Chapter 44: Love's Rage.
The crash of blade on blade echoed throughout the cave as again and again Jack and the bad blood queen traded blows, she was like no opponent Jack had every faced, he couldn't read or predict her moves as where his speed would usually cause everyone around him to move in slow motion, but she was so fast it now felt like he was the one moving in slow motion.
It was all he could do to defend himself against the queen's savage onslaught as she rained blow after blow on him, just in the nick of time he saw her begin to change direction on a swing and he was barely able to counter it causing a shower of sparks to fly from his blade as her connected with arm jarring power, the entire time the queen seemed to be enjoying this by the sick grin plastered on her vile face, she evaded a powerful kick from Jack and spun around it to behind him, before he could react he felt her grab his armour and pull him against her, he felt the lick along his jaw and instantly he smelt her vile breath on his face, "You will make a fine king once I break you" she said in his ear before a backwards elbow strike connected with her face, in order to have the speed to prevent a dodge Jack had to let go of his sword and swing back his arm, but it had the desired effect and he felt his elbow strike her square between her mandibles with a sickening crunch, before he could follow it up with a punch from his other armoured fist she jumped backwards out of his reach.
Using her right hand, she wiped her blood from her mouth before licking it from her fingers, then the sick smile returned to her face, "That's the spirit my love" she said in a gut churning purr, it was like she actually enjoyed the pain he'd inflicted, Jack saw her begin to drop into a battle stance and he knew there was no time to retrieve his sword so he drew his two one handed blades and braced himself for yet another onslaught, at this rate she was going to exhaust him before he was able to land a single proper blow on her.
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At the other side of the battle field Sela eleth and the human defenders were fighting with all they were worth against the now bolstered bad blood ranks, during the lull when something had been going on over on the other side of the field Sela had taken the opportunity to go out and grab more masks and plasma casters from the fallen bad bloods, so now pretty much all of the humans were equipped with Yaujta technology.
They had managed to get themselves propped between the rocks enough to defend from incoming shots while unleashing volley after volley down on the bad bloods, fortunately the masks allowed them to see through the cloaking technology so no more bad bloods had been able to get around them to attack them from the rear as they were swiftly cut down when they tried.
But the sheer numbers of them advancing on the small group still had them pinned down in their trenches as they fought for their lives, it was all they could do to prevent any getting within melee range of their front lines, Sela could hear both Monty and Angel shouting orders to their defenders from behind her, but her attention was drawn to what was going on over on the other side of the field, she kept getting glimpses between the ranks of her father's white armour between the masses, he seemed to be locked in combat with a particularly big bad blood female, she wondered if this was the one that she had seen on the ship before she and her brother were dropped here and if it was she was hoping that her father taught her the meaning of pain for what she'd done here.
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Jack roared in pain as yet another rapid slash made it through his guard and connected with his body, it opened up yet another small wound on the right side of his left thigh, his body was now covered in an obscene amount of these small cuts and each and every one of them stung through the adrenaline that was coursing through his body, it was like she was trying to kill him with bug bites, but then it occurred to him that she really wasn't trying to kill him and Jack realised that she was deadly serious about claiming him, suddenly her attack pattern made complete sense, she'd had loads of opportunities to land some hit that would have done some serious damage to him, but that wasn't what she wanted, she wanted to bring him down, to fell him but leave him alive and unable to fight back, that's why she was targeting his limbs and his extremities, both his arms and legs had a verity of cuts and slices all over them which weakened his ability to fight back and lowered his speed to a crawl, she really was going to try and kill his family in front of him while she did unspeakable things to him, his whole body sagged and his limbs felt like they were filled with lead, rather than attack again the bad blood queen began to circle him with her sword held over her shoulder, "What's wrong Ack? Are you finally beginning to see the futility of your situation? Are you finally beginning to realise that you and me were destined to be together from the very beginning of all this? That it's pointless to resist me as I always get what I want? Just think of all the great things we can accomplish together, two Nightmare Assassins bending this pitiful universe to our will and when we're dead and gone our spirits will guide our beautiful offspring in ruling the whole thing while crushing those that stand against us" she said in that sickening purring voice again,
"Not going to happen you sick fuck, there's only one who holds my heart and she will hold it for as long as I live" Jack spat from behind his mask, the bad blood queen laughed but it swiftly turned into a snarl,
"We shall see Ack and if I can't have your heart then maybe I'll just settle for your loins" she said pointing at a certain part of him with the tip of her sword, Jack felt an actual shiver of fear pass through him as images of what this vile creature had in store for him passed through his mind's eye, he began to wonder if he should just give in to her, if he did maybe he'd be able to convince her to let his family go, but suddenly a peace like nothing he'd ever felt washed into his mind like warm waves of white light, it was accompanied by a honey sweet voice that he instantly recognised,
"Be not afraid my beautiful Dream Warrior, remember those who depend on you, who believe in you, who need you, their strength is your strength, you have so many that care for you, that love you and this is something that this vile creature of darkness and Nightmare will never have, she believes only in fear and it is fear that will consume her, call on those that believe in you, they will come to you, make their strength your own just as your strength is theirs" Paya's voice said in his head.
