Atlanta, Georgia
Ricky's Motel
The rain pattered on the tin rooftop, with some of the drops making their way through the cracks of the ceiling keeping Kaos awake. She sucked her teeth in annoyance as she sat up from the roach-filled bed and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face. Turning on the light revealed her disheveled appearance in the mirror; black bags drooped under her eyelids as well as hair that hasn't been to a salon in weeks. The nerves in her face came alive with a splash of cold water. The thought of taking a refreshing shower entered Kaos's mind before it suddenly vanished when witnessing the disgusting conditions of the tub. She trotted out of the bathroom and peaked out of the window blinders of her motel room. The massive shower, along with the dark night sky, obstructed her view of the streets past the giant glaring neon sign.
"So much for sunny weather," Kaos muttered to herself. A quick glance at the clock by her bed read 2:34 AM. The overwhelming noise of thunder was muted when her stomach began to growl. Her head throbbed whenever she tried to recall the last time she ate. Was it yesterday? The day before that? She had a moment of reprieve after all the days spent on the run, so a meal would do her some good before she would have to move again.
She walked over to the nightstand, grabbed a black sports bag filled with essentials, and threw it on the bed. Rummaging in the interior, she pulled out an instant-ready can of beans-pinto flavored-along with two pieces of crushed stale white bread. She held the can of beans in her palm and concentrated her flames to heat the can. In just a few seconds the top blew off and stuck to the ceiling. She then poured a portion of the beans onto the bread making a bean sandwich and gingerly took a bite out to test the flavor. Her face grimaced in disgust as her tongue was greeted with the unbelievably bland taste of the sandwich. Being the daughter of Forsaken's leader-a man of great influence and wealth-she was accustomed to the meals designed for those with a refined palette- roast duck with a side of feta cheese prepared supremely qualified culinarians; all of which were currently miles away from her. Despite the taste, the urge to replenish her strength trumped the desire to spit it out; she finished off the last of the sandwich before gulping an entire liter of water to wash away the aftertaste.
She took off her tattered one-piece dress and changed into a jean jacket and jean shorts combo that she stole from the laundry room by the boiler. She was taken aback by how much of her skin was exposed from her mid-drift down to her thighs and legs, making her look like a common nightwalker rather than a prim and proper young lady. Feeling a slight shiver venture up to her spine, Kaos anxiously checked the window once more for any change in the environment. Nothing, for now anyway. It was a gamble just being here, but the two weeks she had been on the run from shelter to shelter, constantly fighting Landsmen units in nearly every state she managed to escape to. While she wasn't naive to think there couldn't be any way for the Landsmen to track her movements, the close frequency of the instances-four times this week in Savannah- have caused her to think of another force at play. The Landsmen were not the only threat the Forsaken faced in the years they've been active, and that very notion could be the explanation for the number of enemies she's had to slaughter along the way. There could be no other alternative. But then another question arrived; who tipped her off about her location thus far?
Kaos's mind turned into a tempest of thoughts as she tried to make sense of the question; she tried to link it to her enemies to even the most obscure passerby in her travels. In terms of enemies, she entertained the thought of one of those bunny harlots that attacked her and Zana in Happy Garland. The dark-furred one fought with the strength and clarity that matched the ability of her people and even managed to outfight Zana's healing factor. The younger bunny-whom Kaos suspected of being related to the black bunny- also seemed like a possibility given that strange ability that she possessed; supreme and unrelenting strength at the cost of one's life. It was power only belonging to a freak of nature, a being not developed by ordinary means
With the sound of her stomach violently grumbling
Kaos rushed to the bathroom, feeling the disagreement with the quality of the beans, and threw up in the rust-covered toilet. The taste of vomit lingered on her tongue even after a careful rinse of the lead water that sputtered through the sink faucet. Her hands clutched the sides of the sink, ripped it out of the wall, and threw it out of the motel window. Kaos's throat yearned to scream for blood but was interrupted by a red dot tracing her body.
