 
RETURN TO CAVE WORLD

By John Cosper

Copyright 2017 by John Cosper

All Rights Reserved.

Smashwords Edition

www.johncosper.com

For Sam and Lydia.

### Contents

Chapter One: The Chosen

Chapter Two: Invaders

Chapter Three: The Prophecy

Chapter Four: Smash and Grab

Chapter Five: The Trial

Chapter Six: Marooned

Chapter Seven: A Friend

Chapter Eight: Four Weeks Later

Chapter Nine: The Trial

Chapter Ten: The Kat

Chapter Eleven: The Arena

Chapter Twelve: First Blood

Chapter Thirteen: Ambush

Chapter Fourteen: Aftermath

Chapter Fifteen: A Long Walk

Chapter Sixteen: Mother and Pops

Chapter Seventeen: Negotiations

Chapter Eighteen: Roadblock

Chapter Nineteen: The Princess

Chapter Twenty: Plan A

Chapter Twenty-One: Terms

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Raid

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Next Chapter

Chapter Twenty-Four: Two Days Earlier

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Hook

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Trap

Chapter Twenty-Seven: End of the Road

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A New Beginning

About the Author
**Chapter One:  
The Chosen**

His grand imperial majesty leaned his bulk back against the heavy wooden bench, inhaling a big whiff of the sickly, putrid, green steam of his sauna. He held the steam in his lungs for a few seconds and slowly blew it out. The stench of this bog-like room would knock most sentient beings flat on their back, but Emperor Hoerk was not just any being. He was now the conqueror and ruler of nine worlds.

It had been a busy morning on Ranber, the newest territory in his expanding empire. He had overseen the execution of fifty would-be rebels in the throne room of what was now his newest palace. Hoerk prided himself on being a hands-on leader and not only pronounced judgment on the convicts himself but personally beheaded thirteen of them.

Hoerk didn't bat an eye when he later learned that the condemned were not rebels but relief workers trying to care for the elderly and the young in the wake of his invasion. The guilt or innocence of the dead wasn't the point. The show of will, the demonstration of power and cruelty,that was the important thing. The people of Ranber knew, as did the people on eight other worlds, that Emperor Hoerk demanded obedience.

Hoerk didn't have to do much to intimidate; he was intimidating enough in his physical form. He was taller than most beings by a good margin, humanoid in shape, but bulky and powerful, with big beefy arms and legs as round as tree trunks. His skin, now covered in sweat thanks to the sauna, was a mix of bright purple and grayish-purple splotches from his elephantine feet to his wispy white hair. A cruel smile crawled across his fat face most of the time, crowned by a pointed nose and two yellow eyes with black pupils.

The empire of Hoerk had grown steadily in the decade since the fall of the Warlord Empire. The Warlords governed the cave covered world of Arrax for years, dominating the transit ways from cave to cave, plundering at will, and keeping ambitious beings like Hoerk in check. After the Warlords and their ruthless leader Tarre Kahn fell, Hoerk and other opportunists rose to the occasion. Some spread their influence by persuasion, others with mild coercion. Hoerk preferred brute force, and his personal style as a man of conquest had helped him spread his influence much further than most.

Not bad for a little hatchling from the slums of Planet X.

The real prize, of course, was the throne of Tarre Kahn, the vacant seat of power on the Cave World. Hoerk was nowhere near being ready to make a play for such a grand prize, but he was closer than any of his would-be challengers. His time was approaching, and when he struck, the galaxy would tremble at his feet.

The speaker overhead crackled, its wires and inner workings rusted and ruined from years of exposure to the sickly steam Hoerk so enjoyed.

"Your majesty, Yarik has returned," said the disembodied voice of Quid Ronto, Hoerk's personal assistant.

"Send him in," said Hoerk.

"Into the sauna, sir?" said the voice, sounding puzzled.

"Yes, into the sauna," said Hoerk with a wicked grin. "I'm not ready to come out yet, so he can come to me."

Hoerk knew darn well that Yarik, a native of the green and lush world of Prairiss, got sick to his stomach every time he inhaled a whiff of his master's sauna. Seeing Yarik choke up would amuse the Emperor. It would also make the potential bad news easier to tolerate.

The door opened, and Hoerk's chief ambassador reluctantly stepped inside. Yarik's face betrayed his annoyance, and Hoerk laughed as Yarik tried to hide the reflexive gagging.

"What did you learn. Yarik?" asked Hoerk.

"Bad news, your vileness," said Yarik. "The rumors are true. There is in fact a prophecy about you."

"Does it call me out by name?" asked Hoerk.

"No, sir," said Yarik. "The prophecy's exact wording refers to, 'the one from Planet X who would be king.'"

"King!" Hoerk snorted. "I am an Emperor!"

"My master, the wording may be flawed, but I fear you are still in danger," said Yarik. "The oracle says that you will die at the hands of a foreigner."

"A foreigner?" said Hoerk.

"Not just foreign to your kingdom, but to the Cave World itself," said Yarik.

"An assassin from one of the uncharted planets, kill me?" said Hoerk. "Ridiculous."

"Sir, the oracle is very specific on this point. It even gives a name."

"For the assassin or their home planet?"

"Both," said Yarik. "Your majesty, the killer will come from... Earth."

The name of the planet drew a raised eyebrow from Hoerk. Yarik nodded. "Yes, your majesty, Earth. That's where the—"

"Do not bore me with religious nonsense!" said Hoerk. "There's no such thing as Earth, and there's no such thing as the Creator! It's a fairy story, meant to keep ambitious beings like me in check."

"Nevertheless," said Yarik, "I have men working now to locate the cave that leads to Earth."

Hoerk shifted in his seat, uneasy. "There's an actual cave?"

"According to legend," said Yarik. "I should have a location within the hour."

"Then we will march on Earth next," said Hoerk. "As soon as the last remnants of revolt are finished here, we will re-arm and conquer the so-called world of the Creator!"

"Sir, if I may," said Yarik. "Earth is from all accounts a dangerous and unpredictable world with no knowledge of the known universe outside what it can see in the sky. If we try a full-on invasion, there's no way to predict our chances of success."

Hoerk didn't like being told no. He didn't like people telling him he couldn't do something. But Hoerk was no fool. Yarik was a wise, outspoken man with good judgment. Hoerk frequently wanted to hit him, but he withheld his hand, knowing that more often than not, Yarik was right.

"What do you suggest?" said Hoerk.

"Send me," said Yarik. "Let me take a delegation to Earth. We will extract the accused and bring her to you for judgment."

Hoerk frowned at the idea. "You want to pick up this would be killer, and bring them into my presence? You don't see the danger in that plan?"

"I don't mean to put you in harm's way," said Yarik. "I only thought you might take pleasure in meting out judgment personally, even if we do it by remote."

"Indeed," said Hoerk. "Very well. Let's err on the side of caution. Go to Earth. Find him."

"Her," said Yarik.

"A female?" said Hoerk.

"Yes, majesty," said Yarik.

Hoerk chortled, a rolling laugh that grew to a bellow. "Find her and kill her."

"With pleasure, sir." Yarik gave his lord a half bow and quickly ducked out of the room, gasping for clean air.

Hoerk remained perched on the end of his bench. So it was true. There was a prophecy foretelling his demise. Whomever made that prediction was a fool giving him the name and location. He would find her. He would kill her.

But what if Yarik failed? What if this assassin was waiting for Yarik and his men when they arrived on Earth? What if she was already on her way? Could he really stop her?

Hoerk snorted. It was nonsense, all of it. Let the weak-minded believe in things like prophecies. Let the hopeless dream of the benevolent Creator who made them and the worlds they dwelled on.

Hoerk didn't believe a word of it, especially when he learned the alleged Creator who helped to overthrow the Warlords was a mere boy. Tarre Kahn killed the boy. He was as dead as the men and women Hoerk slew himself earlier that day. There was no one watching out for the weak. No one except him.

Hoerk slowly eased back on the bench, allowing thoughts of death to drift from his mind. He would continue his conquests. He would rule a thousand worlds, including Arrax, and no Earth born female would stop him.

Jennifer hated what she saw in the bathroom mirror. No matter what she did with her hair, no matter how little or how much she covered her face, she was never happy with the young woman staring back at her. It wasn't about the unruly brown curls her parents had cursed her with, nor was it about the tiny beauty mark mole on her neck. It was what lay behind the hazel eyes that turned her stomach.

Jennifer shook off her morning self-hate session and grabbed her toothbrush. She had plenty to keep her mind off her self-pity. There was a math test after lunch, and before that a gossip session sure to be a winner. A text on her phone early that morning told her that Megan French's date with Kelvin Conroy had ended in some pretty nasty words. Something about the misery of others always made her feel better about her own lot in life.

And then there was study hall. Something about study hall gave her a peace she couldn't find in any other part of her day. For the past seven months she had grown very fond of an unlikely friend. Donny Lange wasn't the kind of guy who ever caught her fancy. She liked athletes, pretty boys, boys who would never give a wallflower like her the time of day. She liked the fantasy because the fantasy required nothing of her in return.

Donny wasn't a love interest in any sense of the word, but he was fascinating. She had heard people giggling about the boy with a notebook filled with sketches and stories about another world, some science fiction epic he was supposedly writing. Most students only rolled their eyes when they saw the giant, messy folder in Donny's backpack, but Jennifer found it fascinating. She discovered Narnia at an early age and quickly segued into the worlds of Hogwarts and Middle-Earth. She lived for fantasy and never cared much for all that space stuff, but the Cave World, a planet covered in caves that acted as portals to other planets, was right in her wheel house.

One day they would all be adults, and the kids who laughed at Donny would be bragging to their kids how they went to high school with the man who invented the books and movies they all loved. And Jennifer...

Maybe then she'd find some reason to be happy in this world. Even if it was just being happy for an old friend.

Jennifer could tell Donny had an attraction to her. That made her nervous, but so far he had been too shy to say anything. She hoped he stayed that way. There was nothing worse than a boy going from friend to cold shoulder after you let him down. It was as if boys of a certain age were incapable of just being friends!

Jennifer couldn't afford to lose Donny. He had become her sounding board, her confessor. He knew things about her that she knew he would never, ever reveal to anyone else. She trusted him to keep secrets, and she was grateful for it. If she didn't have someone to talk to about her father, about the names he called her, about the beatings... she doubted she would still be alive.

She kept telling herself, only a few more years. A few more years, and she'd be free. Yet something deep inside doubted she would ever be free. It wasn't just that she was a minor, or that he had custody. He had power. So many times he had hurt her. Worse, she had been forced to sit back and watch him hurt her mother. Her mother had tried to strike back that one time. That was when he called the police and had her mother arrested.

Had she only spoken up that day, she and her mother would still be together. But she was afraid. She knew this man too well, and she knew if she said anything, he would come for her. Not even her mother could blame her for her fear, but that fear had cost them both.

Maybe it was true what the attorney had told her. Maybe they could have protected her. She was too scared to even give them the chance. So she continued on, living as a victim of fear and violence, longing for the day she turned 18.

She was so distracted, thinking how awful things were, she nearly forgot her gym bag as she headed out the door to school.
**Chapter Two:  
Invaders**

Donny hated the face before him.

Donny wasn't looking in a mirror, but a wide-ruled piece of notebook paper covered in pencil sketches. It looked nothing like it did in his imagination. His doodles never did. The robo-skeleton body beneath the head of this new creation looked pretty darn cool, down to the bolts and wires that held the thing together. He wasn't pleased with the barrel of the laser gun on the end of the right arm, but the flame thrower at the end of the left was very cool. Even the retractable wings that extended into a half-circle from the robot's back looked cooler than normal.

The head was a disappointment. He intended it to look like the deadly peregrine falcon, but the robot head looked more like a cartoon chicken crossed with a Cylon. Still, that wasn't the reason he hated the image in front of him. As Donny looked at the robot killing machine, he knew it could not possibly be a force for good. This was something evil, something deadly and dangerous. Something that could cause great harm to people and beings he cared about.

Donny was the Creator, the inventor of a place known as the Cave World. Its given name was Arrax, and the surface of said planet was dotted with caves that acted as portals to countless worlds across the universe. Whomever controlled the Cave World essentially became ruler of the galaxy.

Cave World began as a figment of Donny's active fifteen year old imagination, but one day, while redrawing his topographical map of the planet, he marked a cave that opened on his own planet, Earth. it was then that Donny found himself transported directly from the high school library to the world he himself invented. He was thrilled to find that, as Creator, he had amazing powers, but even his power almost wasn't enough to overthrow the evil that he had created, the blue-skinned tyrant Tarre Kahn and his deadly army of Warlords.

Tarre Kahn wreaked unfathomable havoc on his creation before and during his stay in the Cave World universe. Donny had told himself over and over that the place was only in his imagination, that he wasn't really harming people by creating such a monster. Villains were necessary if you wanted to create a science fiction franchise. In fact it was the villains, not the heroes, that made such franchises great. That was why he invented Tarre Kahn. That was why he invented new villains like Emperor Hoerk, and the secret society that even now was using Hoerk to place itself in position to take over Arrax.

He knew there was no chance he could actually have created and invented a real universe, yet it all seemed so very real to him. He could still see the red-haired beauty Princess Lita in her battle gear, and her unlikely partner in crime (and love), the bald and rotund Tor Hobbes. He had met them. He had traveled with them. He fought beside them.

Many times since, Donny had considered a return trip. He looked across the newly re-built library (the old one was mysteriously destroyed the day he entered the Cave World) at the study room where the entrance probably still existed. Could it really be as simple as that? Could he walk in that room, find the entrance and re-enter the world of his own creation?

He shook it off. It was all his imagination, a dream brought on by trauma. The library exploded mysteriously, and he woke up in the hospital. Everything that happened in the Cave World was in his head, a figment of his imagination. And it was going to be a best seller, if he could only get it to the right reader at the right publishing house!

Meantime, Donny had a sequel in the works. It had taken some time to find the right story, the right villain, and the right hero. Then one day, he saw her. She had been in front of him for years, and he only needed to open his eyes. She was the perfect fit for the newest battle against evil. He only hoped Jennifer would be okay with how much he had borrowed from her real life to create her fictional alter ego.

Donny packed his notebook away into his backpack. Five minutes until class. He left the library just as the delegation from Emperor Hoerk emerged into the tiny study room.

At first Yarik thought they were in a tomb. There were no windows, no signs of life. There was a table in the middle of the room (perhaps a place of ritual sacrifice?) surrounded by chairs (seats for the attending monks) and books on shelves lining the walls (religious texts and how-to guides for the priestly practices, no doubt).

Yarik's perspective changed radically when one of the men he brought with him spoke up. "It's a library," said Trexxer.

"A what?" said Callo.

"I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid. It's a place filled with books that contain stories. Histories, biographies, philosophies, and flights of fantasy." Trexxer cleared his throat, remembering his place and whom he served. "All bad things, of course, which is why our glorious Emperor destroyed them."

"Of course," said Yarik, half-heartedly. "These are the trappings of upstarts, of rebels, of people who would wish harm on our beloved Emperor."

"Not gonna happen, not on our watch," said Dannis.

Yarik went on. "You have your marching orders. You each have been issued a blender to help you fit in with the locals." Yarik tapped the black band around his wrist. It was a digital projector, used by spies and undercover agents to help them hide in plain sight. By scanning the images of a few individuals, the user of the blender could project an entirely different look - not only clothes, but skin and hair - onto themselves, allowing them to instantly fit in with whatever society they happened to be infiltrating."

"We're not crawling on all fours this time, are we?" said the green-skinned Dannis.

"Your target is humanoid, which is why you four were chosen. Her name is Jennifer French. She's an adolescent, and she dwells somewhere near the mouth of this cave."

"That's all we have to go on?" asked Trexxer.

Yarik nodded.

"If there's a threat to the Emperor, why are we here alone?" said Dannis. "We should come in guns blazing and conquer this land for our master."

"The Emperor has spoken," said Yarik, ending any further discussion. "Your task is to locate the target and bring her back peaceably. Use whatever method of persuasion you must, but do not cause a scene or draw attention to yourselves. These are violent and savage people who know nothing of the Cave World. The last thing we want to do is make them aware there are others in the universe with them."

"So no smash and grab?" asked Dannis.

"Only under extreme circumstances," said Yarik. "Any further questions?"

There were none.

"I'll be on the other side with the transport," said Yarik. "When one of you secures the target, signal the rest. We will clear the planet together and carry out the Emperor's orders."

Yarik turned back to the cave and vanished into the blackness.

"Sounds like we're using Protocol B-6," said Dannis.

"Guys, I was sick the day they covered B-6," said Callo, admittedly the laziest of the group. "What do we do?"

"Mysterious stranger," moaned Millmoss. "You insert yourself into her life, let their acquaintances see the two of you together, then vanish with her. Everyone's left with some idea what happened but no clue where they went."

"It's messy," said Dannis. "We should grab them and go."

"And risk exposing ourselves to a planet that's never had formal interstellar contact?" said Millmoss. "I don't like it much myself, but it keeps us in the dark."

"So we have to romance the girl?" said Trexxer. "What if she's not that attractive?"

"No one's saying marry her," said Millmoss. "Just get her curious enough to follow you back here."

"And don't let anyone see you," added Yarik. "Nice and clean missing person's case."

Callo shook his head. "I know these are savage people, but I hate leaving her family with no closure."

"We can always come back and drop her remains in a hole," said Dannis.

"That all depends if there's anything left to drop in a hole," said Trexxer.

"We're losing time," said Millmoss. "Let's get moving."

Trexxer opened the study room door slowly. They spotted a handful of students sitting at tables throughout the room. Each of the hunters took a turn scanning students in order to prime their blender. Once all four were properly attired to move freely they opened the door wide and began their search.
**Chapter Three:  
The Prophecy**

Two thousand, nine hundred and fifty eight kids roamed the halls of Scribner High School, more than enough to allow four alien bounty hunters to pass with relative anonymity, but too many to make their hunt quick and simple. Their task was made all the more difficult by the nature of their prey, who liked the large numbers and often used them to hide herself. Jennifer couldn't imagine still attending that tiny Christian high school her cousins did with barely a hundred kids in her class. "Everyone knows everyone," Missi had told her. To Jennifer that was too close for comfort, and she was actually relieved when her father turned down Aunt Caroline's offer to pay Jennifer's way.

The math test went okay, but Jennifer never had any ups unaccompanied by downs. Her laser-like focus on the latest chapter in Algebra II meant she forgot about the paper due in English class. Once again Mrs. Williams pulled out her "If something's going on, please talk to me. My door is always open," speech, but Jennifer was not about to bare her soul to someone who was paid to pretend she cares about Jennifer's well-being.

There was one person she could talk to, and no sooner did she sit down in study hall, he slid a drawing on her desk that made her smile.

"Be honest," he said.

"Looks like a Cylon chicken," she said.

"Ignore the head," said Donny. "How's the rest of him look?"

"I like the concept," she said. "But I've seen better."

She reached into the pocket of the folder and pulled out the graph paper she had used to draw her first alien creature ever: a giant tadpole-like dragon with eyes on top of stalks and a sharp, pointed tongue.

"It's a little cute for a space epic," he said.

"So were the Ewoks, and that didn't stop them," she said. "Maybe I'll be your concept artist when Cave World becomes a movie."

"I've got to get it published first if I want it to go that far," he said.

"Did you ever hear from that agent?" she asked.

Donny shook his head. "Not a thing. It's all about finding someone who likes what you do. Believe me, I'll keep trying."

Jennifer admired Donny's never-quit attitude. She would almost envy it if she had any ambitions of her own.

"How's your Mom?" he asked.

He was the only person who could get more than a shrug when asking that question. "She's better. Her arm's never going to be the same. He'd already broken it once, and now it's not going to set right."

Donny shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do it," she said.

"I know, but it's not right," he said.

Jennifer shrugged it off. "It's life. Things happen."

Donny didn't agree with that assessment in the slightest, but what could he do to prove it to her? He was just a kid, like her.

"So you keep on drawing characters for this new story of yours, but I've yet to see any kind of story. Where does Robot Chicken here fit in to the Cave World?"

Donny grinned. He dug into his worn out, two pocket folder and produced a wide-ruled sheet of paper ripped from a spiral notebook.

"It's just the beginning," he said, "But I think you'll like it."

Donny held his breath while she took the paper in hand and read it. As the words connected, she felt a churning in her stomach.

It all begins when a young woman is kidnapped by thugs of the evil tyrant who calls himself Emperor Hoerk. Jen is a native of [he left this space blank, intending to fill in later], the daughter of a mad, controlling father who has treated her almost like a slave, and things go from bad to worse when she is accused of the future crime of assassination. Jen knows nothing of the prophecy that says she will kill Hoerk. How could she? She knows nothing but the abuse and trauma caused by her father. But thanks to a traitor in Hoerk's midst, she escapes his grasp and runs for it.

Jen encounters a creature named Mortis. After telling Mortis of her plight and the prophecy, he invites her to his home world, where he will train her to become a mighty warrior. There she meets a barbarian named Brackish, who befriends her and...

Jennifer couldn't go on. The first paragraph was so overwhelming, her face flushed red with anger. She handed the paper back to Donny and turned in her seat, facing the front of the room.

"What's wrong?"

Jennifer glared at him hatefully. "As if you didn't know?"

"I thought you'd like it."

"You're writing about me!" she said, glancing up to make sure her angry whispers weren't drawing the attention of the rest of the room. Mr. Griffin, an elderly narcoleptic who was months from retirement, was snoring away, as was half of the class not engrossed in some sort of study.

"It's not about you," he said. "The name's temporary. I'll pick something not at all like--"

"What about the dad?" she said. "How could you!"

Now Donny felt a pang in his gut. "Jen, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just... Jen I wanted to write something to show that people can overcome their problems. You can stand up and fight him."

"I can't just..." she said. "You have no idea what it's like."

"No, not personally," he said. "But I still believe--"

"It's fiction," she said, cutting him off. "It's all in your mind."

Donny stared at her. Jennifer stared forward, her eyes hazily focused on the poster of Edgar Allen Poe at the front of the room. Deep down she knew he meant well, but she felt betrayed. She wanted to scream. She wanted to hit him. But she knew the best thing was to keep her mouth shut and give it time. She couldn't lose him.

Donny felt terrible. He had meant no offense; he truly meant to honor and encourage someone he loved and cared for. Yes, he had a crush of sorts, but it was friendship that mattered most. He wanted her to be safe, to be free. And as for the "It's just fiction," comment, well...

No. He hadn't really been there. It was one incredible flight of fantasy. It wasn't real.

Donny became so lost in thought he didn't see Jennifer take her things and slip out the door. Unfortunately for Jennifer, a sinister pair of eyes spotted her the moment she emerged into the hall.
**Chapter Four:  
Smash and Grab**

Antonio's was a Scribner High tradition dating back forty years. Under second generation ownership, the hole in the wall pizza joint located in a dilapidated brick building across the street from the high school had long provided mid-day refuge for students and teachers having a bad day. Scribner had been a closed campus for nearly a decade, a move that some believed would be the end of Antonio's, but business had grown so much the owner moved his opening time to 10 am to accommodate the mid-day refugees.

A handful of students and Mr. Apple, the shop teacher, were all hiding among the booths when Jennifer arrived. The unspoken rule of the place was much the same as Baptists in liquor stores. Anyone you see in Antonio's during school was never there, teacher or student. And what happened in Antonio's stayed in Antonio's.

Jennifer slid into a booth near the kitchen. She didn't need a menu because, like many in this small town, she already knew it by heart. She also didn't have to approach the sales counter to place her order. All it took was a nod to second generation owner Christine, and an order of a root beer, breadsticks, and homemade beer cheese went into the new computer system.

Jennifer wanted nothing more than to be alone, and she might have yelled at the young man who slid into the booth across from her had he not been so handsome.

"Tough day?" he asked.

Jennifer blinked. "Don't want to talk about it."

"I know the feeling," he said.

Jennifer looked at the handsome stranger. He had sandy blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and was wearing a well-worn Scribner sweatshirt. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"

"Sure we do, Jennifer," he said. "I'm in that one class with you."

"Which class?" she said.

"You know the one with the teacher, and stuff about the past."

"History?" she said with a laugh.

"I like to think of it as our story," he said. "Meaning our people, our world. Our shared past."

She laughed. He was cute and funny, but he definitely did not look familiar. Jennifer hardly knew everyone in this school and often made it a point to keep her head low, but she was certain they had never met.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" she asked.

"Call me Dan." Dannis had already introduced himself to a few people inquiring about his target, Jennifer French. He had learned two things: one, Jennifer did not have many friends, and two, "Dan" was a more acceptable and less humorous name than Dannis.

"Okay, Dan," she said. "I have some breadsticks coming if you'd like to join me."

"Sounds good." Dannis had no clue what a 'bread kick' was. "I will go order a beverage."

"Sure," she said. "Go grab a beverage." She giggled. It wasn't often that handsome strangers approached her, and it was even more rare for one to be so sweet and kind. She was just starting to relax, allowing herself to get lost in the moment, when things became very confusing.

Dan was only gone a moment when another handsome stranger, a tanned, taller boy with dark hair and darker eyes, sat across from her in a dress shirt and tie.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello," she said back.

"My name is Cal." Callo, too, had taken a few laughs sharing his full name and moved to the shortened "Cal."

"I'm Jennifer," she said.

"Your last name?" he asked.

"You're very direct," she said. "You selling something or are you one of those door to door missionaries?"

"No, just a student," he said.

"You're a little dressed up for high school," she said. She had never seen this guy before, either.

"I have been told as much," said Callo who had been told repeatedly during his brief time at Scribner that he was too dressed up to be a student. "Would you accompany me to the library to do some research?"

That was an odd request. "What are you researching?"

"Books," he said.

"Care to be more specific?" she said.

"I will, when we reach the library," he said.

"I'm very sorry," said Jennifer. "I'm busy."

"It will not take long," said Callo. "Please, I need help."

"I'm eating with someone right now, Cal," she said. "He's on his way back."

Callo turned and saw Dannis.

"Hello, Dannis," said Callo.

"Callo," said Dannis.

"I was just about to escort the lady here to the library," said Callo.

"No he was not," said Jennifer. "Sit down, Dan."

"We are having bread kicks," said Dan. "I will see you later."

"You two know each other well?" she asked.

"We are colleagues," said Dannis.

"Colleagues. That's interesting," said Jennifer. "What happened to being friends?"

"We don't have time for this," said Callo.

"I see no rush," said Dannis.

"We have a directive," said Callo.

Now Jennifer was feeling a bit nervous. She'd never skated on a bill, especially not here. She made a mental note to stop back later and pay Christine for the breadsticks she was about to bail on as she grasped her things for a quick escape.

"I'm sorry, I have to get back to class."

"No, please," said Dannis. "I want to try bread kicks with you."

"You can eat mine when they come," said Jennifer. "Just please tip Christine well for me, okay?"

Jennifer started for the door.

"She's leaving," said Dannis.

"Smash and grab," said Callo.

"Witnesses," said Dannis.

Callo pulled a small device from the uniform hidden beneath the blender's hologram. He dropped the device to the floor, and a visible beam of sound blasted out in the restaurant. The customers slumped in their seats. Christine and the cooks in the back dropped where they were. Jennifer fell to the ground just shy of the door.

"Yarik won't be happy about this," said Dannis.

"Then don't tell him," said Callo.
**Chapter Five:  
The Trial**

Jennifer sat up, scanning the cramped, cold room around her. It was a perfect circle in circumference, with only a narrow door cut into the side. There was no handle on the door, and the tiny window about eye level was shut. The walls were blue-gray steel raising up to a flat ceiling with one brilliant light source at the center. There were no seams in the walls, giving it the appearance of being one large formed piece of hollow metal.

As she pushed herself off the floor, she noticed two silver bracelets, one around each of her wrists, as they clinked against the floor. They were kind of cute in that bulky, tacky retro 80s way, but they were not hers. She was very confused.

"Hello?" she shouted.

Jennifer suddenly felt a powerful, magnetic force tug at her wrists as her hands were drawn together by the metallic bracelets, bound in front of her. Before she could say anything, the door opened, and Yarik entered with Callo and Millmoss.

"Welcome, Jennifer," said Yarik.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Yarik," he replied. "And I serve the Emperor. You are presently on one of his majesty's prisoner transports, a gift from the citizens of the planet Noolanis. And you are about to face your judgment."

"What?" It was all she could say, she was so confused and still a bit disoriented.

Yarik began again. "His majesty, Emperor Hoerk, has commanded that you, Jennifer French of the planet Earth, be extradited into neutral territory for trial, conviction, and execution on the attempted assassination of his majesty. I, Yarik, along with my crew, will be carrying out your sentence."

Jennifer looked at the boys and then back at Yarik. "Is this a joke?"

"Not a joke, Jennifer French," said Callo. "We're gonna kill you."

"For what?" she said.

"Because if we don't kill you, you're going to kill the Emperor," said Callo.

Jennifer snorted in disbelief. "So because I might kill someone I've never heard of, you're going to kill me."

"That is correct," said Yarik.

"And right now," she said, "I'm on a spaceship heading into outer space?"

"Quite the contrary, said Yarik. "We are in a ground conveyance, designed for transporting special guests like yourself between worlds via the planet of Arrax."

"The Cave World," said Jennifer. She did a double take. "The Cave World??"

"So you know the secrets of Arrax," said Yarik. "His Majesty was most wise to send us after you. He is eager to see his would-be executioner face to face. You will have a chance to plead your case, and if His Majesty is satisfied, you will receive mercy."

"Mercy?" said Jennifer.

