CHP4

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters.

Spock was meditating away the blood fever of a fifteenth Vulcan when it happened. An explosion of heat, and power, and anger. Spock was ripped away from his meditating faster than he ever had before. He gasped at the intensity, causing some of the Vulcans meditating in the main hall of his temple look up.

"Something terrible has happened," Spock told them, before searching for the cause of the explosion.

It hadn't originated from Vulcan, and everything outside of Vulcan was less clear to him. Spock had just figured out that the explosion most likely came from one either the Isle of Romulus or the Isle of Narada when Kirk's voice came through their bond. It was a message to all the gods; Nero had attacked his own island and Jim needed help to try to save as many people as possible.

He tried not to shudder when Jim uttered his name. He missed Jim's voice.

Spock, I need you to keep the people from panicking.

Spock, I need you…

Spock…

Now is not the time, Spock told himself firmly. He had to find a way to get to Romulus to keep people from hurting each other in their panicked fleeing. Without a mind or temple to anchor him, he wouldn't be able to teleport there, and flying would take several hours. Spock didn't have that kind of time. Perhaps he could teleport to the nearby Island of Narada, there were a couple of people that prayed to him there, and then-

Nero's burning aura rushed into the hall. Before Spock had any time to react the Romulin bashed against his mental shields. Spock put as much energy as he could into protecting his mind.

His people! Spock looked around the meditation hall to see that all his disciples and all the guests to the temple were still sitting quietly. Nero must have made himself invisible to mortals, Spock realized with growing dread. What would Nero do to his people? He had to warn them about the danger they were in.

Nero bashed against his mind once again, preventing Spock from thinking for a moment as he put all his energy into his mental barriers.

Spock did have a telepathic collection to his disciples. Not a bond, really, but a strong enough connection to send a message across. However, in order to send the message, Spock would have to lighten his shields enough for the message to pass through.

As if Nero could hear his thoughts (which he couldn't because he was not inside Spock's mind Spock told himself firmly), Nero extended a tendril of his burning aura toward the nearest meditating Vulcan. Spock had less than a second to make a decision.

Get everyone out of the temple! We are being attacked!

Nero ripped though his weakened barriers. Spock was prepared for this, he knew how to expel an unwanted presence from his mind. He gathered as much power as he could around his center of personality, ready to fight back.

Yet the god of fire and mining passed over Spock's center of personality. This threw Spock off for a moment; he had been prepared for Nero to attempt to rip him apart but instead-

The bond!

Spock rushed to save it, but it was too late. Nero had reached his bond with Jim. The Romulan god reached out and seared the bond shut with a heat and intensity Spock had never felt before. Spock felt himself scream.

In the midst of this pain, Spock reached out and ripped the intruder out of his mind. Nero left with little resistance, leaving his mind otherwise unharmed. Spock slammed his shields firmly back in place and pulled away from Nero. Spock attempted to stroke his bond with Jim, but had to pull back in pain. The bond was burned shut, and it was far beyond Spock's ability to fix.

"It took longer than I expected to break into your sorry little mind, Vulcan." Nero began, "It's a good thing you weren't smart enough to call for help. Or did you seriously think you could beat me, you disgusting excuse for a god?"

Asking for help had never even crossed Spock's mind, he had been too concerned with making sure his people were safe. He glanced around the hall; his disciples were ushering everyone out, but most had not yet managed to leave. He wondered if his disciples had remembered to warn the people upstairs, the ones in the midst of their Pon Far. He needed to stall Nero until his people were safe, then he could fight without risking his people's safety.

"Did you attack your own island, Nero?" Spock asked.

"Oh?" Nero responses, a nasty smirk spread across his features, "You want to talk?" Nero's eyes flashed, "Oh, I don't mind. Now that you're incapable of asking for help, we have all the time in the world. I could destroy you anytime I wanted."

Spock tried not to linger on how true that statement was. He was the youngest, and the weakest of all the gods, and Nero seemed to be brimming with furious power.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Nero asked, "This power?" As a demonstration, Nero sent a shot of fire up. The fire burned through the ceiling, and the ceiling above that, with unbelievable speed. It left a large hole in his temple.

"Are you curious about how I could have all this power, while my island is destroyed?"

Spock didn't actually care so much, but he had to stall.

"Fear and food, Vulcan. I've destroyed my own island! Do you know how many terrified little mortals are praying to me right now, begging me not to destroy their island next? Their pathetic little pleas just make me stronger!" Nero laughed, "and of course food." The god's eyes flashed with insanity, "You see Spock, I have become the true god of gods!"

"Too long, Kirk had been holding that title. He may have made the gods, but he is no god of gods! He feeds of the minds and prayers of mortals, his life is bound to his island." Nero spat, "He is no god of gods! I am! I have just shed my last vestiges of mere godhood! I have destroyed the island that was holding me back, and I am stronger than ever! Because I no longer feed upon mortals, Vulcan, I feed upon gods!"

