Mors Funebris Chap 3 Part 6

Mors Funebris Chapter 3 Part 6
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“Make it stop!” Mara cried shrilly as she bent over forward in her distress. “You’re killing me!” she hissed, as her face continued its arc down towards the unyielding plane that awaited it.
“KLONK!”  came the inevitable sound of Mara’s forehead impacting the hardwood surface. When it did, her shiny platinum hair bounced then splayed itself out in a crown around her head.
Each of the four people surrounding her, jerked in surprise at the display. After a couple of tense moments, they all heard Mara’s anguished response.
“OOOoooowwww!” she groaned as she slowly lifted her head up and lightly placed the fingertips of her right hand to her now reddened forehead.
“That huuuurrrrtssss!” she whined tight-facedly.
“Why?” Alonzo asked her slowly, “Did you do that?” Mara squinted at him through pain-filled eyes and frowned.
“Isn’t that what humans do? To indicate frustration?” she sniffled. After no one spoke, she added. “I don’t understand this! Curly never seems to feel any pain.”
“Curly?” Alonzo asked, “Curly who?” Mara looked at him confusedly and explained.
“Curly and his brothers, Larry and Moe. You know?” she said as she continued to rub at her forehead.
“Oh!” Alonzo huffed, his eyes widening in realization. “Aaahhh!” he continued as he looked away guiltily. “Ummmm, yes? Uuuuhhhhmmm, No. Not exactly.” He wavered. Then he shut his mouth after noting that Juanita, Ms. Augustine, and Arawn were looking at him questioningly. He then looked guiltily at them.
“Mara told me that she desired to learn more non-verbal human gestures.” He began with a wince.
 “I suggested that she watch some Tee-Vee shows.” He explained to them both, “I’m guessing that she chose, Three-Stooges?” He asked the Lilim. Mara just nodded weakly.
“Sorry.” He apologized weakly to them all.  Mara, wh by then had leaned back in her chair, appeared to be staring at the ceiling, as she kept one hand on her forehead.
“In the future Mara,” Ms. Augustine injected, “Try to remember that most Humans only do such antics lightly. Mostly to prevent themselves lasting damage.” She paused, thought about it, and then added. “Only trained professionals, like the trio you watched, can make it seem real.” Mara didn’t reply as she shot Alonzo a resentful look.
 “If we could,…?” Arawn began, as he wisely chose to keep his amused smile hidden behind a hand.  Just as he did, Juanita couldn’t resist the temptation anymore.
“Nyuk nyuk nyuk.” Juanita muttered just loudly enough for everyone there to hear, and then she chuckled. Both Alonzo and Ms. Augustine laughed with her.
“Fuckers!” Mara hissed as she glared at each of them in turn.
“Language!” Arawn injected with a disapproving frown towards Mara, who gave him a sullen look. He then directed that frown at Juanita.
“Now!,…If we could return to the subject at hand?” he said sternly. Eventually everyone quieted down. Satisfied, Arawn nodded at Mara to begin.
 “I don’t understand the logic of what you’re proposing!” Mara enunciated in exasperation as she ceased rubbing her head.
“It’s simple really, if you take the time to,…”Alonzo started, then stopped when Mara cut him off with an impatient wave of her hand. Arawn observed that the borders of her red-tinted irises had begun to expand outwards, indicating her growing ire.
“Mara!” he said sternly, “Relaxing Breaths!” he commanded her. Mara shifted her ever-increasing angry look over to Arawn. He met and responded to her glare with a castigating stare.
After several seconds of stare down, Mara flinched. Then she blinked a couple of times uncertainly.
Finally, accepting defeat, she then closed her eyes and began to concentrate upon the relaxation technique Arawn had taught her some time ago.
‘Breath in through the nose for four heartbeats. Hold it for seven heartbeats, then breath out- eight heartbeats.’ Mara thought to herself as she did just that.
‘Human society can be so damned confusing!’ she thought to herself, as she felt her frustration begin to mount again. ‘Stop!’ she commanded herself, ‘that’s counterproductive.’ She decided.
After several breath cycles, she realized that she had managed to achieve a measure of calmness. Opening her eyes, she turned to look at Arawn. She nodded her readiness.
“Start from the beginning.” He stated. Mara grimaced slightly, but she did as he commanded.
“What he said was; that you’re planning on sending your Not-Brothers,” she began as she pointed to Arawn, “Onto a ‘secret mission’.” She whispered as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“But you’re not going to keep the mission a secret?” She said tightly.
“Correct.” Arawn answered with a nod.
“Why?” she huffed as she gripped the conference table’s edge tightly.
“To maintain a particular secret.” He replied.
“That doesn’t make any sense!” Mara cried as she started to feel her exasperation flare again. Then without prompting, she closed her eyes and began the relaxation technique once more.
“Mara.” Arawn whispered at her sternly. “Try to stay focused, you must master your emotions, else,…” he began.
‘Or else my emotions will master me? Yes-I-know!’ she shot back angrily. ‘You’ve only said it what? Two thousand times in the last month!?(M)’ she thought, then regretted it when she realized she’d spoken in Arawn’s ‘Mind-Speech’.
‘Ahem! (A)’ Arawn replied with a disapproving frown.
‘Oops. (M)’ she added with an apologetic grimace, as she shrunk back into her chair.
All during this silent interchange, Alonzo kept shifting his attention back and forth between Arawn and her, while Ms. Augustine kept her expression neutral. No one noticed that Juanita kept rolling her eyes sarcastically.
“Now!” Arawn said aloud, “Begin again.” He ordered her sternly as he folded his arms. Mara let out a loud sigh of resignation and then began to recite the facts once more.
“You’re going to be sending your Not-Brothers,” she began again and starting bobbing her head, “Quintus, Quartus, Tertius, and Secundus, off onto a mission to,…” she sighed heavily, “The Future.” Mara breathed in deeply and then continued.
“In an effort, to procure some kind of,… ‘Healing Energy’.” Mara said as she looked over to Arawn.
“Yes?” she asked him. He nodded and made a ‘more or less’ waving-motion with one hand.
“And you want me? She paused to huff angrily as she pointed to herself; “To announce this to the Council?” she finished. When everyone else there nodded his or her assent. Mara vented her fury.
“I don’t understand!” she whined. “Why announce to everyone a supposedly secret mission?”
 “The core of the matter is, I have to send Quartus and Tertius off to a Future. Mainly because the local temporal options for their recovery have been exhausted.” He continued.
“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Mara shot back. ‘I’ve lost count of how many time’s it’s been mentioned.’ She thought to herself crabbily.
“BUT!” he emphasized, “That reason would be considered too-outlandish to be taken seriously.”
“The problem is: IF I sent them off without a somewhat plausible reason; then those who have been attending them would become suspicious. Eventually they would begin speculating wildly with their peers. Then inevitably they’d latch onto something, anything really. No matter how unorthodox.”
“But those people are sworn to secrecy. Medical ethics and the like.” Mara pointed out, as she remembered another point.
“Indeed.” Alonzo nodded, “But people are people. As such, they will engage in the inevitable rumormongering.”
“The point of Alonzo’s proposal is two-fold.” Ms. Augustine injected. “First to ‘head off at the pass’, any of that speculation. Second, to track down who is saying what.” Alonzo nodded his agreement, and stepped in.
“This is because somewhere out there, someone has been paying very close attention to information leaking out of the Iron Foundation. Then, they are sifting out pertinent details to use to their advantage.”
“Wait!” Mara said, as she began to comprehend, “I think I’m getting this. You want to,…” she stuck out a tongue as she thought about it, ”What is it called again?” she asked herself. Then she jerked in realization.
“‘Control-The-Narrative?”
“Correct.” Arawn nodded, pleased, Mara felt a smile of embarrassment form on her face.
“This is where your most important part will come in.”
“How?” Mara asked, still unsure of what he was getting at.
“You will be the one making this announcement to the Council. Eventually, you will meet with individual Council members. When you do, you will give each of them a slightly different reason for their departure. Arawn said, waving his hand in circling motion.
“But what’s the point in,…?” Mara asked and then stopped. She started blinking as she thought about it.
“Oh.” She said, as a smile began to form on her face. Arawn nodded approvingly
“I see you begin to understand.” He replied indulgently.
“Yes, I think I do.” She paused and licked her lips. “By giving each of them a different story, if anyone passes on their particular knowledge…, then you’ll have an idea which person- is doing the leaking.” Mara finished. Arawn slapped his hand lightly onto the table in front of him and then pointed to her.
“Precisely!” he grinned. “And thus, bring us one step closer to catching our ‘Mole’.” He finished as Mara sat back in her chair and smiled thoughtfully.
“Fair enough.” She sighed, “But why do you want me to do the presentation?” Mara asked. “Why not do so yourself, or have Alonzo do it?” she said as she nodded at the Security Chief.
“Because I wish to take advantage of you.” Arawn replied placidly as he leaned over in his chair and rested himself onto one elbow. Mara’s face froze for a second as she felt a momentary thrill.
“Eh?” she said, half-hopeful. Even with the amount of Spirit Energy she’d been garnering from all of the ‘Cons’ she’d been attending, she still felt deprived.
‘A succubus cannot live on virgins alone.’ She remembered in her mother’s voice.
 “Not like that!” Arawn laughed, as he shook a finger at her like a metronome.
“Or, to be more precise, I am attempting to take advantage of this world’s predilections to underestimate the intellectual capability of a blonde-haired woman.” He finished. Juanita snorted in disgust then.
“Wait.” Mara grinned knowingly. “I know what you mean.” She sighed. “That’s something my Mother taught all of us LIlim. That Men, always seem to associate blonde hair with a lesser intelligence.” She said as she and Juanita shared a knowing glance.
“Now, if I went to the Council and told them what you are about to. They would assume I am up to no good and ignore what I have to say.”
“Of course.” Juanita muttered softly. Arawn ignored her. Mara piped up.
“But since I’m a Blonde, I’m not smart enough for subterfuge.” she smirked dryly. Everyone glanced at Juanita as she made a gagging gesture with her mouth and a finger.
“Exactly.” Arawn stated as he nodded to Ms. Augustine. Who then slid over to Mara a large manila folder.
