Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 8
Chapter 27: The Art of Doing Better
(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Eric Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)
I woke up in the middle of the night as I couldn't get that lingering terror out of my head yesterday. I yearned to be with my family again as I laid back down in my bed. Even though I was alive for another day, I was trying very hard not to think about it as I later found myself in the autosurgeon capsule. I was trapped in it as I was strapped down the moment I saw the console being activated. I was desperate to get out of there as I was struggling to get free. To my shock, I saw a laser targeting my stomach as it began to cut me open without any further anesthesia. I was screaming in pain as the laser continued to harm me until I woke up in my bed shaking. I was alive as I felt at my stomach in which the babies that I carried were alive and safe after having that terrible nightmare. The sting of the babies' near termination scared me as I wanted to fall back asleep, for I suffered from too much already.
When I sat up in the bed, I thought about Miriam and her attempt to scare me to death as I was not too happy with her after what she did to me. All I had was nothing but disdain towards her as she even tried to sic a hellhound on Dean as well. When I laid back down in the bed, I stared at the window as the full moon shined brightly from outside, which was a comfort that kept me from falling apart. When I began to fall asleep, I simply wept as I couldn't take any more scare tactics, for it was too much for me.
"No more threatening tactics," I said to myself as I wept in my sleep.
The next morning, I was up as I walked out of the slug roe home I stayed in since I came here yesterday. Yock Island was different as I began to explore in which I knew of this place very well, but all I wanted was to go straight back to Skald Island. Even though I didn't have my wheelchair, I was still finding it hard to walk as I was stumbling to keep my balance. It wasn't long until I spotted a wheelchair as I sat down in it while I wheeled myself back to the slug roe home. Still, I felt stressed out after I was forced to make the gravest mistake of my life, only to have it averted at the last minute as I felt at my stomach where my babies were nestling in. I became scared to death for my little ones as I felt my hands shaking after what happened to me two days ago. I couldn't function properly after enduring Miriam's torment and vitriol as I began to weep, for I was too stressed out from that terrible experience that nearly cost the lives of my babies.
"As soon as we get home, the better," I said to myself as I wiped away the tears from my face. "All I want is to go home without any more dangers. It's what I truly want after what I went through..."
I wheeled myself into the room I slept in as I was ready to take a nap. When I got up and walked to the bed, I continued to touch at my stomach as I was feeling a little more protective of what I carried in my body. The harsh words from Miriam became too much for me as the experience of me dodging an unwanted caesarian section scared me to death. I felt too fearful of being out in the open as I later heard footsteps coming into the slug roe home. I didn't have any weapons to defend myself with as I got off of the bed and slowly went to hide underneath. I was scared to death as I heard the footsteps coming closer. I didn't want to come out from under the bed as I heard the door open up. I was feeling more protective as I couldn't let my little ones suffer any more danger right now. The sight of black boots entering into the room scared me as refused to come out of my hiding spot until I felt something tugging at the long silver hair that I had.
"Leave me alone!" I yelled.
The tugging of my hair continued to bother me as I was pulled out of my hiding place. I was scared out of my mind as I turned around and noticed Damien standing there. He was concerned about my well-being as I didn't want to talk about what happened to me, for I felt both scared and ashamed for putting my own babies at risk.
"Shouldn't you be with your unit?" I asked.
"The captain went back to his own unit on Shiganshina," answered Damien.
"You're part of the fourth squad of the Hunter Corps, not the seventh."
"Technically, I've been transferred into the seventh after my old unit brought in some new cadets. My new superior told me to keep an eye on you after what happened in the hospital."
"Does Nithra know that you're in the wrong unit?"
"My former superior in my unit was killed in an ambush on Lannister last year. He was buried with honors on his homeworld in which the new captain of my unit comes from Germanicus, which has a matriarchy. She's good, but she prefers mostly women in the unit, so she not only transferred me to the seventh unit, but I've been tasked as your bodyguard."
"Oh, great! Another bodyguard!"
