Well this is it ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the road, this is to be the final chapter of Enemey of my Enemy and it gives be both sadness and joy at the same time.
It has been a hell of a journey getting here with plenty of heartache on and off the page for my charecters and me as an author, but it is a joueny I have enjoyed taking and i sincerly hope you all have as well and it both humbles me and fills me with such a sense of joy and pridew that so many of you have taken this trip with me and have held with me for so long during the time its taken me to complete it what with my abcense from the community for so long.
But it is time, time to draw the curtain on this tale so that I can begin anew, that having been said I have decided to run two tales at the same time for my next works, as you my loyal and wonderful readers have spoken and i have listened.
So let me announce the results of the poll, the next installment of Hunter Hunted will be called Hunter Hunted HYbrid wars, this will tell the tale of how Clan Mason truely came to be the force for good that it is in Enemy, it will show things like Jack and Tik meeting the Beledon, fighting countless battles with the creeping darkness, it will show the chaos that the universe was plunged into and how Clan Mason stood alone to hold it back and so much more.
The other will be a collection of mini stories entitled the Chronicles of Clan Mason, each one will follow a pair from the original Hunter Hunted and will try to teell thier story, it won't tell the whole thing obviously otherwise it will be way too long, but it will use things like time skips to show how each couple built a life for themselves on the home world and a few will intersect with the Hybrid Wars to help tie the lore together.
On this front I want to give a coulpe of Special shout outs to some of my friends who have stuck with me through this and have been both my support and guides on my trails.
CelfwrDderwydd: You are a person of many ideas my friend, a dedicated follower of lore and perveyor of ideas big and small, you have given me so many things to contemplate and I say a big thank you here for your support and your dedication to my little world.
Doug, Sandy and Tiki: You guys light up my life and my comment section, no lie your love radiates from the three of you all the way over here in not so sunny Wales, you both been with me right from the very beggining of my career and i hope you will stay with me, thank you for all the love and support.
The Chimerian Hybrid: My loyal beta who has stood with me through this escapade and has tried his very best to keep up with me and my manic dead lines, plus also giving both his support and his input to this, both have been noted and appricated my friend, I hope you stay on.
Wisekuubi:A good friend of mine who gave me the charecter of Rose and basically let me do what I wanted with her, I promised him that I would take his OC and treat her with kid gloves and do him proud with her becasue he told me she was based on someone dear to his heart, I hope I did you proud dude.
And finally all of you, every single person who piccked this story up weather as just a random little read or as a fan i say thank you, thank you for reading my work and supporting me, you guys are why I do this sort of thing and seeing the love I get in both the comments and in the private messages brings me such joy its hard to describe even with my vocaulary.
On this front and with a sutble hint I've gotten from a few who shall remain nameless I'm opening up a discord server called Here There Be Ghosts, I'm hoping it will be a fun chill place for any and all who want to come and bounce ideas off me for stuff they want to see, or just to chat with me or my other readers and just hang out, everyone is welcome, just be mindful to respect each other and be polite.
discord . gg / hES52zn
Anyone who wants in just use this link just take the spaces out becasue FF loves to censor stuff like that.
So with a heavy and joyful heart I say one last big thank you to you all, this is GhostNobody saying I'll see you in the next episode, now on with the show...
Chapter 46: World's End.
"So, this is it, huh? Does anybody else feel it in their bones too?" Jack asked, looking out of the Sword of Silence's bridge windows.
"Yeah, I feel it too, like a creeping dread and coldness reaching out to me," Macha said, leaning on Aiden's shoulder for moral support, he patted her big hand and slipped his other arm around her waist, pulling his queen close before taking his free hand and pulling T'Shara into the hug and putting a wing around each of them as the three stood looking at the cold dead orb traveling through the darkness of space with no system to call its own, poetic really when you thought about it.
But Aiden could feel so much more than the coldness and the dread reaching out in the dark, he could feel the deep seething evil at its core, anger, rage, purest hate so powerful it was overwhelming, like trying to look at a sun without protection for your eyes, but this burned its way into your soul through your heart.
Aiden reached out with his heart to all those around him, shielding them from the darkness as it tried to invade them, to worm its way into their hearts and minds and like fire burning away the darkness of night Aiden's gift drove it back from them and he saw Jack and the others shaking their heads to clear them from the cold, dark fog.
Jack glanced at Aiden who just gave him a knowing smile, "Thank you, Angel, it's such a quiet thing, isn't it?" he said, and Aiden nodded.
"Not all evil is loud and boorish," he said softly, not really knowing where those words came from but feeling the truth ringing in them all the same and Jack nodded as Tik wrapped her arms around him from behind and embraced him, becoming his support, Dream Warriors were not the only ones vulnerable to this evil but they were the ones who could feel it the most.
"There's a whole lot of them down there, Nightmare Assassins, corrupted warriors, and even Dark gods and goddesses, I can feel them, we're going to need to hit them with everything we have, this is going to be one hell of a battle, but we have to draw the devil out, bring him out into the open so that Reaper can face him down, only he can destroy him and send his soul back where it belongs," Jack said, looking darkly at the planet.
"We're going to need all the help we can get," Aiden said.
"And you shall have it, young one," a familiar voice echoed in his mind, suddenly out of a ghostly pale golden light stepped a very familiar figure dressed in the most beautiful armor Aiden had ever seen, it was white gold with what looked like diamond pauldrons and plates like intricately woven scales decorating her.
"Lady Paya," Aiden said in surprise, but before he could say another word more of them stepped out, dressed in equally beautiful armors, men and women alike, the gods and goddesses had come to help and there were so many of them, Celtic war gods standing nearly naked but for light armor and body paint and charms hanging off them that looked to heavy to be used as weapons, Macha seemed to have brought both her horse and were Raven and both were wearing armor, there were so many of them, it was truly incredible.
"This isn't just your fight, young one, this is all of our fights, we will stand side by side with you just like in the days of old, I do so miss those days, don't you, Jack?" Paya said, bringing up her mandibles into a warm smile, Jack chuckled softly and nodded.
"It's been too long, my Lady," he said, bowing, and she nodded.
