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Adam was running at full speed; he kept part of his mind on the video feed that Daileass was sending to him. Something was wrong, and he knew it. Daileass, check to make sure there is no other activity anywhere near these kids., Adam sent telepathically.
Nothing anywhere within three miles other than normal wildlife. Just to update, Will is spinning one of the Black Hawks, Chang and the Chipmunks are about two minutes behind you with med gear. Logan will ride with Will, was Daileass's response. Adam nodded to himself and pushed just a little harder.
Without even thinking about it, he increased his own metabolism, and pushed his body a bit further than he normally would have. This was as serious as it could be. Something was wrong with Tommy.
He didn't even want to think about why Tommy would be miles away from the closest entrance to the base. What he did want to know is why Tommy was in the woods, and what the other kids are doing with him. Not just one or two kids, but ten to twelve. Add onto that the fact that Tommy was riding on the back of a rather large wolf. Now that in and of itself would not be all that surprising, given Tommy's abilities with animals, but with him being draped over the back of said wolf sent Adam's mind into a frenzy.
Ducking through the trees, Adam was afraid to think how fast he was going. When he was on a treadmill one time, he had actually hit sixty-two miles an hour. That's really good on a treadmill, but he was in a rocky area right now with lots of trees and underbrush.
Only Adam's amazing reflexes could have seen the tree branch coming, but also be able to avoid it. Dropping to a baseball slide, Adam hit the ground, and then came up with his sword drawn.
In front of him was a boy about fifteen years old wielding a broken tree limb like a club. Wearily, Adam let the tip of his sword go down till it was almost on the ground. "I'm not here to hurt you... drop the weapon."
Looking behind the boy, Adam could see the rest of the group there, Tommy was laying on the ground, and the wolf was slowly stalking up to stand next to the other boy. Adam had seen very few wolves of that size before. Adam took more of a defensive posture, as the older boy spoke softly. "You drop yours first."
Adam, knowing his own abilities, and knowing that Chang and the others were less then a minute away, figured he could play it their way. "Fine," he said as he sheathed the sword behind his back. "Is Tommy all right?"
The boy with the branch lowered it slightly, then got a confused look on his face. "Who's Tommy?"
Adam mentally told Chang and the rest to stay hidden, and then stepped forward slightly. "The boy over there on the ground. That's my son Tommy. I came here to help him."
The wolf and the boy looked back to where Tommy lay on the ground, and then back to Adam. The boy finally got a smile on his face and then dropped the branch. "You're from the Clan people, aren't you?"
Adam nodded, and the all the kids let out a sigh. "We've been trying to find you. Elwyn said Kieron was with you guys."
Adam quickly went through the names of all the kids he knew of in the base, and then cross-referenced it with Daileass... neither one of them knew anyone named Kieron.
"Sorry guys... we don't have a Kieron here." Adam again looked worriedly at Tommy, who was still on the ground obviously unconscious.
The boy looked at Adam and then back at Tommy on the ground and that's when it hit him. "Oh, shit. Well, I guess you call him Tommy." Adam's eyes snapped up and got a dangerous look in them.
"What do you mean?"
The wolf growled, but the boy put his hands up to stop anything from happening. "Look... I think this might need some explanation, but the boy over there..." he said, pointing to Tommy, "isn't Tommy; his name's Elwyn. His twin brother was kidnapped right after they were born. Elwyn always knew the boy as Kieron, but I guess you know him as Tommy."
Tommy lay in bed moaning softly after having thrown up yet again. Grandma Janet said he had the flu; he didn't know, as he'd never been sick before, but this really sucked. Ronnie was great, though; he almost never left his boyfriend's side, unless it was to get something for him. Ronnie kept Tommy entertained with stories of when he was sick, or some of the things he and Billy used to do when Billy was first laid up in the wheel chair.
After laying there for a few minutes, Tommy nodded, and Ronnie helped him to sit back up on the bed. They were just about to start back to their game of Monopoly when Adam's voice came over the speakers. "Tommy... I know you're not feeling well, but could you please come up to Med Bay Alpha. Ronnie, why don't you help him?"
"Okay, Adam... I'll be there as quick as I can," Tommy said. However, Ronnie muttered under his breath, "It'll be a minute or two."
As if Ronnie knew something that Tommy didn't... suddenly Tommy got a weird look on his face, and jumping out of bed, he ran into the bathroom. He was going to be a few minutes.
Rambo had wandered off not five seconds after Amur Khan and Logan's fight had ended, for he had seen a silver plate that had been thrown to the floor during the fight vanish. At least, it seemed that way. He moved to where it had been and found a vent into the ground. After poking his furry face into it, he found that there was a sizable tunnel leading from the direction of the main base towards the newer one on the far side of the canyon.
He slipped inside quickly and started scouting and exploring. He moved fast, using all the training Juan had given him to check for possible dangers to his family and friends.
What he found, however, was an entrance to where those new ferret kids were now setting up a literal 'Ferret Village' in the new base. He watched curiously as they squeaked instructions to one another, as well as listen to some odd sounding stuff from who seemed to be the leader; a ferret teen boy in a stetson hat. Dave.
Rambo stayed still and watched, amused at the activity, as well as his interest being piqued by what he could swear was a reference to a 'shiny war'. Now that sounded like fun!
He was about to slip out and into the room when Joel entered with his Sehlat and two ferret sons. What happened next shocked Rambo just as much as the rest of the ferrets... and it made him believe in "The Great Shiny" as well!
Once Joel had left, still dressed in his "Garb of Shinyness", Rambo fell out of the tunnel and made himself known to the now hysterically fervent parishioners of the "Shiny Faith".
Dave looked over at the small, two-and-a-half-foot living teddy bear, and recognized him from the battle from earlier that day. "How did you get in here?" he asked curiously, while taking account of all Rambo's weapons - shiny weapons. The other 73 ferrets were starting to surround the intruder and taking a visual inventory of his possessions.
Rambo had been watching long enough to know what to do next: "I pledge allegiance to the Shiny of the Shiny Nation, and to the Gleam for which it stands; one Nation under Shiny - sparkling, with incandescence and radiance for all!" he swore, holding his right hand up as he took the oath.