“What’s this?” she asked as she picked it up and squinted at its contents. She frowned, then conjured up a set of reading glasses and began poring over its contents.
“The various explanations of why, where, and how, my Not-brothers are departing, and more importantly- which Council Member I want you to give them to.” Arawn replied. “Alonzo has shown himself to be quite imaginative in their creation.”
Mara looked up from her reading and looked over to Alonzo. He shrugged once, as a slight blush crept across his face. She returned to the list.
“Seeking the Holy,…what,.. Grail? What is that supposed to be?” She asked, as she scratched at a horn. She then began to mouth what she read further down.
“What’s this one? A Stargate?” Mara said as she gave Alonzo a perplexed glance. “I don’t comprehend what most of these are referring to.” She complained. “I’ll need context to make them sound plausible.”
“Since your presentation with the council isn’t until late this afternoon, why don’t you have Alonzo tutor you in private” Arawn grinned, determined to needle him.
Alonzo swung his head and gave Arawn a frightened look. But before he could voice a protest.
“Yes Alonzo, I’m sure we can plunge into the depths of the matter, together.” Mara purred, eager to get the young, strong, healthy, human male alone for a short while.
“oh please!” Juanita muttered in disgust.
“UH,…Boss?” Alonzo began nervously, fully aware of the inherent danger of solitude involving a horny Succubus. He then said something that caught Mara’s attention.
“You do realize that the Council won’t simply allow your ‘associates’ to depart without a fight? They’ll be sure to demand something in return? A concession or three.”
“That is a good point.” Arawn frowned thoughtfully for a second as he leaned back in his chair. He then looked speculatively at Mara for a long moment.
“I hereby authorize you to do your best and negotiate for some more favorable terms from the Council.” He stated. Mara sighed despondently at the thought of the extra work.
“Ms. Augustine, would you please attend Alonzo and Mara’s meeting? She will need to know what limitations I would have apply, prior.”  He stated, causing Mara to wilt with disappointment and Alonzo to brighten. Ms. Augustine nodded neutrally once.
“That sounds like a lot of responsibility to expect me to shoulder.” Mara said resignedly.
“Consider this an opportunity for you to gain some valuable negotiation experience.”  Arawn stated as he got to his feet and turned to leave the conference room.
“Any advice?” Mara piped up, just before he exited. Arawn stopped at the door, thought about it for a second and then looked back over his shoulder.
“Yes.” He said firmly, “Try not to secede your Mother’s Realms. I cannot imagine the resulting conversation your Mother and I would have to have at that point.” He said as he left the room.
“thanks.” Mara muttered sarcastically under her breath.
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Later, after setting up an appointment time. Mara decided that she deserved a short break. So, she decided to go down to her apartment.
In the hallway outside Arawn’s office, she frowned at the sight of her Minder/Bodyguard, Huey. a male Red Oni-demon.
‘You’d think that if the Council could trust me to be Arawn’s Apprentice, they wouldn’t require him to stick around me.’ She thought sourly as she nodded at him. She then did her best to avoid looking at the bulge, the Extremus Gun created inside his jacket.
As Mara started walking down the hallway, he followed behind her at a respectful distance. All the while keeping alert to any threats to, or from her. As she approached the entrance to the stairwell, she got that sense of discomfort that began whenever he was near her.
Even though he always remained mostly professional, there was something about him that didn’t sit well with her. But she couldn’t tell what precisely.
‘It’s like he’s always watching me a little too closely.’ She decided as she snuck a glance towards him over her shoulder. Their eyes met momentarily and he looked away first.
‘Looking at my tail again.’ She mused with a half-smile. ‘I wonder if I should try seducing him?’ Indeed, she would’ve welcomed a change from her now routine Spirit-Energy harvesting from the seemingly endless numbers of virginal Sci-Fi conventioneers.
‘Oh, what the hell?’ she decided as she came to a quick stop in the hallway, then whirled her head around and caught his eye with hers.
“Huey?” she began, “Since we’re together so much, perhaps we could go and get a cup of hot chocolate sometime?” she said as she smiled alluringly.
He stopped and looked alarmed for a second. Then after few nervous moments, he began to smile tentatively back at her; which gave her a moment of hope. He seemed to remember something, just before a wave of fear washed over his face and he looked away.
“Please forgive this one Lady Mara, but I do not think that would be appropriate behavior on my part.” He stammered, dashing her hope away.
“Never mind then.” She replied with a dismissive snap of her tail as she resumed her walking. After a momentary pause, Huey followed.
‘Hmmmm, it’s not me he’s afraid of.’ She realized with a frown.
Despite its novelty, she chose to eschew her use of elevators. Mara preferred stairwells for two reasons. Elevators didn’t do much good for her level of exercise and by extension her figure. The other being, her fellow riders’ discomfort noticeably increased whenever she boarded.
‘It’s not just that I’ve got wings and a tail to deal with.’ She thought as the sound of her shoes echoed on the bare concrete of the stairwell, ‘The downfall of being the only Succubus in existence here, apparently.’
The muffled tapping of her stylish shoes continued, as she made her way down and then out into the wood-paneled hallway of the next floor down. Her destination, the now much larger set of rooms that she shared with her ward- Boto.
She shut her apartment’s door quickly to ensure that Huey remained outside. Then, she immediately banished her conservative outfit with a gesture. Whereupon it materialized several feet away, just shy of the laundry hamper.
With a heartfelt sigh, she allowed herself to stretch freely in the nude. She extended her wings until they lightly scratched both sides of the room with a wing claw.
‘Aaaah,’ Mara sighed contentedly, as she shrugged her wings back into place. ‘Much better!’ she smiled at a freedom she appreciated more now, than she had growing up in Royal Makai. She then moved over to her exercise area to begin her stretches.
As she stepped upon her exercise mat, she had to kick a couple of her panties away. Looking around, she noted that the rest of her apartment was in dire need of straightening up as well.
‘Too messy.’ She judged. Messy because Arawn forbade a Maid being assigned to her. Instead, he had insisted that Mara learn how to pick up both after herself and Boto.
‘Perhaps I can combine exercises?’ She mused, as she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few short seconds, she manifested herself a pair of black tendrils from the small of her back, mid-point between her wings and tail.
‘Demonic-Energy-Tendrils,’ Mara smiled with satisfaction as she opened her eyes and began to admire her most recent achievement.
‘It’s good to have garnered enough essence to manifest at least one pair.’ She mused as she looked over her undulating coils. Then her eyes caught sight of the rest of her apartment.
‘Nothing for it then.’ She huffed as she concentrated on using her Black-Tendrils to help with her morning’s chores. They were still new enough, that she had trouble with putting away anything weighing more than a couple of pounds.
“Grrr!” she snarled in frustration when one particularly heavy book, slipped out of a tendril’s grasp.
‘Oh, the hell with it!’ she decided as she allowed her tendrils to sink back into her body. She then resumed cleaning the old-fashioned way, with her hands.
After a bit, she stopped at the entrance to Boto’s bedroom and stared inside.
‘Nothing to do here.’ She decided as she looked around. Boto didn’t care to own much. But what she did own, she chose to keep it neat and organized. Mara looked on enviously from the perfectly made bed, to the dust-free surfaces of Boto’s dresser.
The only sign that there was a little girl living here, was the Tea-set sitting atop a square child sized tea table. Along with two dolls occupying a pair of its chairs.  Mara stepped inside, then crouched herself down to get a better look at them.
“Mrs. Burroughs.” Mara said aloud, as she stared at the toy Boto had named. It was a doll nearly as large as Boto herself.
‘She’ appeared to be nothing more than a non-descript human woman, wearing a slightly tattered dress. For some reason known only to Boto, she had carved a small indentation into the center of the doll’s forehead.  While Mrs. Burroughs, if she had an opinion of Mara; wisely chose to keep it to herself.
 Mara decided that she had little, if any, problem with that one. As she did with the other. Grimacing, she turned on her heels and inspected it closely, not once feeling the urge to touch it.
“Seward.” Mara whispered distastefully as she tried to guess what exactly this doll was supposed to be or represent. As best as she could tell, it was a disgusting cross, or a melding, of an overly large cockroach and a typewriter.
Yet, here it was. One of the few possessions Boto had chosen to keep. As such, Mara couldn’t quite get herself to throw it away, no matter how much it repelled her.
Mara then extended her newly acquired ‘Empathy’ and did her best to detect something, anything really, malevolent about it.
That Empathy, was a fringe benefit of yet another one of Arawn’s teachings to Mara.
‘Mind-Speech.’ She thought as she continued scanning the doll. ‘Or what humans call telepathy.’ It was something Arawn had felt necessary to impart, in order for Mara to better able communicate with the Vadhagh child.
Mara was glad that Arawn had done so. As it and the fringe benefits from same, had given her another set of tools to use. Mostly, she used them in dealing with this world’s people and their endless snares and complications.
“Nothing.” She concluded with as she sat back onto her rump.
It was nothing more than a disgusting looking doll Boto had managed to dredge up somewhere. It came from someplace that neither her, not Arawn, nor anyone else for that matter had been able to deduce.
Shaking her head, Mara got to her feet and exited Boto’s room, then closed the door.
As she continued her cleaning, she did her best to rid her mind of the sight of Seward’s way-too-many-teeth.
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When she got to arranging her bookshelf, she carefully picked up her copy of: “The Monkey Wrench Gang” and contemplated its cover. A recent memory stirred within her at the sight.
‘Why did you have me read this Arawn? I don’t intend to sabotage anything!’ she had whined.
‘Perhaps not Mara,’ he had replied, ‘but you need to gain an insight into those who do.’
She grimaced at the thought, and then placed it alongside previous assigned readings such as, ‘The Art of War’, ‘The Book of Five Rings’, ‘101 Tips for an Evil Overlord’, and the next on her reading list, the strangely named: ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’.
‘What is a motorcycle anyway?’ she wondered as she picked it up.
Looking up, she found herself distracted by the sight of her body in a wall mirror. She bounced once, then smiled at the resulting firm jiggling that it created.
‘Still got it.’ She grinned as she began to explore the sight of her luscious curves. Then that smile faltered, when she realized how long it’d been since someone else had touched them.
‘I wish I had someone around to appreciate me more often. She pondered, as she cupped her breasts and then gently squeezed them. Which had the effect of making her groan slightly with the pleasure.