"Oh, and your great grandson sends his love, he was somewhat surprised when I appeared and sort of, umm, whisked him away to paradise, though I will say he's a quick learner and adapter that one, such a smart, pretty boy, it's good to have a treasure of my own to keep and protect, he's reminded me what it is to live and love, though he did have a little, ahem, trouble keeping up with a goddess at first, but like I said he's a quick learner, never thought I'd have an ooman standing proudly beside my throne, let alone laid happily and willingly in my bed, but let's just say I now fully see what my beloved daughter sees in your kind and he's very happy there, I make sure he wants for nothing and we spend our days on the most glorious hunts, he's quite the trophy collector that one, I believe he gets that from his grand Matriarch," Paya said, flashing Jack a bright smile, and Jack laughed softly and nodded.
"Just do me a favor and let him visit his family from time to time, we'll miss him dearly if he's gone too long, remember what time is like up there," Jack replied, and now Paya laughed and nodded.
"I will, in fact, before we set foot onto the battle field today I wished to, in keeping with my children's most sacred traditions, wished to speak with you both, as the goddess of the hunt I must uphold the traditions that I have instilled into my children otherwise how might I serve as an example to them?" Paya said, looking oddly proud and flustered all at once and surprising both Jack and Tik with her candor.
"Umm, ok," Jack said curiously.
"He has been with me only a few days and already your ooman kin has changed my life, I know Yautja blood flows in his veins as well, though thinned enough for it to barely show other than in his spirit, but I intend to take him as my husband, my lifemate and as his grand Patriarch and Matriach I seek your permission for my true hunt to begin, I stand before you now and I declare my love proudly, just as any of my children should," Paya said, her voice filled with love and fire, not to mention pride, as one every single mouth and mandible set fell open, a goddess just asked two mortals for their permission to marry their great grand child.
Jack closed his mouth and smile then stepped forwards and placed his hand upon the diamond pauldron that protected her shoulder, "If the goddess of the hunt can't make him happy then who could? As the Grand Patriarch of clan Mason, I give my permission and bless your hunt," he said, then he looked at Tik who looked both perplexed and surprised then nodded.
Tik stepped forwards and placed her hand on Paya's other shoulder, "You honor our clan and my family with your kindness and love, my lady, I echo the words of my most beloved of hearts, if you couldn't make him happy then there truly is no hope for him, I hope he will honor you proudly with his ooman love as my Ack honors me with his, so, as Grand Matriarch of Clan Mason, I too bless your hunt, but know this, goddess or not, if you harm my beloved kin or break his heart when I die I will hunt you across the realms until I get vengeance for the blood of my blood," Tik said, and Paya roared with laughter and flashed Tik a huge smile.
"Spoken like the true and proud daughter of mine that I always knew you were, Tik eleth, you do your entire race proud and thank you both," Paya said, embracing them both in turn.
Then she turned to Aiden and smiled at him, "Seems that you have adapted to life as our Angel, young one," she said, and Aiden nodded smiling softly.
"Somewhat, bit tricky to get used to in all honesty," he said, and Paya smiled as a few of the other gods and goddesses chuckled before stepping forwards to inspect him up close.
"He has a strong heart and a fiery soul this one, Paya, I see why you chose him," Odin said, clapping his massive hand on Aiden's shoulder.
"Not to mention a heart full of love," Macha the goddess said as her raven hopped onto his shoulder and regarded him and his wings curiously for a moment before making itself at home on one of his wing struts, seemingly pleased with its new perch it began to preen his feathers happily which was an odd sensation to say the least.
It was only then that he saw Queen Bee's mouth hanging open as were the rest of the Spirits who had gathered, "Oh, yeah, sorry, Spirits, gods, gods, Spirit team six," Aiden said, making the introductions but before he could say another word the gods and goddesses spread out and were making their own more personal introductions to the various members who were standing looking both lost and shocked as they were shaking hands with the divine beings.
There were quite a few that Aiden didn't recognise in amongst their number, those who until now remained silently in the background, some looked human but most didn't, they were the deities of all the species aboard who had come to represent their beloved children in this final fight, to fight and bleed alongside them as they laid down their lives to ensure that this universe had a future.
"I've sent the coordinates to the various Special forces and they're sending backup, should be here soon," Queen Bee said, and Aiden nodded.
"We're going to need them," he said, looking at the planet's dark, forbidding surface.
Over the next couple of hours more and more came to join the effort, huge carriers from both the Yautja packed with Halkrath hunters, Colonial Marines aboard two huge jump carriers with a couple of torpedo frigates for defence, Section 5 sent a massive jump carrier that looked like a huge white torpedo, even the Scalathor were invited to the party, sending one of their own ships, a jump carrier carrying Scalathorian Marines.
Of course more Guardian Core ships arrived, carrying warriors of all faces and all species but all carrying one heart, to defend their beloved clan, at the tip of it all was the Sword of Silence feeding scans and intel to all of them, but in all honesty the enemy wasn't that difficult to locate, nor were the huge anti-air batteries defending it and the planet, they had enough point defences to prevent an orbital strike, plus Spike was trying to make sense of some very odd energy readings he'd been picking up from below the surface inside the compound.
"No way! No fucking way! They did not crack it! Oh, god, this bad!" Spike exclaimed and as one every god and goddess on the bridge turned their head to look at him as if he was appealing directly to them, the closest to him were a pair of giant minotaurs who were blatently twins, one god and one goddess of the Beledon, they were utterly huge, having to stoop slightly to move around on the bridge despite its ceiling being 12ft high.
Both were dressed in heavy looking golden armor and carrying huge battle axes on their backs, they didn't speak much but Cuddlebug had told him that their names translated as Sun and Moon, they were the goddess of the day and the god of the night.
They loomed over Spike to see what he was doing, "They've bloody cracked it! There's just no other explanation for these readings!" Spike exclaimed, his eyes never leaving his console, seemingly not aware of the two Beledon deities and one Yautja huntress leaning over him.
"What have you got, Spike?" Queen Bee asked.
"Only the worse news since we found out this shit is an Engineer bio weapon, they've cracked teleportation," Spike said, turning his head and only now noticing the three huge figures looming over him, but he didn't even bat an eyelid, just glanced at them before turning his attention to Queen Bee with a look of grim horror painted on his face.
A cold wave of horror washed over the bridge, teleportation was a lost technology known to be used by the illusive and long lost race known only as the engineers, they knew this because of the relics and ruins found on many planets throughout the known galaxy, some of the best minds in the universe had tried to crack the secrets to their technonolgy and failed, in fact, the use of this bio weapon that had created the undead was the first recorded incident of Engineer tech being successfully engineered and used.
But if they had indeed cracked the secret to teleportation that meant that the enemy now possessed a first strike weapon of unimaginable power, just think about it, they could just teleport bombs loaded with this vile shit into any city on any planet anywhere and instantly destroy its population, or rather let its population destroy itself, this was bad on a whole new level.
