! Look what I found!" Addie squeals as she runs up the beach towards me, her bushy silver tail swishing back and forth through the hole in her bathing suit.

"Isn't it pretty!?" Addie squeals as she shows me what's in her hand: a tiny peach colored octopus with vibrant blue circles all over its body. I feel my heart stop when I see it.

"Daddy? I don't feel so good," Addie says with a pale face.

I grab the octopus from her with my left hand and hurl it into the ocean. The toxin starts to set in as Addie collapses into the sand.

"Addie! Hang in there!" I panic as I pick her up and cradle her body, feeling her clammy skin.

Addie's lips turn blue as I put my left hand over her mouth, thinking that I can use my blood to neutralize the toxin. As my left hand makes contact with her face, the wind picks up. Addie turns into black smoke and is blown away, leaving me kneeling on the sandy beach—alone, as tears stream down my face.

"Cole."

****

[October 15th]

"Cole," Cheza soothingly says while gently shaking me.

I open my eyes only to find that everything is blurry. I sit up, quickly turn away, wipe my eyes, and sniffle once. Cheza hugs me from behind, draping her arms over my shoulders.

"Okay, I see your point... fuck Australia's animals," Cheza whispers into my right ear.

"Haha, exactly," I reply and give her a quick kiss before standing up.

I head into the bathroom, step into the shower, turn it on, and shut my eyes. I'm aware of the water berating my body, but I can't feel its temperature—I'm completely numb.

Addie...

"Cole..." Cheza says from behind me. She presses herself up against my back and the feeling returns to my body.

"We need to decide where we are going," Cheza adds.

(Why don't you take Cheza to the cabin?)

"Why would I do that!?"

(She will discover the truth eventually. This isn't something you can run from)

"Even so, won't there most likely be people living in it now?"

(Inti actually purchased the property and paid for maintenance in advance. He had been planning on telling you about it so you could take Cheza there, but he died before he could)

"Airi, how do you know this?"

(I have access to all of Inti's memories)

"How?"

(Because of where he ultimately ended up)

"And where is that?"

(Take Cheza to the cabin, Master)

"We're going to Lake Baikal," I reluctantly tell Cheza.

"Okay?" Cheza says uncertainly.

"It's important for us to go there," I inform her.

"Alright," Cheza consents.

We finish our shower, get dressed, and I reattach the rest of my holster to my pouch before returning the two Diamond swords to their position on my back, which I had removed for the 'scouting' mission to Duniya al Jinn. We exit the room and head down the hall, finding Jason and Reyna in the kitchen.

"Good Morning," Reyna greets from her position on a bar stool.

"Morning. Where is everyone?" I inquire as Cheza and I take the seats across the bar from Reyna.

"Well, after meeting her mother, Naia was brought back here. With the case finished, Natasha had to go make her report so Pinga brought her to Arizona. Naia went with Natasha so she could go see her boyfriend," Jason replies from the kitchen, where he appears to be making crepes.

"Well that makes things easier. I suppose we should head back to Fogquartz and pack," I say to Cheza.

"Oh... this is something I forgot to mention, but you were expelled," Cheza informs me.

"What?" I reply.

"Yeah, almost immediately. Sara and Tia already gathered your things and said they were moving back to Arizona, which they probably already have," Cheza adds.

"Where are you guys going?" Reyna asks.

"On a vacation to some lake," Cheza replies.

"That sounds nice. We should take a vacation too, Reyna," Jason says.

"Can you even leave the Underworld?" I ask.

"According to my mom, I have just over two weeks of surface time saved up, but I was actually thinking about taking Manannan mac Lir up on his offer to visit Mag Mell. That way, I won't use any of that time because Mag Mell is an Underworld plane," Jason replies.

"Well, it is a nice plane and their beer is really good. I say go for it. Alright, let's get going, Cheza," I say.

"Can't we at least stay for crepes?" Cheza asks.

"Fine. Crepes first, then we head home," I reply.

"Here you go!" Jason says, setting a platter of crepes on the bar. He brings over four plates, strawberries, and whip cream. I dish myself out a crepe, fill it with strawberries and whip cream, and roll it up.

"I have to hand it to you, man. You are damn good at making breakfast!" I say as I finish my crepe.

"Dude, you have whip cream all over the side of your face. Here," Jason says and reaches across the bar. He wipes a globule of whip cream from my left cheek and then licks his finger.