"For your future crime of assassination, the murder of our beloved master, Emperor Hoerk."

It was then Jennifer remembered what Donny had shown her in study hall, the synopsis for his next story, the one that bore her name. It had to be a dream, she thought. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she just knew it had to be a dream.

So why did the cold steel of the heavy bracelets keeping her bound feel so very real?

Dannis rolled a small cylindrical platform into the room. He set it beside Yarik, who waved his hand over the top. A three dimensional image flickered to life. There, on top of the cylinder, Jennifer got her first look at Donny's latest evil incarnation, Emperor Hoerk. The entire throne upon which his eminence sat was made up of skulls taken from the bodies of dissidents who tried to stand against His Majesty. Each one had been cleaned, dipped in the purest gold, and set in place meticulously. The seat and seat back were covered in the soft, brown hide of the Otusken rebel Uthor the Terrible, who was skinned alive during an intergalactic broadcast in what was considered to be "the family hour."

Hoerk, dressed in gleaming white battle armor adorned with a velvet green cape, leaned forward on his throne, looking at the holographic image of Jennifer from the safety of his throne room.

"So," said the Emperor. "This is the chosen one, the savior destined to end my reign. Who do you think you are, girl, trying to kill me?"

Jennifer replied with absolute confidence. "I think I'm a girl having a very vivid dream brought on by the imagination of my best friend, and the second I wake up, I'm going to be safe and sound on my own planet."

"This is no dream," said Yarik. "You are about to die."

"It may not be a dream, but I know for a fact it's not real," said Jennifer. "This is all a story. I know it is because I know Donny. He invented all of you, all so he could sell a book. He even showed me the outline for this stupid story! You're not real. You're fiction!"

Yarik prodded her with a hand-held shock device, sending a surge of electricity through her body. The pain felt very real, and she crumpled back to her knees.

"I assure you this is very real," laughed Hoerk. "It's your friend, the so called 'Creator' that I am not convinced is real."

"Oh he's real," said Jennifer. "And when I get my hands on him, believe me, he's going to be sorry he ever put my name in a story!"

Hoerk laughed again. "I like her spirit, Yarik. I do. And she's pretty for a human. It's a shame she's too dangerous to leave alive or else I might make her one of my brides."

"Well, at least this dream isn't going in that direction," said Jennifer.

"Your majesty, we await your judgment," said Yarik.

"Yes, of course," said Hoerk. "How does the accused plead?"

"I don't plead," said Jennifer. "I'm going to wake up, be home, and this will be a funny story I'll tell Donny. I'll even pass along your regards if you—"

"She's guilty," said Hoerk. "Of trying to bore me to death, if nothing else."

"Her sentence?" asked Yarik.

"Shoot her," said Hoerk.

"You do not wish her tortured first?" asked Yarik.

"Nah, I wouldn't enjoy it with this one," said Hoerk.

"Awww," said Dannis and Callo.

"Can't we torture her just a little?" asked Millmoss.

Yarik pulled a laser blaster out of his robe. "The Emperor has spoken."

"Darn right I have," said Hoerk. "Now shoot her already. I'm late for my massage."

It was only then, as Yarik aimed the blaster gun at her face, that Jennifer realized she might be in real danger. "Wait, please," she said. "There's been some mistake."

"The oracle does not make mistakes," said Yarik,

"Trust me, the oracle was wrong," said Jennifer. "I realize it had my name in it, but that was just a place holder, okay?"

"You know the oracle," said Yarik, a sense of wonder in his voice.

"I read it for myself," said Jennifer.

"Shoot her now, Yarik!" Hoerk bellowed.

Jennifer's eyes widened in terror. Yarik released the safety. "I am sorry."

Before Jennifer could scream, Yarik flipped the gun around and fired three shots, killing Dannis, Callo, and Millmoss with a single shot each.

Jennifer saw the Emperor's hologram do a spit take. "Yarik! What are you... why did you... are you a lousy shot?"

Yarik aimed at the hologram. "This is for what you did to my people, and all the peoples you have enslaved. Death to the Emperor!"

Yarik blasted the platform, and the image of Hoerk vanished. He holstered his weapon and waved his hand over Miriam's wrists and the binders finally released her.

"Take them off," said Yarik. "You don't want to keep those on. They can be tracked and reactivated."

Jennifer pushed the bracelets off and rubbed her wrists. It felt too real to be a dream, but it had to be. Right?

"Who are you?" asked Jennifer. "Do you know Donny? Is this something he arranged?"

"You mean the Creator?" said Yarik. "I know he comes from your world, and despite what the so-called Emperor says, I believe in him."

"Do you really believe a girl like me is going to kill that guy?"

Yarik looked into her eyes. "Yes. I do."

Yarik pressed a button on the wall. "Konrad, what's our present location?"

A voice crackled over the speaker beside the button. "We just crossed out of his majesty's domain. We're almost at the drop site."

Yarik pressed the button. "The deed is done. We no longer have to call him by that bogus title."

"Then we are dead men," said Konrad.

Yarik replied, "We will die for the good of many, old friend."

Yarik turned to Jennifer. "You are on a planet far from your home, and yet not far at all. The world is called Arrax, and it is covered in—"

"Caves," said Jennifer. "I know all about it. I know your Creator all too well."

"The Emperor, whom you just met, is a thug and a murderer. He slaughtered my people and has massacred lives on eight other worlds. He has designs on taking over Arrax, as do many ambitious beings since the Alliance defeated the Warlords and Tarre Kahn.

"But the Emperor recently learned there is a prophecy against him specifically, the ruler who would rise up from Planet X."

"Planet X?" said Jennifer.

"You've heard of it?" said Yarik.

"No," said Jennifer. "Just surprised. Sometimes Donny can be really creative, but other times he just gets plain lazy."

"The prophecy came from the Brotherhood of Gordo, and it named you specifically. You and the planet of your origin. The Emperor was afraid, and he commanded us to track you down."

"That's impossible," said Jennifer. "You're not real. You're all just a work of fiction. How can this be real?"

"I don't know how things are on your world," said Yarik. "But this is very real to me and to everyone whom Hoerk has tortured or murdered these last ten years. We need a hero, and right now, you're the only chance we've got."

"Yarik, I'm not a hero," she said. "I want to go home. Please."

"It wouldn't be safe for you to return now," said Yarik. "The Emperor has seen your face. He will send more men after you. Your only chance is to stay here."

"And kill the Emperor?" She shook her head. "No way."

Jennifer felt the transport lurch to a stop. "We're here, Yarik," said Konrad. Yarik picked up Jennifer's school bag and handed it to her.

"Come on."

Yarik led her out of the holding cell, down a narrow walkway, to a sliding door. He took hold of the handle and pulled it sideways, letting the brilliant sun of Arrax stream inside the truck. Jennifer shielded her eyes as Yarik took her by the arm and led her down two steps to the desert floor. "I'm sorry to do this," he said. "But this is where we leave you."

"Here?" she said. "In the middle of the desert?"

Yarik pointed at a small rock formation. "Over there, you'll find a cache of weapons, some water, and some food. Should be enough to get you through a week at the most."

"A week?" she said. "I have to get home! Please, don't leave me here."

"Hoerk will come for us," he said. "We will be lucky if we live an hour. Hide here, look for a transport. Get off Arrax and find your destiny."

"I want to go home!" she reiterated.

Yarik stepped back on the transport, and the large grey truck sped off, leaving Jennifer in the dust before she could react.

"Get back here!" she screamed, running after the vehicle. "Don't leave me!"

Jennifer stopped. She watched the truck disappear in the distance. She never saw the deadly smart missile sent to murder Yarik, but she saw the fireball and heard the delayed explosion when it caught up to the truck.
**Chapter Six:  
Marooned**

Jennifer found a small satchel behind the rocks, and just as Yarik promised, it was loaded with supplies. Five bottles filled with water sat on top inside the bag, and Jennifer immediately helped herself to a drink. Below that she found several foil bags she assumed were full of snacks - some nuts and maybe dried fruit by the feel of them. Looking down further, she saw a knife, a blaster, and several black clips she assumed were ammunition for the blaster. Jennifer opened her backpack and began moving the contents from Yarik's satchel into her own. She kept the open water bottle out, and she climbed up the rock formation to see what she could see.

"Okay, Donny," said Jennifer. "I know you have something in mind. Tell me what happens next."

Jennifer racked her brain, trying to remember the story outline. There was a name, a name for the one who would train her to be a killer. It seemed absolutely ludicrous that anyone would think her to be a potential assassin, and it seemed even crazier to think this was really happening. But even as Jennifer dismissed the whole idea, a vehicle appeared in the distance.

Jennifer jumped down from her perch and hid behind the rocks, waiting to get a closer look. There were no wheels or tracks; the vehicle hovered a foot off the ground. It was powder blue trimmed in rust and longer than a regular Earth car, with no visible engine or propulsion system on the vehicle. In fact the whole thing looked like a floating Volkswagon van.

Curiosity led Jennifer to step out of hiding as the vehicle approached. The driver slowed down, seeing the girl, and came to a halt beside her.

A window lowered in the front, and a black, bug-like head popped out.

"Hello there," said the driver. "You appear to be lost. Perhaps I can be of assistance?"

"I'm looking for someone," said Jennifer, taking a chance on the stranger. "A man who will train me."

"Train you?" said the bug. "And what, pray tell, would a lady like you wish to learn?"

"There's a prophecy," she said, going for broke. "I'm supposed to stop some Emperor."

A bug eye twitched. "You mean... you wish to kill him?"

"No, no," she said. "I don't wish to, but I've been told... it's sort of a destiny thing, I guess."

"Most prophecies are," said the creature. "Perhaps that is why I happened by. My name is Mortis, and I specialize in preparing young potentials for battle."

Mortis? She couldn't remember if that was the name or not. It almost seemed like it was ages ago, even though it was less than a day. Or was it?

"Do you know of the rebellion against Emperor Hoerk?" she asked.

"I know of many things," he said. "For instance, one does not want to be out and about in the darkness, when the Arraxian dragons come out to feed. Please, hop in. I'm headed to my home and will take you with me. We'll see just how fit you are to be a savior."

Jennifer winced. She was no savior, but if there were dragons about, she wanted to be as far from them as possible. The rear of the vehicle opened like a gull-wing door, and Jennifer stepped in. Mortis was sailing along before the door shut the rest of the way.

"What is your name, girl?" said Mortis.

"I'm Jennifer," she said. "Jennifer French."

"Jennifer Jennifer French," said Mortis. "A curiously repetitive name."

"It's just Jennifer French," she said. "One Jennifer is all."

Mortis glanced back at her, smiling. "From the look of things, Jennifer, I would guess you had an eventful day."

"You don't want to know," said Jennifer.

"I'm all ears," said Mortis. "Or I would be if I had ears. Auditory sensors are in my nasal cavity. I know it's weird to you, right?"

"Everything is," said Jennifer.

"We've got a long ride," said Mortis. "Fill me in, start to finish."

Jennifer did, starting with her encounter with Callo and Dannis and leading all the way up to the moment Mortis arrived with his hovercraft. Mortis was a good listener, only occasionally interjecting with thoughtful, "Hmm," or an "A-ha," or a, "That's Yarik for you."

Much as she wanted to tell him about Donny, she kept silent, willing to let events play out as they may. Perhaps it was her resistance to believe that kept her from waking from what had to be a terrible nightmare.

"I've heard many things about Emperor Hoerk," said Mortis. "Murder, mayhem. To tell the truth, I never thought him worse than any of the other crime bosses who sprung up after Tarre Kahn was killed. But a prophecy is a prophecy, right?

"I guess," said Jennifer.

"Hang on, we're at the cave," said Mortis. "I live just outside Hoerk's domain, on the planet Rylovia. We've got a nice, secluded compound, tons of land and tall walls."

"Keeping things in or out?" asked Jennifer.

"Keeping things private," he said. "We're sort of a combat training school. You know, uh, mercs. Assassins. Soldiers of fortune. Not regulation military, mind you. I train the people who get things done."

"How long is this going to take?" asked Jennifer.

"Every student is different," said Mortis. "Give or take, maybe a few months to prepare you for some basic combat?"

Jennifer shook her head. "I've got school. A life. I can't stay here that long." Jennifer wondered just how time moved inside the Cave World versus back on Earth. She thought back on all Donny had told her about his own journey. He was gone less than a day, wasn't it? And yet he had been in the Cave World several days having his own adventures.

Surely she would wake up from this no more than a day later. But even if she didn't, how eager was she to return to the reality she knew?

Mortis steered the vehicle into a dark cave. It was dark inside the rocky walls of the cave, and the blackness seemed to stretch on forever. Jennifer found herself pondering the science of it all. Were they teleporting? Was it a worm hole? She had often quizzed Donny on it, but as with so many things in his universe, he just hadn't gotten around to figuring out the answers. All he knew was the caves led to other worlds, and as Jennifer soon saw, this cave was no different.

On the other side of the cave, Jennifer saw a lush, tropical paradise filled with palm trees draped in vines and the chattering sounds of a rain forest. A white wall loomed ahead, and just as Jennifer expected, the vehicle went straight for the one opening, a white gate of metal bars, in the side.

The gates opened and closed for the vehicle, and Mortis brought the craft to a stop in front of a beautiful white mansion. The walls of the palace were shiny and clean, with rounded edges instead of sharp corners.

A lumbering, hairy humanoid with a hairy, wolf-like face and two wicked looking horns like big horn sheep sticking out from its jowls approached the vehicle as the doors opened up. Jennifer pulled back as the creature reached inside, offering her a hand.

"This is Brackish, my head trainer," said Mortis as he stepped out of the vehicle. "Brackish, meet a very new, very dear friend. This is Jennifer Jennifer French."

"It's just Jennifer," she said.

"Another project for me?" said Brackish. "Or fresh meat?"

"Jennifer comes from Earth," said Mortis.

"Earth?" said Brackish, sounding a bit surprised.

"That's right," said Mortis. "She claims to be the chosen one, the one who will end the reign of our neighbor, the Emperor called Hoerk."

"Hmmm," said Brackish. "She looks pretty weak to me."

"When have the fates ever chosen someone big and strong for a great cause?" said Mortis. "That's just not how it's done."

"Donny's a fan of Yoda and Hobbits," said Jennifer. "So it figures."

"She speaks in strange yet familiar tongue," said Brackish.

"Brackish, there's potential in this girl," said Mortis. "Read her mind."

Jennifer looked at Brackish. "You can read minds?"

"Shhhh, girl," said Brackish. He reached out with two massive, hairy hands and placed them on either side of Jennifer's head. Jennifer heard him humming (or was he chanting?) as he shut his eyes to concentrate on her inner most thoughts. She thought about testing him, putting a message into her mind to try and see if he would respond, but before she could form the question, he disconnected and spoke.

"It is her," he said. "And yes, I know you were about to test me, to see if I was really reading your mind. Sorry for leaving your head space so soon. Perhaps another time."

Jennifer grinned. She wasn't too sure about Mortis, but there was something genuine in Brackish she liked.

"Brackish, take the girl to the quarters in my wing," he said. "I want her trained separate from the others. You will work with her one on one."

"It will be my greatest honor," said Brackish. He reached into the transport and grabbed Jennifer's bag. "This way, please."

Brackish started toward the mansion. Jennifer looked at Mortis.

"You will dine at my table. Nothing but the best food, I assure you. Not familiar with Earth myself, but if we can get some Earth food brought in, I will arrange it. Brackish is the best trainer I have ever had. Listen to him, and find your destiny."

Jennifer thanked Mortis, who dismissed her with a nod of his bug-like head. He watched the girl disappear into the house with his top trainer, a fighter who had made millions for Mortis in recent years.

Mortis didn't know and didn't care if the prophecy was real. She was his, and if she was legit, he would make a few bucks off her as well.
**Chapter Seven:  
A Friend**

Arlo Zooss was not prepared to die.

This declaration of defiance was not the bravado statement of a warrior who fears nothing and believes he will come out the victor in every battle. This was the thought racing through the mind of a man who had just seen nineteen of his comrades in arms killed in less than a minute.

Arlo crouched down behind what was left of the bar in the hotel suite. Sunlight from the open window streamed in through multiple laser gun holes in the wooden front on the bar, and Arlo knew that the woman who had slaughtered the rest of the assault team would soon round the bar and put an end to his life.

"Hi there."

Arlo looked up and saw her looking down on him. She was shorter than he imagined, and more beautiful than he was told. She had golden blonde hair that dipped past her shoulders and her eyes practically sparkled. She was dressed in a tank top and pajama pants, and she held a G-6 Peacemaker Repeater Blaster in her right hand.

"Leave the gun on the floor and stand up, please," she said politely.

Arlo couldn't move, paralyzed with fear. His breathing was shallow, and he desperately wanted to plead for his life. Try as he might, he could not speak a word.

"Deep breath, soldier," said Kat. "Stand up. Leave the gun on the floor."

Arlo released his sweaty death grip on his own double-barreled blaster and stood up slowly.

"Good man," said Kat. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Arlo," he said.

"You know who I am, right?"

"You're Kat Labar," he said, his voice shaking.

Kat gave him a friendly grin, the kind one gives a nervous child on his first day of school rather than the kind one gives to an enemy. "Relax, Arlo, no one else is going to die today."

He shook his head timidly. "If I let you go, they'll kill me."

"You're not letting me go," she said. "I'm going with you."

"What?" he said.

"I'm going in," she said. "You are taking me captive."

Arlo's brow lifted high on his forehead. "You know what they're going to do to you, right?"

"I'm counting on it, Arlo," she said. "It's why I came to this miserable little planet."

"You mean you want to go?" he said.

"More than anything."

Argo cast a glance at the bodies scattered around the room. He looked at his commanding officer, his former drill commander, his two best friends, all dead.

"If you were just gonna surrender, did you have to do all this?" he asked.

Kat turned and surveyed the carnage in the room. "I guess I didn't have to kill all of them, but once you get going, it's hard to know when to quit. Friends of yours?"

"A few of them," he said.

Kat patted Arlo on the arm. "Between you and me, Arlo, I hate killing people who are only following orders, but I had to make a statement. I need your boss to know I came in because I wanted to come. Shall we?"

Kat walked to the door of her hotel suite. Arlo followed, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," he said. "You have a price on your head in twelve systems. Why would you surrender?"

"I'm going to murder your boss," she said.

"You what?"

"I'm going to kill him," she said.

"Why?"

"I have a contract," she said. "It's strictly business."

"You know I have to report this, right?" he said. "I don't want to, but I—"

"You have a job to do," she said. "Do it."

"You mean it?" he said. "You won't kill me if I tell him what you said?"

"Do your job!" she said with a playful tap on the arm. "Let him know his days are numbered. It will only make the job more fun."

Kat handed her blaster, butt first, to Arlo. "Well, let's not wait for the maid to come in and call the authorities on us. I assume you have a ride?"

"I do," he said. "But I'm still not sure I should trust you."

"Listen, Arlo," she said, "I have no beef with you, nor does my employer. You are a pawn in this. A nobody."

"Thank you," he said.

"You're going to turn me in, collect the reward, report what you've heard, and then pack up and get out of town, free to start a new life with your reward money."

"I don't know," said Arlo. "The people I work for are not very forgiving. If they find out-"

Kat cut him off. "By the time they realize their mistake, they'll be too dead to take it out on you."

Arlo followed Kat out of the room, down the hall to the elevators. He thought briefly about going for binder cuffs, but he thought better of it. Kat was going peacefully. She had spared his life. And he had no doubt she would not only survive what was ahead, but collect on her contract.

His boss was a dead man.

Before her untimely abduction and her trip to Arrax, the idea of killing someone had never entered Jennifer's mind. Even on the worst of days, she never wished her father any harm. He was her father. And she was, for all intents and purposes, a pacifist. She hated violence in all its forms, from war down to football.

Four weeks in as a trainee in the home of the mysterious being called Mortis, and murder was definitely on her mind. She still wished no harm to her father, but she wanted to kill Donny. Slowly. Painfully. And thanks to her trainer, she had the skills to do so.

Training began every morning before the two suns were up. By the time the first sun was fully in the sky, she had eaten and was on the proving grounds, doing stretching exercises with a motley crew of strange aliens.

After warming up, Jennifer spent most of the morning doing hand-to-hand combat, though more often than not she found herself sparring with creatures that had flippers or tentacles rather than hands. She learned to defend herself against a variety of appendages, and while the training was exhausting, she reveled in her success.

Shortly before lunch they took time to work with blasters on the laser gun range. Jennifer struggled with the guns early on. In fact for the first few days, she flat out refused to use them. She stalled as much as she could until lunch, and afterwards, like all the other trainees, she spent time working on a variety of implements of destruction. Bow staffs, knives, battle axes, swords, improvised explosives. If it could be used in combat, they touched it and played with it. A few reckless trainees even died from it.

The students were treated to a lavish dinner every night, and then they were subjected to even more training. One night they ran. Another night they lifted weights. Once in awhile they would swim. It was never-ending physical work, and Jennifer excelled at everything.

Despite her initial misgivings, Brackish had become Jennifer's one real friend in this strange world. She had never seen the likes of him in all of Donny's notes, and she wondered what nightmare had inspired such a creature. Brackish kept her at an arm's length at first, unconvinced the human girl would ever rise to the occasion of her destiny. It wasn't until the day she finally picked up the long rifle on the shooting range that she was able to break through his tough guy facade.

"Relax," he muttered, standing a few feet behind her.

"I can't," she said. "I have a gun in my hand, and I hate guns."

"Your finger," he said. "Relax your trigger finger. Take deeper breaths."

Jennifer inhaled deeply. She held her breath a few seconds and blew it out slowly.

"Open all your fingers," he said, coaching her. "Stretch them. Now close them one at a time, slowly. Take a deep breath."

Jennifer took another breath and slowly brought her fingers back into position. She lowered her head to look down the sight again and squeezed the trigger, hitting the target for the first time.

"Perfect," he said.

That evening, Brackish invited Jennifer to sit with him at his private table. The ice was broken, and the two began to bond.

"So how did you find out about the prophecy?" he asked.

"The guy I'm supposed to kill had me kidnapped," she said. "He ordered his men to kill me, but one of them turned against the Emperor, and, well, here I am."

"You didn't know anything about it before they grabbed you?" he said.

"No," she said.

"So if the Emperor had just let you be," he said.

"I would never have known," she said, "And he would never have been in any danger. Silly, isn't it?"

Brackish laughed. "He's a fool. He might as well have put the gun in your hand himself."

"Even if he did, I couldn't just murder him," she said defensively.

"In wartime you can't really call it murder," he said.

"It's taking a life," she said. "It's not my thing."

"But the right thing, I assure you," he said.

"I'm sure he's perfectly evil and deserves to die. I'm just not prepared to be anyone's executioner."

Brackish called for refills on both of their beverages. His glass filled, Brackish resumed their discussion. "You don't know about Titus B, do you?"

"Is that a person?" she asked.

"It's a planet," he said. "It's where I was born."

"Sorry," she said. "Where I come from, I'm one of the few who even know about the Cave World, but I only know a few planets. Sulee Minor. Spikor. Not many more."

"Is it true that you know the Creator?" he said.

She nodded, feeling her anger rise. "Yep. I know him."

"That's just unreal," said Brackish. "I stopped believing in him long ago. After my home world was destroyed."

"I'm sorry," she said, unsure what else to say.

"It was the Emperor," he said. "Hoerk came in and devastated us. Our people surrendered willingly. That's the worst part. But he wasn't satisfied with accepting a white flag.

"I was in the army at the time. Special Forces. We laid down our arms, and he opened fire. My wife, my children, all of my family were killed. I managed to escape with my life. I was the only member of my platoon to do so."

"So that's why you came here," said Jennifer.

He nodded. "For so long, I refused to believe there was a Creator, that any intelligent being would allow a people to suffer as greatly as he did. But now, now I wonder if I went through all of that just so I could be here, to prepare you to do what needs to be done."

Jennifer thought it through. It made sense. If she was to be the one to save the people enslaved by Hoerk, Brackish had the right pedigree to prepare her for battle.

It all fit together nicely. A little too nicely.

Like the plot twists of a science fiction story.

Jennifer looked at Brackish. "I'm sorry about your family. I'm sorry if I'm a disappointment. I'm just an Earth girl. I've never even been in a fist fight much less fired a gun at a living thing."

"You have the potential to fulfill the destiny set before you," said Brackish. "I see it. Mortis sees it, too."

Jennifer shook her head. She had no choice, and she hated it. They had already covered the hero's journey in her literature class, reading from Joseph Campbell and some of the classic hero stories from world literature. She could refuse the call, but something else would cause her to wind up back here, on the path of the hero, with a one way ticket to destiny.

"I assume you know about the Warlords," he said.

"Sure," she said. "Donny told me all about them."

"The Emperor does not yet have the power Tarre Kahn once wielded, but he is clever enough to achieve it. Given time and the right breaks, he could become a terror far worse than the Warlords ever were. I respect your devotion to peace and non-violence, but this is one case where the death of one could save billions."

Jennifer didn't want to hear this because she knew he was right. No, Donny had not intended her to be in this role, but what choice did she have now?

"If I can help others from suffering the fate of your people," she said. "I will try."

Brackish nodded his approval. "Want to do a little night shooting? Practice with the night vision goggles?"

"Sounds good," she said.

"Grab your gear," he said. "Meet me outside in five."

Jennifer finished her drink and headed for her quarters. Brackish took his drink in hand and wandered over to Mortis, seated at his own private table.

"What did you tell her?" asked Mortis.

"What she needed to hear," said Brackish.

Mortis nodded. "Then she will be ready."

"She will," said Brackish. "You have my word."
**Chapter Eight:  
Four Weeks Later**

The stars were out and the moon half full over Arrax when the boy emerged from an obscure, little used cave on the planet's surface. Ordinarily, it would be extremely dangerous and foolhardy for an adolescent to wander out across the sands of Arrax alone, but this wasn't just any boy. He knew every cave, every ridge, every nook and cranny of this planet. He knew them because he created them.

Donny looked left and right, surveying the landscape. No signs of life of any kind, not organic nor mechanical. Good. He didn't expect a ticker tape parade, nor did he want one. He was on a mission, and he had little time to spare.

After hearing about the incident at the pizza place, Donny knew Jennifer had somehow been pulled into his world. He didn't know how such a thing was possible, but he had no doubt it was his fault. He used her name as a place filler, intending to go back and create a different name and different planet of origin for his heroine, but now Jennifer was trapped until she could fulfill the destiny he had set before her.

He was also pretty certain that, given how they had parted earlier in the day, she was probably extremely mad.

Having faced Jennifer's wrath more than once, he knew he was in for it once he found her, but Donny would deal with it once he knew she was safe.

Just how angry she was would depend on how much time had elapsed. If he could catch her before she met Mortis, he could minimize the damage, but if she was already in his clutches, well, that was another matter. Donny knew the kind of creature Mortis was and what business he was in. Jennifer did not. It wasn't written in his synopsis, only because he hadn't gotten that far. He was too excited not to show her. He'd paid for that mistake once, and he would pay for it again if she discovered what Mortis was really after.

Donny walked a couple of hundred yards east of the cave. There, under the ledge, he spotted the exposed ribs of the Arraxian dragon. He had left her here just in case he might have to return. It was simpler than hiding a mechanical transport that could decay and rust under the harsh desert sun. And besides, what kid doesn't want to ride a dragon?

He touched one of the ribs with his hand. Immediately, the bones began to stir. Within seconds, they were fully exposed, and seconds later, covered in skin. The familiar face turned and looked at him.

"We need to find Tor," said Donny.

He stepped onto the foreleg of the dragon and climbed onto the creature's back. Bessie felt her master settle in on her back, and once he was ready, she set off for the former palace of Tarre Kahn.

The more time passed, the more real everything felt. Jennifer no longer saw herself as separate from her surroundings. She felt completely immersed in this alternate universe. It wasn't fiction; it was real. She felt real pain when she hurt. The air she breathed, the water she drank, the food she ate was real. Only rarely did something happen to remind her that this was not a real place, but the work of her friend's imagination.

Standing in front of the mirror outside Mortis's private dining hall, Jennifer had one of those moments.

The young woman looking back at her in the glass was nothing like the girl who had been forcibly abducted by alien bounty hunters from a Mom and Pop pizza joint only a few weeks before. Her hair was up, curled and cascading down the back of her head, and she had just enough makeup on to make her features glow.

She was wearing the very kind of dress she never, ever would have dreamed of wearing on Earth. It was dark red, velvet in appearance yet softer than a baby's blanket to the touch. The seamless top wrapped around her neck, leaving her arms and shoulders open. It was modest enough not to be shocking, but it still made Jennifer look more exotic and beautiful than she ever felt.

It wasn't just the dress that made her have an out of body experience. Her whole shape had changed. Jennifer lifted her arm and marveled at the sight as she flexed a bicep. She had never been overweight, but she was never the athletic type, either. Yet here she was, ripped and shredded and stunning in a dress that made her look both feminine and deadly.

"Who are you?" she said to her reflection. She answered with a shrug.

"You are the Chosen One," said Mortis. Jennifer jumped a bit, startled by his sudden appearance. She had not seen much of Mortis in the last few weeks. In fact her only interactions had been with Brackish up until now.

"Are you ready to fulfill your destiny?" asked Mortis.

"I don't know," she said. "Brackish assures me I am."

"Then you are," said Mortis.

"Why haven't I trained more with the others?" she asked. "If we're all in this together, to defeat the Emperor, shouldn't we be working together?"

"My dear, you had a long way to go when you first came here," said Mortis. "I didn't want you to become discouraged."

