Blood and Profit: Chapter 49

Mew woke more rested than she had felt in ages. She didn’t have a history of remembering her dreams but she could remember the vague sense of flying. It was one of those morning where her mind and body had woken at the same time. With nothing to do she felt no need to rush her morning along and decided to lounge in bed until the flying sensation was banished by the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen.

Her fuzzy slippers scraped along the floor as she shuffled out of her room in a furry blue robe that had always been two sizes too large for her, she considered this the one and only benefit of reaching her adult weight height in her freshman year of high school.

Her father was in the kitchen, making enough food to feed an invading army, her brother was nowhere to be found, but she saw a game of Galactic Alliances spread out on the living room coffee table.  “How late did you two stay up last night?” She asked as she shuffled toward the coffee maker.

Her dad shook his head a little. “long enough to that he’s been reading about GA strategies when he should have been working as this district's elected representative.” He grumbled fake offense as he flipped the pancake was cooking.

She pulled a coffee cup down from the cabinet, filled it and let the coffee warm her hands. “So he’s beating your pretty bad huh?” She asked using the coffee cup to hide her smile.

He glared at her playfully trying to avoid smiling. “I prefer to call it 'lulling him into a false sense of security'.” He replied.

She nodded. “Uh huh. And how secure would you say his sense is right now?” She asked.

He sighed heavily and lifted the pancake out of the pan. “Too secure for my liking.” He admitted.

Eamon groggily shuffled into the kitchen, his hair a mess.  “You two are loud in the morning.” He accused while grabbing a coffee cup out of the cabinet. “You know we could always play a different game.” He said as he filled his cup with coffee.

His father shook his head. “You are free to forfeit the game at any time, but it would be the first game of GA that you’ve lost in more than half your life.” He replied with a smiile.

Eamon turned around to face his father who was holding a big stack of pancakes, his father took the coffee out of his hands and replace it with the plate of pancakes and then ushered him out of the kitchen. Mew followed after her brother with the plates of bacon and eggs. Their father watched then set the food on the table and he drank coffee as his kids reconnect for the first time in over two years. 

Lidarion: Chapter 21

Lisa had never been to the Lidarion Docks in her life. But once she was past the district gate she felt instantly at home. The same could not be said for Squints. The second the smell of rotting fish hit his nostrils he turned an unhealthy shade of green.

Lisa was lost in the sights and sounds of the docks, the fish sellers, the supply shops, the ship design and repair guild, They hadn’t even reached the actual docks and her childhood was flooding back to her with incredible clarity. She looked down at Squints and saw him holding back the impulse to be sick. “Are you going to be ok?” She asked.

Squints burped and nodded with determination. “I have never liked this district. In fact I’ve never been a huge fan of the ocean.” He lamented.

Lisa looked confused. “You’re people are historically sea faring islanders, how can you hate the ocean?” She asked.

Squints shrugged his shoulders. “Dad moved us from the islands when I was a baby, I don’t remember him talking much about our home on the island and I’ve never had a desire to go back there. I’m a dry land Gnome I guess.” He explained.

Lisa nodded. “I’m the exact opposite. I love the ocean, I love sailing, I grew up in this world and I love every part of it.” She said with a smile.

They reached the doc masters office and made their way inside the tiny one room shack. There was an older gentlemen leaning back in a wooden chair, an old floppy tri-corner hat down over his eyes, his feet were up on the desk and he was snoring deeply. Lisa knocked on the door loudly. The man shot up, throwing his hat behind him in a panic. “I’m awake already!” The man growled with droopy half asleep eyes. He looked around the room, not stopping to focus on Lisa or Squints. He ran his hands through his gray hair. “Where’s my hat?” He asked himself more than anything else. He checked the floor, found it behind him and placed it back on his head. Finally acknowledging Lisa and Squints. “How Can I be of service?” he asked.

Lisa pointed to his log book. “We would like to book passage on the next passage to Cela’an.” She explained.

The barely away dock master rubbed his chin. “Not many ships make that trip anymore, and the ones that do, don’t do it very often.” He opened his log book to check the records he had of who was coming and going and when. “There’s one ship scheduled to dock in a few days that could make the voyage, for the right price.” He glanced at Lisa.

She smiled. “Price is not an issue. We just need to get there. What’s the name of the ship?” She asked.

He ran his finger down the page to the entry he was looking for. “The Woah Mom El” He groggily stumbled through the name.

Lisa shook her head. “It’s not Woah Mom El, it’s Womamel” She said trying not to smile.

Squints looked up at her. “How would you know that?” He asked.

She smiled down at him. “Because it’s my brother’s ship and It’s short for ‘Worst Mistake Of My Life.’” She explained.

The Dock master nodded. “Anyway, the Womamel will be docked here in the next few days, you might be able to book passage then. He said.” As he was already situating himself back into his napping position. Squints and Lisa saw themselves out. 

The XP: Chapter 21

In another private box on the opposite side of the Arena The Matriarch sits on the balcony overlooking the now empty arena. She has been working on her knitting and is almost done with an elbow high glove. Sezario comes out of the shadows and joins her on the balcony. “I was beginning to wonder if you would show up.” She said with a smile.

Sezario grabbed a chair to sit in. “Yeah, I’ve been around.” He said sitting down.

The Matriarch gave him a sidelong glance. “Around huh?” It wasn’t a question, but not an accusation either.

Sezario shrugged. “You know me.” He said with a blank face. Down in the Arena The End of the World Club returned from their ten minutes of preparation. Sezario was shocked. “I honestly didn’t think they were going to come back.” He said.

The Matriarch shook her head. “I never had a doubt in my mind.” She said.

Sezario looked at her. “You think they actually have a shot at beating Torcano?” he asked

She nodded. “ I think they have more than a shot.” She said not taking her eyes off her knitting.

Sezario looked back down at the group again. “You have anything to do with that?” He asked.

The Matriarch didn’t stop knitting. “You know me.” She parroted.

Sezario nodded as he watched Trart enter the Arena alone, running to catch up with the rest of the group.

Bob nodded at Trart as he rejoined the group. “You all set?” She asked. Trart Nodded. “Ok as this is officially the stupidest thing we have ever done.” She smiled.

“Hey at least we’re living up to our name.” Blackout Pointed out.

Bob nodded. “Well then, before we do this I only have one question.” Everyone looked at her. “Have you all figured out what class you’re going to start tomorrow?”

Trart fake coughed into his fist. “Later today.”

The others nodded, Bob included. “Fair enough, have you all figured out which class your going to start a half hour from now?” She asked, everyone nodded. “Well then there’s only one thing left to say. “Ladies and Gentlemen of The Almost Entirely Awesome Adventures of the End of the World Club it has been an absolute pleasure playing this game with you.” Bob threw her fist into the center of the group and the other four joined her in a five way fist bump.

The End of the World Club finished their huddle and Turned to face Torcano in a line. The Arena went crazy, the streets of spectators outside the Arena went Crazy and once the timer for the beginning of the match counted to down zero, the End of the World Club went crazy.

University of Console Herorics: Chapter 21

Faith was laid on Lacey’s bed, using her legs as a pillow of sorts. She had been crying, evidenced by the obscenely large pile of used tissues on the bed. Her eyes were red and its doubtful that she’s gotten any decent sleep in the last few days. Lacey was running her hand through Faith’s hair as she continued to cry. The Alarm on Lacey’s phone went off, sending her phone into a noisy fit. She grabbed it and quickly silenced it. “Ok, one hour till meeting, into the shower with you.” Lacy commanded.

Faith rotates and gave Lacey a comical pout. “I can’t just skip it?” She asked.