"Thanks bro," I reply.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Reyna and Cheza propping their heads up with a hand against their chins, staring at me and Jason.

"Do you ever feel threatened by their relationship?" Reyna asks Cheza from across the bar.

"Once, when I caught them cuddling in Cole's bed when they were seventeen, but I'm used to it now. Plus it gives me an excuse to claim my property by doing something like this," Cheza says. She grabs my head, pulls me closer, and licks the left side of my face.

"Ouch... you need to shave, Cole," Cheza says while scrunching up her face.

"Haha, yes Mistress," I reply.

"Why were they cuddling in bed?" Reyna questions.

"Oh, who remembers? It was probably something to do with 'drunk and passed out.'" Cheza replies.

"Alright, well thanks for the crepes. We'll see you guys soon," I say as I stand up.

"Yep, see you, CT. Have fun on your vacation!" Jason exclaims.

"Yeah..." I reply.

The place we are going most likely will not end in a good time... Cheza grabs my hand and I port us to the front yard of the house in Arizona.

"We're home!" Cheza announces as we walk in the front door.

" _DADDY!"_ Addie screams while running towards me from the couch. I clearly see her tail swishing back and forth through her skirt. When Addie gets within five feet of me, the illusion of her dissolves mid-stride and leaves me feeling hollow.

"Cole..." Cheza says with a pitying look.

"Welcome home you two!" Tia says while walking in from the kitchen.

"Rei, what did you do to your hair?" Sara asks as she rounds the corner.

"That's a pretty long story," Cheza says. I move into the living room and sit down on the couch while Cheza recants.

"...So I was engulfed in flames for a split second before Parvati ported me out of there and onto Mount Kailash, where we proceeded to cut my hair and chat while waiting for Cole," Cheza explains.

"Parvati, Hindu goddess of power and wife of Shiva?" Tia clarifies.

"Yeah, she's Cole's mother. And since Saraswati is Cole's aunt, that means that Sara is actually Cole's cousin. So, Cole thought I was dead and proceeded to..." Cheza continues, but her voice gets tuned out.

Addie climbs onto the couch and settles into her favorite spot: my lap. She leans backward, looks up at me, and smiles before turning into black smoke as she fades away.

I know that it's just my imagination, but that doesn't make it any less painful. I stand from the couch and trudge into my bedroom while Cheza finishes her story. I pull a duffle bag out of my closet and start throwing clothes into it. Siberia is probably cold this time of year, so I should probably pack warm clothing... is this really a good idea? Cheza deserves to know that she was really born only thirteen years ago and that she's been mind-fucked into loving me, but losing her isn't an option to me and it's looking like a real possibility.

"No, I'm doing it. I'm taking Cheza there. That's final," I say to myself and finish packing.

(There is something you need before you leave, like the key to the cabin. Go into Inti's office)

I do as Airi says and go down the hall to Inti's office. It's been nearly eighteen months since I last entered his office, when Tia took Cheza and I to the meeting where I first learned about the gods, but nothing has changed. The book cases on the left and right walls remain, as do the Victorian desk and chair. The only noticeable difference is the light layer of dust on everything.

(Second drawer down on the left, taped to the bottom of the drawer)

I walk around Inti's desk, open up the second drawer on the left side, and pull off the item taped beneath it. It's an envelope with my name written in large block text on the top of it. On the back of the envelope is a golden seal imprinted with an Incan headdress.

" _Not to be opened until he knows the truth"_ is written above and below the seal.

I stick my finger underneath the lip of the envelope, slide it along, and break the seal. I'm vaguely aware of my helmet engaging just before a pulse of gold washes over my body. Okay, that was weird.

"Cole, are you alright?" Tia asks in a hushed tone as she walks into the room a few seconds later.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just opening up this letter and I assume that I activated some sort of spell when I broke the seal," I explain.

"Yeah, basically this entire room was rigged with those spells. It's supposed to knock you out and make you forget recent events when activated. Eric set them up to keep you or Chezarei from accidentally discovering the existence of the supernatural before you were ready. So what's in the envelope?" Tia inquires.

"It holds the key to the house where Cheza's parents lived. That's where I'm taking her," I reply.

"Why? That hardly seems a fitting place for a vacation," Tia says.

"I have something that I need to tell her... something that she deserves to know."