She quickly ran out from the bathroom to under the bed before a hail of bullets burst through the window. Kaos popped her ears from the sound of the gunfire to avoid going deaf and crawled along the floor to reach her duffle bag. Suddenly, she heard a metal ting a couple feet away, and with a sound of an explosion, a cloud of gray smoke burst in front of her. She quickly tore a piece of the bedsheets and covered her mouth and nose. Although her vision was impaired, Kaos had memorized the layout of the room as well as the location of all her belongings; collecting her bag and placing her change of clothes inside, she propped herself against the door as the bullets continued to shower. She focused her energy into her right hand; a bright blue flame larger than her head erupted from her palm. She aimed her hand towards the door and released a streak of flames that melted the door, bursting through the other side. A couple of seconds of unleashing her flames had caused the hail of bullets to cease, but Kaos didn't interpret it as a surrender.
Kaos slowly walked outside and was greeted by an armada of troopers, armed with M-15 assault rifles-customized with bullets specialized for Types, and ballistic fire-proof armor. All complemented with three CR2 battle assault tanks with plating designed to withstand flames over 150 degrees, which was no doubt intended for the young Pure-Type. Kaos giggled at the men taking aim at her, taking a few steps forward every second. Responding in kind, she took one step closer, which did little to dissuade her from engaging further.
"You caught me in a very bad mood. I haven't slept in days, I had to eat peasant's food that made me vomit, and I have yet to get a shower," Kaos placed her duffle bag a couple of feet away from her and lit her hands with black flames. A large smirk crept on her face."I always kill when I'm in a good mood. Let's see what happens when I do so in a bad one."
The Landsmen barely were able to launch a hail of bullets before Kaos had closed the distance-about fifteen feet-in under a few seconds; she scorched four of the troopers before half of them even blinked. Two of the troopers unleashed fire to spots Kaos moved in between with blinding speed before she sliced their throats open with her flames-edged so thin that it resembled a sharp blade that cut through their flesh like sandpaper. The rest of the squad decided to get creative and threw out a flashbang grenade onto the floor. Kaos shut her eyes as the small noise of the can reach her ears; she had memorized the placement of the soldier's formation and unleashed flames that spread out around her- both of her hands controlled the trajectory and intensity of the heat. Her lips curled into a gleeful grin as the screams of agony echoed around her like a symphony approaching a crescendo into a piece she was conducting.
As soon she opened her eyes, three more of the Landsmen snuck up behind her and tackled her to the ground.
"We have the target! Get command on the line." One of the Landsmen shouted with his hand gripping Kao's neck. The girl's eyes began to see red; the disgusting sensation of a man that wasn't her dear Huey cut her deeper than any wound she had yet to receive. Her whole body lit up in black flames, incinerating the soldiers; her grin had transformed into a scowl as slowly approached the Landsmen; her hands engulfed by black flames that lit strongly even in the middle of the pouring rain.
"Is your kind so lacking in brain cells you think it's appropriate to touch me? To sully my body with your putrid fingers is a swift way to your own pathetic death." Kaos tossed out a fireball that engulfed three more Landsmen in her black flames that seared through their protective armor; the mesh melted down to its very fiber as the temperatures exceeded the amount it could withstand. Kaos leaped forward as she saw one of the tank's machine gun taking aim towards her; jumping ten feet in the air and dodging a volley of heat-seeking bullets, she slammed on top of the tank and seared the gunner's head from his body, grabbed on of his grenades, lit it, and threw it in the interior. She jumped back several feet down the street from the motel just barely clearing the blast radius; the explosion sent shockwaves around the vicinity that shattered all the windows and doors of the motel lot. Kaos took a second to gather herself before running back to the parking lot and basking in her beautiful handiwork.
Not wanting the pleasure of witnesses, Kaos made quick work disposing of the residents that had been injured by the explosion. Speaking of witnesses, her mind stretched back to the nervousness of the manager of the property; a piggish cat that Kaos had to endure a most gratuitous stare of her body from the first night she arrived here. She recalled he seemed skittish when she revealed her name-it was possible the Blades that defended Happy Garland could have disclosed her name to the public-which did make her suspicious of his behavior, and every activity that involved her and the manager crossing paths involved a gaze filled with caution and disdain. She paid no mind to his squeamish reactions, although seeing him on the phone just a few hours ago before The Landsmen arrived did seem fortuitous with this fact. Every sense in her head told her that he was a spy planted by The Landsmen to report her position, an operation that she involuntarily assisted with when she revealed her name. Of all the amateurish mistakes to make, this was a new one.