"OoooOOOooooooh!" came from every ferret there, including Dave.
Rambo started to bust his ribs laughing, for when they had vocalized that, their faces all turned to the ceiling and they weaved back and forth. It was just too funny for the little bear.
"A convert! Another convert!" Dave exclaimed in joy. "You are the second!"
"Am I?" Rambo giggled as he tried to bring his laughter under control.
"Yes! Yes! The one called Chang was the first! He became one with us when the Race of the Shiny Warrior used their mind powers on us!" Dave said as he jumped up and down with joy.
"Oooowwwww! No fair! He's got NICE Shinys!" one little girl pouted.
"Now, now - you know the Commandment: thou shalt not steal a Shiny-Lover's Shiny, Lisa," Dave admonished her gently.
She still pouted, "I know! But he couldda waited!!"
"Can you fight, teddy?" an eight year old ferret boy asked curiously. He was standing next to the animated teddy bear and was looking down at Rambo's ears - debating with himself about whether or not to tickle them or just hug Rambo.
"Uh huh," Rambo giggled before extending his sheathed claws from inside his paws. "My daddy trained me! So! How do we get Shinys, guys? And who do we have to fight in this war?"
Dave started to respond, then paused as a seriously interesting idea came into his stark raving insane mind.
Five minutes later, the new Shiny-General-of-War was suiting up and picking his first Shiny-Raider's squad.
The Shiny War had began...
As Rambo lead his crew out to start the first offensive on this new 'war', Dave started to sing at the top of his lungs. Within a few words, all the ferrets joined in.
Onward, Shiny soldiers, marching as to war,
With the Shiny Warrior going on before.
Dave, the Shiny Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His Shinys go!
Refrain:
Onward, Shiny soldiers, marching as to war,
With the Shiny Warrior going on before.
At the sign of triumph, Hater’s host doth flee;
On then, Shiny soldiers, on to victory!
Dull’s foundations quiver at our Shiny praise;
Ferrets, lift your voices, high your Shinys raise.
Onward then, ye Ferrets, join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices in this Shiny song.
Glory, laud, and honor unto Dave our King,
This through countless ages men and Ferrets sing.
Gabriel Michelson sat down next to the bed of the badly burned boy. Had they not had the medical technology here that they did, the boy would be dead. As of right now, all that Gabe could see of the twelve year old boy was the right half of his face. Dr. Hayes had made sure that Gabe knew what he could and could not do to help the boy.
Gabe looked down at the file he had in his hand. It wasn't the full medical records of the boy, but it was enough. He went through it again... he just could not stop reading and reading.
Name: Aalim Zakaria
Gender: Male
Age: 12 years 5 months (actual)Diagnosis: second and third degree burns over 85% of body surface due to intentional immolation by father.
Prognosis: Full recovery expected with short term physical therapy needed. Recommended for long term psychological therapy.
Intake Notes:
CSSF (Clan Short Special Forces) was first alerted to this child when Intel Spec Alvin Casey intercepted a local 911 call from the Washington DC area. Strike Team Beta was dispatched within 20 seconds of the call coming in about a child who was "set on fire."Within 45 seconds of initial call, S.T. Beta was on site, had "neutralized" the offending party, and had secured the child with immediate transport to Med. Ward Alpha.
Personal Notes:
It is believed that Child reported to father that he had been sexually assaulted by the leader of the local Mosque. Father immediately became extremely violent, demanding that the child "stop spreading his filthy lies." Father dragged child physically to this religious leader, who denied any and all allegations that the child had made. Both father and the leader in question then dragged the child outside, dosed him in gasoline, and lit fire to the child.When ST Beta arrived on scene, we witnessed father actively trying to stop two others from putting out the fire. Father was quickly disabled and child sent for medical treatment. Both father and religious leader were detained and transported to CSSF criminal holding area, for telepathic scan and 'logical' punishment to be set.
Gabe set the file down in his lap, and quickly wiped away the tears falling down his face. He knew just how bad parents could be, but even he wasn't as bad off as Aalim was. Gabe may only have been thirteen but only God himself could stop him from helping this boy.
Tommy was leaning heavily on Ronnie and Fluffy when they walked into the med bay. All eyes turned to him, and Adam got a worried look on his face. Tommy knew why; he looked like shit right now. He felt like it too. He was so glad that Grandma Janet said it would only last a few days. He really felt like he was dying.
Inside the doors were a couple of the med beds with some new kids on them. Tommy didn't even bother wondering why they were staring at him... he was used to that by now. Fluffy usually made people stare, and most of the time Tommy was amused by it. They all thought that she would eat them or something, but he knew Fluffy... she was just one big pussy cat.
His eyes zeroed in on the large wolf. He wasn't used to there being animals around that he didn't know about, or personally speak to - especially ones that size. He looked at the wolf in the eyes, and that's when he knew... something was wrong.
"Tommy... there's someone here I think...." Adam started to say, but Fluffy's low guttural 'growl', along with her moving between the wolf and Tommy, showed something was wrong.
"Adam... That wolf.... there's something wrong with... wait... IT'S NOT A WOLF!" Tommy cried out. Fluffy immediately crouched down like she was going to pounce, and Ronnie drew his pistol. Both Adam and Logan stumbled back from the wolf, also drawing their own weapons, while Chang placed himself between the wolf and the rest of the patients.
The older boy jumped off the bed the wolf was next to, and got between Fluffy and the wolf. "Please... don't! He's not gonna hurt you!" The boy almost cried out, but all conversation died right then.
Behind him, the male wolf moved.
It reared back onto its hind legs and howled piercingly as every part of its body began to shimmer and shift. The forepaws became fuller; the hind legs lengthened; all four paws began to elongate and change; the fur seemed to grow backwards into its body; the muzzle shrank away to nothing; the ears literally moved and became different; but worst of all, Logan could swear what sounded like a myriad of bones breaking came out of every part of this 'animal's' body.
Yet, what once was a wolf seemed to be in no pain.
