Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 11

Chapter 3: Dinner For Ruffians

(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 was in the ferry boat going back to the region of Imladris as I would soon be on my way to Chithravai as planned. Even though the Leviathan threat was prevented on Tinuviel Island, the repercussions remained as everyone who was treated with the antidote that the Medical Corps distributed was shocked to see some of their food being brought here heavily tainted by the likes of SucroCorp just to set a trap for Guido. As usual, I was mainly keeping in touch after all that has happened in which I was also not riding the ferry alone this time. I noticed Michiru sitting there as she was mainly sulking like a teenager, but she ended up getting away scot free due to the fact that she was working undercover as a freelanced hunter. Still, the hunter lifestyle wasn't glamorous, but those who chose it were never meant to live a normal life, for it was the way things are in a nutshell.

"You don't look too happy, do you?" I said.

"Florian really knows how to be a stickler for rules sometimes," said Michiru.

"At least he isn't pressing charges after knowing about the sting operation that Giancarlo had. As for the SucroCorp incident, this isn't the first time that the Leviathans tried to do this to unsuspecting people."

"Midori Kurohana didn't give the go-ahead of bringing the additive here on Valinor, but someone else who really has a hate boner for Guido Zampano. Giancarlo pointed it out in which it was none other than Lianne Tai, who was blacklisted after betraying her unit on Targaryen during a drug bust gone wrong. She's pulling strings, but I know for a fact that the real Lianne Tai died years ago in which a demon is wearing her meatsuit. Whoever she truly is, she's dangerous in which she's not too happy with Guido for getting it on with an Ancient."

"No matter how many times those can try, Guido refuses to part ways with Casey in which he'll stop at nothing to protect her. Even though Casey is an Ancient, her life was tragic when her mother carried her while fleeing from the Leviathans that were after her."

"She's not the only Ancient who lives and breathes. Theoden is also an Ancient in which he carries more than just his flamboyance, but the excess baggage he had while staying at the orphanage. His late mother was also one of the many stragglers who fled from Harkonnen. That was when she stumbled onto one of the gene banks of the Fallen and was artificially inseminated in the process. In the end, she gave birth to Theoden, but died in childbirth in which the sire was none other than a member of the extinct Grantham Clan, who helped our folks stop a group of supremacists from tearing Valinor asunder. It was also a way and mean to unite my clan and the other four to have a lottery system to be a successor of the Imperium so we wouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves. It was feasible, but we also had to deal with the monsters that crawled in plain sight."

I never expected to hear more about what was going on as I kept writing in my journal amidst the ride on the ferry. The sight of the ocean was soothing, but I wasn't in fine fettle after averting the Leviathan threat two days prior. The very notion of nausea hit me like a boulder as I got up and began to vomit near the railing in which I was feeling very seasick during the ferry ride. By the time I finished vomiting, I staggered towards a bathroom as I began to rinse my mouth out with some mouthwash after suffering from the nausea that crippled me. The exhaustion followed by a bout of seasickness was something that I wasn't used to as I was starting to feel dizzy in which I wanted to go to a nearby cabin and lay down while going over to Chithravai. By the time I left the bathroom, I saw Theoden standing in front of me as he was concerned about my condition, for he wasn't the type to let me off the hook just yet. It wasn't long until he noticed me struggling to stand up as I went towards the bathroom and lifted up the toilet seat the moment I started vomiting again, for this was too much for me right now.

"You doing okay?" he asked me.

"It's just nausea," I said.

"Oh no, my friend; I know seasickness when I see it and you took the full brunt of hurling everything off the guardrail."

"Is there anywhere on this ferry where I can go and lie down at?"

"There's a sickbay in there. It's small, but at least you can rest instead of hurling everything overboard."

"I'll manage just fine…"

I walked towards a small room as it had the word, "sickbay," on the door in red letters. When I walked into it, I laid myself down on a bed as I began to cover myself in a blanket. It was troubling for me, but I had to wait it out as I later heard the door opening up to see Qu'Nabrai entering with a cooler that had some non-alcoholic drinks in it while setting it on a table. He noticed me not doing too well as he opened up the cooler and brought me a suspicious bottle with something in it until I read the label that was deemed safe, for I really was not doing too well right now.