Jack felt the peace of Paya's voice washing through his mind and his heart taking with it his fears and his doubts, slowly he moved to where his large sword was laid and he leaned down and picked it up from its resting place and held it with its tip to the floor, he felt a small pressure on his right shoulder as he was joined by Boo the cat how was now stood on his shoulder ready to go into the breach with his friend again, his soft purr in his ear calmed his heart, Paya was right he simply had to remember and believe in those that believed in him, suddenly he felt compelled to close his eyes and as he did images of those he loved started to flash through his mind's eye, first was his beautiful loving mate Tik, her happy smiling face warmed his heart, then there was his proud and strong daughter standing tall and fighting for everyone, followed by his amazing son battling oppression, then more and more began to join them as image after image flashed through his mind joining the growing crowd in his head, but little did Jack know what this was actually doing.
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The bad blood queen circled her quarry slowly, she could feel the doubt and fear dripping off him now and it made her even more exited, she was going to relish taking his choice from him and to look into his eyes as he was taken and to watch him fall as finally he gave himself up willingly to her, then and only then would she show him the true power that he deserved, but suddenly as she watched him he seemed to go from exhausted to tranquil in a second, as she watched he stood up with his massive sword and placed the tip into the mud at his feet before closing his eyes, was he praying? She nearly laughed at this, it was going to take more than that limp wristed pitiful excuse for a goddess Paya to save him now, he was hers and she was never going to let go of him, but as she took a step towards him something strange happened, slowly the runes carved into his blade bean to glow.
It started at the very tip of the massive blade and slowly travelled up the blade growing with intensity with every rune that it lit, finally it reached the hand guard where he held it and the glow seemed to reach into his very body and caused that white fire that surrounded him to billow like it was being fed by a gale force wind, he looked up at her and his eyes were glowing bright purple as was those of the small white cat on his shoulder, he began to speak in a voice that seemed to boom through her very soul and through her head, "Mae pob rhai sy'n yn credu mewn cariad a bywyd, dy was ostyngedig galwadau i chi yn awr, rhoi benthyg eich nerth i mi i drechu y creadur o farwolaeth, yn fy helpu i ddod â heddwch i'r bywyd hwn y gallwn gyd yn byw ynddo mewn heddwch a chariad" he said in a voice so powerful that it seemed to tear through her, she didn't recognise the language so quick as a flash she opened her wrist comp and had it translate for her,
'All those who believe in love and life, your servant humbly calls you now, lend me your strength to defeat the creature of death, help me to bring peace to this life that we can all live in peace and love' popped up on the screen with the word 'Welsh' at the bottom corner indicating what Ack was speaking,
"Why the pauk is he speaking in Welsh?" she said in confusion looking at her wrist comp,
"Because he's calling to all those that believe in him in his old mother tongue" a voice from inside her head said, looking up she suddenly saw a whole sea of grey smoke swirling around Ack, spirits started popping up all around him, they were all shapes and sizes, from ancient ooman Celtic warriors that she remembered killing so many years ago, to Yaujta hunters from both the past and the present, to even small ooman and Yaujta children.
As they joined the throng they immediately either placed a hand either on Ack himself or on someone already touching him forming a chain around him, as each one of them added to it the glow in the runes of his sword grew brighter and brighter, as did the white fire swirling around him to the point where it was actually painful to look at him, then as she watched tentacles of purple light arced out of him and seemed to connect him to the little throng of oomans fighting from the rocks,
"Our, voices, hearts and minds are now one, you who would bring death, destruction and decay to everything and everyone we hold dear, now you will taste the righteous rage of the many, for now we stand together as one" Jack said in a voice that echoed with thousands of other voices all at once.
As she watched in utter astonishment she realised that not only she could see this but her warriors could see it too, fear spread through their ranks like lightning and instantly they turned and began to flee trying to make it to the ropes that led out of the cave, "Stand and fight you pauking cowards!" she roared at them causing some of them to hesitate, but as it turned out running had stopped being an option, as while they'd all been distracted by this spectacle a new threat had emerged sealing off the exit and their fates.
The running bad blood warriors screeched to a halt as the front ranks saw what was at the bottom of the ropes blocking their escape, there was a young Yaujta male holding two single handed swords, but it wasn't him that really got their attention, it was the three kiande amedha queens flanking him along with about forty odd heavily armed Yaujta warriors.
Around them was the same purple glow that was surrounding Jack and all of those he seemed to have pulled into his collective, at this moment their auras were visible to all and the mass of bad blood warriors could see the mixture of purest white and red fires billowing around the group as it framed them against the back wall.
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Ryan lifted one of his swords in the air above his head and let loose a mighty roar which was echoed by all of those in his group including his mother and his beloved Shena, not to mention the three queens, from the other side of the cave the battle cry was answered by a very familiar voice he instantly recognised to be his sister and the group of human defenders with her before finally being picked up by their father who now with the voice of the legion flowing through him seemed to shake the very foundation of the cave, at this spectacle the mass of bad bloods began full on panic.
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Jack lifted his now glowing blade from the ground and lifted it so that the mighty blade pointed directly at the ceiling high above his head, "Lets finish this" he said in the voice of the legion, at his words Ryan's group charged full tilt towards the bad bloods with the three queens leading the charge screeching as they went, they tore through the bad bloods front ranks like they were made of paper, claws and tails cutting whole groups in half sending blood and limbs flying in all directions as they charged, the various Yaujta flanking Ryan tore into the ones the queens missed and cut them down, from the other side Sela eleth and the humans jumped from the rocks and began unleashing barrage after barrage into their backs with their plasma casters, they were blowing their rear ranks apart with each volley, the queen of the bad bloods now trapped in the middle of this torrent of righteous fury looked around at the scene unfolding around her with panic beginning to fill her heart, as she turned to look at Jack she saw him pointing his blade at her and to her surprise she saw a small flash of white running at high speed down the very blade itself, before her mind had time to process what was happening a small bundle of sharp teeth and claws attached itself to her face.