‘Someone more reliable than just the ever-changing Science Fiction enthusiast.’ She continued as she teasingly flapped her wings once, then she lashed her tail a couple of times.
Then she tilted her head as something occurred to her.
‘Pleasure runes?’ she frowned as she contemplated her unblemished skin. ‘Technically, I’m not old enough. But this isn’t Makai.’ She sighed. Then finally, she decided to get around to her most important task.
“What to wear to the Council?” she asked herself aloud. ‘Something business like, yet distracting.’ She decided as she conjured up a garment with a magical gesture, and examined herself in the mirror.
‘Too much cleavage.’ She frowned, and then made another gesture which produced another outfit, then continued through several more, ‘Not enough cleavage,’,.. ’not enough leg’,…’chilly’,…, and so it went with outfit after outfit…
Eventually, she decided upon a simple outfit akin to the one, her sister Mari, preferred: A nearly transparent white blouse that enhanced her bust, yet still covered her somewhat appropriately. Along with a wide brimmed sunhat that covered her horns- just so.
When she stepped out in the hallway, Mara didn’t need Empathy to detect the surge of lust she inspired in Huey. She kept her pleased smile hidden as she continued her journey down to the Foundations’ main atrium.
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As she stepped out onto the tiled floor of the Atrium, Mara looked up and frowned at the brown/grey mist that hovered over the overhead skylights.
‘The Smog is thick today.’ She thought as she stuck out her tongue at the sight. Huey, wisely chose to blend himself into the background.
After she stopped at the Atrium snack bar, Mara allowed herself a bit of a local luxury drink, ‘The Hot Chocolate’.
‘Steaming Hot Deliciousness more like’, she decided. Then she smiled at the sight of the mini-marshmallows. She liked the way they melted, as it reminded her of other yummy-gooey white stuff.
Then she ambled her way over to “Night-Cubs”. It being a ‘day’-care devoted to the children of the Iron Foundation’s Nightbreed.
Once outside it, she peered in through the plate glass-door, hoping to catch a glimpse of her adoptive daughter, Boto.
As she did, she garnered the attention of one of the Cub-Minders, Baratos, who was an aging and paunchy Grecian Satyr, who’d lost his own children untold ages ago.
 He nodded and waved at her, then pointed in one direction. Mara followed his lead and soon caught a momentary sight of her quarry. Mara smiled her thanks and then moved along the outside windows. Doing so to avoid upsetting some of the charier Cubs.
Looking again in the direction that Baratos had pointed, Mara spotted Boto easily.
Easy, since she was the only one with such a delightfully pinkish skin tone. That and the fact that she was one of the few without a covering of fur or scales. Mara smile widened when she saw that Boto was having a ‘Tea-Party’ with her new friend, ‘Cossette’.
Just after her eyes locked onto her, Boto froze. Then she turned her head to look directly to Mara.
‘Mama/inquiry/curiosity?’ Mara thought/felt, from her.
‘Just checking/reassurance/Love.’ Mara smiled back as best she could manage in Arawn’s mindspeech.
Then, she felt a flood of warmth when she felt, actually felt, Boto returning her love along with a smile. Boto waved once and returned her attention to her Tea Party.
“Lady Mara?” came a distracting voice. Mara turned and saw whom it was. It was Cosette’s mother. Appearance wise- she seemed to be a thin-seeming human woman dressed all in white. Yet, Mara knew that she was a Rougarou.
“Fantine.” Mara nodded in greeting when she remembered her name. “How are you?”
“As well as can be expected.” She replied in a Gallic accent, “Would you care to join us?” Fantine said as she gestured to a nearby table around which a number of other Nightbreed Mothers sat.  Mara nodded her assent and followed.
As she followed Fantine over, Mara recalled that even though she’d been kind enough to instruct her in the proper use of a hairbrush and a child’s hair; The Rougarou mother still maintained a level of polite coolness  towards her.
‘I’ll take what I can get.’ She thought as she looked around the group of Earth-Monsters.  Judging by the sudden silence her appearance caused. Mara decided to sit herself at the far end. Off in an unobtrusive spot.
She kept silent, as the conversation eventually started up again. Which surprisingly turned out to be akin to the usual conversations she’d grown up with in Royal Makai:
Who was sharing a bed with whom, now? Which child needed a proper disciplining? Along with which ones whined too much. Inevitably, there was the usual griping about the restrictions from attacking and/or devouring humans.
“So much prey in this city, and we’re not allowed to touch a single one!” Said Mercy Brown (a vampire) as she complained over a cup of synthetic blood. She then sipped and made a face at the taste.
“Tell me about it!” said Fantine, “How are we supposed to insure our children are properly fed? If we cannot even harvest a comatose victim?” she grumbled as she looked pointedly at Mara.
Stopping mid-sip with her drink, Mara’s eyes widened when she realized that Fantine had directed that question at her!
“Oh!” she yelped, as she looked around the table. Yes, every other set of eyes there looked at Mara expectedly.
“I assume you’re referring to those two patients down in the ICU?” Mara grinned nervously. Fantine nodded curtly once, as every other woman there shared a look.
‘Oh my!’ Mara thought worriedly as she realized her sudden predicament. ‘What should I say?’ she pondered for a second, and then she froze as a naughty thought occurred to her.
‘Well Arawn did say I should take advantage of every situation presented.’ She smiled wryly.
“About that!” Mara said aloud, as every woman (and near-woman) at the table turned to her and listened expectantly. Mara began to lift her cup to her face.
Then she frowned as she placed the cup down onto the table in front of her without taking a sip. As she did, she noticed that the rest of group was watching her every move.
Smiling inwardly, she looked over her left shoulder and stared at nothing for a second, almost as if she were checking for eavesdroppers. She then switched shoulders and did the same again.
She didn’t quite look at the group as she leaned herself forward conspiratorially. She felt a surge of power, when everyone else there leaned forward automatically.
“You didn’t hear this from me!” she warned in a whisper, and noted that her fellow tablemates were practically salivating then. All waiting eagerly to hear her ‘news’.
“Those two men in the ICU?” she continued, “There is going to be an announcement coming out about them soon.” Mara paused, and then cleared her throat.
“Ahem! ‘Officially,’ they’re going to be ‘released’ to another facility’s care for some experimental treatment.”  Mara breathed in through her mouth for a second, as she savored her power once more. She then quickly glanced over her shoulders again.
“But what is actually going to happen, is something different.” Mara began
“What!?” panted Hitty the Kushtaka, her whiskers twitching eagerly. Several of the other women there shifted in their seats, as if readying themselves to pounce.
“Let’s just say that the cafeteria’s meat selection might,….change,…in both freshness,…and taste,…soon.” Mara replied conspiratorially as she leaned back in her chair and finally took a sip.
Mara didn’t hide the grin that now sprouted across her face. A grin matched by every other person there. Looking around, she couldn’t help but notice that all of the teeth there were pointed. While some were serrated.
“Oooh!” Fantine smiled contentedly, thinking about the change in menu. Several other women were obviously doing the same, as they licked their lips.
‘I’ll have to tell Arawn.’ Mara realized, ‘I don’t know if he’ll be upset about this or not.’ She deemed as she made an excuse to depart. She was hoping to meet with Secundus before his departure.
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“HA-HA-HA-HA!” he chortled, when Mara told Secundus about the conversation. “Oh, that is a quite good!” he smirked as he panted to catch his breath.
“Do you think Arawn will be upset?” Mara asked, suddenly nervous.
“He just learned it!” Secundus grinned as he looked up and off to one side. “He thinks it as funny as I!”
“Though he is somewhat annoyed. He now has to explain to the head of the Hunters, why he suddenly burst out laughing.” He said as he covered his mouth with one hand. Mara smiled her relief as she sat herself down in the Sidrat’s interior.
Glancing around, she couldn’t help but shudder at the feel that alien architecture inspired in her. Secundus ignored her as he continued shaking in his mirth.
“So,” she began, “how are things proceeding?” she asked as she gestured around herself.
“About as well as can be expected. Quartus and Tertius seem to be stable for now.” Secundus replied, his tone going somber.
“So,…uhmmmm.” He said as he raised a hand for emphasis. He then paused, sighed, “Yeah!”, he said as he dropped his hand quickly and looked away.
“Yeah.” Mara echoed him, suddenly sorry for spoiling the mood. Of all Arawn’s identical looking not-brothers, she enjoyed the company of Secundus the most.
Quintus was always too busy to mutter more than a few monosyllables in her direction, and Arawn was always focused on teaching her one ‘important lesson’ or another. The other two had said nothing to her; being in their healing-comas and all.
Daringly, she inched herself closer to Secundus, and was happy to see that even though he noticed her doing so, he didn’t shy away. Happy mostly because he didn’t seem to be repelled by her. As so many of the other folk of the Iron Foundation were.
A contented smile formed on her face, as she thought back to the first Galaxy Quest convention she’d attended after becoming Arawn’s apprentice.  A convention that the Council only grudgingly agreed to, after an impassioned appeal from Arawn.
At first, she was all ‘gung-ho’ as Juanita called it, to simply latch onto the first male she bumped into. But that soon proved counter-productive. As that that male ran off, thoroughly frightened by her boldness.
Then, her ‘minder-team’ of Juanita, Alonzo, and Secundus, suggested she try a different tact.
‘Though people come to these in the hope of getting laid,” Juanita smirked knowingly, “they start off by dressing in costumes and adopting a persona for the occasion.”
“You mean a ‘Con’, is sort of like a big costume party?” Mara had asked astutely.
“Essentially,…yes.” Secundus smiled as he thought about it. Alonzo and Juanita nodded in agreement.
“That’s excellent!” Mara had cried enthusiastically, “I’m all about parties!”
It had been confusing at first, but she eventually caught on to the ‘polite fiction’ necessary for her to adopt.
In the case of her first Galaxy Quest con, she had to be some sort of alien. Eventually, her minders agreed upon the notion that Mara adopt the guise of a Royal Princess.
“Acting in the role of a Goodwill Ambassador to,…” Alonzo had stated.
“Promote Peace, Love, and Understanding- Between the Makai Hegemony and the Galaxy Quest Confederation.” She recalled Secundus injecting. Then she smiled at the memory of the laughter that ensued.