'and I couldn't think of a better place to tell her than the place where I first started irreparably fucking up her life,' I decide not to add. I open up the envelope and pull out the letter, finding a key taped to the bottom.

Cole,

If you're reading this, then you are aware of what you really are, and I have most likely rejoined the Void. This is the key to the house where Chezarei lived with her family near Lake Baikal, in Russia. Please, take Chezarei there so that she can hopefully regain something of what was lost—something of what I took from her. The coordinates are as follows: 54.00N, 108.78E

—Uncle Eric

I remove the key and put it into my pocket. Using my left hand, I smear some blood on the letter and then I transmute that blood into acetylene. The paper is almost instantly incinerated, and then Tia and I leave Inti's office.

"Cole, why didn't you tell me that we were going to Russia? It's October so it's going to be freezing!" Cheza complains.

"Cheza, we're going to Russia, pack warm clothing," I warn her in a retrospect fashion. Cheza gives me an annoyed look in response.

"Can you please finish packing? I'd like to leave as soon as possible..." I say while staring at my shoes.

"Okay..." Cheza quietly replies.

She caresses my cheek, brings my face towards her, and brushes her lips against mine. I return to my room, grab my duffle bag, head into the living room, and sit on the couch to wait for Cheza.

Cheza understands me. She understands that I can't be in a place where everything reminds me of Addie. Cheza understands me, which is why I can't afford to lose her... but I also can't keep this a secret from her...

"Are you ready to go?" Cheza gently asks, coming out from her room with her suitcase in tow.

"Yeah... let's go," I reply, hoisting my duffle bag over my shoulder.

Cheza wraps her hand in mine and I touch the triskele on my left shoulder blade, porting us to the frozen forest that Inti ported to eleven years ago.

Chapter 3: A Possible Mistake

"So where are we going?" Cheza asks as she struggles to pull her suitcase through the snow. I grab her suitcase, lift it up, and place it on my shoulder, holding it like a boom box in the 80's.

"Someplace that holds a truth that few people know," I mumble.

"What?" Cheza asks.

"Never mind. It isn't too far," I tell her.

Cheza stops asking questions and lets her concerned silence hang in the air. We continue walking through the frozen forest, the cottony crunch of the snow beneath our feet being the only ambient noise, and the moon being the only source of light. The cabin comes into view and I make a beeline towards it... that's an expression that I've never understood. When's the last time that you saw a bee fly in a straight line? You know, besides when it was part of a swarm trying to kill you.

"Cole... this cabin... it's..." Cheza says as I slide the key into the lock and open the door.

"Quaint..." Cheza adds with uncertainty as I set our luggage down near the door.

The cabin is relatively small. There's a small loft area that holds a full-sized bed that is accessed via ladder in front of us. To the left there is a small kitchen area with a table and an old-fashioned iron stove. Lastly, there is a brick fireplace with a fur rug in front of it to the right.

"That's it? It doesn't remind you of anything?" I ask.

"No, should it?" Cheza inquires, slightly perplexed.

"No... It's pretty cold in here so I'll get a fire started. I'll be right back," I tell Cheza and step outside.

The icy wind picks up and berates my exposed flesh as I pull the cabin door shut. I zip my jacket up, thankful that my exposed left arm can't feel the cold. I walk around the perimeter of the cabin, looking for a wood shed, which I don't find. I decide that the next best thing is to make some firewood myself. A suitable pine tree is only about twenty feet from the cabin. I punch through the trunk of the tree with my left arm, shooting splinters in most directions before the tree thuds softly into the snow. I drag the tree back towards the cabin and beat it into wood chips of various sizes. I gather up the wood chips in my arms and carry them inside the cabin.

"I thought you were getting firewood?" Cheza questions when she sees my armload of splintered tree.

"There isn't a wood shed or any firewood that I could see so I punched a tree down," I reply and dump my armload into the fireplace. I flip the lever near the mantel to open up the flue for the chimney.

"That isn't going to light since the wood is wet..." Cheza says, slightly condescendingly.

"We'll see about that!" I say as I grab a box of matches from the mantle of the fireplace. I kneel down, light a match, hold it up to a wood chip, and see that it isn't going to light.

"See?" Cheza says, definitely condescending this time.

I stare at her defiantly as I drip a few drops of my blood into the fire place with my left hand. I stand and take a few steps toward Cheza, my eyes never leaving hers, and I snap my fingers. Acetylene, which burns at about six thousand degrees, just laughs at the wet wood's efforts to not catch on fire. We have a crackling fire seconds later as I smirk at Cheza.