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Roaring in pain the bad blood queen tore the small cat from her face before he could do any real damage, but he did take some skin with him and threw him in frustration at one of the kiande amedha queens who was currently turning her warriors into paper with its massive claws and long tail, without missing a beat the queen simply caught the flying cat in mid-air and simply placed him on top her own head like some sort of living crown before continuing her onslaught, but venting her frustration on the little cat had proved rather costly as it had given Jack time to close the gap between them and now she was barely able to defend against the onslaught he unleashed on her, each swing was so powerful that it drove her backwards as they made impact with her own blade, the crash of metal on metal was deafening as Jack's mighty sword hit hers with such force that it jarred her whole body, she tried to use her speed to outpace him and to get around him only to have him counter her perfectly and the impact of the backwards kick that he landed in her midriff knocked the very air out of her lungs, rolling backwards with the force of the kick she instantly sprang back to her feet and lunged her huge sword forwards in an attempt to spear him through the back, she was no longer fighting to claim him, she was fighting for her very life.
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Jack saw the lunge coming a mile off, it was like the queen was moving in slow motion now, with the power of the legion flowing through him he could easily see what was coming, but he also saw something else that caught his attention, as the queen moved it was like there was an after shadow, like a ripple of something or someone else around her, it was only there for a split second but it was enough to catch his attention, deflecting the lunge along his blade an idea occurred to Jack, it was going to be very risky but it might be worth it.
So as he deflected the blade he began to turn and at exactly the right moment he swung himself under the queen's body and using his shoulder he picked her up from the ground and flipped her over himself and on her back, then before she was able to react he booted her massive sword away from her, she immediately pulled a dagger from a holster on her back but before she was able to use it Jack slammed one of his single handed swords through her shoulder effectively pinning her to the ground, the queen roared in pain as blood sprayed from around the blade through her shoulder, then before she was able to try and pull it free Jack dropped onto her midriff and straddled her, "So this was all foreplay ehh my love? I knew you'd come to your senses, but I never imagined you'd like it so rough" she said in a sickening voice looking up at him, but Jack could see the fear in her eyes as she looked into his glowing purple ones,
"Lets see what's in there shall we?" he said as he grabbed the side of her head in his hands,
"What? No! don't you dare! Don't you know who your pauking with!?" the queen yelled as she realised what he was about to do, desperately trying to throw him off but despite her protests Jack tightened his grip on her blood slicked head and forced his mind into hers, instantly their minds began to do battle for dominance as she tried with everything she had to resist his control, but with the power of the legion at his back and in her weakened state she was no match for him and Jack was able to force the connection to hold.
Instantly Jack's mind was flooded with years of pain anguish and torment, it was such a torrent of fear and pain that it threatened to shatter his mind, but as his mind began to waver and fracture he felt the power of the legion moving in to prop him up and to restore him, he knew that he had to endure this but it was like nothing he'd ever imagined possible, such depths of fear and of pain that it was surely impossible for one person to endure it all, but these weren't the depths that the queen had inflicted oh no, these were the depths that the queen had endured.
Suddenly it was all gone and Jack found himself standing in a black void of pure nothingness, all around him was completely empty, devoid of anything and everything, well all except for a young woman that was.
Jack slowly walked towards the young Yaujta woman who was sat on the floor hugging her knees to her chest, as she saw him approach she shied from him, "How did you get in here? You shouldn't be here, if he finds you here he will hurt me again" she said in a very frightened voice,
"Who are you?" Jack asked as he slowly crouched down on his haunches next to the young Yaujta woman, she looked up at him slowly and he instantly saw the pain and fear in her mind, she shook her head and then put it back in between her knees, "I won't hurt you, I promise" Jack said,
"Liar! Everyone hurts me! Especially him, he promised me, he promised me that he could help me" the young woman screamed, Jack looked at her with confusion, but somehow he got the feeling that this woman was the key to everything here, so he decided to persist,
"My name is Jack Mason" he said, she didn't say anything but her eyes tracked his every movement, "May I sit down?" he asked pointing at the floor next to her, she looked really hesitant, but she nodded slowly, it was at this point that Jack noticed a small glimmer in her eyes, it was like the faintest flicker of hope, but it was so faint that it was barely perceivable, "So now you know my name can I know yours?" Jack asked as he sat down on the cold floor next to her, the young woman looked at him curiously,
"Why do you care?" she asked,
"I like to know who I'm speaking to; it makes things so much more personal when you know the name of the one your speaking to" Jack said, the young woman seemed very hesitant at this, but she also seemed to be considering it,
"It's h'chak" she replied quietly, Jack cocked his head curiously,
"That means mercy in Yaujta doesn't it?" he asked, she looked at him curiously,
"Why does an ooman speak Yaujta?" she asked, Jack smiled broadly,
"Kinda helps with communicating with my life mate, especially to know when she's swearing at me and exactly what she's calling me, helps me to gauge just how angry she is and how far to run" Jack said with a grin, this caused a brief smile to pass over h'chak's face before disappearing again in to the sadness, but the flames of curiosity were in her eyes too now,
"You're mated with a Yaujta?" she asked, Jack nodded slowly,