"Shit, this is bad on a whole new scale, how can you be sure its teleportation technology, Spike?" Aiden asked.
"I'm picking up very odd particle and energy readings, then moments later I'm getting the same readings like echoes coming back to me from the quantum satellite network from a different planet within the grid, it's like they're testing the system to see just what planets they can connect to, they're low level right now so they're obviously just testing it, but this means that they've cracked the tech and that is going to be devastating if let loose," Spike said.
"Then it's settled, there is no time to lose here, people, if they truly have this tech then not only could they devastate the galaxy in one go but then they could simply vanish without a trace, have the other Spirit teams arrived?" Queen Bee asked, turning to Pegasus and he nodded.
"Yup, teams one through five and seven through ten have just called in, they are with us and ready to go on your order," he said, and she nodded before turning to Aiden.
"We're ready, Reaper, it's time," she said, and Aiden took a deep breath and nodded, it was time to end this, he was about to take one of the biggest forces ever assembled since the Hybrid Wars into battle against an enemy that was pure evil incarnate to prevent the extinction of sentient, no, all life as they knew it, this was it, the final battle.
The anti-air fire made New Britannia look like a mild annoyance, the air was filled with missiles, flak, railgun rounds, and plasma, it was like trying to fly through a fireworks display, the capital ships were laying down distraction fire in every direction as the pods and landers streaked towards the surface but still a good many never made it, Aiden saw and felt their final moments as pods and landers exploded around him, lives of valiant and noble warriors on the path of light snuffed out in an instant.
Aiden felt their souls refusing to leave for the paradise they'd earned, instead choosing to remain to aid in whatever capacity they could, aligning themselves with Soul Knights and with him, he felt their sacrifice and their energy flowing into them, their fire, their defiance, their will to stand for what was right and good overwhelmed him, even in death these brave souls chose to stay and stand alongside their brothers and sisters.
Aiden's pod hit with serious force and slid along the ground before the pressurized canopy flew off as the explosive bolts fired and he undid his harnesses and jumped out, all around him he could see the warriors of all the races who had made it down gathering to join him, there was no light here so he was having to use his night vision to see and what it showed was a bleak, lifeless ball of dust and rock that was black as the night and the void in his visor.
The enemy stronghold was the only thing that really stood out on this lifeless rock, it was basically a giant black castle carved out of what looked like obsidian towering high above the landscape on which it sat and atop the bunker underneath it that it sat protecting like a towering black dragon protecting its treasure.
The cold vile squirming feeling that Aiden got in his guts just looking at the place intensified the more he focused on it, the vileness within knew he was here and that he'd brought allies with him, but rather than fear he felt glee, a dark joy at the prospect of death and blood spilt, at combat and pain, the creature wasn't cowering in its cave, it was waiting.
Like a huge set of dragons jaws the gates to the castle yawned open like the jaws of a huge dragon and out of it streamed the legions of the darkness, the ones both seduced and corrupted by the draw of the power promised, of those controlled by the insidious lies of promises of friendship and the plain crazy who just wanted to watch the universe burn.
"For the light!" Aiden screamed, raising his swords above him as flames burst from them, lighting the area around them even in the perfect vaccum of space, through the comms came the answering yells of his allies, his friends, his brothers and sisters in arms, all ready to fight and to die for the freedom of others they'd never met or never known, because it was the right thing to do.
Aiden aimed his swords at the enemy charging towards them and the first out of the gates were the Dream Warriors, moving like streaks of light towards their foes, though for some Reason Rose seemed to have a little robotic rabbit shaped Xeno that appeared to have a mini gun sticking out of its back chasing her, there was something else chasing her too, Jet.
The Xenos were the second wave right behind the Dream Warriors as they easily out paced their other comrades, Battle Angels and warriors from the hives of the Clan Mason homeworld were charging, following the five mighty queens that ran ahead of them, Praetorians at their sides, all wearing specialized armor that made them look and act like living tanks, the only two that broke off from their huge group of kin were Jet and Liquid, Jet followed Rose and Liquid followed Ice, neither would be prised from the orbit of their dearest loved one even by the cold, clammy hand of death, they were like the embodiment of true guardian angels, the fire of their love and desire to protect had made them into the mighty Praetorians they now were and they embodied everything that name stood for, the siblings letting loose huge battle screeches as they tore right into the ranks of the enemy like they were made of paper.
Next were a mixture of Yautja and the synthetics of the Guardian Core, Halkrath and Section 5 and finally the humans, Scalathor and Beledons being the three slowest moving of the huge group, but just because they were slow didn't mean shit, Beledon battle crashers slammed into the enemy ranks like living battering rams, when they weren't shooting they were using their armored horns to impale and throw enemy combatants around like toys, Aiden saw one particularly large male walking around trying in vain to pull three dead Yautja off one of his horns before giving up and adding a forth by head butting him and driving his horn right through the hapless male like a kebab skewer.
The amount of enemy combatants was truly frightening, they were like a black never ending tide pouring out of their fortress and it wasn't just humanoid species in their ranks, war beasts tamed on a variety of worlds had been unleashed, something that looked like a combination between a rhino and a dinosaur lumbered out of the castle, clearing everything in its wake, huge armored spines on its head liked with a web of spiked chains to sweep clear the ground before it.
"They got a fucking dino dozer!" Jack yelled, pointing to it as a group of hunters narrowly avoided getting trampled by it, scattering in its path and wake as it charged them, making the earth shake with its huge foot falls, Aiden couldn't believe they'd spent all the time and effort designing space suits for these creatures just to have them here, but it was a tactic that was brutally effective.
It turned and went for the Dream Warriors next, causing them to have to scatter and disengage from the Nightmare Assassins they were fighting, Rose barely got out of the way in time, having to dodge into a crevice between some huge rocks to avoid its huge horns from slicing her into chunks.
"Rwahhhhhhh! I'll fucking kill you!" A mighty screech echoed across the battlefield and looking up from the four Nightmare Assassins he was fighting at once Aiden saw a large black figure streak across the field at incredible speed, it was Jet.
The enraged Praetorian got around the huge creature and with a mighty leap she landed on its tail and proceeded to run up it like she was running up an escalator using its fins for purchase when it tried to shake her free, with a bellowing screech she located the beast rider controlling the beast from a little seat atop its head where it used a set of specially controlled reins to direct it, first she stabbed him through chest with her tail before lifting him into the air and grabbing an arm in one hand and a leg in the other she tore him clean in two before throwing his remains into his comrades on the ground.