"I'm not behind any more," she said with confidence. "Ask Brackish. I bested him with the bow staff yesterday, and I can out shoot him any time."

"Jennifer, nothing happens here without my knowing," said Mortis. "I've watched you transform into a killing machine."

Jennifer didn't like the moniker, and she winced to hear it. "How many of us are going?"

"Just you," said Mortis.

"I'm not fighting alone," said Jennifer.

"You are an assassin," said Mortis. "Not a soldier. There are plans for you, but not with the regulars. Don't worry, you won't be going alone. Brackish will be coming as well."

Jennifer sighed in relief. Brackish had become more than a trainer. He was her sounding board, about life in this world and her own. She had told Brackish all about life on Earth, including her own personal struggles. She trusted Brackish with her stories about her father and the deeply conflicted feelings in her heart. Brackish always listened without judgment. He didn't try to tell her how to feel or what to do, but he simply listened. And much to Jennifer's surprise, he had recently taken to giving hugs, something that did not come naturally to a creature of his reputation.

"Brackish," she said. "Good. If he's going with me, I'm ready."

"Make us proud, Jennifer," said Mortis. "The world is counting on you."

"Several, from the sound of it," said Jennifer.

Mortis laughed. "Yes, several. Please, join me. One last feast before we leave this world behind for the horrors of war."

"I don't know if I can eat tonight," she said. "I'm much too nervous.

"Eat," Mortis insisted. "We have a long journey, and you won't be getting regular meals on the battlefield."

Mortis turned and moved into the dining hall. Jennifer was about to follow when she caught sight of herself in the mirror again. She laughed, still in complete disbelief that she could ever look this good. Not in real life. Not in her wildest fantasy.

But this was not her fantasy.

Well, well, well, Donny, she thought. Is this how you see me? Did you design this dress? Did you envision me like this?

Jennifer blushed. She knew that at least some of this was because of Donny. Maybe he really believed in her. Or maybe he was just mad, stupid, crazy in love.

It was flattering to see herself through Donny's eyes, she was still mad at him. She had some crazy new skills, and she was going to use them as soon as Donny showed his face.

But maybe, just maybe, she'd stop short of killing him.

"You're playing a dangerous game with her," said Brackish.

Dinner was long over; at least for Jennifer. She had retired for the night after her second dessert, leaving Mortis alone. Brackish slipped in from the kitchen, where he had eavesdropped on the whole conversation.

Mortis slurped down another bite of his dinner and swallowed. "What do you mean?"

"What if she is who she claims to be?" said Brackish. "She's become very strong very quickly."

"All thanks to your training," said Mortis. "She's ready."

"I know she is," said Brackish. "But what happens when she finds out you've lied to her?"

"We have lied to her," said Mortis. "Not just me, but we."

"Yes, we," said Brackish. "She's going to be very angry. With us."

"She's a child."

"She's the chosen one."

"Is she?" said Mortis. "Do you really believe in all that nonsense? Creators and prophecies?"

Brackish shook his head. "I do. There's something about her. She's already far more dangerous than she realizes."

Mortis looked at Brackish inquisitively. "Please don't tell me you believe her story about the Creator."

"She's not the type to make things up," said Brackish. "She's the most credible witness I've ever met for the legend. Maybe it's still just a story, but she believes it wholeheartedly."

Mortis took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. "Let's say she's the chosen one. Let's say she goes on and assassinates the Emperor. What of it? We're the ones who taught her to kill. Without us, she'd have died in the wastelands of Arrax. We'll be heroes, just as much as she will."

"She won't see it that way," said Brackish.

"Are you telling me you're afraid of this girl?" said Mortis.

"I'm not," said Brackish. "She is still no match for me. But what about you?"

"That is why I have you, my friend," said Mortis. "If anything happens to me, it will be no gain to you. You know that."

Brackish bowed slightly. "All that I have is because of you."

"As long as we're clear on that," said Mortis. "We depart tomorrow, right before dinner. Don't tell her until just before. I don't want to give her an opportunity to ask questions before we leave. We'll load up, eat dinner on the ship, and hit the beds. We will land before she wakes, and we'll see right away what she's made of."

"And if she doesn't survive?" said Brackish.

"She will survive the trial," said Mortis. "You trained her well."

"And if the prophecy is true?"

Mortis picked up another bite of food. "She's only a girl. I doubt she lives long enough for us to find out."
**Chapter Nine:  
The Trial**

"Wake up," said Brackish. "We've got trouble."

Jennifer's eyes opened. She could never get used to the feeling, that gut feeling that she was finally waking up from the dream - only to look into the alien face of her trainer. The two of them were aboard Mortis's luxury yacht, a land-based cruiser that cut across the rocky terrain of Arrax like a smooth, waveless sea. Jennifer was in bed in a private cabin larger than her own bedroom. Brackish stood over her, already dressed for combat.

"What's the matter?" she said.

"The rebel camp's been compromised," said Brackish. "Can't tell if anyone's left alive, but Mortis wants us to go in and check it out."

Jennifer sat up and fought the urge to wretch. "You want me to fight? Now?"

"That's what we've been preparing to do. Right?"

She nodded. "Wow. This is really happening. Give me a few minutes."

"Time is of the essence," said Brackish. "We want to save lives."

"I'll be right out," she said. Brackish left Jennifer alone with her thoughts and fears. She grabbed her training jumpsuit off the wall and slipped it on over her pajama top and bottoms, too nervous to realize she was adding layers to layers. She stepped into her boots, opened the door, and saw Brackish waiting for her with a katana blade and a laser blaster.

"Tell me again what's happened," asked Jennifer, slipping the strap for the sword over her shoulder as they made their way to the back ramp of the yacht.

"The rebel camp was attacked," said Brackish. "There was no reply to our request for landing, and there are no signs of life on the scanners."

"Then what are we doing here?" asked Jennifer. "We should move on to the next post, right? The rebels have people for this type of job, right?"

"We are those people," said Brackish. "You're the chosen one. You were chosen to fight, to kill. To save."

"I was chosen to kill one guy," said Jennifer. "No more."

"And what will you do, when those loyal to Hoerk stand in your way?" Brackish asked. "Will you stand down? Will you run and hide?"

"How about you go out, you kill all those people for me, and when we're down to the big boss, I'll do my duty."

Brackish turned on the power packs on both of their blaster rifles. "Make me proud, soldier."

Brackish pounded his fist into a giant blue plunger on the wall. The back ramp of the transport hissed as it opened like a giant mouth onto another alien world. Jennifer squinted as the light of the planet's sun spilled into the back of the ship. Following her mentor's lead, she walked down the ramp into a street lined with what once must have been the homes and shops of a simple people. The dwellings all appeared to be one story, made of clay, but were mostly smoldering ash now. In the distance, she could see the charred remains of what looked like a wooden wall, the only protection these people had from the dangers outside.

Whatever it was that destroyed these people, they clearly didn't stand a chance.

Jennifer heard a sound to her left. It sounded like footsteps but metallic, like the tap of metal on metal. "Did you hear that?"

"Shhh," said Brackish. "We're being watched."

"By friends, I hope," said Jennifer.

"No," said Brackish. "Definitely not friends."

A loud crash to the left spun the both of them around as a gold-plated bird with a long, pterodactyl-like beak and a half-circle wingspan of about fifteen feet soared into the sky from a nearby building. Jennifer swung her blaster and opened fire, blasting the metallic wings of the beast to shreds and sending it crashing to the ground.

Two more metal birds took flight behind the first, aiming right at Brackish and Jennifer and spewing flames from the tips of their wings. Jennifer and Brackish opened fire and cut them down just as four more took flight behind them.

"Terra-drones," shouted Brackish over the din of laser blasts. "Nasty things. Keep them at bay and you can avoid the flamethrowers, but if they have rockets--"

No sooner did he say it, a Terra-drone let fly with two small rockets. Brackish grabbed Jennifer and flung her to the ground. The rockets hit the end of the ramp, blasting half the ramp away and sending a fireball into the sky.

Jennifer's ears were ringing. She struggled to her feet. Brackish lay motionless beside her. As she started to get her bearings, she realized she was surrounded. Six more Terra-drones were now standing erect, their metallic skeleton-like bodies gleaming gold in the morning sun and the business end of their flamethrower arms pointed at her.

"Brackish," she whispered. The warrior lay motionless on the ground. She thought about reaching down and checking for a pulse, but she neither knew where to feel for a pulse nor how much longer it would be before the robot birds opened fire. She realized now, seeing them at their full erect height, that these were the robots Donny was working on when she last saw him. Donny would certainly be pleased; they did not look like chickens in real life. They were far more terrifying and intimidating. But how good were they at close combat?

"Drop the sword," one of the birds spoke in a robot voice.

Jennifer put her hands up. She reached for the buckle on the front of the strap crossing her chest and unfastened it slowly. Jennifer let the strap slide slowly out of her hand, lowering the sword but manipulating it so that the handle slid right around her side, within reach of her dominant left hand.

With a quick draw, the blade came out, arcing in front of the girl and slicing the flame thrower off one of the Terra-drones.

Jennifer ducked down low as the flamethrowers on the other five Terra-drones let loose. Five Terra-drones burst into flames, the victims of friendly fire. The damaged robots staggered back, collapsing and melting into incapacitated heaps of scrap.

Jennifer knew she was lucky; the Terra-drones had been just within one another's range, and her gamble had taken out most of the assault force. But not all. A metal hand grabbed Jennifer by the hair, and the drone standing directly across from the robot Jennifer had disarmed lifted her in the air.

Its one mistake would be costly. He grabbed the hair, and didn't disarm her first. She swung the sword and caught the bird in the head, taking a chunk of golden metal out of its face. The robot dropped her and tried to swing its flamethrower around for the close kill. Jennifer went low, cutting the legs out from under the bird, then she came back high and decapitated her foe.

Jennifer watched the bird fall to the ground. She looked left, right, then spun behind her. Her heart was racing, her breathing fast and heavy. She scrambled over to her fallen comrade and rolled him over.

His eyes were open, and he was smiling.

"Nice work," he said.

"What?" she said back.

Brackish sat up. "You were right, boss, she was ready!"

Jennifer turned to the yacht. Mortis had somehow made it from the broken ramp to the ground and was moving her way, applauding. "Well done, my girl, well done. Game Master! Are you not impressed?"

Jennifer saw a larger shape rise into the air from the same location the Terra-drones had come. It was a giant platform like a flying saucer with a metal railing wrapped around the top. Two men in golden uniforms stood to attention at the back of the floating platform, and in front stood an alien dressed in a tacky gold bodysuit with two legs, three arms, and two horns, and a cluster of five eyes above a wide, smiling mouth.

"She's good," said the Game Master, "Just like you promised."

"Excellent," said Mortis, "And you also owe me a ramp!"

The Game Master laughed. "Sorry, old friend, I guess the boys got a little carried away."

"I mean it, Game Master," said Mortis. "And I will not accept payment in gambling vouchers and coupons to your restaurant. I want it fixed."

"I'll handle it," said the Game Master. "What's your name, girl?"

"I'm sorry," said Jennifer. "Who are you, and what's going on?"

The Game Master's platform zoomed closer. "I am the Game Master. You are now entered in the upcoming season of competition at the Arena here on New Aries. You will fight until you achieve victory, or until you die."

Jennifer looked at Brackish, who was not surprised to see the anger and betrayal in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," said Brackish.

"Sorry?" said Mortis. "You trained her for this. You've made her an immortal!"

"She won't be immortal if she doesn't survive the games," said the Game Master.

"She will survive," said Mortis. "She is, after all the chosen one."

Mortis laughed. Jennifer started to raise her sword, but Brackish caught her arm and held her.

"You lied to me!" screamed Jennifer.

"You came to me wanting to be trained in the ways of a warrior," said Mortis. "I did as you asked."

"I thought you were with the rebellion," said Jennifer.

"Okay, I omitted a few facts about myself," said Mortis. "It's not personal. It's just business. And if I didn't believe you had a shot, I'd have never brought you."

"You survived the Terra-drones," said the Game Master. "His last three recruits didn't even make it this far. I might even place a wager or two on you."

"I will not fight in your games," said Jennifer.

"You will fight," said the Game Master. "And you will kill. Or you will die."
**Chapter Ten:  
The Kat**

Emperor Hoerk loved golf. As a youth on his home world, he had lettered in the sport two years before graduating primary education, long before he ever thought of a career in dictatorial administration. He gave up any aspirations of going pro when he entered the world-conquering game, but despite his busy schedule, he always made time for golf.

Of course, the golf Hoerk played was not the golf played on planet Earth. To Hoerk, golf was a game enjoyed for its brutality more than physical health and well-being. You take a smaller life form, bury them up to their neck, and then whack their heads off with your clubs. Different sized clubs were used for different sized heads, and the longer your distance, the better your score.

Field Commander Jek Savage told his master to bring his clubs with him when he arrived to inspect his latest conquest, the peace-loving planet of Mizark. Mizark had remained neutral during the conflict with the Warlords and even after, refused to embroil themselves in any new alliances. They were easy pickings, and Hoerk was delighted when he arrived to see that Savage and his men had buried a dozen Mizarkians up to their necks, in anticipation of his arrival.

Quid Ronto, a tall, green-haired woman and former model who now worked as Hoerk's personal assistant, pulled caddy duty as the Emperor strolled up to the helpless Mizarkians, who were already pleading for their lives. They were joined by two bodyguards, both part of Savage's elite forces, wearing golden body armor. They, too, were caught up in the excitement and anticipation of a golf game, so much so they didn't notice the two strangers approaching on foot as the Emperor selected his first club.

Seeing Hoerk was already preparing for his next swing, dressed in gold knickers and a golden golf shirt, the strangers remained respectfully silent. Silence was important in golf. It allowed the golfer to focus, and it allowed everyone to hear the final words of the next victim.

"I make a splendid pot pie, I do," said the little gray-headed Mizarkian. "Please, guv'ner, give a fella a shot!"

WHAP!

The strangers applauded the shot along with Quid and the bodyguards. It was as lovely a shot as one could hope for. The head broke off clean and flew at least 120 meters, prompting applause from the mysterious strangers.

"The stories about you are true, excellency," said the first stranger. "Your skill as ruler is only surpassed by your skill with a driver."

Hoerk turned to size up the newcomers. Both men wore burgundy-colored robes with gray ropes about the waist. Their faces were almost completely covered in their hoods, making their species and thus their home world of origin tough to determine.

"I thank you, strangers," said Hoerk. "It takes great nerve to approach a man of my stature, especially when I am not holding court. If your purpose does not please me, I may have the two of you teed up for my final shots."

"Then we will be to the point," said the first. "An opportunity has arisen on New Aries. The Game Master is about to open a new season."

"I am well aware," said the Emperor, who already had his seats for the semi-finals. "If that's all you have, then I suggest you make peace with your souls and whatever power you worship."

The hooded one spoke again. "Tor Hobbes is en route to New Aries as well."

Hoerk looked up. "Go on."

"We have reason to believe he is headed there with a small strike force, utilizing the aircraft known as Arkangel. His purpose is a rescue mission, one of the gladiators."

Hoerk grinned. Tor Hobbes was one of the great heroes of the war against the Warlords. Rumor was he was, or had been, betrothed to the princess of Sulee Minor, the fiery redhead Lita. Lita was target number one in the minds of those who wished to control the Cave World, and if the rumors about Tor were even partially true, he would be target number two.

"Your information has spared your lives," said Hoerk. "What do you wish in return for this knowledge?"

"Only that you allow Hobbes to carry out his rescue in the Arena," said the stranger.

"I can agree to your terms, if you give me a good reason," said Hoerk.

"Sparing your life should be reason enough. Our master's interests in this matter will remain private, along with his identity. However, my master bids me to let you know once Hobbes leaves New Aries, he is all yours."

"Call Blak Skol," said Hoerk to one of his attendants. "Tell him to make haste for the cave of New Aries."

Hoerk turned to thank the messengers, but they had vanished - literally. The black arts were powerful in the pair, and they walked casually away from the Emperor's tee box, conversing quietly.

"You did not mention that Hobbes's target is Hoerk's assassin."

"It does not matter."

"It might matter to Hoerk."

"But not to us."

"We need Hoerk, don't we?"

"We do, but only for the moment. The Plan is always the goal. It is all that matters."

"And if Hoerk dies?"

"Hoerk will die. Not even we can prevent that. But in the mean time, we can use him to serve our purposes."

"Forward the Plan."

"Aye, forward."

The Shadows made their way silently back the way they came.

One more meal time came and went aboard Mortis's private yacht following Jennifer's initial trial. Jennifer felt she was was no longer a guest, but a prisoner, with two armed guards now watching her door. She refused to come when summoned for dinner, and when the yacht arrived on the grounds of the Arena, the guards escorted her to the catacombs, where the Game Master housed all the gladiators brought to the games against their will.

Brackish followed her to the entrance, carrying her backpack and emptying it of all weapons along the way. He stopped at the entrance and handed the bag back to her.

"See you in the ring," he said.

Jennifer said nothing. She followed her guards to her assigned cell, a clean, white square with walls on three sides and a row of bars on the fourth. There were cots on both side walls, and an opening in the right wall next to the cot led to a tinier room with a hole she presumed was a multi-species toilet. Jennifer didn't have to go, but even if she had, she would likely have held it rather than try to use what was given to her.

Jennifer walked back out in the main cell and took a moment to inventory her bag. She was relieved to find that it contained all the same items that it did when she left Earth. Three two-pocket folders, a spiral notebook for five subjects, her Sociology text, a change of clothes, deodorant, a few feminine products, chapstick, and a small bottle of hair spray.

Satisfied she had all she had brought with her into the Cave World, she laid down on the cot opposite the restroom and went to sleep.

Jennifer was not alone when she woke up.

She was on the same cot, and as best as she could tell in the same holding cell. Across the way, on the opposite wall, a woman sat on the other cot. She was human with straight, pale blonde hair that reached almost to her shoulder blades and icy blue eyes. She dressed in black pants with a gray leather tank top, both of which had seen better days, but she was still strikingly beautiful.

She was also manipulating a metal screwdriver that she had inserted into her forearm. Jennifer squinted her eyes in the darkness and saw that the skin of the woman's arm was folded back, and she was doing some sort of repair job on metal and wiring inside.

"Long story," said the woman.

"Excuse me?" asked Jennifer.

"The cyber limb," said the blonde. "Just the tip of the iceberg, really. There's more metal than bone in my body."

"I believe you," said Jennifer.

"Sorry," said the woman, "This is no way to make acquaintances. My name's Kat."

"Hello," said Jennifer, her mind racing, trying to recall anything about a blonde cyborg named Kat, but she couldn't place it, not in Donny's universe. It seemed to be expanding by the minute.

"I'm Jennifer," said Jennifer. "My story's a little long, too. Apparently there's some prophecy that I'm supposed to kill a guy, so the guy sent some people after me to kill me first. Then one of his guys betrayed him, and this other guy, or slug I guess, picked me up and said he'd train me to kill the guy I'm supposed to kill, but he wasn't training me for that. He was training me to be a gladiator. That makes no sense, does it?"

"Very little does in this universe," said Kat. She folded the skin back over her arm, pressing it gently into place. Kat reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a small tube. She popped the cap and squeezed a bit of flesh-colored good on her skin, rubbing it over the open gaps and sealing the skin back in place.

"Good thing you can do your own maintenance," said Jennifer, unsure what else in the world to say at that moment.

"Always do my own. Can't trust anyone in this galaxy," said Kat. "Not with the enemies I have."

"So where are you from?" asked Jennifer.

"Doesn't matter," said Kat.

"How did you end up here?"

"I put myself in the right spot, I made a ruckus, they picked me up, here I am," said Kat.

"You wanted to come here?"

Kat looked at Jennifer. "I had to come. I was hired to kill the Game Master."

Jennifer started to laugh, but the look in the icy blue eyes of the other woman told Jennifer this was no joke. "I see."

Kat nodded. "You're out to kill a king. I'm here to kill the Game Master. We've all got to make a living, right?"

"Sure, but there's better ways to get to someone and kill them, right?" asked Jennifer. "Not that I know. I'm fairly new to this assassin business. But why would you want to get stuck down here?"

A wry smile crossed Kat's face. "There's also a bounty on the Game Master's champion Kree Hammer. And besides, it's more fun this way."

Jennifer smiled and nodded. "Well, good luck. I certainly hope I don't get in your way."

"You're the chosen one, right?" said Kat. "If it's destiny, you won't."

"You believe in prophecies?"

"No," said Kat. "No, I don't."

"Then I really, really hope we don't cross paths in the arena," said Jennifer.

"You won't," said a familiar, gruff voice.

Jennifer turned and glared at her mentor, the one being she had come to trust in this messed up world. Brackish had scarred over nicely from the blow she had given him the night before, or whenever that was.

"Good news. We're going to be fighting together again," said Brackish.

"Something tells me she'd rather be against you," said Kat.

"I don't think so," said Brackish. "I taught her everything she knows, but she doesn't know everything I know."

"I know enough," said Jennifer. "Especially about you."

"I wouldn't have agreed to this if I didn't believe in you, Jennifer," said Brackish. "You have more heart and more fighting spirit than anyone I have ever trained. I mean that. If I didn't think so highly of you, I'd never let you have my back in the arena."

"I still wouldn't give her your back," said Kat.

"That's enough from you, Kat," snorted Brackish. "You're going in with us, by the way."

"And who says I want you guarding my back?" said Kat.

Brackish ignored the comment and turned to his student. "Keep your feet moving. Always know where everyone is, foe and friend. You can make a lot of money at this if you remember all I taught you. A lot of money."

"I want to go home," she said.

"Forget home," he said. "Wipe it from your thoughts, or you'll never leave this world alive."

Brackish turned to walk away, his conscience somewhat abated by the exchange. Jennifer called out to him.

"Was it all a lie?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Not all of it."

Jennifer waited until she was sure Brackish was out of earshot. She turned to Kat.

"Do you trust him?" she asked.

"I don't even trust you," said Kat.

"He won't be easy to kill," said Jennifer.

"Why not?" asked Kat.

"You know him. He's psychic."

"He is?"

"Yes," said Jennifer.

"Since when?"

"Well, when I met him he... And Mortis... son of a gun." Jennifer shook her head in disbelief. Kat laughed.

"He told you he was psychic," said Kat.

"Mortis did," said Jennifer.

"Who's that?" said Kat.

"The man who brought me here," said Jennifer. "The one who had Brackish train me. He told me Brackish could see if there was a warrior inside me. It was all a lie."

"Sorry," said Kat. "He can't read your mind any more than I can. But now that you know that, the advantage is all yours."

"It is?"

"Sure," said Kat. "He thinks you think he's psychic, and because you think that, he thinks he's safe from a sneak attack. But now that you know and he doesn't know you know, he's easy pickings."

Jennifer shook her head. "I'm so tired of lies. And being used."

"I won't get in your way if you go after him," said Kat. "No rule says we can't kill our own."

"I don't know if I have that in me," said Jennifer.

"Good thing I do," said Kat. "Because it's only a matter of time before he turns on us."

"I wish I could wake up and all this be a dream," said Jennifer.

"You seem like a good kid," said Kat. "I don't know about this prophecy of yours, but if you stick with me and watch my back, you'll live through this."

"What about the next battle?"

"If all goes the way I plan," said Kat. "There will never be another battle in this arena."
**Chapter Eleven:  
The Arena**

Three meals she barely touched and a sleepless night later, Jennifer woke up to find a pack of three-eyed, three-fingered women dressed in simple white robes descending upon her and Kat. Jennifer pulled back against the wall as the creepy looking slaves reached for her, but Kat eased her fears.

"They're here to dress us for the arena," said Kat. "It's okay, just let them do their thing."

Jennifer smiled, politely but nervously. She slid off the bed and stood up, letting the cooing and ahhing aliens go to work. In no time at all both Kat and Jennifer were changed out of their dirty clothes into dark blue leather pants, boots, and halter tops. The pants and tops had padding that gave the illusion of body armor, but the tops were sleeveless and revealed too much belly for Jennifer's comfort. Jennifer had never worn a bikini in her life, and despite her tumbling skills, the increasingly tiny outfits worn by the cheerleading squads as she grew up forced her into early retirement from the sport. She looked down at her navel and groaned.

"Donny, I'm going to kill you."

"Who's Donny?" asked Kat.

"No one," said Jennifer.

Kat looked at Jennifer and smiled. "It's an insult, isn't it? The men get sleeves and a covered midriff, but the Game Master puts the ladies in tiny outfits. What's the point of Dura-Flex Body Armor when you're going to leave half the body exposed?"

"Is that why you're here to kill him?" asked Jennifer.

"No," said Kat. "But it will make killing him a lot more fun."

Breakfast came and went. Jennifer was too nervous to eat much, but at Kat's urging she ate what she could of the pink goo that tasted like raspberry yogurt. "It's an energy supplement. You're going to need it once we get into that Arena." Jennifer recalled Donny telling her how spies often ate yogurt because they believed it gave them quick energy when needed. It was a reminder she was in his world, and that gave her some comfort.

"I'm going to survive," she told herself. "And then I'm going to hurt him."

A few more hours of anxious waiting dragged by before an honor guard arrived with Brackish and another male creature, a pale blue humanoid with dark black eyes. Jennifer looked at Kat, who winked at her. Just as Kat told her, the men were wearing similar attire - except their tops covered their midriff and arms.

"You ready, Jennifer?" said Brackish.

Jennifer didn't say a word. She stood up and walked to the door of the cell.

"Jennifer," said Kat. "Bag."

Jennifer turned. Her backpack was sitting beside her cot. She didn't know what Kat's plan was or if Kat was merely a dreamer, but she chose not to take chances and brought the bag along.

Kat stood with her, and the two ladies walked ahead of the males, following the honor guard.

The traditions of the Arena spanned back centuries on New Aries, and while the sport had lost its luster in some corners of the galaxy, it still drew a crowd. The VIPs and dignitaries stood on either side of a carpeted walkway leading from the catacombs to the Arena proper, waiting to greet the gladiators. Jennifer was blown away by the diversity she saw on either side of her as beings cheered and booed.

"Fight bravely!" shouted one creature.

"You're gonna die, girl!" shouted another.

"You're going to fight in that outfit? Are you crazy?"

"A man must have made those clothes!"

"Die with honor!"

"Just die!"

"Kat? Kat, don't do this!"

Jennifer paused, stopping to look at the human male calling out to Kat. He had dark hair and a black goatee and was dressed like a wealthy homesteader from the American Wild West with a ten gallon hat, a black suit, and a string tie. Despite the ridiculous attire, he was a rakishly handsome fellow, and his eyes were fixed on Kat.

"What are you doing?" said Kat.

"We need to talk," said the man.

"This isn't the time, Rider," said Kat.

"Kat, I thought you were through taking risks," said the man.

"I'll call you later, okay?" said Kat. "Now beat it!"

Kat nudged Jennifer along as her suitor called out to her. "I bought the Diamond Dust Casino! Just like we always talked about. The Diamond Dust! You know where to find me!"

"Old boyfriend?" asked Jennifer.

"It's complicated," said Kat. "Very, very complicated." Jennifer was surprised to see a touch of humanity in Kat's eyes for the first time.

"Earth girl!"

Jennifer stopped. Standing with the VIPs, she saw a young earth woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She was in a white and gold ensemble, much more revealing than Jennifer's useless body armor but very beautiful.

"Do I know you?" asked Jennifer.

"No," said the woman, "But it's nice to see a familiar face. I hope you do well."

"Thank you," said Jennifer.

"And if you get back to Earth first," said the woman, "Look up a guy named Stewart Jones in New Albany, Indiana and tell him Felicia said, 'Don't bother looking for me. I'm just fine.'"

Jennifer nodded. "Okay." There was another character Jennifer would have to ask Donny about!

The procession reached a giant pair of double doors, already open onto the Arena. Jennifer's eyes turned up and saw a sea of colors and faces surrounding her as she walked onto the hard, blood-stained concrete battle floor. The seating rose high into the air on all sides, perhaps fifteen stories. It was steep, but it gave everyone the closest possible view to the battle floor.

Straight ahead, Jennifer saw an identical pair of double doors, presumably the place where her opponents would emerge. To the right, cut into the seating about four rows up, was the box where the Game Master sat with Mortis and several other dignitaries including the reigning champion, Kree Hammer.

"Hello, Kree," said Kat to herself as she eyed her targets.

The gates shut behind Jennifer and her teammates. She found a spot beside the door and set down her backpack before joining Kat and the others for the arming ceremony.

Their escorts turned and handed weapons to each of the contestants. Kat received a sword, Brackish a mace, the blue man a battle axe, and Jennifer a kendo stick. She was annoyed being the only one without spikes or a blade.

High up in his box, the Game Master grinned as the moment he had waited for finally arrived. It had been a busy week at both the Arena and the Casino. First there was the brawl that broke out in the catacombs resulting in the deaths of two of this year's favorites. Then there was a near riot that took place when fans of Upper and Lower Halo - two planets enmeshed in a fierce war - were booked on the same floor at the casino hotel. He knew he was likely facing lawsuits over the situation, especially from the wounded, but for now, the only thing that mattered was on the hard concrete below him.

Business would wait for another day. Time to see some carnage. He rose from his chair and stepped forward.

"Greetings," said the Game Master. "And welcome to opening day!"

The crowd cheered.

"We begin today with four warriors hoping to battle their way into the tournament brackets!"

"What??" shouted Brackish.

Mortis turned to the Game Master. "What's going on, Game Master? That's Brackish down there!"

"I know exactly who's down there," said the Game Master. He looked down, straight at Kat.