Lacey looked down at her friend. “The shower or the meeting? Because at this point I honestly wouldn’t recommend skipping either of them.” She couldn’t help the smile from showing. Faith stuck her tongue out. “Well that’s mature. Look, you and I both know that if you don’t do this now it’s going to eat you up inside for a very long time.” She was trying to sound as matter of fact as possible.

Faith rolled over to face the crappy romance on the TV again. “Or I could just move as far away from this school, my family, and boys, as possible.” She grumbled.

Lacey started to poke at her friend in an attempt to get her to move. “Uh huh, and when you find this mythical island of Amazon’s, what do you plan on doing there?” She asked sarcastically.

Faith held out her hands and made a wave motion with her right hand. “Weave baskets. Pretty ones, with shiny shells threaded in them.” She explained.

Lacy moved her legs out from under Faith plopping her on the bed by herself. “Well then, shall we take a basket weaving class first or you do you just wanna pack and jet?” She asked.

Faith sat up grumbling. “No, I can’t run away from my problems for the rest of my life. I’m a big girl, I’m getting in the shower.” She got up and grabbed her towel and stopped near the bathroom door to turn back to her friend. “You’re making me adult, I’m never going to forgive you for this.” She said with a smile.

Lacey pointed at the bathroom. “SHOWER, NOW!” She was trying not to laugh.

Faith opened the bathroom door. “RUDE!” She said as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Forty five minutes later Lacey and Faith were standing outside the Nu Tau Delta house. Faith had really cleaned up. Her makeup was perfect, she had her favorite Nu Tau Delta letter shirt on, her shoes matched the letters in the shirt. Sisters passed the pair and headed into the house. Faith watched as the last of the sisters headed into the house. She looked at Lacey to her left. “Whatever happens in there, we’re still friends, right?” She asked.

Lacey nodded and they headed into the house together.

In order to be a sister in good standing with the sorority you only had to attend ten hours of sorority functions a month, including weekly meetings. There were rules and regulations from their own organization as well as school that kept them from demanding a larger mandatory time commitment. The result was that these weekly meetings were often only ever attended by the girls who lived in the house, or were trying to become more involved in sorority politics. Tonight however the house was standing room only. Every active sister had arrived no less than five minutes early. Faith knew instantly that her sister had leveraged some very serious threats to get the entire sisterhood to be in the same place at the same time, and that it was supposed to embarrass and humiliate her.

Tanya and the other five girls on the sorority council were sitting at the only table in the room. Set right in front of the fireplace. Tanya rapt her gavel three times before she spoke. “I call this meeting to order. Before we get on with our official business we have a sister who would like to address the chapter.” She said with a smile on the verge of predatory.  Some of the girls turned to look at Faith, others were polite or reserved enough to wait for her to reach the front of the room, crawling over and stepping in between the girls filling every available space in the gigantic living room. Once she reached the front of the room there was no denying that every set of eyes was on her, many staring angry laser beams into various areas of her body, attempting to turn their mental judgement of her crimes into physical punishment by way of their eyes.  Faith looked around the room and realized that she couldn’t name even ten girls in the room. She cleared her throat. “Sisters of the Beta Sigma chapter of Nu Tau Delta. I come before you tonight to ask forgiveness. I come before you to clear my conscience. I come before you tonight, to admit my faults and failures.” Her opening did little to lessen the intensity of the stares she was receiving. Never the less she persisted. “Some of us thrive in this, class based society. Where it’s not what you do, it’s the image of yourself you present to the outside world. It’s not about the quality of your life, it’s the size of your bank account. It’s not how you make other people feel it’s all about how many people worship you.” A few of the glares had softened. Many soured and she could feel the silent wave of acidic rage washing over her from behind. “I am here to apologize because I thought I was immune to the realities of that system. You see, I had friends and a life before I became this, person.” She pulled the pins out of her hair, letting it fall messily to her shoulders. “I let my Sister warp and distort how I saw myself. They say you can become a brand new person in College and I was so afraid of who I might become that I somehow convinced myself to become the person I hate most.” She lifted her feet one by one and pulled her shoes off tossing them gently to the floor. “I’m not saying this world is wrong for everyone, or that it’s a horrible reality that destroys more decent human beings than it creates. Many of you will go on to become outstanding and exceptional people. But for me it means becoming a carbon copy of my sister. “She pulled off her Nu Tau Delta Shirt revealing a plain black tank top underneath. “And honestly I’d rather die.” She turned and tossed the shirt at her sister. Her fist picked it out of the air like a bear trap snapping shut. “So, Tanya, I quit.” She spun toward the door and stepped her way out of the room. Girls practically diving out her way this time.

Tanya stood up, barely controlled fury in her eyes. “You walk out of this house, I tell our parents everything. “ She threatened.

Faith threw up the middle finger on both hands still heading for the door. “I dare you, lets see who comes out of that info dump on top.” She said as she opened the door and headed out into the night. Lacey scampered out of the room and snuck through the door before it closed. The room was dead silent for a moment. Then the front door opened again and Lacey tossed her own letter shirt on the floor and closed the door again. For a split second Tanya lost control and tossed her gavel at the nearest window, shattering it. A majority of the room got up and filed toward the door, murmuring as they left the house. None of the girls picked up the abandoned shirt.

Shades of Justice: Chapter 25

The elevator stopped on the second level and the doors opened to reveal two Cretacian warriors. Dante made a grab for his glasses. “Step into Sh- ugh!” The Cretacian on his right kicked him hard in the stomach. He dropped to his knees clutching his stomach. “Well, if we’re not going to behave ourselves..” He groaned on the floor as he took a Cretacian fist to his left jaw.

There were a few people waiting for the elevator on level two. The indicator light turned on and the doors of the elevator opened to reveal Dante standing on his own two feet,  holding his ribs where blood had started to seep through his shirt, the wound visible under his hand and the torn fabric. His left eye was already sporting a quickly darkening fresh bruise, The cut above his right eye and his nose were both bloody. The two Cretacian’s were in two separate piles, crumpled on the floor of the elevator. Dante glared at the people waiting for the elevator. “You might want to call maintenance.” He said stepping out of the elevator and turning right down the hallway.

He had memorized the apartment number and hobbled his way down to the correct door. He found it and reached his hand out to knock . The door opened before he touched it.

“Come in.” a voice invited from the darkness.

Dante considered for a moment. His hesitation was noticed by the voice. “Do not be afraid. You were expected.” The voice assured him. Dante looked up and down the hallway and then back into the darkness of the room. Shrugged his shoulders as much as his broken body would allow and then walked into the room, the door shutting behind him, leaving him in total darkness. “Please hold.”  The voice asked and suddenly the apartment was bathed in light from lamps built into the wall. Against the back wall there was a bipedal creature with what appeared to be three heads, each at the top of their own three foot neck. Each of the heads had a set of video goggles on. The body was strapped into housing on the wall. The sight caused Dante to take a small jump back in surprise. “I apologize for my appearance.  It is disturbing, to be sure. But from what I have seen, this is only the most recent in a long line of disturbing things. “ The middle head spoke to him alone.

Dante’s hand brushed a chair causing him to look down. He grabbed it and moved it so he could sit down. “Are you the Witness?” He asked.

All three heads nodded. “We are the Witness. We know why you are here, do you?” All three of the Witnesses’ heads asked in unison.

Dante nodded. ‘I am looking for a Shimmeron named Lumarion.” He replied.

Even with the video goggles over their eyes all three of the heads looked directly at him. “You know nothing, you cannot ask the right questions or do what is needed with the answers I have for you. You must learn.” From the wall a robotic arm with a new set of video goggles extended out toward Dante. “Come, there is little time.”  The heads all said at once.

Dante gave a skeptical glance at the video goggles.  

