Now, Threnosh World

Cal flew Shira back to the T-Men’s temporary base near the western edge of Cold Plains City. It had been unsaid, but Cal had realized that the spire the cragant army had emerged from was in that direction.

Whether the senior commander viewed the T-Men as capable, expendable, or both, Cal didn’t know, nor did he care enough to find out. The T-Men could handle themselves.

The entire team had gathered in Caretaker’s command chamber.

It was a reunion on two fronts for Shira and Cal.

The reactions varied from the typical subdued, matter-of-fact attitudes more typical of the standard Threnosh to the genuine enthusiasm displayed by Kynnro.

The diminutive Threnosh thrust a silver container and spoon in Shira’s hands before anyone else had the chance to do anything.

Shira’s facemask retracted and they ate a spoonful of the white, creamy substance. They swirled it around in their mouth before taking the second, empty container from Kynnro and spitting into it.

Cal didn’t need to use his telepathy to see how much that one spoonful had brightened Shira’s mood.

“Is that ice cream? And do you have more?” Cal was suddenly craving the sweet, creamy, pseudo-vanilla flavor.

“Our supply is limited,” Primal grumbled. The tiny Threnosh was out of their power armor, which was much too big to fit inside the command chamber.

Cal smiled at the comical image Primal presented. The most aggressive Threnosh was also the tiniest one out of power armor.

“Look… I’ll settle for one spoon. It’s been like two years.”

“Limited,” Primal reiterated.

Cal laughed. “Fine. I’ll get as much as I want back at home base anyways.”

That drew their attention. Aside from Caretaker and to a lesser extent, Shira. The others didn’t know that Cal was taking himself off active combat duty.

So, he told them.

He told them that he was going home, to Earth, as soon as the spires would allow.

“I request to be part of your escort,” Kynnro said.

They had always been the most curious about Earth.

Cal shook his head. “Eventually, but not right away.”

“There are too many unknowns for us to travel to Honor’s world,” Caretaker said. “Prime Custodian 3 and the council have decreed it. They are concerned with how our biological bodies will react in an alien environment. Drones will be used to gather information for exhaustive research as the first stage of any potential diplomatic tasks.”

“I’m more than willing to do some sample taking,” Cal said.

“Prime Custodian 3 had suggested as much, but our leaders rejected the option without discussion,” Caretaker said.

Cal shrugged. Not surprising, but a waste. It would’ve been more work for him, but he was willing if it sped up the process of getting a proper alliance started. He knew that both sides needed the other to face their enemies.

He didn’t have confirmation from the spires, but he suspected that the Dominion would be able to travel to Earth once their cragant armies had claimed a certain percentage of the Threnosh world. Getting that confirmation was one of the main things he planned to spend his large cache of Universal Points on once he got back to base.

“Furthermore, we cannot take our trueskins’ ability to function on a different world for granted without research,” Caretaker.

“Different worlds, maybe different rules,” Cal said. “Although, my abilities haven’t changed, so that’s a point in favor of a smooth enough transition for you guys.”

“One data point is insufficient,” Caretaker said.

“No arguments from me,” Cal said.

“In the future?” Kynnro said.

“I look forward to all of the different ice cream flavors you will try,” Cal smiled.

As did Kynnro, visible through their currently transparent faceplate.

“This isn’t a goodbye. I’ll be back. I just need a break,” Cal said. “Besides, you guys don’t really need me anymore. You won Cold Plains City all on your own. We lost valued teammates, friends, but you did it against overwhelming odds. It’s not for me to say how successful I’ve been, but my goals haven’t just been to make you stronger and better fighters… it was also to get you to seize control of your own lives. To find your own way forward, your value independent of what the council says. I think you’ve proven that many times over.”

“In your own words, your work is incomplete. There are more Defectives in our world. Do you deem them unworthy of the same opportunity you have granted us,” Dralig said.

“Our team’s existence doesn’t, can’t rest on one individual. Each of us… we leave or die, but the team remains. The rest pick up that responsibility and carry on, building on what those that came before left,” Cal said. “It’s what I hope for the future. That our team will grow. Not just with more Threnosh, but with others of my kind. In time that unity of purpose will spread through both our worlds. Otherwise, how will we fight the Dominion?”

Cal’s hope was honest. He just had no idea how he was going to get his world on the same page or even if he should. From his perspective, unity wasn’t a natural state for the human race.

