Chapter 47

Aranea was typing furiously on her computer, trying to send out invitations to the previously mentioned meeting that was also labelled as a party in order to compel everyone to come.

Arachne's Gift (AG) began trolling ALL USERS in her list of troll friends.

AG: Heeeeeeeey! This is Aranea, 8ut you all already knew that! Listen, I know there's 8een quite a 8it of conflict l8ly. At the same time, the one-sweep anniversary since we first entered this game—8y my estim8ion, of course, 8ecause time measurement is different here—and Kankri, Porrim and I thought it would 8e gr8 to 8oth have a cele8r8ion and air any grievances we have with one another. This meeting/party will 8e a time of truce for all, so I don't want to see any weapons!

Cronus, your world has 8een selected as the ideal location, given its lack of conflicts and hostile foes as well as its helpful escorts and large space to host such an event. Please make the necessary arrangements for this meeting/party, and I will 8e glad to help you if you need me. Also…sorry I manipul8ed you earlier into fighting Meenah. Feel free to discuss this and anything else that we've done to each other during our session…even if it's something regreta8le. That's what this is for! As well as being a cele8r8ion, of course.

"There! That ought 8e good!" Aranea said to herself as she hit send. "It's so good to 8e doing useful things! And the 8est part is…I still don't have to take much action!"

. . . . .

On Prospit Cronus wandered the golden streets, alone.

"Vwho knewv a place this beautiful could be so depressing? At least for me, anyvway." He hovered up to the rooftops of one building and looked out the happy Prospitans. They acknowledged him as the Bard sometimes, but he couldn't care anymore for that. He didn't want them or the White Queen telling him what to do anymore. Right now he didn't want to do anything except think.

Trace and Die had taught him that his life did, in fact, have a meaning and purpose. He couldn't deny that about himself. But what was it? He wasn't sure, but it had to be something he decided himself. He was tired of people ignoring him all the time, only to finally look up and notice him when it suited them, like Aranea and this whole game in general. Why were they like that to him? What had he done?

All he wanted was to be respected, to be appreciated, and to be loved. But no one seemed to be willing to do all those things. The game appreciated him. Trace and Die respected him. Mituna appreciated him. But nobody loved him.

After a while Cronus realized that what he wanted may not have actually been love at all; maybe it was just companionship. For sweeps he had been living alone, wallowing in purposelessness because he had no one else to tend to. Maybe he just needed someone to depend on him, and be willing to put up with him and all his faults. Someone that would understand how loyal he could be, and that he could stay with forever.

"If my life has a purpose, it must be vwith someone else. Maybe I'll be a wvery special person to them. I just hawven't met them yet…OH, VWHO AM I KIDDING?! There isn't anyone that cares for me. But if I hawve no one close to me, then vwhat vwould I do vwith them?"

"(You would show them that they must suffer for spurning you, and condemning you to a fate worse than death; eternity in servitude.)"

"Damara? Vwhat are you doing here?" Cronus asked in surprise. How had she gotten here? She was wearing her Derse dreamself outfit, so she wouldn't have got here by sleeping.

"(I took a Dersite gunship to the Battlefield, and then a Prospit one that was leaving to arrive here. The Carapacians allowed me to pass through because I was not considered a belligerent for either side. My Lord told me to find you.)"

"Your vwhat?"

"(My Lord knows of your inner turmoil and struggles. He wishes to help you, and in a far more substantial way than Trace and Die did. He will give you what you have been seeking all along.)"

"So he'll be my friend? Or ewven better?" Cronus asked hopefully. "Vwait, do I vwant to date your Lord…?" Damara slapped him.

"(No, you fool! Your wretched and perverted mind will NEVER be fit to even so much as LOOK at Lord English!)"

"Sorry. I just…I'm just lonely."

"(Your loneliness, if you consider it to be such a horrid thing, can be solved by enlisting in the service of my Lord. I came to you to ask if you would care to join me in destroying those that have forgotten and rejected us. Well?") Damara did not smile as she said any of this, so Cronus had this sense that either way she did not care.

"(If you refuse, then I will have no choice but to consider you as a hostile target, along with the others,") Damara added.

Cronus looked at Damara as she said this, trying to see how serious she was about this. She looked dangerous, but how dangerous was she, exactly? Maybe the others would know. And if she was going to kill everyone else, wouldn't that mess up their session? And what about Mituna? Was he on her "to kill" list? But why would she kill him? It was something he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to find out.

"I…vwhat if I just stay out of your vway at the party? I don't vwant to join you, but I don't vwant to fight you."

Damara was disappointed by Cronus' decision, but then she heard Lord English whisper:

HE WILL CHANGE HIS MIND. I HAVE FORESEEN THIS. GIVE HIM THE OPPORTUNITY.

Suddenly, Damara felt something being added to her sylladex. It was a pair of dark green walkie-talkies with skull-shaped speakers. She took one out and handed it to Cronus.

"(Should you change your mind, come find me. I'll be waiting at your planet, but I won't attack the others until the group begins to break down. Feel free to assist me when I strike.)"

"Ok. I guess I'll be vwaiting around then. See you at the party," Cronus said, nervously taking the walkie-talkie. He had wanted to reject it, but he had this feeling that it wouldn't be a good idea. He watched her go and nervously but the walkie-talkie in his sylladex.