Blood and Profit: Chapter 48

Eamon had always been closer to his mother. He and his father had never butted heads but he, like his mother, was a hands on real world problem solver, where his father was always more of a dreamer. He had turned his dreams into an impressive writing career which afforded Eamon and his mother the freedom to spend a majority of his youth volunteering and being involved in the community.

Mew had been asleep almost an hour before Eamon got around to updating his father on the current situation. At first he had only intended to tell his father about passing his seat to Kepi but once he started talking it all came out, from the vision the Starseeds had shown him, to the danger the colony was in and how strongly he felt that he needed to help the Starseeds record their memories. By the time he had finished he had been talking for almost two hours.

His father had listened patiently and made very little commentary. When it was clear that Eamon had reached the end of his rambling his father nodded. "Sounds like one of my books." He said with a smile.

Eamon nodded. "It does, I'm sorry I quit my job." He said almost as a reflex.

His father shook his head. "No you're not, and you have no reason to be. You are your mothers son. You both had such altruistic ideas about what could be accomplished with that much power. She was always too busy getting actual work done to run for office but you were determined and I think this outcome was the best possible way this could have ended for you. Besides, I think your mother would be just as proud and probably even more so with your new mission in life." he assured him.

Eamon finished his tea, got off the couch and went into the kitchen. "I didn't hit me until just now how much I'm going to miss this house when were gone." he admitted as he reached for the tea kettle.

His father stood up. "About that." He said moving into the kitchen. "I'm not leaving." He stated flatly.

Eamon almost dropped his cup. "W - What?" He stuttered.

His father took his cup from him and refilled them both as he explained. " You mother is here, you kids are grown and ready to take on the universe. I'm going to stay here, with her." He said sadly.

Eamon was still in shock. "Dad..." he trailed off, not knowing what else there was to say.

Lidarion: Chapter 20

It took Squints all of an hour and a half to gather every piece of writing that said anything about the Sigil’s of the Paragon’s because every piece of writing happened to be one paragraph in one book. Squints still took a few more hours to look through the catalog of each library searching of anything he could think of that might lead to information about the sigils. After two days of research he still had just the one book.

He dreaded returning to his friends with the book because all it said what that far to the south, beyond the Gnome’s island chain was the Elven continent. There they would find the city of scrolls, where five scrolls held the secrets of how to find, and procure the sigils of the Paragon’s. Two days of research and all he had found was a book that led him to another series of books on the other side of the planet.

His mind returned to the present to find that it was well past sun down and he had been standing outside Alex’s bar for some time. He sighed heavily gripped the book in his hands and charged toward the bar as if he were walking against the wind.

Alex had closed the bar less than an hour ago, she and Lisa were wrapped up in a conversation when Squints entered the nearly empty building with determination. He looked around the bar in confusion. “Where’s Trent?” He asked.

Lisa and Alex glanced In his direction. “He and Brooke are off enjoying their much delayed wedding night” Alex answered.

Lisa saw the book in Squints hands. “Is that our first clue?” She asked.

Squints walked over to the bar and hopped on up a chair. He placed the book on the bar. “This is our only clue.” He said with finality.

Lisa didn’t get it. “I’m sure once we go through the rest of the library district –“ She started.

“This is the only mention of the Sigil’s in the entire kingdom of Lidarion.” Squints interrupted.

Lisa paused and then shrugged her shoulders. “One book’s still a lot to go on.” She acquiesced.

Squints shook his head and opened the book to the relevant page. “It’s just one paragraph, on one page. Nothing more, thankfully nothing less.” He grumbled.

Alex and Lisa looked at the paragraph together. Lisa’s lips moved as she read the passage to herself. Then she looked up at Squints. “We’ll need a ship.” She pointed out. Squints nodded. “I’m pretty sure I can help with that.” She offered.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “How and what do you know about ships?” She asked in surprise.

Lisa smiled. “Everything my father could teach me without my mother finding out that he was grooming his daughter to be a sailor just like her old man.” She answered.

Alex smiled. “When you get a moment I would love to know how you went from being a second generation sailor to a healer.”

Some of the light disappeared from Lisa’s eyes. “Its not much of a story. The wind is always ready to catch your sail, you just have to want it bad enough. The same cannot be said for my mother.” Lisa shook off the sadness. “But that’s a story for another time. Tomorrow we get charter the first leg of our quest.” She said with a new smile.

The XP: Chapter 20

The town around the arena is filed with players, all of them watching screens that have been placed in nearly every available space. The arena itself is overfilled with spectators, all of whom are cheering for The End of the World Club. Bob, Blackout, Stygian, Torcano, and Trart. The last team standing, the winners of the Tournament.

Up in his private box Volnado expands his voice again. “Congratulations are in order! The End of the World Club has emerged victorious from the most intense competition this game has ever seen!” The crowd goes even wilder, their cheers backed by the spectators in the streets. Volnado looks down on the group. “But to be truly legendary, there is one more challenge they must defeat.” The Arena of spectators and the streets outside go silent as if someone turned their sound off. The End of the World Club look up at Volnado in disbelief.

“What’s the Challenge?” Stygian yelled.

Volnado hopped over the railing of his balcony and effortlessly landed on the ground in a superhero crouch. As he stood to his full height they could see that he was smiling. “You’re looking at it.” Volnado growled.

Torcano shook his head. “You’re a GM, that’s not a challenge that’s suicide.” He said.

Volnado had landed roughly twenty feet from the group. As he walked toward them He took his clothing off. Starting with his suit jacket, followed by his shirt, exposing skin that looks like cracked lava, black with bright red lines separating the plating. He tossed his GM weapons and violently shook his head until his hair disappeared and his face matched the skin of his body. The Arena goes mad. Everyone in the group takes a slight step back. Volnado holds his hands out as if proving that he hides no threat. “I am no longer a GM, I am Volnado, the god of destruction. In this form, it is entirely possible to kill me, you only have to figure out how. Would you not agree little brother that this is a more than fair concession on my part?” He looked down at Torcano with glowing red eyes.

Torcano shook his head. “Onlly you would consider agreeing to a fair fight a ‘concession’” He spat.

Volnado smiled. “What can I say?” He smiled. “I’m magnanimous like that.” He gave an exaggerated bow. And the crowd laughed.

Torcano shook his head. “Yeah, our parents would be sooo proud.” He spat back.

Volnado glared at his brother. “You have ten minutes to prepare yourselves. You may leave the arena but if you do not return you forfeit the competition. Is that understood?” The End of the World club all nodded, turning to leave. “There’s one more thing you should know.” Volnado said, stopping the group. “If you return, this fight is Eternal Death. If you are dead for more than 30 seconds, your character is deleted.” Volnado had a predatory smile on his face. “How good are you Blackout?”

Blackout turned and walked out of the arena, he threw his middle finger up in the air. “You’ll see for yourself ten minutes from now.” His voice echoed off the walls. The rest of the club followed behind him. 

University of Console Heroics: Chapter 20

The Intro to Energy classroom lights were off. Foster was sitting in the middle of the room, alone. Rigid in his meditation pose, his eyes closed in tight frustration. Arctic blue flames washed off him in erratic waves. He was still trying to force his way to some sense of even calm breathing pattern, the clockwork three second in and out cycle of breathing feeling and sounding as unnatural as ever. There is a knock on the door frame. Foster opens his eyes. Thompson was leaning in the doorway hands  in the pockets of his hoodie.

“So, this is why I haven’t seen or heard from you in over a month?” He asked as he stepped into the room and flipped the light switch. “I honestly don’t know why you’re here right now, if you couldn’t meditate before you certainly won’t be able to now, what you’ve chosen is the furthest away from peace of mind you’re ever going to get kid.” Thompson slowly paced the front of the room.