"I brought some ginger beer and ginger ale for our troubles," he said as he opened up the bottle with an opener. "They're diet, but I hope you don't mind…"

"This is good," I said as I tasted the spicy and sweet taste of what was given to me. "I never had it before, but it's doing a good job for my ailing stomach."

"Ginger is often used for taming queasy stomachs in which it's better than alcohol."

"That's so true…" I see a strange pod-like compartment on Qu'Nabrai's shoulder as I was curious to notice what it was. "I know of what you have… It's an insulin pod that is often used for diabetics."

"Guilty as charged… Actually, I've been diagnosed for diabetes in which I thought that it afflicted fat people, but I was wrong. The seed donor that my mom had must've been afflicted with it in which I'm stuck with the insulin pod while checking on my blood sugar every day. I also have a bad habit of buying diet drinks and apple juice because of the fact that I can't have too much sugar right now."

"Does Reuben or anyone else in the Medical Corps know about your condition?"

"No…, but I ran into that hot chick with the bikini top in which she told me not to do too much while monitoring my blood sugar."

"There you are!"

I noticed Dunya burst into the sickbay as she saw me laying down while sipping on the bottle of ginger beer that Qu'Nabrai gave me earlier. She wasn't too thrilled with what I was drinking as she was ready to snatch it out of my hands until she was stopped. I didn't want her to cause a ruckus for me as I finished up the bottle of ginger beer that I had in which it helped to settle the queasiness in my stomach, for I had to have something to combat the nausea I was suffering from.

"Seriously, you should be taking stomach medicine instead of drinking soda!" she yelled.

"Stomach meds are in the cabinet where the first aid kit is," said Qu'Nabrai as he tossed the empty ginger beer bottle in the trash bin. "After what Sam's going through, he's been hurling non-stop and not stopping."

"He needs to rest up." I feel Dunya's hand touch at my forehead as she had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. "And to top it off, he's also been running a fever."

I continued to lay back down as I felt a thermometer being shoved into my mouth. With Dunya stand in front of me, she was concerned for my health as she was mainly aware of the draconification that I underwent and changed back. When I heard the thermometer beeping, I took it out of my mouth as I found that I had a temperature of 102.2, but not as bad as 107 as usual, for being exhausted and nauseated wasn't part of the plan right now.

"It seems that I'll be laying down for the rest of the ferry trip," I said. "It's no fun being unwell after the eternal winter was averted, but there's the problem with the Leviathans in which we're also dealing with the likes of SucroCorp of all people. It's embarrassing, but I have no choice but to grin and bear it while I'm resting."

"I know about your draconification, Sam," said Dunya. "I also know that you had the gall to help Michiru and her team take out a Leviathan threat in which there's been an influx of them and not stopping right now. Even Reuben is concerned after he administered that antidote to the townsfolk on that island, but Midori Kurohana isn't pulling the strings right now."

"According to Michiru, a demon is behind this in which it's also housing the body of an ex-cop just to lure Guido into a trap. Luckily, he didn't come with me this time in which it's better than being singled out because of his gift in the form of the Sight of Valithis."

"You may have the gall to protect everyone, but not in your condition."

"You heard the lady," said Qu'Nabrai as he pricked his finger with a glucose meter. "At least it's not high, but manageable… As for our trip up the river, we should kick back, relax, and go upstream as planned without worrying too much."