"Something tells me he knows why you're here," said Jennifer.

"Of course he does," said Kat. "I haven't shut up about it since he had me captured."

"You can't do this to me!" shouted Mortis. "Those are my entrants! I demand--"

"You demand nothing," said the Game Master. "I never liked you. And by the way, I'm not paying for that ramp of yours, either."

Brackish leaned down to Jennifer. "He's going to throw one or more of his beasts at us. Stick close, keep your back to mine, and whatever you do..."

Jennifer had had enough. She had enough of being used, enough of being lied to, and enough of advice from hairy, dirtbag liars. She took the butt of her weapon and rammed it between his legs - hard.

Brackish groaned. He fell hard to the concrete, surprised by the blow and by the rage and strength behind it. The crowd stood and "Oooh"-ed. Jennifer caught the eye of the Earth woman, who gave her a big thumbs up.

The Game Master laughed. "You know, I just might lose the money I bet against that one." He whistled. "Let's get it started, people!"

The double doors slowly creaked open as the crowd cheered once more. Kat, the blue man, and Jennifer stood fast together while Brackish struggled to his feet in front of them.

Jennifer saw its eyes first, to giant eyeballs on stalks extending from its large, round body. It was reddish on top, and whitish on bottom, and it hopped into the arena, dragging a white and red splotched tail covered in stone-like gray spikes.

"What in space is that?" said Kat.

Jennifer knew. She knew all too well. It wasn't one of Donny's creations staring at them. It was her own, the dragon she had drawn for him as a joke. And that little jerk had turned around and written him into the story - her story!

"There's my little Precious," said the Game Master. "Eat up, girl!"
**Chapter Twelve:  
First Blood**

Jennifer wasn't sure what made her angrier. Was it Donny stealing her creature, her design, and using it in his book? Or was it the fact that he had taken her dragon and named it Precious? it didn't really matter. Jennifer was filled with rage at the moment, and she had every intention of using that rage on her creation.

"Blue guy," said Kat. "You ever see one of these before?"

"My name is Alixx," said the blue man. "And no."

Kat looked down at Brackish, who was pushing himself to his feet. His hand gripped tight on the handle of the mace, and Kat saw murder in his eyes. She hated to do what she was now pondering, but she wasn't ready to watch Jennifer die.

"Okay, then," said Kat. "Let's see what Precious does."

Kat kicked Brackish hard in the side, breaking his hip and sending him crashing into Precious. He bounced off her partially closed mouth and hit the hard concrete, groaning and grasping his broken hip. He didn't suffer long. Precious pounced on him and swallowed Brackish whole.

"Oooooooh!" said the crowd.

"Okay, lesson one, don't get too close to the mouth," said Kat.

Precious tilted her head right and left. Her eyes went crossed and with a violent, awful sound, she regurgitated on the hard concrete floor, sending Brackish's intact skeleton skittering over to her three remaining foes.

The crowd cheered.

"Three to go, Precious," said the Game Master.

"Fan out!" said Kat. She pushed Jennifer off to her right, taking the middle position, and shoved Alixx further to her right. Precious zeroed in on Kat, taking little excited hops but keeping a wary eye on the blade in the woman's hands.

"Come on, Precious," said Kat. "Come to Momma."

Kat held the sword overhead, the tip aimed at Precious waiting for her to strike. Out of the corner of her eye, Kat saw Alixx inching closer to the beast.

"Don't do it," she said, keeping her eye on Precious. "Stay back, Blue!"

"My name is Alixx!" he shouted. He swung back with the axe and raced forward, straight into the waiting mouth of Precious. The screams of the crowd drowning out his own as he was quickly dissolved and digested in the monster's mouth.

Kat saw her opening. She lunged at the monster, stabbing it in the side of its giant head over and over. Green blood gushed from the wounds, and it looked for a moment as if Precious might choke and die on her latest victim. Then the mighty creature turned and spewed the remains of the one named Alixx straight at Kat, knocking her to the floor.

Kat tried to keep her head up, but she smacked the back of her skull right on the concrete, nearly knocking herself out. She pushed her head up and saw the dragon bearing down on her. Her sword was out of reach, and her feet entangled in the sticky rib cage of Alixx. But Kat smiled as the creature bore down on her, knowing she only had to keep it back a few seconds more.

It was Jennifer's turn to strike. Almost without thinking, she leapt into action the second Precious ate Alixx. She raced up the creature's long, rocky tail and climbed its red, scaly back to the top, fifteen feet above the arena floor, where she stood holding the kendo stick like a baseball bat.

Precious felt the movement near her eyestalks and swiveled both eyes toward Jennifer, just as she let fly and bashed the weapon into the right eye. It exploded like a watermelon hit with a sledgehammer, white goo and pus bursting forth, covering the one good eye and blinding Precious.

Kat kicked off Alixx's bones and grabbed her sword. She looked up and saw Jennifer jab the stick straight into the pupil of the left eye. Precious rolled to the side, and Jennifer just grabbed on to the eye stalk in time for the ride to the floor, rolling off the side to safety.

The Game Master looked down in horror at his dying pet, lying pathetically on its side. Mortis laughed.

"How you like my girl now, Game Master?" laughed Mortis.

"I've had enough of you, Mortis," said the Game Master. "Kree?"

Kree Hammer did not respond. The Game Master turned and saw why. Kat had thrown her sword straight through his heart.

The Game Master turned to see Kat standing atop his dying dragon. She shrugged.

"That was meant for you," said Kat.

"Lucky for me," said the Game Master. "Now you die."

"We'll see about that," said Kat.

Jennifer crawled out between the wall and the dragon just as a swarm of the Terra-drones entered the arena. She still had her kendo stick and scooped up Alixx's battle axe. Kat slid down the belly of the monster and took the stick.

"I'm guessing this isn't part of the games," said Jennifer.

"Yeah, sorry," said Kat. "Tipped my hand too soon."

"Your boyfriend still here? Maybe he can get us out."

"Not until I collect my due," said Kat.

"You got the one guy, right?"

"He was just a bonus. The other's worth a ton more money."

The Terra-drones aimed their flamethrowers.

A small, metal globe crashed down on the concrete, bounced a few times, and rolled to a stop at the feet of a Terra-drone. Every robot and organic eye in the Arena turned to the blue and green globe just in time to see a burst of blue light shoot out in a circle from within.

The Terra-drones crumpled. Electric lights and digital monitors all around the Arena blinked out. The pulse from the tiny device took out anything electrical inside and just outside the complex.

The crowd fell silent, stunned and confused, too frightened to move. Then, in the silence, they heard the sound of the chopper.

The black, ominous form of Arkangel was unmistakable, even a decade after the destruction of its creators. Kat sensed the terror in the crowd and seized on it.

"It's Tarre Kahn!" shouted someone in the stands with fear and horror in their voice. "He's returned from beyond! Flee for your lives!"

The assembled fight fans, too amped up to think for themselves, began to scream, to run, to trample over one another. Guns inside the mighty chopper opened fire, shooting way over the heads of the fans as they made for the exit. The Game Master shouted for calm, screaming, "Don't panic!" but his cried were unheard by the fleeing throng.

Jennifer had never seen the gunship, but she recognized it on site. "Goodness, Donny," she said to herself, "Are you writing a sequel or a remake?"

Jennifer ran to the gate and picked up her bag. "Kat!" she shouted. "Get to the chopper!"

She hated herself for saying it, even before she was through saying it.

Despite her annoyance, Jennifer was in awe of the vehicle. She always thought it strange Donny would insist on having a helicopter in a sci-fi story, but the slick lines and the deep blackness of the attack chopper were as impressive as anything she'd ever seen in the movies. Arkangel had a streamlined front and a black tinted windshield that was opaque from the outside. Two wings near the back of the body carried most of the ship's ordinance, and the rotors above gave off an otherworldly hum.

The side door slid open. Kat pushed Jennifer aboard before stepping onto the vehicle herself. Kat recognized the driver by his bald head and huge girth.

"Tor Hobbes, as I live and breathe!" shouted Kat.

"Welcome aboard, Kat," said Tor.

"Don't know where you came from, but happy for the lift, Tor," she shouted.

"Wasn't here for you but you're welcome to tag along," said Tor. "We good to go?"

"You got a spare blaster?" she asked.

A helmeted gunner in the rear of the chopper tossed a laser pistol at the bounty hunter. She powered up the blaster and grabbed onto an overhead restraint just inside the door.

"Tor!" she shouted. "Give me a low pass over the box, then we're out of here."

Tor laughed. "Who owes you money this time?"

"Just collecting a paycheck," she said.

Tor pulled up on the yoke and banked Arkangel in the direction of the Game Master's box. Kat leaned out of the chopper as her target came into view, his face frozen in terror as Kat took aim.

"I tried to warn you!" she shouted.

The Game Master roared defiantly. "You can't kill—"

Kat killed him.

Seconds later, Arkangel rose from the arena and accelerated across the sky. Kat powered down the blaster and tossed it to the rear gunner.

"Don't talk much do you?" she said to the gunner.

"You can thank him for the ride," said Tor. "He's the reason we came after you."

"The Great Tahini sent me a ride?" Kat shook her head. "He's not taking the expense out of my reward money."

"We didn't exactly come for you," said Tor. "We came for your new friend."

Jennifer looked at the helmeted figure. "Donny?"

The gunner released the strap holding the helmet in place. He lifted it off, and Jennifer could see her old friend's smiling face.

"Guess I have some explaining to do."

Jennifer smacked Donny hard in the face.

"Feel better?" said Kat.

"No," said Jennifer. She smacked Donny again. "Starting to feel it." She smacked Donny one more time. "There, now it's better."
**Chapter Thirteen:  
Ambush**

"See the worlds, you said. Meet girls, you said. It'll be great. We'll be living the dream!"

Cremp ignored his friend Gareth as best as he could. He had no rebuttal for Gareth; he was right and Cremp had been wrong every step of the way. Becoming mercenaries turned out to be far less glamorous than either of them ever dreamed. All those years watching the serials about Major Black: Gun for Hire had filled both their minds with visions of an exciting, action-packed life of heroism and bravery. And girls, lots of girls.

So far, all they'd received for their troubles was a few lousy bucks, some scars, and one missing hand (Gareth's right, fortunately his non-shooting hand).

And forget about girls. Maybe in another time, girls were attracted to bad boy henchmen, but it appeared those girls were only interested in the boss these days. They were not drawn to flunkies, especially those missing hands.

"We should have listened to my brother," said Gareth. "He's the second largest restaurant franchisee on Malaz 7. He offered me half. We could be rich by now."

"Careful," said Cremp. "He will hear you."

Both of the scaly, yellow humanoids cast a glance on the boulder nearby. It stood about twenty meters in the air, and high atop the perch stood the most frightening, most intimidating being to set foot on Arrax since Tarre Kahn: Blackskull.

Blackskull was, by any definition, completely insane. He was shorter than most males, and the best way to describe him was that he looked like the charred remnants of a human skeleton, with grayish bones visible between the charred, blackened muscles that held them together. He was never seen without a Tularium cigar clenched between his rotting teeth, and his weapon of choice was the devastating Rumack Repeater chain gun now mounted on top of the armored strike vehicle directly behind Gareth and Clemp. The sinister weapon was all the more infamous because of Blackskull's ammunition of choice: 60mm radioactive slugs with exploding heads. Rumor was Blackskull used to be a man, but exposure to his own ammo eventually caused his body to mutate, his flesh to waste away, and his mind to completely warp.

Cremp looked about at the rag tag crew to which he and his childhood friend now belonged. All things considered, they were still in better shape than the rest of Blackskull's crew. Half of them were missing more limbs than Gareth, and a few showed their own traces of radiation sickness from riding with the infamous mercenary for so long. Gareth would have already walked away from this life if he could. He had a price on his head, but even that wasn't a deterrent as much as Blackskull's hobby of hunting down and killing men who abandoned him.

Like it or not, they were in it for life - theirs, or the life of their employer. So far, no one had lived to see the latter.

"Hope we can wrap this one up quick," said Gareth. "I'm recording the fights from the Arena back home." Gareth, of course, had no way of knowing the fights had been, more or less, permanently put on hiatus, but knowing his media recorder back home was set gave him something to look forward to afterwards.

"Might not be so easy today," said Cremp. "You know who we're gunning for, right?"

"No," said Gareth. "Why? Who is it?"

Cremp lowered his voice. "Tor Hobbes."

Gareth's stomach did a flip. Everyone knew about Tor Hobbes. He was one of the greatest smugglers and traders of the Warlord era before becoming one of the heroes in the revolution. And if stories were true, Tor's reward for loyalty was Tarre Kahn's deadliest weapon, Arkangel.

Gareth cast a glance at his boss before replying to his friend. "Cremp, I think it's time to retire."

Cremp cast a nervous glance of his own at Blackskull. "Don't you walk, Gareth."

"There are few things I fear more than Blackskull," said Gareth. "A confrontation with Tor Hobbes in Arkangel, that's right near the top."

Cremp shook his friend by the arm. "Get it together, man. We are in this together, you and I!"

"No!" said Gareth. "I'm done! I don't care about the money, or the girls! I'm leaving!"

A single shot rang out. Cremp felt the nuclear bullet whiz past his face but his eye wasn't quick enough to see the full glory of his childhood friend exploding into atomic dust. He looked up on the rock and saw Blackskull, the barrel of the Rumack Repeater still smoking, aimed at where Gareth stood only seconds before.

"No deserters," said Blackskull. He spun his cigar in his bony mouth and cackled as he turned his attention back to the cave.

"B squad, dig in directly across from the cave," shouted Blackskull. "You will draw Arkangel's fire. A squad, 90 degrees to the west of B. I will take topside."

The men of A squad breathed a sigh of relief. They at least stood a chance. The poor devils of B squad would be staring down the guns of Arkangel the moment she emerged, sacrificial lambs to the slaughter. But what choice did they have? If they disobeyed, Blackskull would vaporize them, anyway.

The B squad members hunkered down and took aim at the cave, each one praying and wishing that somehow, A squad would come through and take out the gunship before it wasted all of them. Meanwhile, Blackskull would be high and above the cave in Arkangel's blind spot, the safest spot of all, waiting to make the kill.

Tor kept a watch on the horizon as Arkangel sped toward the cave, their exit to Arrax. When Tor first called dibs on the ship following the downfall of Tarre Kahn and the Warlords, he had regretted the decision. He missed his old land-based transport, and the controls were terribly fussy. Despite his discomfort with being in the air, Tor came to appreciate Arkangel, and after several years in the cockpit, he grew to love her. Arkangel was fast and surprisingly maneuverable, and the ship had saved him from more than a few jams.

The cave was nearly in sight, and Tor relaxed a bit, confident that whatever response was coming for their recent activities, it would not beat them to the exit from the Game Master's planet. He let his attention drift back to the conversation in the cabin, where Donny was just finishing explaining the planet Arrax to Kat.

"So you're telling me," said Kat. "There's a world that connects to every other planet in the galaxy by caves?"

"Well, maybe not every world," said Donny. "But yeah, that's sort of the idea."

"And that's where we're going?" she said.

"That's it exactly," said Donny.

Kat shook her head. "I know people who would kill to find this place on a star map."

"I'm sure you do." Truth be told, Donny was very surprised to find Kat in this universe. He had written several stories about the cyborg bounty hunter, but they always involved interstellar space travel. Kat was never intended to be part of the Cave World universe, yet somehow, some way, the two intersected, allowing Kat to become a part of the realm of Cave World.

Donny turned to Jennifer. "So how did you get here?"

Jennifer answered Donny's question with a glare. "Why don't you tell me?"

"No, really, I'm not sure how this happened," said Donny. "I write fictional characters. I've never written about real people."

"Really?" said Jennifer. "Because that whole story idea you showed me weeks ago in study hall sure sounded like me."

"You haven't been gone for weeks," said Donny.

"I've been gone for months, Donny!" she said. "Nearly got killed by people accusing me of the future crime of assassination. Then, because you dropped his name to me, I ended up with Mortis whom you failed to mention is not with any sort of rebellion but a trainer of gladiators. I was almost killed by robots and some giant dragon creature that you stole from me! And that whole rescue in the arena with Arkangel? Really original, Donny! You did that in the first book, too!"

Donny shook his head. "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did," shouted Tor from the front of the ship. "I thought it seemed familiar."

Donny thought back hard, trying to remember all that had come before. He saw himself in an arena, face to face with Lita for the first time. "Oh yeah. Heh. I guess I did repeat myself."

Jennifer struck Donny on the arm again. "Good grief, do you even re-read the stuff you write?"

"Not too closely," he confessed. Donny processed it all quietly for a moment as Jennifer caught her breath. "You've been through all that?"

Jennifer brushed her hair out of her face. "Not all of it's been terrible, but it's not where I'd prefer to be. As bad as things are, I'll take reality over... space."

Donny nodded. "Well it seems things turned out okay. It was lucky you found Kat."

"Pure luck," said Jennifer. "They put us in the same cell."

"I was there to assassinate the Game Master," said Kat. "By the way, Tor, thanks for the assist."

"Don't mention it," said Tor. "Unless of course you're going to give me a cut."

Kat leaned forward, looking intently at Donny. "So how do you two know each other?"

"We're both from Earth," said Donny. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kat."

"And you are?" asked Kat, puzzled.

Tor cleared his throat. "Kat, you remember me telling you that fairy story, you called it, about a Creator?"

"Sure," she said.

"Well," said Tor, "You're looking at him."

Donny gave Kat a sheepish smile as she turned and looked at him.

"Oh," she said at a total loss for words. "How've you been?"

Donny sensed some anger in Kat's face. It was an expression he had written into her character, one that usually came out in a moment of murderous rage. It made Donny nervous, but that anxiety passed quickly when a rocket smashed into the side of Arkangel, tilting the nose up and causing the ship to tumble awkwardly to the desert floor.

"What's going on?" Donny shouted.

"Brace for impact," said Tor. "And grab some guns, because we're--"

His last words were silenced by the deafening crash as the helicopter slammed into the sand.
**Chapter Fourteen:  
Aftermath**

It felt as if the battle went on forever. Jennifer huddled inside the wounded chopper, expecting at any moment to feel the impact of bullets or the searing heat from an explosion. She wanted to be home. Now. She wanted no more of this adventure or Donny's nonsense. But as much as she tried to convince herself once more this was a dream, the smell of smoke and the deafening blasts from unknown weapons made it feel all too real.

Silence fell. Silence and darkness. Jennifer realized her eyes had been shut through the entire battle. She knew she wasn't home because she could feel the metallic floor of the chopper beneath her. She opened her eyes and saw the back of a seat.

She was still inside Arkangel.

She was still alive.

She moved a hand from her ear. Sound was muffled after the gun battle, but she could hear Donny and Kat. It sounded like they were outside, and it sounded like Kat was very, very upset.

"Is he dead?" she said.

"Probably not," said Donny.

"Because he's impossible to kill, right?"

"Right."

"We got lucky," said Kat. "If that dust storm hadn't struck when it did, we'd all be dead."

"That wasn't luck," said Donny. "That was me."

Jennifer glanced outside the ship for the first time and was stunned to see so much sand. Arkangel was half-buried, and both Donny and Kat were covered in the stuff.

"You made the dust storm happen?" said Kat.

Donny nodded.

"You just waved your hand and made a dust storm, did you?" she said accusingly.

Donny nodded again. "There was no waving of the hand, but yeah, I—"

"I don't wanna hear it," said Kat.

It was then Jennifer noticed Kat was wounded - badly. Kat was missing one arm, just above the elbow. A mess of wires and charred flesh marked the spot where something had destroyed her missing limb. In her good hand she clutched a very big gun as she interrogated Donny. It wasn't pointed at him, but there was murder in her eyes.

"I appreciate that you saved us," said Kat, choosing her words carefully, "But if you really wanted to be a good guy, why in the world did you create an indestructible freak like Blackskull?"

"Look," he said. "I'm a writer. I write science fiction. You can't have good science fiction without dangerous, hard to kill villains."

"This may be science fiction to you," said Kat, "But this is my life. Okay? My life, and the lives of millions of people!!"

"I know it's real to you, but--"

"No!" she shouted. "No buts! You are responsible for the deaths of millions, no, billions of people! Everyone the Warlords killed. Everyone the Game Master slaughtered! Everyone the Killdarks slaughtered! You did create the Killdarks, right?"

Donny nodded. "I, yeah, I did."

"Everyone Blackskull has killed, including the men we just killed who were on his side," she said. "They're all on your head!"

She paused, catching her breath. Donny said nothing. Kat looked beyond him into the chopper. She sighed and pointed towards Tor.

"Even Tor," she said.

Donny turned. "Tor!" He hadn't even noticed the pilot still wedged into the front seat, his body broken and riddled with holes, all lined up with the holes that perforated the front windshield. Jennifer traced the holes in the glass and saw they carried all through the cabin. She was lucky to be unscathed.

Donny ran to the front of Arkangel and grabbed on to the door handle. He yanked and pulled, but the door remained stuck. "Help me!" he shouted.

Jennifer shook her head, watching from inside. "He's dead, Donny."

"He's not dead!" shouted Donny. "I mean, yes, he is, but I can fix him."

Donny heard the thump of two bony feet landing on top of Arkangel. He looked up and saw the man (make that "thing") responsible for Tor's demise. His main gun was a smoking ruin at the foot of the cave, thanks to Kat's sharpshooting, and his men were all dead and rotting on the desert floor, but Blackskull was a hard, if not impossible, thing to kill.

Blackskull's bony fingers whipped out a small blaster and aimed at Donny. "Time to say your prayers, you--"

The gun exploded, blown away by the jumbo-sized blaster in Kat's good hand. Blackskull reached for a second blaster. Again, Kat anticipated his move and shot the blaster out of his hands.

"You can't kill me with that thing!" Blackskull hissed.

"No, but I can hurt you a lot more than you can hurt us right now," said Kat. "Beat it!"

Blackskull jumped off Arkangel, a few feet away from Kat. "I still owe you for New Rex City!"

Kat shot Blackskull, bouncing his bony body off the hull of Arkangel and sending him crashing to the sand.

"That's two you owe me," she said. "Now scram!"

Blackskull stood and brushed himself down. He whipped out a new cigar, perched it between his risky teeth, and lit it. With a wink to Jennifer, he turned to stroll casually off across the arid wasteland.

Jennifer crawled outside of the ship. "He was sent to kill me," she said.

"Most likely," said Donny. "He's the best there is as far as bounty hunters go."

"We can't kill him?" she asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet," said Donny. "That's kind of the fun of a character like him."

"It's not fun," said Kat, really getting annoyed with this fiction talk.

Donny turned his attention to the helicopter and Tor. He shot the door handle with his blaster, enabling him to finally open the door and reach his fallen hero. Donny laid one hand on Tor's arm. Immediately, the shrapnel and bullets lodged in Tor's huge body flew out the way they came. Tor awoke with a long, gasping breath for air. Jennifer heard Kat mutter what must have been an alien swear word under her breath.

"What happened?" said Tor.

"Blackskull," said Donny.

"Blackskull," said Tor. "I hate that guy."

"He nearly got us," said Donny. "He had an ambush waiting outside the cave, and he was mounted up on top. Kat took out his gun before he could melt us into slag. After that it was no big deal."

"Right, no big deal," said Kat. "I'm missing an arm!"

"Donny can fix that too, right?" said Jennifer.

"I can't, no," said Donny. "Only organic life. But we can get her rebuilt quickly when we get to Arrax City."

"Arrax City?" said Tor. "Who said we're going there?"

"When Arkangel went down, the rescue signal went out," said Donny. "The Royal Guard should be on their way to pick us up."

"Donny, I'm not going to Arrax City," said Tor.

"Why not?" said Donny.

"Because I don't want to be there!"

"But Lita's there!" said Donny. "Right?"

"Exactly," said Tor. "And where she is is a place I don't want to be right now. Got it?"

Donny was confused. He'd made Tor and Lita the unlikely romantic leads in the Cave World universe. She was the fiery redhead rebel princess, he was the portly ex-smuggler with the heart of gold. It was Princess Leia and Han Solo, if Han Solo lost all his hair and ate Chewbacca.

"Tor, is everything okay with you and Lita?" said Donny.

Tor stretched his sore neck as he replied, "Okay? Sure. Because there's nothing there with me and Lita."

"But I made... I intended you two... You should be..." Donny shook his head, trying to smooth out his thoughts. "What happened to you two?"

"I guess the Creator's not so powerful after all," said Kat. "Although I gotta admit. Bringing Tor back? That was impressive."

"Thank you," said Donny.

"Shame you weren't around when my father was murdered," she said.

"I deserve that," said Donny. He turned back to Tor. "I've gotta get Jennifer to Arrax City. She's going to need help fulfilling her destiny, and the Council is her best hope."

"I don't want your destiny, Donny," said Jennifer. "I want to go home!"

"Wish we had that option," said Kat, not taking her new grasp of reality at all well.

Donny turned to Jennifer and pulled her aside. "Jennifer, you're on Arrax. This is my world."

"Right, and I want to go back to mine," snapped Jennifer.

Donny stepped closer to Jennifer, speaking softly. "Do you really want to go back right away?"

"I've been here way longer than I ever wanted," she said.

"This is your chance to see what you can really do," said Donny. "To do something great."

"Donny, stop!" she said. "This is all in your head. Or, my head. I don't know what it is, but I know what it's not. It's not real."

Donny looked over at Tor and Kat, who were pretending to talk and not listen in. He was thrilled being back, and he didn't want the journey to end this way. No, he never intended Jennifer to come here, but if he could convince her to stay...

"Donny, please. Just take me home."

Donny looked at Jennifer and sighed.

"Okay. Let's go home."
**Chapter Fifteen:  
A Long Walk**

"She lives??"

Hoerk punched the attendant standing closest to him, only because he couldn't punch the hologram of Blackskull hovering before him and look like a complete fool. The attendant collapsed in a heap, his jaw and three ribs broken.

"If it makes you feel better," said the gun for hire, "I did take down Arkangel. Bang, boom, crash! That's gotta be worth something."

"Listen to me, you worthless pile of bones," said Hoerk. "The only thing that concerns me is the girl."

"I gotta tell ya, your royalness," said Blackskull. "She's the least scary of the four. I mean there's Tor, and Kat, and this other kid I dunno who was pretty good with a gun. But the girl?"

"The girl is the one mentioned in the prophecy," said Hoerk. "Now how are you going to catch her?"

"I'm telling you, I don't think she's going to be a problem," said Blackskull, scratching his charred skull. "She hid inside the chopper the whole time. She's no assassin. Believe me."

"I want her found," said Hoerk. "You and your men are going to find her and kill her."

Blackskull thought for a moment. "I think I know where to find her."

"Good!" said the emperor.

"But I'm going to need a few more men."

"How many did you lose?" asked Hoerk.

"Well, let's see," said Blackskull, counting on his fingers. "Gareth, Hutch, Bleerg, Simmons... carry the four, plus eight... all of them."

Hoerk groaned. "Get as many as you need. No, double that. Then find her and destroy her!"

"It's what I do," said Blackskull.

Several months before his return to Arrax, Donny and his family traveled to Ft. Worth, Texas for his cousin Brandi's wedding. Brandi was a brilliant computer programmer who had built her own company and made her first million by the age of twenty-three. She was the daughter of a blue collar father and a stay at home mother, both of whom were very proud of her. Brandi had found true love at twenty-seven, and at twenty-eight, everyone was ready to attend the wedding event of the decade, all paid for by Brandi herself.

Two days before the vows were to be said, Brandi's fiancé Alan, an independent plumber with designs on becoming a male model, broke off the engagement. The hall, the church, the dress, the band, everything was paid for and not a bit was refundable. Hotel and flight reservations were also already booked, so everyone came to town. Brandi, determined to rise above, decided to throw a party anyway, inviting friends and family to join her.

It was one of the most horrific and awkward nights of Donny's life. No one knew whether to be happy or sad for the non-bride, who forced a smile and danced as hard as she could all night in a vain effort to forget her heartache. No one knew what to say to the few relatives of Alan's who chose to join the party. Everyone enjoyed the food, joined in for the Hokey Pokey, and escaped to their hotel rooms the second Brandi passed out in her seat from a mixture of wine, grief, and utter exhaustion.

As awkward as that experience was, it was peanuts next to the long walk across the Arraxian sands with Tor, Jennifer, and Kat. Jennifer, who was normally one of the easiest girls in school to talk to, was completely silent. He was sure their friendship would survive this, but he knew right now the less said, the better. A week or two back home, and all would be back to almost normal, but it killed Donny that Jennifer refused to speak to him.

Tor wasn't exactly talkative, either. He was unhappy about having to walk, and he was tired of Donny's inquisitions about Lita. Much as Donny tried not to bring it up, it was foremost in his mind. He had made Tor and Lita for one another. No, it wasn't a typical coupling, but that's what made them special. She was thin and strong and beautiful, and he was, well, a big husky hulk of a man.

Perhaps he should have made them a little more similar. Maybe he was partly to blame.

And then there was Kat. Kat never belonged to this universe, as far as Donny was concerned. Hers was the realm of interstellar space travel. Donny wrote about Kat and a myriad of other characters in some of his earliest writings, but he abandoned the story lines after creating the Cave World.

The Cave World eliminated the pesky problems that came with writing about interstellar space travel. As cool as it was, scientifically it was impossible to travel from one planet to another and arrive in the same time line. Light speed travel would also result in leaping forward in time, and that was just too messy for Donny.

Somehow, some way, a connection had been made between the two universes, allowing Kat to emerge into the realm of the Cave World. He'd have to cross check his old short stories with his cave map to see exactly how and where they had crossed. He'd also have to make darn sure that there was no cave any place connected to the Killdarks. What a mess it would be if those monsters were to reach Arrax.