Foster choked his fire out completely and relaxed his posture.  “Don’t get mad at me for exploring an option you gave me.” He replied.

Thompson glared at Foster. “I was trying to warn you about how awful this option really is.” He growled.

Foster shot to his feet. “Oh sure,  right, a ‘warning’ that’s what that was. Warn the freshman away from limitless power, by telling him exactly how to reach out and take it, great plan Thompson.” Foster spat.

Thompson shook his head. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, In hoping you would learn from mine it appears I have done nothing more than make another.” He admitted sadly.

Foster stepped back, a smile on his face. “Mistake? How can you call this feeling, this power, a mistake?” he asked, blue flame building up his arms and legs.

Thompson held Fosters gaze without flinching. “Because I earned it , you haven’t. You’re just floating around in the shallow end right now. If you want to stay in the pool you have to dive in.” He explained.

“What makes you think I haven’t?” Foster asked as the blue flame brightened.

Thompson shook his head. “Because when you look into the darkness, it looks into you, and it’s not in you yet.” He said, dropping into his fighting stance.

Foster looked at him wearily. “I won’t hold back.” Foster said as he readied himself for what was coming.

Thompson was calmer than he expected to be. “Everything comes with a price Foster.  Daigo paid, I paid, so will you.” Thompson launched himself at Foster who had no way of conceiving what the fight was going to be like. Foster pushed himself to his absolute limits just to protect himself from the onslaught that Thompson was laying down.  He was five steps ahead of anything Foster tried, he blocked ever strike, side stepped ever trip, and replied with multiple blows to every attack Foster made. He was so rattled by Thompson’s ferocity that he was making strings of poor moves and bad mistakes. Thompson practically walked him into overextending himself, throwing him off balance finally and catching him in a choke phone. Thompson slowly lowered him to the ground as he gasped for air, his fire still burning brightly. “Let it die Foster, don’t force me to make this choice.”

Foster feebly scrambles to pull Thompson's arm away from his neck. “You, couldn’t!” Foster gasped, still fighting for air. “To, many, questions.” He grunted, his struggles were getting weaker.

Thompson smiled slightly. “I fought and murdered a professor in this room and stand before you a free man,  and students disappear far more often than professors.” There was the smallest flicker of flame in Thompsons eyes as Fosters fire began to wither and fade. Foster dug deep and gave one last push to escape the headlock. Thompson shut him down with ease. “You or the fire Foster, one dies in the next five seconds.”  The fire in Thompson’s eyes gets brighter. Foster is now struggling for his life, the fear has set in and Thompson holds steady like a professional bull rider. “Being an adult is all about making choices.” Fosters fire flickers erratically Foster vision starts to go dark around the edges. The flame gives a few final flicks of life and then is snuffed out completely, then smoke rises from Fosters body as if he were a doused campfire.  Thompson lets him go and he flops onto the floor of the classroom on his back, Taking huge gulps of air. Thompson stands up, the fire in his eyes is raging now, fighting to get loose. His hands are shaking a little bit. He turns away from Foster, counting to ten and then laid down on the floor close to Foster who was trying to get his breathing back under control. When Thompson opened his eyes the fire was gone.

“You were right.” Foster said between deep breaths.

Thompson nodded. “You should have listened to me in the first place, you don’t want this burden.” He said finally.

Foster shook his head. “No, I mean t you were right about the breathing. It’s a lot harder to control it when you’re beat to hell.” He laughed at himself which sent him into a tiny coughing fit.

Thompson laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t breathe, can’t fight.” He said with a smile.

Foster nodded. “No kidding.” He said.

The pair laid in the room in silence for a moment. Foster had gotten his breathing back under control and it was clear that while he would be fine, his neck would be sore for a few days.

Foster stopped investigating his neck for a moment. “Hey Thompson?” He asked.

Thompson opened his eyes. “yeah?” He asked.

Foster put his hands on the floor again. “You know you have to help Cynthia in her showcase now right? I  was supposed it, as the student with the highest score but without the fire I’m not nearly good enough and she needs someone who can match her for her exhibition.” He explained. Thompson stared silently at the ceiling. Foster continued. “I mean I appreciate what you did for me, but now you need to help her.” He finished.

Thompson was staring a hole into the corner of a ceiling tile as he listened to Foster. “I don’t want to hurt her.” He replied.

Foster sighed heavily. “I don’t know if you noticed, she may bruise when you hit her, but she dies inside when you ignore her.” Foster offered.

Thompson closed his eyes. “So what happens if I lose control?” He asked.

Foster shrugged his shoulders. “So far you’ve fought an old man that was ready to die, and a complete unskilled freshman. You’re good but it’s entirely possible that she’s better.” Foster said.

“And what makes you think that?” Thompson asked.

Foster thought about it for a moment. “Because she loves brighter than you burn.” He said after sitting up.

Thompson looks over at Foster in mild surprised. “I know we just tried to kill each other, but Thomas Foster.” He said sitting up and holding out his hand.  “It has been an honor to be your friend.” 

They shook hands and Foster smiled which made him wince in pain. “Same here, just don’t, ever, try to ‘help’ me again.” He demanded.

Thompson laughed. “Deal.” He agreed.

Shades of Justice: Chapter 24

Dante glanced over both shoulders to make sure there was no one close enough to eavesdrop. He looked back at the purple bartender. “I’m looking for someone.” He said.

The bartender raised its eyebrow. “Doesn’t your command center have all kinds of equipment to help you find what or whoever you want? The cyclops asked.

Dante nodded. “Yeah, but we can’t get any of it to scan anything off planet.” He admitted quietly.

The cyclops blinked. “Why can’t Lidarion Jus- oh!, Ohhh.” The cyclops realized who Dante was looking for and set the glass it was cleaning on the counter top, then grab a pen and Dante’s wrist to write a series of characters. “There’s an elevator own the hall to the left. Two floors down is where you need to be to find this address. Knock on the door. Ask for The Witness.”

The cyclops finished writing the address  on Dante’s wrist and he pulled his hand back to inspect it himself. ‘Who’s the witness?” Dante asked.

The cyclops picked up another glass and got back to polishing. “If anyone or anything within a hundred light years  knows where you need to go or who you need to see, the witness knows.” The cyclops explained.

Dante got up off the bar stool before the Cyclops stopped him. “Just between you and me.” The cyclops  started quietly, leaning over the bar. “How  bad is it?” The Cyclops asked.

Dante tried to smile and shrug it off but he just looked sad. ‘ I’ve been a Justice less than a week, Lumarion and Technarious are gone and our command center has been trashed. How bad does that sound?” he asked.

The cyclops nodded and reached under the bar to grab something it tossed at Dante. Dante caught it and it appeared to be a switch to turn something on or off. “When you see him again, tell Technarious that Narlath’s debt is paid.” Narlath went back to cleaning glasses.

Dante nodded and investigated the switch. “Will do, but first what is this thing?” he asked.

Narlath smiled. “Intergalactic strobe, an emergency beacon that sends and S.O.S to the other Justice teams.”

Dante looked up from the beacon. “There are other teams?” He asked.

Narlath nodded. “It’s a big galaxy kid. There’s a lot out there worth protecting, so the Shimmeron made sure there were people training and geared to protect it. But that’s not important now, you need to get going.” Narlath finished.

Dante nodded. “Thanks.” He said before he pocketed the beacon and left the bar.

Blood and Profit: Chapter 47

Mew was exhausted. She had gone from sleeping like a baby cradled by artificial gravity, to sleeping in a hollowed out tree, followed by a restless night on the emergency bunk in Eamon's cruiser. She had not had a decent nights sleep in a week.

So when her brother asked if she wanted to go home and get a change of clothes, a shower and sleep in a real bed, she was on the ship before sundown, ready to go home.