Kaos marched towards the front of the motel, finding the manager hiding behind the lavish table of an otherwise mundane waiting room. His blubbering and pleading for his life only irritated Kaos; she flung him through the glass of the room into a red car and watched as his gelatinous frame bounced against the side. She grabbed him by his collar and lit her hand with black flames ready to burn the peasant's face until she heard a sharp whistle.
The pouring rain started to let up, although the thunder remained frequent, as Kaos clearly saw a tall Red Panda male-dressed in a brown pilot's jacket, blue jeans, and red classic sneakers-slowly approaching her. His rugged but defined face with slicked-back black hair made him stand out amongst the Landsmen mobilizing around him. He threw his hands up, flaring his fingers out towards Kaos, who could tell he was mocking her method of summoning her flames.
"You'd make a mean barbecue with the way you fried up those cats." He smiled and pointed his gloved finger at an annoyed Kaos. "It's a damn shame that the rain has gotta put it out for a spell."
Kaos threw the manager aside and fully faced her body towards the man. Her brow furrowed from trying to figure out his origins-dressed in casual civilian clothing could imply anything, but being a Landsman wasn't one of them. Another squadron of Landsmen
mobilized out of a truck and began to advance towards her with guns loaded.
"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" The red panda said. "The Boss was clear about this little get-together. If I could bring her in without an incident, you would cooperate,"
"Incident?!" One of the Landsmen snapped his head back at the red panda."This Pure-type bitch just killed an entire squadron and totaled a tank. We're way past a simple incident!"
"Yeah, I saw that." The red panda said. "Fat lot that enhanced equipment did you against a sleep-deprived seventeen-year-old. So because of that fuck-up, I'm taking over," The red panda walked past the Landsmen who seethed with rage. "Unless you want to tell my Boss and The First that a grunt managed to shoot an entire op in the foot because he was in his feelings?" With a bite of his lip, The Landsmen ordered his squadmates to stand down. "Didn't think so." The red panda smirked and continued walking.
Kaos observed the scene with curiosity; the conversation in question was about her but didn't feel like she was the focus. She took note of the casual stride in the red panda's walk; his slumped shoulders; relaxed poise; nothing about him pointed to him being part of a military power like The Landsmen. Her next guess was him being a Blade-the strange warriors that fought like Pure-types-which seemed likely given the obvious observation of his appearance, and the fact that Blades usually worked alone. The diplomatic immunity they possessed dwarfed that of the Forsaken, which meant they answered to no authority-state or otherwise-when handling matters. It just so happens she was one of those particular matters that he was in the full ability to handle as he saw fit.
She didn't back down in her stance; her flames grew hotter in the palm of her hands, causing pieces of her dress to singe.
The red panda took a deep sigh. "I take it the previous company has gotten you lipped up, huh?"He then began to size Kaos up from head to toe and gave the same sharp whistle from before. "Man, it'd be a shame if I had to mess a pretty little thing like yourself up too bad. Can't we talk this one out?"
Kaos snorted, as she tried to hold in laughter."A miscreant and philander. I guess the Blades take all types to fill their ranks." She said.
"So you know who I am?" He said.
"I know what you are," Kaos said. "A lab experiment created by this countries government personal lap dog,"
"Ouch." The red panda said. "That hurts, little lady. I got a reputation as an upstanding American. I pay my taxes like every other joe."
"Every other joe doesn't inject a serum that makes them stronger than the average person," Kaos said. "Especially in the name of enacting so-called justice on 'villains' such as myself."
"You sure know how to set the mood, huh?" The Blade said."I bet you got some mileage on you with all that talk."
"Stamina is something I have aplenty," Kaos said.
The red panda chuckled while stretching out his arms-his fingers waved in perfect succession-while drawing his right foot out.
"Talking dirty," The Blade said. "I like it,"
Kaos threw a couple of fireballs at the man, who, bobbing and weaving from right to left, deftly dodged both. She focused her power and unleashed a black flamethrower attack towards him. He advanced by pushing off his back foot-similar to a piston-and ducked down under the scorching heat. Kaos figured he would be burned, if not singed, from the attack, but was taken aback when he blinked into her right flank. Her body immediately reacted once a right jab came for her face, parrying it to the side. The man quickly retaliated; he brought back his left hand and unleashed a left hook. Kaos threw up a wall of flames between the two; the man punched through flames with such force that it sliced clean through. Kaos saw through this however and pivoted on her back foot just as he punched; shifting around him to his flank and readied a black-flame lit punch to pierce through the man's back.