"Holy Shit," Logan breathed out. "It's a were-wolf!"
The naked boy standing by the bed, now covered in a fine sheen of sweat, smiled... and nodded.
One of the doctors in the room who watched the whole thing with his jaw on the floor slowly drawled out in a Southern accent. "My boy... There's no such thing as were-wolves."
"Dr. Guy Calloway..." Ronnie said with a small chuckle as he pointed to the now naked boy. "I think someone forgot to give him the memo."
Juan looked around the dirty city streets, and again the thought came to his mind, 'How do people live like this?' For right now, though, the mission was what mattered. They had to find the gang's hideout, and rescue the hostages.
He walked through the city, once again wishing that he hadn't insisted that he and Koth split up. Yes, they could cover more ground by themselves, and Juan was very good at not being noticed, but this was hard for him. Harder then anything else he had to do. Juan actually said a little prayer of thanks for being what he was, since he could see perfectly clear in the middle of the night.
He grew up in a lab; he knew nothing of this kind of living. He never even considered that someone could live like this, let alone thousands, maybe even millions of people lived in this kind of abject poverty. He had heard stories, but he never thought they were really like this. To his mind, being homeless just meant you made your own way; he never knew that it could be this hard, or look like this.
He walked past an alleyway, and no one gave him a second look. He wasn't wearing his normal combat fatigues, now; he was wearing a ratty T-shirt, and ripped jeans. He had figured that this would be the kind of clothes that homeless kids wore... now he was realizing that he was dressed in so much more then these people ever saw. It made his heart bleed to see that most of these people would be so happy just to have the pair of dirty, wore out shoes he was wearing.
A voice interrupted his thoughts as it came over his subvocal. "Juan, you should be near to where we think the hide-out is. Two streets west by northwest. If we are seeing things accurately, the Warlord is calling all his forces home, and preparing for an attack. Be advised, we have confirmed several hostages."
Juan didn't speak out loud, just under his breath, replied "received" and started that way. He pushed the thoughts of these people from his mind, and saw once again the lifeless eyes of the five-year-old boy that had died giving them the information on where the hide out was located. The Warlord's men had tortured him to death, after learning that he gave up the information. His body was left on the street as a warning to others. Juan would give his own warning.
He forced the tears from his eyes, as he stepped over two children,the oldest of whom could have been no more than seven. Juan could tell just by looking at them, that both of them were dead... probably from hunger. He vowed to himself, right then and there, that he would do something about this. He wasn't sure what... but he knew he had to do something.
It didn't take him long to find the building in question. It was the only one around that had lights on inside. It was the middle of the night, and this was the only building he could see that actually had lights on. That and the roving guards told Juan a lot.
Speaking softly, so only the subvocal picked it up, he called for Daileass to transport his pack. For once, Juan didn't have a joke on the tip of his tongue, or some smart-assed comment about anything. Juan wasn't angry... he was so upset that he was nearly shaking. Whether from rage or grief, he couldn't tell. One thing was clear, though... someone was going to pay for this. He found an empty shack nearby and ran over to it.
It only took Juan two minutes to strip down, and dress in the black, lightly armored suit that he'd had made for night infiltrations. It only took him thirty seconds to place his weaponry. There was only one gun this time. He was going for extreme quiet. Glancing around, he saw two kids huddled together in an alley close by. He quietly and quickly walked over to them. Both the girl, who Juan guessed was maybe ten, and the boy, who was maybe eight, shied away as he approached.
"Please... please don't hurt us," the girl said in broken English.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you," Juan said, as he squatted down and looked them over. It was obvious, from the dirt on both of them, that they hadn't seen a shower in a very long time. The rags that passed for clothes on them wouldn't have been good enough for Juan to use as rags to wipe mud off one of his guns, let alone wear. "What are you two doing here?"
The little girl looked like she wanted to run. For a second, Juan thought she just might, but then noticed something odd. He reached his hand out, towards the young boy's leg, and they both shrank back. The little girl spoke softly, but Juan could hear the pain in her voice. "Please... please don't hurt him."
The little boy tried to reach down and pull his leg back, but Juan caught the boy's hand gently in his own. "I won't hurt him, but I would like to see." Juan's eyes never left the scared little boy's, and then Juan heard Janet's voice in his head. It's something she said shortly after he meet the woman he now calls mom: 'You can tell a lot about a person by looking into their eyes. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul.'
As Juan stared into the dark pools of the young eight-year-old boy, he saw something he had never seen before. He had seen people who were afraid, hell, he'd seen people terrified as they saw their own death coming, usually by Juan's own hand. But now he saw something different. In the eyes of this eight-year-old boy, Juan saw something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Yes, the boy was afraid, but Juan saw a soul that welcomed death. He saw someone who was in so much pain that he welcomed death.
Juan tore his eyes away from the boy's eyes, and looked down at the deformed leg. He ran his fingers over the leg gently, and couldn't help but shudder. "What... what happened."
The little girl answered quietly. "Demarco's leg broke last year when we tried to run away from the Warlord's men. Mommy tried to fix it, but she couldn't." The girl broke down into tears, and Juan, for the first time, used his telepathy on someone who didn't know he was going to do it, and it wasn't a treat to him. What he saw made his stomach turn, and tears instantly sprung to his eyes.
He reached up and gently grasped the girl's shoulder. "I will bring your mother back to you." The girl gasped, but didn't say anything.
Juan was about to make for the nearest guard that he could see when the girl's hand caught his own. "Don't leave us alone... we're frightened," she whispered as a spark of trust built in her.
Juan looked down again, his Klingon brow gleaming in the faint light. He felt torn, "I have to save your mother, Alesia," he whispered.
"I don't want to die alone. I don't want my brother to die alone. Please, don't go," she cried.
'Child of Fire, of Wind. Son of Q'onos, of Warrior blood. Child of Vulcan, of Ancient power – be not afraid to leave them. I shall be with them.'
Juan looked up and saw a white-silver Wolf standing there by the children. They saw him too, and started to shrink back, but the wolf bent down and breathed on them, calming them instantly.