Technically she had an apartment at the High Orbit Operations Base, which was just outside the capitol but considering the fact that she had spent the last year in space on the recycling satellite the apartment held no special interest to her. Instead she asked Eamon to take her to their parents home.

Their mother had passed away ten years ago and their father had rather stubbornly refused to leave the house for something smaller in the city. His attitude had frustrated her for years, but now she was glad that he had been so stubborn.

Eamon parked the shuttle in the driveway of the house. Their father came out to greet them and give hugs. He set her up in the guest room and she was out before her head hit the pillow.

While she slept she had dreams of Rootan and the Starseeds. Their tree ship and planets she had never been to. She began to notice how real everything felt, how aware she was of her surroundings and clear her mind was. She knew she was asleep but she was less and less sure that she was dreaming.

She and Rootan were floating in a giant pool of freshwater that was fed by more waterfalls than she could count. "Am I dreaming this or am I in your shared consciousness?" She asked Rootan.

Rootan floated closer to her. "Is there a difference?" He asked.

She waved her arms to avoid an outcropping of rocks. "What happens to my brain if we can't get your cloud to phase shift before the wave reaches the planet?" She asked.

Rootan floated into a lazy whirlpool and let the water slowly spin his body. "You don't even know if you'll remember this when you wake up, perhaps you might be, putting the cart before the horse?" He pointed out.

Mew thought about it for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "Fair point." She admitted. They floated in silence watching hundreds of rainbows fill the sky. "Is this your favorite planet?" She asked.

"No" Rootan admitted moving his arms to slow himself down but staying in the whirlpool.

She looked over at him. "Show me your favorite one?" She asked.

He let the whirlpool speed him back up again for a few moments, then slowed himself back down again. "Ok." He agreed as they both disappeared from the water.

Lidarion: Chapter 19

Alex and Brooke had returned to Alex’s bar and Brooke was letting the normalcy of the afternoon wash over her, listening to the petty simplicity that made up the other customers lives. She had become immune to the eternity of the passage of time. It had taken a majority of that first year to stop spinning out into blind rages when she would think of Trent or her brother. Those first years she hated time more than she hated her brother. Eventually she realized that time was the prison warden she would never be able to defeat. The cold executioner that mercilessly made each day an eternity while simultaneously etching the perfection of each moment it was taking from her. Time was the enemy she could only tolerate, never defeat.  Every now and then Brooke would look at her left hand and sadly stare at the place where a wedding ring had never been. The lack of ring began to pull her towards facing the reality of how much time she had lost to her brother’s insane concept of what a leader needed to be.

She looked at her hands again. She had everything a person needed to kill someone with the ir bare hands. She knew that even with the guards in his room he would be able to end his life before they ended hers. She also knew this was the exact reason she had been spending less and less life at the castle. Her reaction over what had been taken from her was slowly getting less tolerant and more violent, and now that Trent had returned she knew she would never again step foot into the castle as even as a princess. Truthfully she had made her decision had been made the second she had been told the love of her life had not only been banished but forcibly given to the military. While she had been furious for thirteen years and becoming even more so with each passing day, there was a part of her soul that would never be able to physically harm her brother.

Alex was more than content to let Brooke quietly investigate her hands as she served her customers. She made she sure had drinks and checked on her from time to time until it was time to close the bar and Brooke was still lost in thought. She finished out her work day, clearing the last of the tables and finally walking the last customer out of the bar, closing and locking the door behind them. She turned back to Brooke who was still sitting at the far corner of the bar.

Brooke had lowered her hood now that the bar was closed and they had the freedom of privacy. “When they leave to find these sigils I’m going with them.” She said with complete seriousness.

Alex nodded as she headed back behind the bar. “Sounds fair, but what arguments are you going to use to convince the love of your life to let you join him in harm’s way?” She asked.

Brooke shrugged her shoulders. “I was thinking I’d start with. ‘if you think you can stop me feel free to try soldier boy, I promise not to scar you permanently.” She was still dead serious.

Alex shook her head. “You flirt weird.” She said with a tiny smirk.

Brooke smiled. “Alex I’m being serious. I’ve never been good at being royalty and I lost him for half a lifetime already so I’ll be damned and rather walk through fire barefoot for an eternity before I lose him again. Is he going to be super excited about letting me go along? No, but ring or no ring, I love him, I know he still loves me and from here on out, his trials are my trials. If he has to walk the earth begging God’s for mercy, then I will be right there with him, every step of the way.” The fragments of thoughts that had been bouncing around her mind all afternoon fell out of her mouth in a solidified chunk. She looked at her friend who was smiling from ear to ear. “What?” She asked. Alex pointed behind her and Brooke turned toward the back door of the bar where Trent was waiting on one knee. A cheaply forged, plain looking, unpolished band of metal offered in his fingers. Lisa was standing a few feet behind him trying not to cry. Brooke got up and moved forward. She could feel her mouth moving but couldn’t hear herself saying “yes” over and over again. She took the ring without looking at it and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand. And then they were kissing.

Even years later she didn’t know how long they kissed there in the bar, all she knew was that time had voluntarily switched tactics. There were no eternities any more, only fleeting seconds trying desperately to construct precious memories. And as much as she would cherish this moment forever, a part of her realized that time had not ended her sentence, it had merely changed the nature of her punishment. The life that would never end, could now never last long enough.

The XP: Chapter 19

The tournament started with two million nine hundred ninety four thousand six hundred and eight players making up five hundred twenty four thousand two hundred and eighty eight teams. With each team fighting a match a day the first week of fights saw the field reduced to thirty two thousand seven hundred sixty eight teams. Each member of each team got five thousand gold per victory.

So by Friday Trart had more money than he had ever seen in game, and he went a little nuts.

The rest of The Almost Entirely Awesome Adventures of the End of the World Club were at the closest bar to the area celebrating the return of Torcano. He had maxed out his Gunslinger and was going to take The Matriarch’s place in the rest of the matches.

The Matriarch raised her glass in a toast “To Torcano, for what has to be the slowest ‘quick’ grind of a toon I’ve ever seen.” She said with a smile as everyone else raised their glasses.

Torcano raised his glass as he answered. “What can I say, I was not prepared for the number of adoring fans I made while I was a GM that would be dedicated to finding and expressing their joy to me that I am now a regular player.” He explained.

Blackout pointed at Torcano, waving his finger sarcastically. “That’s code for laziness, pure and simple.” He accused with a smile on his face.

Torcano nodded swallowing another drink. “You got me. I had three squares a day, slept eight hours a night, and took long luxurious bubble baths every night. It was glorious.” He said unable to keep from laughing at himself.

Trart blew into the bar in a whirlwind, grabbed an empty seat from a different table and sat with the group at their table. “Hey Toracano, glad your back. What’s on my mind? Glad you asked, who wants to lend me six thousand gold? A thousand from each of you? That’s far to kind, I really appreciate this, you won’t regret it, in fact this is going to be one of the best things you or anyone else will ever see in game. I’ll take that money now.” He held out his hand and looked around the table. He got nothing but blank stares in response.

Bob was the first to reply out loud. “You have at least thirty five thousand in your own account, what could you possibly be buying that you need an extra six?” She asked in shock.

Trart couldn’t contain the smile on his face. “There’s a junk dealer that has four hundred full stacks of Winter Man Detector Bombs for sale for forty two thousand gold. I’m six short.” He was practically vibrating and the sentence came out less like normal speech and more like a single word.

There was silence around the table until Blackout shrugged. “Ok that is pretty cool. You owe me.” He replied transferring a thousand gold into Trart’s account.

The Matriarch did some quick math in her head. “What do you need a hundred thousand bombs for?” She asked.

