Nemesis

by Christian Kallias

  “One thing at a time, Aphroditis, let’s first make sure you are fully rehabilitated,” said Argos, “and let’s hope Sarah won’t stay in the pod for much longer.”

  The doctor took a still confused Aphroditis to the nearest medical bed, then returned and inserted the second vial into Sarah’s pod. A similar response in terms of health metrics occurred as Sarah’s vital signs jumped from low red bars to high greens.

  Chase’s heart beat so fast that he thought it would burst through his chest. He could feel a similar anxiety mixed with anticipation in both his brother and son. The darkened veins on Sarah’s neck cleared up in a matter of seconds.

  That has to be a good sign.

  But Sarah did not open her eyes. The doctor looked at the results and frowned.

  “What’s happening, Doctor?” asked Chris, his voice unsteady.

  “All her vitals are back to normal, just like Aphroditis, but…”

  “But what?” asked Chase, unable to contain his stress.

  “I don’t detect any brain activity. Her body is fine, but it’s like she’s…”

  “Spit it out,” warned Argos.

  “She’s brain dead.”

  The news hit all three of them like a sledgehammer to the gut.

  “Get her out of there, we can heal her the rest of the way,” said Chris.

  The doctor looked at Chase.

  “Do as he says, now!”

  The doctor opened the stasis pod. As soon as the steam evaporated, Chris grabbed his mother and carefully laid her on the nearest med-bay bed. Chase, Argos, and Chris put their hands on Sarah and used their healing powers, enveloping her body with bright-white energy.

  “I can’t sense anything wrong with her,” said Chris.

  “Neither can I,” said Chase, tears beginning to run down his face.

  “Why isn’t this working!?” barked Argos.

  Ka’Rij kneeled next to Chase.

  “I—I’m sorry it didn’t work.”

  Chase’s anger was so strong it ran the risk of exploding. But he fought hard to stay as calm as he could. Not an easy feat under the circumstances.

  “It—It’s not your fault.”

  “I’m sorry, nonetheless. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you find another cure.”

  Chase felt his son’s mind spiral out of control and fill with rage. Chase put his hand on Chris’ shoulder.

  “We’ll keep trying until she comes back to us, Son.”

  Chris swiftly got up, both his fists clenched so tight that they were dripping blood. Before Chase could try and console his son, Chris abruptly left the med-bay, his eyes full of tears.

  “Stay with her,” said Argos. “I’ll speak to Chris.”

  Argos got up and followed the boy outside.

  The emotions inside Chase grew at an impossible rate until they overtook him completely. He smashed the silence with a deafening scream that felt like it came from the depths of hell, making the entire structure shake as if a massive earthquake had come to life.

  Once his animalistic roar subsided, he let his body collapse on top of Sarah’s. He had lost all control over his thoughts and emotions, and that resulted in thousands of tears cascading down and onto Sarah.

  “I—I’m so sorry, love. I failed you.”

  He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips, his tears raining on her sweet, motionless face.

  Please, wake up, please, Sarah, wake up.

  But she didn’t.

  Argos caught up with Chris at the far side of the hall.

  “I’m not in a speaking mood, Uncle. Just leave me alone.”

  “I’m sorry, Chris, I truly am. But I think you should be with your father in this moment of sadness.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?”

  Argos raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Chase is broken, or am I the only one who sees that? Hopefully, he realizes that and on the way to heal his soul. When the Spectres come, if he hasn’t healed his spirit, he’ll be the first casualty of this next war.”

  “Don’t you dare say that!”

  “Why not?!” screamed Chris. “Talk to him, you’ll see. He knows what I’m telling you is true.”

  Argos shook his head in dismay.

  “I just think we need to go through this as a family, Chris.”

  “Well, for what it’s worth, I understand what he felt a year ago a little better. And like him, I need to be alone right now.”

  Argos stood in the hall, looking at his nephew running away. He wanted to go after him but knew better than try to change the boy’s mind.

  Ares was only slightly surprised the ship hadn’t blown them to smithereens as it jumped. The inter-dimensional engine was operational, which was good news for them but terrible news for every living being in this dimension.

  “If I had lungs, now would be a good time to exhale deeply,” said Ares.

  Nyx let a deep breath escape her, and Ares smiled.

  “Yeah, just like that.”

  Nyx returned the smile. “Did it work?”

  “Let me check,” said Ares.

  He expanded his consciousness and reached out to try to find Chase’s mind. It took a little while but he sensed he was back in their dimension. Eventually, he touched Chase’s mind but could feel it was in utter despair.

  He felt the same strong connection to Chase he was used to in the past, so he was sure he could teleport him and Nyx there. For a moment he stopped to think if he should bring Nyx with him. Without her, he would not have been able to return, but she was a Fury, and not the good kind of Fury. What if she became their enemy when she learned that the Furies Ares talked about were actually the ones responsible for the deaths of everyone she knew and the destruction of her home world?