Then Jet dropped into the man's seat and grabbed the reins of the enemy dino dozer and yanking hard, turned it around on its former comrades, "Ok, now we have a Praetorian riding a dino dozer," Jack exclaimed as Jet charged into the enemy ranks, scattering them as she used the huge beast's might to punch a huge hole right through the enemy's lines.
"Reaper, go! This is your chance! Find the devil and fucking end this!" Tik eleth and Jack yelled in unison.
"Roger that!" Aiden yelled, and with a yell the gods and goddesses who had been fighting along side them instantly formed a wedge of divine steel to prevent the enemy closing the gap before Aiden moving at super sonic speed shot right through it and into the castle beyond, now he was alone, alone to stand against the dark while his brothers and sisters held the line far behind him, but as he passed them he heard them in his heart and mind.
"You can do it Aiden, we believe in you," Jack said.
"Go forth, young Angel, be our light in the dark, avenge the innocent blood," Tik's voice whispered.
"No matter what, you are our joy, our love, our heart, stand tall and proud for us, as we do for you," both T'Shara and Macha echoed as one as he flashed past his loves and into the darkness beyond the doors.
The devil who built this place seemed to have gone all out to make this place as fucking creepy as possible, Aiden had always wondered when he'd watched horror movies just who in the hell were the people's interior decorators who had come up with the shit that the people in these films seemed to see as perfectly acceptable living conditions.
Whoever they were this fucker had obviously hired the best of them because they had seriously out done the creep factor by a solid ten, winding obsidian corridors wound off in all directions seemingly going nowhere, all lit not by modern lighting but by flaming wall sconces that burned with a kind of black fire that made the walls glow blue.
From various directions Aiden could feel pain and hear screaming and as much as he wanted to head towards those sounds and to free the tortured souls being tormented he knew that they were there to serve to distract him, to play on his heart and to pull him from his mission, a clever ploy to be fair, it prayed on his sense of justice and his desire to protect the weak and innocent, but something in the back of his mind told him that it was all a ploy, a distraction meant to pull him from his quest and to buy the devil the time he required to complete his final move, with this in mind Aiden reached out with his feeling and like a spider setting a web he waited to see which strand would vibrate.
It worked perfectly and Aiden opened his eyes, turning to a corridor to his right, it was the most narrow and least inviting of all those around him, he began to walk down it and soon he began to hear a voice in the back of his mind, it was both as cold as ice and as warm as sunshine, sickly sweet and sour as a salted lemon, this was the voice of the devil and he instantly knew how it had seduced so many to its cause.
"Why do you fight and resist, young one? Why do you play puppet to those self righteous so called gods and goddesses? Play slave to their whims and their wants, what about what you want?" it asked softly.
Instantly in the back of his mind Aiden was shown an image, of him standing triumphant over a civilisation in chains, men and women bowed at his feet, to scared to even lift a single eye for fear of retribution, his bed chambers packed with females of every species competing to service him, food and wine flowing like water through his banquet hall and Aiden snarled.
"You know nothing of me obviously, because you have shown me the exact opposite of what I want," he said darkly, and the images vanished instead they were replaced with one that filled him with a cold dread and an anger the likes of which he had never felt in his life, it was him in chains, beaten and broken, his wings plucked and broken, but it wasn't that that horrified him, it was the fact that before him was T'Shara and Macha both chained down and being repeated raped by an ever growing queue of faceless men.
"Then how about this, young one, because if you do not turn back this is the fate that awaits you and your so called loved ones, I wonder how long your love for them will endure as you watch them get taken over and over and over again until their minds break and they succumb to it, forced to watch them writhe and scream for more as they are taken over and over again, forced to watch the hordes of the nameless take them one after the other until they accept that they are nothing more than fuck toys," the voice said softly.
A fire ignited in Aiden's soul, a single spark that became a raging inferno in seconds, he forced the image from his mind with the power of his will and he actually felt a resonant hesitation from the devil, it was obvious to him that no one had ever been strong enough to force him out before, to not only disobey but to force him free of his mind, "I am not a weak willed confused Dream Warrior looking for a friend to call their own, despicable one, I am the being with one single purpose, to destroy you, those two you showed me brought me back from paradise for them, I am not afraid of you and neither are they, because we know what waits for us afterwards, you cannot break my will or spirit, but I can break yours, because we know what waits for you too," Aiden said softly.
Finally the path lead him to a large open chamber with a large circular raised platform in the centre with what appeared to be a throne at its centre, behind it was a large circular device made from white metal that stood three meters tall which really stood out against the entirely black background, it crackled with energy and Aiden knew instantly that this was the teleport device that they'd been working on, it looked like three circles were designed to rotate in opposite directions while encircling someone who would stand on the centre platform.
Suddenly a slow clapping started up and that's when Aiden saw him, he was sat upon his throne with one leg thrown over one of the large skull shaped arm rests nonchalantly, no, they weren't skull shaped, they were actual skulls, Aiden had seen a Yautja trophy room before and he knew the difference between ornate and original and these were original.
The back of the large black chair had six further skulls each from a different species, human, Yautja, Beledon, Felenis, Scalathor, Xeno, all sat atop large spikes in a very grim and morbid display of the final reality of life, death.
The devil was not what Aiden expected really, he'd expected a huge dark vile looking thing with horns and blood red skin and leathery wings, well, he had the wing part down but the rest just looked like a normal human just like him, a man in his mid thirties with a narrow face and red hair, he was slender and tall, about 6'5, dressed in an old world style suit that looked like it had come right out of the Victorian era Britain, lots of tails and frills, he even had a top hat on.
"Well, I must say, I'm impressed, young one, you made it this far, right to the heart of my empire, you have fought well, but here I'm afraid is where you little adventure ends," the devil said in a voice as soft as silk, slowly rising from his throne and his solid heels clicking on the obsidian floor.
"Why may I ask have you done this? What do you gain from it all? All this death and destruction? What's the point of it all?" Aiden asked, stepping up to meet the devil on the circular platform.