"See?" I tell her.

"Alright, master survivalist. What do we do for lunch... or rather dinner considering what time it is here?" Cheza asks.

"Do you know how to cook rabbits?" I inquire in a serious fashion. Cheza looks at me in horror.

"Haha fine. I'll port someplace and get food. What do you want?" I ask.

"Not little bunny foo foo..." Cheza quietly says.

"It was a joke, Cheza. As much as I seem to enjoy flaying people, I wasn't looking forward to skinning rabbits. How about pizza?" I suggest.

"I'm fine with that... just cheese though..." Cheza replies.

"Sure," I warmly reply. I didn't think my joke about the rabbits was going to freak her out so much.

"Um, Cole? What do we do about a bathroom?" Cheza shyly asks.

"Uh..." I answer.

(Closet door in the right hand corner)

I walk over and open the door to find that there is a small, airplane sized bathroom. The toilet even seems to work through some kind of suction instead of water. That's a smart idea considering that pipes must freeze quite often over here.

"Problem solved!" I announce triumphantly.

"Well at least this place has plumbing..." Cheza mumbles.

"Alright, I'm going to go grab a pizza. I'll be right back," I tell her.

I think of the Colloseum and port to Rome. In retrospect, it probably would have been a better idea to bring Cheza so we could have done some sightseeing and the whole tourist thing. Perhaps I'll bring her here tomorrow. The Colloseum is towering over me as the sun sets over the Italian skyline. Thankfully, no one seems to have noticed me port in. I go about looking for a pizza parlor and I head down an alley, following my sense of smell towards food.

A man suddenly comes out of nowhere and steps in front of me. He is around 6'4", has wavy brown locks that are probably around six inches long, five o'clock shadow, violet-grey colored eyes, and is wearing an expensive looking Italian suit. The word dapper comes to mind when I see him.

"Mi scusi," I politely say, 'excuse me' being the only phrase I know in Italian, thanks to the movie _Eurotrip_.

"What is Feros doing in Italy?" the man asks with a light Italian accent. My aura vision kicks on and I see a golden aura, as well as a violet colored lightning bolt tattooed on his right hand, which I'm fairly certain wasn't there a second ago.

"I mean you no trouble, your highness, Jupiter. I am simply here to pick up dinner for my girlfriend and I," I say with a slight bow. I figure he will correct me if he prefers to be called Zeus.

"Hmm... you are different than I thought you would be..." Jupiter says, snaps his fingers, and conjures a pizza, a dish of fettuccini alfredo, a bottle of wine, and something wrapped in foil, which I assume is garlic bread. Since he can summon things here, does that mean that all of Rome is considered his domain?

"How did you know I came for pizza?" I ask as I notice that the violet lightning bolt on his right hand has faded. I imagine that the tattoo might allow him to throw lightning bolts without summoning storms like Illapa had to.

"Because you are American," Jupiter nonchalantly replies while handing me the food.

"Well grazie, your highness. With my goal accomplished, I shall return now," I politely say with a slight bow, remembering what 'thank you' is in Italian.

"Prego. I imagine that we will meet again, Feros," Jupiter says and disappears.

My first encounter with a Category 4 god and nobody is dead; I'd call that a successful meeting! I port back to the cabin with lunch/ dinner/ midnight snack because of the time in Russia.

"I'm back. So I went to Rome, met Jupiter, got dinner, and nobody was killed!" I cheerfully announce as I set the food on the small table near the stove.

I turn and see Cheza staring at the cabinet in the left corner, the same one that she was hiding in when her parents were killed. Her eyes are wide as I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her from behind. Cheza recoils away from me in response. It feels like she just punched me in the stomach.

"Cole, this is... Why did you bring me here?" Cheza asks, her voice cracking.

"Cheza... I have something to tell you. You might want to sit down," I calmly say as I take a seat at the table. How much should I tell her? Just the age thing? Or everything?

(If you love her, you will tell her the whole truth)

"Cheza... it's my fault that you're like this," I quietly inform her while avoiding her eyes.

"Cole, what are you talking about?" Cheza asks with concern.