‘It worked!’ she remembered as a warm glow flowed over her. Slowly at first, but then as word spread, an ever-increasing number of people showed up at her hotel suite’s door.  All of them, both male and female, eager to ‘negotiate’ a favorable treaty with her.
 ‘What did Juanita call it? A gang-bang?’ she recalled.
Alonzo and Juanita took turns to help keep the crowd from getting too rowdy. While Secundus surreptitiously monitored her, to ensure that she didn’t drain her lovers too much as she’d nearly done with Juanita months earlier.
Thus, these constant practice sessions, eventually improved her control over the ravening Succubus-Hunger. Which softened the Council’s fears concerning her.
Well a little bit at least.
‘Is that what my Mother’s existence was like prior to her Awakening?’ she often pondered after. Then her thoughts turned to the Conventioneers she’d been bedding.
‘Essence from an inexperienced virgin isn’t enough. It’s just too,…bland.’ She grumbled. ‘I could really go for some Flavorful essence!’
After ‘working’ with him over several conventions. Mara noticed that Secundus seemed to have flavor aplenty. As he was always quick with a joke and could always be counted on, to treat her like an equal.
‘Unlike the other men here, both human and not, who STILL shun me!’ She frowned.
“Oh yes!” Secundus said suddenly, shaking her out of her reverie.
“How did Boto’s trip to the Zoo fare?” he asked, honestly. It took Mara a few seconds to get her thoughts back on track.
“She seemed to enjoy herself, though she didn’t seem to like all of the animal’s boredom with captivity.” she replied, “I can’t say that I blame her.” Mara sighed knowingly.
“Too much like real life, eh?” he said with a sympathetic smile. Mara glanced at him for a second.
“Yes.” She admitted, then she changed the subject. “Oh there’s something else! Could you do me a flavor?” she asked. It was only when she noticed his confused expression. That she realized her Freudian slip.
“Excuse me!” she said just a little too quickly. FAVOR! I meant to say ‘favor’!” she said as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
“Certainly,,,.” He replied, confused. “What?”
“Uhhmmmm.” She tried not to whine, “I had a momentary problem with that Disguise-Spell you taught me.”
“Really? What happened?”
“Everything seemed to be going fine, and then suddenly, everyone around us went quiet and started staring at us.” Mara recounted nervously.
“Then the next thing I knew. They stopped staring. Then they went about their day as if nothing had happened.”
“Was this around high-noon?” He asked, mulling.
“No, it was late afternoon, almost sunset.”
“That is odd.” He frowned. “I’d offer to do a quick inspection of the spell’s dweomer. However, I’m rather short of Mana right now. You can guess why.” He apologized.
“That’s all right.”
“If anything, else, you might try carrying a pair of Citrine stones with you.” He suggested. “Properly bespelled, they’ll act like mana-capacitors.”
“Ok.” Mara replied quietly as Secundus nodded once, and then lapsed into silence. A silence that went on for several more increasingly uncomfortable seconds.
Finally, “I’ll miss you.” Mara blurted out, and then looked away. Secundus looked at her for a moment.
“I will miss you too.” He smiled, “But it is not like I will be gone for long. It is not that far into the future we are planning on going!” he said, just a little too loudly.
“I know.” She replied softly, pursing her lips as she met his gaze and locked eyes. Secundus allowed it to continue for a bit too long. Then he looked away.
“About twelve or so years into the future, on the eve of the Millennium in San Francisco.” He continued, “Find the target individual and be there when he regenerates. Then siphon off some of that regeneration energy,…” He stopped and sighed.
“What could go wrong?” he said finally, and then his face froze. Secundus closed his eyes as he bent his head over and covered his face with a hand.
“I cannot believe I just said that.”
“Neither can I.” Mara smirked as she patted him on the back a couple of times, and then left her hand there. He didn’t seem to notice.
“Hopefully fate did not overhear me saying that!” he said as he held himself upright. As he did, Mara shifted her hand onto his shoulder. Secundus froze for a second, and then turned to look at her hand. She didn’t move it away.
Secundus looked up at her and held her eyes. Mara held his gaze for a timeless moment, and then squeezed his shoulder lightly. Secundus started to lean towards her.
She mirrored him.
It was then, that the Sidrat’s controls gave off a loud hiss and a snap. Secundus came to himself and jumped to his feet.
“Uh well!” he began, not looking at Mara. “It appears that I will have to give this another diagnostic before we depart!” he said just a little too loudly, as he began punching buttons at random and pulling levers. Not once did he pay close attention to anything.
“Secundus.” Mara whispered softly, feeling a little hurt.
“Sorry!” He yelped, “Duty calls!” he said as he hurried away from the control console and deeper into the depths of the Sidrat. Mara watched him depart. Then she stared longingly at the archway he had exited through.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Later that afternoon, in the secure Ariifact-Vault underneath the Iron Foundation.
“Well I guess this is goodbye for now.” Arawn stated to Quintus, as he stood in front a large green container that stood off to one side of the room.
“Keep ahold of the fort.” Quintus replied somberly in return. He turned his attention to Alonzo, “Time is of the essence now, so please do not take too long for your farewells.” He instructed to Alonzo as he nodded to Arawn. Quintus then motioned to Dewey, the Blue Oni Bodyguard. Then the pair of them entered the strangely humming green cabinet.
Arawn remained outside with Alonzo, who stared at the cabinet and kept shaking his head slowly.
“Is something the matter?” Arawn asked.
“I can’t believe it.” Alonzo replied. “That the Council so easily approved this little ‘quest’ of yours. Yet one of their demands was that I come along, to keep an eye on your associates.”
“To represent the concerns of the Hunters,..” Arawn began.
“With Dewey doing the same for the Nightbreed.” Alonzo interrupted. “It’s almost as if the Council doesn’t trust you in matters Temporal.”
“Indeed.” Arawn said dryly. “I cannot imagine why.” He said as he turned away with a peeved expression.
“And the most amazing thing? Mara managed to convince everyone that Huey would be the best Minder to ‘guard’ her.” Alonzo smiled as he made some air quotes with his fingers.
“Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?” Arawn replied with a smirk.
“Pardon?” Alonzo asked, befuddled.
“Who Shall Watch The Watchers?” Arawn translated dryly. Alonzo laughed.
“Indeed!” he smiled. “And then there’s this!” Alonzo beamed as he pointed at the humming Green Cabinet. “An honest to goodness, brand-new working Time Machine.”
“Hmmm,” Arawn frowned. Which got Alonzo’s attention.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked, concerned.
“Well, not precisely,…’new’. No.” Arawn admitted sheepishly.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Alonzo demanded quietly as he crossed his arms. “I take it this isn’t exactly a ‘Cadillac-version’ of a time machine?”
“No.” Arawn replied slowly, “to be more precise. This capsule is an unauthorized copy of another, much more advanced, race’s ‘Cadillac’, as you put it.”
“WHAT?!” Alonzo growled as his eyes flared. Then he closed his eyes and counted to ten. Arawn waited patiently for him to continue.
“How ‘precisely’,” Alonzo continued, mimicking Arawn, “would you describe this?” he demanded as he gestured to the cabinet. Arawn refused to meet Alonzo’s eyes.
“I would describe it as a generic knock-off.” He replied. Alonzo began shaking angrily.
“ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT THIS IS,…IS,…A GREMLIN!!!?” Alonzo yelled resoundingly, referring to the vehicle produced by AMC.
 Quintus, alerted by the ruckus, poked his head out of the cabinet. He then saw who was shouting. Then he ducked back inside.
“No.” Arawn replied quietly, “I would characterize it more as” He hesitated, “…a….’corvair’.”Arawn admitted finally. Alonzo stared at him in disbelief for the better part of a minute.
“You’re not inspiring much in the way of confidence from me, Doc!” he whispered finally.
“In my defense,” Arawn began as he finally met Alonzo’s eyes. “Time Machines are not as easy to obtain as a rental vehicle.”
Alonzo then jerked a finger into Arawn’s face with a snarl on his lips. Then he froze, thought about it. Then relaxed as he dropped his finger.
“All right” He admitted. “Fair Enough!” He then held Arawn’s attention by glaring into his eyes.
“I fully expect to get Triple-Hazard-Duty-Pay for every one of MY hours spent on this fiasco!” he growled in a tone that refused any argument. Arawn looked back at him and sighed as he made a quick mental calculation.
“Done.” He said simply, as he tried not to wince at the preliminary total.
“Ok, let me run over this one more time. To make sure I’ve got this right before I go.” Alonzo grumbled. “This,… Time Machine?” he sighed deeply as he shook his head in disgust and pointed at the green cabinet.
“Sidrat.” Arawn corrected him. Alonzo gritted his teeth in reply, but he didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Is supposed to take several of your ‘associates’,” he continued.
“My not-brothers.” Arawn corrected him again.
 “To,…the Future’?” Alonzo continued with an annoyed sigh.
“‘A’ Future.” Arawn injected.
“Whatever!” Alonzo huffed as he threw his hands up dismissively. “All so that you can take advantage of another non-human’s ability to heal himself.”
“Timelord, he is a Timelord. They have a tendency to expel their own Spirit Energy willy-nilly when they try to heal themselves. Similar in ways that teenaged male humans do after they have reached puberty.” Arawn lectured. Alonzo stiffened and closed his eyes tightly as he listened to Arawn’s monologue.
“Doctor Iron?” Alonzo began as he opened his eyes a moment later. “What is the technical term for humans again?” he asked in a sweet tone.
“Homo Sapiens-Sapiens.” Arawn replied automatically, baffled by the request.
“If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that you’re a member of Homo Correctus Pedanticus.” Alonzo growled back. Which caused Arawn to screw up his face in puzzlement, not getting the implied insult.
“Well anyways,” Alonzo began as he took a step towards the large Green Cabinet, and sighed as he unfastened the harness to the Extremus Gun, “Here you go.” He continued as he handed the harness and its contents over to Arawn.
“I wish that they had chosen someone else to accompany my others instead.” Arawn sighed as he accepted the artifact.
“As do I.” Alonzo replied with a half-smile on his face. “Once I get back, my fiancée is probably going to rip me a new one.”  He sighed mournfully.
