Overlord Brawl: Book 1 of the Neon Octopus Ally Series

by L. A. Johnson

  He reminded Ari of a weird, tentacled, space Viking.

  "Me?" Ari asked.

  "Like I said, I read the papers. I know that you have a personal connection with several of the Overlord candidates. You're going to come with me to Arcturis and get them together for the negotiations." He checked his watch and shook his head. "We're running out of time. Well, you are, anyway." He looked up at her with a wicked grin. "I'll be here long after all of you are dead. Probably. I mean, you never know how these negotiations are gonna go. That's what I've learned."

  Ari studied him anew. "Let me get this straight. You're asking me to take your word for it, drop everything, take you to Arcturis, and help you gather all of the Overlord Candidates for a little meeting?"

  "I'm not asking," he said, finishing his meal and his beer. "Time's up, Ari."

  "How do you know who I am?" Ari demanded, scooting her chair back slightly and trying to decide whether it was time to call in her team.

  "I told you, I read the papers." He sat calmly. "It's time to go. Are you going to help me or not?"

  "Is this creepy?" Ari asked Chip out loud so that Kruxx could hear. "Because to me, this whole thing feels really creepy."

  "Super creepy," Chip said. "If I were you I'd have bailed like, ten minutes ago."

  "I thought so," Ari said. "Move in. All units. Let's get him back to Regal and see what the sensors make of him. And alert Vega P.D. while you're at it."

  20

  Ari's team came in locked and loaded, surrounding the table that she and Kruxx were seated at. The patrons and employees that were still in the Dizzy Dragon bugged out.

  Kruxx sat calmly. It didn't seem to bother him at all.

  Ari glanced at her team. They looked ready. She turned back to the weirdo she was having lunch with. "Look, if we're going to move forward with this, you're going to have to give me some kind of sign that this is legitimate. No offense, but you sound like some kind of crazy person. How am I supposed to know if any of this is real? Why can't we just go back to our lab, test your DNA, and find out why you were setting off our alarm sensors and then forget all of this ever happened?"

  “I set off your alarms because I'm here to tell you your galaxy is about to be destroyed. I'm not going anywhere with you, you're coming to Arcturis with me. And I represent the Aurelian Dynasty. I'm not required to tell you that, and you're not getting any more information from me."

  Ari swallowed. Aurelian Dynasty? Who's he kidding? That clan was the stuff of legend. Why would they send a giant, sulky waiter?

  He reached into his jacket pocket again.

  Ari sat forward. Her team inched forward, their weapons humming with live fire readiness. Ari's finger found its way to a weapon in her pocket.

  "Relax," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you. We're pre-negotiating. It's a sacred trust."

  "You're not going to hurt me? You're threatening to kill me and the entire galaxy."

  "Yeah, but that comes later," he said. He looked up at her expectantly. "You asked for proof that I'm serious. And I'm going to give it to you."

  He pulled out a small, black square out of his pocket. He placed it on the table. "This is where it finally gets fun. The minute I push this button." He pointed at the little black square. "The first wave of the invasion becomes official."

  Ari held her hands up. "Whoa, easy. Don't do anything crazy. I'm in charge of Vega security, not the whole galaxy." She wasn't sure he was even on the level. How was she supposed to figure out what to do under this kind of pressure?

  He pushed the button.

  Ari blinked at him. "Was something supposed to happen?"

  He nodded at her and tapped his fingers on the table. "Give it a minute."

  There was an explosion in the distance. Alarms started going off on Ari's cellphone. Whatever had just happened was serious. She glanced at her phone. Casualty reports were coming in from one of the beachside hotels.

  Ari looked up at him. "Was that you? The explosion?"

  "Hey," he shrugged, "you're the one who asked for a demonstration."