I was starting to get a little tired as I closed my eyes and went to sleep in the bed in the sickbay. After all that has happened, I had to rest up as the draconification nearly drained me, for I was stuck in recovery mode for the rest of the ferry ride…

Guido was in his room as he was looking at the newspaper in which he saw what happened on the front page. He noticed the SucroCorp vehicle being lifted by a silver dragon and later blown up as he had a gut feeling that the Leviathan threat wasn't going away quietly. Even though he started out as a police officer, he never expected to be delving into further dangers ahead as he also carried the Sight of Valithis, which was lesser than my raw power, but potent against any threat that would harm him or those around him. When he went outside and into the harbor, he was seeing some of the people getting out of their boats and trawlers as they were parked for the evening. Still, he wasn't worried as he wanted me to focus on my mental health in which he would soon see me again, for he also had to prioritize his own before going off the deep end.

"Let's hope that you're having a good time, Sam," he said to himself.

"What are you doing?" asked Ingmar as he was standing at the dock.

"I'm taking a breather, but after this, it's back to doing my job so I won't be a burden in the Order."

"I heard some of the locals talking about how that silver dragon lifted up that SucroCorp vehicle and someone blew it up afterwards."

"I've heard of that company before in which they tried to bring their additive to Alecrast and Gehenna, only to fail miserably. If you wanna know more about Leviathans, you're staring at the guy who saw them with their jaws wide open."

"I heard about them on the news, but normally, they look for human stragglers who escaped from their factory farms on Harkonnen."

"If you come across one of those humanoid piranhas, you need to run because of the fact that they're strong against conventional weapons except borax or weapons infused with it. In the Elder Days, they sprang up through a certain angel that got too big for his britches on his power trip, but they emerged in black ooze and manifesting themselves through shapeshifting and eating everything in sight. According to the Matriarchal Scriptures, Leviathans were the first apex predators that God created, only for Pendragon to force Him to banish them into Purgatory. It's been also said that Leviathans have a primal fear of dragons in which I'm more than glad that the two silver ones stood their ground after they stopped the big freeze. As for what those freaks want, they're not getting it because of the fact that there's no backing down in which I'm not rollover just yet. In this grueling battle, we all have to have something to protect, for it's what we're made of right now..."

Ingmar was now aware of what the Leviathans were as he was vowing to protect those who are important to him. He thought about Carly as he refused to leave her side once they come of age, but he was too young to express his feelings right now. As for Guido, on the other hand, he was staring at the harbor as he noticed a stray ferry going up the river as it must have been running late, for it was on its way to Chithravai as planned so far…

I woke up in a hotel room as I found myself in a bed that had decorative blankets all over it. When I tried to sit up, I was stopped by Dunya as she pressed a lukewarm washcloth to my burning forehead while checking my vitals. Even though she was doing her job as a member of the Medical Corps, she wasn't the type to let anyone off the hook as she had to make sure that I was fine, for I had to rest up so I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown right now.

"Don't try to get up, Sam," she said to me. "You're in a hotel in Chithravai in which one of those ruffians paid for your room and board with the silver scales you shed."

"Is that so?" I said as I was still exhausted.

"You can't go anywhere right now because of a high fever. Also, I—"

"Sam!"

I heard the door bursting open as I noticed Yavanna entering into the room. She was concerned about what was going on as she had a gut feeling that something wasn't right the moment I slowly sat up in my bed. Even though I still felt feverish, I was in no shape to do anything as I laid helplessly in bed, for the draconification process took a lot out of me so far.

"Thank the Matriarch that you're okay," said Yavanna. "You should thank Michiru and her group for bringing you here in which you went through a lot."

"Let me remind you that Sam went through draconification while helping those undercover hunters with a sting operation to stop an enslavement attempt from SucroCorp," said Dunya as she was setting up an intravenous drip while inserting it into my arm. "As for whoever sent our enemies from Harkonnen to here, their boss didn't send them here."

It wasn't long until Dunya fished out a recording device as she gave it to Yavanna. When she turned it on, she heard ghastly images blaring through the recording as she had a gut feeling that someone else was pulling the strings, for the Leviathan threat was far from over so far.