“How long should this trip take?” he asked, his voice rising almost into a whine.
“Subjectively? A week to ten days at most.” Arawn replied, “For us that remain? That may vary. There is no reason why you should not have returned within a few minutes.”
Alonzo’s eyes crossed momentarily as he thought about it. “Still, I wish they’d not chosen Huey to carry the gun while I’m gone. There’s something about him that doesn’t sit well.”
“I am forced to agree with you.” Arawn replied as darkness clouded his face. Alonzo caught it.
“Is that his real name? Huey?”
“Negative.” Arawn replied, “But it is best for me to not announce his real one. As he is under the Monster Equivalent of a witness protection program. To be fair, he has given me somewhat decent, but not outstanding service, ever since I accepted his services.”
“Still, hmmm.” Alonzo replied, as he heard Quintus call out to him from somewhere deep inside the Green Cabinet. “It’s time to go Doc.” He said as he held out his hand to Arawn.
“Who knows Alonzo?” Arawn replied as he took Alonzo’s hand and shook it, “He may yet surprise us both, what with his new responsibilities.” He concluded.
“That is what I’m afraid of.” Alonzo shot back as he entered the now overly large verdant escritoire. When he did, the panel door shut itself closed with a mechanical whine.
After another second, the room around him began to echo with the sound of a screechy/wheezing reverberation, reminiscent of an Elephant in Musth.
As it cycled through several iterations, the Green Cabinet faded from view. As it faded, so did the unusual sound. Finally, after the cabinet had disappeared, silence returned.
“Gods Speed.” Arawn said as he turned and exited the room.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Three days later, Mara was on her way to meet with one of Boto’s Nightcub’s minders, when Huey did something out of the ordinary.
He touched her on her shoulder.
“….?” She thought as she stopped in pleasant surprise and looked at his scarlet red fingertips.
“Lady Mara.” Huey began, smiling slightly.
“My apologies.” He continued as he looked left and right, then dropped his hand from her shoulder.
“Yes?” she breathed quietly, confused by his sudden boldness.
“About that offer to get a drink,….?” He began, and then paused nervously to look around once more.
“MMmmm?” she smiled encouragingly, interested in where this was headed.
“Is it still good?” he asked her quietly.
“Oh I don’t know,…” she said coyly, as she began to lightly touch one of her thighs with the spade end of her tail.
“I do have an awful lot to do this morning, and not a lot of time to do it.” She continued as she looked up at him through half-lidded eyes. Her heart began to pound with a rising lust. It almost matched the lust she sensed from Huey.
“Well, I understand you like Hot Chocolate, and I just became aware that the motor pool recently acquired a batch of Godiva,…” he began.
“Really?” she replied, as she leaned up against him, and allowed one of her hands to stray down near the end of his tie.  Reaching up to his head with the other, she guided one of his pointed ears close to her mouth.
“Perhaps first, you should show me what you’ve got.” She purred as her first hand grabbed ahold at the ever-enlarging bulge of his crotch.
As Huey shuddered with pleasure, his resistance evaporated as Mara led him into the entranceway to a nearby stairwell.
Mara didn’t waste any time as the door began to close. She immediately grabbed his head and pulled his lips towards hers, then wrapped the rest of herself around him.
‘FINALLY!’ she thought as their lips and tongues intertwined, enough for her to absorb some of his flavorful, yet strange-tasting male demonic-energy.
Huey, utterly surprised by her enthusiasm, allowed a moment or two….ok several moments,.. To pass before he managed to pull her lips away from his. Long enough for him to get some air.
“Aaaaah!” he breathed in. “Not here please!” he gasped.
“Where then?!” she hissed fiercely, angry with the interruption.
“I know where there’s plenty of space down in the motor pool.” He said hoarsely as he started trying to maneuver her down the stairs. Mara resisted at first.
“It’ll take forever to get there!” she complained, determined to continue the festivities right there and then.  Huey continued to tug at her, despite his every instinct telling him not to.
“Trust me!” he breathed, “It’ll be worth the wait!” he cajoled.
“FINE!” she relented after giving him a teeth-clenching glare. “But if you don’t hurry, I can’t guarantee we’ll make it!” she warned as she began to race him down the stairs.
Several times during the trip down, Huey had to ‘persuade’ Mara to let go of him to allow them both to proceed. Every time he did, Mara got a trifle more impatient.
“Dammit Huey,….!” She began that last time, just as she felt a deep rumbling and then heard an explosion in the distance. Instantly, she tensed up.
“What the,…?” she began, but was interrupted by the sound of alarm klaxons buzzing loudly.
 “EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! THE FOUNDATION IS UNDER ATTACK! ALL PERSONEL PROCEED TO THEIR DESIGNATED SAFETY AREAS! EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!,…” came the sound of an automated voice over the sound of klaxons.
“Come on!” Huey shouted at her then, as he began pulling her further down the stairwell.
“But, but, but,…!” she began, shocked at the sudden turn of events. ‘Dammit!’ she thought in frustration. ‘Why now of all times?’ she demanded, as she allowed Huey to drag her down the stairwell for a different reason.
Several seconds later she became confused when Huey hurried her down past her safety area floor.
“Huey!” she cried out as she planted her feet in an effort to resist him. Huey just gave her a dirty look. Then he yanked her off her feet, as he continued dragging her forcibly downwards.
‘Damnit Huey!’ Mara shrieked. “What are you,…?” she began to demand. Right then she received a telepathic contact from Boto.
‘MAM--,…!’ Boto screamed desperately, then she was cut off when another, closer explosion occurred. It was loud enough to make Mara’s ears ring with the shock. As it did, the stairwell she was in shuddered violently enough to knock her off her feet, and Huey’s as well.
“EXPLOSION DETECTED IN MAIN ATRIUM! ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE CENTRAL BUILDING, REPEAT, EXPLOSION DETECTED,….’ came the sound of the automated voice once more amidst the klaxons.
“BOTO!” Mara screamed aloud then, not sure, if Boto was receiving her or not, “I’M COMING!” she wailed as she began to stumble back up the stairs.
She found it difficult to do so as a cloud of dust began to pour down the shaft. She got maybe two or three steps before she had to stop. That was because someone had grabbed ahold of her tail. Turning indignantly, she saw who it was: Huey.
“Mara NO!” he cried, ‘I’ve got to get you,..!” he yelled up at her. Mara’s response was intense and immediate.
“NO!” she cried loudly as she backhanded Huey hard enough to knock him off his feet. Causing his head to bounce off a drainpipe. He then collapsed to the floor, stunned.
Mara ignored him as she continued on her self-appointed task to save her adopted daughter.
Between coughing out lungful’s of stairwell dust and fighting through tears of desperation, Mara managed to locate the correct floor number on the stairwell wall.
She forcibly shoved her way through the closed emergency door. Then she continued running on out into the hallway. The Emergency klaxons continued to assault her ears with every pounding step.
After several heart-thumping minutes, she stumbled to a halt in a connecting hallway.
Looking around herself, she observed a number of people, both human and Nightbreed, running and limping towards the exits. Noting it, she chose to run against the flow. When she came out into the floor of the Main Atrium, she didn’t recognize it at first.
“What the?” she asked, confused, as she witnessed a massive amount of twisted steel and connecting pipes hanging in shreds from the upper floors of the Atrium. Small chunks intermittently fell down, making the occasional clattering sound as they impacted upon the floor’s surface.
 Looking up, she observed some light through the remains of the shattered skylights. Thankfully, that light penetrated through several small columns of black smoke that had begun rising up from the debris strewn floor. If it weren’t for the sun’s rays streaming through the ever increasing smoke, she’d not have recognized her location.
After a moment’s hesitation, she oriented herself enough to locate the remains of Night-Cubs. She gaped at the sight of the now hollowed out cavity.
‘Boto?’ she sent worriedly.
As the seconds ticked by without a response, Mara’s horror mounted. Tears began to form in her eyes, as she extended a shaking hand towards the ruins that had been Night-Cubs.
‘Mama?!’ finally came a reply.  Mara began breathing again as she ran forward, mindless of any danger.
‘Mama!” came the sound of Boto’s relieved mind/voice as Mara felt a pair of tiny arms embrace her legs in the sem-darkness. Automatically, she magically shifted her sight to compensate.
Gasping, she saw that Boto wasn’t alone.  Hovering protectively nearby, was her friend- Cosette. Dust, soot, and various other unidentifiable substances covered the pair in an equal measure.
Mara was about to say something more when the sound of screeching metal began overhead, along with a dull rumbling of concrete.
‘Collapse!’ Mara realized. Without thinking, she swept both Boto and Cosette into her arms, then pitched herself forwards out of the way.
Barely in time! As indicated by the sound of sheering metal and other debris pounding the tiles behind them, which quickly ceased. After a second, Mara stood up in the semi-darkness of the main play area and looked around.
She felt a tug at her blouse. Looking down, she observed that it was Cosette. She held Boto in one arm and maintained a fierce grip of Mara’s blouse with the other.
“I’m sorry Ms. Mara,” Cossette sobbed, then panted as she sustained her iron-like grip on Mara’s dress , “I tried to keep her,… from leaving us, but,…but,…”  then she stopped as she began to shiver uncontrollably.
“It’s all right Cosette.” Mara began as she knelt down and embraced the young Rougarou, “You did well.” She said honestly.  Then she realized something.
“Wait! What do you mean,…us?” she asked, suddenly concerned. Cossette didn’t reply, she reluctantly let go of Mara’s blouse and pointed deeper into the Daycare’s depths. Mara’s eyes followed the line of Cossette’s pointing finger.
“Oh Great Maou!” she uttered in shock. Deep inside, were huddled several other Night Cubs. They were hiding in the kitchen. Most of them under tables or in the counter spaces. A quick search indicated something that shocked her even more.
She couldn’t find any of their attendants.
“What happened to all of your Minders? They shouldn’t have abandoned you!” she shouted, outraged at such behavior.
“They disappeared.” Piped up a shocked Pukwudgie child. “After the shadows came,…just before the big noise.” He shivered, as he looked through her.
“What shadows? What do you mean?” Mara demanded.
The Pukwudgie didn’t reply, instead he lifted a grey streaked hand and pointed to something behind her. It was at that moment that Mara felt a prickling sensation running up her back.