'I am Cynoeswr, the Ancient, the Father of Black Feet. Be not scared for these, for I shall be with them. We shall wait for you, Son of Q'onos.'
Juan could do nothing but nod. The two children were now cuddled against the wolf's side, and the wolf had settled down to keep them warm in the cold night air.
Three minutes later, Juan was slightly upset that he only had to slit the throats of four guards to get into the building. This general was obviously slipping in his training of guards. Too bad for him.
He made his way quietly along the first floor, listening for any sound, and looking into rooms to see who or what was inside. He was once again grateful that he was able to see in almost pitch black. He came to a set of stairs, going both up, and down. He stopped for a second, trying to figure out which way to go, when a scream from upstairs made his choice for him.
Quietly, yet quickly, he made his way up the stairs. He followed the scream to the left, when he got to the top of the stairs, but wasn't sure what room the scream came from. But he caught the scent of blood on the air, and that led him on. Turning down another hallway, he had to duck into a room as two guards came out of one of the room further down the hall. The smell of blood on them, made his blood boil. They had just passed the room he was hiding in when he struck.
One of the guards got his sword plunged through his heart, the other had Juan's knife slide across his throat. Quietly, Juan dragged both of the bodies into the room he had hidden in, and then made his way to the room the guards came from. He didn't have to worry about the blood splatter. With all the raping and torturing going on, there was blood almost everywhere.
Even with everything Juan had seen and done in his life, he still had to fight to keep his dinner down, when he walked into the room. The woman tied to the bed had to be Alesia's mother. Even though he had some of the girl's memories in his mind, he could not recognize her. What gave her away was the necklace she was wearing. That was the only thing that made Juan think that the person lying on the bed was the kids' mother.
Tentatively, Juan walked into the room, and again had to fight to keep his dinner down. The two guards that were laughing when they left this room, had to have tortured and raped this woman. He made his way to the side of the bed, and was shocked to see that she was still alive. Her head turned towards him, and Juan quickly pulled off the stocking mask that hid his face.
He tried to smile down at her, and not let her see how badly this was effecting him. She tried to smile as well, but instead coughed up some bloody froth. Juan reached out to grab her hand, and it barely registered to him, that every single one of the bones in her hand had been broken.
She tried to speak, and Juan leaned closer to try and hear what she said: "Please... please help my... children."
Juan had tears in his eyes, and he stood back up, nodding, as the breath of life ran out of her. He wanted to break down and cry. He wanted to just crawl up into a ball and let the pain he felt all around him out. Yeah, he'd seen bad things in his life, he knew the hopelessness that permeated every part of this part of the city. He had hoped to never find that feeling again, but here, in this place, it oozed through every pore in his body.
He fought down the rage he was feeling, wanting nothing more than to destroy that hopelessness, but knew... better then most... there was only one way to do that. It was not easy or quick.
Juan dropped the dead hand of the woman, and walked out of the room. He controlled his tears, controlled his fears, and for once, had complete control over his rage. He knew, soon enough, his rage would be able to be let out, and for right now, he was content with that. Tonight people would pay.
He stopped at the top of the stairs, and let his mind drift out, tasting the emotions of the people all around, until he found what he was looking for. His rage almost exploded out of him when he found what he was looking for, and before he even knew it, he was flying down the stairs, drawing both his sword, and dagger. He didn't even notice the slight blue glow of power that surrounded him, that urged him forward. He may not be as strong a hand to hand fighter as Chang was, but that still put him higher then most normal adults, and today, they would find that out. Today, Juan would unleash his full potential on his enemies. Tonight, Juan would bring them the Fury of Hell...unleashed..
Running, Juan saw the re-enforced door that lead the way to the "holding" area, where the hostages were. He also saw clearly what was going on behind the door. The Warlord was never intending to release them. No, the good Warlord was allowing his "troops" to have whatever fun they wanted before he killed them all. Knowing that killing the people in that room would send a message to the people of this city, and thinking that none would ever dare to challenge him again.
Without really thinking about it, Juan threw a hand out, just before he got to the door, and it exploded before him. He was running on instinct right now, and the need to exact vengeance. So much for his keeping quiet.
The guards inside the room barely got time to turn around before Juan cut them down. He never missed a step, nor did he allow for any wasted movement. He moved with the grace of a cat, and every movement brought death to those in the room. For a moment he remembered a line from a book that Chang was reading, and now it made sense to him. Right now, he was dancing with death itself.
Before he even knew it, he was moving away from the twelve, now dead, men, and moving further into where the prisoners were kept. A single man turned as Juan rounded a bend, and made to raise his rifle, but instead dropped it, as his hands flew to his chest. With barely a thought, Juan had reached into the mans chest with his powers, and crushed the man's still beating heart. Juan slowed down, and simply stepped over the still twitching man.
Again, using just his mind, he threw open a door, and was through it and into the room, before the soldiers knew what was happening. Juan's control on his rage slipped for a moment, as he saw the naked guards diving for their weapons. Children cried out, and tried to move, but they couldn't break the bonds that held them fast to the floor. Juan knew just by looking that he was the oldest child in the room. A quick count told him there were six boys, and eight girls, all younger then he, and every single one of them was being violated by the guards. Juan cut down every single one of the guards before they had a chance to do more then cry out.
The alarms sounding barely registered in Juan's mind as he left the room and went to another. He would have liked to try and help the kids still tied to the floor, but he knew if he stopped, others would die.
Another guard flew around the corner, but Juan was prepared this time. He didn't simply kill the man, but instead reached into his mind, and pulled everything about this place out. The man dropped to the floor screaming in agony, as Juan destroyed the man's mind. But he had the information he needed.
Rage and need drove him on, as he crashed into another room, blades flashing, as he cut down another group of guards playing in what they called the "fun" rooms. This one, though, was full of adult women.
Juan's once black clothing was now covered with gore, as he took a brief moment to wipe off his hands. Then it was off to another room. More kids in this one, and ten less guards. Juan was on the verge of a mental breakdown at having to see all of this pure evilness, when he heard gun fire. He knew what kind of weapons the "friendlies" would have, and the sounds he heard were not from them. Juan again flew into action.
