A Daniel XFanfic

by Sakura Martinez

Disclaimer:

I do not own Daniel X, or the characters in that story. James Patterson owns the rights for them. What I do own is the idea for the fanfic and this fanfic itself.

Summary:

The final battle has begun and it begun with the loss of a life. Daniel, with Khadagh's knowledge and power, and with the rest of the drang must do everything in their power to put an end to the number one alien on The List before everyone that they care about is lost and before The Prayer puts his evil schemes into action. The battle for the universe and between good and evil culminates as The Prayer finally figures out a way to defeat, and ultimately kill, our hero. The road is tough, but Daniel and his drang are ready.

Daniel X: Armageddon

Chapter Twenty-Four

A United Front

I had never seen a more diverse group of people than I had the moment when the huge armada of ships touched down on Kirinalasca and revealed to us our new comrades.

The Beastias, the Draconians, and the other Alparians were in awe at the sudden increase of our numbers. Like me, they were not told of Dana's epic achievement.

At first, they thought, as I did, that we were being attacked—invaded. Their transition from merriment to shock, anger, and then battle-ready warriors were quick and fluid it was amazing to watch. One moment they were wearing party-hats and holding party-decorations, flowers, and food, and then the next they were lugging their weapons screaming battle cries. Joe, Willy, Emma, and Dana all had to rush out of the communications room to stop them from attacking and to explain who the incoming fleet was.

After that, everyone cheered and the fun resumed with a lot more anticipation than there had been before. Everyone was waiting for the ships' hatch to open up and reveal the passengers of those ships. Even I couldn't hide my excitement. Finally, with them, we really did have a fighting chance.

I looked at my drang and saw in their faces the same expression that mirrored mine. There was hope, and a renewed sense of purpose. They believed, as I did, that The Prayer's days were numbered. Watching Dana, though, I also saw in her something else.

I saw her as a leader—a more capable one than me. And I couldn't help but smile.

"Commander Daniel X, it is an honor to finally meet a renowned alien hunter such as yourself." A Quartian (Quartians are yellow-skinned humanoids who lived their whole lives in solitude and meditation. They are tall—a grown Quartian can reach fifteen-feet in height—and, when angered, fights with the grace and strength of a thousand men) man said, saluting me.

Commander? I wanted to correct him. I was no 'Commander'. I was just…well, I was just me. Just Daniel X.

But before I could tell him to drop the formalities, he had moved on ahead to Dana. Bowing his head low to show respect, the Quartian man said, "And, Lady Dana, it is a great honor and privilege to be in your presence."

Dana blushed but managed to recollect herself and return the Quartian's bow.

"Thank you for answering our call, Von Qu'on." Dana said. Though she tried to hide it, a small frown made its way to her face. "But, I didn't think you would arrive so soon. I didn't think everyone would come so soon."

"It is not the Quartian way to leave things to be done in another day," Von Qu'on replied. The Quartian then smiled, and turning to Joe and Emma, said, "Besides which, the great star ocean has told us of an upcoming ritual—a Union. We wish to take part in such an occasion."

Von Qu'on didn't seem to notice the surprised looks on Joe and Emma's faces as he merely nodded and went on to greet Willy saying that he had "heard" of his many reckless feats.

"My people and I wish to part with you our ways, William." Von Qu'on went on. "Such recklessness would not do and it gives our people many nightmarish dreams."

Hearing the Quartian say such a thing—to Willy, no less!—made it hard to keep a straight face as we met with another alien leader.

In contrast to the tall physique of the Quartians and Von Qu'on, the next alien race to disembark was small, little, winged and feathered people no bigger than a grown human's thumb. These tiny people are known as the Thumbsies.

Don't be fooled by how cute or funny their names sound, the Thumbsies are anything but funny. They are one of the most serious bunch of little people I had come across with. And don't think they can't fight as well as Draconians or even us Alparians either. Like fire ants, they can swarm their way into an enemy a hundred times their size and leave said enemy helpless.

"Our swords, pikes, and bows are ready for your disposal, Commander Daniel and Lady Dana!" the leader of the Thumbsies fluttered in front of us as he saluted. His red-and-black colored feathers dancing as he hovered.

Commander? Again? I was beginning to wonder just what, exactly, Dana had told these people. They seemed to show too much reverence in me, it was beginning to freak me out.

Not wanting to seem rude to the leader of the Thumbsies, I saluted him back and welcomed him to the rebellion before he and his swarm of Thumbsies moved on to greet the others.

Next up were the Kumalunas. They are big, furry creatures that look like buffed-up Abominable Snowmen. But instead of having white fur and living in the cold regions of Terra Firma, the Kumalunas had moonlit-silver fur and are found on the moons of planets. They are considered as a nomadic tribe, moving from moon to moon every century or so.

The leader of the Kumalunas—their head chieftain—stood tall and proud before me, his sea-green colored eyes dancing in a sort of smile that I guess meant he liked me or something. Out of its mouth came gibberish as it began talking animatedly. I had no idea what he was saying.