I have you now! Kaos thought, seeing her an inevitable victory within her eyes. But her eyes then widened when the man, literally, in the blink of an eye turned to face her and threw out a one-two-three jab, hook and cross combo that landed square in Kaos's face. The force from the punch shook up her up a bit, but not enough for her to forgo blocking his follow-up body blow with a flame-guard that stopped it in its tracks. Kaos backed off a few paces when she felt a wobbly sensation shoot through her knees; her eyesight displaying the man like a scale that kept tipping back and forth. Her Pure-type endurance could last her for more than three hours in a fight, but there was only so much she could do with little opportunity to sleep or even eat to replenish her strength. Judging by the red panda's smirk, he knew that fact.
"Need a breather? Go right ahead. I know I would from a lump like that."
Kaos snapped at the man's words, taking them as a call to action; her enflamed fist slammed down onto the pavement erupting a geyser of flames that spread around the man. The man practically danced around the geysers as they erupted one by one and continued his advancement to Kaos. He caught up to Kaos and unleashed a left hook as well as two left jabs that she dodged by the skin of her teeth. Kaos bounced on the ball of her toes to pivot out of a right straight that was coming in succession, only to run into a jab and hook from his flank causing her to stumble backward. The red panda charged forward; Kaos raised her shaky hands to block his attack, but he pivoted at the last second to her flank, unleashing a flurry of punches at a speed that most Pure-types would be envious of, and knocking her flat on her back. The sight of the black sky with streaks of lightning trailing through the clouds filled her with a sense of bliss.
Her eyes began to trail off until an image of her father-holding a disapproving look and surrounded by flames that seared through her flesh-commanded her to stand up like a spell used on the dead. She took a deep breath to will herself back into her stance, adding a rhythmic bounce to it; strong black flames ignited around her arms and legs along with a rhythmic bounce in her stance as she zoomed forward sending streaks of fire in a straight line. Kaos delivered a shoulder tackle to her opponent, halting his charge forward, and brought two hooks from her right and left-the impact sent shivers through Kaos as the fire seared through his flesh. She was surprised when he barely flinched from the punches and came with a flurry of punches targeted at her side; he then shifted his stance once more to attack her from the front and then from the side again in less time than it took for Kaos to catch her breath. Kaos grabbed one of his arms as it scored for her face, swinging him before tossing him into the air; she followed up her attack by jumping in the air, unleashing a series of flame-lit punches that rocked her opponent from several angles. Just as she went for the finishing blow, the man's eyes sparked with vigor. His right hand caught burning hand, twisting her around his body, and sent her crashing on top of an SUV.
Under normal circumstances, Kaos would have immediately risen from the blow but her fatigue impeded her by a few seconds to stand up from all of the wreckage. The man managed to land (albeit not gracefully) on the roof of the motel and hopped down to the ground level; his face and body plastered with bruises and burns from attacks that Kaos had seen others die from instantly. Yet here he was, still standing with little acknowledgment of the fact. As soon as she noticed his injuries healing; pieces of tissue and blood reforming and third-degree burns decreasing before her very eyes. Her mind concluded that she was indeed dealing with a Blade, one who was working with The Landsmen of all things!
Kaos picked herself up from the ruined seat of the car; stumbling onto solid ground with shaky knees. Her hands trembled trying to ignite her flames; as the Blade slowly walked over to her; she was barely able to produce a flicker. In the corner of her eye, one of the Landsmen began to give the order to take aim and take her out in her weakened state. Her eyes then shot open when the sight of her opponent's back entered her view with his hands held out in front of her.
"Are you fucking idiots hard of hearing?" The Blade
said. Not even sounding out of breath. "You do this, and you throw this alliance down the drain,"
"To hell with your alliance!" One of the Landsmen-presumably a lieutenant-yelled at him. "
She's weak and can barely stand. Killing her will be easier than breaking a toothpick,"
"You Landsmen are all the same," The Blade said. "You have your face so close to this puritan vendetta that you can't even see the bigger picture. Didn't it ever occur to you that we can work together with them?"
"Spare us your Blade rhetoric." The lieutenant said. "We are the ones who will purify the world of these vermin."