"As you know, Fenrir was your biological father. He sent werewolves to kill your parents and retrieve you. At the same time, my mother was telling Inti to also retrieve you. Inti came here, killed the wolves, and took you from that cabinet when you were two years old. Inti brought you to Saraswati, who then brought you to my mother, who advanced your age by six years so that you would be closer to me in age," I explain, still refraining from looking at her.

I decide not to tell her about Inti. After getting screwed over with her biological father, I can't tell her that her adoptive father is responsible for killing her mother.

"Cole, you can't blame yourself for that," Cheza replies.

"But it's my fault. Cheza, my mother aged you by six years, gave you false memories... and she even overwrought your instincts to make it practically impossible for you to not fall in love with me..." I softly admit.

I sit there silently while the pit in my stomach grows as Cheza processes the information.

"I-I need some time..." Cheza quietly responds about a minute later.

"Can you take me to Natasha's house?" Cheza requests.

"Yeah..." I reply, sounding like something is caught in my throat.

I grab Cheza's suitcase and then I gently grab her hand, feeling her fight the urge to recoil away from me. I touch my triskele and port us to Natasha's apartment. Natasha must be at work because her apartment is empty when we arrive.

"Are you going to be alright here?" I ask as I set Cheza's luggage down in the entryway.

"Yes..." Cheza quietly replies.

"Cheza? You know that I love you, right?" I ask her.

"Y-yeah, of course..." Cheza says with uncertainty.

I sadly smile at her and walk out into the hall of Natasha's penthouse building. Suddenly, I feel my connection with Cheza close. She must've had Airi block it... So where do I go now? I can't go back to the house in Arizona. I can't go back to Fogquartz. Jason and Reyna are on vacation so I can't go to Niflheim. I guess I'll just go back to the cabin. I touch my triskele and port to the cabin, where I sit down to eat the pizza and drink the bottle of wine. After eating, I decide to take a walk through the forest to try and clear my head.

What am I going to do if Cheza decides that she can't deal with this shit anymore? I would understand if she wanted to avoid me altogether. I made the right choice in telling her... didn't I?

While contemplating this and walking through the moonlit forest, I come across a circular opening in the trees. A beam of moonlight shines through the trees and on to two headstones. The writing on the gravestones is in Russian, but given the dates, I think it's a safe assumption that these are Cheza's parents' graves.

"Hello Chezarei's mom. Cheza is doing well, you don't have to worry. I should probably apologize. It's partially my fault for getting you killed after all," I say to the headstones. "And now I feel kind of stupid because I just realized that even if you can somehow hear this, you probably don't speak English... unless the Gift of Tongues counts for information coming from earth as well..."

"As far as I know, it doesn't," I hear a voice with a thick Russian accent say behind me. I look over my shoulder and see a snowman—not the abominable kind, just a regular 'Frosty' variety snowman.

"Hello," the snowman says, his accent making it sound like he is putting extra emphasis on the 'e' in hello.

"AH! A TALKING SNOWMAN!" I shout as I spin and backhand the snowman. The snowman explodes on contact with my left hand, only to reform from completely different snow about ten feet away.

"That is not nice. I am god Veles. I came to offer you trade, Feros. If you help me, I will allow your girlfriend to meet her mother," Veles, the Slavic god of the Underworld and magic, says. Cheza would probably like to meet her mom... it probably won't be enough to get her to stay, but it will most likely help.

"What's to stop me from going to the Nav district and finding Cheza's mother myself?" I ask.

"Because she is not in Nav, she is in higher plane of Underworld, Iriy. Like Elysium and Mag Mell, is invitation only plane for outsiders," Veles tells me. I consider this for a few moments.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" I inquire.

"I want your help getting my wife back from acehole brother Perun," Veles says. I think he meant asshole, but it certainly sounded like acehole.

"Nope, not falling for that one. In every story I've learned, you stole something from Perun (either his wife, his son, or his cow), resulting in you getting your ass blasted back to the Underworld, which humans in this age hypothesize as being the explanation for the changing of the seasons by ancient Slavs," I say.

"Have you not heard that history is written by victor?" Veles asks.

"Yeah, but if this guy Viktor was there and he was a subjective third-party, then wouldn't the story be true?" I reply.

"No, history is written by winner," Veles says.

"Weiner? Was he German?" I ask.

"No! History is written by peoples who win!" Veles explains, exasperated.

"Oh... I feel stupid. Alright, so all I have to do is rescue your wife from Perun? That doesn't sound too hard, besides the fact that he's a Category 3 god that uses electricity... So where is he?" I inquire.