"Yes and she is my life, I'd fight the very universe itself just to see her smile and what make me smile is knowing that she'd do the very same for me, I'd be totally lost without her and our cubs, they are my heart's strength" Jack said in a soft voice, h'chak looked totally surprised,
"You had cubs with her? I didn't think that it was possible for oomans and Yaujta to you know, breed" she said, Jack smiled broadly,
"Neither did we, but it turned out it is possible and we were blessed with our two little miracles" Jack said, h'chak looked both happy and sad at the same time,
"I wish I could have had cubs of my own, but no-one wanted me, I was too different, none of the males would look at me, they were all scared of me, all I wanted was someone to accept me, to hold me and tell me that I wasn't bad or scary, then he came…." h'chak said but as she reached the last part she clammed up,
"Who is he?" Jack prodded, h'chak shook her head while hugging her knees tightly,
"I can't, he'll hurt me so bad again" she said in a voice barely above a whisper, Jack smiled softly as he started to realise what was happening here,
"He won't hurt you while I'm here" Jack said, h'chak looked at him with tearful eyes,
"He always hurts me, to keep me quiet while he does those horrible things to people, he always forces me to watch while he uses my body to do such horrible things" she said in her whisper quiet voice,
"Well then why don't you let me protect you?" Jack said, h'chak's head snapped round to look him right in the eye, her eyes searched his for any traces of deceit but she couldn't see any, "You're a Dream Warrior aren't you?" Jack asked, h'chak nodded slowly,
"That's why people were scared of me, because of the things I could do" she said, Jack nodded,
"It means you can read minds, so here see for yourself, you'll see I'm not lying to you" Jack said offering his hand to her, h'chak looked at his hand with curiosity burning bright in her eyes, but there was also a lot of fear in there too, she reached her hand out till it nearly touched his, but then at the last moment just before it touched she snatched it back and sat there shaking her head,
"I can't" she said bursting into tears again, Jack reached out and placed his hand on her broad shoulder which caused her to flinch, but not to pull away from him, this was obviously the first warmth of contact she had felt in a very long time and it was obvious that while she was terrified she didn't want to lose it, she looked at him with tear streak eyes full of hope now,
"Yes you can h'chak, you just have to believe in yourself and if you can't believe in yourself, believe in me" Jack said softly, h'chak took a really deep breath as she steeled her nerves, there was something strong and powerful about this strange ooman that drew her to him, it was like he was emanating strength right into her very soul, she decided that she should trust him,
"I can do this" she said in a shaking voice, then slowly she reached out her hand till it touched Jack's, then as they touched he entwined his fingers with hers and her eyes changed.
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With the aid of three kiande amedha queens, another battle hardened Dream Warrior and a whole host of pissed of Yaujta led by one seriously annoyed Tik eleth in full momma bear mode as she saw both her cubs in peril, the bad blood masses were being reduced to a pile of corpses rather swiftly.
The three queens alone had reduced the bad blood masses to absolute panic and many had tried to surrender, but kiande amedha don't take prisoners, none were spared and they were given the same level of mercy they had given their own quarries when they had dumped them here to be hunted, none.
As Ryan fell the last of the bad blood warriors around him he turned and looked at the battle field, he could see his group stood victories on this field as the last of the bad bloods was felled by his Matriarch as he tried desperately to escape on the ropes, as he turned he could see no further combatants standing, raising one of his swords above his head he let loose a mighty roar of victory, this was swiftly taken up by his Matriarch and his allies all around him, even the queens and the strange little white creature that one of them had riding on her head leant their voices to the victory cry.
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As soon as she heard Ryan's voice from the far side of the cave roaring in victory she knew it was finally over, Sela eleth climbed up from her place between the rocks and raised her fist above her head and let loose a victory roar of her own, her ooman comrades all looked over the rocks, "Is it over?" Angel asked looking at the group of Yaujta over by the ropes, Sela eleth removed her mask and looked down at her with a massive grin, suddenly somebody yelled out in surprise,
"Incoming!" the voice roared, all the ooman guns turned to track the running target which was heading straight for them at top speed, as she heard plasma casters spinning up Sela eleth recognised the running figure,
"DON'T SHOOT!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, all of her ooman allies looked at each other and then at her in confusion, "Trust me if you value your arms attached to your shoulders and not torn off and rammed up your arse you really don't want to be the one who shoot's at my Matriarch" Sela eleth as she watched her mother charging towards her across the battle field at top speed.
Tik eleth crashed right into her beloved daughter picking her right up of her feet in the tightest bear hug of her life, Tik eleth spun around happily on the spot holding her daughter to her body as she did, "Oh my beloved daughter it's so good to see you again!" she said happily into her daughter's shoulder as she clung to her as if she was terrified that Sela was going to evaporate into a cloud of mist and be nothing more than illusion.
Sela eleth clung to her mother's muscular frame for all she was worth, "As it is you my Matriarch, I have missed you so greatly" she said her voice cracking and threatening to dissolve into tears of happiness.
Tik eleth finally released her daughter and put her down on her feet in front of her and slowly stroked the side of her daughter's face, Sela leaned into her mother's touch and that was the final straw tears began to flow from her eyes which caused her mother to embrace her again, the two clung together again, "No one will take you from me again my beloved cub, this I swear to you" Tik said in a cracking voice as she held her young sobbing daughter tightly.