Turning in the gloom, Mara saw what caused that prickle.
 It was a large hulking figure, silhouetted in black. Beyond a pair of large red eyes gleaming in the darkness, Mara couldn’t make out any other details.
Even though she was born into darkness, Mara instinctively knew that there was something,…’wrong’ with this unfamiliar one. It felt more akin to the caries on a white tooth, or a cancerous mole on a person’s skin.
‘Shadow-Kith?!’ she realized when she identified its aura. She then tried to shift her sight to compensate. Which proved difficult.
In a couple of seconds, she did manage to adjust her sight enough to see that it actually wasn’t a Shadow-Kith. But someone who had managed to emulate one. That was when she saw a pair of curved horns protruding from atop the stranger’s skull.
‘He’s a Nightbreed?’ she wondered in shock.
“Who are you?!” she demanded directly at the stranger, which garnered his attention. He did nothing more than look over at her for a moment and then raise a hand to one ear. He appeared to be listening to something or someone else.
“I said!” Mara began again indignantly, then she stopped when the stranger leaned his head over and spoke.
“…Control One,…Primary Target located.” He hissed in a gruff voice. “Main Atrium,…Daycare,… request instructions,…over.”
“What?!” Mara demanded again, “What are you talking about?” she shouted as the shadow-stranger continued to ignore her. Then, when Mara had had enough of this person ignoring her, she grabbed ahold of the idiot’s sable arm to get his attention.
“Now See HERE!” she began.
The stranger, instead of being cowed by her authority, reacted by slipping his hand over her forearm and placing her into a wristlock.
“HEY!” she shouted in alarm. Then she screamed when he twisted her forearm painfully. Which forced her to her knees. Despite her best efforts, all Mara could do then was splutter impotently as she tried to vent her rage at her captor.
Then, she heard something that made her pause.
“Golf November Eight, Control One, Report.” Came a grating voice that crackled near the Shadow-Being’s shoulder.
‘Control One, Golf November Eight. Target under control.” Said the stranger.
‘Wait! I’m the target?’ she realized.
“Golf November Eight, relay Target to rendezvous point-one. Await extraction team.” Came that grating voice again.
“Why am,…?” she began to demand, then stopped as her assailant pulled her roughly to her feet and began dragging her along behind him.
“Control One, Copy That.” He said as he started walking towards the entrance of the now ruined Daycare.
Though she stumbled against him as hard as she could manage. He didn’t seem to be inconvenienced in the slightest, as he continued slogging out into now heavily littered atrium floor.
‘MAMA NO!’ Boto screamed then. Stealing a glance behind her, Mara saw Boto running towards her with Cossette in fast pursuit. Behind that pair followed the remaining gaggle of Night-Cubs, unsure of what else to do.
As soon as Boto connected with Mara’s legs, she forcefully came to a stop, what with the extra weight of the hysterical child. This resulted in Mara’s captor to stumble.
Muttering a curse, he then did something that would prove to be a mistake.
He pulled out a firearm, cocked it one-handed and then pointed it at Boto. Time seemed to come to standstill, as Mara realized his intent.
“NOOOO!” she howled deafeningly, as one of her Tendrils automatically erupted from her back. Then it swiftly extended itself towards Boto’s attacker.
With one mighty ‘snap’ of her right tendril, the head of Boto’s attacker jerked backwards with a loud ‘pop’, and he collapsed to the floor.
‘I killed him!’ Mara realized as she swept Boto up into the safety of her arms. Then she backed away from his body. She was somewhat relieved when she observed him stir, as he tried to raise a hand to his head.
Without a thought, her tendril snapped once more, harder. Much Harder. She stood over his prone body for a half-minute, then she saw that even though he continued to breathe, he did nothing more.
Turning around, Mara saw that the remaining Nightcubs had decided to congregate themselves near her. They were staring wide-eyed at something that was near her, but not at her.
 Once her eyes followed theirs, she realized that she still held one of her Tendrils out in plain view. She quickly retracted it with a thought.
Glancing back at them, she could tell that they seemed stunned by the sight of her tendril. Yet, they were also strangely respectful as well.
In the ensuing silence, a memory stirred. Of Arawn speaking to her concerning leadership.
‘In times of peril, like the needle to the lodestone, obedience, regardless of rank, generally flows to him who is best fitted to Command.’ As she recalled those words, she came to a decision.
“Children!” she commanded then, getting their collective attention. “Come here!” she ordered. Some of them did, most did not. Those who didn’t, kept looking at her fearfully.
‘No time!’ Mara gritted her teeth, as she stole a glance over her shoulder.
“Cossette!” she shouted forcefully, getting the young Rougarou’s attention. “Are all of the children here?” she demanded.
Blinking in surprise and nervousness, Cossette looked around herself, checking and counting.
“Yes, they’re all here!” she shouted back at Mara, her voice shaking.
“Good, now round them all up and follow me. You, and You!” Mara shouted then at two of the older Night-Cubs at the far edges. “Take up the rear and make sure no one gets left behind!” Mara commanded. They nodded.
“All of you! Follow me! I will take you to safety!” she continued, then walked forward several steps. After she did, she looked over her shoulder and was pleased to see that all of the Night-Cubs followed.
“Boto!” she said as she set her adopted child down onto the ground. Boto looked back at her, but she didn’t reply. Mara crouched down then looked at her directly into her eyes.
“Boto!” she said firmly. “I need you to be brave. I want you to stay with Cossette. She’ll take care of you. I need to make sure that everyone, and I mean everyone, else makes it to safety, I can’t do that properly if I’m carrying you. Do you understand?” Boto didn’t reply at first, she just stared back at Mara apprehensively, tears flowing down her soot stained face. Finally, she nodded once.
“Good!” Mara said, as she stood up. She then took a moment to look around to pick a way out through the smoldering remains of the Atrium
Then, through the ever-increasing smoke and falling dust, she heard something that made her eyes rise.
‘help…” she detected, barely.
“Cossette!” Mara said, turning to look at the Rougarou. “Stay Here! I’ll be back in a second.” Mara then went out in search of the one who had cried out.
 It didn’t take her long, as that one was just a few feet from the entrance of the daycare. He was prone, but not covered by much debris. Swiftly she knelt by and touched that person. He jerked slightly when she did and moaned.
“Aaah.” Came the strained sound of a man’s voice. “help me…’ he groaned,…”please,…”
“My name is Mara and I’m here to help. What’s wrong?” Mara said, remembering her first aid training classes. Suddenly, she was glad that Arawn had been so damned insistent that she attend them.
“…shot,..” that person wheezed.
“Shot? What?!” Mara gasped in shock. Adjusting her eyes once more, she began to examine the victim. Her eyes widened in shock when she recognized the outfit he was wearing.
It was a Night-Cub Minder’s Uniform, as she recognized who it was.
“Barbatos!” she cried. He paused for a second and peered painfully up at her.
“Lady Mara.” He wheezed, as he began to shake.
‘Shock, he’s in shock.’ She thought as she began to examine him as best she could.
“I can’t tell for sure, but I think you can be moved. I can’t do anything for you here.” She began. Barbatos looked up at her and nodded his head.
“Carry?” he asked weakly.
“Yes, I’ll have to carry you.” She said as she tried her best to get him to stand up. Barbatos grimaced every step of the way. He did his best to not scream out in pain, then he collapsed. Her long pointed ears twitched when she heard a grating voice in two places.
“Damn it!” Mara muttered, as she looked up and listened through the gloom of the Atrium.
One of them came from a point at the far side of the atrium, while simultaneously it came from the radio of the nearby prone Shadow-kith she’d clobbered.
“Golf November Eight, Report your Twenty.”
‘No time!’ Mara thought fearfully. Summoning every ounce of her strength, Mara reached out and then slowly lifted Barbatos into a firefighter’s carry. Once he was there, she staggered back to the waiting Night-Cubs and motioned them all to follow her.
“Cossette?” she whispered. “Are they,…?” she began.
“They’re all here!” Cossette interrupted, still holding Boto with one arm. Mara smiled down at her as best she could. Panting, she paused for a second to try to shift some of Barbatos’ bulk to a more tenable position.
‘Damn he’s fat.’ She griped.
“Golf November Eight located. All Units Reacquire Target.” Came that grating voice once more, this time it was in the darkness behind them all.
‘No, no, no, NO!’ Mara thought fearfully, as a surge of strength rushed through her. She hurried her pace through the gloom, doing her best to avoid both the debris and the searching Shadow-kith.
Somehow, she never figured out how after. She did.
Eventually, she stumbled to a halt as her exhaustion caught up with her. That was when a wave of stinging hot metal and cinders began to rain down onto her from above.
‘Not now!’ she quavered, as she did the only thing left to her. She did her best to shield Barbatos’ body with hers.
Then she became aware of the Night-Cubs surrounding her, doing their best to dodge the endless rain of burning debris.
An idea formed in her mind. While she hated the necessity of it. She knew that as a Demon, she could handle far more damage than any Night-Cub could.
“Children come closer to me!” she shouted heedless of the noise, and raised both of her wings in invitation.
The cubs ran to her and instinctively huddled underneath, as Mara wrapped her wings around them all. So very much like a mother hen protecting her brood.
Mara painfully ground her teeth together as wave after wave of burning hot rubble pounded themselves into her back, neck, wings and tail. For just a moment, her wings retracted in response.
‘NO!’ she silently screamed when she remembered her duty. She forced herself to shield all of the cubs once more. As she did, the tiles gripped between her fingers began to crumble.
‘IT HURTS! Great Maou help,…’ Mara began to silently-shriek in desperation. Then she paused with tears streaming out of her eyes.
 ‘NO, I will never call upon you again!’ she vowed, spitting bitterly. Just then, the flow of cinders became an avalanche.
“AAAAAHHHH!” she howled aloud, her control faltering, as the pain of the burning increased exponentially.
‘Must!’ she panted,…’not!,…’STOPPP!’ she ordered herself, forcing herself to focus on the goal of protecting the cubs! But the avalanche just kept coming, and coming, and coming,…!
It was at the point that her fingers had dug past the tiles into the concrete. That she realized that she’d passed what even a Baphomet-demon could’ve borne.
Then, suddenly it stopped.