The sense of irony was so baffling to Kaos she wanted to burst out laughing; a Blade, a group that her father taught her was their natural enemy-possessing their very DNA and ability to combat them-and went to great lengths to kill them, was defending her. Everything in her mind told her to take this opportunity to escape and leave him to his own fate. But what would await her if she did? More days of running and being forced to eat garbage to sate her hunger pangs until she was captured or possibly killed? It was all to return to the Forsaken, to her father who no doubt waited for her with open arms (along with a likely punishment for her failure) so they may get back on track with their campaign. Perhaps she could accomplish this, but not in the way she would expect.
The Landsmen ceased any further arguments with the Blade, aimed their weapons, and opened fire at the two. Kaos stood in front of her enemy and deployed a wall of fire that melted the hail of gunfire causing the bullets to combust from the extreme heat.
"What the hell are you doing?" The Blade yelled out over the scorching flames.
"Taking a chance," Kaos said. She could naturally call her actions a result of the concussion she suffered from falling into a full-sized vehicle, but she was well aware of what she was doing."Be grateful. I'm allowing you to prove your word, right here and now."
"My word?" The Blade said.
"You spoke of cooperating with my people. I don't believe it one bit when it is spoken from my enemy." Kaos said."So prove it to me with action."
The Blade nodded. Normally she would take full advantage of an enemy eager to cooperate, but she was clearly running low on options (and strength) to make that notion a reality. As soon as Kaos dropped the wall of fire, she launched several fireballs to the squad while the Blade ran into the center of the crossfire, dodging bullets and outpacing the flame until he reached the frontman of the Landsmen, quickly disarming him and delivering several haymakers. The other Landsmen reacted by firing at the Blade, although he reacted quicker by shifting his foot in a pivot movement that placed him directly behind them placing one of them in a bear hug and tossing him into one of the fireballs Kaos launched. The fireballs hit their target on the three Landsmen, engulfing them in the flames. Kaos zipped forward to take cover behind a car from the stray gunfire as the Blade continued to dismantle them. She engulfed her hands in flame once again as she got close to another Landsmen that attempted to expose her flank; dodging the gunfire, her arms wrapped around the Landsmen's neck, sending an inferno into his skin, sizzling his flesh with such intensity that his body cracked and exploded from the pressure.
Ripping the head off his burning body, Kaos tossed the Landsmen's head, lit with fire, at a Landsmen that she spotted from the corner of her eye taking aim at her from behind a tree about twenty feet away, blowing a hole through his stomach. Kaos looked over at the Blade, making light work of the Landsmen, and noticed another Landsmen charging for his flank with a knife. A charged fireball would take too long to prepare and its size could hit the Blade; the Landsmen stood about three feet from the Blade and was quickly approaching meaning she wouldn't make it in time to dismantle him. She extended her finger out and concentrated her fire to a small point in the tip of her index finger; small in stature but possessing a large amount of force, she fired a thin flame beam that hit the Landsmen directly in his heart. The Blade quickly turned around seeing the Landsmen frozen in his stance with a small burnt hole in his armor and collapsing on his back; he took note of the display of his arteries from the hole dissolving into ash and looked back at Kaos with a bewildered face.
Taking in the sight of a squad of Landsmen around him (not mention the squad from earlier), Kaos silently congratulated herself before her knees began to give in. It looks like that technique took more out of her than she calculated. Despite creating it at the moment, she couldn't be any more proud of its destructive power, rejoicing in her pride as she kissed the soaked pavement. She could hear the pattering of the rain once more which were being drowned out by the Blade's yelling. Kaos could feel her body being turned and lifted; her closing eyes saw the closeup of the Blade staring at her with a smile. For some reason, she couldn't help but think of her darling Huey, who greeted her with the same expression so many years ago; the memory of an ivory garden, her ripped pearl white dress, a young boy helping her out a predicament. The memory faded quickly her consciousness slipped faster than she could think about it.
New Mexico
Aegis Base-Meeting Room 4th Floor
Karina elbowed Huey awake when she noticed him slipping into a peaceful sleep; she couldn't blame him but just two minutes into the meeting was pushing it. She gave a stern look that Huey shrugged off and turned his attention to Fisk and Red, who could still see them among the broad shoulders of the tall and massively muscled soldiers in the room (it did help that they were standing on a podium).
"Agent Jones. I take it you're tired because you stayed up all night reading the dossier for the assignment." Fisk said with stern eyes. Huey offered a yawn in place of a response, which Fisk interpreted as a 'no'.