The devil scoffed and swept his long red bangs out of his sharp red eyes, Aiden felt his intense gaze boring into him like a laser trying to bore its way into his soul, "Oh, it's really simple, I'm tired of it all, the constant power struggles, the bickering, the oppression, the scheming, the power plays, the lies, all of it, sentient life is a plague on this universe, you see, young one, I am old, older than you can possible imagine, I was here when all of this was created and shaped, when all the bickering so called gods and goddesses decided to part ways and go off and carve out their own little section of this creation that the One made for us all and I ask you, where is he right now? The one who made it all, including all of us, where is the One? I'll tell you where, gone, he took one look at the shit storm he'd made and decided none of it was worth it, we were a mistake, so he just up and left us to tear ourselves apart, you see, the gods and the devils weren't always what they are now, we were once all equals, no dark, no light, but I guess we were boring because to spice things up or maybe just to throw a little chaos to his order to see what would happen he gave us desires and he saw how our powers morphed around them, but soon that became a problem, because those with the strongest desires basically beat and fucked each other into oblivion, so he further segregated us, he carved out little sections of paradise and gave it to those with the weaker desires and they became the god you know and the rest of us were banished and locked away in a pit of eternal darkness, what you call hell, where we would become custodians of all of creations evil, I was one of the originals banished to this place, now I'm willing to bet you were told I was born of that dark place, but it's simply not true, I still remember what we were before, I also see what we all are now and what we've given birth to and it disgusts me, so here I am, willing to do what ever it takes to purge this place, this so called creation of the plague that we created with one that I have created, believe it or not this plan isn't a new thing, it has been in motion for millions of years, the ones you call the Engineers, it was I who whispered in their ears and got them to create the technology that made all of this possible so very long ago and here I am now, free of my prison about to wipe this reality clean of life, I will return it to the quiet and pure blank canvas it once was, then I will take this technology born a long time ago and perfected now and I will search for my lost father and I will bring him home, I will show him that he didn't fail and he can start again and this time, this time it will be perfect," the devil said with such passion in his voice that it left Aiden momentarily speechless.
"So you want to destroy all life in the universe just to make you father come back? Do you even realise how stupid and childish that sounds? You're willing to extinguish all the beauty in the universe just to bring your father back? All those lives, all that love, all that joy and happiness gone, just so you can what? Make your father proud?" Aiden said in astonishment.
The devil waved a hand dismissively, "I wouldn't expect you to understand, you're mortal, your view of life is so narrow, it's like a single thread thinking that is responsible for the entire blanket," the devil said.
"But if there are no threads then the blanket doesn't exist and if you pull to many of them then the whole thing comes unraveled anyway," Aiden said, and the devil smiled a rather nasty and insidious smile.
"Now you see," he said, and Aiden realized that there could be no discord with this being, that left only one option.
The flames on Aiden's swords grew brighter and the devil sighed and smiled to himself, "I knew that I would never be able to persuade you, Aiden, even across all the vastness of space I could feel you, you know, this little fire growing brighter and brighter just waiting for the point when one would come along and extinguish you, but I'm not going to kill you, young one, at least not physically, mentally on the other hand..." the devil said with another very dark smile.
Aiden never saw him even move but he felt it, it was like pure reflex and a blade that appeared to be made out of pure shadows smashed against Aiden's blades, sending bursts of flames into the air around him, Aiden pushed back but it was like trying to push a planet, his strength was utterly incredible.
His movements were utterly incredible and so fast that he couldn't see them, he was taking hits and he could feel them, sharp burning pains across his body as the shadow sword seemed to split apart and to attack him from all sides at once like a thousand daggers whirling around him and he tried his hardest to deflect them as they cut through his armor like paper, but luckily there was atmosphere in here otherwise his suit would have depressurized.
He was losing blood and he could feel it, it was weakening him and he could feel his strength waning already, this thing was true power, it was like nothing he had ever imagined, he was scared and he knew it, fear pierced his heart like little icey knives, it was all he could do to try and stave off the attacks, he needed to find a way to push back or he was going to die here without ever laying a hand on this creature.
It came to him in little flashes, images of his beloved ones, their happy smiling faces, laughing and smiling together, loving together, just existing in this empty cold universe and giving each others lives love and meaning, faces that if he didn't succeed he would never see again, in this life or the next because if he failed here then there would be no paradise for them or anyone ever again.
Pain, grief, anguish so pure that it hurt washed through him but not for himself, for them, for everyone like them, all those poor innocent souls who had never done a single wrong who would never get to experience the simple joys of being alive and the thought that even after there would be nothing for them, nothing to look forward to or to hope for filled him with the darkest of despairs imaginable.
That's when he began to hear them in the back of his mind, like whispers in the darkness, "Use us, call us forth, take our strength as your own," they said like a million voices speaking at once and Aiden did so.
"Come to me please, help me," he said out loud, and the devil laughed and smiled.
"Begging for mercy already, Aiden? I am very dissapointed in you," he said chuckling, but he very quickly stopped when he felt the pulse of power that went through Aiden like someone striking a bell in a silent room, it echoed outwards from him and both Aiden and the devil froze, the cuts all over Aiden's body began to glow and to seal up with golden light, his flesh literally began to knit together.
The devil screamed in pure hatred and rage, his sword of shadows swirled and it began whirling around Aiden like a tornado made of shadow and blades, it took Aiden's armor completely apart 'till he was as naked as the day he was born, but now the power welling in him was fighting back and it was fighting back hard, it was like a billion souls screaming inside him all at once.
His skin was repairing as fast as it was being hit, Aiden looked down himself and he saw his skin was glowing like sunshine, it was gold, he looked up at the devil and saw purest rage as he summoned his sword to solidify into one blade which with a movement so quick he barely saw it he slammed it right into his bare chest and when he looked down and saw the black smoking hilt sticking out of his chest right where his heart was, in fact he could feel the cold blade between both sides of his heart, it was cut clean in half, but somehow it still worked, he could still feel it beating around the blade like it wasn't there.
The devil looked utterly amazed and unsure of himself for the first time, suddenly the voices in his head grew even more, Aiden turned to look at the devil, "We are the souls of the many, we are the ones who have suffered at your or your minions hands, we are the ones who had our lives taken from us, we suffered, we bled, we cried, we begged for mercy and were shown none, our pain did not matter to you, our fears did not matter to you, well, our rage will matter to you, for we are the nameless, faceless many, as one we are weak, but as many we are strong, we are legion!" Aiden spoke in a voice with many languages and accents all perfectly in sync.