  Not to mention that she was potentially stronger than Chase, at least stronger than the last time Ares had sensed his pupil’s power. With the Spectres hell-bent on coming to this dimension to wipe it out, could they afford to have their focus split between two enemies should Nyx turn against them?

  Ares was conflicted. On the one hand, his heart told him not to betray the woman that had risked everything to make his plan a reality, but on the other hand, his mind was screaming at him to be logical about the decision.

  Nyx interrupted his thoughts. “So?”

  When Ares heard multiple footsteps running toward the bridge, he knew that he needed to make a decision and quickly. While there was probably no one aboard the ship that could stand up to Nyx now, she had expended a lot of energy in her fight with the Spectre, mostly because she had pushed her Ultra Fury powers to the max, burning through her energy pool at light speeds. And there was hundreds of enemies roaming the ship’s decks.

  “Press the auto-destruct sequence holo-control.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Ares put his hand on hers. “No…but we have to make a decision, and that’s the one I’m making.”

  “Here goes nothing. Don’t you dare leave me here.”

  “Of course not,” said Ares.

  Had she sensed his hesitation? It didn’t matter, even though his logic told him he should take the Fury out while he had the chance, his heart couldn’t reconcile with the idea of murdering the person responsible for him returning to his friends and family. In his past life, way before he met and trained Chase, he probably could have gone down that path, but he was a different person back then.

  Nyx pressed the holo-control, and a five-second timer in the arachnoid language counted down. Ares and Nyx teleported out of the ship.

  Two platoons of arachnoid soldiers burst through the bridge doors, armed to the teeth and ready to shoot at anything they encountered. But all they saw was the hellfire that devoured their bodies and souls.

  29

  Ares rematerialized with Nyx inside an Earth Alliance structure. Having sensed Chase’s despair, Ares didn’t think introducing Nyx to him now was a good idea.

  “Where are we?” asked Nyx.

&
nbsp; “Home. My home anyway, well, sort of—”

  “You’re not making much sense, Ares.”

  “I know, I’m sorry, but there’s someone I need to see right away.”

  “Is he one of the Furies?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you take me with you?”

  “Not right away. Please, just trust me on this. Now is not a good time.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  Ares escorted Nyx to a nearby room. It was the mess hall in the medical facility, but Ares could tell it was late at night on Earth. When they entered, the lights came to life, revealing dozens of empty tables.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Actually, I’m starving.”

  “Come with me.”

  Nyx followed Ares to a food synthesizer. “Press this button.”

  Nyx did and the machine beeped.

  “It’s preparing pizza,” said Ares.

  “What the hell is pit-za??”

  “Trust me, I think you’ll like it.”

  The synthesizer hummed for a second before its holo-light turned off and a warm light glowed from outside the glass door.

  “There’s food inside,” said Ares hurriedly. “Careful, it might be hot. I’ll be back in a while. Please wait for me here.”

  “And then we’ll meet my fellow Furies?”

  Ares flashed her a thumbs-up before teleporting away.

  Ares materialized near Chase’s current position, his golden energy glow the room’s only light source. He saw Chase’s silhouette sitting on the ground, sulking.

  “Chase? What’s the matter?

  “Ares? Is—is that really you?”

  “Yes…I’m back. What’s wrong, Chase?”

  “It’s Sarah, she…I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like her body is there but not her soul. I don’t understand. The Dragonman’s tears worked with Aphroditis, why didn’t they work for Sarah?”

  Ares was relieved to hear that his sister was doing better, but right now was not the time to focus on his happiness. The Olympian God of War could sense that Chase’s soul was crushed.

  He sat next to Chase and touched his back.

  “I’m so sorry, Chase. I didn’t know Sarah was hurt. I’m sure we’ll find a way to cure her. Together.”

  “I thought we had. I really thought we had found a way. Now I don’t know what to think anymore.”

  “Don’t give up hope.”

  “Yeah, everyone keeps telling me that. They just don’t know how it feels. Daniel, Argos, even Chris, they all helped me get better these last few days. Hope is dangerous, Ares, you know? It can make you move forward, but when it gets crushed. . .”

  “I certainly do know how you feel.”

  Chase lifted his head and looked at Ares. “I guess you would, on some level. At least your sister’s fine now.”

  “Thank you for keeping your promise. I’m sure you gave Sarah a similar one, did you not?”

  “Of course I did.”

  “Then sulking in the darkness is not going to make it happen.”

  “I know…” Chase took a long deep breath. “I knew it was a long shot, but… you know?”

  “I do, Chase. I know this is the worst timing but…I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news.”

  “Not sure I want any more bad news for the day, Ares.”

  “While I normally would respect that, especially considering the circumstances, I don’t think this one can wait.”

  Chase sighed. “What is it?”

  “The Spectres are coming.”

  Chase couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “That’s the last thing I expected you to do upon hearing the news.”

  “That’s because you’ve been away. Ares, we know. Athena, the Asgardians, and even Tar’Lock, all engaged with them today. They barely got away with their lives, in fact.”

  “What about you?”