"Leave him be, Sam," said Jack as he appeared out of nowhere. "He is tasked to protect you in which you are still targeted by the Executive Division."
I didn't want another bodyguard as I had enough stress for a while. I never asked Damien to be a helicopter parent towards me as I also couldn't take any more stressors that wracked me ever since I was nearly forced to terminate my babies two days ago. All I wanted to do was to go back to Skald Island on Valinor with my family as I slowly got up on my feet and sat in the wheelchair. All I wanted was to be left alone as I wheeled myself out of the room and straight to the main room where the front door was. Just as I was about to make it outside, I was stopped by Jack as he refused to let me go without a bodyguard while being here on Yock Island on Stohess, for I was a walking target of everything put in front of me.
"You know that you can't go without protection, Sam," he said. "Damien was transferred to Dean's unit at the behest of Princess Elspeth due to the fact that your presence helped to save some of her people from the Red Inquisition's cruelty in the Spillway on Shiganshina. You should at least show some leniency for one of the members of the Mahoney Clan."
"I've been put through enough stress as it is," I said as I felt my hands shaking. "Two days ago, Miriam attacked Sully and kidnapped me all the way here just to terminate the babies that I have inside of me. When I tried to get away, she used a dog whistle to summon a hellhound to kill Dean. I warned everyone about it, only for Damien to finish it off."
"I heard about it and Miriam's in custody for what she's done. She had no right to force you to nearly terminating your unborn children, but sending a hellhound to kill Dean is a far more serious offense. Therefore, Lady Reiko told me how she accused you of mocking the sanctity of womanhood when your babies were shifted into you as a means to keep you from doing field work. Therefore, you should put some trust in those who are there to help you and not ignore them. Damien is more than qualified with saving people, hunting things, and upholding the family business, for he is a vital asset than a pest."
Jack vanished without a trace as I was left with Damien hovering over me in the slug roe home. Still, I felt uncomfortable with a bodyguard, but I tolerated Damien's presence better than that of the likes of Maro and Miriam any day. When I wheeled into the kitchen, I noticed the picnic basket that Reiko sent me as I found it to be empty in which the muffins that I saved were gone, for I ate some of them, but the rest were eaten. My stomach growled in protest as I wanted to get something to eat until Damien entered into the kitchen while he opened up the cupboard to get out some canned fish that was packaged and made for eating. There was also a square canister of rice near the sink as it was there in which it was full just in time for future lunches and dinners. Still, I had to wait patiently as I was still exhausted from going here to Yock Island on Stohess, for I was also hungry as well.
"I guess I'm stuck here until I get back home," I said.
"There's an old saying, 'You can't judge a book by its cover,'" said Damien as he got out a can opener to open up the canned fish. "For the record, if you hadn't warned us about the hellhound in the hospital, we would've been screwed. I knew where to hit it in which I have a loathing for hellhounds."
"Did something happen?"
"A few years ago, one of my father's Terran retainers had a daughter who fell ill to a cancer that was eating her alive. My father wanted to send her to a doctor, but the retainer's family followed a religion that rejected advanced medicine for natural remedies, which were weaker than cat piss. The retainer gave his daughter the natural remedies, but she got sicker to the brink of death. Wasting no options, he began to do the most unholy things ever done in which he summoned a Crossroads demon just to make a deal. He demanded that his daughter to be cured from the illness she suffers from in exchange for a ten-year contract. The demon turned out to be a sympathetic one in which instead of accepting the retainer's deal, he snatched up his daughter and took her to a hospital just to be treated for the illness. By the time that the girl was returned, she wasn't welcomed by her family after she received treatment for her cancer, only to be shunned. The retainer was devastated that his daughter was rejected for not adhering to the natural remedies that his religion forced upon him, only for him to take her away from Mahoney land to a halfway house in the Valinorian city of Kolinahr. He left her there, but he returned to our land just to see the footprints of a demonic hound out for blood. After that, my father heard screams coming from outside Jomon Village in which he saw the retainer's body all torn and ripped to shreds from a hellhound who pounced on him for abandoning his daughter."