Donny was grateful Kat was there to help Jennifer; it was an unexpected providence to have such a fierce warrior in the right place to protect his friend. But Donny was more intimidated by her silence than Tor and Jennifer's. Kat was dealing with two surprises: the Cave World, and the idea that she had a Creator who was just a boy writing science fiction stories. Her few comments and icy stares made it clear she was not taking it well.

Donny kept an eye open for the Royal Guard, but they did not appear to be as prompt as he had hoped. Either that, or they simply never received word that Arkangel had gone down. It wasn't safe to stay put and wait for rescue, with Blackskull and who knows who else hunting for them, so the decision was made to pack up and start walking for the Earth cave.

And since all were agreed this was all on Donny, he was elected to carry the homing beacon, now stashed in a bag slung over Donny's back.

"Say, Donny," said Tor, breaking nearly an hour of complete silence. "How was it you found me so quickly when you got back to Arrax?"

"I rode a dragon," said Donny. "I stashed the bones of one in a dune near the entrance to the Earth cave, in case I ever came back."

"Huh," said Tor. "I don't suppose you stashed any more around here?"

"Uh no," said Donny. "Any that we come across will be complete coincidence."

"It's your world, right?" said Kat. "You can't just wave your hand and make a dragon?"

"Sorry," said Donny.

"Yeah," said Kat. "Aren't we all?"

"So what happens to Tor and Kat if we get to the Earth cave before rescue arrives?" asked Jennifer.

"We could snag a transport from your world," said Tor.

"I don't think that's gonna be possible," said Donny.

"Oh yeah," said Tor. "Your world isn't aware of ours."

"You can't just leave them in the desert, Donny," said Jennifer.

"It's okay, Jennifer," said Kat. "I've gotten along just fine for years without anyone's help. I don't need rescue. Or divine intervention."

"Neither do I," said Tor. "But I don't want to walk longer than necessary."

"Stop walking," said Kat.

"And die out here?" said Tor. "No way."

"No, said Kat. "Just for a second."

Everyone stopped and turned to Kat, who's headway cocked to the side with a curious expression on her face."

"Something the matter?" said Tor.

"Someone's coming," she said, calling for silence.

"What direction?" whispered Tor.

Kat pointed due East. They could see a small transport coming at them in the distance. It wasn't large enough to be a troop transport, but it was too far to tell if what type of small vehicle it might be and if the occupants were friend or foe.

Tor looked for cover, but they were out in the open with no ground to hide. Two caves were in sight, but they would never make it before the approaching vehicle arrived.

"It could be our ride," said Donny.

"Or Blackskull," said Jennifer.

"He wouldn't come alone, and he hasn't had time to reload," said Donny.

"Doesn't mean it's our friends," said Kat.

"If it's not, it's unlikely it's an enemy, " said Tor. "Used to be a dangerous place to travel, but now you see a lot more folks criss-crossing the caves."

From all appearances, the open-aired transport that slowed to a halt in front of the weary walkers was just that, a couple of young men out for a drive. They were human in appearance with a slight silver tint to their skin. Both were handsome, with short, neatly slicked back hair and toothpaste commercial smiles. They were dressed oddly in what looked like smoking jackets with neckerchiefs underneath, and the one in the passenger seat up front had a pipe.

Their ride was an eight seater luxury convertible, a light purple Sirius Hoverwagon with a light gray imitation leather interior. The Hoverwagon was a few years old but in pristine condition. The solar-powered transport had serious fuel problems on cloudy days, but it made for one of the smoothest rides across the Arraxian wastes.

"Hello there," said the chap with the pipe. "Going some place?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Donny. "We're bound for an uncharted cave for an undiscovered world."

"Explorers, huh?" said the driver. "How exciting. Bart, don't you find that exciting?"

"I do indeed, Trevor," said Bart.

"How far is this cave?" asked Trevor.

"Not the other side of the world, I hope," said Bart.

"A couple of days walk," said Donny. "A few hours if you're headed our way."

Trevor and Bart looked at one another. "Mother always says we need to be kind to strangers," said Bart.

"Oh yes, I agree," said Trevor. "If you do something nice for someone, it will come back to you."

Bart puffed on his pipe. "What else are we going to do on such a glorious day?"

Trevor nudged Bart. "You said you wanted adventure."

"And you said we'd likely be set upon by thieves and robbers," said Bart.

"You were right. I was wrong," said Trevor.

"So we're taking a ride together?" asked Kat.

"I believe we are," said Trevor. "Please, hop in, make yourselves at home, and don't mind my brother's mess."

Bart choked out a puff of smoke. "My mess? This is your vehicle!"

Kat hopped into the car first and turned to give Jennifer a hand. Tor showed his usual dexterity in grabbing hold of the side of the hovercraft and leaping on board. Only Donny struggled to crawl up into the car, and as he expected, no one reached out a hand to help.

Trevor put the vehicle in gear, and the car began to speed across the sands. For the first time in days, Jennifer managed a smile.

"So this is nice," said Jennifer.

"Wonder if these boys would mind dropping us at a more reasonable port," said Kat.

Tor nodded. "They seem like good guys. Donny, you vouch for these boys?"

Donny shrugged. "I gotta be honest. I'm not really sure who they are."

A familiar, sinking feeling hit Jennifer's stomach. "You don't?"

"Sorry," he said. "This place is full of surprises this time around."

"But everything that's here came from up there," said Kat, pointing at Donny's cranium in an unsettling way. "How can they be here, if they were never up there?"

"They had to have come from here," said Donny, tapping his temple, "But I really don't remember everything I've written. I can't recall how I linked you to this universe, and I don't recall two guys in smoking jackets with a hover car."

"So long story short," said Kat, "You could have written down, 'Two guys in smoking jackets who find people in the desert, take them home, and murder them,' and not remembered."

Donny laughed nervously. "Well, I do keep a lot of notes so I don't forget. Especially since my first visit. But before that, I didn't exactly keep everything."

"They seem like nice boys to me," said Jennifer. "Kind of cute."

Donny ignored the comment, obviously intended to make him jealous. Even if it was true, they were a creation of his imagination. They were a part of Donny, and that meant she was attracted ultimately to Donny himself. So why get all worked up about a romantic rival who was really just a fictional reflection of himself?

"Where are we headed?" Tor asked.

"Wherever you folks want to go," said Trevor. "But if you're okay with it, we were going to stop and grab some dinner first."

"I could eat," said Kat. "Who's cooking?"

"Mother, of course," said Trevor. "And she loves when she brings guests home."

"Father too," said Bart.

"You live with your folks?" said Jennifer.

"We are one big happy family," said Bart.

"Indeed we are," said Trevor. "Mother and Father have made a pleasant home for all of us here on the Cave World. All one hundred and eighty-seven of us."

"One hundred and eighty-seven," said Donny, his eyes widening in sudden recognition. "Stop the car! Stop it now! We have to get out!"

"What's wrong, Donny?" said Tor.

Kat reached for a blaster, but it was too late. Trevor pressed a button beneath the front dashboard, and a stream of green, minty-fresh gas shot from the sides of the passenger compartment, dosing all four occupants with a potent but non-lethal tranquilizer.

"A bit quick on the trigger, Trev," said Bart.

"I think the boy was onto us," said Trevor.

"You know how mother hates when we use the gas," said Bart. "It gets in the meat, makes you sleepy."

"It's not as if anyone has any place to go," said Trevor. "And besides, look at them. Especially the bull male."

"Indeed," said Bart.

"We're going to eat like kings and queens tonight," said Trevor.
**Chapter Sixteen:  
Mother and Pops**

It was two years prior, on Columbus Day, that a guest speaker came in to the school where Donny and Jennifer attended to give a lecture on the portrayal of minorities in fiction, film, and television. For too long, people of all races had willingly accepted dated stereotypes and unflattering portrayals of minorities to go unchecked in all forms of storytelling. Minorities were supporting roles, the "best friend" and never the main characters. In the rare instances when they did take more center stage, the unflattering stereotypes were often exaggerated by white writers who simply were not in touch with what it meant to be Hispanic, African American, Asian, Native American, or any number of races poorly represented in pop culture.

Donny took the lecture to heart almost immediately, and just on a whim, he wrote a four page short story about a race of cannibals. Cannibals were a prime example of how minorities were portrayed in a negative light, and Donny's writing intentionally went against the norm.

Instead of dark-skinned savages who wore next to nothing, threw spears, and participated in horrific ritual sacrifice, Donny's cannibals were urbane, sophisticated people. They lived in a grand mansion commissioned by some of the finest wood and stone workers in the galaxy, whom they later ate. They sipped alcoholic drinks by the fire and read the writings of philosophers while listening to classical compositions by the galaxy's finest musicians.

Instead of a bearded elderly man with a skull headdress, Donny created two leaders for this tribe. The matronly ruler, known to her people as Mother, was prim and proper and a stickler for good manners as well as proper hygiene and food preparation. Pops, Mother's concubine, was a bit of a wise guy with a penchant for one liners and bad puns. Donny envisioned him as a sci-fi version of Paul Lynde, a reference that would be lost on most of his contemporaries but nonetheless be a character type they would recognize without knowing the source. He lived in a perpetual state of partial inebriation, and he, unlike his mate, had an exotic, adventurous taste.

"Mom was watching Turner Classic Movies that night, and Bye Bye Birdie came on. It seemed like a good idea at the time," said Donny, finishing his explanation for the horror now facing him and his friends.

"It was a terrible idea!" said Jennifer.

The four meals-to-be were imprisoned in what looked like a lovely guest room, with two queen sized four poster beds fully-dressed with white linen and hand-sewn quilts. Some lovely oil paintings were on the walls around them, and the window (which Kat had already determined was made not of glass but the much harder to break transparisteel) offered a lovely view of the coming sunset.

The door was locked tight as well, with multiple unseen locking systems on the other side. You wouldn't know you were a prisoner from looking at the door, however, as even that had the quaint charm of a lovely country home.

A country home inhabited by sophisticated, high brow, preppy space cannibals.

"I guess they're not technically cannibals, really," said Donny. "Yes, they're human, and yes, they eat people. But they'll eat anyone, any species. Especially Pops."

"This is not helping," said Jennifer.

"I'm hating you more with every word, Creator," said Kat.

They heard the sound of one lock after another being unlatched on the other side of the door. Everyone stood except Jennifer, who was really getting tired and far past ready to be home.

The door finally opened, and both Trevor and Bart were standing on the other side.

"Hello," said Trevor. "Did we have a pleasant nap?"

"Sorry about the knock out gas," said Bart. "We couldn't chance having you all run off before we eat."

"Yes," said Trevor. "It's getting dreadfully late, and dinner time is almost here."

"We would be honored to have you," said Bart.

"You mean eat us, right?" said Tor.

Bart and Trevor exchanged a disappointed look. "Okay," said Trevor, "Who spilled the beans?"

"I know who you are," said Donny. "And what you do."

"How disappointing," said Trevor. "We love to drag it out until the last possible moment. It's always so fun when people think they're going to eat with us instead of be eaten."

"Oh the looks we get are priceless," said Bart. "They all say the same things. 'I thought you people were friendly!'"

"We are friendly," said Trevor, "but also hungry."

"They kick and scream and carry on as they're carted off to the kitchen and butchered," said Bart. "It's always such a show."

Bart and Trevor laughed.

"Okay, folks, this way. The 'rents want to meet you all."

Bart and Trevor half-heartedly pulled out some serious looking blaster pistols and began waving them, motioning for Donny and the others to follow. Donny boldly took the lead, planning what he would say when he met the Mom and Dad of the most blood-thirsty people on Arrax.

Bart and Trevor led them into the Den, a large meeting room that looked like the lobby of a luxury hunting lodge in the Southwestern United States. The walls were lined with wooden paneling, and the taxidermy heads of numerous species and creatures, sentient and otherwise, were hung on the wall. A deep red shag carpet covered the floor, and a fire was blazing in the giant stone fireplace.

Pops was in the room, along with another eight or nine males in the kind of casual evening wear reserved for the families of politicians. Pops's smoking jacket was a deep burgundy, and he wore black slacks along with his matching burgundy house slippers.

"Well, hello there," said Pops in the voice Donny always imagined he'd have. "I hope you all had a nice nap. I'm Pops, and we're looking forward to having you for dinner, heh!"

"You mean eating us," said Kat.

"Oh dear," said Pops, frowning. "Which one of you nitwits spilled the beans?"

"The boy knows who we are," said Bart. "Not sure how."

"Well that just ruins all the fun, doesn't it?" chuckled Pops. "Yes, it's true. We're going to eat—"

Pops stopped in mid sentence as his eyes fell on Kat and her severed limb. A smile crossed his face like a man who had just stumbled upon the woman of his dreams.

"May I ask, ma'am," he said, "Is that a cybernetic limb with synthetic flesh?"

"It is," said Kat.

Pops licked his lips, his eyes locked on Kat's bare arms. "That almost makes up for the boys spoiling our little secret. I've never eaten a cyborg, and I've always wanted to try it."

"You will do nothing of the kind!" The matronly voice came from the woman strolling into the room in an elegant blue evening gown with a matching blue fur stole around her neck. Her long brown hair was up and pinned, with not a strand out of place, and her makeup was just enough to bring out the mature but lovely features of her face.

"Oh come on, Mother," said Pops. "You never let me eat cyborg."

"It's not good to eat synthetic foods," said Mother. "And what have I told you about brandy before dinner?"

"You're not MY mother, Mother," said Pops.

Mother turned to the prisoners. "Now which one of you was it that ruined our little game?"

Pops, Trevor, and Bart all pointed at Donny.

Mother looked at him inquisitively. "You? Who are you? How do you know about us?"

"My name is Donny," said Donny. "Long story short, I know who you are because I created you."

"I beg your pardon?" said Mother.

"I'm from the planet Earth," he said. "I came here once to help Tor here and some others overthrow the Warlords. I made this world and all the worlds connected to it. I know who you are because I invented you. All of you."

"You created us?" Mother said with deep amusement.

"Mother, show some respect," said Pops. "We're in the presence of a god."

Pops gasped hard with laughter. A few of the boys laughed along, but the rest kept their cool, looking to Mother to take the lead.

"Pish posh," she said. "There are no gods, and the stories of the Creator boy are just legends."

"All due respect, ma'am," said Tor. "I was there. My name is Tor Hobbes."

"Whoa," said one of Mother's boys, who had obviously heard of the trader.

"Is that so?" said Mother. "I always believed you to be legend as well. At any rate, you will be after today, because today is the day you disappear forever."

"Sounds good," said Pops. "You eat the legend, I'll eat the—"

"No cyborgs," said Mother.

"Stop treating me like a child!" Pops whined.

"Behave like a child, and I will treat you like one," she answered. "It's the only way to keep you alive sometimes."

Jennifer leaned in to Donny. 'She's like an evil Mary Poppins."

"That was the idea," said Donny.

"It was a bad idea!" said Jennifer.

Mother turned to the girl. "Actually, kids, I think we'll start with this one."

Jennifer felt a flutter in her stomach. "Me?"

"I am dreadfully sorry," said Mother. "But yes, you would be perfect with the sides I've prepared this evening."

"Not the vega-beets again," said Pops.

"You and your irrational fear of vegetables," Mother groaned. "I made the blue corn, too."

"Grilled or boiled?" asked Pops.

"What do you think?" asked Mother.

Pops scowled, knowing that she boiled them instead of giving them a proper grilling. "I think you have an irrational fear of flavor!"

"Bring them to the kitchen," said Mother.

Before they knew it, Donny, Tor, Jennifer, and Kat were flanked by three of Mother's boys each, following the matron and her mate out of the room, down a quaint hallway with wood paneled walls, oil paintings, and more shag carpeting. It was a bit tackier than Donny imagined, but still had the effect he hoped for. These people didn't appear to be stereotypical cannibals. They were more like the cast of a rejected 1970s sitcom. Except for the eating flesh part, of course.

The kitchen was huge, the kind of place you'd see in a large mansion that frequently served hundreds of guests for dinner. Donny saw two giant stoves, a large range top, three sinks, and two long prep tables. The appliances and countertops were all done in a polished stainless steel with black iron accents. Pots and pans were suspended from the ceiling, and cutlery was conveniently spaced and placed in each food prep area.

Mother took Jennifer by the hair and yanked her out of the hands of her immediate captors. She pulled the girl toward one of the three sinks, grabbing a large butcher's knife on the way.

"Let her go!" shouted Kat, starting to struggle against her captors.

"Silence her, now!" said Mother.

Jennifer saw her opening, and almost instinctively acted. She brought an elbow back hard into Mother's ribs and cracked two of them. Mother yelped and dropped the knife. Jennifer grabbed the blade on its sides with her finger tips, flipped it upward, and caught the handle. She spun Mother hard against the sink, cracking another pair of ribs with a painful grunt, and laid the blade of the knife against Mother's neck.

As Mother gagged and gasped for air, Jennifer looked around the room. Nearly two dozen pairs of eyes were on her, waiting for her next move. No one was moving. No one appeared ready to play the hero. Every man among them looked terrified, and Bart spoke for them all.

"Please don't hurt Mother."
**Chapter Seventeen:  
Negotiations**

The silence finally broke when Pops walked into the room, completely unaware of the stand off. "Listen, Mother, I appreciate you trying to make us all eat healthy, but sometimes a man deserves - oh my!"

"Just stay there, Pops," said Jennifer. "And no one has to get hurt."

"Oh I'm afraid we're past that option," said Mother. "You know our secret. And worse, you've chosen to threaten my life. You will be eaten, young lady, and at this point, I might not kill you before I put you in the oven!"

"You're going to bake her?" said Pops. "Do you know how long it's been since I had a well-grilled piece of meat?"

"No one is eating me!" shouted Jennifer. "Do you understand me?"

The words "Yes!" and "Yes, ma'am," were heard popping like corn in a kettle as the boys all nodded their heads.

"Boys, she's just a girl," said Mother. "She's a child at that. You can take her."

"Not before I kill you," said Jennifer.

"You don't have it in you," said Mother, taunting.

Jennifer was not taking it. "Don't bet on it, Mother! I just spent several weeks learning a hundred different ways to kill a person. I survived the Arena and some crazy nut job named Blackskull. I never wanted to come to this rotten planet, and I certainly never intended to wander into your home, whatever this place is, but I swear, if you try and keep me here one minute longer, I'll show you just how deadly and dangerous I am."

"I like her spirit," chuckled Pops. "Tell you what. How about we let you marry one of the boys, and we spare your life? We'll eat the cyborg instead."

"You will do nothing of the kind!" shouted Mother.

"Would you settle for the fat guy?" said Pops.

"No one is eating anyone!" said Jennifer. "We are leaving. All four of us."

Jennifer pointed the knife at Bart. "And you, Bart, you're giving us a ride out of here."

"Don't listen to her Bart," said Mother. "Foolish child. You are nothing but a meal to us, and if you think my children will let you and your friends just walk out of here, you are gravely mistaken!"

Jennifer moved the blade back to Mother's throat. "Bart is coming with us."

"I'm sorry, Mother," said Bart. "If we try to stop her, you're going to get hurt."

"Or we may get hurt!" said Trevor.

"Boys, do something!" said Mother. "Your Mother is in danger!"

"No!" said Pops.

"Pops, this is no time to be timid," said Mother. "You do not let your food dictate terms!"

"I'm not negotiating with dinner," said Pops. "Let's talk about us for a moment."

"Us?" said Mother.

"Yes," said Pops. "You, me, the boys. All of us who call this lovely place home."

"The blade is cutting into my neck," said Mother, who did have a trickle of blood starting from the contact point beneath her chin.

Pops grinned. "Then there's no time to waste. If you want the boys and I to risk our lives on your behalf, I think it's only fair we discuss some incentives. For example, cyborg meat."

"You are not eating me," said Kat.

"I'm not discussing you specifically," said Pops. "I mean in general."

"We have rules in this house for a reason," said Mother.

"Are you willing to bend your rules on good eating in exchange for saving your life?" said Pops.

"What about me extending your life by watching what we eat?" said Mother.

"Answer the question, Mother," said Pops. "If we save you, do we get to eat cyborg?"

"Okay, fine, yes!" said Mother.

"Good!" said Pops. "Now that that's settled, let's discuss the long standing moratorium on cream pies."

"Cream pies, are you daft?" said Mother. "I stand here, with a knife to my neck thanks to this pile of sandwiches, and you want to discuss cream pies!"

"You always say we'll talk about it, and we never do," said Pops. "I think this is as good a time as any, seeing as how you have no choice."

"Maybe we should let these savages go and eat you instead," threatened Mother.

"We're not the savages," said Jennifer. "You're the cannibals."

"Technically, not cannibals," said Pops. "Yes, we'll eat our own species, but we're not picky. Anything on two to four legs and sentient is fair game."

"Except cyborgs!" said Mother.

"You just said—"

"I changed my mind," said Mother. "No cyborgs, no cream pies!"

Pops shut his eyes, frustrated beyond the point of caring. Mother had left him no choice. "Okay, boys. Let the meat go."

Kat, Tor, and Donny were stunned. The young men holding them so forcefully all released their grips and stepped away. Bart let out a sigh of disappointment, like a hunter who just let the big one get away.

"What are you doing??" screamed Mother.

"You don't care about me. You don't care about my happiness at all. Luckily for you, I still love you, anyway. Young lady, you and your friends are free to go. You have won the stand off."

"Really?" said Jennifer, not believing a word of this. "Just like that?"

Pops shrugged. "I don't like it, either. I was looking forward to eating all of you. Especially the blonde."

Pops gave a wink to Kat. In spite of herself, she smiled back.

"But, since we seem to be at an impasse amongst ourselves," said Pops, "I see no reason to fight for my supper. Bart, please see the food out, and give them a lift some place convenient, if you don't mind."

"Sure thing, Pops," said Bart.

"I can't believe you!" said Mother. "And you say you love me! You'll pay for this, Pops!"

"What are you going to do, take away dessert?" He gasped and covered his mouth. "Oops, my mistake, I never get dessert."

Jennifer finally let go of Mother. Mother made a desperate lunge for a frying pan to use as a weapon, but no one got to see whom she planned to attack. Pops pulled out a tiny spray can and maced her with the same green knockout gas that was in the car.

"Lovely meeting you all," said Pops. "Not as lovely as eating, but such is life."

"This way, please," said Bart. He left the freed captives from the kitchen as Pops stood over the sleeping form of his mate. He sighed once more.

"Oh well. Leftovers again tonight, boys."
**Chapter Eighteen:  
Roadblock**

Trankwill is one of the most beautiful places in the galaxy, a world of lush blue and green colors, idyllic hillsides, country cottages with thatched roofs, and miles and miles of farm land. In spite of its friendly relations with any other worlds via the Cave World, Trankwill remains unchanged by technology. You won't find electrical wires, wireless power systems, or even running water systems. Everything is done the old fashioned way, via man or beast of burden.

It was an easy conquest for Emperor Hoerk and his men.

It was also a matter of necessity that Trankwill come under the Emperor's rule. Hoerk had a growing army, and the farmers of Trankwill would provide the food he needed to fill their stomachs, along with whomever he deemed deserving of the opportunity to buy food. It was a vital part of his plan to continue the rapid expansion of his influence on the worlds of Arrax.

As was his custom, Field Commander Jek Savage had a surprise waiting for his superior when Hoerk arrived. Savage led Hoerk to a tiny hamlet, so tiny that it only included three dwellings. Savage handed a remote to the Emperor.

"Each of these buttons is wired to one of those huts," said Savage. "But only one of the huts is full of people. Can you guess which one it is?"

Hoerk grinned with sadistic glee. He let his fat finger hover over the remote, back and forth, until he finally pressed the left button. Immediately, the left hut exploded in a fireball, and Hoerk could hear the screams of the residents inside.

The Emperor laughed. ""Oh, thank you Savage, that was fun."

"Your highness," said Quid Ronto, "A message incoming from Blackskull."

Hoerk rolled his eyes at the interruption. He traded hand-held electronics with his assistant and looked into the ghastly eyes of Blackskull.

"What is it?" asked Hoerk.

"Sir, you'll be happy to know I have found a group of volunteers ready to die in the effort to kill your would-be assassin."

"Please tell me you've found her," said Hoerk.

"I cannot tell a lie," said Blackskull. "Nope."

"Bah!" said Hoerk. "I want her dead!"

"Your majesty," said Blackskull, "I have become convinced that the last thing she wants is to kill you. She is not coming for you, I assure you. She is trying to go home."

"I hired you to kill her, not advocate for her," said Hoerk.

"Advocate nothing," said Blackskull. "I'm gonna kill her, and I know where she's headed."

"Then get there!" said Hoerk.

"I'm already there," said Blackskull. "Will call again when she's toast."

Hoerk handed the device back to Quid, taking the detonator back. Just for kicks he pressed the middle and right buttons. The remaining huts exploded, and Hoerk heard screams coming from both buildings as the flames erupted.

"You had people inside all three huts!" said Hoerk. "I love it."

"I'm glad," said Savage, who enjoyed the carnage just as much as his boss.

"Now," said Hoerk, "Tell me about this place called Lariat."

It was a warm afternoon, but the open top on the Sirius Hoverwagon gave the riders in front and back enough of a breeze to feel comfortable. As they skimmed over the hazardous terrain on the way to the Earth cave, Bart prattled on and on about the stroke of luck that had befallen his passengers.

"You guys have no idea how lucky you are," said Bart. "No one, and I mean no one, has ever left our place alive. We don't want the word to get out about us because, let's face it, if everyone knew, it would make hunting a lot tougher for us."

"Hunting," said Tor. "That's what you call what you do, offering rides to strangers?"

"What else would we call it?" said Bart. "It's fairly easy to find food out here. Someone gets lost or separated or stranded. You put on a smiley face and give them a lift. They're always so happy to see you."

"Until they learn who you are," said Donny.

Bart laughed. "By then it's too late. They're in the compound, disarmed physically and emotionally, and it comes as a complete surprise when they get the knife. Always gives us a chuckle, let me tell you."

None of the other riders found the anecdote funny, and Kat found herself counting to ten silently, once again resisting the urge to kill Bart just out of spite.

"That's why we found it so shocking you knew about us," said Bart. "We don't let anyone escape. We want to stay a secret."

"Sorry to ruin the fun," said Donny.

"Hey, shame on us for letting our guard down," said Bart. "How could we know that one day we'd stumble onto a god?"

"I'm no god," said Donny. "Just a kid with an active imagination."

"Well, I can't speak for the rest of the family, but I for one have enjoyed the lot you've given us. Of course, it would be nice if Mother would relent on the cream pies. Say, you wouldn't be able to change that, would you?"

Donny thought a moment, and laughed. "You know who I modeled her after? My fifth grade teacher. She was from England, and a total health nut. She banned all cookies, candy, and sweets, even on birthdays, and only allowed gross, healthy snacks."

"Mrs. Morgan, of course!" said Jennifer. "She made me cry on my birthday because she wouldn't let my mom bring cupcakes." It was an unhappy memory indeed. "Of all people, why would you make up a character based on her?"

"Now, now," said Bart, "Mother has her faults, but she's a good provider. Without her we would be relying solely on Pops. I love Pops to death, but he's not half as clever as Mother."

"Be thankful he's a kind man," said Jennifer, thinking of her own father. "It could be worse."

"So how much longer am I going to be stuck on this rock without a rocket?" asked Kat.

"We should be coming up on the Earth cave soon," said Donny. "Once we're there, I should be able to get you and Tor a transport back to wherever you need to go. Then Jennifer and I will go home."

"Sure," muttered Kat. "And I'm supposed to go back to life as normal, pretending I'm a real person in a real galaxy, not a puppet in a false reality."

"What was that?" said Donny.

Kat decided to let it go. "You're going to make me ride a dinosaur, aren't you?" she asked.

"It's a dragon," said Tor. "And it's a surprisingly smooth ride."

"You may not need the dragons," said Bart. "My scanners are picking up quite a few transports ahead."

"Around the Earth cave?" asked Donny.

"That's a Roger," said Bart.

"That's odd," said Donny. "Earth isn't engaged in activity on Arrax. And there are no developed worlds connected to any of the nearby caves."

"How far are we from the nearest transport?" said Tor.

"We're a kilometer away from the cave, and the signals on my scanner," said Bart.

"Stop here," said Tor.

"It's an awful long walk this time of day in the heat," said Bart.

"I said stop," said Tor.

Bart slowed the vehicle down. Tor pointed to an opening in a nearby rock formation. "Park it right over there," said Tor.

Bart pulled the Hoverwagon to a halt.

"Wait here," said Tor to Donny and Jennifer. "Kat, you want to have a snoop around with me?"

"Why not?" she said.

Tor and Kat both checked their weapons, once again in hand, and dismounted the vehicle. Kat strolled to the driver's seat.

"You don't have any long range scopes by any chance," said Kat.

Bart grinned. "As a matter of fact, I do." Bart reached into a compartment under the dash on the front passenger's side and pulled out a pair of binocular viewers. "If you can get to high ground, you can see two klicks with these. Very helpful on hunting expeditions."

"Bart," said Kat, taking the binoculars, "Let's make a deal, you and me."

"A deal?" said Bart.

"You stop reminding me that you eat people," said Kat, "And I'll stop thinking about shooting you."

Bart considered the offer carefully and nodded. "You got a deal!"

Kat and Tor started their walk, rounding the corner and vanishing as they marched further in the direction of the Earth cave. Bart sat in awkward silence with Jennifer and Donny for several minutes before speaking again.