  “I wasn’t there. I—we were getting Sarah the cure…one that obviously didn’t work.”

  “What are the doctors saying?”

  “That we should let Sarah out of stasis. Her baby is healthy, and they think that even if Sarah doesn’t wake up, the baby will be born. It’s all speculation at this time. It’s like she’s in a coma, but the doctors don’t understand why.”

  “Sarah is pregnant again?”

  “Yeah, I guess you have been away for a while.”

  “How long, Chase? How long has it been since you defeated the Furies?”

  “A little over a year. Speaking of which, where were you all that time?”

  “When the Pandora device transported Erevos back to the Spectres’ dimension, it sent me there with it. I think I lost consciousness when the planet exploded. All I remember is billions of voices screaming to their end and then nothing. Everything just turned black. I woke up, floating in space, some time afterward.”

  “How did you get back here?”

  “It’s a rather long story. The short version: I stole a Spectre ship.”

  “How? You don’t even have a physical body.”

  “I had some help.”

  “What kind of help?”

  “That’s not important right now.”

  “Did you keep the ship?”

  “No, I had to destroy it.”

  Chase sighed. “Bummer.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I would have loved traveling back to the Spectres’ dimension with it and kill them all, that’s why.”

  “I think we’ll get the chance to do that sooner rather than later, though I’m not sure we should wish for it. As you no doubt know, Spectres are incredibly powerful. I doubt even you could defeat the whole of them, no matter how thirsty for revenge you are.”

  “I know…that’s why Sarah is in the state she’s in, and I almost killed Chris trying to defeat just the one Spectre.”

  “Looks like we have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Chase nodded as a tear rolled down his cheek.

  “Why don’t we go get some fresh air and you catch me up?” proposed Ares.

  “Alright,” said Chase with a long exhale before struggling to get back on his feet.

  Chase and his former mentor walked outside the medical center and merged with the night.

  Argos was by his aunt’s bed when she woke up.

  “Chase?” Aphroditis muttered as her eyes blinked open.

  “Close enough,” said Argos with a smile.

  “Sorry, Argos,” she smiled. “Where’s your brother?”

  “He is around but needs some alone time right now.”

  “What happened? I remember seeing Sarah when I woke up, she didn’t look well.”

  Argos took some time to recount all the latest events that had transpired. Aphroditis cried when she learned the cost to Chase in defeating the Furies.

  “That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t want to be kept alive,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I saw multiple futures. In some, the Furies won, thanks to you overthrowing Arakan and leading them to victory against the Earth Alliance.”

  What?

  “Then I’m glad that particular future didn’t come to pass.”

  “I wish I had your certainty…” Aphroditis let her words trail.

  Argos narrowed his eyes. “Why would you ever say something like that?”

  “It’s not easy to explain. You see, the only few possible futures where you and Chase defeated the Furies…well, it always came at a price and were veiled in darkness and pain.”

  “Are you talking about the Spectres?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps. My memory is foggy. I only remember a dark presence overshadowing the Furies, something way more powerful and vile. The Furies set the universe afire, this darkness, however…I felt it had the potential to bring about the demise of our universe, the end as we know it. Freedoms and liberties would disappear; we’d become enslaved, by the trillions, where the lucky ones living in this world were th
e ones allowed to live. The rest—the rest would be trapped into darkness for all eternity.”

  Argos didn’t like what he was hearing, but it made sense, she must have been talking about the Spectres. From what they knew of Spectres, more often than not they stole and stored their enemy’s souls inside their essence, which could explain the reference to being trapped and death being a release.

  Argos even witnessed the scene during their fight. The mere thought about the amount of energy and power that had been required to kill just one of them gave him shivers.

  “What do you see now? Did you have any more premonitions?”

  She slowly shook her head. “I haven’t had any visions since I woke up. And between you and me, I truly hope I won’t get them anymore.”

  “They could come in handy though.”

  Aphroditis let her tears flow freely as she spoke again. “I don’t think so, Argos. I now think with all my heart that my precog abilities were a curse and that one should let destiny attend to itself. Of course, I can only speak from my own perspective. The ones who are at the crossroads of destiny, those who can change things on a large scale with their decisions and brave acts, these Nexuses, as I call them, they tend to pay a higher price.”

  “You mean Chase?”

  “And everyone close to him, yourself included.”

  “I understand this has been hard for you, and you suffered because of me, something I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for, but I don’t see how me leading the Furies to victory would have been a better outcome for us.”

  Aphroditis cradled Argos’ hand in hers.

  “You wouldn’t…and this journey has changed who you are tremendously, for the better, and for that I’m thankful. You should forgive yourself, as I’ve forgiven you. I’m proud of both you and Chase, you are both to be commended for your victory against the shadows. That being said…if there were one race that could ever stand up to the Spectres, it would be the Furies. But with most of them gone now, there’s nothing to stop the Spectres’ nefarious plans. Athena should never have saved my life during the first Fury War. Ever since that day, I feel I made things worse for everyone I know.”

  “Don’t say that, Aphroditis.”