"I never knew of it until now, but the retainer should've never abandoned his daughter all because she had treatment for her cancer. I know that natural remedies are good and all, but advanced medical technology has flourished just to prolong one's life."
"My father was disappointed in the retainer's decision to leave his daughter in a halfway house after most of his family shunned her, but in the end, there was instant karma coming towards him in the jaws of a hellhound. The girl who was abandoned there in Kolinahr had a positive outcome in the form of marrying my Uncle Todd and had children of their own. She may have been rejected by her true family, but the one she gained accepted her to the fullest. Therefore, you of all people should also accept help instead of rejecting it, for you can't pull the heavy load alone."
I was reminded of all those times rejecting the help of my bodyguard as I was stuck with Damien at Dean's behest. Still, I didn't complain as I watched him drain the liquid that was in the can of fish over the sink and later set it aside on the counter. When I watched him open up the rice canister, he scooped two cups of it and placed it into a strainer over the cooker. Turning on the water, he gently washed the rice as it was rinsed clean just in time for lunch. By the time he poured the starch out of the cooker and put the rice into it, he filled it up with clear water up to the desired level as he later turned it off and placed it into the cooker base the moment he put the lid on top and turned it on just to do its stuff. The time to cook the rice was a long process as we had our reasons to wait for it the moment we left the kitchen and into the living room, for we didn't mind the cooking time right now.
"It'll take a while for the rice to cook before I prepare the canned fish," said Damien as he sat down in one of the chairs. "I've always had a thing for it in which the canned pink salmon and mackerel are ideal for being put into rice with soy sauce and sesame oil."
"You have a tendency to wait for the rice before putting the fish in it," I said as I felt my hands shaking. "You must've had a cooking prowess that you inherited from your father."
"My father learned to cook from the late Ippei Mitani in which he knew of him long before I was born. It's a shame that he was murdered by Darbus Toller in the Universal Library on Essos five years ago."
"I know…" My hands continue to shake as I touched at my stomach where my little ones were nestling in. "I know that Ippei would be shocked to find his great-grandchildren in me if he were still alive…"
"Are you feeling okay?" Damien notices me still shaking as I began to weep. "I already know about your undisclosed problem from the captain in which he refuses to let you go unattended. He even told me how the King of the Grey Havens shifted what you now bear into your body just to keep you grounded after I got a nasty lecture from Lady Seto about how she was swayed into keeping you away from the field. She may have gotten the message, but her cohorts refuse to take no for an answer."
It wasn't long until I heard footsteps coming to the slug roe home. When I wheeled myself to the door, I opened it up as I noticed Dunya rushing inside in which she was concerned about my health and well-being. When she saw me shaking, she had a gut feeling that I would end up having a panic attack if I wasn't careful, for I had my precious little ones that I had to protect.
"Sam's still alive, but he's scared to death," said Damien cautiously.
"Is it true that Miriam nearly forced you to terminate your twins?" asked Dunya as she saw me nodding while I wept. "Your friend from the Grey Havens wasn't lying about that one, but you nearly put yourself and your twins at risk!"
"Miriam wanted me to terminate what I had in retaliation for her perceived accusation against me for 'violating the sanctity of womanhood,'" I said. "When I disobeyed, she sent a hellhound in an attempt to kill Dean, only for Damien to take it out."
"It's true," he said. "Normally, hellhounds are called on those whose contracts have expired, but seeing one with a kill order to target people goes against the rules of many Crossroads demons who make the deals up to ten years. Hellhounds are dangerous in which they are often summoned by using special dog whistles to target their victims who don't make demon deals."