"Listen, Jennifer," said Bart. "I'm sorry Pops just came out with those crazy comments about marrying one of us. He's a great guy, really, but he has no filter whatsoever."

"It's okay, Bart," said Jennifer. "He seems like a sweet guy."

"He can be," said Bart. "And I know his marriage suggestion came out of nowhere, but just speaking personally, if there was any chance you might consider coming back, I'd certainly be—"

"It's not possible, Bart," said Donny.

Jennifer turned to Donny, an eyebrow raised. "Seems to me anything's possible in this world," she said.

Donny shook his head. "Jennifer, this is fiction, and we're real."

"And reality has done nothing for me," said Jennifer. "I gotta be honest, Bart's a good guy. I'd almost consider it. If he weren't a cannibal."

"Technically, we are not cannibals," said Bart.

"You're cannibals, and there's no way in this world or the next, Bart," said Jennifer. "It's a shame, but Donny is right."

Bart glanced back at the two teenagers. He sighed. "I should have guessed. The way you two bicker, you sound like Pops and Mother already."

"Oh no!" said Jennifer. "No! Donny and I are just friends!" She looked at Donny. "Maybe not even that, if we can't get out of here any time soon."

"We're almost home," said Donny, wondering how long it would be before things did get back to normal between them. She wouldn't let her anger linger forever, but he fully expected a few weeks of silent treatment before they would get back to talking.

"Say, Creator," said Bart. "It's okay if you don't answer this, but I just gotta ask something."

"Sure," said Donny. "Anything you want."

"Cool," said Bart. "Is there a race of people out there, that's just, you know, hands down more delicious than any other race of people? I've eaten some good tasting beings in my day, but I've always wondered, what am I missing? Is there some alien I haven't tried that's just the best?"

Bart looked at Jennifer. He looked at Donny. Both of the Earthlings stared at him in utter disbelief. Donny grinned awkwardly, wishing he could backtrack but yet not completely sorry he had asked.

"I really don't have an answer for you," said Donny.

"Sorry," Bart said. "I had to ask. Maybe when you get back to Earth you can invent a really tasty race of people and send some—"

"Oh look!" said Jennifer, glad for a diversion. "It's Kat and Tor. Hi Kat, back already?"

Kat only glared at Donny, clearly not happy about whatever she had seen. Donny could sense from Tor's expression the news was bad.

"What is it?" said Donny.

"Well, the cave's surrounded by transports," said Tor. "Troop transports. Gunships, a cannon, a missile launcher. And right in the middle of it, our dear friend Blackskull.

Jennifer shot her own look of fury at Donny. "Is this your doing?"

"Me?" he said. "No! I promise!"

"I don't want to be here, Donny," said Jennifer. "I don't want to fulfill your destiny, and I do not want to kill anyone again!"

"I know you don't!" said Donny. "But I can't just magically wish them away. We're going to have to find a way through."

"There's no going through that blockade," said Tor. "You'd need an army."

"We can get one," said Donny.

Tor shook his head. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking, no way."

"This is exactly why the Alliance of Worlds was formed," said Donny. "To fight injustice. To help others."

"Count me out," said Tor.

"You're a permanent member of the Council, Tor," said Donny. "You can call a special session and urge the Alliance to take action."

"No!" said Tor.

"I need your help," said Donny.

"She is there," said Tor. "And you know darn well I have no desire to see 'Her.'"

"She can get us an army to punch through that blockade," said Donny. "Or better yet, an army that can take out Hoerk."

"Hoerk's not out there," said Tor. "He's probably safe in his palace."

"Getting to him may be less dangerous than going head to head with Blackskull," said Donny. "And if we take out Hoerk, Blackskull will pack up and go."

"How does that work?" said Jennifer.

"Because he's a bounty hunter," said Kat. "If the man signing the credit transfers is dead, Blackskull will have no reason to stick around."

"Unless he's pure evil," said Bart.

Donny shook his head. "Blackskull is a total psycho, but he's all business. It will work."

"I'm not killing Hoerk," said Jennifer.

Donny sighed. "You may not have to, but either way, we need to get to the Palace and confer with the Council."

Tor was unhappy. Jennifer was furious. Donny couldn't read Kat's expression, but he was certain she was just as annoyed as the other two. Bart seemed to be the only one enjoying himself, and he broke the awkward silence.

"So, I guess you all still need a ride?" he asked.

"The Palace at Arrax City," said Donny. "If you don't mind."

"Are you kidding?" said Bart. "I've never had any real adventures. I'm having the time of my life!"

Donny smiled. At least someone was having fun.
**Chapter Nineteen:  
The Princess**

In the shadow of the mighty Palace of Tarre Kahn, ruler of the Warlords and the planet Arrax, stood a smaller, more modest palace that now housed the governing body of Arrax, the Alliance of Worlds. A loose confederation of planets, many of whom fought in the war against Tarre Kahn, the Alliance chose not to take up residence in the ghost-filled halls of the Warlords but to build a central meeting place just outside the Warlords' outer gates.

The Palace, as it was commonly called, was not a royal residence but more of a fancy, space age conference center and lodge. Few of the delegates to the Alliance spent more than a few days a year at the Palace, preferring the comforts of home to the elegant but far too remote confines of the Palace.

A white pyramid, half the height of Tarre Kahn's fortress, stood at the center of the complex, and two rectangular wings stretched to the left and right of the central structure. It looked less like an impressive piece of ancient Egyptian architecture and more like a Las Vegas Egyptian-themed attraction, not that the reference would have meant anything to the people of Arrax.

Two-thirds of the way up the pyramid on the front side, a large landing dock extended out, allowing air transport to safely and conveniently access the building. The ground approach, however, was at the far end of the rectangular eastern wing, and that is where Donny told Bart to navigate the Hoverwagon.

Tor saw her from a distance as she stepped out of the double doors and walked through the white columns that lined the eastern facade. He felt his blood pressure rising and his face burning red. He took several deep breaths, not wanting to reveal any of the nervousness welling up inside him.

Tor had no idea the anxiety that Lita was feeling at the same moment. Her thoughts switched rapidly from excitement at seeing Donny again to fury about seeing Tor to wondering if she should have gone with a different outfit. She hated that she cared at all what Tor would think. She hated that she cared so much, she had tried three other outfits on and then gone back to this one. She looked great in the emerald green gown with sleeves off the shoulders that cascaded around her at her feet. It was, after all, tailored just for her, and it set off her long, flame-red hair. But right now, she was aching for some pants, a holster, and a good pair of combat boots.

Why in space did she put on the dress in the first place?

One thing she didn't regret were the heels on her feet. They weren't the best fit for the dress, but they gave her an extra couple of inches on Tor, who was already a tad shorter than her.

Lita greeted Donny with a warm smile and a big hug, a gesture out of character for royal protocol but filled with genuine emotion.

"I never thought I'd see you again," she said. "You didn't even say goodbye!"

"Well, it was under tough circumstances. I was kind of dead at the time," he said.

"I'm glad you pulled through," she laughed.

Donny turned to his classmate. "This is Jennifer French, a friend of mine from Earth."

Lita extended a hand to Jennifer. "Another Earth visitor? How is that possible?"

"I haven't exactly worked that out," said Donny.

"He wrote me into a story," said Jennifer, glaring at her estranged friend. "Ta-da, here I am."

"And with good reason, I am sure," said Lita.

"There's a tyrant out there gathering power," said Donny. "The Brotherhood of Gordo predicted a young woman would be the one to stop him. Jennifer was kind of a place holder in that story, but..."

"But the story came looking for me," said Jennifer. "Lucky, lucky me."

"I know the feeling," said Lita. "You are welcome and safe here. We'll discuss how we can help you once you've had time to rest."

Donny turned to Kat. "And this is--"

"Allyse will do fine," said Kat, offering one of her many aliases. Donny had created her to be a cautious, private figure, and he grinned to see her in action this way.

"Allyse was with Jennifer on New Aries when we rescued her from the Game Master," said Donny, not stopping to define whom he meant by the word "we" as he went on. "She helped us escape the Arena as well as a run in with Blackskull."

Lita sized up Kat, seeing the bionics still exposed through her skin. She could tell there was far more to the story of "Allyse" than Donny was telling her, but this was not the time or place for such inquiries.

"You are welcome here as well," said Lita. "If there's anything we can do for you while you are with us, please ask."

"A D7 medic droid and a ReGen machine, if they are available," said Kat.

Lita raised an eyebrow at the unusually specific request. "We can arrange that. I'll have the droid and equipment sent to your room."

Kat bowed politely. "Thank you."

Donny heard Bart clearing his throat. He turned to see the fine young cannibal standing almost directly behind him, eyeing the princess with an eager smile.

"And this is Bart," said Donny. "Bart gave us a lift. He won't be staying long."

"Oh come on," said Bart. "I'm sure you've got a room at least for the night."

"Of course we do," said Lita.

Bart nudged Donny with his elbow. "See? I told you."

"It will be our honor to have you for dinner," said Lita.

Bart burst out with laughter. "Oh boy, that means something so much more where I come from."

"We know, Bart," said Donny.

"Milena!" said Lita.

A young woman in a purple robe stepped forward with a bow. "Please see Jennifer, Allyse, and Bart to the guest rooms in my suite. Get them clean clothes if they require them, and please get a D7 and a ReGen machine sent up to Kat's room right away."

"It will be done," said Milena.

"Anything else we can do for any of you?" asked Lita.

"How soon 'til I get to go home?" asked Jennifer.

Donny turned to Lita. "We need to convene the Council."

"They are already assembled, other than the delegation from Spikor," said Lita. "It's the time of one of their vampire rituals. One of those things we just would rather not know about."

"We may need their vote," said Donny, knowing that the vampire pirates of Spikor were always ready for a little violence.

"The ambassador assured me he would carve out some time for us," said Lita. She turned to Jennifer. "We won't keep you waiting for an answer."

"Thank you," said Jennifer. She gave a half smile to Donny and followed her escort, along with Kat and Bart. Bart was already chatting up the young woman assigned to him. "My name's Bart," he said. "Are you from Arrax?"

Lita waited until the others were out of earshot and turned back to Donny.

"Allyse is not her real name," said Lita.

"She's okay," said Donny.

"She's got a past," said Lita.

"Most people do in this galaxy," Donny nodded.

"Tell me," demanded Lita.

"It's a very long story, but she's no threat, I assure you," said Donny.

Lita sighed, knowing Donny would not budge further. The whole conversation had been all about stalling and hardly at all about Allise's secret identity. "I trust you."

Lita had put it off as long as she could. The moment had finally come, and she was no more ready for it than Tor. She let her eyes drift downward to her former ally and romantic interest. "Good to see you still in one piece, Tor," she said.

"You should have seen me a day or so ago," he replied. "I don't suppose my room is ready?"

"It always is," she said.

"I won't need it for long," he said.

"I didn't expect you would," said Lita.

"I'm here for Donny and the girl," said Tor. "Once we get them home, I will be out of your hair."

"Believe me, I'm counting the minutes myself," said Lita.

"For once we agree on something," said Tor. "So where's my escort?"

"Sorry, Tor," said Lita. "Business first. The Council is already gathering down in the Pit."

"You can at least make me a sandwich," said Tor.

"I'll have a fruit tray brought down," said Lita.

The war of words ended, and Lita turned, following the rest of her entourage up the steps into the building. With Donny and Tor in tow, they headed to the central pyramid and the elevators that would take them six levels below ground to the assembly room known as The Pit.
**Chapter Twenty:  
Plan A**

"Excuse me, who am I eating?"

The young woman from Sulee Minor, one of many hired by the princess of said planet to tend to guests at the Palace, turned back to Bart, who sat across a long dining table from his recent companions Kat and Jennifer. Bart held a piece of the "mystery" meat on his fork, as if showing it to the server might somehow jog her memory.

"It's cattle," said the server. "From Sulee Minor."

"Did you know her?" said Bart.

"The cow?" she shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Huh," said Bart. He took his first bite, savoring the flavor as he chewed slowly. "Cattle is pretty good."

"I will pass it on to the chef," said the server.

Bart's fork twirled in the air as he went on. "You don't happen to have a photo of her, do you?"

"A photo of whom?" said the server.

"Cattle," said Bart.

"That's enough of that, Bart," said Kat.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Did I say something wrong?"

The server looked at Kat, who smiled at her. "It's okay. He's a good egg, despite his lack of manners."

"What manners?" said Bart. "Where I come from—"

"Drop it," said Kat in a manner that told Bart he'd best shut his mouth. Bart did so, and the server returned to the kitchen.

"How's your arm?" said Jennifer.

Kat, dressed in a black tank top and gray pants, showed off her bare arms, now completely restored and healed after some time with the ReGen machine. "Good as new. Had to cut away a bit at the dead stuff to get it to grow back, but there you go."

"How often do you have to replace stuff?" asked Jennifer.

"Not terribly often," said Kat. "I get into a lot of tight spots, but most of the people I chased down are people who've never seen a shooting gallery. Sometimes a guy gets a lucky shot or I wander too close to an explosive, but it's never been too bad."

"Must be frustrating," said Jennifer.

"You get used to it," said Kat. "Only real downside is I've never been able to get any tattoos on my arms. What's the point, right?"

Kat's smile masked the raging emotions inside. All afternoon, she'd thought back on the tragic events that had led to the medical procedures transforming her into a half-human, half-machine hybrid. All her life, she had blamed it on the Killdarks, a malevolent alien force that had also robbed her of her father. Now she knew it was a young boy who had made her the tragic heroine, and that knowledge had poured salt on wounds she thought were long since healed.

"So you had to cut some more off to grow the new skin?" said Bart. "You didn't save any—"

Kat lifted her eyes and cut him off mid-thought. "No, Bart. I did not."

Bart sighed. "This is all I know, you know."

"It's not your fault," said Jennifer. "You are who you were made to be."

"Aren't we all?" said Kat. "How are you feeling, Jennifer?"

"Okay, now that I have some food," said Jennifer. She was very tired, and not really hungry. She had tried her best to nap, but she was growing frustrated with the continued silence from below. Jennifer knew she had to be patient, but she didn't understand why Donny couldn't (or simply wouldn't) just take her home. She was tired of playing space warrior, and even though she had a less than ideal home to go back to, she was ready to be there in her own bed.

"You know what you need," said Kat. "You need a massage. I had one of the Sulee girls work on my back after I got my arm fixed. Did wonders for me, I tell ya."

"Maybe," said Jennifer, picking at her vegetables.

"Come on," said Kat. "You gonna tell me that when you get home, you're going to a place better than this?"

Jennifer thought about her father. She thought about the horrible feeling she got in her stomach every afternoon when she left school. She thought about the disrepair her family home was in. She thought about her last real birthday party at age ten, a miserable affair at her father's favorite steakhouse with his buddies. She remembered the free birthday dessert she barely got to taste before her father dragged her out of there and took her home to bed.

"You're right," said Jennifer. "I need to enjoy this while it lasts."

A Vishlunan military officer walked in the room. Jennifer recognized him right away as a Vishlunan from the description Donny had repeated so often. He was tall, hairless, and gray in complexion with a powerful, muscular build visible even through military garb.

The Vishlunan gave a curt bow as he approached Jennifer. His voice was deep but almost soothing in tone as he spoke. "Greetings, Jennifer of Earth. As representative to the Alliance from the people of Vishluna, I welcome you to Arrax."

"Thanks," said Jennifer, puzzled by the formality of his greeting.

"The Alliance has voted in favor of taking action against Emperor Hoerk. Word of his cruelty is spreading across the worlds of Arrax, and there is concern he may pose a real threat to all planets. The Alliance members are assembling a coalition task force to assist you in your chosen quest."

"My chosen quest?" said Jennifer. "I want to go home."

"And you will," said the Vishlunan. "Once we have assisted you in eliminating the Emperor."

Jennifer stood up and threw down her napkin. "No! I'm not going anywhere near that fat pig! This is not my world, and he is not my problem!"

"You cannot escape your destiny any more than the rest of us," said the Vishlunan. "We have a crack team chosen to assist you with getting onto his world, where you will assassinate the Emperor personally. We will also take out his lead military commanders and then send our coalition forces out to liberate the planets."

"I'm not an assassin," said Jennifer. "I'm not going to kill anyone."

"I sympathize with your passive sentiments," said the Vishlunan. "However, sometimes in the course of keeping peace, it is necessary to take actions that we otherwise might deem uncivilized."

Jennifer was seething. This was not what she wanted, and there was no way she would go through with it. "Where's Donny? I need to talk to him now!"

"He is occupied at the moment," said the Vishlunan.

Jennifer grabbed a glass and threw it against the wall. "I said now!"

The Vishlunan never flinched. "Follow me. I will take you to him." He turned and marched out of the room with Jennifer in tow.

Kat shook her head and turned back to the table. Bart gave her a creepy grin.

"If she's not coming back, I would love to eat her cattle," he said.

The sound of yelling and screaming could be heard from the far end of the hall. The Vishlunan led Kat from the marble stairway and down the hall toward Lita's suite. She couldn't hear what the fighting was all about, but she was certain she knew who the other combatant was - and who it was that put them in the same room.

She found the responsible party sitting on a small bench outside Lita's door. Donny sat with his head in his hands, clearly frustrated that his perfectly plotted love story was in shambles. Jennifer found it hard to sympathize at that moment. She herself was the subject of a plot created by her friend, and she, like Lita and Tor, wanted to exit that plot as quickly as possible.

The yelling subsided, and the door opened. Tor stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. He cleared his throat and looked down at Donny, now looking up at the trader.

"That woman." It was all he said. Whatever thought he had, he chose not to finish it. He shook his head.

"Tor, what can I do?" said Donny.

"Sorry, Donny," said Tor. "There's nothing that can be done. She's just... impossible."

Donny shook his head. "She said the same about you."

"I guess you could wipe her memory," said Tor. "Or mine."

"Maybe," said Donny.

"Or maybe," Jennier interjected, "Maybe you two just need a break."

"A very long break," said Tor. He nodded to Jennifer and the Vishlunan before seeing himself out, heading the opposite way toward the elevators.

"Jennifer wishes a word with you," said the Vishlunan. "She has concerns about the plan."

"This is not a good time," said Donny.

"Well, that's too bad," said Jennifer. "Because I'm here and we are going to talk."

Donny resisted the urge to roll his eyes, something that would only make her angrier. "Okay, let's talk."

Jennifer sat down beside Donny. "Donny, it's over. I'm tired of being here, and I want to go home."

"I will get you home as quickly as I can," said Donny. "We have a plan in place that will set the Cave World free from Emperor Hoerk and get you home. As soon as you—"

Jennifer shook her hands in frustration. "Stop planning my life! I appreciate you wanting to somehow help me and save me through this story of yours. But you can't. Okay?"

Donny shook his head. "Jennifer, it's all going to work out," he said. "Just see it through. In two days, you'll fulfill your mission—"

"It's not my mission," she said. "It's yours. This is your stupid story, and you can find someone else to do your bidding."

"I can't get you back to Earth until we get Blackskull away from the cave," he said. "If we kill Hoerk, Blackskull loses his pay day. He will move on, and we go home. Don't you see?"

"Donny, you can't control other people," said Jennifer. "You can't manipulate Tor. You can't manipulate Lita. And you certainly can't manipulate me."

Donny walked over to Jennifer. He reached for her hands, but she denied him. He gathered his thoughts and spoke.

"These people here. The people on all this world. On Arrax. They need someone to help them. Jennifer, please. Help them. Do it for me."

She didn't answer him. She was too angry, and she knew if she opened her mouth again, she would always regret the words she'd choose.

Jennifer walked quickly towards the elevators. She was resolved not to take part in any violence, and she was determined to find an out before Donny ran his little operation.

She would get out of it. He would find someone else. She would go home.

But first, she needed to relax, and she was really aching to try that massage service Kat had been bragging about.
**Chapter Twenty-One:  
Terms**

Kat was sitting on the edge of her bed when Jennifer finally opened her eyes again.

"I told you it was amazing," said Kat.

"You didn't mention there were four arms on one masseuse," said Jennifer.

"You don't have four-armed masseuses on your world?" said Kat. "What's the point?

"I didn't even realize I was so tense," said Jennifer. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Dinner was about twelve hours ago," said Kat. "You remember, cattle?"

"So over eleven hours," said Jennifer. Her smile faded as reality (or at least, her fictional reality) set in. She was still in the Palace, lying on a bed in her posh suite. She was still facing the prospect of being dragged across the sands to Hoerk's home world and putting a bullet or laser beam through his head.

"Did they tell you the plan?" asked Jennifer.

Kat nodded. "Hoerk is making a move on the planet Lariat in two days. He'll be in the open on Arrax, near the rear of his forces when they move out. They think they can get you close enough to take a shot at him with minimal loss of life."

"Lariat," said Jennifer. "Isn't that where your boyfriend is?"

"He's not my boyfriend," said Kat. "But yes, I have a friend there."

Jennifer sighed. She could feel the tension released by the purple alien masseuse returning.

"Did you warn him about Hoerk?" asked Jennifer.

"Not yet," said Kat. "I was curious to see what you were planning before I made the call."

Jennifer sat up. "You want me to go after the emperor, don't you?"

"I can't make that choice for you," said Kat. "But I've seen what you can do, Jennifer. If you're doubting your abilities, don't. You're good enough in a fight, I'd want you on my side."

"Thanks," said Jennifer.

"I also volunteered to go along if you decide you're in," said Kat. "I know you don't want to go but... if killing this guy is going to save lives and let some people go free, I will make sure you get in and out in one piece. Even if I don't."

Jennifer sighed. "He means well. I know he does."

"You mean Donny?" said Kat.

Jennifer nodded. "I know he loves me. He's had a crush on me forever, and he really truly cares about me. Like no one else. But right now, I really just want to strangle him."

"I have to be honest," said Kat. "When I learned who your friend was, I wanted to kill him, too."

"For real?" said Jennifer.

Kat nodded. "I never believed in a Creator. All of the pain and suffering I endured, I couldn't. The idea that there was someone all powerful watching over me, letting these things happen to me, it was too much."

"I wouldn't exactly call Donny all powerful," said Jennifer.

"He is in my world," said Kat. "And I hated him for it, right from the start. I hated him for making me watch my father die. I hated him for letting me be turned into this... thing that I am. I hated him for all the terrible things that happened."

"Those things," said Jennifer. "They made you into who you are. A hero."

Kat looked at Jennifer. "Is that what you believe about your Creator?"

"My Creator?" said Jennifer. She shook her head. "I don't believe in all that."

"Neither did I," said Kat. "And yet here we are."

It was a startling thing to consider. Kat knew Donny went to church and that faith was a big part of his life, but with all the pain she had endured, just like Kat, it seemed too far out of reach.

"If I had a Creator, I think I'd be just as mad at mine as you are with yours," said Jennifer.

"You know the funny thing?" said Kat. "The more I thought about it, the more I liked having a Creator. Yes, he put me through some terrible things, but I know he's got my back."

Jennifer cocked her head, surprised. "You think so?"

"It's pretty obvious," said Kat. "That idiot friend of yours really cares about me. I can look back and see he was there through everything I've experienced. He put me through some bad stuff, but it all made me stronger, and knowing that he is watching out for me makes me feel..." She smiled and took a deep breath. "Invincible."

"I wish I could say I feel the same," said Jennifer.

"All the bad I've been through," said Kat. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But in all honesty, I wouldn't trade it for the alternative. We'd both be dead back on New Aries if it wasn't for him."

"I'd be dead," said Jennifer. "You wouldn't have been there. You'd be some helpless damsel on a distant world."

"Or married with kids," said Kat. The thought of kids seemed to take her away mentally to a different time and place, but Kat shook it off. "Yeah, that was just never meant to be."

Jennifer had spent countless hours imagining what life would have been like if things had been more ideal in her family life. What if her father wasn't a drunk? What if he had never struck her, not even once? How happy would she be? How would she be different?

Only now, on an alien world, did she realize how pointless all that speculation had been. She was never going to have a perfect life, but no one was ever afforded such luxury. Earth was a messed up place. You take the good with the bad. Perhaps the bad had a purpose for Jennifer just as it had for Kat. Perhaps this wasn't something meant to bring her down, but build her up.

Perhaps she had a Creator looking out for her, too. And maybe that Creator was using Kat's Creator to open her eyes.

Kat claimed the bad stuff in her past made her stronger, but Jennifer knew it could just as easily have broken her. She could still be wilted and weak, buffeted by tragedy, unable to fend for herself. Jennifer knew this because that's who she had become, all because she refused to dig her feet in and fight.

No, she couldn't fight certain battles. Not in the conventional, face to face, toe to toe way. But she could stand, and she could fight. And being that she was presently in a fictional world created and guided by a guy she knew loved her to death, she had nothing to lose.

"Kat?" said Jennifer. "You really think I can kill this guy?"

Kat shrugged. "Lot of danger between you and him. Soldiers. Guns. Big guns. Blackskull."

"But you must think there's a chance I can succeed if you volunteered to go."

"The way I see it, this is Donny's story," said Kat. "He's the Creator. He intended you to kill this guy. And nothing's going to stop that."

"Donny's scripted it all out perfectly," she said. "I come in here. I learn to fight. I kill Hoerk, and I gain the self-esteem and confidence to go home and face my father. Only problem is I didn't really defeat anyone. Donny did it all for me."

"You're right about that," said Kat. "It's kind of like having someone go out, catch a Hurlavian Bearkat and hold it down while you shoot it instead of stalking and killing it yourself. It's just not right."

"A Hurlavian Bearkat?" Jennifer laughed. "Honestly, where does he come up with these names?"

"You tell me," said Kat. "He's your friend."

Jennifer shook her head. "I love him. He's been a good friend. But I'm tired of playing by his rules."

"Are you now?" A mischievous smile crossed Kat's lips. "Are we thinking of a little insurrection?"

"Not an insurrection," said Jennifer. "But what if we go off script a bit? What if I write the next chapter instead of Donny?"

"I'd like to read that story," said Kat.

Jennifer grinned. "You would?"

"You tell me what to do," said Kat. "I'm in."

The Palace was built as a beacon of hope, a symbol of peaceful coexistence among the worlds of Arrax. But the founders of the Alliance were no fools. They knew a time would come when the price of peace would be paid again, and the western wing of the Palace was designed with such a contingency in mind.

The finest weapons systems from more than a dozen worlds were on display in the four story hangar. Some were stored on elevators and a mezzanine two stories up, while others were neatly aligned on the ground level, poised and ready for quick mobilization. A coalition of Vishlunan, Sulean, and Arborean technicians kept all of the vehicles and weapons in working condition. The Palace did not have housing enough for an army, as the members had agreed to supply soldiers only in the event of a crisis, but the Palace had a rotation of six quick response teams fully trained and available for emergencies. Three teams were kept at the Palace at all times, with two being on standby at any one given time. Each team was made up of ten soldiers, all from the same home world.

The team assembled chosen to assist Jennifer consisted of eight men and two women from Lita's home planet, Sulee Minor. Lita knew each of the soldiers well, having drilled and trained with them side by side for the last couple of years. As leader of the Alliance, her involvement in any actual military operation was considered out of the question, but everyone knew Lita would be hard to hold back the day her team was finally called to action.

General V'derlin, the Vishlunan who had delivered the news about the operation to Jennifer, drew the difficult assignment of telling Lita she could not go. As Kat made her way toward the soldiers now prepping their vehicles, she could sense it was not going well.

"You know the rules as well as any member of the council," he said.

"Of course I do," said Lita. "I drafted them."

"Then you know that we will never allow you to engage in direct military action," said General V'derlin.

"I am as capable as any of the men or women on my team," said Lita. "I trained half of them myself!"

"Your capacity for bravery and skill in battle is not the issue," said V'derlin. "Your status as the leader of the Council prohibits you from leading this team into battle."

Lita looked over at Donny, who was leaning against a 7-B7 dual laser turbo tank and listening to every word. "Donny, you made me a warrior. Don't let them pull me off this team and play the politician."

Donny shook his head. He had more than his fill of trying to tell Lita what to do, having exhausted himself trying to resolve the differences between her and Tor. "I'm gonna stay out of this one, thanks."

Kat strolled into the fray, ending the debate for the moment. "Princess," she said.

"Allyse," said Lita.

"I assume this is the strike team you've assembled for Jennifer?" said Kat, interrupting.

"It is," said Lita. "I understand you've volunteered to ride with us."

"I hope that's not a problem," said Kat. "Jennifer said she won't go without me."

Donny stood up. "Then she's going."

"If this is the only way home, yes," said Kat. "But she has a few more terms to be met."

"What kind of terms?" said Donny.

"First things first," said Kat. "She's not killing anyone other than Hoerk. She pulls the trigger once, and that's it."

Lita looked at her second in command, a battle-hardened old commando named Rik Dozier. Dozier had a grayish crew cut and a wicked scar running diagonally across his face, and his thick muscles were visible even through his body armor. Dozier nodded his agreement.

"Agreed," said Lita. "She only kills Hoerk. We can take care of the rest."

"Commander Dozier and his team will take out the rest," said V'derlin.

Dozier shook his head. "Allyse has her terms, we have ours. Lita rides with us."

V'derlin grunted his annoyance. "What's the point of having a chain of command and rules of engagement—" He shook his head in frustration. "Fine. The princess goes. Anyone else have any stipulations they want to add?"

"One more," said Kat. "Jennifer will discuss the plan of attack with me, Lita, and her team. But not Donny."

"Out of the question," said Donny. "I'm not going to sit this out, either."

"You are going to sit this out, or Jennifer doesn't go," said Kat. "Are we clear?"