As they watched this tearful mother daughter reunion more than one of the gathered humans felt themselves tearing up, but for them this reunion meant so much more, it meant that their collective nightmare was finally at an end, it meant that they were finally free.
Suddenly out of the blue Sela eleth burst from her mother's grip much to Tik eleth's confusion, she searched her daughter's face and saw a look of fear painted across it which instantly put her on her guard, "What is it my daughter?" Tik asked quickly,
"Robert! I have to get Robert!" Sela eleth said before turning on her heels and charging off across the battle field and up towards a set of bombed out huts up on the other side of the rise, without even a second thought Tik eleth set of in hot pursuit of her daughter, she didn't know who this Robert was, but he was obviously important to her daughter and that made him important to her too.
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As the gathered humans watched the two Yaujta females race off across the battlefield in the direction of where Sela had originally been shooting from Millar stepped forwards next to Monty and Angel, "Damn easy to see where Sela gets her looks from" he said, Angel nodded and so did Monty,
"So that's Jack's Alien wife, hell of a lot of woman right there" Monty said, all three nodded again,
"You know I'm beginning to believe that Jack's onto something here, I mean look at the way they fight for those who they love, there really must be something to this Yaujta love" Millar said, Angel snorted a laugh then she turned to look at him with a grin,
"You thinking of switching sides on us boss?" she asked with a small laugh, he turned to look at her with a grin of his own,
"Let me think about this, strong, powerful, loyal to the bitter end, would kill the universe to protect you and just to show their love for you, more muscles in places than I have places, trust me If I can land me a woman like that? Damn fucking straight" he said, Angel's smile instantly evaporated,
"You can't be serious?" she said looking at him in shock, his grin widened,
"Fucking deadly" he said, suddenly Cortez was stood next Millar's shoulder,
"I hear you there boss" he said, Angel's jaw dropped even further open,
"You think any of them would go for a mature gentleman?" Monty said rubbing his moustache, Millar laughed out loud,
"Monty with your temper and the fire in you I think you'd fit right in" he said with a grin which caused the old Marine to laugh out loud,
"Your all fucking nuts, I mean just look at them, there's nothing beautiful about them!" Angel exclaimed, Millar turned to Angel and planted a hand on her shoulder,
"I never thought you were so shallow Angel, you might want to try and looking a little deeper and you know what they say?" Millar said,
"No what do they say?" Angel said in a huff,
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" Millar said patting her shoulder,
"Well if it's good enough for our resident Dream Warrior bad ass sniper slash swordsman over there, then it's good enough for me and if there's anything I've learned here it's to keep an open mind" Cortez said,
"Amen to that" both Monty and Millar said at the same time, Angel just shook her head, but as she looked up at the group of Yaujta some of which had made their way over to where the humans were she noticed a male dressed in bright crimson armour, he was carrying a giant war spear and was standing with the light framed behind him bouncing of his armour making crimson rays all around him and her heart leapt in her chest, he was striking,
"This is not fucking possible" she said to herself quietly.
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Amy sat cradling Robert's head in her lap, he was still weak but he was at least awake now, the first thing he had said upon awakening was to ask both is Sela eleth was ok and to ask where she was, this had made Amy smile as she'd told him that she was ok and that she was fighting to protect them.
She really couldn't see much of the battle field from where they were hidden behind the burnt out hut, but the fact that the firing had stopped both worried her and at the same time gave her hope, hope that bloomed into full on joy as she saw Sela eleth and another bigger Yaujta woman appear over top of the rise and begin searching for them, "Sela we're over here!" Amy called raising a hand so she could see them in their hiding spot, Sela eleth's head instantly snapped towards them at the sound of her voice and she charged towards them with the other woman in tow.
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As soon as she heard Amy's voice call out to her Sela eleth ran full tilt towards them, her heart was pounding with fear the entire time, she was locked in a constant repeating prayer to Paya for Robert to be ok, as she dropped into the little dip that they had Amy had dragged him into to hide them she could see his eyes were open and he was looking at her, as soon as he saw her his soot covered face face broke into a smile and he tried to reach out for her, instantly she dropped into the dip and grabbed hold of his hand and held it tightly.
"Thank God you're ok" Robert said weakly,
"God had nothing to do with it my love, it was you who saved me" Sela said holding his hand tightly, at Sela's words Tik's brow shot right up so that it showed above her mask,
"My love?" she questioned in Yaujta looking at her daughter, Sela's face instantly looked guilty and she smiled shyly,
"Mother this is Robert, he is the one I have pledged my life and my love to" Sela said looking her mother right in the eye, or at least at the eye pieces of her hunting mask, Tik eleth slowly removed her hunting mask and looked her daughter right in the eye,
"You have made your heart claim to him?" she asked, Sela shook her head,
"Not yet as the bad bloods launched their cowardly attack before I was able to bring him before father and make my heart claim known" Sela said, Tik was about to reply when Robert groaned in pain and she looked down at him before kneeling down and inspecting the young ooman,
"There will be time for that later my beloved daughter, he is quite badly wounded and we must treat his wounds immediately or he will not survive" Tik said in a quiet voice, tears instantly sprang into her daughter's eyes which instantly showed her Matriarch the depths of her feelings for this young ooman and told her all she needed to know,
"It's all my fault my Matriarch, he was wounded saving me, the hut we were in was destroyed by the bad bloods, Robert used himself to shield me from the blast" she said as she knelt down and tenderly stoked the forehead of her wounded male, Tik clicked her mandibles in a soothing way,
"It is not your fault my beloved daughter, you could have not predicted the bad blood's cowardice, but anyone who is willing to potentially give up their life to protect one of my cubs has earned not only my gratitude but my respect, we will make him well again I give you my word and at that time you will make your heart claim for him in front of your entire clan as it should be" she said, Sela eleth smiled at her tearfully, then with that Tik tenderly scooped up the injured Robert in her large arms and turned to head back towards the oomans, straight away the little black skinned ooman was by her side holding onto Robert's hand, it was obvious to Tik that he was important to her also and with both her and her daughter in tow she headed back down the rise.