I wheeled myself out of the living room as I went into my room the moment I crawled under the covers of my bed. I was touching at my stomach as I was protecting my babies in which I didn't want to put them at risk again. I also could never forgive Miriam for what she did to me as her actions nearly caused me to lose what I carried inside of me. Still, I refused to put my babies in harm's way again as I was very cautious after what happened to me. I thought of Reiko as I wanted to return to her and the rest of my family in which I felt homesick, for I would return home soon enough. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I sat up as I saw Dunya entering into my room in which she got out her medical bag while opening it up to get out her stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. I didn't want another intrusive examination as I wanted to go home and fall asleep in my own bed, for I wasn't in the mood for putting up with any company right now.
"I know that you want to protect your twins, but could you at least let me do my job?" she said to me as she saw me vigilant into protecting my babies. "I know that Miriam scared you into nearly doing something that you would regret, but you can't let that fear take over. Kazuo wouldn't have wanted you to cave into sheer terror."
"Kazuo's been dead for two years," I said. "With Reuben calling the shots in the Medical Corps, there's been a lot of work…"
"I need you to sit up, okay?" I obeyed Dunya as I felt the blood pressure cuff wrap around my arm the moment I felt the diapragm part of the stethoscope touch it. "You went through hell, didn't you?"
"At least I won't have to deal with Miriam's wrath…" I felt the blood pressure cuff squeezing my arm as it slowly released after getting a reading. "I just want to go back home to Skald Island on Valinor, not be here in this slug roe home on Stohess."
"Your blood pressure is slightly elevated, but at least you're not in grave danger. As for the twins you're carrying, no one is going to rip them away from you. Besides, you have protection from those in the Order to back you up."
I continued to clutch at my stomach as I didn't want anything more terrible to happen to the babies I was carrying. I couldn't let my guard down after what happened to me in the hospital here on Yock Island. The trauma of being forced by Miriam to nearly terminate the twins kept me on edge as I couldn't get it out of my head. All I did was weep as I saw Dunya take off the blood pressure cuff and later put it back into her medical bag. The sight of me being traumatized by the near termination of my babies concerned Dunya as she was aware of what happened to me, for I just wanted to go straight home and continue my convalescence without further interruptions.
"It never ends, does it?" I said.
"You can't let the trauma get the better of you," said Dunya. "Even I put you through hell with the vegan diet, but if you didn't break out of it, Valinor would've been doomed with the waters turned into blood. As for what Miriam put you through, I hope that you bounce back instead of being backed into a corner."
"What Miriam did to me is unforgivable. She not only forced me to nearly terminate my babies, but she attacked Sully and sent a hellhound to kill Dean at the hospital. Luckily, Damien took it out before it tried to enact a kill order."
"That dirty bitch!"
I heard the sound of someone that I never knew before as I noticed a High Elf rushing into the slug roe home and into my room. The High Elf was a woman with red hair and blue eyes as she wore glasses similar to Kazuo while dressed in Stohessian clothing, for it was made for nautical use. The sight of her reminded me of Kazuo as she she was also not too happy with what happened to me, for she was also part of the Mitani Clan as well.
"It had to be Miriam putting you through hell not only to go back on the field, but to force you to do away with the little ones you bear, but the 'surgery' was averted at the last minute," she said as she stared at me. "I never expected you to come back to Stohess, Sam."
"Do I know you?" I asked.
"You know that three of my siblings lost their lives, but their sacrifices won't be in vain. For the record, my name is Yokose Stauber, but my maiden name is Mitani. I moved to Stohess with my late husband, but my failure into stopping the Red Inquisition from culling the Draaza who lived on Yock Island was something that I couldn't forget. For the record, I vowed not to let those scumbags drive any more of those people to the brink of extinction in which I heard about what was discovered by the White Rosalia Salvaging Company two years ago."
"I've been there on the Doohan in which all of the Draaza that were taken away to the point of celibacy were turned into Askradi, only for them to be put to a merciful death. I also went up against the Red Inquisition when they nearly tried to cull the Draaza population in Zavrath, which is on Shiganshina."
"According to the locals, you helped the resistance flush them out in which Zavrath is now thriving again as a holy place of worship and tolerance. You did something that I failed to do in which the gods have even blessed you with a role reversal while carrying yours and Reiko's offspring."