Aiden's wings opened slowly and from them golden light like dust began to spill out and in a blinding flash golden smoke filled the room, out of the smoke emerged a single figure morphing out of the smoke, it was a Yautja male dressed in white and golden armor, "I am Tan sel eleth, I have waited and watched for the time when this day would come, you have corrupted and defiled my sacred brethren, turning them from defenders of the weak and the innocent that our good lady Paya intended them to be, I am here to seek vengeance for every drop of their blood you spilled and for every drop of innocent blood you forced them to spill on your behalf, together with the Angel we will send you back to the black pit that you belong!" the mighty and regal Yautja male said, raising his huge war spear aloft and loosing the most incredible battle roar that Aiden had heard.
As he did the rest of the smoke formed into other figures, so many that Aiden could not count them all, these were the honored dead made yet again alive by the power of the Angel, his connection to the afterlife, he was acting as a channel, a conduit for them to flow, Aiden had himself an army of the dead and nothing was going to stand in its way, not even the devil himself.
They hit him from every direction at once, Tan sel eleth took off both of the devil's wings with one tremendous swipe of his huge war spear, leaving two smoking and spurting wounds in his back, the devil screamed in agony and he lashed out at Tan who simply danced out of his range with fluid movements of a seasoned veteran Dream Warrior, they were all rushing him at once now and they were taking chunks out of him, cutting his limbs off with a relish and a fury that Aiden could feel, there was nothing that the devil could do against the weight of this power, until all that was left was a bleeding torso with no arms, legs, or wings, but just a head.
He was coughing and choking now as black tar like blood leaked out of him and the thousands of cuts all over his body, as it turned out Aiden hadn't had to do a single thing really, all those he'd fought for, both living and dead had now fought for him, he'd given his blood and his body for them and now they had done the same for him, now he strode through the crowd right to the devil and looked down at him, he was a pitiful and pathetic sight, no more than a helpless stump, the devil opened his mouth to speak and before a single word left his lips Aiden stabbed both his swords into the devil at once, one through his black heart the other through his head.
"No, no more out of you, I'm done and we're done, you and your bile can go back to your prison where you belong and not one more soul will suffer at your whims, now, begone," Aiden said coldly, sending a pulse of white fire into the stump of the body, burning it to ash.
Out of nowhere a huge black vortex sprung up in the floor directly in front of them and it swirled and howled like an angry tornado, but it was like a hologram to Aiden and the golden souls standing around them, it didn't touch a single hair on any head around him, but what it did do was tear the tainted and blackened souls of the warriors at the devil's command down with him, tearing them from the battle they were waging outside against their forces and tore them screaming down into the pit, in fact, it seemed to be pulling souls not only from around the planet but from around the universe, it turned into a huge black screaming tornado of vile souls, pulling them down into the darkness where they belonged, it took just three minutes, three short minutes to tear the souls that this devil had poisoned and plunged them into hell before shutting up and vanishing like it was never there at all.
"Holy shit," Aiden breathed, looking at the spot on the floor where everything had just vanished, it was odd, it felt like the coldness had been sucked into void along with all the darkness and souls, he suddenly became aware of a glimmering gold presence near him and he looked up to find himself looking up at Tan sel eleth, the ancient Yautja Dream Warrior saluted Aiden with a balled fist salute which Aiden actually heard hit the metal plate armor on his chest, despite him being a spirit.
"You called and we came, Dark one, I have waited for nearly two thousand years for this moment, the moment when the evil that Loki released would be plunged back into the darkness from whence it came, it just pains my soul to think of all those poor wretched souls that it tainted and corrupted and drew to its side with its false promises and lies, but now at least all these souls that had their lives destroyed can now rest in the joys of paradise that they have earned, you have my eternal respect and thanks, young one," Tan said, and Aiden shook his head.
"In all honesty, Tan sel eleth, I didn't really do anything other than strike the final blow, you guys did all the work, this victory is yours, so it is you, all of you that has my thanks," Aiden said, and Tan smiled his large mandible, clicking in approval.
"And humble too, the marks of a true warrior, but you underestimate yourself, you walked in here alone with no backup to speak of to face down a devil born of darkness and hell, you were prepared to fight to the death to protect not only the one you love but everyone everywhere, that is the mark of a true hero," the ancient Dream Warrior said, placing his large hand on Aiden's shoulder and the smaller human angel looked up at him and smiled.
"Now, go, young one, the fight is done, it's time for us to finally rest in peace," Tan said, and Aiden smiled at him and nodded.
"Thank you, Tan sel eleth, all of you, you are all heroes, every one of you, this is your victory, be proud," Aiden said, and there was a chorus of a billion shouts and salutes before like dust in a breeze the whole lot of them vanished, leaving Aiden stood alone in the throne room of a dethroned devil, they had won, the universe was saved and free.
Aiden made his way back through the winding maze of corridors and passages until he stepped back outside, his body was instantly surrounded by a cloak of energy slowing from his wings that acted like a space suit and hid his modesty, it shrouded him in a gold light that looked like liquid gold flowing over hiss body..
No sooner had he stepped foot outside than he was crashed into by two very emotional and ecstatic females, Macha and T'Shara lifted him off his feet and clamped him between them, "You're alive! Our male is alive!" they both yelled in purest joy, their happiness and love washed off them like waves, he embraced them both and held them tight.
"It's all over now, my loves, it's done," Aiden said, holding his girls and looking around at the utter mountain of bodies all around them, there was so much death, on both sides, he saw bodies wearing the armor of the Guardian Core, of the Halkrath, Section 5, even the Spirits themselves, and Aiden felt tears prick his eyes in both joy and sorrow as he saw his beloved friends and comrades were all still among the living, Tank, Spike, Picasso, Ice, Moodstone, Whisper, one after the other they emerged from the chaos and saluted him, looking the same as him, battle worn, weary, and just thankful to be alive when so many had fallen in their stead.
Aiden walked up and embraced them all one at a time, though he actually had to catch Rose who came flying through the air at him, "You're alive! Oh, god, I was so fucking worried about you!" she yelled, clinging to him.
"Yeah, kiddo, I made it," he said softly, feeling her relief and pain washing over him.
Looking around he saw the various gods and goddesses picking their way among the bodies and offering peace to the souls of the fallen heroes who had given their lives in the pursuit of freedom and peace and that's when he saw it, a sight that broke his heart into a million pieces, laid at the centre of a large group of people were two very familiar faces, it was Jack Mason and Tik eleth Mason.