"Take a good look!" yelled Lianne on speaker. "You either work with me or spend your days with your dicks in your hands! I don't care what your boss tells you! Guido Zampano will be caught and taken to the Lineage in which they have dibs on him; not the Order and not from your handlers from SucroCorp, either! It's a way and mean to steal him and kill that Ancient bitch for having first dibs with him in the bedroom! Still, he's not the only one who has a gift to take, but a certain someone who has all that raw power at his disposal. That could get the attention of the Zenith Vectors directly…"

"She sounds legit, but the real Lianne Tai has been dead for a long time," said Yavanna. "What is heard through the recording is a demon who is wearing her meatsuit in which she has a name and that is none other than Celaeno, who is known to be an apostle of Apollyon, but bears a grudge against Abaddon."

"You know of her, don't you?" I said as I was still overwhelmed by the fever.

"Celaeno isn't just any type of demon, Sam. She knows how to calculate and manipulate things to her own advantage in which she would stop at nothing to get what she wants without consequences. I… cornered her once in which she was also trying to destroy this city in which she was also aiding and abetting the forces led by Bertram Blackthorne. I put an Elven curse on her when she threatened my late husband's extended family, but it caused one horrible side effect that plagues her to no end."

"What was it, exactly?"

"Celaeno has been cursed with a sex addiction in which her victims can be anyone: men, women, non-binary, intersex or transgender people. Once Celaeno gets her fix, she goes and finds another one she can do it with. One of her victims was a police officer who was found dead while being tied up and with his pants down. Once she gets it on with her victims, she kills them so that they wouldn't tell anyone, not even members of the Order. It's been said that men have needs when their spouses can't give them what they want, but the women also have need just as much as they do. In Celaeno's case, she gets her fix when she wants something from her victims in which she even wants to seduce your newest recruit from the Order, only to be beaten by that Ancient that was found in the wreckage of the Clampett."

"So, she's after Guido, but her attempt to seduce him ended in failure…"

"I must warn you, Celaeno has the worst rage imaginable when things don't go her way and knowing about Casey getting it on with Guido was the breaking point that she could never let go of. Her grudge and obsession know no filter and none of us are safe, not even you. Her proxies report to her, but she also knew how to be summoned to do the bidding of those who delve into black magic."

"Like Desdemona when she summoned a demon to kill Shizuo…"

I was struggling to sit up as I heard the jangly children's tune in the form of the same nursery rhyme that haunted me four months ago. The tune of This Little Piggy reminded me of how I was burned and tortured by Desdemona as I was trying hard not to let myself have a nervous breakdown. That was when I was plunged into a void as I later found myself in an old motel room where I saw my torturer dressed in lingerie and was ready to seduce me. She was also armed with a whip as she was ready to force me to give in and accept what was in front of me. Just as I was about to break, I saw a familiar spirit stand in front of me as she sliced up the whip with the spear and later noticed Desdemona turning into a pile of goop on the floor, for this was a reality that I didn't want right now.

"Are you willing to give up so recklessly?" she said to me. "You need to do better, Sam. Celaeno is baiting you to cave in and break down after Phyllis killed off her proxy who tortured you."

"Reina…," I said as I saw her standing firm.

"Don't you have a family to protect? They depend on you in which I can't sit by and see you let them down. You should also look into the bigger picture in which you and Reiko may have averted the threat of eternal winter, but Erebor has no Emperor or Empress to rule it."

"What are you talking about?"

"The one who rules Erebor is the one who has a resourcefulness that can even be on par with the Dean Winchester of Old. She also happens to be one of your wards in which she can be armed with anything while being under the protection of the regent who possess the Sight of Valithis."

"Sona… She's too young to rule right now…"

"There's also a prophecy in which she will marry Ghimru and bring prosperity to Erebor in the future. Therefore, the future is neither set in stone nor put there willingly, but there are those who will stop at nothing to destroy it. Never cave into despair, Sam. The future needs you a lot more than you know… Don't even try to fade away right now…"

I was later returned to reality as I was sitting up while panting harshly in a fevered sweat. Reina's warning was something that I had to deal with as I had a gut feeling that one of my children and Sona would be in danger in the future. I also feared the worst as I had to do my best to protect Guido and Casey from those who would separate them, especially Celaeno. I was more than likely to be getting out of bed until Dunya stopped me in which she wasn't about to let me leave just yet, for I was still under the fever's grip right now.