"No, we are not clear," said Donny. "I want to make sure that Jennifer is safe."

"Isn't that why I'm here?" said Kat. "Isn't that why Lita and her men are here? You've put a protective bubble around her since she set foot on this planet. She will be just fine. We will see to it."

Donny looked to Lita. The princess nodded. "We will take care of her," said Lita. "I promise."

Donny sighed. "All right. I'll stay out. Do your job, and come back alive. All of you."

Kat nodded her agreement. "Jennifer will survive this. You have my word."
**Chapter Twenty-Two:  
The Raid**

Donny spent the next two days with Tor, and the two sulked the entire time. Tor was ready to leave, ready to put as much distance between himself and Lita as he could possibly get. Donny just wanted this to all be over. He knew that everything happening was his own fault, and he had confidence things would work out according to plan. But the closer it came to the time for the strike force to leave, the more uneasy he felt about the whole thing.

A scout team from Spikor was dispatched to survey possible routes between Hoerk's most likely position and Lariat, a world Donny had designed to resemble the Old West of the late 1800s. They had six guns and cannons on Lariat and some vicious gunfighters and cutthroats, but nothing to match the firepower of Hoerk's army. He would cut them to shreds.

The Spikors identified the most likely path the army would take and even located a perfect spot for ambush. It was a gamble, but Lita felt confident enough with the information to lay out plans for the attack.

Crammed into one heavily armed missile attack hovercraft, the strike force was now on its way to intercept the command vehicle. If all went well, three missile strikes, and it would be over.

Donny and Tor waited for news in the Palace dining area. It was an awkward position for them both, sitting on the sidelines. Tor was used to being in the center of the action; Donny also longed to be where the action was, specifically so he could watch out for Jennifer. He didn't like her demand that he stayed away, and he was beginning to worry his friendship with her might never be the same when they returned home. He wanted to fix this, to make it right, but he was deeply troubled by how out of control things had become.

His only consolation in the long wait was that Tor seemed even more nervous than he was, pacing the hall anxiously, his lunch sitting largely untouched on the table.

"How soon until we hear something?" grumbled Tor.

"Shouldn't be long," said Donny.

"We should be out there," said Tor. "Both of us."

"I should be," said Donny. "There's no reason you should even still be here."

Tor looked at Donny. "I'm concerned."

"About Jennifer?"

"Jennifer will be fine," said Tor with a wave of his hand. "She has twelve people out there ready to take a laser bolt in the chest for her."

"So it's Lita you're worried about," said Donny.

Tor avoided the question, his mind reeling, plotting. "We could probably get out there before they attack. You know, in case they run into trouble. "

"How are we going to get there?" said Donny.

"We could commandeer a tank," said Tor.

"Nah, too much red tape," said Donny. "Bart has the Hoverwagon. Those things can move."

"Bart's gone," said Tor.

"When did he leave?" said Donny.

Tor shrugged. "He went home yesterday. Didn't you know?"

Donny shook his head. "No one told me."

"I don't like this waiting!" said Tor.

"You can't do it, can you?" said Donny. "You can't leave until you know she's safe."

"The world needs her," said Tor. "Much as I can't stand the sight of her, she should be here and not there. She's darn good at what she does."

"And you still care about her."

"Me?" said Tor. "Let's talk about you. How come you wrote your friend into this mess? She doesn't seem like the warrior type."

"She's not."

"Then why did you—"

"Because I wanted to inspire her," said Donny. "She needs to believe she's worth something. She needs to believe in herself."

Tor sat down beside Donny. "I may not be an educated man, but I think there are better ways to teach someone to believe in themselves than making them an assassin."

"I didn't make her an assassin," said Donny. "I was writing a story. That's all. I used her name instead of making one up, and here we are."

"There's an awful lot riding on her actions today," said Tor. "A lot of good people on Lariat."

"What are you talking about?" said Donny. "Lariat's one of the worst planets in the galaxy."

"You're their Creator," said Tor. "You should be concerned for all your people."

Donny shrugged. "I wasn't thinking about being a Creator when I made them up. All I wanted to do was tell space stories. Science fiction. There are good guys and bad guys in sci-fi, and I had to create both."

"Why?"

"Stories teach us things about ourselves," said Donny. "We live in a world of conflict, and through conflict, we learn who we are."

"Huh," said Tor. "Have you learned anything?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

Donny took a deep breath. "That I'm nowhere near perfect enough to be anyone's hero."

Jennifer looked ridiculous. At Donny's insistence, they had padded her in not one but two layers of body armor. The helmet strapped to her head was a size too big, and the rocket launcher slung over her shoulder was nearly as long as she was tall. All in all she looked like a little girl playing soldier in her daddy's army gear, and Kat had to stop herself laughing several times as they waited on the ridge for Hoerk.

She looked exactly like some coddled rich kid out on a staged safari, heading into the jungle to kill the Hurlavian Bearkat someone else already scouted, sedated, and tied to a tree.

The intelligence from the Spikors was dead on. Lita was deeply impressed. She was sure the Spikors who scouted Hoerk and his army were probably still recovering from the recent revelry on their home planet, yet when it came time to do business, they were still the best. Not only did the army use the route the scouts predicted, they arrived within five minutes of their projected travel time. Lita's task force was dug in around the battle tank, with two soldiers on each corner of the vehicle and a driver and weapons officer inside.

Lita and Kat flanked Jennifer, both insisting on giving the girl personal protection. It had almost become a competition between the two women, which one would take the bullet for Jennifer if it came down to it.

"Contact," said Dozier, standing at the ten o'clock position in front of the tank. "I have eyes on the command vehicle."

"How many on board?" said Lita.

"Looks like we have three occupants." Dozier zoomed in and focused on the vehicle, using an infrared scope designed to see through even the thickest armored plating. "We have a driver. Could be a bodyguard or another officer, but that big blob in that back is definitely Target Alpha."

Lita turned to Jennifer. "I know Donny said this was your shot to take, but if you can't do it, I will."

"I'll take the shot," said Jennifer coldly. She had shown a steel resolve ever since agreeing to go on the mission. All through their planning and dry runs, Jennifer had been nothing but fearless. Lita thought Donny would be proud to see her now as she stepped forward, taking position beside Dozier.

Dozier activated the targeting module on his scope. The scope was patched in by remote to the rocket launcher, allowing Dozier to aim so that all Jennifer had to do was pull the trigger. The system wasn't often used in such close quarters; it was designed for one soldier to get up close while another fired from a remote distance. In this case, the plan was to take the shot and get out as quickly as possible. Taking down Hoerk had almost become the second priority, right behind protecting Jennifer from harm.

Jennifer followed the procedure she had been taught back at the Palace, flipping off the two safeties and setting the rocket to live fire. As she did, the two Sulean troopers on the opposite side of the tank took aim at the vehicles most likely carrying Hoerk's field commanders. Cut the head off the snake, the snake dies. It was a perfect plan. Even Kat had to admit such.

But it all went up in smoke the second Jennifer vanished in a loud BANG and cloud of pink mist.

No one saw the projectile. No one even heard its signature whistle until it was too late. Kat and Dozier were the only ones watching the girl when she took a fatal direct hit and was vaporized right before their eyes.

"Jennifer!" Lita screamed as the girl's body dissolved with the impact of the radioactive round.

"Look out!" screamed Kat, pushing Lita aside as another radioactive pellet flew past both their heads.

The rear guard opened fire at the source of the deadly round that had taken out Jennifer. It was Blackskull, chomping a cigar and blasting away with his Rumack Repeater.

Kat grabbed the rocket launcher beside Jennifer's body and spun it toward Blackskull, taking a wildly-aimed shot at the assassin. She missed, but she was close enough to get Blackskull to dodge for cover, giving them a window of opportunity to run.

"Everyone in the tank, now!" shouted Kat.

The Suleans began to pile back into the vehicle. Kat just caught Lita by the arm before she broke free of their cover in the direction of Hoerk.

"Get in the tank!" Kat shouted.

"You are not in command here!" yelled Lita.

Kat pulled back on Lita's arm harder. "You may not care about your own life, but if we don't leave now, we all die!"

Lita looked downhill. The army had already broken ranks and was moving in their direction, guns blazing and tearing up the hillside.

"There will be another time," said Kat. "Get in the tank."

Another blast from Blackskull's weapon shook the ridge, and Lita jumped on board the tank with Kat. The driver put the vehicle in gear and tore off into the desert as fast as she could go.

Lita and Kat sat side by side on top of the vehicle, Lita scowling at the cyborg as they left the battle scene behind them. Dozier stuck his head out of the hatch.

"What do we do now?" he said.

Lita never took her eyes of Kat. "Call the Palace. Tell Donny his friend has gone home."
**Chapter Twenty-Three:  
The Next Chapter**

Half an hour had passed since the initial scout vehicles rolled through the cave at Lariat. Hoerk passed the time scarfing down raw shellfish and guffawing through a comedy broadcast on his holovision projector. Both activities were an extreme annoyance to poor Quid Ronto, who actually contemplated putting a laser pistol to Hoerk's head and pulling the trigger. If Hoerk wasn't holding her family hostage in one of his many prison camps, she might have already done it. It would give her no end of pleasure to dispatch the fat slob herself, both for his crimes against the civilized worlds and his crimes against good manners and taste.

Quid knew she couldn't be the only member of Hoerk's inner circle to harbor such feelings, but she kept it all to herself. It was too dangerous to even entertain the thought of conspiracy. The second Hoerk doubted your loyalty, he would have you shot – or buried up to your neck on his private golf course.

Quid was relieved when Hoerk's official seal appeared on the holovision in place of the stupid cartoon he had been watching. Hoerk brushed himself off and pressed a button on the door, opening the transmission from Field Commander Jek Savage. Quid had no doubts where the general's true loyalties were. When Hoerk first kidnapped the general's mother in an attempt to recruit his services, the general shot and killed his own mother before pledging undying allegiance.

If she was going to take out Hoerk, she'd have to take down the general as well. Good luck with that.

"Your highness, the people of Lariat had a delegation waiting for us," said Savage. They have surrendered unconditionally, and they willfully submit to joining the Empire.

"Huh," said Hoerk. "All the scumbags and desperadoes on that world and none of them want to fight?"

"Not at all," said Savage. "In fact I am told there are many willing to sign up for special duty."

"How about that?" said Hoerk. "Quid, did you hear that?"

"I heard him, your excellency," said Quid. "That's good news."

"That's not good news, it's great news!" Hoerk was always glad to have murderous thugs and barbarians volunteer for duty, and he had a lot of work to throw their way. Yet Hoerk couldn't help feeling a little disappointed with the easy win. Lariat was known as one of the roughest, most violent worlds in the galaxy, and Hoerk was looking forward to a bloody, dragged out gun battle in the dusty streets.

"Preparations have already been made for your arrival," said Savage. "A young newlywed couple was just taken out and shot by the proprietor of the Diamond Dust Casino, clearing the bridal suite for you alone."

"Really?" said Hoerk. "This guy sounds like my kind of scum."

"It would seem so," said the general.

"But next time, tell them to wait for me," said Hoerk. "If there are people to be shot, I want to enjoy the show."

Savage chuckled. "Indeed, sir. My men are checking out the casino as we speak, just to be sure there's no duplicity. But it appears you are clear for arrival."

"Tell the owner of the Diamond Dust I will honor him and his staff with my presence directly," said Hoerk. "Driver! Let's get going. The sooner I'm out of this tin can, the better."

The holo-connection went dead. Standing inside the lobby of the Diamond Dust, Field Commander Savage turned to the young man with the big, stupid grin on his face standing near the front desk. "The Emperor is on his way, Mr. Rider."

"Please, it's just Rider," said the owner of the Diamond Dust, trying very hard not to wet himself in terror.

There was little consolation for Donny in the knowledge that Jennifer was safely back on Earth. By the time Lita and her crew reached the Palace, Lariat had surrendered to Hoerk without a single shot being fired. The puppet governments on each of the worlds controlled by the Emperor were condemning the attack by the Alliance. Words like terrorism and fascism and other things ending in the suffix –ism were bandied about by Hoerk's allies, and others soon joined in the chorus. The whole affair, intended to liberate billions, was turning into a public relations disaster, and several worlds were already openly discussing siding with the Emperor.

Before the strike team returned, media representatives from several dozen worlds converged on the Palace. Lita arrived just in time to avert an even worse public relations disaster; the ambassador from Spikor had arrived and was ready to go in front of the cameras to blast the Emperor and all who supported him. While many in the Alliance shared his sentiments, this was not the time to allow a vampire-pirate to be the face of the Alliance. Lita kept her battle fatigues on, but she handled the hard question and answer session with all the grace that had been groomed into her as princess of Sulee Minor.

Those graces vanished the moment she entered the meeting chamber down in the Pit. Donny, Tor, V'derlin, Dozier, and Slyvver were all assembled, waiting for her as requested in the main chamber, an oval-shaped room with four curved tables that ran just inside the circumference of the room facing in. Lita strolled right to the center, toward Donny.

"Okay, Donny, talk," said Lita. "Who is the girl?"

"Jennifer?" said Donny.

"Not her," said Lita. "The other one, Allyse. I didn't press you about her because I trusted you. Now we have a mess on our hands, and what should have been a very simple operation has cost us your friend's life."

All eyes turned to Donny. He looked at Tor, who gave him a shrug. "Donny's not the only one who will vouch for her," said Tor. "Her name's Kat Labar. She's a freelancer."

"A mercenary," said Dozier.

"Mercenary, bounty hunter. She wears a lot of hats," said Tor. "She's had her run-ins with authority here and there, but she's not the kind to throw in with a guy like Hoerk."

"She's also not one to submit to authority," said Lita. "She usurped my command on the battlefield and put my crew in retreat."

"To be fair, your highness, she saved our necks," said Dozier. "A minute longer, maybe less, we'd have come out a lot worse than we did."

"We're soldiers, Dozier," said Lita. "If losing our lives means freedom for others, then we pay the price. I'm willing. I know you are. Every member of our crew is."

"We were outgunned," Dozier replied, "And we had lost the element of surprise."

"We also had a traitor in our midst." Lita looked at Donny. "She knew Blackskull was there."

"Who did?" said Donny.

Lita lost her temper. "Kat. Allyse. Whatever her name is, she knew. She set Jennifer up to die!"

"That's outrageous," said Donny. "There's no way."

"She knew, Donny," said Lita. "That's the only explanation for her quick response in getting us out of there."

"She gave us enough cover to get away," said Dozier.

"She also missed him when she fired back," said Lita. "Something wasn't right out there, and I want an explanation."

The doors to the chamber opened suddenly. Kat stood on the other side, her hands in cuffs, a big smile on her face. Two of Lita's teammates stood on either side and led her into the room.

"What's this all about?" said Tor.

"She surrendered to us," said the man on Kat's left. "She asked to come down and make her full confession."

"Kat?" said Donny. "What's going on?"

"Sorry, Donny," she said in a syrupy tone. "I haven't been completely honest with everyone the last few days. I had some secrets to keep, and having heard the latest news about Lariat, I realized it was time to come clean."

Lita folded her arms and sat on top of the conference table. "Go ahead, then."

"First off, Donny, I'm sorry," she said. "I honestly am, to a certain extent. What happened today was necessary, and I knew that you would be hurt in the process. I must confess I was happy to make you suffer a little when we first hatched this little plan, but I can't imagine how you are feeling right now, and for that, I am sorry."

"Cryptic apology accepted," said Donny. "I think."

Lita folded her arms, staring down Kat. "You knew Blackskull was there. Didn't you?"

"Of course I did," said Kat. "I told him where to find us."

"Then you are a traitor," said Lita.

"Well, I don't know if traitor's the word," said Kat. "I never swore loyalty to any of you, so technically, I'm not a traitor."

"Are you working for Hoerk?" asked Lita.

"Absolutely not," said Kat. "I'm working for someone else. A third party. Someone who had her own agenda."

Donny did a double take, catching on. "You did this for Jennifer," he said. "She wanted to be killed so she could go home."

"Go home?" said Kat.

"That's how I ended up back home last time I was here," said Donny. "Tarre Kahn cut me down, and I woke up on Earth. It makes perfect sense."

Kat laughed. "You really don't know your friend, do you?"

"I know her better than you," said Donny.

"She's not the helpless little waif you wanted to save when you put her in this story," said Kat. "Jennifer's changed, and she's no quitter. As a matter of fact, she's probably getting herself into striking position right about now."

Kat looked from face to face, reveling in the confusion she saw. She only wished Jennifer were there to enjoy it with her. Finally, one of them got it.

"That wasn't the girl, was it?" said Dozier with a laugh. "The girl we took out on the mission. That wasn't really her."

"It was her," said Donny. "I saw her before you left. Right?"

Kat scooted her rear up on a table, getting comfortable before going on. "Did you know that ReGen technology can literally grow an entire person from just a finger tip?"
**Chapter Twenty-Four:  
Two Days Earlier**

The pain in her throbbing hand began to subside as the adrenaline of the moment sent a rush through her body. Jennifer held a torn strip from her bedsheets over the wound, staunching the bleeding while Kat set up the machine.

"How often does this happen to you again?" said Jennifer. "How often do you lose a limb or something?"

"Too often to count," said Kat, "Not often enough to ever get used to the pain. You are a tough lady, Jennifer."

"Thank you," said Jennifer, wiping a tear. "How long will it take to grow back?"

"A small piece like that, should only be a few minutes," said Kat. "She flipped a switch, and a purple light began to glow inside the machine. "Right this way, if you please."

Jennifer stood up and stepped inside the machine. It was just a little smaller than a Port-A-Pot, and not nearly as comfortable inside. Even the smell was something unlike Jennifer had ever encountered, a strange combination of alcohol and burned flesh.

Kat took the makeshift bandage from Jennifer's hand. She shut the translucent door on the machine and turned it on. Immediately, Jennifer felt dizzy as a strange gas began to fill the chamber. She remembered Kat's advice and shut her eyes, keeping her breathing steady, as the machine did its work. Her finger began to tingle, and she felt a sensation like someone was pulling at the torn flesh and the severed bone. After a while, pain dissipated, and she began to relax, drifting off to sleep on her feet.

Jennifer felt a cool rush of air hit her face. She opened her eyes and saw Kat holding the door of the machine open, smiling.

"Looks good," said Kat.

Jennifer held up her hand. Her finger was as good as new, fully restored. So too was the flesh around every cut and bruise she had received since her abduction. She jumped out of the machine and hugged Kat. "I can't believe it!"

"I'm guessing this is a technology you don't have in the so-called real world?" said Kat.

"Are you kidding?" said Jennifer. "We're not even close to this. This is the stuff of..." she hesitated, but she knew Kat wouldn't let it go unsaid. "Science fiction."

"Huh," said Kat. "Maybe being science fiction isn't so bad after all. Now let's hope this plan of yours really works."

Kat unwrapped the severed finger and set it inside the machine. Kat shut the door and turned the machine on. The gas filled the chamber, and Jennifer watched with Kat on the monitor what was happening inside. The machine immediately detected the same DNA structure it had found on Jennifer and went to work restoring a full hand. When the machine continued on, rebuilding a wrist and forearm, Kat shouted, "Ha! I told you it would work!"

"It's building a whole new me!" said Jennifer.

"It won't be exactly the same," said Kat. "She won't have your memories or even half your personality. I've never cloned myself, but a few less than savory types from my past did it all the time to use as decoys."

"Donny will know," said Jennifer. "He'll know the second he meets her that it's not me."

Kat nodded. "Then we will have to keep him away from her."

"How will we do that?" said Jennifer, watching her clone forming inside the device.

"We'll make that one of your conditions to go on the mission," said Kat. "Donny knows you're mad at him, so I will simply tell him you don't want to see or talk to him until this is all over."

"Okay," said Jennifer. "Step two?"

"Right," said Kat. "Let's see how secure the network is in this place."

A small computer terminal sat on a table in the main living area of Kat's suite. Kat found the optional keyboard in the desk drawer beneath the touch screen monitor and powered it up. Jennifer's clone was half-done by the time Kat managed to hack a secure outgoing connection, but it didn't take long for her to connect herself with the being she wanted to see.

"Stay out of the line of sight," said Kat. "Sit by the window, he won't see you."

Jennifer took a seat and watched from a distance. She couldn't see him, but she heard the voice of Blackskull on the speakers.

"It's a great day to die, Blackskull speaking," he said.

"Hello, Blackskull," said Kat.

"Well, well, well," said Blackskull. "Long time no see, Kat. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Do we have a problem, buddy?" said Kat.

"We?" said Blackskull.

"You and me," said Kat. "What's with the ambush at New Aries?"

"That was you?" said Blackskull.

"Yes, that was me," said Kat.

"Holy smokes," Blackskull laughed. "I thought I was seeing a ghost!"

"Really, after all we've been through, I can't believe you didn't recognize me." Kat shrugged. "Well, at least that tells me you weren't after me."

"What? No!" said Blackskull. "You're almost as hard to kill as I am. There's no profit in that contract, I don't care what the price."

"That makes me feel relieved," said Kat. "So what do you want with the girl?"

"It's Emperor Hoerk who wants her dead," said Blackskull. "He says she's supposed to kill him."

"She's not an assassin, you know," said Kat. "She's just a girl."

"A contract is a contract," said Blackskull. "You of all people should know that."

"I do." Kat leaned closer to the camera. "What if I could give her to you?"

Blackskull twirled a cigar in his mouth thoughtfully. "How?"

"I'm at this palace on Arrax," said Kat. "She's here with me, and they're plotting Hoerk's assassination with her as we speak."

"Pity," said Blackskull. "I couldn't get in that joint even if I had an army!"

"You don't have to come here," said Kat. "I'm on the task force. I know the plan, and I know where they intend to strike. If you promise to kill her and only her, I'll let you know where we will be and when so you can take her down."

"You would do that for me?" said Blackskull.

"I'd do it for the same reason people like us do anything."

"So you want a cut," said Blackskull. "How much?"

"What's the take?" Kat asked.

Blackskull removed the cigar from his mouth with his bony fingers. "A hundred million."

Kat folded her hands in full business mode. "Thirty percent."

"No!" shouted Blackskull. "Ten percent."

"Twenty five."

"Fifteen."

"Twenty, and I'll make it a one man job," she said. "You won't have a bunch of flunkies to pay."

"Deal." Blackskull whipped out a hand blaster and began firing off camera. Jennifer could hear the screams of the dying lackeys, confused and terrified to find their employer shooting at them.

"Take it like a man!" Blackskull shouted. "Die! Die! Die!"

Kat gave Jennifer a quick shrug and turned back to face Blackskull.

"There," said Blackskull. "No overhead."

"I like the way you work," said Kat.

"Where do I find the girl?"

"I'll give you the exact coordinates as soon as I have them," said Kat. "Keep this channel clear."

"Pleasure doing business as always," said Blackskull.

"Always like to see your smile," said Kat.

Kat killed the connection and turned to Jennifer.

"Will he keep his word?" said Jennifer.

"For me, he will," said Kat. "How's our girl looking?"

Jennifer checked the monitor. "She's all right."

Kat looked at the screen. The entire right side of the clone's body was not complete, and a heart could be seen beating in the mist. Kat chuckled, then laughed out loud. "All right, that's a good one."

"Now step three," said Jennifer.

Ten minutes later, they heard the knock on the door. Kat let Bart and Tor into the room and took them to the ReGen machine. Bart was astonished by what he saw.

"This is how you do it?" he said. "This is how a cyborg grows flesh?"

"This is how," said Kat.

"Pops would die to have one of these!" said Bart.

"Bart, focus," said Jennifer. "I need your help. Both of you. Hoerk is on his way to Lariat in two days, and I need to be there to intercept him."

"So you're really going to do it," said Tor.

Jennifer nodded.

"What can we do?" said Tor.

"I need you to give Bart directions to Lariat," she said. "Fastest and easiest route possible. No detours, no side trips."

"And me?" said Bart.

"You are taking me on a road trip," she said. "We're headed to the Diamond Dust Casino, and that's where we'll lay the trap."

"The Diamond Dust?" Tor whistled. "That's not cheap."

"So I hear," said Kat. "Thankfully, we have an in with the owner. Kat's boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," said Kat.

"But he loves you, and he'll do anything for you," said Jennifer. "Which means, he'll do anything we ask, if Kat asks him first."

"Donny's going to be furious," said Tor.

"I imagine your princess will be even more upset," said Kat.

"You're right," he said with a wicked grin. "Count me in."

"Thank you," said Jennifer. "Bart?"

"What kind of food do they serve at the Diamond Dust?" asked Bart.

Kat savored in the stunned silence as she finished her tale, a wry smile on her face. For all their careful planning and concern for Jennifer, the Chosen One had outwitted them all.

"She's on Lariat, right now?" said Donny.

"She's at the Diamond Dust with Bart," said Kat. "The owner is an old friend of mine. I think you know him, too."

Donny flinched. "Rider?"

Kat laughed. "Scary, isn't it? Don't worry. He will do his part."

"Who's Rider?" said Lita. "Can we trust him?"

"If Kat's involved, absolutely," said Donny. "What's her plan?"

"You know, I only know as much as I told you," said Kat. "She and Bart were planning to make up the rest on the way."

"Have you been in touch with her?" asked Donny.

Kat shook her head no. "Rider tells me they've got it all sorted out. Just a matter of springing the trap at the right moment."

"He took a shot at me," said Lita. "Your buddy, Blackskull."

"Don't flatter yourself," said Kat. "He was aiming for me. If he collects from Hoerk before Jennifer gets to him, he owes me twenty percent, and he knows I will collect."

Dozier tried hard to contain a smile of his own, out of respect for Lita, but it was hard. He rubbed his mouth to wipe it away and asked, "What should we do with her?"

Lita sighed, completely frustrated. "Take the cuffs off her."

"What about Jennifer?" said Donny. "We need to get to Lariat."

"I don't think so," said Lita. "This is Jennifer's plot. It's her destiny."

"She's my friend," plead Donny."

Tor spoke up this time. "All due respect, old friend, this is what you wanted for her. You wanted her to stand up for herself? She's doing it. I suggest you stay out of her way."

Lita nodded. "We'll let it ride. We will know soon enough whether she was successful. And Donny, this had better work out."

Tor squeezed Donny's shoulder in a tight vise grip. "She's a strong kid. She's gonna make you all proud."

"This has nothing to do with Donny," said Kat. "She's making herself proud."
**Chapter Twenty-Five:  
The Hook**

"How would you like to save the world? Your world, and a hundred others? Be a real hero."

Kat's words were echoing in Rider's head as the great Emperor Hoerk entered the lobby of the Diamond Dust, but when he saw the mammoth tyrant and his armored troops walking toward him, he felt anything but heroic.

Rider was never meant for this world of darkness. He was born into royalty, raised in a palace with tutors, handlers, and servants who prepared him to succeed his father on the throne. He was bound for glory and greatness.

And then, he met Kat.

It was a chance encounter on a spontaneous holiday to the Stardust resort. He was enjoying the fast life of a young monarch to be, meeting young women and carousing at the gambling tables. She was there to kill a guy. They made a genuine connection, one even Kat could not deny. But while Kat was able to put it out of her mind, Rider never had.

Rider would have been king by now had it not been for that chance encounter with Kat. In spite of the pleading of his father and advisors, Rider left the palace of his youth in pursuit of the one thing he desired more than a throne: his beloved Kat. He had tried his hand at a number of underworld trades over the years, putting himself in positions where he might not only make a name for himself apart from his royal breeding, but score another chance encounter with his beloved.

This wasn't the first time his most urgent desire had put him in harm's way, but it was the most recent and quite frankly, one of the scariest.

It was Jennifer who laid out the plan to him step by step. He repeated it back to her twice. He knew that even if the plan went astray, he would do nothing at all that would implicate him as a conspirator. But he also knew the reputation of the cruel conqueror whose stale breath was now invading his personal space, and he was terrified.

Rider stepped confidently out from behind the front desk, dressed in his finest black suit with a Bolo tie and a black hat. "Welcome to the Diamond Dust!" he said a little too loudly.

"Are you the owner?" said Hoerk.

"Yes, sir," said Rider. "My name is—"

"This place is a dump," interrupted Hoerk.

"The Diamond Dust is the finest hotel and resort Lariat has to offer," countered Rider.

"Then all of Lariat is a dump," said Hoerk.

The Diamond Dust was indeed the crown jewel of the main settlement on Lariat, but that wasn't saying much. The wood paneling and wagon wheel chandeliers, coupled with the heads of hundreds of big game species from across the stars mounted on the walls, gave it the rustic, Old West feel of a third rate 21st century casino transformed into a western tourist trap. Sepia-toned photos of humans and human-like beings from Lariat's past decorated the walls, and a deep burgundy carpet ran throughout. Most of the beings that visited Lariat bled some shade of red, and previous management at the hotel had discovered that burgundy did the best job of keeping the frequent bloodstains from bullet and knife wounds from being noticed.

Rider kept on grinning, his heart racing, as Hoerk surveyed the rustic lobby. "The bridal suite has been swept by your security detail already. May I see you to the room?"

Hoerk reached into a pouch strapped to his mammoth belt and lifted a dried piece of meat to his mouth, chewing loudly and dropping remnants from his lips to the floor. "I wanna see the bodies."

"The bodies?" said Rider, feeling a cold chill.

"The bride and groom!" snapped Hoerk.

"Certainly!" said Rider, feeling a bit more confident. It was Kat's idea to find a pair of bodies to pass as the newlywed couple evicted from the room. Twenty minutes after giving his concierge "Wild" Tank Hubbard the assignment, Hubbard delivered with a young male and a young female. Tank was one of those guys who could find or get anything, a particularly useful skill on a planet like Lariat.