"Sam may have been put through the ringer, but he's been guarding his unborn children after what Miriam nearly did to him," said Dunya cautiously.
Yokose walked closer to me as she felt at my stomach in which the babies were nestled safe without any further worry. She also had a disdain for those like Miriam who were itching to get me back on the battlefield after what I went through two years ago. The battle against Sawney Masbath and the destruction of Project Amaterasu nearly killed me as I had a long way to go in which my raw power wasn't up to full. By the time Damien entered into my room, he had a tray full of food in his hands as he gave it to me in which it consisted of rice with the canned fish that was prepared in soy sauce and sesame oil. I tasted the food as it quelled the hunger that I had earlier in which I wasn't as anxious as I was. Still, I couldn't let my anxiety get to me as I later finished up my food and was ready to go back to sleep until I was dragged out of bed by Yokose, who refused to let me sink in bed all day.
"I don't want to go anywhere right now," I said in protest.
"You can't stay in bed forever, Sam," said Yokose.
"I don't feel like going outside after what happened to me."
"You could at least see what is put here on this island first before judging what gets put into it," said Damien. "The Stohessian government put all their efforts into restoring Yock Island to its former glory and it shows."
I reluctantly agreed as I got up and went towards my wheelchair the moment I left the room. When I wheeled myself out to the entrance of the slug roe home, I decided to go outside as I went towards the pit that Dean fell into once. I noticed a ramp that went down to the bottom as I spotted the railing on the side. When I wheeled myself down slowly, I made it to the bottom as I noticed the spikes taken away and replaced with a greenhouse that housed a hydroponics lab in their stead. Even though I was on the southern hemisphere of Stohess, I never expected Yock Island to be improved in which I also spotted a memorial plaque near the place where I rescued Dean from the pit three years prior. I examined the plaque as I saw the words, "In memory of Silas Yock and the Draaza folk whose lives were taken away," in silver letters. I prayed at the memorial as I also paid my respects to the ones that were mercilessly herded and enslaved by the Red Inquisition, for I could never forgive nor forget their despicable atrocities towards the Draaza. When I left the pit, I turned around and saw Dunya wheeling me out of the pit and back up to where the slug roe home was, for she didn't want me to go too far right now.
"Everything has changed here," I said.
"According to the Stohessian government, this hospital and the rest of the infrastructure was rebuilt just in time to tend to those who have been wounded in this war," said Dunya.
"The last time I came here, this pit was a death trap, only to have the spikes removed and replaced with a greenhouse."
"The Medical Corps and the staff at the Yock Memorial Hospital have improved not only the island itself, but the well-being of those who came here after being injured on the battlefield. Stohess may be known for its many islands, but some of the continents are also pleasing as well."
"I've only been here to this island, but not the whole planet. I even discovered a shrine here in which it was more dirty than the rest of this place."
"The shrine here is a beacon that brings the weary to this island, Sam," said Yokose as she stood in front of me. "Thankfully, the ongoing matriarchy here was lenient into having everything rebuilt after centuries of neglect. Now, that you spent time with the refurbished island, it's time to go to the hospital for a checkup instead of being put through the ringer."
I was being wheeled away from my surroundings as I was about to return to the hospital again. The sight of it all scared me after what I went through as I was about to be put through another assessment against my wishes, but there wouldn't be any problems this time, for it was more pleasant than what I went through earlier…
Miriam was in a jail cell as she was trapped in the Grey Havens' version of Alcatraz. With her weapon taken away from her, she was stuck there as she was still feeling the sting of Reiko's words in which she was forced to remain there for the rest of her days. Her disdain towards me for being pregnant and an attempt to take Dean's life by calling out a hellhound was the last straw as she was punished for her actions, for she was put there to rot in her prison. It wasn't long until Jack appeared outside of her cell as he wasn't too happy with what she did to me, for her punishment was mainly to be staying in there for the rest of her days.
"How dare you stand in front of me while you side with Lady Reiko in defending her freak of a husband?!" she yelled. "He violated the sanctity of womanhood by bearing the children that were crafted in his body!"