"Try not to overdo it," she said to me.

"I have to protect Sona…," I said as I was panting. "I have to protect Guido and Casey…"

"They're safe in which a certain 'better half' is no slouch when it comes to her own bravery put into play. She's not just a loving wife and caring mother, but a goddess who aided you in averting the eternal winter. There's nothing to fear, Sam, for we all have to go further in the roles we play."

I sensed a much more sensitive side to Dunya as she looked out the window in which she was remembering something from her troubling past. Still, I didn't want to pry as I also wasn't feeling too well at the moment, for I had to deal with watching over those who were targeted by others that would harm them. I wanted to do more, but was helpless as I laid back down the moment I felt the fever continuing its hold over me until I saw an old vision of her sitting next to a bed with a Draaza girl that was feeling unwell. I noticed her to be Danica when she was younger as she had a lukewarm washcloth over her forehead at the time while Dunya watched over her. I also noticed another Draaza girl enter into the room as she was holding a tray of food and a cup of tea the moment she set it on the nightstand, for this was a past that I never knew about Dunya until now.

"Here's some chicken soup," she said.

"Thank you, Darcy," said Danica as she sat up.

"You need rest," said Dunya. "I know that I've been working hard to put a roof over our heads, but I've also been in medical school just to give us a better life than being in the Cobbler District making ends meet."

"You work at that dirty club at night, but you hate it, don't you?"

"I don't have a choice right now and all those times that I work as an exotic dancer is the only way to keep us fed and have a roof over our heads. As soon as I graduate from medical school, the better we have a stable life with just the three of us. We'll leave Shiganshina behind and start a much better life so we won't have to worry about living in this unsafe district forever."

"You're very brave, Mommy…," said Darcy. "I know that we'll get out of here and away from those meanies who burst into our home just to force you to do unwanted grown-up things. We'll get out of here and have a better life like we wanted, right?"

I returned to reality as I noticed that everyone was out of the room except for Dunya who was shedding tears while dozing off in a chair. What I didn't expect was that I noticed a Draaza woman enter into the room with a tray of chicken vindaloo and a glass of water as she set it on the nightstand. The woman herself was dressed in a red bra while draped in a sari and white labcoat as she sported a navy comb and green eyes while wearing a pendant around her neck, for she was familiar in the vision that I saw earlier.

"About time that you woke up, Sam," she said to me.

"You must be Darcy, right?" I said as I sat up.

"As usual, Mom keeps dozing off again while wearing that bikini top and skirt under her labcoat. She's been through so much just to protect me and Danica in which we thrived a lot further if it wasn't for Kazuo and Castiel steering us away from that place on Shiganshina, but we all knew that it wasn't easy for us."

"Mom, you forgot the naan bread!"

I saw an Elf boy burst into the room as he was dressed in traditional Indian clothing while sporting navy hair and green eyes like his mother. The boy himself spotted me in my bed as he was holding a plate of naan bread in his hands. When he gave it to me, I was slowly eating my food as I tasted the chicken vindaloo and basmati rice that was on the plate. With the naan bread, I ate it with the food as I was also thankful that I had something to eat after being exhausted, for it was a way and mean to have it, which was better than hurling everything over the guardrail.

"This is good," I said.

"I made the chicken vindaloo," said Darcy. "It was a favorite of Vikram's until he passed away…"

"Who's Vikram?"

"Vikram was my dad," said the Elf boy. "He and Grandpa were killed by that demon until Granny Yavanna confronted it later on and put a curse on it."

"It was Celaeno, wasn't it?"

"That name is taboo, but my mother-in-law cursed her before she went to Targaryen and took over that dead cop."

"You're too young to know things, Ravi," said Darcy cautiously. "Besides, don't you need to get back to the house and get some homework done?"