“Nothing changes. We have our Tasks. Orchestral Meridian awaits,” Caretaker said.

“An entire city makes sense as a new base of operations if we are to expand the team,” Adjudicator said.

“Yes,” Primal’s eyes glinted.

Volkharion nodded curtly. “We can claim it in the T-Men name. None will be able to gainsay us. The council will have no choice but to abide by the spires’ words.”

Cal raised a brow. The thought hadn’t occurred to him.

Nope, he thought. I’m leaving. It’s up to them to decide what to do.

Caretaker looked to Cal.

“I’m not in charge anymore,” Cal said. “I’m going back to home base. Going to work on myself and occasionally help out with the newbs.” He thought it over. “Actually, I just want to remind you that Prime Custodian 3 did agree to quite a bit of latitude when it comes to our operations.”

Caretaker nodded.

Cal didn’t need to spell it out.

Several glum faces stared at Cal.

“I’m not ghosting you. I’ll keep in touch. I’ll send messages through the spire. You can do the same. Whatever you want. Doesn’t have to be task related. We can just chat,” Cal said. He didn’t know if that eased the unfamiliar emotions that some of them were feeling. They’d learn to deal with them with time and experience.

“Honor, I request your presence and input as we go over our reports and discuss future plans for integrating operations in Orchestral Meridian with our teammates already on site,” Caretaker said, somewhat stiffly.

One last time.

For now.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and clenched his jaw.

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, he thought.

Cal nodded.

----------------------------------------

Now, Earth

“You pencil-necked pussy! I’m going to rip out your tissue paper-soft guts and string you up like the traitor you are!” old Colonel Johnson moved with surprising quickness for a man his age.

Demi barely restrained him in time.

It hadn’t saved Councilman Scott Deakins the indignity of toppling backward over his chair in an effort to avoid Colonel Johnson’s withered hands.

Demi pulled the colonel back and into his chair with effort.

The old man struggled to catch his breath. That outburst pushed him past his limit and he could do no more than sit and glare daggers at the gathered city council members.

“It wasn’t just Scott’s decision. We all voted and ag—” Councilwoman Devon Castleton began.

“I can speak for myself, Devon,” Scott snapped as he picked himself up off the floor, straightened his tie and slicked his mussed hair back into its proper shape. “This is your doing!” he jabbed his finger at the colonel. “You lost, Colonel, Watch Commander! Your Watch. Those Cruces assholes. All of you let us down!” He took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair before continuing. “I- we, the council did what we had to in order to secure the future of our people. The scions have guaranteed safety and a path to advancement for all of our citizens.”

“You get what you put in!” Colonel Johnson spat. “Biggest bullshit I’ve heard and I’ve been around a long time, spent most my life in the military. Same kind of crap we tell recruits to get them to sign their lives away. It’s a goddamn pyramid scheme, except you don’t just lose money! You lose your soul!”

“That is slander,” the cult representative spoke from where he stood at the rear of the council meeting room, half hidden in the shadows cast by the lantern light.

The fishmen and cultists had disrupted Davis’ electricity during the night’s fighting.

Demi hadn’t understood why their enemies had suddenly retreated.

The reason was seated in front of her.

The city council had sold them out.

“What else were we supposed to do? Not one word from our expeditionary forces,” Scott looked to the representative from the California State Government seated next to Demi. “Unless you have something different to say in regards to that.”

The representative remained silent.

“There you go,” Scott raised his hands in exasperation. “We had zero good options remaining. The Cruces were supposed to be our protectors. What did they do instead? Two left. And the last one has been incommunicado for days.”

“It’s been barely three days you marshmallow-balled sack of shit!” Colonel Johnson snapped.

Demi glared at the cult representative. “We refuse any bargains with your side.”

“The city council was elected to represent the will of the people. Therefore their decision binds said people,” the cultist said.

“I truly doubt that the people had any idea you lily-livered pukes were going to sell them out to save your own worthless spray-tanned hides,” Colonel Johnson said. “What was the vote count?” he glared at the five council members on the other side of the table.

“Unanimous,” Devon squeaked.

Colonel Johnson shook his head in disgust. “You would’ve never pulled this off if Trent was still around,” he glared balefully at Scott.