"I think he needs to take five," Karina said. "I recommend a glass of warm honey lemon milk with lullabies." The rest of the soldiers stifled a laugh.
"Noted Agent Zaldwyck. If I may proceed?" Fisk said and continued with his presentation with the room growing silent once more. The sound of an LED projector humming-showing images of the recent attacks on Cryptic-type settlements across the midwest being plundered by the Landsmen-had an oddly nice lull that was causing Huey to drift off once more. Karina, even in the dark of the room, noticed Huey nodding off and jabbed him awake once again.
"Dude, what is with you?" She asked.
"Didn't sleep," Huey muttered while shaking the sleep off.
"Obviously." Karina snorted."What's wrong? Zeo came by your room a midnight rendezvous?"
Although he yawned, Huey managed to put out the words "Jealousy is unbecoming you know."
"Eat my ass," Karina said.
"No thanks. I've seen what you do to the toilet after taco Tuesday."
Karina shook her head and heaved a sigh."Well, obviously you're not too tired to talk shit. So what's really going on?"
Huey fidgeted in his chair, attempting to search for words that could explain his current predicament. Actually, he wasn't even sure he could call something like a dream a predicament, but this one seemed too damn real to be anything but.
The cold and damp air of the cave greeted Huey as he walked through the entrance, viewing the scriptures and drawings of several people throughout the ages; their history of victories and losses alike. Every step he took, he felt something stirring in the distance, calling for him to give control of his mind to feel power beyond his wildest dreams. Soon he came to a mural of sorts that was littered with tributes along the floor like decorations for some ancient being. He reached out and felt his leg slip below a hole that opened up in the ground, gradually expanding and sinking him below the floor. The sounds of screams for help were muffled with his throat becoming blocked by a dark pressure that was building up from inside. His eyes managed to spot a glimpse of a peculiar sight before the darkness swallowed him whole. An image of a great deity that stared back at him; face and teeth belonging to a beast, and eyes of a wolf.
Huey and Karina ducked below the sightline of Fisk when they saw his neck turning across the room. Karina felt the strong need to curse like a sailor to process what Huey had just told her, but settled for her mouth trailing the movements of 'what the fuck?'. Karina quickly opened a rift in the floor when she noticed Fisk was once again looking in their direction. In what seemed like an instant, Huey and Karina were in the mess hall when they slipped through her portal.
"Huh," Karina said. "Didn't think I could pull a person through one of my rifts." She said in a tone that teetered on surprised and impressed. She then tapped the back of a hunched over Huey."You okay?"
"I think I'm going to puke," Huey said.
"Yeah, you get used to that," Karina said. "Just try not to get it on my shoes,"
"No promises," Huey said, and
swallowed hard letting out a deep breath."I think I'm good. Just warn me next time you do that. I had a cheese omelet for breakfast."
"Stick to the base chum. It digests easier." Karina said.
"I'm on a diet," Huey said.
"You wouldn't know nutrition if it fingered you in the ass," Karina said.
"This coming from the freak that slams five donuts for breakfast?" Huey said.
The two then found a seat at a wide table in the back of the cafeteria where the base chef-a middle-aged hyena-walked over to them as she exited the kitchen.
"Can I get you, two kids, anything?" She asked with a suspicious tone as if she just caught two kids skipping class. Which was true in a sense.
"I just ate, so I'm good," Huey said clutching his stomach.
"Well, I didn't. I had to eat fruit cups all day before they discharged me yesterday." Karina said. "Let me get an avocado burger with cheese and hot sauce, a cup of chocolate shake, and curly fries with mustard on it."
The chef eyed Karina and raised her eyebrow."You do know that it's 0800 right?"
"Yeah, and it's 2100 in Toyko." Karina said."Make with the dead cows."
The chef rolled her eyes and proceeded to the kitchen.
"Really?" Huey said."After what you just said to me?"
"After two thousand sit-ups a day, I earned the right to pig out." Karina.
"They say you are what you eat," Huey said.
"You say something?" Karina said.
"Nothing from me. No sir," Huey said.
The T.V. was on despite the empty room, which made a good beacon for Huey to gather his thoughts. Good thing as Karina pretended to, loudly at that, clear her throat to bring Huey to attention.
"So?" Karina said. "This vision you had, you said you saw some kind of wolf god?"