When he looked at me expectantly, waiting for a reply, all I could do was give him a grin, nod, and act like I had understood every word he had said telling him the generic "I'm glad to have you on our side" reply.

The moment the Kumaluna chieftain moved on, and just before the next leader of the next alien race came forward, Dana turned to me and asked, "I didn't know you could speak Kuman."

I shook my head and replied, "I, honestly, have no idea what he just said." Then pausing as I realized something, I raised an eyebrow and said to her, "I didn't know you could. Besides, what, exactly, did you tell all these people, and why the heck are they calling me 'Commander'?"

Dana smiled sheepishly, "I had to come up with something. They had to understand that we aren't playing around and we're serious. They asked who our commander was and I told them it was you. It's as simple as that. And, about their language—" she tapped her left ear, "—Joe developed micro-translators and implanted them. Which reminds me, we'll have to implant you one too."

Noticing that the next emissary of the next alien race was almost upon us, Dana turned her attention back at the incoming group. I knew then that whatever other questions I had would have to wait until we have greeted every last one of them.

Apart from the Quartians, the Thumbsies, and the Kumalunas, the other alien races that pledged loyalty and support to our cause were the Centaurians (alien creatures that, as their name suggests, are half-human, half-horse creatures that are well-known for their awesome skills with a spear and their highly-evolved military strategies), the Follafolils (round, plant-looking creatures with huge beady eyes, huge leafs on their heads, pointed noses, and has a penchant for singing), Gentlemews (humanoid alien creatures with the head of a cat and paws for fingers. Contrary to what their names suggests, they are anything but gentle when it comes to the battlefield), and the Faceless (also humanoid alien creatures whose faces are always hidden behind unadorned, white masks. They are quite capable in bending the elements to their will).

Once every one of these alien races had been welcomed, they started building for themselves their own bases of operations and barracks. Everywhere you look, there was a hustle and bustle of activity—more so than there had been mere hours before.

Those who knew of Joe and Emma's impending Union, pledged to help with that as well. Those whose specialties lie more on battle preparations, however, chose to help the Draconians and the Azrans with strategic planning and developing of new weapons and armors that would help aid in the war against The Prayer.

All of these alien races, who—at one point or another—had fought one another and are now working together for a common goal really was a sight to behold.

"Okay, start explaining, people," I told the drang as I slumped wearily at the sofa in our house. Meeting all of those people had really tire me out. "Starting with you, Dana. Just how the heck did you get all of them to agree to help? And please don't tell me that whole 'woman's touch' thing again."

My drang gave each other a four-way look before Dana replied, "They had something against The Prayer."

"And they didn't when I contacted them before?" I asked.

"No, they didn't. Not really." Dana replied. "They just knew The Prayer was a troublesome alien who wants to take control of Terra Firma. But then—" she took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, "—then The Prayer attacked and destroyed their colonies."

"The Prayer did what?!" That was news to me. I've never heard of The Prayer attacking any of them apart from the Azran, Beastias, and the Draconians.

"He attacked them, Chief," Willy said and when I glared at him, he corrected himself and said, "I mean, Daniel. The Prayer and his forces had spread their evil as far in the cosmos as the Zettian Galaxies. He almost destroyed the Foliafolil's planet!"

I shook my head. The Prayer was obviously showcasing his power and letting everyone know that they could only be with him or against him, and those who are against him—those who show even a small amount of resistance—were going to have to face him and his forces.

"Of course, it's a different matter when it comes to the Kumalunas." Emma added. "We just happened to reach out to them in a different way."

"Different, how?" I asked.

"We asked Joe to develop the micro-translators just for them," Emma replied, her eyes beaming with pride at what Joe had managed to create. "We reached out to them by talking to them using their own language. It surprised them, of course, but they were glad that we made the effort to understand them."

I crossed my arms, "Huh, I never thought about that."

"Obviously," laughed Joe. "I wouldn't have thought of making the micro-translators if Emma and Dana hadn't thought about it. I just made the plans and built the thing, the ones who really made the effort are the girls."

I nodded. I was tired and their explanation was enough to satisfy me. It was really evident how much they had managed to do during my absence.

"What now?" It was my turn to surprise them by asking.

"What do you mean, 'what now'?" Dana asked.

"I mean, what's our next course of action?" They looked as though they still couldn't understand my question even though it was as clear as day. "You guys obviously have been following some sort of plan. Now that these other races are here and have joined our cause, what's going to be our next step?"

"Why are you asking us that?" Willy asked, he sounded gruff. "You're the one who's in-command here. Not us."

"You guys know that's not exactly true, especially now." I smiled at them. I was just too astounded and proud of what they had managed to do in such a short time. "I would never have been able to accomplish getting all of these races together and to get them to help out if all of you weren't around. I'm not the only one in command here, guys. All of us are. It's a united effort."

They contemplated my words and a smile slowly lit their faces when they came to see the truth in them. Of course, I didn't tell them how relieved I was that they could handle leading the resistance; that I was relieved that if something were to happen to me—and I had a feeling that something will—that they'd be able to go on and become even stronger than they are now.

No, I didn't tell them that. If I did, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be smiling at all.