“Mr. Smith is dead and I like to think that I’ve learned a lot from his distinguished example. I know, in my heart, that he would’ve put the people above his own personal desires,” Scott said solemnly.

Colonel Johnson snorted. “Try keeping your mouth shut. All I’m smelling from you is lies and something fishy.”

“No,” Demi shook her head, “no, for a decision of this magnitude the people need to know and decide for themselves.”

“It’s too late,” Devon said, her voice small.

“What was the actual wording of your agreement?” Demi had sensed something in the look on the cultist’s face.

The man looked like a hungry wolf that had just spotted an injured deer.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Scott frowned and remained silent.

“The Deep Azure will come and bind our allegiance through a special ceremony,” Devon said.

“Along with the immediate cessation of hostilities!” Scott spat. “That’s why your Watch aren’t getting killed out there anymore. I did that! Not Remy! Me!”

Demi ignored Scott’s ranting.

Was that even possible?

Did the Deep Azure have a physical form? Or was it metaphorical?

“The Deep Azure has already taken form,” the cultists crowed.

Crazy fucker, Demi thought. “So, it sounds like our people aren’t bound by anything, yet.” She exchanged a look with the state government’s representative.

The woman was quick on the uptake. “We offer asylum to any Davis citizen, no restrictions. We can iron out the details at a future date.”

The cultist hissed.

Weird fucker, Demi thought. “I think we’re done here.” She rose and helped Colonel Johnson to his feet.

They left the council meeting room and convened with the Watch members posted outside as guards.

Demi bemoaned their sorry state. The fighting had cost them many of their veteran members. She was down to their junior members. Trainees, basically interns.

“We need to get the word out,” Colonel Johnson said. “The eggheads at the university can do one of those robocall things.”

“Pre-recorded message going over the broad strokes. Then we send our people to the most populated sections of town to confirm the message for the people,” Demi said. “Social media would’ve been useful for this.”

Colonel Johnson snorted. “The death of those things was one of the good things about this ridiculous apocalypse.” He turned to the state government representative. “Can you let your people know about all this?”

“Already did,” the state representative tapped her temple, “just sent a message spell. I’ve requested a strong military presence on our side of the bridge. Hopefully, it’ll discourage any mischief from the fishmen that are undoubtedly hiding in the river. It’s going to be a close thing if any violence breaks out. Half our best fighters went on the op to San Francisco. I think I’ll stick with you until this is over. Safety in numbers.”

“We work with what we’ve got,” Colonel Johnson said.

The small group took their truck to the university and touched off a flurry of nearly-panicked activity. It was like an anthill had been kicked over.

A message was recorded and sent to every phone in the small city.

Around ten thousand souls were awakened to the danger by Colonel Johnson’s dire words of warning.

Demi directed the remnants of her Watch to further spread the message and help the subsequent exodus. They had no idea when the Deep Azure was supposed to arrive. It could’ve been at any moment.

The trickle of people heading across the bridge to Sacramento steadily grew as the sun began to rise over the western horizon.

Demi and the colonel stayed at the university. Their research teams had much valuable and hard-earned information that they needed to pack up and take with them. None of them wanted to stay under the cult’s control.

Demi could only wonder how many of her people would be lost to the cult’s clutches when all was said and done.

----------------------------------------

Nila ran.

The light from Alexa’s spell shined ahead.

Her broken arm throbbed. The adrenaline had worn off and the pain stabbed like a knife with every thudding step.

Somehow, she remembered the way back through the dim, twisting tunnels.

The change wrought on her by the spires to make her stronger, faster, tougher had also strengthened her mind. The change had been so subtle that she hadn’t even noticed that her memory was significantly better.

How long had they been running?

Five minutes, ten, fifteen?

She couldn’t be certain of that, hadn’t paid enough attention.

Nila focused on the route back.

She tried to ignore Hanna several dozen feet behind her as the athletic Swordswoman struggled to keep up with the burden on her back.

Hanna was already exhausted from the battle in the temple.

Everyone knew that Hanna could move quicker without her burden, but no one was willing to voice the opinion.

They didn’t want to leave Keisha behind.

Their strong friend deserved better than to have her body lay broken and forgotten in a place of horrible evil.

“Fishmen,” Nila muttered. She could see the dim glow of the strange moss glinting off their scales.

“I can’t do more than this light spell,” Alexa said. Her face was drawn and her pallor was much paler than normal. She looked like death.