"Maybe," Huey said. "I don't know what the hell I saw. All I remember is that I was in some sort of cave and the floor started to swallow me up when I got close to this shrine. Then that was the last thing I saw."
"Have you told anyone about it?" Karina asked. Huey guessed from her inflection that she was referring to someone specific, or rather a certain family.
"I'm haven't told Lisa or Carly, and I sure as hell haven't told Zeo. The last thing they need from me is more bad news aside from Kote still being in a coma." Huey said.
Karina sighed. "You're not telling them bad news. You're just asking them if there are any gods that the wolf people worship, and that one of them tried to bad touch you in a dream. You can say it's a religious question,"
"Way to make it sound like I'm asking to be converted," Huey said.
"You think of it that way if you want." Karina shrugged."Me? I gave up on believing in Gods a long time ago, so I can't say for sure."
Huey rubbed the back of his neck."Yeah, I can see why you would." Huey said while looking at Karina who began to fiddle with a nearby used napkin with her finger."Do you want to talk about that?"
"There's nothing more to say that you haven't read about in my file, dude," Karina said. "Plus who gives a shit anymore whether I came out some woman's hooch or I was created in a test tube? Nothing about that defines me."
"That can't be all there is to it," Huey said. "You still have to have some grievances, right?"
"Huey." Karina said while tapping the table."I'm thirteen years old, and I've graduated college with honors and have lead military squadrons on black ops that prevented world wars from breaking out. Nothing about how I was made has anything to do with it. I did it all without anyone, least of all some crackpot maniac that couldn't let the past go. None of it is who I am."
"But what about that Berserker factor?" Huey said. "Sounds like you don't have it all figured out yet."
Karina shrugged."I don't, but my injuries heal fast enough for it to not be too much of an issue."
"Recuperating in the ICU for two weeks is fast?" Huey said.
"It used to take longer than that," Karina said while pointing to the numerous scars on her arm down to her waist. "What's your point?"
"I've been thinking." Huey said."When I saw the x-rays from your tests, I saw that a lot of the ligaments from your injuries-aside from the inflicted ones-weren't broken or shattered, but sustained throughout the treatment."
"My muscle and bone structure holds together whenever I go berserk," Karina said. "I don't feel any pain when or suffer further injuries, but the shit piles on when I come out of it. I don't know if it was an oversight during my creation, but from what I read about the Ancient race my DNA originates, they didn't have that issue."
"So essentially, it's a double-edged sword," Huey said.
"Pretty much," Karina said. "I clearly don't use that often though. Didn't need it to whup you and Kote's candy assess."
"If you did, I'm pretty sure the janitors would have been sweeping up our body parts," Huey said.
"Glad you understand that." Karina said."So I'll ask again, what's your point?"
"Wouldn't you want to use that form on command rather than a trump card?" Huey asked.
"Thought about it before," Karina said. "Opioids, codeine, and anesthesia do jack shit after I come out of it. I think it has something to do with my genetic structure. Normal painkillers don't have any effect in speeding up the recovery or nulling it."
"That's my point, exactly." Huey said."What if we made a painkiller specially designed for your Berserk factor. Coded to your genetics and everything."
"Really?" Karina said. "I didn't know you were a genetic expert."
"I'm not." Huey said."But who says we can't find one here? We're at the most advanced military facility in the world-cutting-edge biotechnology and medicine with experts from every field imaginable. We could get someone to help up put it together."
Karina shook her head, and placed her head in her hand."I don't know why you're concerned about this all of a sudden, but knock yourself out. If you can find a genetic specialist smart enough to understand my DNA structure and replicate it to engineer a painkiller for my very, very, very obscure factor, I'll be for it." Karina said trying to hide her excitement."But don't we have more important shit to worry about?"
"So you think I should tell Lisa?" Huey asked.
"You have to tell someone, dude," Karina said. "You're smart, and I'm sure you could come up with some psychological shit for this, but this goes beyond that."
"True enough," Huey said. "No shortage of freaky shit for us, huh?"
"You call it freaky. I call it Tuesday." Karina said.
The chef came out of the kitchen with a large plate of a messy put-together burger with a thick slice of avocado; gunk in a glass that somehow resembled a chocolate shake and a pile of rinds that looked like home fries, and dropped in front of Karina. Huey managed one look at it before Karina started wolfing it down.