Panting, Mara’s mind swirled with relief. Blinking, she raised her head, and then she wobbily stood to look up and around herself.
Surrounding her and the children was a small lake of cinders and ash. Even as she watched, their individual glows began to fade en masse.
‘It’s stopped.’ She blinked in confusion. ‘For now.’
“Children.” She gasped, “Are you alright?” she asked as one by one, they slowly began to raise their heads. Mara was relieved to see that everyone was alive and still reasonably intact. Then, one of them stood up and pointed at her, her mouth opening in shock.
‘What?’ Mara thought, as followed the direction of the cub’s pointing finger. At the back of her right wing, at the base of her thumb claw. She saw something strange.
There was a red-hot bolt sticking out, with a small plume of smoke rising up. Then she followed the smoke down to its source.
‘Shouldn’t that hurt?’ She wondered dully, as she became fascinated with the sight of her flesh bubbling and popping at the base of the bolt.
She was distracted from her trance by a most welcome telepathic voice.
‘Mara?’ came the sound of Arawn’s mind-voice. ‘Location! (A)’ he demanded. It took her a second to focus, but she managed it.
‘Arawn.’ She replied slowly, ‘I’m on the floor of the Main Atrium! Where are you? (M)”
‘Main Atrium?’ he said in shock, ‘Get out of there, NOW! (A)’
‘I can’t, I think I’m hurt. The Night-Cubs are here. They need to get to safety. (M)’ she replied, as her mind began to reengage. Arawn didn’t reply at first.
‘Understood!’ he shot back. ‘I am directing a rescue team towards,…(A)’ he began, but Mara interrupted him when she remembered something else.
‘Coming!,…Attackers!….Many! (M)’ she thought back at him.
‘New orders. STANDBY! (A)’.
“What?” Mara began, and then felt a series of Mana surges in multiple locations around her. Blinking, she soon saw why.
Where before there were not anyone. There now stood a score of Humans and Nightbreed. All were dressed in various forms of armor. They were all holding weapons both esoteric and mundane, standing vigilant around her and the Night-Cubs.
At the center of them all, stood one unarmed medium sized human. He was balefully surveying his surroundings with his fists at his sides.
“Ara,…”Mara began. But she was cut off when he glared at her. Then quickly raised a finger to his lips; demanding silence. She stopped, and then she swallowed.
Arawn then looked over to one incredibly skinny individual who was standing at the edge of the group. He peered out into the gloom beyond, shifting his head intermittently.
‘Report! (A)’ Mara heard Arawn’s thought-speech then. She was surprised that he wasn’t directing at her for once.
‘Negative detection. (??)’ came the sound of an unknown mental voice. All around her, the other members of Arawn’s squad relaxed. Alarmed, Mara spoke up.
‘Arawn wait! I think I encountered a Shadow-Kith! (M)’ Mara said, as she transferred the recent memory of her assailant. Both Arawn and the skinny one looked at each other for a moment. Arawn nodded.
‘Shadow-kith? Attempting to Compensate. (??)’ came that stranger’s thoughts once more. He began jerking his head left to right, stopping for half a second in between.
‘MULTIPLE BOGIES DETECTED!! ALL HEAVILY ARMED!! (??) he reported as he reached out with an arm and spread his fingers in an arc in front of them all. He did so five times. With the last spreading, he used only three fingers.
Arawn ‘replied’, by raising a hand and bunching it into a fist. Then he turned and pointed at two of his closer comrades.
As they looked back at him, he pointed to the Night-Cubs and made a circling motion around them all. He then pointed to a third person, and pointed at Barbatos.
Arawn then raised his arm again, flattened his hand and pointed with it once towards where Mara assumed was the way out.
Swiftly and silently, the three he indicated moved. One picked up Barbatos effortlessly, and the other two gently began herding the shivering Night-Cubs. Only Cossette, with Boto resisted
Instinctively, Mara motioned to Cossette that she should join the rest of the Cubs. Cossette hesitated tearfully. Then she obeyed reluctantly. Mara refused to meet Boto’s eyes.
As they left, Mara tried to follow, but was halted when Arawn placed a hand on her shoulder. Quickly, he yanked something out from her wing. She looked back at him quizzically, not comprehending.
He held onto her as he directed two more of his team to take up a rear-guard position to protect the retreating Night-Cubs. Mara tried to follow them again, but that was when Arawn’s grip on her shoulder tightened.
‘Do not follow. Apparently, you are the target. (A)’ He stated. Mara’s eyes widened in realization.
‘Get Down. (A)’ he ordered. Automatically she obeyed and crouched.
Silently, he motioned to the remaining members of the squad.
 Arawn then looked behind them all and waited for the last of the sounds of the retreating Night-Cubs to fade away. Once they did, he turned back to the front, and raised his left hand palm out.
As he did, Mara saw the glowing pattern that indicated he was preparing his Shield-Buckler.
‘Form Ranks! (A)’ she heard him command. She then observed the squad members silently moving out along either side of him, facing themselves towards the now smoke obscured Atrium.
 ‘Make Ready! (A)’ he commanded once more, as he raised his right hand out. The Squad crouched, readied their firearms, and loosened their melee weapons.
“Zephyris Spirantibus!” spoke aloud while he gestured with his right hand. The effect was immediate. A slight breeze sprung up out of nowhere. Then it increased till it rapidly pushed back the bank of dust and smoke. A number of smoldering debris piles caught fire and then sprang up into blazing dangerous ones. Which ncreased the ambient light.
Within a few seconds, now moving before them all, were twenty-three individual Shadow-Kith. All were now in stark relief to the sudden illumination. One particularly large individual stood in their center.
“ATTACK!” Arawn bellowed then, as he expelled his Blast-Punch at that one large person. Which caused him to spin about with the impact, then fall to the ground, seemingly unharmed, and then it crawled over to a downed support column to use as cover.
Simultaneously, every other member of his squad attacked with Fireballs, Tracer-rounds, and even some D&D inspired Magic-missiles. All of them streaked towards the now surprised twenty-three Shadow-kith.
Within a few seconds, that number was cut in half. Then it was halved again. As their numbers dropped, a pair deliberately rolled forward, took cover, and began returning fire.
Such did little good, as Arawn’s shield buckler repelled every shot. His own forces concentrated their firepower on the remaining intruders.
Four, two, then only one remained alive. That overly large one.
It was at that point that Mara heard that grating voice once more.
“DAMN,…. YOU!” he screeched/snarled deafeningly, as he low-crawled his way backwards. Just then, Mara noticed him reaching into a side pocket of his backpack.
He  pulled out an ovoid object just as he disappeared from view.
“Cease fire!” Arawn commanded. After a moment, all was quiet. Arawn remained where he was, keeping his left hand out, his Shield-Buckler activated.
“That. Was too easy.” He said warily, as he locked his Shield into place. Then his eyes widened when he observed the ovoid object hurtling up and towards him from behind a pile of debris.
That ovoid bounced harmlessly then it rolled to a stop beyond Arawn’s fixed shield. It sat there innocuously for a moment.
Then it began to expand, taking on mass from nowhere, until it swelled into,…something…impossibly large!
Mara’s eyes crossed as her mind refused to accept what she saw. It, for it was definitely an ‘IT”, was sitting just outside Arawn’s Shield-line. Finally she managed to force herself to see it.
It appeared to be a beastly massive head.  A head similar in appearance to that orangutan she’d seen at the LA zoo a couple of weeks prior.
There the resemblance ended, as the Zoo’s simian had a body. While this ‘thing’s head was its body.  Sweat stained pallid skin hung in flaps from some parts. While on other sections, that skin seemed ready to break it was so taut.
Erupting in several points around its jaw, were strange seeming arms or legs. All of them ending in claw tipped prehensile paws. Most of which, were digging into the tiles of the floor underneath it.
It pushed itself upright with the help of one remaining intact support column.
 ‘It’s massive!’ she realized, as she craned her head to look up at it. Automatically, Mara extended her empathy outwards, wondering what it was. Just then, every squad member there began firing his or her respective weapons at it. To little avail.
It didn’t seem to notice any of the projectiles impacting it. Instead, it just sneered back at them all.
“CEASE FIRE” Arawn yelled, and his men obeyed, awestruck.
“GAKKANATH!!!” Arawn bellowed fearfully then, “FALL BACK!!!” he continued as he began shoving at his squad to move. Most of them stood frozen in shock, but they came to themselves as Arawn became more forceful.
“Gakkanath? What’s a Gakka,..?: Mara began to ask, but was interrupted by the sound of a bellowing so loud that it reverberated into the core of her being.
Automatically she looked up and over at the Gakkanath. Then her thoughts stopped when the thing’s tongue erupted out of its misshapen mouth. It was a grey looking piece of flesh studded with bone protrusions.
That tongue snatched ahold of one of the wounded, yet still-living Shadow-Kith. Who then began screaming hysterically as he was lifted up into the air
Then, the Gakkanath casually stuffed him into its fang-filled maw.
As it closed its mouth, that screaming came to an abrupt end. It didn’t so much as ‘chew’ its victim, as it seemed to meld that person’s mass into the whole.
“No.” Mara croaked in shock, when she saw that unfortunate person’s head sticking out of the side of the thing’s face.
She fell back a pair of steps when she saw that the head was mouthing silently for help; fully aware of its fate.
Then Mara’s horror increased even more, when the Gakkanath’s attention shifted and focused on her. It let go its hold on the remaining support column, and began slowly stumbling itself towards her.
Mara was shocked into immobility, as it passed through Arawn’s Shield as if it weren’t there!
“FEMALE!” it croaked. Mara blinked at the sound. “Yuuuuuummmmm!” it grinned a snaggle toothed grin as it began to reach out for her with its tongue. As much as Mara enjoyed Oral sex, she knew that she didn’t want that things’ tongue anywhere near her.
‘Get up, get up, get up!’ she told herself repeatedly. Yet for some reason, all she could manage was to stare back at it. Mesmerized, like a bird before a snake, she was mesmerized.
Her eyes focused on the tip of the thing’s tongue, as it extended towards her. Just for a second she could make out the individual papillae, it was so close.
That was when a member of Arawn’s team, pushed her out of the tongue’s path, and knocked her over. Snapping her out of her trance.