I saw the boy leave as I was alone with Darcy in which she was aware of what I was going through. When she saw me finish up my food and put it on the nightstand, I slumped back down as I was still exhausted from what I went through. When Dunya woke up, she noticed Darcy here as she never expected her to show up while preparing food in the hotel I was staying at. When she got up on her feet, she was staring at her daughter as she was aware of what was going on, for she also didn't want to oversleep on the job right now.

"Hey, Mom," said Darcy. "I take it that you dozed off again."

"I was just resting my eyes," said Dunya as she was rubbing them.

"You work too hard in the Medical Corps just like you did to provide for me and Danica while we were living in the Cobbler District."

"I remember it very well in which I was struggling while in medical school doing the basics while I was also at that men's club dancing away just to keep a roof over our head. I had nothing after the the Shigan Government saw everyone in the commune dead after drinking poisoned lemonade. I was one of the lucky ones who survived, but hardship always had a way of testing me."

"We face hardships that try to break us, but we always come out much more stronger than what everyone tells us in the end. It's what kept you going when you had me and Danica, right?"

I never knew of what Dunya was going through until now as she was a woman who knew more hardship than I did. Even though I was too tired to move, I saw one of the worst members of the Medical Corps be a lot more than just someone who acted strict all the time. For the rest of the day, I didn't want to pry further as this wasn't the time to do so right now, for I wanted to get some sleep before setting out in the morning…

Michiru was in her hotel room as she was noticing the fireworks that dazzled the sky while filing a report to her superiors. Even though she was a freelanced hunter, she was more than likely to be getting orders for her next mission as she also bore a grudge against the Leviathans that nearly made Tinuviel's islanders docile enough to be unable to fight back. When she was ready to file what was reported, she saw a paper plane fly into the window as she caught it the moment she unfolded it to see it from an unknown sender, for it was also written in the Draaza language while sporting the Shigan royal seal on it.

"Empress Navatra really knows how to push it, doesn't she?" she said to herself as she clutched at the letter. "Yes, Qu'Nabrai's safe, but he also has his monitoring tools for his glucose just to prevent him from crashing."

It wasn't long until Michiru turned around to see Minara appearing out of nowhere as he was aware of the Leviathan threat that was going on so far. She never expected him to show up as he was also concerned about my health and well-being the moment he got word from Reuben. Still, things were out of hand, but it was the way things are as we all had to deal with it, for the threat with both the Zenith Vectors and the Leviathans have gotten from bad to worse.

"You really know how to jump the gun, don't you, Michiru?" said Minara.

"If you're here to chew me out, then I'm all out of being chewed upon," she said.

"It's not the reason why I'm here, for I've come to check up on Sam after he underwent draconification just to aid your team to put a damper on Celaeno's machinations by having SucroCorp's employees bringing their additive here unannounced."

"Well, Leviathans are deathly afraid of dragons, but they up and got their asses handed to them in the end."

"That's not the case, Michiru." Minara fishes out a tablet as he shows a SucroCorp employee on screen. "This was taken in Midori Kurohana's office after she got word of a few of her employees decided to disobey and bring that additive vehicle to this planet, but there is a consequence for crossing her."

Michiru saw the video on screen as she spotted Midori and her subordinates circling a man sitting in a chair. She noticed the chairwoman of SucroCorp not too happy with what was brought to her attention as this was something that had to be rectified. Even though Leviathans were known for their eating habits, they weren't without consequence for their disobedience or failure when it came to securing the many human factory farms that they had on Harkonnen. In a sick way, it was karma in which there was also no room for crossing a career woman with a penchant for human flesh, for swift punishment was met with an unsavory end so far.

"You really screwed—and perhaps ate the pooch!" yelled Midori as she was not too happy with the employee in the chair. "One of my old additive containers turned up missing just to lure an unsuspecting hunter into a trap!"

"It was meant for Guido Zampano!" yelled the employee. "That woman told me to bring it over so we can flush him out just to obtain what Dick Roman failed to do in the Elder Days."