Trart looked around the room and seeing no other players closed still leaned in. “Blackout did this thing at Christmas where he mined the front entrance to a dungeon with these bombs and then used the remote control car toy to pull agro on everything in the dungeon to effortlessly collect an entire dungeon worth of loot.” He explained

The matriarch shook her head. “Yeah but the car doesn’t pull agro anymore they fixed that the day after Christmas.” She said.

Trart nodded. “Right but the Hall of the Gods doesn’t fill with mobs until you activate the summoning stone. So we can mine the entire hall with just enough mines to do lethal damage to everything the second they get summoned in.” He countered.

Bob’s eyes lit up. “Jesus Trart a full clear of the Hall of the Gods would net easily five hundred thousand gold in loot.” She was sold now.

Trart nodded. “Yeah, I did the damage math. A hundred thousand bombs placed correctly is enough to complete FOUR full clears of the hall.” He sat back with a cocky smile on his face.

Everyone else scrambled to transfer the money into his account.

University of Console Heroics: Chapter 19

Tuesday was not normally an active night for the boys of Rho Sigma Gamma house. Which is how Clay and Porter were able to use the hundred and one inch big screen TV in the main living room. They had started an “I’d Steal it” marathon earlier in the afternoon and were now half a pizza and a dozen beers into arguing over which cars they thought were more valuable as the over produced British car show droned on about the latest batch of cars.

The ad for the high priced luxury car finished and Porter leaned forward and grabbed the remote. “Look Clay, as much as I’ve been missing you this semester and everything, you’ve been crashing at the house for the last four days. Don’t you have classes this week?” He asked gently, turning the audio down.

Clay grabbed a now cool slice of pizza and dropped the skinny end into his mouth. “Don’t care.” He decreed with a mouthful of cheese.

Porter put the remote down. “Excuse me? Who are you and what have you done with Clay?” He asked opening another beer.

Clay laid himself out on the couch. “Seriously, I don’t care. C’s get degrees right?” He shoved the rest of his pizza in his mouth.

Porter shook his head. “Look, I’m all about respecting your wishes but is this girl really worth pissing away all the work you did this semester?” He asked. Clay Glared at Porter until Porter threw up his hands. “My bad, forget I ever said anything.” Clay grabbed another slice and a beer from the coffee table. Porter sighed heavily and got up from his chair and went out into the back yard.  Clay listened as the door to the backyard shut. He looked at the slice of pizza in his hand, sighed heavily and set it back in the box and went out to the backyard.

Porter was taking shots at the basketball hoop close to the small swimming pool. The ball rebounded wildly after a shot and Clay picked it up, bouncing it a few times. “I’m sorry, it’s just, a crappy situation.” He held the ball up. “You up for a little one on one?” He asked as he tossed the ball to porter.

Porter caught the ball and bounced it a few times. “First to 11?” He asked.

Clay nodded. “Every point is half a beer.” He said.

Porter shook his head. “You can barely stand up as it is, maybe we should just relax a bit on the drinking.

Clay shook his head. “This coming from the guy who carries a flask with him at all times.”

Porter bounced the ball to Clay. “All right, but when I win, you’re telling me what the hell happened with you this semester. Horse blinders and all.”

The game didn’t last long. Porter scored the first four points in less than a minute. The more he moved the more Clay realized just how drunk he really was. He had stopped the game to finish off his second beer. He put the empty can on the ground, went to smash it flat with his foot and missed completely, lost his balance and fell flat on his back laughing hysterically.

Porter set the ball down and sat next to Clay. “I win.”

Clay nodded. “Just because I can’t stand up right now doesn’t mean you won the game.” Clay waved a hand in Porters face.

Porter held the ball out for Clay to take. “Prove it.”

Clay took the ball and leaned his head back until he could see the basket upside down. He threw the ball which flew wild and went through a window in the house. Clay relaxed and looked up at the sky “Fine, you win.” He said. “Hey what did you mean when you said ‘horse blinders and all?’” He asked.

Porter leaned back on his hands. “It’s the way you get into stuff. When you pledged the fraternity you were 110% in. Everything else fell by the wayside. When you found out that you had to take a psych class two weeks before the semester started you bought the books and started studying like crazy and not just for that class either, You’re life became academics. Then you met this girl and you disappeared, which I can’t blame you, she’s fine. But she became the thing you defined your life by. You hyper focus on whatever you’re doing. Like you got horse blinders on.” He explained.

Clay thought about this for a moment in the silence of the backyard. “I met her in the Library, a few weeks into the semester, but that wasn’t the first time I saw her. I saw her the first day of school and that’s when I, got horse blinders, I guess.” He started. Porter nodded and listened as Clay laid out every detail of his semester.

Shades of Justice: Chapter 23

Dante appeared in the rundown dead end arm of a T intersection hallway. There were dim flickering lights built into the ceiling and he could see and smell the trash and random junk strewn about the dead end. Around the corner of the T intersection he heard voices of two or more people having an argument. He moved up to the closest corner and peaked around to see two aliens in a confrontation that was quickly escalating from an argument to a full blown fight. They were standing in front of a bar, the sign above them was welded and advertised the name of the bar, “The Fly By”

Dante ducked back around the corner and realized that he hadn’t put much through into this plan and was now stuck inside an asteroid in deep space, where it was almost virtually certain that he was the only human. He looked back at the garbage and junk strewn on the floor of the dead and began to sift through it looking for anything he might be able to disguise himself with. It didn’t take long for him to realize there was nothing among the junk that would make a suitable disguise. He looked down at his hoodie and realized the logo of his high school was plastered all over the front, and the hood wasn’t large enough to cover his face any way. What he did know was that if the two aliens arguing out in front of the bar were any indication, a human would stand out like a sore thumb.

He had no clue how much time he had to try and find a lead but he was determined to not waste this opportunity. He decided to flip his hoodie inside out as the school logo was only printed on the outside. He also took his shirt off and used it to fashion a makeshift face mask using the neck hole for his eyes which he covered with his sunglasses. He took another look around the corner at the bar and saw that the aliens had either gone their separate ways or back into the bar to drink more.

Dante had been so focused on being discovered that he hadn’t really considered what he expected to see in the bar once he walked in. He realized quickly that he had automatically assumed that he was walking into the Cantina scene from Star Wars. What he actually walked into was much less impressive. There were several tables set away from the door. Each table was lit by a single dim yellow bulb hanging low and creating ominous shadows out of overly private and overly depressing drinkers. The quiet sullen shadows seemed somehow even more dangerous than he had expected. Not a single on he could see looked up when he entered the bar. The largest source of light was over the center of the bar, where a purple cyclops was wiping glasses clean with a green cloth. Dante moved over to the bar  assuming that it was the best place to start his hunt for information.

The second he sat down the cyclops looked at him and gave a short grunting laugh. “First time off world?” It asked with a big smiles on its face. Dante nodded and The cyclops laughed again. “I’m sorry , I don’t mean to be rude but your coat is on inside out and you’re wearing your shirt on your head, clearly you were worried about being noticed.” The cyclops leaned in “But you’re wearing your Shades of Justice. You may as well have walked in here in full uniform.” The cyclops finished.

Dante scrambled to take his sunglasses off his face and pulled his shirt off his head as well.

The cyclops nodded. “Better, now, how can I help you?” The cyclops asked.

Blood and Profit: Chapter 46

Eamon, Mew, and several Starseeds were at the edge of the forest to meet the official delegation from the colony capital. Kepi had worked  her into the group and as soon as she had exited the ship Eamon pulled her aside as the rest of the delegation speechified its way through 'first contact'.

"I'm glad you came" he started.

"I know I'm just your aid," She interrupted. "But I wasn't about to miss out on meeting aliens."