Several bullets tore into his armor as he blew threw a door, and into the final room. His mind refused to even allow him to feel the pain of being shot, nothing mattered now but the rage. The pain flowed and ebbed while adding to the rage he felt inside. Twisting and turning, he danced through the lines of the men trying to kill him, bullets flew, and he moved, knives came, and Juan's blades flashed as the arms holding those blades fell to the floor, right before the body that held them.
In his mind's eye, he saw the people huddling in the back corner, adults and children all; he tried to get to them, to protect them. He screamed in horror as he saw one of the men turn from him, and open fire on the huddled mass, just as Juan's blade left his hand.
His sword flew through the air, and embedded in side of the man's head, but it was too late; the rifle, on full auto, tore into the group. His screams of fury intertwined with the cries of pain and fright as helpless, hopeless people were cut down by the bullets flying at them.
Juan spun as another bullet tore into his back, spun and ducked, as his knife was sent flying, only to find the man's chest, buried hilt deep through the soldier's heart. Never more was blood to pump from the black heart in the man's chest.
Without missing a beat, Juan drew two more knives, and let fly. Before they reached their targets, two more knives flew, and Juan was moving again. He barely registered that he was limping. While he might not feel the pain, the bullet that was now lodged in his hip was making it difficult for him to walk.
He was now in front of the innocents, his back to them, waiting, searching for more that needed death. He fell to one knee as his leg gave out on him. He pulled up one of the dropped rifles, and let fly with a burst, as a group of men tried to charge into the room.
Glancing behind, he saw some of the people who were still alive, trying to pull loved ones to cover. The cries of pain and terror were still filling the room, as again his rifle spat out, taking down a group of soldiers who were again trying to come into the room.
A few seconds later, Juan lifted the rifle and fired again, his hours of practice at the rifle range, with small moving targets came to the fore, as he hit the grenade before it flew even five feet into the room. His free arm came up to protect his face from the bit of shrapnel that hit him when it exploded, but most of it hit the soldiers trying to come into the room after the grenade.
Juan didn't know how long he was there, fighting off the soldiers that tried to make it into the room. Only his sheer stubborn will kept him fighting as he knew he lost a lot of blood. He would not allow these people to be hurt any more then they already were. Several times he heard his own voice, as if from far away, screaming at the soldiers that he would not allow them to harm these people anymore.
"My life for the helpless. My honor compels me to stand. My blood shall buy their freedom. You shall not pass me while I breathe," Juan yelled as he kept on firing, his Klingon blood now making him literally see red. "I stand by Kahless, I stand for Kahless, and he stands with me. You cannot win, and today is a good day to die, mutha fuckers!"
From out of nowhere a figure appeared next to him. Before even Juan had time to react, the newcomer flung his hand out in front of Juan and caught a bullet in his bare hand!
"I believe I can honestly say... these people are starting to annoy me," the figure said, and when Juan was able to get a look at him, even Juan was stunned. Standing next to him was a little kid, maybe the same age as Juan, or even younger. He was wearing a plain brown robe that went down to the floor. His head was completely shaved except for a single braid that came out of the back of his head and went down to halfway down his back. His skin was like the color of caramel, but it was his eyes that shocked Juan the most. They were blazing red little orbs.
Juan felt something he never felt before in combat... complete and utter surprise. He was dumbfounded as the young boy's arm flashed faster then even Juan could watch, and when he looked, four blades slammed into four different bad guys. The blades hit with such force that the men were taken off their feet, and flung backwards through the doorway. "You know... you really need to concentrate on the bad guys if you wanna live through this."
Juan knew he was losing a lot of blood, and even being as enhanced as he was, he needed help fast. He dropped to both knees and fired as yet another man tried to come through the doorway. He had absolutely no idea how many men he'd killed so far, but he knew it was a lot.
The new boy took care of the next man before Juan could even pull the trigger, but again the boy surprised Juan. Instead of killing the guy, the boy had wrapped a length of chain around the man's wrist, and yanked him towards where the two boys were. As quick as lightning, the new boy grabbed the man, and then grabbed Juan. His eyes flashed for a moment, and Juan realized he was completely healed.
In shock he looked at the man that the new boy had grabbed, and saw that all of his injuries had been given to the man. However, since the man was not enhanced, it killed him instantly... however, Juan was fully healed and ready for more action.
"Come, little Warrior, there are more to save," the boy said with murder in his voice, as his blazing eyes met Juan's bright bluish yellow eyes. "It is time to bring Ra's wrath to these Godless dogs."
Juan grinned; he couldn't help but like this boy. "Lead the way," Juan said, and the boy simply nodded before he took off.
The boy grinned back at Juan and pulled from behind his robes two weird looking long knives. Because of how small he was, they almost looked like short swords. Juan knew that they were Khukuri knives, the weapon of choice from Ancient Egypt, and these did look old. "Let us put away the weapons of this age, and fight like true warriors," the boy said to Juan. While Juan may have been offended at other times, this time he was not. He simply holstered his pistols, and drew the two swords that Chang had made him. After the boy nodded, Juan followed him out. He mentally sent to Koth where he was at, and that they needed to get medics down there for the injured. He didn't, however, tell his lover about the new boy. He wanted that to be a surprise.
As soon as they hit the hallway, the bad guys opened up with their rifles. Juan would normally have thought they might have been cut down, but the new boy took to the walls, and started running along them. This caused the men to falter, and it gave just enough time for the vastly swifter boys to get to their enemies, and start to cut them down.
The two boys never slowed down as they wove their way through hallways and corridors. Juan wasn't sure if the boy's feet ever touched the floor. It almost looked like he was bouncing from wall to wall and from wall to ceiling, never giving the bad guys a steady target.
Three floors later, and at least thirty bad guys, the young boy stopped outside a heavy door. "In here," the boy said and Juan put a hand on his shoulder.
"What's in there?"
The boy turned and looked at Juan, and for once Juan saw some emotion other than rage in the boy's eyes. This time he saw worry. "What I have come here to get. Please be careful, as these people mean a great deal to me."