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The sheer torrents of pain and suffering that filled Jack's head now nearly crippled him, the horrors that this poor woman had been forced to endure were beyond words, getting a second dose of this was horrific but Jack knew that he had to endure it if he was going to get to the bottom of this, on the other end of the scale h'chak was smiling blissfully as she experienced Jack's life through his eyes, he swiftly realised this was because this seemed to be the only joy that she had experienced in her life and it wasn't even hers, he felt such pity for her, as the events of her life unfolded before his eyes he began to understand her, she had been called h'chak by her parents because her mother had found out that she was barren, but somehow she'd been able to conceive her, so they believed that she was a gift given in mercy by Paya, hence the name, but all that happiness of her family swiftly faded when they found out that she was a Dream Warrior, rather than embrace her abilities and nurture them to make her into what she should have become it scared them and the others of her clan, so they shunned her and ostracised her from the clan, she became a pariah in her own home with no friends and no one even willing to look at her for fear that she would invade their minds and Dreams, Jack felt such mind crushing loneliness and emptiness that it reduced him to tears, she was like a ghost haunting the corners of her clan ship, keeping away from her peers for fear of their reprisals and hatred, but then a voice reached out to her in the darkness, as Jack listened to the sickly honey sweet voice promising her an end to her loneliness and the power to get revenge on all of those who had hurt and shamed her this scared and lonely young woman began to listen, this voice swiftly became her only friend, the only one who would even give her the time of day, so with no-one to guide her and no one to show her the right she took the deal and instantly regretted it as she became a prisoner in her own mind as something more powerful and far darker than she could have ever believed possible took up residence in her body and began using her powers to its own end while forcing her to watch as it used her gifts to unleash such unbelievable horrors.
The dark horror did live up to its end of the bargain, it had promised revenge on all of those who had hurt her and it delivered alright, it literally tore her entire clan apart using her powers, she was forced to watch as the creature now wearing her skin tore her family apart with its bare hands and cut a swath of blood and fury through her clan ship, enslaving any that were too scared to try and fight her and destroying any who did, it was only now that Jack fully understood, he saw who it was that had control of her and it was up to him to free her.
As their bond severed h'chak's hand trailed in the air as if trying to recapture the happy memories that she'd experienced in Jack's head, "You've had such a hard but happy life" she said sadly, without saying a word Jack moved over to her side and wrapped his arms arund the Yaujta female and pulled her into a hug, the intimate contact surprised the young woman and she stiffened under his touch,
I'm so so sorry that you had to endure such cruelty, no one should have to go through such things especially at the hands of those that are supposed to love them" he said quietly, from having seen his memories and seen how he was she knew that he was sincere in his words, this was the most kindness she'd seen in such a long time that it broke her, she threw her arms around the ooman Dream Warrior and clung to him as tears and sobs cascaded from her,
"It's ok now, I'm here and I'm going to help you, together we're going to get this evil out of you and you're going to have your life back" Jack said softly, h'chak looked at him with panic filled tearful eyes,
"I-I-I-I Can't he's too powerful!" she stammered, Jack had felt that the power this entity wielded but he'd also felt something else when the two had joined and now he planned to exploit it, he smiled at her broadly and winked at her,
"Leave it to me I got this" he said, she looked confused as he realised her and stood up leaving her arms hanging in the air still craving the touch of another that she had been denied in so very long, he stood up and walked a few paces into the dark but her eyes never lost sight of him as light seemed to pour off him like an ooman light bulb, "Loki! Get your arse out here where I can see you coward, I challenge you to single combat!" Jack yelled into the darkness, suddenly a booming noise that was definitely laughter echoed around in the dark bouncing off unseen surfaces,
"You dare to challenge a god mortal?" a voice said in the dark,
"Oh I dare alright" Jack said with a smile into the dark,
"You know I have to admit that I am actually rather impressed by you mortal, I mean not only did you manage to defeat this rather piss poor specimen of a Yaujta here, but you managed to infiltrate hear head as well, I think I would be better off possessing you as you a far better specimen" the voice said with such sheer contempt for h'chak after all he'd done to her that it made Jack sick to his stomach, but he couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way of his plan, he'd only get one shot at this and he had to get it right or it could mean h'chak's life,
"Well then how about this, you face off against me in one on one combat, if I win you'll leave this woman be and go back to where ever the fuck you came from" Jack said,
"And if I win?" Loki's voice asked curiously,
"Then I'll give myself up without a fight and we will join willingly" Jack said,
"Ack no! he'll destroy you!" h'chak yelled at him but when he turned to look at her he was smiling and he winked at her, she quickly silenced herself having his memories fresh in her mind she knew this ooman symbol well, he had a plan.