"You will cease your protestations, Miriam," said Jack. "For the record, I shifted the unborn children that were meant for Lady Reiko's womb and put into Sam's body for a reason and that is to keep him in convalescence after his battle against Sawney Masbath two years ago. You will honor his wishes by being humble in my decision."
"I will not be humble in front of the bastard son of Lucifer! Your grandfather had greater aspirations than what you have, only to be backed in a corner by your 'friends' from the Elder Days!"
"They may have made free decisions in the rest of their days, but there are times that I had to sidestep my principles just to stay one step ahead of those who have bowed towards the reverence of the Arbiter. In a last ditch effort to wipe out the Winchesters of Old, she unleashed one of my Grandfather's creations that were sealed away, only to make their way back in time to 1972. The threat may have been averted, but the Arbiter made sure that everything stood firm her way like clockwork."
"Are you talking about the Akrida?"
"The Akrida are a threat that will forever sealed away, but the Arbiter fears something far worse than the meddling of those who are constantly foiling her plans. She fears the emergence of the children born of men in which they will shut down her machinations for good."
"And you call yourself a ruler of the Grey Havens! Naomi would've been a better ruler here than you!"
"Don't even try to lash out at me, Miriam!" Jack displays his godly aura as he stood firm in giving her a taste of her own medicine. "Sam is grounded and with child in which he even went up against one of the worst blackmailers who have wrung the nerves of his victims. Therefore, the one who is chosen will stay put for the time being and being with child is the only way for him to stay put after he overexerted his raw power to get rid of Sawney Masbath and shut down Project Amaterasu two years ago. There are others with him that will help him carry the burden, not those who nearly broke him just to be put on the battlefield against his wishes. Therefore, you should stow all your crap and not interfere in his convalescence, is that clear to you?"
Jack left without a trace as Miriam was left in her cell alone. She felt her pride gutted away as the failure to bring me back on the battlefield was gnawing at her own being, for she had no other choice but to obey the King of Heaven and allow me to heal up to full in order to be functional on the field again…
I was in an observation room of the hospital as I was being scanned due to the ongoing string of assessments that I went under. Thankfully, I wasn't forced to be trapped in an autosurgeon capsule this time as I was seeing the babies on screen happily safe and sound. I was grateful that Miriam wasn't there to meddle in my affairs after what I went through two days ago. By the time I was finished, I slowly got up as I went to my wheelchair and was escorted by members of the Medical Corps in which they led me towards a hospital room. I may had my fair share of being in hospitals, but I ended up getting used to it as I got up from my wheelchair and laid down in the hospital bed that was adjusted comfortably. I never minded it as I found it to be more calmer than being trapped in an autosurgeon capsule. With the medical staff leaving the room, I was ready to relax until I saw the window open up in which I spotted Damien coming in here unannounced, for he refused to leave my side as yet another bodyguard in my service.
"You shouldn't be in here," I said.
"Say what you want, but I can't disobey the captain's orders by shirking my duties as your bodyguard," said Damien as he fished out a black lacquer box. "For the record, you have a lot of big bads just wanting a taste of your raw power, especially with the Executive Division."
"They'll stop at nothing to abuse what I have, only to see Project Helios still standing and hovering on board the Sol-4 above Valinor. As for the other monsters who see me as a threat, they've taken a backseat while Liesel's busy playing queen of the castle in her conquest in this ongoing war."
"Just because the big bads took a backseat in this war, doesn't mean that they're not out for blood quietly, especially demons." Damien puts down the lacquer box as he rolls up his left sleeve to reveal the Winchester sigil branded on his arm. "Leave it to a pack of Orcs like the Barzuk Clan on Maugrim to brand this mark on me, which has protected me from demon possession. In the Elder Days, your past self and the captain's revealed this sigil tattooed near their left shoulders while trying to fend off a demon attack, only to see many people killed at the hands of Lilith as referenced in Jus in Bello."