Juan just nodded and took a moment to wipe his blood-soaked hands on his pants, and then took up his swords again, then nodded to the boy. He nodded back, and then took a step back from the door. With a scream, the new boy raised his right leg, and kicked out at the door. With a crash, the door flew inwards, and the boy almost flew into the room.
Juan was about to follow him in, when he heard a gun fire, and then felt the bullet rip into his back. He swung around, using the momentum of the bullet hitting him to help him spin quicker. He grabbed one of his knives as he spun, and as soon as he had his target in sight, he let it fly. Before the man knew what had happened, a knife was sticking out of his forehead. The man dropped to the floor, dead before he even knew he was hurt.
Two more men came around the corner, and Juan charged them. Juan was a quick learner, and understood how the little boy's jumping around all the time had confused the enemy, so this time, Juan took two steps forward, and then sprang to the wall. From there, he sprang to the other wall, and was swiftly moving down the corridor towards the two guards, who couldn't seem to get a bead on their target. Before they knew what to do, Juan's swords flashed, and both men toppled to the floor, both of them without their heads.
When Juan stopped, he heard the screams and the gun fire from the room that the young boy ran into, and he quickly sprinted towards the room. As he hit the doorway, he skidded to a stop and his jaw hit the floor.
There were two groups of people in the room; one group was obviously guards, and there were at least twenty of them. The other group looked like a family, or something like that. Two adults, and five kids. Four boys, ranging in age from about eight to about thirteen, and one little girl who was maybe six or seven. In between them was the little boy. And something else.
About two foot behind the boy was a swirling cloud of what looked like dust. It was rotating rapidly, and Juan could tell that the two groups couldn't even see each other through the swirling debris field. One of the guards raised his weapon, and fired a string of bullets into the field trying to hit the group behind. Not one of the bullets made it through the cloud.
The boy let out a scream of rage, and his voice took on almost a demonic quality to it. "MY NAME IS RUNIHURA!!! I am the Destroyer! Face me, and you shall feel Ra's embrace!"
Martha was happier then she had ever been... at least she thought so. Of course, with everything going on, the nearly sixty five year old lady was not able to keep up with all the kids around. That's fine though, she didn't have to.
Ever since the people here started to bring in all those poor unfortunate kids, she has dedicated herself to helping out in ways that she knew. That idea quickly grew into something more then she ever imagined. Now she runs what everyone is calling "Grandma's Brigade."
These kids were helping out with everything that could. She had just over thirty five kids that spent almost every waking moment of the day helping her out. She finally put her foot down and demanded that they take some time to play.
Her job was simplicity itself, which of course meant that it was very hard to do. What she took on, was finding the kids that were falling through the cracks. It was inevitable that it would happen. You can't plan for everything, it just isn't possible. What you can plan for is missing things, so you can put something in place to catch it. The places that usually caused the most issues were when one sibling was injured, and separated from the other. This very morning had cemented this for her. When her little Juanny had asked her and Sam to watch over Bobby and William, it became so clear.
They were both such cute boys, and so enthusiastic about helping out. Their predicament had shown her where a hole was in the system, and she moved to fill it. She made sure that they regularly checked out the Hospital ward for children that were separated from their siblings. Now if a kid in the hospital ward had a sibling they were made aware of each other as soon as possible, and reunited as fast as could be allowed.
The final component of "Grandma's Brigade" was "Operation Cuddle Bears." Juan and Jory had created three foot tall android teddy bears that were programmed to be the companion of any kid in the compound. As the child grew so would the bear. The kids would always have someone on their side. Juan and Jory were amazing in Grandma Martha's estimation. The little bears were so like their creators. They had almost endless patience with the little ones, and enough firmness to help guide them to do right.
Of course this is the UNIT, so the bears were also protectors in the most real sense of the word. The bears had three inch retractable claws that slid out like Wolverine's in the X-men. Being who they were, Juan and Jory went after the best. They worked with Chang to develop a fighting style unique to the little bears, and also a "code of conduct" for when to attack and what force to use. If someone tried to harm a kid with one of these teddies, then God help them.
Koth and Juan stepped outside from the building, which was slightly smoking, and surrounded by police cars with flashing lights. Koth had a five-year-old in his arms, and Juan once again felt sadness for the boy. Not only had his twin brother been killed after telling the VSO where the Warlord was located, but then the boy had to watch as his family was killed before his very eyes. The only reason he was left alive was that his two older siblings had shielded him with their own bodies. The boy had no family left. However, even though neither Koth nor Juan had talked about it, both knew that the boy would be theirs.
Right behind them were Runi and the people he went there to rescue. No one really knew anything about them yet, since they hadn't said much since they were reunited. Juan was of course, dying to learn what he could about the little boy who so efficiently kicked ass with him. To that end, Juan walked over to the group.
"Hi... I'm Juan. I just thought I would introduce myself," Juan said to the man who was standing there. He had his arms full of the youngest boy, but managed to shake Juan's hand.
"I'm George Harris, and this is my wife Kathy." Juan shook hands with Kathy, and then George introduced the kids, starting with the thirteen-year-old. "This is my oldest son Tanner, then there's Nathan, and Dylan," George said, indicating the three boys that were obviously brothers. "And the little girl in Kathy's arms is Diana."
Juan grinned at the little girl and walked up to her. She almost shied away but Juan held out his hand to her. "So you're the little princess in this group?"
The girl just giggled and grabbed Juan's hand. She leaned forward a bit and then asked in complete seriousness. "What happened to your head? Did you hurt it?" She was obviously pointing to the ridges on Juan's forehead.
The chuckles from Koth coming from behind Juan made the girl glance around him. Her eyes widened when she saw a boy with even more pronounced ridges on his head and nose. Her mouth just dropped open.
"We're Klingons," Koth said to her through his chuckles. "The way we look is normal for us, little angel."