"At least I know never to question you about your table manners," Huey said.
"Got a problem?" Karina said with a mouth full of food.
"Not at all," Huey said. "I like a girl with an appetite."
After leaving the mess hall. Huey and Karina literally popped into Kote's hospital room in the medical wing of the base, surprising the Valentine family, at least Zeo and Carly, whereas Lisa remained unfazed but greeted them nonetheless. Huey then felt his thoughts about his dream unfurl in front of the Valentine family. They all listened close to Huey's vivid descriptions of his vision. Lisa suddenly got up from her seat and placed a hand on the vegetative Kote, whose MRI screen showed minimal signs of movement. Huey had attempted to mind dive with Kote several times since everyone was relocated to Aegis Base, but couldn't find his source anywhere despite him clearly feeling it; he described it to the others as trying to find a song in a music store where all the music is turned down low. Lisa stroked Kote's long outgrown hair while hearing Huey finish the rest of his description.
"It sounds like you came into contact with Chozu," Lisa said.
"Chozu?" Huey asked while looking at Zeo and Carly, who shook their heads.
"He is one of the four deities of the Wolf Tribes-the others being Bojan, Tanasko, and Ognjen. They all make up the body of war, prosperity, vitality, and fertility that our people represent." Lisa glanced over at Huey."According to the ancient scriptures my father had, Chozu appears in the dreams of the sons and daughters of the Wolves to demand they act on his bidding, which can be anything."
"Then why did it come to me?" Huey said."I'm the farthest thing from being a wolf."
"That's quite the mystery isn't it?" Lisa said."It's possible that when you mind-dived with Kote, part of him must have latched onto you."
"Part of him?" Huey said.
Lisa pointed at the center of Huey's chest."A single person doesn't function with their mind alone, a soul is needed just as much as the brain if not more. You're his friend Huey and the only one who could get through to him at one of the lowest points of his life. He considers you someone special for that to happen."
Huey was taken aback, as it wasn't a statement he was expecting to hear from Kote's own aunt, but the wholesomeness of it did make him feel good.
"So basically," Karina said. "Part of Kote exists inside Huey's soul, and that's what drew this wolf god to him."
"Possibly," Lisa said."Only a shaman of the tribe could really say what transpired between the Huey and Kote for this to occur. Sadly, we don't have that kind of time to pay a visit to them."
"Why not?" Huey asked.
"This time of year, they're preparing for their ritual of selecting which tribe will be the head of Wolf Coalition." Zeo said."Mom's tribe, the southern tribe, will be too busy putting everything together for them to make a social call for an Estranho." A painful expression appeared on her face as she turned towards Kote.
"Estranho?" Huey said.
"It means outsider in the wolf language," Lisa said. "It's what they would call him should he go there. And it's what they also called my daughters when they were born. The wolf tribes are very conservative and secluded people. They would rather sacrifice one of their own to the gods than aid one that wasn't born within their walls."
"Sounds like a lovely bunch to play card games with," Karina said.
"I agree." Lisa said and gave a small smile."That's why I and my sister left many years ago to start our own families outside of their boundaries. Although when we did that, we severed any chance of coming back."
"Isn't there anyone you know that we can ask about this?" Huey asked."Family, or friends?"
Lisa pondered for a brief moment; she did know a particular individual she could call on, but the years spent being estranged from her tribe could deflate that possibility.
"There is one person I know that could help," Lisa said. "My younger brother, Maxwell. He was found to be gifted in the shamanic arts at a young age and had been trained by our tribe's mystic. He was taught to how to contact and speak to spirits and other specters, and even deal with possessions."
"Sounds a little far-fetched," Karina said crossing her arms.
"No doubt." Lisa said with a chuckle."I used to think were turning my brother into some sort of zealot, but as of late." She stroked Kote's long hair with concerned eyes."I've been made to believe in the improbable."
Huey looked over at Kote and then at Lisa, who caught his gaze. She knew what he was going to ask.
"Can you contact him?" Huey asked."Whatever is going on with this Chozu, it likely has to do with Kote's current state. We need all the help we can get."
Lisa nodded."I'll see if I can send for him, although it will take some time. My tribe has been closed off from the world for centuries. They probably don't know that the telephone was invented, let alone the internet."
"Y'all got something in common then," Karina said to Huey.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Huey said