Spock took a step back, the room was burning from Nero's power, but Spock felt increasingly cold. "Ayel" he whispered in sudden realization.

"Yes," Nero replied, "I have been feeding off Ayel for several weeks now, and you are my second victim. You should be honored to be of service to your new god."

"Why have you picked me? I am the weakest of the gods."

Nero's eyes flashed, "You defied me when I spoke to the other gods, I told you that you would regret it."

"All the gods defied you."

"I have been with these same gods for several hundred years. I know how they would react. Had you not spoken first, no one would have said anything. Oh sure, most would have disagreed fervently, but it would spread the seed of doubt." Spock remembered Chekov's confusion as he asked Spock whether or not he supported Nero. "A seed that would sprout when their fellow gods suddenly joined my side. A small doubt is all I would really need to break into their minds. Unlike you and I, the other gods were not made from psychic species, and they're not very good at mental shields."

Nero suddenly lashed out, sending a wave of burning energy in Spock's direction. Spock dodged pretty easily, but the fire hit the back wall of the temple, exploding it outward, into the dessert. Spock was grateful for the fact that the temple had been built in one of Vulcan's desserts, and not near a city.

"But no!" the Romulan continued, "You had to go and open your vile mouth! You became a ringleader! Which is why you get to be my lucky second victim. Once the ringleader falls, doubt will penetrate their minds once again! Besides." Nero suddenly grew a nasty sneer on his face, "You're Kirk's lover, aren't you?"

Spock tried not to react, but he must have, because Nero continued, "I thought so. Well isn't this just my lucky day? Once I have you on my side, Kirk will be hesitant to attack. He will put the battle of as long as possible. And while the fake god of gods is acting like a lovesick coward, I will be growing more and more powerful!"

"There is a large error in your logic, Nero." Spock hissed.

"Oh?" Nero asked, his aura burned around him, and his black eyes pierced into Spock's brown ones, "and what's that, Vulcan?"

"I will never support your madness, I would rather die."

A laugh ripped from Nero's lungs, the laugh of a man deprived of all logic, "You'd be surprised Spock," Spock suppressed a shudder as the god hissed his name, "at how incredibly pliant and obedient you'll become once I've sucked you dry!"

With that final comment, Nero rushed forward, charging at Spock like a mad bull. Spock was able to dodge it by flying into the dessert, avoiding most of the attack, but Nero's power still grazed him and Spock got a feel for its true magnitude.

Nero was far, far more powerful than Spock. Without help, his mind calculated, the chances of Spock wining this battle were less then 0.001%. Spock looked at his temple, and hoped that everyone was out of it. Then he would have, at least, accomplished that before Nero ate him.

Nero charged again, and again, and again. Each time Spock was just barely able to avoid the attack. Spock led the Romulan away from the temple and deeper into the dessert, away from his fleeing people. At some point, Nero sent a large blast of power and fire toward the back end of the temple. Half of the building exploded, and the rest caught fire. Burning debris flew through the air. There was, Spock thought with relief, no one left inside.

Spock dodged again, up into the sky. It was only a matter of time until—A tendril of Nero's power grabbed onto Spock's leg. Spock used his power to pull the tendril off, but by the time Spock's leg was free of it, three more burning tendrils had grabbed a hold of him.

"Caught you." Nero's voice called from behind him.

Spock whirled around in time to feel Nero slam him into the sandy ground below. Gathering most of his power, Spock sent a blast of it directly into the god above him. Nero let out a cry of pain, pulling back a bit. Spock leapt at the opportunity, but it was for naught, Nero's power had a strong hold on him.

Spock sent out several more blasts in Nero's direction, but the other god dodged them this time. Within a couple minutes of futile struggling, Spock was exhausted and disheartened. He wasn't going to escape.

"Pathetic," Nero growled, "But don't worry Vulcan. I won't kill you. I need you alive to continue feeding on the mortals, so that I can continue feeding off you. That's how the food chain works. You'll stay alive, but only just barely."

The god reached forward and ripped off one of Spock's arm. Being a god, his body was really more of a representation of his power than a physical thing, so when the arm was removed, Spock re-grew a new one. That didn't mean having a limb ripped of didn't hurt. It did. A lot.

Spock was only barely able to suppress his scream; he did not want to give Nero that satisfaction. He was not, however, able to suppress the sob that followed. Nero brought the arm to his smirking lips, sank his teach into it, and sucked Spock's power into himself. Spock realized with horror that he could still feel it. He could feel a part of himself be consumed and corrupted by Nero's burning energy.

He was being eaten, and there was nothing Spock could do to stop it. Spock closed his eyes. If these were to be his last thoughts, he wanted them to be about Jim.

Jim, Spock thought trying to ignore the disgusting feeling of being eaten, I love you.

oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO oO

Author's note: Hello everyone. Please remember to leave your comments! Good or bad, I'd like to know what you thought.