"You knew about the Supernatural books, don't you?"
"I read some of them up to Ghostfacers in the Universal Library on Essos, but I had to return to Valinor just to be part of the Hunter Corps." Damien opens up the lacquer box as he takes out a triangle-shaped rice snack as he took a bite into it. "The books that were written by Carver Edlund and Nathan Hofstra respectively were the catalyst that is known as the Winchester Gospel along with the prequel books written by Cortese Padalecki."
"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full with that rice ball. Besides, you do more with rice and canned fish than just make a meal out of it. You have a knack for making onigiri with that canned fish and rice in which it's sustainable to be put in a bento box." Damien hands one of them to me as I took a bite out of it while swallowing it. "This is good in which you used canned salmon and spicy mayonnaise. This is a lot better than chowing down on Jell-O and Slim Fast shakes."
"My late superior always told me to pack light just to go on missions. Making onigiri is the best way to go when it comes to being prepared."
It wasn't long until I heard the door open up as I had to make sure that Damien got out safely before arousing suspicion. Just as my newest bodyguard was about to make his daring escape, I spotted Raquelle entering into the room as she spotted him with all of his bento that he made. She knew of Damien very well as she was no stranger into dealing with those who had close ties with his family, for she was aware of his presence due to his knack for making bento on the go.
"Isn't this hospital after hours?" she asked him.
"You must be working late again," he said.
"As long as it doesn't feature troublemakers messing with the autosurgeon capsule, everything's fine here. I heard that you even took down a hellhound at the entrance of this hospital."
"The hellhound tried to kill the captain, but I got rid of it before it had a chance to do so."
"By the way, how's everyone in your family? I heard from some of my in-laws when the Uzumaki crashlanded on Meereen two years ago, but they stayed put overseeing things stemming from rapid plant growth to people coming here to live their lives, but not without a few snags."
"If there are hunters among those who are colonizing on Meereen, let's hope that they bring the right tools, such as salt, wrought iron, silver, ethereal metal, steel, and plenty of weapons to shoot monsters with. That's what saving people, hunting things, and upholding the family business does."
It wasn't long until I noticed someone outside of the hospital standing in which he was armed with a sniper rifle. Damien quickly got up as he rushed to my aid while he took the bullet in his shoulder. I spotted the assassin fleeing outside as I later noticed my newest bodyguard clutching at his shoulder while Raquelle got out her first aid kit to take the bullet out. I had a gut feeling that the bullet was poison as I had no other choice but to use my raw power to save Damien's life the moment I did so. Raquelle never expected me to use my raw power to help the one who took a bullet in my stead as I healed him before the poison took root and ended his life. Even though Damien was spared, I was exhausted from using my raw power as I clutched at my stomach in which I was about to take a turn for the worst, for I couldn't let anyone die in front of me. When Raquelle propped him up, she steered him to a chair as she got out some alcohol towelettes to clean the wound the moment she removed his tunic and saw it clearly.
"You nearly bit it," she said to him as she cleaned the bullet wound from his shoulder. "If your dad saw this, he would flip."
"Sam used his raw power to stop the poison, but the shooter used swamp adder venom in the bullet," said Damien as he felt Raquelle bandaging his shoulder. "I know who would use such ammunition and it's none other than the Black Dragon Guild."
"You gotta be shitting me! This place is secure… or perhaps was secure…"
It wasn't long until Dunya burst into the hospital room as she saw Damien all bandaged up from the bullet wound that he took in my stead. When she saw me exhausted in my bed, she rushed towards me and opened the robe that I wore as she noticed that the baby bump that I had was a bit bigger than what it was. She wasn't too happy with me using my raw power as she wasn't about to let me off the hook, for she warned me not to do so.
"What the hell were you thinking, Sam?!" she yelled. "I told you not to use your raw power and look what happens! Your raw power accelerated the pregnancy and if you do this again, it would be very dangerous for both you and the babies you bear!"
"You shouldn't be too harsh with him," said Damien cautiously. "He did what he had to or else I would've been dead by now."