Unfortunately, this left her rescuer vulnerable. He jerked fearfully when the tongue connected and contracted around him. He began struggling furiously as it began to drag him towards its mouth.
“NO!” Mara screamed as she shot to her feet, as both of her Demonic-Energy tendrils manifested. She then flexed and snapped them in unison directly at the Gakkanath’s face.
They came together and connected directly onto its misshapen nose, with an audible snapping of bone.
That pain was enough for her rescuer to shake himself loose from the tongue. He then quickly crawled away.  Blinking in surprise, the Gakkanath stumbled backwards several steps.
“Eeerrrggg?” It groaned in shock and puzzlement as it examined its now heavily damaged nose with its tongue. Mara began to retreat.3
 “Mara, Hold!” Arawn said as he touched her arm to restrain her.
“What?” she cried frantically.
“Where is Huey?” Arawn demanded tersley.
“I don’t know!” she screamed. “He was leading me down to the motor pool when all of this started! We don’t have much time!” she yelled as she tried to look back towards the Gakkanath. Arawn forced her to look at him.
“I am well aware of that! Huey still bears the Extremus Gun. I have need of it now.”  Beyond them both, the Gakkanath bellowed out its rage and hunger as it began searching for its now lost prey.
Arawn closed his eyes and concentrated for a second. He opened them with an annoyed look crossing his face.
“He is still down there. That blasted coward!” He hissed angrily. “I have ordered him to proceed here forthwith!” Mara made to go again. Arawn stopped her once more.
“What?!” she demanded desperately as she slapped his hand away.
“We cannot let that thing attack anyone else! What you just did with your Tendrils! Can you do that again?” He yelled at her rapidly.
“Possibly, I’ve just about shot my wad.” She shook her head, “But I think I can manage it one more time!”
‘That should be sufficient for what I have in mind. (A)’ Arawn replied telepathically, as he looked quickly at the now warily approaching Fell-Demon. As quick as thought, he relayed his plan to her. Mara’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Yes.” She said shakily, “I think I can do that.” She continued as she moved off to one side, and then started shouting to get the Gakkanath’s attention.
“Over here!” she shouted, waving her arms and wings. It soon saw her and as soon as it recognized her, its face began to burn with a lustful fury.
It began to lumber towards her; Determined to make her pay for the pain she’d caused it, in ways most obscene.
Several of Arawn’s retreating squad mates stopped and stood in awe as Mara stood her ground, as she raised her arms to prepare for Arawn’s gambit.
‘Now! (A)’ Arawn mind-called out. Immediately, Mara let loose with the remaining shreds of Tendrils. As they shot out, she deftly wrapped them around the Jagganath’s central leg/arms. Concentrating with all of her might, she bunched her two fists and then smashed them together.
Those Tendrils mirrored the actions of her fists, and drew the creature’s knees together tightly. This had the immediate effect of halting the creature’s advance.
Mara almost laughed at the sight of the creature’s dumbfounded look, as it realized its predicament. It began to wobble, poised atop its swollen legs, unable to move without falling.
That was when Arawn stepped forward, and concentrated his power fiercely, focusing his eyes onto his right fist.
Mara turned and looked at him in surprise, as she felt the sheer volume of the Mana he was channeling into his fist. Just for an instant, she could see the bones in his hand shadowed against the eldritch radiance building within. Then she noticed that his eyes were blazing with the same brilliance.
“Ferrum,…!” he began as he turned and faced the fell-creature.
 “INSPIRA!” he yelled as hi ‘Blast-punch’ spewed forth in a punctuated blast, directly at the Gakkanath’s nose.
Mara had to turn away from the coruscant flare that filled every corner of the Atrium.  Almost simultaneously, she heard the Gakkanath scream in rage as it arced up and backwards away from them both. That arc ended at the far wall of the Atrium many yards away.
What little remained intact of that wall, was smashed beyond recognition as the creature impacted into it. Then it fell with a resounding ‘plop’ to the unyielding tiled floor. It didn’t move as more debris began to rain down upon it.
As she tried blinking away the photo-blotches, Mara looked for Arawn. She noticed that he was crouched onto one knee, panting in exhaustion.
“Arawn, are you all right?” she asked in the sudden silence. Slowly he raised his head and shook his head.
“Negative. I have utilized an extraordinary amount of stored Mana for that. Hopefully it will prove sufficient,…’ he began, but then stopped as the Gakkanath began to move its jaw, which caused a small amount of debris to shift itself off of it.
“Damnitus!” Arawn cried in dismay as Mara gaped incredulously. Arawn closed his eyes and concentrated.
“HUEY!” he shouted then, “GET OVER HERE NOW!” he shouted both physically and in mind-speech. Mara added her own thoughts.
‘Get out of the Motor poll you gods-be-damned coward!’ she thought in dismay. ‘Get over here now you asshole! (M)’ she ordered him. Then her mouth hung open in dismay at his reply.
“He refuses?” Arawn gaped in anger and astonishment. He and Mara shared a look then, as the Gakkanath moved itself some more. It then began pushing at a support pylon that had fallen onto it, out of the way.
“Without the Extremus Gun, we are out of options.” Arawn said as he did his best to raise himself to his feet. He staggered and then fell to his hands and feet. Mara reached out a supporting hand and giggled.
“What?” Arawn asked, puzzled. Mara looked at him significantly and spoke.
“I have an idea.” She said aloud, and then thought at him, ‘We may not have enough individual Mana on our own, but together,….’ (M)’. Arawn looked at her a second, ready to refuse. But he was distracted by the Gakkanath finally getting to its feet. It started looking around for its prey.
“Irrumabo!” he spat in fury.
‘Language! (M)’ Mara thought at him with a near manic smile. Arawn gave her a dirty look. Sighing once in resignation, he took her hand. Instantly they allowed their respective energies to mix and meld. It wasn’t much, but it proved to be enough.
Together, the pair of them invoked the same incantation, “Lanuae Magicae!” they spoke in unison.
Almost instantly, a severely annoying Red Oni appeared between them in a momentary flash of sparks. Sparks, which also managed to gain the attention of the Jagganath.
“GRAAAAAHHH!” it grumbled eagerly, happy for new prey to absorb.
Huey, distracted by his newfound predicament, turned and beheld what was approaching. Mara made a face at the sound of him defecating in his pants.
Both Arawn and Mara did something more constructive. She grabbed ahold of Huey’s arms and pulled them backwards. While Arawn reached into Huey’s jacket and quickly retrieved the Extremus gun from its holster.
Mara let go of the now struggling Red-Oni and tried to step back. That was when she caught his flailing left hand with her face.
Arawn ignored them both as he twirled himself around in a long practiced move. He crouched himself down into a shooting stance then rested his left elbow on his left knee.
He placed the Extremus Gun into the crook of his left elbow, chambered a round, and slipped the safety off.
“GAKKANATH!! STAND DOWN!!” He roared at the still lumbering creature. Who by then was a mere three steps away.
The creature ignored him as it extended its tongue, then it took another step.
Arawn set his face into a solid mask, and squeezed the trigger of the Gun.
The sound of the gun’s firing was almost inconsequential in the din of the Gakkanath’s rage, Huey’s gibbering, and Mara’s cries of alarm.
A small white glow erupted from the Gun’s barrel. Which leapt across the intervening distance, to land itself between the disjointed eyes of the eldritch monstrosity. In that instant, IT was so close that Mara was certain that Arawn had waited too long.
Then, the Gakkanath’s tongue halted its advance. It quivered in place for a second, then it fell to the floor limply.
“Errrggg?” The Jagganath groaned in confusion as it came to a halt.
Much to Mara’s surprise, she saw what appeared to be a yellowish glow begin sparking inside of the creature, illuminating its skull like a giant jack-o-lantern.
Still confused by its change of condition, the Gakkanath stumbled back a step. Shaking furiously, it weakly collapsed to a sitting position upon the floor.
Everything went quiet then, as Arawn wobbled to his feet and allowed the Extremus Gun to hang by his side, ready to use again if need be. He slowly approached the now dying Fell-demon.
What happened next was something Mara would never forget to her dying day.
Silently, scattered points on the Gakkanath’s skin began to glow ember-like. Most of them appeared near the Extremus-Gun’s entry point on its face.
Like the ashes of a fire, those embers multiplied and fanned out.
Then, one by one, then twos, and threes, those embers detached and then floated upwards several feet. Then at some unknowable point, they winked out without a trace.
Then a sheet of embers rose like an ocean wave from the whole as the Berzerker began to discorporate in its entirety. As it did, Mara thought she saw in the sheet the form of the Gakkanath’s most recent victim, stand up.
‘It’s a soul!’ she realized, as she felt her empathy activate. She stood in awe when she sensed its joyous relief. That soul began to float upwards into the air, only to disappear as its embers faded.
Beyond that one soul, Mara sensed that more souls were achieving a long overdue liberation. There were dozens, no! Hundreds!
Mara staggered under the weight of her Empathy. Her heart rang as she felt the rejoicing of thousands of souls liberated from an endless torment.
Yet, underneath them all, remained one.
It was a pitiful soul, unnaturally bent and twisted. Mara wondered why it didn’t flee its confinement.
Mara’s eyes widened when she heard the soul of the Gakkanath speak through the creature’s lips.
“Whhhaattt?” she heard it trill in a confused human-like voice. A voice akin to a frightened puppy. It whimpered in confusion, as its eyes looked helplessly all around itself.
Arawn moved to stand in front of the remains of the Gakkanath, as it weakly reached out the remains of its tongue towards him.
He didn’t try avoiding it.
“Heeelp,..” It began.
“Meeee,…” it sobbed.
”Pleeeease,….?” It begged desperately as the last of its face and tongue dissolved.
“I am sorry.” Mara heard Arawn whisper sadly, as he reached out a hand and made contact with the last final plume of the dying creature’s embers.
Then, those remaining embers winked out into nothingness into the air above them both.
Nothing remained of the Gakkanath, save Mara’s memories, and the destruction it had caused. Mara looked at Arawn and saw that there were tears streaming down his face.
“Why?” she wondered, “Why did you apologize to it?” she asked, curious as to his regret. He looked back at her.
“It was human once.” He explained, as he looked over the empty spot where the creature had been.
“Long ago.”
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