Diana was going to respond, but George cut her off. "I think you already met Runi, and the boy next to him is our adoptive son Colt." Juan smiled when he saw that Runi was actually holding hands with the bigger boy. He looked Colt up and down and figured him to be about twelve. Stick thin with long legs. Juan knew that the boy was right in the stage of puberty where his limbs grew faster then the rest of him. To most, Colt would almost look gangly. Colt looked a little worried when Juan was looking at him, and had a good idea why. Juan resisted the urge to mind scan him, remembering Adam's orders to not scan anyone who wasn't a potential threat, or who had not agreed to being scanned.
Juan decided to go to a safe topic and leave the Elephant in the room alone... Runi. "So.. may I ask what you guys are doing here? You're obviously Americans... what brought you to South Africa?"
Runi was the one who answered. "We had some... business down here. But that has been concluded. I am sure we will be leaving shortly."
The rest of the group looked a little relieved at that, and Juan immediately pounced on that. "Could I offer you transport back to the States? It would be quicker than flying, as long as you don't mind a little layover at our base in Utah."
Runi looked over at the adults and seemed to have a quiet conversation with them. Finally he turned back to Juan. "That would be very generous of you. I think we would like...." Runi's eyes darted to something behind Juan, and Juan quickly spun around. Walking up to the group was a large silvery white wolf, and he had two children riding on his back.
"Silver Wolf!" Koth exclaimed in shocked surprise. "It can't be! How'd you get down here, boy? Did you come with some of our guys?" he asked as he ran over to scratch the wolf's ears. He glanced at one of the Vulcan VSO officers in question.
"He did not come with us, Commander," the Vulcan answered simply.
Greetings, Talons of the Dragon
Koth stared at his animal friend and removed his hand in shock.
Now is the Time for that which is veiled to be revealed. I am Cynoeswr, Guardian Spirit of Terra and father to Black Feet, Guardian Spirit of the Shaper. These are to be your nephews, the children of Adam and Logan of Utah. Care for them
Both children slipped from the wolf's back and ran to cuddle around Juan, whom they recognized. Their injuries were gone.
"Why... how... what?!" Koth spluttered, still staring at the wolf. "How long, uh... I mean..."
Always
Runi walked over, "What are you? I have never seen your like in all my years."
"No, you have not, Child of the Timeless Sands, Lord of the Nightfall. But I have seen you, and guided you, and protected you when you Slept. Go with them. It is your destiny
And, with that, the wolf seemed to swell and grow until all any could see were amber eyes looking into their souls... then Cynoeswr was gone.
Juan looked up from the two children who were cuddled around him. "Well, that was interesting. However, I think it may be time for us to go home."
After receiving nods from all of them, Juan spoke softly, "Daileass, could you please bring us to the med center?"
"Incoming transport." They heard Daileass say just before they appeared next to the nurses' station in the med bay. Janet was already coming around the desk when she stopped in her tracks. The two kids that were plastered to Juan gave a cry of fright at suddenly being in a new place, and the little five year old boy in Koth's arms giggled a bit at the funny feeling.
Janet's questioning look found Juan and he spoke in a soft voice. "Mom, could you look these three over and make sure they're okay?" Before she could respond, Juan turned the two kids around to face him. Janet was stunned as she watched her youngest interact with the frightened boy and girl with him. She didn't really even notice the family that was with them, other then to look them over and see they all appeared to be fine. "Alesia, Demarco... This is my mommy, Janet. She's a doctor and needs to take a look at you. I wanna make sure you guys are okay now. Would you two go with her?"
The girl looked up into Juan's eyes and asked softly, "Will you be with us?"
"Of course I will, darling. I will be right here, and she's going to take you over to one of the those beds right there," Juan said, pointing to one of the beds closest to where they where at. The two looked from the beds to Juan and then to Janet, and finally the girl nodded her head. Janet took that as her cue and walked over. She held out her hands and spoke in a very soft voice. "It's okay guys... I promise not to hurt you. As soon as you're done, I'm sure we can find a treat around here for you."
Slowly, first Alesia then Demarco took her outstretched hands, and she gently led them to the biobeds. Koth followed behind her and laid the little five-year-old boy down on the next bed. He stayed there with him while Janet started to work on the first two. Juan then turned to look at the group standing behind him.
"Okay, first off, let me welcome you to the Unit's Main Base of operations. Before you ask, the Unit is the Special Forces section of Clan Short of Vulcan. You guys are welcome to stay here as long as you like, and if you need anything just ask." George sighed, obviously having heard of Clan Short before, but it was Runi that he addressed next. At some point after they got there, Runi pulled out a pair of sunglasses and was now wearing them - obviously to hide the yellow glowing eyes. "Runi, we are aware of your kind here. There is no reason to hide your eyes; you are safe here."
All eyes snapped to him, and Runi, for the first time in MANY years was absolutely at a loss for words. "How... How did you know?" Colt asked in awe.
Juan chuckled, "When you've seen one person with red glowey eyes, you know what to look for the next time. As a matter of fact, there is a Vampire within the ranks of the Clan. He actually runs the night time security at the main Clan compound."
"That would be me," Brant said seriously as he came out of the shadows, his boyfriend Matthew next to him. "I was told to come here, but not the reason," he finished, looking closely at Runi. "You're older than you look," he said softly, consideringly.
Runi looked him up and down. "You're not very old at all." He wasn't being mean about it, simply stating a fact.
"A year in darkness, or thereabouts," Brant said. "Mmm, I see something. Sands. Time. Ancient power. Knowledge long lost, yet remembered. I see the oldest of civilizations. Now I know why the Guardian sent me. My name is Brant, Brandar to my enemies. I am the Dark One," he said softly.
Runi looked closely at Brant also, and his eyes widened. Young this twelve-year-old vampire might be, but he could not escape the feeling that he held a power unlike any other vampire. Runi tried to read Brant, but found that he was unable to; impossible considering their age-gap.
"You know... there have been more people that I can not read in the last hour than I think I have seen in the last thousand years. Very interesting." Runi now waited to see what the response from that would be. He knew full well that very few if ever any Vampires could conceive of a thousand years in Darkness.
"What about in five thousand, eight hundred and ninety-four years in darkness?" Brant asked with a whisper that only another vampire had a hope of hearing.