Loki's voice boomed in laughter again, "I'm impressed by you confidence mortal, you honestly think you can defeat a god?" he asked,
"I don't think I know I can" Jack said, suddenly a shape took form in the darkness, it was that of a man wearing golden crested plate armour carrying a sceptre with a large horned helmet,
"Very well mortal we shall see what you made of" he said squaring off against Jack who remained motionless,
"You want to know something Loki?" Jack said,
"What's that then mortal?" Loki asked looking at him curiously, he really didn't like this mortal's arrogant body language and demeanour and he couldn't wait to show him his place,
"You really aren't that smart for a so called god" Jack said, Loki laughed out loud,
"Oh really mortal? And why is that?" he said with a rather amused expression,
"Because if I can see you and I know where you are, so do my friends" Jack said, Loki looked confused,
"What are you talking about mortal?" he asked his temper flaring,
"Now!" Jack yelled and like a torrential river spirits and souls poured out of him, a gale of grey smoke poured out of Jack's body before surrounding the stunned god, as they materialised they seized hold of him before he could fade back into the darkness.
"What is the meaning of this release me!" Loki yelled as the spirits gripped hold of him, Jack walked towards the now restrained god,
"Not so easy to escape them is it?" he asked looking into Loki's hate filled eyes,
"I-I-I-I can't move! That's impossible there's no way mere spirits can do this to me! I am a god!" Loki stammered and yelled as he struggled futility against the mass of spirits holding him in place,
"Want to know one of the things that I've learned from being a Dream Warrior Loki?" Jack asked as he leaned forwards to look the rather irate god right in the face,
"Oh and what pearl of wisdom are you going to bestow on me mortal?" Loki spat,
"While spirits can give vitality and energy to those they favour, they can also do the reverse to those they despise, all they needed was my help to get this close to you, so you see I needed them to give me the strength to penetrate your defences and to get in here and they needed me to be able to gain access so that they could get at you, so it was a mutually beneficial arrangement" Jack said, Loki simply snarled at him but then a cocky smile returned to his face,
"So what now mortal? Are you going to exorcise me from that pitiful excuse of a fallen Yaujta Dream Warrior? I don't think so you are no god and no matter how many spirits you have in your so called army you simply don't have the power to achieve that, so where does that leave us? Back at square one" Loki said smiling the whole time, now it was Jack's turn to smile, but this was a smile of pure darkness that made even the trickster god nervous,
"Oh no I'm not going to exorcise you, I'll leave that to one who has more power than me in that area, but first we're going to teach you something" Jack said,
"Oh and what would that be?" Loki asked in a much more nervous sounding voice,
"The nature of mortality" Jack said.
Loki looked rather confused now, "You can't teach a god how to be mortal, human" he almost laughed as he said it, Jack grinned,
"Wanna bet? I might not be able to kill you which believe me when I say it would give me great pleasure, but what we can do is show you what it feels like" Jack said, Loki looked rather worried now,
"What?" he asked looking almost scared now,
"Every death you caused, every gram of pain you made others endure you are now going to feel it in its entirety, raw and unfiltered, you are going to see what fear is god and you are going to know it's effect" Jack said,
"Impossible, there's no way you can pull off such a thing" Loki spat nervously, Jack's grin grew darker,
"Oh I am not going to be the one to show you, she is" Jack said pointing at h'chak who was now standing behind him, "You made her endure the worst humiliations possible and you used her body to joy ride around the universe inflicting pain and suffering on millions just to get your kicks, well now she's going to show you just what it feels like to be on the receiving end of it and I'm going to help her" Jack said.
Emboldened by the powerful ooman Dream Warrior standing by her side now h'chak stepped forwards, she glanced at Ack, he nodded with a smile that was gentle for her, then she looked at the Loki, the man who had made her suffer so much pain, so much humiliation and so much sadness and fear, now it was her turn and she felt her rage boiling up inside her, she lunged forwards and she grabbed the sides of Loki's head, instantly she felt Ac's hands on her shoulders and she felt the power of the ooman Dream Warrior and all the spirits joined with him flow into her, she never felt power like it, it felt like she could do anything.
"N-N-N-No you can't!" Loki roared trying to shake his head out of h'chak's grip but as he looked up at her he saw her eyes change, they were now glowing purple the same as the human Dream Warrior behind her,
"Take it god, take the pain you inflicted and own it!" both Jack and h'chak roared in perfect unison and using Jack's power and connection to all the spirits around him she forced the entirety of the feeling and experiences of both herself and all those around her into Loki's mind.
The trickster god screamed in agony as he was forced to experience the pain and anguish of all those around him in raw unfiltered detail, it was far more than one mind even that of a god could handle and it broke him, the sheer intensity of all that fear, all that pain, all that horror and darkness reduced Loki to a gibbering wreak and all of those connected felt his mind break.