"Are you talking about the Sight of Valithis? I know of it because of the fact that it's a weapon that can bend anyone to the user's will. As for your disobedience, you will have the honor to save us the trouble by doing what you are forced to do." Midori fishes out a large bib as she places it around the employee's neck. "Well, you are what you eat, right? Serves you right for disobeying me, but it's too little, too late to bite the hand that feeds you."

The employee opened up his maw as be shoved his entire hand into his mouth. Both Minara and Michiru were disgusted at the sight of the Leviathan slowly eating himself as he continued to devour everything until there was nothing left but a stained bib and a puddle of black ooze all over the chair and carpet. By the time that the video ended, Michiru was on the verge of hurling as she rushed into the bathroom and vomited in the toilet. When she later flushed it, she went towards the sink as she rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash as she was still disgusted at what she saw. By the time she got out of the bathroom, she was still reeling at what she saw in the video as Minara was aware of what Midori could do to her employees if they fell out of line, for even monsters had to face consequences for their actions in a corporate world.

"I've gotta do more research on those Supernatural books after what I saw," she said as she sat down on the bed. "No wonder my brother looks at those things and references them…"

"Now, you know of what the Leviathans are capable of if they fall out of line," said Minara.

"I've heard Florian reference what he read in which in the Elder Days, one of them ended up doing the same thing that the employee did in the video in one of those books. I don't pay attention to them, but the book that my brother referenced was none other than—"

"—How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters? It details the demise of that doctor who worked for Dick Roman and his 'formula' to force Terrans to be docile for eating up and backfired when one of their experiments went amok and killed a bunch of campers and a forest ranger. After Bobby's demise, they introduced the formula to the point of their victims acting as if they were stoned, but the tainted blood from them is highly toxic to vampires."

"I bet that every single monster is scared of Leviathans…"

"The epicenter of the monsters living normal lives is on Kaijirin where the Five Monster Families live and trade with the Leviathans, but the only ones who don't deal with them are the Hill-Barton Clan. They're a family of Djinns, but they refuse to trade with Leviathans because of their unethical practices, but the other four families rely on the trade of Terrans that are killed and eaten just to keep them from causing havoc."

It wasn't long until Florian burst into the room as he was mainly here to collect Michiru, but not pressing charges for her stunt due to her involvement in the sting operation a few days prior. Even though he was on business, he was more then likely to be bringing the ruffians back to the capital as they would soon report to both him and the Order, for their efforts to avert the Leviathan threat have been reviewed, but cautiously kept in the archives.

"If you're gonna throw me in the Kettle, then be my guest," said Michiru.

"Not this time," said Florian. "Starting now, you'll be a member of the Hunter Corps' seventh squad in which you'll be taking orders from our cousin, who's been bumped up to Commander while Desna has been made captain."

"Are you serious?! I'm a freelanced hunter, not a soldier! I won't be part of a group of grunts that do nothing but wear their tunics on their sleeve! I have my own group who stick with me when it comes to dealing with monsters! I don't work with jarheads who cry trauma every time a hunt goes wrong!"

"This isn't just a request, but a demand in which the Alecrian Emperor forwarded it after you and your friends helped Giancarlo with his sting operation. And no, not all members of the Hunter Corps are jarheads because the Alecrian Emperor used to lead his unit until he passed the torch to Desna. Sooner or later, you'll stand out and know a lot more than just hunting experience, but having the ways and means to do what most hunters did in the Elder Days: saving people, hunting things, and upholding the family business. You did rope Sam into stopping the Leviathan threat, didn't you?"

Michiru looked at a letter that Florian was holding in his hands as he gave it to her. She noticed the seal of the Alecrian royal family as she read the letter directly the moment she was roped into a much bigger mess than anticipated, for she wasn't qualified for being a soldier at present. At that moment, she was ready to decline as she was about to shred the letter until Minara stopped her, for he didn't want her to regret what she was about to do.

"You can't do this, Michiru," he said to her.

"Look! I'm not a soldier, okay?!" she cried.