Perun is the head of the Slavic pantheon and is the god of thunder, lightning, and war. Considering that every god of thunder or war that I've met has been an asshole, it's not much of a stretch of my imagination to believe Veles's story... well, I suppose Jupiter was a decent guy, but that still means that there's a seventy-five percent chance that Perun is an asshole.

"He lives at top of Great Oak. Perun knows when I leave roots of Great Oak, which is why I have to communicate through other means or he will blast me before I can finish my business," Veles informs me. I remember that Slavic mythology believed that the world was set up like a tree, much like the Norse Yggdrasil.

"So how do we get to him?" I ask.

"I will port us from roots, to branches. A Rusalka will come in the morning and lead you to Nav, where I will take us to branches," Veles tells me.

"I'll just meet you in Nav in a few hours. I need to go get some equipment beforehand," I reply, figuring that I should just go by myself rather than trusting a Russian succubus to be my guide.

"Okay, I will see you in few hours," Veles says and then the snowman collapses.

I port to the cabin instead of wandering around the forest looking for it. Once there, I extinguish the fire, close the flue, grab my duffle bag, and exit the cabin. After locking the door behind me, I port back to the house in Arizona. I pull my armored leather suit from my closet, as well as my Obliterator, and I set them on my dresser.

"Hey Cole, you guys are back early. Where's Chezarei?" Tia asks as she enters my room.

"Cheza is going to be staying at Natasha's place for a while," I quietly reply.

"What did you do?" Tia inquires.

"Can I explain some other time, Tia? Right now, I'm tired and I've got places to be in a few hours so I'm going to take a nap before then," I request.

In actuality, I just really don't want to discuss how Cheza and I might not be together anymore.

"Sure. Oh, before I forget, the progress on your new gun has hit a wall," Tia informs me.

"What? New gun?" I ask.

"Well remember how you said that the 10mm auto bullets aren't connecting with the faster targets and how I told you that higher calibers wouldn't do any good as far as velocity? Well I brought this problem up with Archer and we discussed several solutions. First we thought about using rifle payloads, but that wouldn't really help because of the stopping power you require from higher caliber bullets. After about a week, we finally came up with a solution: Smith & Wesson makes a .460 caliber revolver that has a velocity of 2300ft/s for a thirteen gram JHP round," Tia says.

"But a revolver won't work because it is impossible to reload them one handed," I point out.

"Exactly. That's why I had a custom gun commissioned. I sent in an order for a .460 caliber semi-automatic handgun modeled after a Desert Eagle. They were able to get it built, but they ran into a problem. Apparently, after less than a dozen rounds, the thinner barrel needed in a pistol cracked from the pressure. The standard .460 caliber revolver has a much thicker barrel, which withstands the excess pressure of the bullet," Tia explains.

Yeah, that is a real problem. My silicon carbide wouldn't crack, but I don't trust the ballistics that a ceramic barrel would provide...

"We'll keep working on it, but I just thought I'd let you know what's been going on," Tia adds.

"Alright. Thanks, Tia. I'm going to get some sleep before I have to leave," I tell her.

"Okay. Sweet dreams, Cole!" Tia exclaims and leaves the room.

I strip down to my boxers, flop down onto my bed, and attempt to get some sleep.

****

Chapter 4: Fall of the Slavs

The dream I have is of Addie's death: a pool of blood beneath her head, blood soaked clothes, her lifeless blue eyes, a bullet hole.

...

"Daddy? Daddy are you okay? Daddy!?" Addie asks while kneeling on my chest.

I open my eyes to see her wearing flannel pajamas with tears in her worried eyes.

"Yeah, Daddy is fine, Addie. I just had a nightmare. Let's go back to bed," I tell her.

"Okay," Addie says and moves to get off of my chest.

I see the bullet pass through my bedroom window, but for some reason, I can't move. The bullet hits the back of Addie's head and travels through it. As the bullet pierces the front of Addie's forehead, her body loses density and turns into black smoke, along with the bullet. I sit up and frantically grasp at the smoke, futilely trying to bring her back. I feel my bed lose substance and I sink into it as the Void consumes me.

****

[October 16th]

I jolt awake in my bed as the darkness of my arm fades back to silver. I shake my head to try and clear my mind of that dream when I notice a silver bracelet on my right wrist that is identical to the one Horus smashed, except that there is a Roman numeral five instead of Kali's yantra.