Matthew whistled softly, however, making Brant's eyes contract in worry.
If Runi was surprised he was good at covering it. He said just as softly. "49 days, 38 minutes, and roughly 16 seconds... give or take 23.4 seconds."
Brant and Matthew burst out in belly laughs that made everyone there puzzled, for all they saw was three boys looking at each other - two with glowing yellow eyes, and one normal.
Brant stopped laughing quickly, however, and cast another worried look at Matthew.
"He has ingested a large amount of our fluids," Runi whispered to Brant. "He is not one of us, but is close. You are together, are you not?"
"We are," Matthew said, just as softly. "Is that why I am stronger now? I thought it took full sex!"
Runi grinned, "Talk later, young one. It is for our ears only." He looked at Brant, "I like you."
Brant smiled, "Feeling is mutual, Destroyer."
Runi smiled, but then his eyes went hard. "I want this known now. This," he gestured back behind him to the family standing there, "is MY Family. They are not to be harmed."
"So I can sense. I shall inform the Council in Orlando, and they shall spread the word. However, word has gone out to the Darkness that Clan Short is not to be touched. They are safe if counted as our number already. Once I receive the response from Hezekiah, Elder of Orlando, I shall inform you," Brant said seriously in a normal tone of voice.
"Ummm... I don't mean to interrupt..." George said, stepping a little closer. His youngest son by now was standing on the floor next to his brothers. Runi nodded and George smiled. "I have a favor to ask of the Clan." Juan peeked up hearing this, as did Brant and Matthew. "Well, this is a long story, but to make it shorter, Colt here is not our son by birth; however he is our son." George paused as he pulled Colt under his arm. "Let's just say his parents were not very good to him, and Runi here saved him from that. However, he is not officially our son."
Juan, standing with Koth to tickle their soon-to-be-five-year-old son, looked deeply at all of the family there. His mind reached out, gathered what he needed, gently knocked on Runi's mind and was graciously permitted to see what he needed, then his eyes focused on George. He then spoke with a new maturity in his voice. "You are now. Daileass, start recording!"
"Doing so now, Juan."
"I, Captain Juan Casey of the Special Forces Division of Clan Short, do authorize your adoption of Colt Ryan Robins. His biological family no longer have claim upon him, and he shall hereby be known as Colt Ryan Harris. This is so ordered under the Authority of Clan Short, Vulcan, and the Federation High Council." He then walked over to the stunned Colt and hugged him tight. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go say 'hi' to your FOR REAL mom and dad!" he giggled.
As Colt sprang away from Juan to slam into a hug with his official parents, dragging Runi with him, Juan turned back to cuddle up with Koth and spend time with the little boy Koth was holding.
They watched with joy as Colt was passed from one family member to the next, giving and receiving hugs and affection.
Juan sighed happily before leading Koth and their little boy, Tumelo, to sit near to where Demarco and Alesia were being examined by Janet. He was in the right place at the right time to see something extraordinary.
Adam and Logan rushed into the room, and quickly came over to him. "Daileass just informed us of your return," Adam said, trying to maintain his feelings. His little brother had gone off to a war without telling him... he didn't know whether to be pissed off that Juan could have gotten hurt, or annoyed that he had missed out on a fight!
"Yeah, well... you see, Adam... I... ahh...." Juan started. Koth giggling didn't help any. Juan looked up at his big, beloved elder brother and smiled. "I'm a daddy, Adam! And I love you!" he said before slamming into Adam's chest and beginning to sob. The sights and horrors he had seen were now boiling over in his mind and heart. Sure, he'd done worse, but he'd never seen such human cruelty on such a scale, before. On top of that, he had, for the first time in his life, used the new Clan powers the Unit had been given to create a family for a hurting boy - AND, he and the love of his life were about to become fathers over Tumelo.
Yes; this wonderful, sweet boy who usually hid behind his training and aggression, had more than enough reasons for wanting love and hugs from the brother he loved above all others.
Both Adam and Logan were shocked, to say the least. However, both did know the 'real' Juan well enough to get over it and sandwich the shaking, emotional, proud little warrior between them protectively. It was not often that Juan would allow this, especially not in public, but when he did - they were always there. Would always be there.
He was their Juan, and that was final.
Janet looked up from the biobed monitor and smiled. She glanced down at the brother and sister and became puzzled, for they were both staring open mouthed at Adam and Logan. "What's the matter, little ones?" she asked softly. "They won't hurt you."
"The Wolfie," Alesia whispered, her voice awed. "He showed us... them. Showed us both of them. And we already knew them... dreamed them."
"Uh huh," Demarco croaked. "We've talked and talked and know we've had the same dream for years and years..."
Janet didn't know what to make of that, and certainly didn't know who 'Wolfie' was, so she simply glanced up at her two eldest sons. Juan was now in Koth's arms, and both teens were whispering softly to them both. "Adam? Logan? Could you come here, please?" she called.
They turned to glance at her... and both became ridged with shock once they laid eyes on the two siblings on the bed.
"Oh, my..." Logan barely managed to get out as he lost his breath.
Adam had tears streaming down his face, "I know you... both of you..."
Of course you do, Master of Arms. They are your children
Everyone turned to see...
"Wolfie!" Demarco cried out, bouncing on the biobed as Cynoeswr - AKA 'Wolfie', AKA Silver Wolf, AKA 'One who gets around more than a teenage boy in a whorehouse' - appeared at the foot of the biobed.
You four have known each other all your lives. This was written long ago that they would be your children, and you their parents
"What?!" Janet exclaimed. The fact that it was a talking animal saying it didn't faze her - she'd met I-Cheya, so she was now immune to such surprises - but the implications of what was said staggered her.
"How long ago?" Logan managed to ask, not able to take his eyes off the two kids that had been made flesh from his dreams.
Since before the founding of Terra. Since before the Lords of Time strode over Creation on legs of fire. Since the Birth of Time. Adam, Master of Arms. Logan, Mind of Power. Behold your children...
... and, as suddenly as he had appeared, Cynoeswr vanished.
"That's it -- from now on you BOTH wear condoms!" Janet exclaimed.