"You are because of the fact that the Alecrian Emperor also wanted you to protect his brother from the Zenith Vectors," said Florian "Like the Leviathans who disobeyed their mistress on Harkonnen, our enemies in spacesuits are hiding, but eager to steal Sam without warning in which he has not only that raw power, but is earmarked to access the codex labs that were in those Draaza and Va'Kihri ships that crashlanded in parts unknown. You did see him unleash the dragon while he helped you and your team destroy that additive vehicle on Tinuviel Island, didn't you?"

Michiru was torn between clinging to her life as a freelanced hunter and a soldier as she had no other choice but to accept her fate. Still, she had to follow a demand to serve in the Hunter Corps as it was the only way to do her part, for she couldn't let another Leviathan hurt or eat anyone else right now…

The next morning, I woke up as I noticed that my fever was broken the moment I sat up. Even though it was warm all over in Chithravai, I was also feeling the pinch of what was going on as I was eager to get out of bed until I was stopped by Minara who entered into the room. The sight of me being in bed worried him as he got out his medical bag and began to check my vitals. With everything fine and in working order, I was ready to leave, but had to remain in the hotel for another day, for I was more than likely to be hearing more bad news and Dean's meddling along the way.

"Your vitals are stable and your fever is now broken, Sam," said Minara as he put away his medical tools. "After what I heard, you had a knack for 'unleashing the dragon' just to help Michiru and her group carry out that sting operation after all that has happened."

"At least everyone isn't tainted by that additive," I said. "As for the woman in question that pulled it off, she wears the dead corpse of a cop, but she's actually a demon named Celaeno, who has been cursed with a sex addiction, which was a side effect from what Yavanna put upon her at the time.

"About that… From what I heard, Midori wasn't happy with the employee who accepted that deal offworld in which she forced him to undergo a process of bibbing to the point of eating himself in front of her. This isn't the first time that it happened in which a doctor got bibbed in the Elder Days."

"That's very comforting…"

I got up out of bed as I was holding onto the pole where the intravenous drip was attached to. When I followed Minara out into the hall, we saw Michiru kneeling as she was more than likely to be reporting to the unit where Damien and Desna are serving. When she got up, she saw me holding onto the pole as I was about to fall to my knees until I spotted Theoden and Qu'Nabrai standing in front of me, for they were also given the letter that Michiru had.

"It seems that the three of you will be in the Hunter Corps," I said.

"There isn't a choice after we helped you stop those Leviathans," said Qu'Nabrai as he was busy checking his glucose with his meter. "The Alecrian Emperor really worries about you in which we ended up misreading the letter. This isn't because of the fact that we're all joining the Hunter Corps, but having the way and mean to protect you if you ever get a chance to go offworld."

"Are you serious?" asked Michiru as she later noticed the letter in her hands. "The Alecrian Emperor really knows how to pull a prank, but I'm not laughing."

"In the Elder Days, the Alecrian Emperor of Old and his brother had one hell of a prank war back then," said Theoden. "Hell, even the prank with the itching powder in the boxer shorts was classic."

"That's typical Dean for you," I said. "Therefore, I'm stuck with you until I return to the villa in El Anillo del Fuego. As for the letter fiasco, Florian had his reasons to prank you in which he tasked you to do your part after you hijacked the ferry. And no, you're not soldier material because of the fact that one of you has diabetes and has to check his blood sugar every once in a while."

"Then you have my musket and revolver…"

"You have my kunai knives," said Michiru.

"...And my glucose meter," said Qu'Nabrai. "We're not soldier material, but at least let us do our job in advance, okay?"

I didn't argue further with the trio as they had their work cut out for them. As for the further threats that were waiting in the wings, we also had to be careful as both the Zenith Vectors and the Leviathans weren't about to roll over and play dead, for they wanted one thing in general and that was the Sight of Valithis. Therefore, I also had to do my part as Guido's life was on the line, for our enemies were relentless, but hiding in the shadows in plain sight…

To be continued...