After Damara had left Cronus went over to the Prospit dream towers to see who was around. Rufioh, Porrim, and Kankri were asleep, and Latula and Mituna had just gone to bed as well. Cronus peeked into their tower and saw the two matesprits sleeping, with Mituna's head leaning agianst the wall (with his helmet still on) and Latula wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, as if to hold him still in case he had some sort of panic attack in his sleep.

Neither of them would know, Cronus realized. Now was his chance to have a moment of happiness with Mituna, even if it was for just a short time.

Cronus carefully and quietly climbed on the bed, trying to avoid touching Latula at all so as not to wake her up. He considered trying to pry her off of him, but he decided against it. Too risky. He tried to move Mituna out from Latula's embrace, but he wouldn't budge. Quite strong for someone who was allegedly brain-damaged, Cronus thought. Strong enough to protect him when he felt weak, and cheer him up when he felt sad…Mituna could still do all that. At least that was what he hoped.

Cronus grew tired of waiting and pulled Latula's arms off of Mituna. He was fed up with her and the way she had stolen the only person who cared about him! So moved her off the bed with great difficulty and set her down on the floor, still fast asleep.

"Finally!" Cronus whispered in joy. He rolled Mituna over to his other side to face him. Cronus placed his hand in his.

"Novw vwe can finally enjoy a moment together, ewven if you'll newver knovw about it. Finally, I hawve you all to myself, and no one vwill stop me. I lowve you Mituna, and…if you're a good person then you'll understand. I'm sorry I hawve to tell you like this. I knovw that SHE's been messing you up and hurting you, but nowv ewverything will be ok. You can be yourself nowv again. So vwake up and shovw me that you hawven't changed. Vwake up, Mituna. Please…?"

There was no answer. Mituna was fast asleep, unaware that this was even happening. Even his old self within his mind had no idea; it was awake whenever Mituna was, and asleep at the same time as well. But that wasn't satisfying for Cronus.

"VWAKE UP!" he cried angrily, slapping Mituna a few times. Cronus grew even angrier when Mituna still wouldn't wake up. Neither did Latula, but he had stopped worrying about her. He quickly removed Mituna's helmet.

"Don't make me do this, Mituna! I lowve you, you knovw, and you can stop this!" he cried, trying to sound as threatening as possible. But still nothing. Cronus trembled and let Mituna go, the side of his head plopping on the bed. Cronus tossed the helmet aside.

"You knovw vwhat, I'm getting tired of this. I'm just going to get vwhat I vwant, vwhether you like it or not!" And with that he grabbed Mituna's face and kissed him on the lips with as much passion as he could muster. But when he was done…still nothing.

"I guess there's nothing I can do to vwake you up unless your regular self goes back to sleep," Cronus remarked. "But at least I got vwhat I vwanted." He left the room, putting Mituna's helmet back on him and repositioning Latula to make it look like he had never been there.

"I'm…I'm so sorry, Mituna. I just…I got carried avway." Cronus said as he looked back at them. It was only then he had begun to realize what he had done. But by then it was too late.

It was time for him to go to that party/meeting. And as much as he didn't want to, he would have to tell Mituna—and Latula—about this.

. . . . .

"Ok, so here's the deal," the Draconian Dignitary instructed Kurloz, "You let us have the ring, and we'll let you get rid of Meenah, just like you want to. Just be hangin' around when Meenah wakes up and does whatever it is she intends to do on Derse."

"I DON'T WANT TO ALL UP AND KILL MEENAH IN COLD MOTHAFUCKIN' BLOOD WITHOUT A FIGHT. SHE MUST BE AWAKE FOR A FAIR BATTLE!"

"That's fine. In fact, that's a great idea. Prolong it so that we have more time. It might take me a while to get down to her planet and steal the ring. Hopefully Courtyard Droll has acquired the submarine I need by now."

"BUT I DON'T MOTHAFUCKIN' FIGHT MEENAH AS SOON AS SHE WAKES UP, WHEN SHOULD I?" Kurloz asked.

"Good point. Probably when she least expects it. Chances are Meenah's probably confident enough in her abilities that she's going to go and fight the Black King and kill him on the battlefield. To get there she'd have to take a Dersite gunship there with the troops. You can stop her right before she gets on a ship."

As they were speaking, they watched the monitor and noticed that Meenah was going to sleep on Derse at last.

"IT'S TIME TO PUT OUR WICKED PLAN INTO ACTION!" Kurloz cried.

"Yes. But hey, listen," DD called out as Kurloz was leaving. "If she's too tough for you, just let her go. Our main goal is to secure the ring, not kill her."

"DON'T YOU WANT HER DEAD, TOO?" Kurloz asked.

"Yes, I would very much like her dead. But if we can't kill her, the Black King certainly will."

AN: I WAS going to put the Meenah vs. Kurloz smack-down in this chapter, but it's already too long and it's late at night as I write this. Plus I messed myself up by writing that scene were Cronus kind of loses his marbles. So it'll have to wait for next chapter, but I still want to get everything done in 50 chapters.

The next few chapters will contain some (hopefully) EPIC BATTLES! So I hope you like those and aren't triggered by them. I haven't been able to write many lately, and I really would like to, and now I finally have the chance!