(To replace your old one)

"Thanks Airi."

I stand up and head into my bathroom for a shower. After drying off, I wipe down the mirror and shave, remembering Cheza's wishes. I don my black and silver suit, boots, Obliterator, and holster, before porting to Niflheim. While standing in Jason's room, I realize that I have a slight problem: I have never been to Nav and I have no clue how to get there. I'm stuck with no means to get there, until a solution dawns on me: since I was able to get to Mag Mell by simply touching my triskele and saying the name while I was in Tir na nOg, I don't see why I wouldn't be able to do the same with different districts of the Underworld.

"Nav," I say and touch my Haglaz rune.

Sure enough, I see buildings and grey pine trees around me that must belong to Nav. A man with a black beard and black hair appears next to me, dressed in leather armor.

"Hello Feros. Are you ready to go?" the man asks in the same voice as snowman Veles from last night.

"Yeah, let's get this over with," I reply, still irritated by my dream. Veles nods and puts his large mitt on my shoulder.

After the obligatory stomach lurching of porting, we arrive in a place that I can really only describe as the most elaborate tree house that I've ever seen. There are giant wooden rope bridges going to circular wooden platforms that then lead to more bridges. I see platforms and bridges curve off around a gigantic tree that's big enough to make Redwoods look like saplings. Over the edge of the wooden gazebo that Veles and I are currently standing in, I see an aerial view of Russia. Since the Great Oak seems to appear halfway towards the ground, I'm guessing that the view of Russia is just a displayed image and that this is a separate plane.

We walk across the twenty-foot long bridge from the gazebo to a large wooden platform that has eight other rope bridges branching out in all directions in the 180 degrees in front of us, and is about one hundred feet in diameter.

"He comes," Veles announces.

I see a lightning bolt streak through the sky. As it approaches, I make out that the lightning bolt is in the shape of a large bird, possibly an eagle. The lightning/ eagle strikes down about thirty feet from my position and warps into a large man with white hair and a white beard.

"Welcome Feros, brother," Perun says with a light Russian accent as he directs his attention to each of us when saying our names.

"Return your brother's wife," I say.

"No. He stole my cow so I stole his wife. That is fair, no?" Perun rhetorically asks.

"Not really. Return his wife or prepare to fight, your choice," I reply.

"What are you really getting for your efforts, Feros?" Perun asks.

"What do you mean?" I inquire.

"You have been deceived. The person you have been promised to see has long since moved on from Underworld. She is not in Iriy," Perun replies.

I feel a wave of anger overtake me, as if someone had promised me a meeting with Addie, only to find that it was impossible. I twist my ring and slash open my right wrist to begin drawing the Mu-cutter.

"Is this true Veles?" I ask through gritted teeth.

"Okay, so maybe I fudge truth little bit. Acehole brother still supports Loki in conquest!" Veles expounds.

"Fine... I'll just have to kill both of you then," I say as my helmet engages and Veles jumps to reposition himself to my 9 o'clock.

Veles proceeds to shout something in Russian to Perun, which I'm guessing has something to do with forming an allegiance to take me out. Perun summons a large battle axe to his right hand while replying as I notice that the axe blade has a scythe-crescent shape and looks like a sideways T. I draw my left Diamond sword and prepare myself for what is possibly the stupidest decision of my life. I watch Perun for incoming lightning bolts, figuring that I'll hear Veles's attack coming because he'll have to say a spell for it.

'Apparently I was mistaken,' I think as a burst of water hits me from my left, causing me to fly about twenty feet.

I catch a lucky break, considering that my Mu-cutter didn't accidentally slice me in half. And now it looks like I'm going to learn an important lesson in the conductivity of water! A lightning bolt hits me and my prone body flies back another thirty feet, stopping just on the edge of the platform as my Diamond sword goes flying over it.

(Picking a fight with the heads of a Category 3 pantheon was not your brightest idea)

"Perhaps was bit overkill?" I hear Veles say.

"Stories about him seem like lies now. So what now, brother? Do we fight?" Perun asks.

"No, ends same way every time. I think I'll go visit Feros girlfriend. She seems like she make good wife!" Veles chuckles.

The maw of the Void opens up in my mind, inviting me in for just a taste. I dive in without a second thought as I feel a bizarre sensation in my eyes that I can't really describe, but it's not exactly unpleasant. I'm willing to bet that they're black now like when I fought Horus.