Eamon nodded "About that." He held out his tablet with the transfer contract he had written up. there was a place for her thumb print. "Sign this and you're no longer my aid." He smiled.

She looked worried for a second. 'You're seriously going to fire me just for not asking permission to be on the first contact committee?" She asked glancing over the document. Then her eyes went wide as she realized what the document said.

He shook his head. "The exact opposite actually. I've always been a problem solver Kepi and your problem is that you have an incredible skill set, one that requires a certain level of power for it to reach its full potential. So, as soon as you sign this, your problem is solved."

She looked up from the contract to his smiling face. "You're giving me your seat?" She asked in total shock.

He shook his head. "No, you are setting me free." He clarified as she read through the contract.

She looked up again. "You've left 'compensation for transfer' empty." She pointed out.

He nodded. "It's not really 'my' seat Kepi, and it's not your's either. That seat belongs to the people of the twenty second precinct. It's in their best intrest for you to be in that seat and me to be here." He gestured to the Starseed's forest. She signed the paperwork and pressed her thumb on the screen letting it scan properly.

She handed the tablet back with huge smile on her face. "I really appreciate you giving me a chance." She said before she gave him a hug.

He hugged her back as he replied. "I didn't give you anything, mostly because you almost always had already taken it for yourself." He said with a huge smile as they separated.

Kepi looked over at the continuing pomp and circumstance of 'first contact'. "What are they like?" She asked.

Eamon shrugged his shoulders. "They are interesting and weird. Brilliant and sad." He replied.

Kepi raised and eyebrow. "Brilliant and sad?" She asked for further clarification.

Eamon nodded. "Just wait until one of them asks what your name is." he said without further explanation, as they rejoined the rest of the group.

Lidarion Chapter 18

Trent and Lisa split had split off from Brooke and Alex having promised to meet up with them later in the afternoon for lunch. They made their way to the military district. It had been years since she and her late husband had packed their things into the storage unit. She knew she needed to at least get the keys for it and let the military liaison know she was in town but the closer they got to the storage halls the heavier her feet felt, the heavier her heart became. She stopped Trent half a block before the front gate of the storage quarter. She stopped walking and called out after Trent. “I can’t do this.” She said.

Trent stopped walking and they moved to the side of the street. “There’s nothing to be worried about Lisa. There is no shame in needing more time. I can’t say I’m going to be super available all the time but when I am back in town whenever you are ready I will gladly help you –“

She interrupted him. “Excuse me?” She said in shock. “Why are you talking about this Sigil quest like you are going it alone?” She asked.

Trent shook his head. “Because this isn’t your burden to bear Lisa.”

She shook her head. “I’m a full grown adult and last time I checked that means I got to choose what burdens I bore, for how long, and why.” She glared at him.

He threw his hands up in defeat. “I just don’t want everyone thinking they are bound to a promise I made. I want you to go live your new life.” He said.

She shook her head again. “And you need to understand that all this stuff that’s happening right now, this is my new life. That storage unit will still be there when we’ve saved the council members lives and gotten the sigils. Besides I know you, you’re going to need a healer on this trip.” She stated flatly leaving no room to argue.

Trent looked in the direction of the Storage quarter. “So are we leaving your stuff till later then?” He asked.

Lisa looked off in the same direction and sighed heavily and then nodded. “One thing at a time. You can’t help me process anything if you’re dead, so it’s up to me to keep you alive.” She turned to him with a sad smile.

He nodded. “Whatever you need Lisa.” He said as they turned around and headed for Alex’s place.

The XP: Chapter 18

The Stadium surrounding the tournament grounds was filled with screaming spectators. The scoreboard on the wall of the arena was divided into two halves. ‘The End of the World Club’ had five boxes on their half and ‘Not the Clan you’re looking for’ Had five on their half. In the overseers private box Volnado got up out of his chair and stepped forward to the edge of the balcony. “Welcome to the tenth match of round one!” His voice echoed throughout the stadium. “This fight is between The End Of The World Club and Not The Clan You’re Looking For!”

The stadium goes crazy cheering. Wainwright leans over to Shizaboom and whispers. “You can go about your business.” He joked.

Shizaboom laughed. “Move along, Move along.” Was his reply.

Volnado glances over his shoulder at them. “I hate you both.” He growled before turning back to the crowd as ‘Not The Clan You’re Looking For entered the arena from gate on their side. Volnado looked to the gate on the other side and saw no one there. He smiled. “The End Of The World Club is called to the arena.” His voice boomed out across the entire zone now. The spectators went silent, everyone was staring at the open, empty gate. “The End Of the World Club must present themselves in the arena or be disqualified!” His voice echoed again across the entire zone. A predatory smile on his face. “Five.” The audience was on the edge of their seats. “Four” Shizaboom leaned over the railing to get a better look at the gate entrance. “Three.” Volnado gripped the railing hard enough to turn his knuckles white. “Two”

The End of The World Club practically exploded into the arena they were running so fast. “We’re here!” Stygian shouted, his voice echoing throughout the arena.

Blackout looked at the countdown timer under their clan name. He pointed at the ‘2’. “And we made it a whole second earlier than we planned.” He said with a smile.

Bob shook her head. “That’s not possible! Everything always stops at one second! We screwed up guys!” She threw her hands in the air in mock frustration.

The Matriarch shrugged her shoulders. “We could always go out and come back in.”she said.

Bob shook her head. “Noooo, what’s done is done.”

“ENOUGH!” Volnado shouted. The spectators and both teams looked up at Volnado in his private box. “This is a simple death match.” He growled. His voice echoing through the stadium only now. Last team with a living member moves on to round two. When the bell rings, the match begins.” He finished his speech and dropped angrily into his chair.

The two clans face off. All five members of Not the Clan You’re Looking For are staring at The Matriarch in disbelief. The bell rings out through the arena. No one moves, The Matriarch is single handedly staring the other clan down in a standoff. She glares down the line keeping each player frozen in fear, None of them wanting to be the first to die to the legendary warrior. The stands are dead silent as well, no one wants to miss the first move. Which happens to be Trart Mowing down the other team from right to left in one sweeping motion.

He lets the trigger go and the smoke clears he sees the rest of his team looking at him. “What?” He asks.

The signs all over the arena flash “THE END OF THE WORLD CLUB WINS!!!” in big block letters with colorful backgrounds.

Stygian points at the line of dead opposing players. “What the hell Trart!?” He nearly shouts.

Trart shrugged. “Volnado said ‘when the bell rings’. The bell rang, what’s the problem?” He asked.

Stygian shook his head. “That wasn’t exactly fair.” He chastised. As the group walked out of the arena.

“Fair?” Trart asked in confusion. “I don’t remember anything about ‘fair’ in the rules. All I remember was ‘everyone tries to kill each other like civilized people after the ding noise. Bob laughed. “Did a bell make a ding noise? Did everyone except me stand around like a brain dead moron? Did I win the match?” Trart asked. The Matriarch coughed suggestively. “With assistance from the Matriarch of course.” He amended his statement.

“Hey it’s our first win and that’s all that matters to me.” Bob said as they reached the end of the tunnel.

The University of Console Heroics: Chapter 18

Sanders was slowly but surely hammering his way through an essay final for one of his other classes. He had headphones on and had fairly effectively shut out the rest of the world, so it was no surprise that he didn't hear the knock at the door. The knock came again, louder this time and he pulled his headphones off his head just in time to hear the third knock. He scrambled to his feet and opened the door to reveal his father, Sanders was nearly a carbon copy of his father, except that William was three decades older. Sanders moved out of the way, still in shock. "Dad! What are you doing here?" He asked.

William moved into the dorm room. "I came to see you, obviously. The last time we talked it sounded like you could use some parental guidance." He explained.