Aiden let go of Rose and he sprinted towards them and when the others saw what he'd seen they ran too, they were wounded badly and Battle Angels were all around them, scrambling to aid them, they'd set up an atmo bubble, a shield that filled with oxygen that allowed them to remove pressure armor, it also held heat to prevent them from freezing to death the second their suits were removed, Aiden burst through the shield to find both Sela eleth and Ryan with their fallen parents, Aiden's eyes instantly saw the sequence of events as if they had been scripted for him, Tik had been hit by a series of enemy fire and Jack had rushed to defend her from further attack and had used himself as a shield to absorb damage intended to finish her off like a bulwark, the result his suit was breached and he, despite his Dream Warrior abilities, had suffered awful wounds, mortal wounds.
Both of them lay side by side as the Angels worked desperately but Aiden could already feel it, it was too late, as good as their medical tech was, there was nothing they could do to prevent the inevitable here.
"Matriarch, you can't leave us, please! Please, don't give up! Please, you have to fight!" Sela wailed, kneeling next to her fallen mother and clutching her hand desperately, Tik struggled to slowly turn her head to look at her sobbing daughter.
"It's ok, my beloved cub, it's ok, don't you cry, don't you be sad for me, for us, I have lived a good and long life, I have fought the fight and I have hunted a good and honorable hunt, it gives me joy beyond words to know that I brought you both into this world and that now that it is my time to leave it I got to see it freed from this darkness, that I get to leave you with peace and harmony to enjoy, I can die with pride as I have lived, with honor and love in my heart and I can also die as I have lived, shoulder to shoulder and heart to heart with the ooman I have given my life too and who has given his life to me," Tik said in a gasping, choking voice, reaching with coughs as she turned to look at Jack's face, the light in his blue eyes was fading as he smiled at her and Aiden could feel it.
Suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder, "Bring them to me, my angel, let me show them and all who love and believe in them there is nothing to fear," Paya said softly, and Aiden nodded, taking a deep breath.
He stepped up to the scene and all of the Battle Angels turned to see him and all of them hung their heads, they knew this was a fight that they couldn't win, suddenly both Ryan and Sela sprung to their feet and aimed their weapons at him, knowing why he had come, "No! You shall not take them from us, Angel! Their place is here with us! With the ones that love them and cherish them!" Ryan yelled.
"You can't take them! I won't let you!" Sela said, her voice shaking with anger.
"It is not for you to decide, they have made their choice, their fight is over, let them feel the lease that they have earned," Aiden said softly and tearfully, and both looked confused until a golden light appeared behind them and they turned to find spirits made of soft golden light standing over their parents, it was Tik and Jack and they looked exactly as they did on the day they met, youthful and full of vigour, they were holding hands just as their corporeal lifeless bodies were below them.
"Papa! Mama! No! Please don't leave us!" Sela wailed, her weapon dropping.
"It's time, my beloved cubs, it's time, we have lived a long and blessed life together, we have seen our love grow into the two most beautiful beings that stand before us and grow beyond it, I don't have the words to tell you how utterly proud I am of both of you and I know that today we leave Clan Mason in good hands, know that we will always watch over you and that we will always love you, call us and we will come, speak and we will hear, now go, and don't mourn us, my cubs, know that we are in paradise together," Jack said softly, before in turn the pair embraced their children and then stepped past them to Aiden.
Jack planted a hand on his shoulder as did Tik and he smiled at them both, "I'm going to miss you," Aiden said softly, and Jack laughed.
"As the Angel you get to visit whenever you want, young one, though, do me a favor, if you do call ahead, the last time Tik was this young she was a handful and let's just say we're both looking forwards to some quiet privacy," Jack said with a knowing smile and a wink at Tik, which earned him a knowing and appreciative purr.
"Go in peace, honored friends," he said, then he turned to the group gathered and watching this, "Group, atenhut!" he bellowed, and the entire group snapped to attention, all units, all species.
"Among us today, heroes have fallen, we will honor them in death as we did in life, salute!" he bellowed, and every single person still living snapped into a crisp salute and Aiden smiled at Jack.
"Enjoy your retirement, old man," he said softly, and Jack laughed and took his wife's hand.
"We intend to, believe me," he said, Paya stepped up to them and just like that all the fallen were there, not just Jack and Tik, fallen heroes all, and with the guidance of their gods and goddesses they turned and moved on, leaving behind the survivors to honor them, but just like they had in life Jack and Tik led the way, guiding those fallen souls forwards to claim their reward for the sacrifice they had made, they'd made their peace and earned their rewards, just as those that lived had.
Epilogue
The bodies of the fallen were gathered and placed aboard the Sword of Silence, they were watched over by an honor guard for the entire duration of their journey, Ryan and Sela never left their fallen parents sides for the entire trip back to the Clan Mason homeworld.
Both Sela and Ryan were made defacto leaders of the clan and they decreed a national day or rememberence and mourning not just for their parents but for every single life taken in that final battle, their parents were given a state funeral as were those who fell and those who weren't transported back to their homeworld for burial were buried with Jack and Tik in a graveyard that Ryan called Heroes Rest, one of the Xeno hives erected a monument that stood watching over the graves, representing Jack and Tik in full battle armor standing proudly watching over their clan and their loved ones as they always had.
Ryan and Sela asked Aiden to speak at their funeral and he gladly obliged, every Spirit attended the funeral in full battle dress, there were millions in attendance, the entire capital was rammed street to street and holo screens were erected so that everyone could see.
"Jack Mason and Tik eleth Mason were examples to all, they fought harder and braver than anyone I have ever known, but they weren't just examples on the battle field but off it as well, they taught us the power of diversity and of love, of how two totally different people could be united and could love so freely and readily that they could inspire any who had the great privilege to meet them, they will be missed in life by those they leave behind, but they are never truly gone from our lives, they are simply waiting for the day when they see us again, just like all those who made their sacrifice are, do not mourn them, honor them as they honoured us, so I call to you all now, show them your pride in them as they showed their pride in you, lift your voices and let them hear you in paradise, let them know how proud you are of them as they were and still are of you," Aiden said, and with that he let loose a battle roar that he'd been practicing, he was joined by T'Shara and Macha who were flanking him as well as Ryan and Sela eleth who were flanking them, pretty soon the whole clan was doing it and a roar of pure emotion rose so loud and true, that Aiden was in no doubt that Jack and Tik were hearing it with pride.
After the funerals came waves of joy and happiness, every one of the Spirits of team 6 was offered a place in Clan Mason so that when they finished their service as a Spirit they'd have a proper home to come back to.