"What makes you think this is over after a pansy ass attack like that?" I ask, my modulated voice at 'James Earl Jones' levels.

Perun responds by hurling ball lightning in my direction. The ball lightning is around three feet in diameter and speeding towards me. My blackened left arm rises on instinct and absorbs the ball lightning through my hand. I feel the tingling of the electricity on my skin as it gets sucked away into my left arm.

"So that was the infamous golden apple of Perun? Weak," I announce.

"No, that is not golden apple. _That_ is golden apple," Perun replies while pointing skyward and then he quickly runs away.

I look up and see a giant golden ball of lightning, roughly fifty feet in diameter, traveling towards me. There no way I can absorb something like that and I won't make it to a bridge before impact. I see Veles and Perun watching from an adjacent platform that is about two hundred feet away. That's within the one hundred meter restriction, but something tells me that I can do this. Just before the ball hits, I feel myself reach back with my left hand and find that I've ported to the spot behind Perun.

"Well, that may not have killed Feros, but at least chased him off!" Veles exclaims as he looks at the smoldering wreckage that used to be the left half of the platform.

"Did you see his face when he saw golden apple?" Perun laughs in front of me.

"I know, right? That acehole probably does not find this to be amusing in least!" I exclaim with my best Russian accent, which is basically just imitating Mickey Rourke from _Iron Man 2_ , before I stab the Mu-cutter through Perun's chest.

"But... HOW!? AUGH!" Perun grunts out.

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you are, pal. The only difference is that I'll be confused for a whole lot longer than you will be!" I maliciously reply before I bring the Mu-cutter up and slice through his head. Perun starts disintegrating as Veles looks in shock.

"I killed your brother, just like you wanted, Veles... too bad you can't hold up your end of the bargain," I announce as I slowly walk towards him.

To his credit, Veles knows when he's beaten and does the smart thing: he tries to run. Tries is the key word in that statement because even though he's the head of a Category 3 pantheon, I'm still only slightly slower than him and my tendrils more than make up for that difference. Veles makes a run for the gate as I give chase and throw my left arm out when I'm within range. Four black tendrils shoot out of my left arm and spear through Veles. They drag him over to my position, ten feet to the left of the missing chunk of platform, and turn him around to face me. I look into his eyes and see a great deal of fear.

"I do so love it when they sweeten the pot with fear!" I tell him in a hushed tone, as if it were a secret. My vision suddenly doubles, notifying me that I should wrap this up quickly.

"Since what you did was a minor offense, I'll give you a quick death. Isn't that kind of me? Now, to the Void with you!" I exclaim and slice off his head before quartering his body.

My legs buckle beneath me as my helmet retracts, just before I vomit up a whole lot of blood.

"Airi, what's going on?"

(Well, I don't know how to say this, but your internal organs currently resemble a pattern that is usually only seen as a result of tight lacing from corsets)

"What!?" I exclaim as my vision blurs further and the floor beneath me feels like it's rumbling, even though it's not.

(Your liver and stomach have been forced downward, your intestines are a mess, and one of your kidneys has been practically ripped in half)

"How did this happen?" I ask, but then it dawns on me: the short-distance porting.

(Yes, it is most likely from porting a distance of less than one hundred meters. At least that theory coincides with Dagda's warning. Since the gods' internal organs consist of a single, relatively solid mass, the damage done by porting would cause fractures instead of twisting and bending)

I suddenly realize that the rumbling floor beneath my feet is real, and it's a sign that the platform is falling apart. I make a break for the Gate, reaching it just as the wooden rope bridge collapses behind me. The other platforms in the distance start to collapse so I quickly touch my triskele. I hit the snowy field outside the cabin with a spray of blood flying from my mouth.

(Do not fret. I shall have you patched up soon)

I lie in the snow for a few minutes, slowly falling asleep, when I hear the crunch of the snow being compacted.

"He's really quite hopeless to be Master's youngest brother, but his actions make it quite clear that he is indeed Lord Shiva's son," an Indian accented female voice says as I lose consciousness.

Continue reading in Book 4 of The Gods' Executioner Series: _Cole's Haunting Melody_. Now available at most eBook retailers!

Please leave a review of the book at whichever retailer you bought it from. Indie authors thrive based on reviews from readers so I thank each and every one of you that takes the time to write one.

Thanks for reading!