Sanders shook his head. "We haven't talked in almost two months Dad" he replied.

William sighed heavily and sat in one of the empty chairs. "Rodger Bannister called me." He admitted.

Sanders looked a little disappointed. "Professor Bannister called you?" He asked.

William nodded. "He was worried about you. Apparently you are having more trouble with the divorce than you admitted to your mother and I." William explained.

Sanders threw his hands up. "Of course I am Dad!" He snapped. "What were you expecting? Did you really think you could just let me know a relationship older than me was just 'over', I'd nod, smile, go 'ho-hum' and be on about my day?" He almost shouted.

William looked concerned. "Not at all. We told you so you could ask us any questions you had or say anything you felt like you needed to say. Apparently we needed to give you more time to process and that's our fault." He admitted.

Sanders shook his head. "No it's really not. Regardless of me being your kid, your relationship status is between the two of you. I'm grown and out of the house, I appreciate the courtesy and I'm sorry I acted like a child." Sanders apologized.

William shook his head. "No one is ever ready for something like their parents splitting up. It doesn't matter how old you are." He said.

Sanders nodded. "So there's no chance the two of you are going to get back together?" He asked.

William shook his head. "There are a number of reasons that won't be happening, the least of which is that your mother's boyfriend would be very disappointed." William said with a smile.

Sanders was stunned. "Mom's dating someone already?" He asked in shock.

William nodded. "Oh yes, she met him st work and they seem to have hit it off quite nicely. We've had dinner a few times, I think you'll like him." He explained.

Sanders shook his head. "I think it will take me a while to get used to the idea of mom having a boyfriend." He started. "While we're on the subject though, what about you and professor Bannister?" He asked.

William smiled sadly. "Both of us are far too old to go digging up feelings that have been buried for so long." He said.

Sanders rolled his eyes. "Well that's bullshit." He spat.

William looked shocked. "Language son." He chided.

Sanders shook his head. "I'm an adult now, get used to it." He decreed.

William nodded. "All right then why is it 'bullshit?" He asked.

Sanders smiled. "Loving someone liberates the lover as well as the beloved. And that kind of love comes with age." He quipped.

William smiled. "Excuse me?" He asked again.

Sanders shook his head. "You freed yourself, and in a roundabout weird way, freed the love of your life. We are so rarely free to be who we are, don't turn your back on that freedom over something stupid like the fact that you were young and attractive a really long time ago."

"Hey!" William snapped. "It wasn't that long ago." He protested.

Sanders smiled. "That's the idea." He said.

Shades of Justice: Chapter 22

Dante had gone home along with the others and tried to get some sleep, but now it was almost dawn and all he had done was stare at the ceiling of his room while the computer echoed in his head. "Neither Technarious or Lumarion are on earth." over and over again, stuck like the chorus of a pop song he couldn't forget. By first light he had dressed and teleported to the command center.

He found Sonya sitting in a chair, watching Blinding Light's recharge timer count down. She was fighting to stay awake and had been crying at some point in the night. "Hey you, we all promised to go home and get some sleep. Why are you still here?" He asked softly.

Sonya flinched and wiped her eyes and cheeks before she turned to face Dante. "Someone needed to stay in case of emergency." She said

Dante nodded. "Someone, or you?" He asked.

She looked back at the console. "I'm someone." She replied.

He nodded. "You are more than 'someone' Sonya." He paused she looked at him in surprise. "You're our leader." he continued "And we're going to need you rested." He smiled. "So go home, get some sleep. You've got the time." He nodded at the timer which showed thirty six hours until completion.

She looked from the timer to Dante. "You'll stay?" She asked. Gordon nodded and Sonya got out of her chair slowly. "Look I know things have gotten weird, actually for us I guess they got weird a while ago no -"

Gordon leaned on the teleport button that sent Sonya home in a flash of light. "Sorry, but you'll thank me later." He said to himself as he sat in her chair. "Computer?" he asked the empty command center.

"Online" the computer responded.

He took a deep breath. " you said Technarious and Lumarion were no longer on earth?" He asked.

"Correct" the computer confirmed.

Dante started to swivel in the chair. "what's the nearest extra terrestrial location? like a secret outpost or hidden colony or planet or what ever." He asked.

"There is a galactic trading post in the Kepler Belt." The computer confirmed.

Dante stood up. "Is it close enough to teleport to?" He asked.

"Barely" the computer confirmed.

Dante glanced at the Blinding Light timer. "without effecting the Blinding Light timetable?" He asked.

"Correct." The computer confirmed.

Dante put his shades on and his suit appeared in a small flash of light. "Do it." he commanded and then disappeared in a flash of light. Once the light dissipated everything in the command center shut down except Blinding Light's recharge timer.

Blood and Profit: Chapter 45

Eamon woke up to a revelation. He hated his job. He had always been a do'er, most comfortable with dirty hands actively finishing jobs. He liked to see the improvements in the lives of the people he helped. Somewhere along the way he had convinced himself that running for office would be the best and most efficient way to help as many people as possible. He quickly learned that he could not have been more wrong.

In the year and a half since he had won his seat he had spent sixteen months in meetings. He barely had time to speak with his staff, much less approach a problem to solve. Eighteen months of completely wasted time, which he had to admit was largely his own fault. He had no training in governmental management, no family history of leadership or power, no useful connections and thus no place in the upper echelons of representative government.

Kepi had everything he didn't. She had appeared one morning early on and practically took over his office. She introduced him to the economy of favors, taught him the languages of double speak and empty words. Over the last eighteen months he had learned to speak sentences and make promises that meant nothing but bought everything, and he hated every minute of it. With Kepi behind him he had accomplished more in eighteen months than he could have done in a life time without her. And this morning he had realized that he was holding her back. The only thing he had that she didn't was a seat at the table and it was well within his authority to give it to her.

Lost in his thoughts Eamon got out of bed and left the shuttle without waking Mew. He wandered into the forest as he considered where his life might take him next and found himself at the clearing where the Starseeds were growing their new ship.

There was a lone Starseed tending the tiny Tree growing in the center of the clearing. It waved at Eamon as he approached. Eamon waved back and then watched silently as the Starseed poked and prodded the new growth. "If you all just share one mind, what should I call you?" He asked awkwardly.

The Starseed continued his work as he replied. "What was your name before you were born?" It asked.

Eamon raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" he stuttered in confusion.

The Starseed pulled some fresh moss off the Bark of the tree. "You are Eamon now, with all your traits and quirks, that mind in that body, electrical impulses bound to specific pathways for a length of time yet to be determined. But everything that you are, from hair to toes and every thought in between, used to be something or someone else. The body is easy, but the mind begs the question, what was your name before 'you' were Eamon?" The Starseed looked at Eamon and flashed him a psychic smile. "You can call me Tremar." He said.

Eamon nodded and sat down to think about the idea he had just been presented with, Another part of his mind asked a question that had been bouncing around his skull. "I know you guys went out of your way to help us, but just out of curiosity, how are you going to get your mind matter, darkness stuff back safely across the barrier?" He asked.

Tremar finally stopped tending to the tree and shook his head. Sadness spread across his face. "We have never transitioned through space that way before. Transporting our conscious matter in physical space is a problem we have never had to solve. We are, worried that what has come through to this place will stay here and when the wave undoes this planet we will forget everything we have done here." Tremar sat next to Eamon. "Still it is a price worth paying to save your people." He finished.

Eamon looked at the morning sky through the gap in the tree canopy. It was getting brighter as the sun rose higher in the sky. "I will remember for you. If I have to write the books myself, your people will have a record of what you did here, of what you sacrificed, for us." He promised.

The pair sat in silence for a moment before Tremar asked. "What are books?" He said with intense curiosity.