Not only them but a few others were offered the same honor, others like T'Kell and Zachee Twisthorn, not to mention all the civilians and those rescued from the clutches of the darkness, but that wasn't the end to the joy, the entire team were given shore leave after their battle and the entirety of team six and their loved ones decided to take it on Clan Mason's homeworld where, in a show of true unity, every one of the Spirits proposed to their significant other all at the same time, as one every Spirit with a command from Queen Bee, well, all except for T'Shara, who was the only clueless Spirit among them got down on one knee and presented a ring which had been gifted to them by a very grateful Ryan Mason, to their prospective spouse, Aiden presented two rings at once, one in each hand and very nearly ended up going to visit jack and Tik in person when he was hugged to death by a sobbing and ecstatically happy T'Shara and Macha.
They weren't the only ones this was happening to, for at the same time Jet was on her knee presenting a ring to Rose, Cuddlebug, Alex, Shey, and Xia were all doing the very same and all were met with an out pouring of joy, it turned out that Ryan Mason was more of an angel at heart than Aiden was, he wanted to turn his parents passing into something beautiful and he'd succeeded.
In order to save arguments and confusion the wedding was held en masse and as a personal favor to Aiden, Lady Paya herself ordained it, she herself married every one of them, hearing every set of vows and sealing every vow as a sacred promise, though Aiden was having trouble focusing the entire time because seeing T'Shara and Macha in their exquisite custom made wedding dresses was more joy than his heart could handle and it took every drop of strength he had not to sob his heart out as he clutched both their hands in his as he stood before Paya and promised her and them to love them both for eternity.
It took time but Doctor Zachee was able to finally create a vaccine for the virus and once given to the council mass production and inoculation was put into effect to ensure that if even a single drop of that vile poison had survived the hunt for it it would be utterly useless and worthless.
T'Kell left the Halkrath with full honors and was welcomed into the Spirits with open arms so that she could serve alongside her beloved lifemate and husband, Spike.
T'Sall was permanently attached to the team so that he could serve alongside his wife, Whisper.
Cuddlebug and her new husband retired from the Guardian Core in order for her to heal him, he had been through so much that Cuddlebug couldn't bear the thought of him seeing a single second of violence ever again, so with the gratitude of the entire clan they retired to a small village of Beledon in the hills of the Clan Mason homeworld so she could heal his fragile soul with her immense heart and endless love.
Both Shey and Xia, along with their husbands, returned to the capital and with the blessing of Sela joined the police force section of the Saviors so that they could come home to their beloved husbands each and every night.
In fact, so great was the wave of love that followed in the wake of this period of peace that pregnancies began to pop up everywhere, with the first coming from the most unexpected of places.
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Jet burst into the waiting room, and proceeded to bounce around her adoptive family like a giant excitable puppy, "It's happening! They're coming!' she exclaimed, and Aiden sprang to his feet before turning and helping his heavily pregnant wives to their feet, T'Shara grumbled something about a proud huntress not needing her male's help but never pushed his guiding hand away, her pregnancy had been very typically Yautja, lots of mood swings, shouting and yelling followed by crying apologies and hugs.
Macha on the other hand had had a relatively easy run of things, pregnant Xeno's were still a relatively new thing since the introduction of the evolved genus having internal reproductive organs and wombs of their own to carry their young rather than reproducing en masse with face huggers, a huge step forwards for them as a species.
"Ahhhhhh, why the hell did I agree to thisssssss!" Rose yelled as the first of her two babies began to crown and she squeezed Jet's hand with enough force that the large Xeno winced, they'd been conceived thanks to a major leap forwards in genetic technology that not only made interspecies pregnancy even easier but now same sex pregnancy creating an artificial egg or sperm, meaning that same sex parents could have children of their very own born of their DNA rather than have to have a donor.
Lots of screaming, swearing, and shouting later and Rose and Jet were both the very proud parents to a pair of perfect little Xeno human hybrid twins, ironically, they both looked perfectly human on the outside but were unmistakable Xeno on the inside, both having acidic blood and incredible regenerative abilities, not to mention every heightened senses, oh, and they definitely had Jet's claws and inner mouths, but other than that they looked like a perfect pair of little humans, one boy and one girl.
Aiden, T'Shara, Macha, and the proud parents cooed like a gaggle of hens down at the two little miracles cradled and swathed protectively in their loving parents arms while Bun Bun, Rose's loyal little robo Xeno sat on a chair watching curiously.
Jet handed her son to Aiden and he took the little bundle of joy for her, cooing at the beautiful little baby boy as he stared up at him with a pair of bright silver eyes that looked like pure moonlight crystalised in his head, he gurgled and reached up, trying to touch both Aiden's face and his feathered wings.
"Have you thought of names yet?" he asked, and Jet and Rose looked at one another and smiled as one, "He is Adam Jack Scott and she is Eve Tik Scott," Rose said proudly, before their wedding both Jet and Rose had agreed that they wished to take Aiden's surname after it had officially become Jet's surname after as their Queen Macha had taken Aiden officially as her king.
Aiden beamed at them both, "Ryan and Sela will love that," he said, and then he looked down at the gurgling little boy who was chewing his thumb with his inner mouth mounted in his long red pink human like tongue.
"You two have a lot to live up to with names like that, you know, so you'd better grow up big and strong so you can make your moms proud and your name sakes too, ain't that right you two?" Aiden said, glancing at the shadows in the corner of the room, a pair of golden figures stepped out and smiled at him.
"We never could hide from you, Aiden, those damn Angel eyes see too much," Jack said, softly smiling, with the presence of the Angel in the city the dead visited far more often than ever before and with peace now flowing like water over a grateful galaxy their love was never felt as strongly before as it was now.
Both Tik and Jack stepped up to the bedside and peered down at the little joyful bundles, "you two have a lot to live up to but I want you to remember to be proud, your mothers fought for the right for you to be here, honor them and take pride in them as they always will in you," Tik said softly as Adam tried to grab her mandible, confused and surprised as his little hand passed right through it.
"At least they have peace to look forwards to," Rose said, and Jack smiled at her.
"It always pays to be prepared, young one, for you never know when the strong will be called to protect the weak again, so teach them to be prepared, for if the day comes when they must stand, they will do so shoulder to shoulder," Jack said, and with that they all turned just in time to see the sun rising as casting a warm golden glow over the peaceful city below it.
"Welcome to your new world, little ones, you are safe, you are protected, you are guarded and you are loved, now and always," Aiden said, smiling as he watched little Adam's face light up in the most radient smile of joy and wonder as he saw that big fiery orb in the heavens for the very first time.
The End?