“I’m out too,” Max said glumly, “can barely keep my legs moving.”

Nila slowed then stopped.

Only for the tunnel to start shaking.

“What now?” Max spat.

“My danger sense just spiked, not that it hasn’t been going crazy this whole time,” Jimenez, the soldier from Sacramento, said. Her face tight with fear and pain.

“Same with mine.” Del’s voice was flat, devoid of inflection. Dead.

“Earthquake,” Alexa said.

Nila waited for the shaking to stop, but it kept going.

“Doesn’t matter,” Nila said, numb. She gripped her baseball bat-like club in her good hand. “Count to ten, then start running after me. Don’t stop.” She raised her voice so that the rest of the people could hear her. Not that it was necessary. Sound carried far in the tight confines of the tunnel.

Nila charged into the fishmen.

Bolt-like spines struck her. Some glanced of her thick chest armor, some found gaps and pierced through her thick clothing to draw blood.

It didn’t matter.

Nila’s existence was pain, what was a bit more?

Mere pinpricks.

She smashed the fishmen with her bat. Twenty pounds of metal wielded with speed from someone with the muscle power capable of lifting a small car despite being only a few inches over five-feet tall with a petite, athletic build.

The force was tremendous.

The fishmen could survive the ocean depths.

They couldn’t survive Nila’s desperate attacks.

The group ran past broken, scaly bodies.

All the while the tunnel continued to rumble around them.

Their flight was the stuff of nightmares.

The terror lent wings to their feet.

It seemed an eternity down in the dark, dank tunnels, but they soon reached the spiraling ramp up to the surface.

Nila emerged from the tunnel first.

Only to be greeted by a score of cultists with weapons pointed, spells readied, tentacles aimed.

Unfair.

All that just to die now, in this way.

Nila roared out all her frustrations.

Goodbye, Cal, Nila thought.

The Quest had laid out the two possibilities of failure.

Death or a fate worse than death.

Nila had seen, heard what had been done to the old cult leader, Laura.

She chose death.

She raised her bat as the others caught up to her and emerged out of the tunnel.

A bearded man stood at the head of the cultists.

Nila vaguely recognized him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was drowned out by the sound of the roof being torn away.

The girders, the metal girders, were pealed away to reveal bright sunlight.

Nila shielded her eyes as a figure floated down to the ground to stand between them and the cultists.

“Put away your weapons, disable your spells, or die,” Remy said flatly.

The bearded cultist raised empty hands.

Remy frowned. He had been ready to kill them all to protect his wife, his people. He had already turned the metal girders into metal arrows, poised to rain death on the cultists.

He scanned the area quickly and just realized that not everyone in the large room were cultists.

Off to one side a small group of men and women were on their knees, bound and surrounded by weapon-bearing cultists. He recognized a few soldiers from Sacramento that had ridden in the same truck with him.

Even more surprising was the sight of two young women in thick chains wound tightly around their bodies.

The weredogs.

Why were they in chains?

The bearded man was saying something.

“What?” Remy glared.

“Truce.”

Remy blinked.

“What?”

“We offer the immediate cessation of hostilities.”

“That’s bullshit! Kill them!” Someone behind Remy shouted.

The cultists tensed.

Remy grit his teeth. He was so close to letting his missiles fly.

“I have no reason to trust your words,” Remy said. “Can give me one?”

“I swear on my name.”

“Which is?”

“Barry… and I swear on it that the offer is genuine. If I’m lying then may I be cursed.”

Remy felt something in the air, tingling at the back of his mind.

Something tangible had just occurred, picked up by his mastery of magnetic fields.

Remy shook his head. “Not good enough. Not after all of the people you’ve tortured and killed.” He had seen Keisha’s broken body on Hanna’s back.

“Right, I get that,” Barry said. “You can kill us all, but there’s more in the city. You’ll never get away or maybe you will, but how many of your people will make it out with you. Not to mention the prisoners,” he gestured to the bound men and women. “They’ll die as soon as you act. So will the other prisoners we captured.”

“What other prisoners?”

“The ones that attacked city hall. The detective with the amazing prosthetic leg, the young man with a similar hand, your vampire friend. Along with dozens of soldiers and resistance. Would you condemn to death or worse?”

“Fuck you!” Nila snapped she strode forward but Remy held up an arm to bar her way.