As it did Jack and h'chak released the connection and disengaged from him, as did all of the spirits holding him, there was no need of their restraint now as the trickster god slumped to the floor where he continued to gibber incoherently, h'chak turned to face jack holding her hands up and looking at them, "We did it, I'm free!" she said, Jack nodded and grinned, in a flash she threw her arms around his shoulders and clung to him,
"Thank you" she said in a breaking voice,
"You're most welcome but it was your power that did it, all you needed was some good friends to help prop you up when you needed it" Jack said gesturing around him to all the smiling spirits around them,
"Friends?" she said like it was an alien word, Jack nodded,
"All of us here know that what your body did to them you had no part in, you were as much a prisoner as they were, so they don't hold you responsible and neither do I" Jack said, h'chak's eyes widened,
"Really?" she said, he nodded,
"And don't worry when we've pulled that fucking festering boil out of your head I'll explain to the others what happened here" Jack said,
"B-B-B-But what if they still hate me?" h'chak stammered her fear rising, Jack smiled and tightened his grip on the wavering female,
"Then they can answer to me and I'll show then just what happened here like only one of our kind can" he said,
"Y-Y-Y-You'd do that? For me?" she stmmered, Jack nodded,
"That's what friends are for, they are the ones that stand by our sides no matter the odds and prop us up no matter what" Jack said and as he did the gathered spirits all closed around them and h'chak felt them all laying hands on her, in a massive rush she felt their emotions pouring into her and it brought tears back to her eyes,
"Thank you, all of you" she said as she sobbed into Jack's chest.
After releasing h'chak from their embrace there was only one thing left for Jack to do, "Hey Paya! Get your sparkly arse down here, we got something that belongs to you" he yelled into the darkness, from no-where a sound of sweet giggling came floating to them,
"And how would you know that my arse is sparkly Jack? I don't think a certain female Yaujta up there who's currently pacing a hole in the cave floor would appreciate it if she knew you were admiring my rear so closely" a honey sweet voice said,
"Ha bloody ha and no your right she wouldn't, I'd either get my dick ripped off and beaten with it or have to endure weeks of her pouring glitter on her arse and asking me if it's sparkly enough for me now" Jack said putting a hand on his hip, the high pitched laughter sounded again and out of the darkness a white light poured forth, Paya appeared with two companions at her sides,
"Every woman has her insecurities Jack, even if she knows just how much you love her and how you'd never even dream of looking at another female in that way" she said smiling broadly, Jack sighed and the smiled,
"Well then I guess that'll I'll just have to prove to her how I'd choose her over a goddess any day of the week then won't I?" he said with a sly smile which caused Paya to laugh again.
It was only now that Jack even looked at her two companions, "Ah let me do the introductions, this here is Angus og and this fine fellow is Gwydion, they are here to help me escort this festering boil as you so aptly described him back to Asgard" Paya said as her two companions headed over to the still gibbering Loki and hoisted him to his feet, he was totally unaware of what was happening to him and all Jack could see in his eyes was nothingness,
"Wished we'd had the idea to lock him inside his own mind centuries ago" Gwydion said as he looked at the gibbering trickster god, then Paya turned to h'chak who was hiding behind Jack in the presence of her goddess,
"Step forth my child there is no need to be afraid, you will not be harmed" she said, h'chak looked up at Jack for support and he simply smiled at her and nodded, slowly she stepped out from behind him and into her goddess's presence,
"I am so sorry for what he's done to you my sweet sweet daughter, but know this while I cannot erase the stain that he has marked your soul with I can give you back the years that he has stolen, I will erase every scar and every wound that you suffered while under his control, you will have your life back and this time it will be your to lead" Paya said, instantly h'chak fell to her knees in front of the goddess and wept,
"Thank you! Oh bless you Paya thank you!" she said as the smiling goddess walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders before lifting her to her feet,
"If I might make a suggestion?" Paya said to her,
"Anything" h'chak said quickly,
"Stick close to this ooman, let him be your strength when you need it, when he said he was your friend he meant it and I know this ooman well, if you have got him to say something like that, he pauking well means it, so let him guide you, accompany him on his path and I know that you will be rewarded with that which you so desperately seek, and who knows? If you walk that path with him, you might just very well find a strong ooman of your own to show you the same love that he shows his beloved Tik eleth every single day" Paya said with a smile and a wink, h'chak flushed bright crimson, Paya smiled broadly at this,
"You can't hide these things from a goddess remember?" she said with another wink, then she turned to her companions, "Right lets get him back to Odin, I'm sure he's going to have something to say about all this" she said, but before they departed she turned and smiled once more at Jack,
"Better get back to that beloved female of your Jack or she's going to end up on the other side of the planet" she said, then with a flash all of them were gone.
Jack turned to h'chak, "So you ready to go back to having a life again?" he asked, she smiled at him broadly,
"More than ready" she said, he grinned at her,
"So what are we waiting for?" he said and with that everything around them began to fade.
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Tik eleth was pacing furiously back and forth next to the prone body of the bad blood queen and her beloved Ack, after she had handed Robert over to his ooman brethren and they had stabilised him she had made her way back here, Ack and the bad blood queen were still locked together with him straddling her and gripping the sides of her head, usually this Dream Warrior stuff was over in a flash, but it felt to her like they'd been in there hours, her frustrations grew to the point where she was ready to rip the arms of the next person who asked her if she was alright, suddenly her beloved Ack drew a massive breath and his eyes returned from the glowing purple to their usual brilliant blue and he coughed a few times, in a split second she had him up off that vile woman and in her arms where he belonged, her eyes searched his franticly to make sure that it was still her Ack that she was holding, suddenly a huge smile passed over his face as his eyes swam into focus and he saw her,
"It's over my love, it's finally over" he said softly before being drowned in kisses and nearly squeezed to death.