"An assassin tried to kill Sam," said Raquelle as she took out a petri dish and tweezers to pick up the bullet that was in Damien's shoulder. "I suggest that you report to your superior to this 'cause the bullet had swamp adder venom in it." She shows Dunya the incriminating evidence in the petri dish as it was fired from a sniper rifle. "Someone tried to snuff out your model patient, only for Damien to take the bullet in his stead and the assassin who did this came from the Black Dragon Guild."
"It's true…," I said as I was feeling more tired than normal.
"Reuben is coming in the morning, so I suggest that you stop using your raw power so frivolously," said Dunya. "You're skating on thin ice, Sam. You may think that using what you have can help people, but you're putting your life and personal health at risk! Furthermore, you're not going home, you hear me?! And if you're going to some planet to visit and unwind, you will be hospitalized until the babies are born."
I was in the doghouse as I had no other choice but to be hospitalized after what happened earlier. Even though I saved Damien's life, the price of using my raw power ended up causing the babies that I carried to grow into the size of small gourds. I ended up staying put as I was at the mercy of Dunya, for there was no end to her constant scolding whatsoever…
The next morning, I remained in my hospital bed as I noticed Damien in the other one next to me. He was saved in which his left arm was in a sling after he took the bullet in my stead. Even though he was spared the icy hand of death, there was no end to what the Black Dragon Guild would do as they viewed me as a primal target just to appease the Executive Division. When I sat up, I felt at my babies as they were safe, but I was also starting to get hungry due to the craving for food to feed them with, for I wanted to get out of bed and get something to eat.
"I should've never did that," I said as I felt guilty into doing so.
"If you didn't use your raw power, I wouldn't be alive today," said Damien.
"I never saw it coming when an assassin from the Black Dragon Guild would target me here on Yock Island… I hope that your unit catches the bastard…"
"According to what I heard, the assassin who targeted you was found dead on the beach in which he was stabbed in the heart. What the locals also noticed was that a hint of sulphur was found near the body."
"Sulphur?"
"If there is sulphur, then a demon is at work. As for what happened to me last night, the raw power did something other than to heal me from the poison that came from the bullet." Damien removes the bandage as he reveals an imprint of raw power radiating from where the wound was. "You saved my life in which I really don't know what to tell my dad…"
"Damien!"
I heard a familiar voice from outside the room as I noticed someone that I hadn't seen in the past two years. It was Bruce as he was concerned for Damien's life in which he had a gut feeling that he would end up dead if I didn't save him in time.
"Thank the gods and Jack Kline from the Grey Havens that you're alive, but you now bear the mark of an acolyte that took the bullet in the God of the Ashizoka System's stead," he said as he knelt.
"An assassin from the Black Dragon Guild tried to kill Sam," said Damien. "Therefore, I was spared from death, only to be put in the same hospital room."
"I heard from Dunya yelling her head off about how Sam saved your life in which the raw power ended up accelerating what he is carrying. There's no need to be ashamed of it, but this is an omen that is meant to happen in the first place. Even though the King of Heaven always tells us to make our own destinies, there is a reason why he shifted the unborn packages into Sam's body in the first place."
"That was when I was being coerced by those who would want me back on the battlefield," I said as I laid back down in my bed. "Seto pushed it first, but she backed down, only to make sure that I recovered from the battle that I had two years ago."
"You went up against Sawney Masbath, didn't you?" I nodded. "The bastard had it coming when Project Amaterasu was destroyed. As for Project Helios, it's the last one on the docket, but you're not up to snuff yet. Still, you can't have your battles over quickly forever, for they are a slow process that never goes away quietly. You can't do the heavy lifting alone, Sam, for there are others who would do the heavy lifting for you."
I was moved by Bruce's words as I had no other choice but to stay put in my convalescence once more. Still, I didn't mind being out of the picture as I also had to continue my recovery for a lot of reasons, for I was carrying my little ones in tow as well…
To be continued...