Of course, on Lariat, dead bodies were easy to come by, and thanks to a friend at a nearby inn, Hubbard lucked into an actual young bride and groom who had drawn their guns and shot one another only that morning.

"They're waiting for you in the room, sir," said Rider. "Right this way!"

Quid nervously nodded to Hoerk's personal security detachment, four large and heavily armed men, who followed Rider to the elevators. The four guards, Rider, and Hoerk, squeezed into the tiny elevator and took the lumbering, bumpy ride up to the third floor.

"When are the gun fights?" asked Hoerk.

"The gun fights, sir?" said Rider.

"You have gun fights here, right?" said Hoerk. "Is there a time of day you can see them?"

"No, they just kind of happen here and there," said Rider. "Some days you don't get any, but some days, you'll get a bunch. The undertakers do great business."

"I want gun fights," said Hoerk. "High noon today. You think you can arrange that?"

"This is Lariat," said Rider. "I'm sure I can make something happen."

The door opened on a long hallway. The lead guard turned to his charge. "Please wait here, sir."

Two guards split off with Rider, who led them down the hallway to the bridal suite. One kept a gun trained on Rider, the other the door. Rider kept his cool the whole way. He turned key in the lock, turned the knob, and opened the door.

The guards leapt into the room.

There was silence.

A few seconds later, they came back out.

"All clear, sir!" shouted the lead guard.

Hoerk strolled down the burgundy carpet to the open door. There, in the midst of the antiquated furnishings and four poster bed, he saw two coffins propped at sixty degree angles, their tops opened, displaying the dead bride and groom as if they were a flower arrangement awaiting an honored guest.

Hoerk burst into laughter and slapped Rider hard on the back. "Boy, you are something else! I think I'm going to enjoy Lariat."

"I know we will enjoy you, sir," said Rider.

"High noon," said Hoerk. "I want gunfighters out in the streets, dueling to the death. You got me?"

"We will make it happen," said Rider. "I'll have lunch and the hotel car ready for you at quarter to."

"What kind of car?" said Hoerk.

"A very nice one," said Rider. "A Sirius Hoverwagon. Open air, comfortable. Great place to view the fights in style."

Hoerk chuckled. "Prepare me steak, bloody as they come, and a cask of your best wine. And I appreciate the ride as well."

Rider nodded and left the room. The trap was set, his part of the plan now complete. He smiled, thinking how proud Kat would be that he had handled this so well. He paused to use his skeleton key to open up an empty room, step into the restroom, and throw up, relieving some of his nerves, before he headed downstairs.

Donny and Tor stepped off the elevators and into the hangar together. Tor lifted the remote entry key given to him by the motor pool chief and pressed a button. He saw lights flash on a small, two seater hovercar. He sighed.

"I guess I shouldn't complain," said Tor. "But the seat on that model is just so narrow."

Donny grabbed Tor's arm and squeezed. "A hero like you deserves a little better."

"Then give me better, Creator," said Tor.

Donny laughed. "If I could do anything with machines, you know I'd..."

"Yeah, yeah," said Tor, laughing. "You know how it goes around here. It's all about what you've done for me lately."

"You've done a lot for me, and for Jennifer. I wish you didn't have to go."

"I've stayed long enough in this place," said Tor. "A man's gotta get out and breathe."

Donny knew he was referring to Lita, but he said nothing. He had given up on the two of them, and he wasn't going to try and stop Tor. They walked about a hundred steps to the waiting hovercar, but when they reached the driver's side, they could see someone was waiting inside.

Tor pressed another button on the remote. The door opened. Lita, dressed in an all black, form-fitting jumpsuit, smiled at her ex.

"Hello, Tor."

"If you're here to ask me to stay, save your breath," said Tor.

"I'm not going to stop you leaving," she said. She leapt out of the car and snatched the remote from Tor's hand. "But you're not leaving in this vehicle."

"Oh geez," muttered Donny.

"Come on, Lita!" said Tor. "I have clearance. Give me the remote."

"I'm sorry, Tor," she said, towering over him a good five inches in her heels. "This is Alliance property, and your clearance has been revoked."

"So I have to hitch a ride out of here," said Tor. "Is that it?"

"Not exactly," said Lita.

She walked out into the open floor of the hangar and pulled out a second remote. She pressed a button. Tor heard a familiar sound, the rumble of an engine he knew well. It was a little more high pitched, but unmistakable in tone. A pair of lights flickered on at the end of the hangar, and a stream-lined black beauty with giant black rotors and a pair of winglets capable of carrying heavy armaments came into view.

"Arkangel," said Tor.

"Arkangel Mark II," said Lita. "Same body, but a host of tweaks and improvements on the inside. My people found it in a secret chamber we unearthed beneath Tarre Kahn's Palace last year. Dr. Binocubrain outdid himself on this one."

"You've taken her up?" asked Tor, walking the perimeter of the chopper in awe.

Lita smiled. "A few times. Dozier's mad crazy in love with her. Now, by Alliance code, she belongs to Sulee Minor, and not the Alliance, but I had to fight to keep the Alliance from taking control."

"The Alliance could use a beast like this," said Tor.

"Yes, they could," said Lita. "But I wanted you to have her more."

Tor looked at Lita, stunned. "Why?"

"Because she belongs with you," said Lita. "And as much as I want to kill you, my heart still belongs to you, too."

Tor laughed, shaking his head. "What is this? Am I just supposed say, 'I love you, too?' We run to each other and kiss and make up and all is well?"

Lita made the move. She grabbed Tor's bald head, leaned down, and kissed him hard. Tor didn't fight it. He kissed her back, and Donny was relieved to see his love birds reunited.

The lip lock finally ended, and Tor sighed. "Okay, let's try again. And if you want to wear heels, that's fine by me."

"Are you... did I hear you right?" said Lita.

"Yes, you heard me!" said Tor. "Wear the heels! I'll... I'll get over it. But I'd never get over you."

"Wait a minute," said Donny. "That's it?"

"That's what?" asked Tor.

"Heels? That was the problem? This was all about whether Lita could wear heels or not?" asked Donny.

"No," said Lita. "Okay, yes."

"Good grief," said Donny. "How petty can you be?"

"Well, if you made me a little taller, it wouldn't be a problem!" said Tor.

"That's a nice ride you have there, Tor," said Lita, leaning into Tor. "Wanna take me for a ride?"

"Hop in," said Tor.

Donny watched his hero and heroine trip to the chopper like giddy teenagers. He was pleased to see Tor pause and open Lita's door for her, as any gentleman would, before climbing into the pilot's seat. Tor fired up the chopper's engine, taxied to the open bay door, and took Arkangel Mark II out over the Arraxian desert.

"Good," said Donny with a grin. "Now let's give Jennifer a happy ending, too."
**Chapter Twenty-Six:  
The Trap**

Bart stood out in front of the Hoverwagon, now parked beside Hoerk's armored vehicle in front of the Diamond Dust, trying his best not to itch himself. He felt stiff and uncomfortable in the checked button up shirt, blue jeans, and lizard-skinned boots Rider gave him to wear, but Bart knew he had to look the part if he wanted to play his role in Jennifer's plan.

Shortly before noon, a lady from the hotel kitchen staff delivered a tray of food and a cask of wine to the vehicle. Bart helped her set up a tray in the back for easy dining, and all was in place when Hoerk walked out of the hotel with Rider, Quid Ronto, and Field Commander Savage.

"Howdy, folks," said Bart, giving the strange greeting Rider had instructed him to use. "I'm Bart, and I'll be your driver today." He opened the back door and gestured to the party members to climb aboard.

"After you," said Rider to his guests.

Hoerk slid in first, taking the prime seat in front of the food tray. Quid and Rider filed into the back while Savage, armed with two hip blasters, took the front passenger seat. Bart hopped into the driver's seat, his heart racing. As nervous as Rider was for the day's events to unfold, Bart simply couldn't wait. Sure he knew there was a risk, but the sheltered young cannibal was swept up in the adrenaline of the moment.

Rider envied Bart and Savage, sitting up front. He had to watch Hoerk with his repulsive dining manners tear into the steak prepared by his kitchen. The man/thing/whatever didn't even bother with utensils but just picked up the rare meat and bit into it. "Not bad, Rider," he said. "Not bad at all."

"Thank you, sir," said Rider.

"Your highness, please," Quid corrected him.

"Sorry," said Rider. "Your highness." Rider looked at Quid. The moment their eyes met, the two of them shared a bond. Rider could see in her eyes he was not the only one on board repulsed by the Emperor. Her eyes practically screamed to him, "Help me!"

He wanted to tell her what was coming; if all went according to plan, she would soon be free.

Two blocks from the Diamond Dust was a sight out of the Old West, a dust-covered street lined with wooden buildings housing saloons, mercantile shops, poker houses, and other magnets for the rough and tumble vermin of outer space. Humans and aliens in all sizes and colors, male and female, lined the streets, many dressed in outfits suited to the Old West theme. Lariat was a melting pot filled with every manner of scum and desperado. Hoerk's royal guard stood out from the crowd in their body armor, spacing themselves out in the event of any trouble and to provide coverage for their master. As Hoerk surveyed the riff raff assembled for his pleasure, he felt right at home.

Bart brought the wagon to a halt at the end of the street. Rider stood up in the back.

"People of Lariat," said Rider aloud, "Your new Emperor wishes to see some mayhem. It's high noon, and we need a gun fight."

No one moved.

"Hmm," snorted Rider. This was odd. "Come on, people, this isn't some beach resort world, this is Lariat! As long as I've been here, there's always been someone spoiling for a fight. Who's mad at somebody? Who wants to shed a little blood today?"

A green, scaly humanoid in a ten-gallon hat and a brown duster whipped out his pistol and shot the being standing next to him in the back. He calmly put the gun away and tipped his hat.

The green gunfighter spat tobacco in the dirt. "He smelled funny."

Hoerk roared with laughter and applauded.

"Well done, well done," he shouted.

"Okay then," said Rider. "Anyone else got a beef with somebody?"

A human dressed all in black with a black hat stepped into the street. "I challenge Old Ben Duggins. He cheated me out of five dollars in cards last week. He's gotta pay."

"Okay," said Rider. "Ben Duggins? Where are you, buddy?"

A frail looking old man in a red flannel shirt and suspenders with a bushy, snow-white beard stepped into the street. "I'm sorry, fellers. I ain't got a gun."

"Can someone loan old Ben a gun?" said Rider.

"That won't be necessary," said Old Ben. The old man lifted his arms in the direction of the man in black. Two tentacles shot out of Old Ben Duggin's palms, stabbing the man in black in the chest with a pair of frighteningly huge knives. The man in black died right there on the spot, his hand on his gun, realizing his error in picking a fight with a Zweydarian too late.

Hoerk applauded even more loudly. Some of the crowd did as well. Old Ben gave a little tip of the hat and shuffled back into the crowd.

"I love this planet!" said Hoerk. "Most planets abhor violence, but you guys? I really like you people. Who's next?"

A young man stepped out from the crowd, gun drawn, and walked to an older man across the street. "I challenge you to fight for the right to marry your daughter!"

The older man spit in the dirt. "You're on!"

People cleared the way as the older man walked to the center of the street. Before he could get set, the young man fired twice, gunning down the older man in cold blood.

The young man holstered his gun and walked to a young woman in a flower-print dress, presumably the older man's daughter.

"Will you marry me, Holly?"

Holly reached down, pulled out the young man's gun and shot him in the heart.

Hoerk almost choked on his steak, laughing so hard. "That was terrific! Bravo, young lady! Bravo!"

Rider breathed a sigh of relief. This was going well, and a dark part of him was even enjoying this. "Next!" he shouted.

No one stepped forward.

No one made a sound.

A tumbleweed blew across the street.

"Come on, folks, this is Lariat," said Rider. "Let's show our new Emperor what we're made of."

Hoerk slapped Rider on the back. "You get out there, partner!"

"Me?" said Rider, his voice cracking in terror.

"I bet there's someone in this town who would love to take a shot at you," said Hoerk.

"Ha ha, your greatness, that's very funny, but I'm no gunfighter."

"Then today is not your lucky day," said Savage, standing in the front. "Because I gotta be honest, I'm not completely satisfied with my accommodations."

"Uh oh," said Hoerk, "Did you get a dirty room?"

Savage shook his head slowly. "It's the wallpaper. It's ugly. I don't like it."

"You gonna take that from him, hotel boy?" said Hoerk. "You better defend your honor!"

Savage hopped out of the Hoverwagon. Rider felt as if his heart was going to explode. He knew how to shoot, but he didn't shoot well, and Savage was a dedicated killer.

This was not in the plan!

Hoerk gave Rider a shove, pushing him into the dirt face first. He stood up and brushed himself off. Bart gave Rider a shrug; he didn't know what to do, either.

"Your majesty, I don't have a gun," said Rider.

"Quid!" shouted Hoerk. "Give Rider your gun."

Quid stood silently. She slipped off the side of the car and walked around to Rider. She pulled out a tiny blaster and pressed it into Rider's hand.

"Please," whispered Quid. "Don't miss."

Rider looked into her eyes; she was serious! A turncoat, right in the inner circle. But would he live long enough to do anything about it?

Rider surveyed the crowd, searching for the girl. He knew she was out there, and he knew she was planning to make a move. He hoped that move would come sooner rather than later, and by sooner, preferably in seconds.

"Okay, innkeeper," said Savage. "Your draw!"

"Draw, right," said Rider. "I can do that. Let's make this a drawing contest. We need some paper, pencils."

"Draw your gun!" said Savage.

"I'm scared!" yelled Rider.

"Draw!!"

Savage never saw her. Hoerk didn't see her quick enough to warn him. A girl in a blue gingham dress and bonnet stepped into the street behind Savage and fired at point blank range. She ripped off the bonnet, and Hoerk just about choked on his lunch when he saw her face.

"It's her!!!" he screamed. "The Earth girl! Shoot her! Shoot her!"

The Imperial guard turned and fired on the girl as she fled into the crowd. Several citizens of Lariat were hit in the first volley, forcing the people to take action and show the Emperor what they were really made of. Guns and knives were drawn, and a bloody battle erupted in the street.

Hoerk's royal guard were the best of the best, but they had never seen the savagery they now faced. The Emperor's men began to drop like flies, overcome by the natives who had no desire to bow before their lord and master.

Rider ran for it. He grabbed Quid, holding her head down and pushing her straight into the nearest shop door. They collapsed beside one another on the wooden floor.

"Where's the Emperor?" Quid shouted over the gunfire.

"He's gone!" said Rider.

"Gone?" said Quid.

"Please tell me you wanted him dead and not just Savage!"

Quid looked at Rider stunned and amazed.

"He's dead???"

"Yes," he said. "Well, not yet, but he will be!"

Tears welled up in Quid's eyes. She grabbed Rider's face and she kissed him, relieved and grateful to the handsome stranger who had just changed her entire world.

"Thank you for killing him," said Quid.

"Actually..." Rider stopped. He was about to tell her it wasn't him, but a teenage girl from the planet Earth who had conceived the plan now racing to its epic finale. He looked into the eyes of the beautiful female gripping him tight. he thought about Kat. Then, for the first time in years, he thought about himself.

"Actually, it's my pleasure, young lady," he said. "I'd kill a thousand Emperors for you."

Quid kissed him again as gunfire and screams of death continued to fill the street just outside.

Bart had the Hoverwagon in gear and was well out of range of the standard Lariat six shooter before the Lariat counterattack even began, but it was a long time before Hoerk felt the nerve to stick his head above the seat and get his bearings. He looked out and saw empty desert, the wastelands of Lariat, and no sign of Quid or his men.

"What happened back there?" said Hoerk.

"I got you out in the nick of time, is what happened!" said Bart.

"Savage," said Hoerk. "He's dead?"

"Yes he is, and I imagine all of your royal guard by now," said Bart.

"This is a dangerous world," said Hoerk.

"Most dangerous planet in the known universe," said Bart, echoing a sentiment proudly shared by all who called Lariat home. "I don't think it's safe for you to stay here."

"Where are you taking me?" said Hoerk.

"Arrax," said Bart.

"The girl," said Hoerk. "Did they get her, did you see?"

"Sorry, no," said Bart. "I saw the girl shoot Savage, but after that, there was just too much commotion. I imagine they'll get her before it's over."

"They better," he said. "I'm tired of watching my back."

"I hear you," said Bart. "She's tired of watching her back as well."

Hoerk sobered up at Bart's comment. "What did you say?"

"Long story short, your highness," said Bart, "The road is over. For both of you."

Hoerk felt a nudge on his fat arm as the seat back beside him folded forward. His mouth opened wide in horror as a young teenage girl slid into view from the trunk.

"Whew, it was getting warm in there," she said. "Hello, old friend."

Hoerk tried to scream for help, but he was silenced by the sleeping spray Jennifer shot into his face. He collapsed against the door, and Jennifer clambered up into the front seat.

"Where to?" said Bart.

"Home," she said. "Take me home."
**Chapter Twenty-Seven:  
End of the Road**

Kat beamed with pride, watching the holovision broadcast with the assembled member of the Alliance down in the Pit. "She did it. She actually did it."

"Emperor Hoerk's reign of terror is over," said Quid Ronto, standing before the Diamond Dust Casino. "As acting representative of the fallen regime, I hereby dissolve the so-called empire and give the sovereignty of each planet he conquered back to the people. I also hereby offer any assistance I can give from Hoerk's treasury to the people he has wronged, and I will stay on as the acting ruler of Hoerk's home world of Planet X until such time as peace returns to all the former territories."

"What happened to Hoerk?" shouted an unseen reporter.

"Is Hoerk alive?"

"Emperor Hoerk will no longer be a threat to anyone," said Quid.

"Was he assassinated?"

"Was it an inside job?"

"What about the Alliance of Worlds and their attack on the Emperor?"

"Fellas, you know the same as I do, the people who blamed the Alliance and condemned the attack were speaking on behalf of the Emperor," said Quid. "The Emperor had his eyes set on claiming the throne of Arrax eventually, and such stories would only have served his purpose."

"So the Alliance was not involved?"

"No," said Quid. "Hoerk's people have risen against him and won, and the people he conquered are free."

"Can you confirm he is dead?"

"Have you seen the body?"

"That's a body I'd rather not see again, dead or alive," said Quid.

Lita looked at Kat. "She killed him?"

Kat shrugged. "He will be dead before the day is out."

"How?" said Donny.

"You'll just have to ask her yourself," said Kat. "She's heading home now. If I were you, I'd get home as well. I'm sure you'll have plenty to talk about."

"If she's talking to me," said Donny.

"She will," said Kat. "Eventually. Give her time. She's grown from this experience. My guess is, she'll be a different person."

Donny nodded. "Good," he said.

Kat turned her attention back to the holovision. Quid was walking back up the steps of the Diamond Dust. She could make out the silhouette of a man stepping out of the casino's front doors. He was dressed in a black suit, boots, and a white shirt with a bolo tie. He took Quid by the hand and kissed her before walking into the hotel with her.

"Well," said Kat. "That's an interesting development."

Kat shot Donny an accusatory look. Donny grinned. "Your story's not over yet," he said.

"It better not be," said Kat.

"Wake up, pal."

Hoerk opened his eyes and jolted. He was face to face with the young woman - no, the girl - whom he had chased for so many months. So many times he thought he had her. So many times, he believed he was safe.

Now, too late, he knew he was doomed.

He was still seated in the back of the Hoverwagon. Bart was still up front in the driver's seat, turned around to watch whatever was about to go down. Jennifer was standing beside him in the front passenger seat, laser gun drawn, aimed at Hoerk's mammoth chest.

"I'm not your pal," he said.

"And I'm not yours," she said. "But I see no sense in name calling right now."

"We killed you," said Hoerk. "First Blackskull. Then my men on Lariat. I saw you in the streets. There's no way you could have escaped that mob."

"They were duplicates," she said. "Both of them."

Hoerk blinked. "There's more than one of you?"

"Not any more," said Jennifer. "I'd explain how it was all done, but I'm really tired and really ready to get back home."

Hoerk groaned, leaning back in his seat.

"Get it over with, quickly."

"No," she said.

Hoerk looked up, surprised to see Jennifer handing her laser gun to Bart, who stowed it beneath his seat.

"You don't have the stomach to kill me," he said.

"No, I don't," she said.

"But the prophecy," he said.

"Not my problem," she said. "Although I learned the exact wording of the prophecy was that I would be the cause of your downfall. Not your death. So really, since your assistant has declared you dead and your reign over, the prophecy's come to pass."

"If you leave me alive, I will rise again," he said. "I will make the people suffer greatly because of you."

"Again, not my problem," she said.

Hoerk looked around. He could see a cave very close by. "Where are we?"

"Home," she said. "My home. Or at least I hope so. I'm ready to get out of this universe. Not that I didn't enjoy myself at times, but I don't belong here."

Hoerk leaned back, lolling his head side to side. "I never should have come after you. It was a mistake. I know that now."

"Actually," she said, "I'm glad you did."

He looked up. "Really?"

"I didn't enjoy a lot of it," she said. "The fighting, the shooting. You constantly sending that creepy Blackskull after me. But I'm glad you came after me."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I'm not the same girl you picked up all those weeks ago," she said. "Being here changed me. I was a victim of circumstance. I was sitting back just letting bad things happen to me. First my father. Then you. I've discovered that I'm a lot stronger and braver and probably even wiser than I realized. And when I go back through that cave, there's no way I'm going back to being the victim."

"Good for you, Jennifer," said Bart.

"Thanks, Bart," she said. "You know, I still have no clue how I got into this world, or how you got to me. Your Creator wrote me into this story, but to me, you're all fiction. Just a story. Maybe my Creator sent me here to teach me something."

"Like what?" said Hoerk.

"I'm not sure yet," she said. "But if I figure it out, I'll tell you. If we cross paths again."

Jennifer hopped out of the wagon. "So long, Emperor. See ya, Bart."

"Don't be a stranger!" said Bart.

Jennifer waved, turned, and walked into the darkness. Bart turned around to Hoerk.

"Wild day, huh?" he said.

"I need a drink," said Hoerk.

"I can help you with that," said Bart. "You know, my family lives pretty close to here. We've got a huge place. I mean huge, if you want to check it out."

"Sure," said Hoerk, not certain what else to do. "I don't suppose there's food where we're going, is there?"

"Oh we love a big cookout," said Bart. "And I know when my folks get a load of you, they'll be thrilled to have you for dinner."

"Dinner?" said Hoerk with a grin. "Now you're talking! Drive on, driver."

"You got it, your highness!"

Bart did as he was told, beaming with pride. It had been too long since he had had a home cooked meal, and tonight would be a royal feast indeed.
**Chapter Twenty-Eight:  
A New Beginning**

The holo-image faded. The lights in the chamber rose automatically. Blackskull, looking cocky as ever, twirled a smelly cigar in his mouth as he stared at the faceless hoods assembled across from him.

"This is all?" said one of the hooded figures. "This is all the footage you can bring us?"

"It's the only time I saw the guy," said Blackskull. "It's what I got."

"It's not much," said the hood. "It's just a dust storm."

"Just a dust storm? That dust storm that blew away half of the best crew I ever had!" said Blackskull.

"We wanted a display of his power," said the hood. "Something big!"

"Yeah?" said Blackskull, flicking some of the ash from his cigar. "Can you conjure up a dust storm outta nowhere?"

"You should have gone after him!" said the hood. "You should have engaged him again!"

"Look, I can't help it if the guy didn't show up when they sent the girl after the Emperor," said Blackskull. "Frankly, that was a pretty cool sleight of hand what they did. Not that it worked out the way you guys were hoping. Your boy Hoerk still ended up dead."

"Hoerk was just a pawn," said the hood at the center of the group. Every head in the room turned when he spoke, eager to hear from their leader. "Hoerk did his job. He never knew, of course, but all we needed from him was to draw the Creator back into our realm. Now, we have what we need to proceed."

"It's not enough," said the first hood. "We need more!"

"It is more than enough," said the leader. "Have faith. It will do nicely."

"Thank you," said Blackskull.

The first hood turned to Blackskull. "What do we do with him?"

"Pay him," said the leader. "Pay what was agreed, and a retainer. We will require his assistance in the future."

"And you'll have it," said Blackskull.

"Good," said the leader. "Now to work."

"This better be a good plan," said Blackskull. "This guy's got some real power."

"And when he returns," said the leader, "He will use that power for us!"

Donny was sad to discover Jennifer was still in the hospital when he got home, but he had barely been gone a few hours in Earth time. Her injuries from what appeared to have been an explosion in the kitchen of the pizza joint were not major, but it took another couple of days before she regained consciousness.

Donny wasn't there the day she woke, and when he learned she was awake, he intentionally stayed away a second day. Enough time had passed that he began to wonder if the whole adventure had been a dream. That night he got a text from his classmate:

"Don't U want 2 know the end?"

The next morning, Donny went to the hospital and learned of Hoerk's fate.

"I hope you're not disappointed," she said.

"Not at all," said Donny. "It's way less cliche than what I had in mind. And it puts a nice final touch on the story of Bart."

"Yeah, Bart," said Jennifer. "Not that I didn't like the guy, but you might think twice about putting him in the book. That whole cannibal thing was just a little creepy."

"But original," said Donny. "You have to admit it's original."

Jennifer laughed. "It's very original. Unlike the time you rescued me in the arena."

"I'm never going to live that one down, am I?" he said.

"No," she said. "Never."

"So," he said. "You mad at me?"

"Life's too short to stay mad at a friend," she said. "I understand why you wrote the story the way you did, and I'm grateful to have someone who cares that much."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

"Don't be," she said. "It was a good experience. And my being in that place had nothing to do with you."

"What do you mean?" he said.

"I think someone greater than you wanted me to visit the Cave World," she said.

Donny raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "Don't get ahead of yourself. I'm not ready to go to Sunday School or anything, but for the first time in my life I get the feeling that someone up there is looking out for me."

"There's gotta be," said Donny. "I know it."

"Why do you say that?" said Jennifer.

"Because no matter how much I keep trying to really, really mess things up, they always work out for the good."

"I hope you're right about that," she said.

"Things could be worse," he said. "I could be your Creator."

Jennifer cackled. "If you were my Creator, I'd definitely turn to evil."

Donny wasn't sure how to take those words, until he saw her smile. Feeling butterflies in his stomach, he pursed his lips and leaned close to her face.

"Whoa, Donny," said Jennifer. "We are not there, buddy."

Donny leaned back. "Too soon?"

"Not even close," she said.

Jennifer raised up and kissed his cheek. Donny smiled.

"That's good enough for now," he said.

Jennifer made a leap of faith upon leaving the hospital. She packed a few bags and slipped out of the house, making a quick getaway to her grandmother's house. It wasn't a permanent solution, and her father was furious about it, but Jennifer was determined not to be the victim anymore. The scar-free body she gained in the ReGen machine did not transfer back to the real world, but the confidence gained in her travels did.

She was no longer going to be the victim. She was learning to stand on her own two feet.

A few weeks later, Donny and Jennifer stood hand in hand in front of a chain-linked fence now erected around the former pizza place. Seeing just how badly damaged the building was, Jennifer realized how lucky, or blessed, she had been to escape.

"You know, maybe you ought to give up on the story writing," said Jennifer.

"What? Why?" said Donny.

"I don't think this town can survive another one of your novels," she said.

Jennifer smiled at him. This time, she was looking for that kiss, and Donny read the moment perfectly. Unfortunately, his opportunity was interrupted by a tall stranger standing nearby.

"Excuse me," said the young man. "Are you Donny?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, blushing. "Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Just a guy who needs to say thank you," he said. "I've had the time of my life the last couple of weeks. I didn't know what to expect when I came to your world, but after I got separated from my party, I had a look around and really liked it. I know you've been busy with the girl here, but in that time, I enrolled in school, lettered in volleyball, and I got to read some Shakespeare. It was incredible."

"I'm glad," said Donny.

"It's funny," he said. "All my life, I thought I had no choice but to be a cutthroat villain. But having had a taste of your world, I realize I do have a choice. I can be whomever I want to be. And you know what? I want to do something good with my life."

"Good," said Donny. "I'm really sorry to ask this, but who are you?"

The young man just grinned and turned to Jennifer. "I'm sorry about my friends, Jennifer. We were only following orders. I can't speak for them, but I have a feeling if they knew what I did, they'd be sorry, too."

The young man turned and walked off, heading in the direction of the school and the new library building - and the cave.

That's when it clicked. "How many men kidnapped you and took you to Arrax?" said Donny.

"There were four," said Jennifer. "There was Yarik, and three younger guys."

Donny winced, shutting his eyes in frustration. There were four men in Yarik's team.

Jennifer's eyes grew wide. "You mean he's one of yours?"

"Yep," he said, "He's one of mine."

"There aren't any more running around," she said. "Are there?"

"No, I think that's it."

Jennifer grabbed Donny's other hand, pulling him close with both hands and planting a kiss on his lips.

"You know what, Mister," she said. "You really need to do a better job editing."

"Yes," said Donny, leaning in for another kiss. "Yes, I do."
Want to know how the story of Cave World begins?

Discover the amazing story of Kat Labar!

**About the Author**

John Cosper is a novelist, screenwriter, Sunday School curriculum writer, and wrestling historian from Southern Indiana. His previous works include Cave World, Space Kat, Martian Queen, Space Monster, and Robot/Girlfriend. He has also written the Fluffy and Clive the Zombie films as well as the award-winning shorts, The Telemarketer, Bots, and Tolerance.

Visit his website at www.johncosper.com