“Where are our babies?” Megan rushed up and hissed in Remy’s ear.

It killed Remy to ignore her.

“All of you can leave, we’ll even provide vehicles and guarantee safe passage out of our territory,” Barry said.

“Not good enough. I want other things,” Remy said.

“Okay?”

“The return of the women and girls you took captive from Sacramento. Make that every captive you have taken against their will from anywhere. I will accompany you to Alcatraz and every other location you use to keep them imprisoned. I will bring along other individuals to make sure that you are keeping true to your word,” Remy said.

“Agreed,” Barry said.

“My daughters and their friends. They will be returned to me unharmed and untouched if you, the cult, fishmen, the Deep Azure happen to capture them.”

“You’re asking for a lot and from where I’m standing your position isn’t that strong,” Barry frowned.

“Tell me, do you have some kind of freaky connection to the Deep Azure?”

Barry’s face stiffened.

“Is it active? Or did my dropping hundreds of tons of sea floor on its head mess it up? Kill it?”

“The Deep Azure is more than a physical form,” Barry scowled. “No matter how much we’d like to think otherwise,” he said softly, so that only Remy picked it up.

Perhaps Barry hadn’t bought in as much as the rest of the cultists.

“Why do you serve it? Knowing the evil it perpetuates,” Remy said.

“You’d kill to protect those you care about,” Barry said. “I don’t think you and I are all that different in that regard.”

Remy nodded. “Truce. Bring me those trucks and free my people. Including those two young women,” he pointed at the weredogs.

Barry looked like he was about to refuse. “No, no my mandate is clear,” he said as if speaking to someone else, “all prisoners were to be offered in order to secure a truce. Deal.” He held out a hand.

Remy shook it with reluctance.

“Our daughters,” Megan hissed.

“Escaped, last I know,” Remy whispered. “Once I get you all home, I’ll come back for them. I’ll tear this place apart if I have to.”

“Did you kill it?” Hanna’s sounded exhausted, empty.

She had laid Keisha’s body down and retrieved her greatsword from one of the soldiers. Someone else had already covered Keisha with their leather jacket.

“I don’t know,” Remy said. “I’m inclined to believe the cultist. That thing back there was just a body.”

“The Deep Azure is more than we can comprehend,” Alexa said.

“What’s there to comprehend? If it exists then there’s a way to kill it,” Hanna said. “My blade might not be able to do it, but that’s what magic is for… right?”

Remy shook his head. He didn’t even know where to begin on that path. How did you kill something that didn’t need physical form?

“Thanks for bringing Keisha back,” Remy said finally.

“Sheer, stupid luck that her body ended up close to me in the scrum,” Hanna spat bitterly, “it was the least I could do. Couldn’t leave her there after she sacri—” she swallowed the rest of what she was going to say. “The stupid kids… you left them?”

“I had them run away down a tunnel, while I fought the Deep Azure,” Remy said through grit teeth. He was angry at himself. Not Hanna.

His words seemed to be enough for the tall, athletic woman. She fell silent.

“Does Keisha have any family left?” Megan said.

Max shook his head. “No, at least not that she was aware of. Mama Rose, her grandma, died about three years ago. Rest of her family was out of state and…” he shrugged.

“The Watch was all she had. It’s the same for a lot of us,” Alexa said. She looked at Remy and Megan. “Not everyone was as lucky as you.”

“Alexa,” Max warned.

“It’s fine,” Remy said. Alexa had a point. “Everyone, try to rest, get your mana and stamina back. It’s going to be a long drive back to Davis. I’ll keep an eye on the cultists.”

Remy walked over to the chained prisoners. The cultists hadn’t bothered to unlock them, content to simply stand around glaring. The chains dropped to the floor at Remy’s will.

He stood over the two weredogs. “What’s your story?”

“Thanks!” the blond one said with a bright smile on her face. The heavy bruising, blood and missing teeth made the smile ghastly.

The Japanese one was just as bloodied and battered. “Your kid called them super mutants. We won, but were too weakened to deal with the cultist shits that jumped in after.”

“Well, you’re free now, no obligations to me. You can do whatever you want,” Remy said.

“I’m tempted to just go out on our own, but our former packmates and the boss might be a problem. So, we’ll stick close to you for now.”

“Fair enough.”

Remy returned to his wife and hugged her tight.

Their thoughts were on their daughters.