  "I didn't ask for a demonstration. I just wanted to know what the hell is going on here." Ari needed time to think. What was she supposed to do? Just go with him to Arcturis City and shop him around to all the Overlord wannabes? They would laugh her right out of there. Harry. Maybe Harry would know what to do. He wasn't in charge of the galaxy, but he was pretty much in charge of Vega. He wasn't here right now, though.

  "Chip," Ari said. "Were those explosions real? Are people really hurt or was it some kind of sick simulation or bluff?"

  "It's real, boss. There are both injuries and casualties. News crews are arriving at the location now."

  "Told you," Kruxx said.

  "Fine," said Ari, scooting her chair back several feet, "take him out. We can't let any more civilians get hurt over this."

  Laser fire erupted all over the room. Ari hit the floor to avoid the blasts.

  Kruxx knocked over a table to use as cover and fired blasts back at the security team.

  Ari crawled backward away from the table toward her team.

  Kruxx sent a withering stream of blasts that sent Ari's team running for cover.

  The next thing Ari knew there was a laser gun pointed at her head.

  Kruxx smiled down at her. "Game's over." He yanked her up and used her as a shield. "Everybody calm down or she dies. And I know you don't want that. This is nothing more than normal, intergalactic diplomacy."

  Ari's team held their fire.

  21

  Ari twitched in Kruxx's arms. She made eye contact with Carpe and the rest of her team. Then she found Chip, who's eyes were wide in fear. It felt for a moment like she had fallen into a nightmare.

  Except that Kruxx still held her firm against his chest. In the silence and terror of the moment, Ari could hear three separate hearts beating in his chest. What is he, anyway?

  She swallowed and wondered what was going to happen next. Is this how it ends? Her forehead started throbbing again. Not now! She crumpled and dropped to a knee. Kruxx caught her, which almost started a firefight. Weapons clicked on and re-aimed.

  "Whoa," Kruxx said. "You guys are going to kill her if you're not careful."

  "What's your plan, mate?" Carpe asked. "Why don't you just hand her over and be on your way?"

  Ari's shoulder hurt from where he grabbed her, but mostly she was embarrassed at the timing of the episode. She felt weak and powerless. Carpe was doing his best to help. His face was a mask of concern.

  "Oh, my plan's way better than that," Kruxx said. "Haven't you been listening? This is an invasion. Do you remember that explosion you just heard? That was the first wave."

  "You're a liar," Carpe said, matter of factly. "Tell you what, I'm going to go look outside. If everything's normal, then you hand over Ari and leave. If there's some sort of invasion going on, well, then you win whatever the hell this is. Deal?"

  "Deal," Kruxx said.

  The way Kruxx cheerfully agreed to the deal made Ari worry. She tried to think of a way out. Intelligence. It was her only asset.

  Carpe went to the door and cracked it open. Then he stepped outside.

  Ari held her breath. She waited for Carpe to walk back in and tell Kruxx the game was up. The pain in her head let up a little bit, and she was able to support her weight fully again. She stood up and looked around, still held in his vise grip.

  Carpe came running back into the cafe and slammed the door behind him. A barrage of gunfire followed him inside, shredding the door. Once again, Ari's team dove for cover. Ari just tried to make sense of it all.

  Carpe yelled, "I'm sorry, Ari. He's right. It looks like all of Vega is under attack."

  "Under attack?" Ari asked. "How is that possible? We're in charge of the Security Command Center. Wouldn't we know if we were under attack? Chip?"

  She looked at the kid who installed three million Galactic Credits worth of detection technology. He shrugged. "I don't know. Right now, the a
pp on my phone is just tracking this guy."

  "Yep, you found me," Kruxx taunted. "Well done." He dug his own phone out of his pocket with the hand that wasn't holding her. "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Vega has fallen."

  "No!" Ari said. She struggled against his grip again to no avail.

  Invaders kicked open the shredded front door, entering with weapons drawn. Ari had never seen this species before, not even in Vega. They looked like powerfully muscled chess pieces. They saw Kruxx, looked surprised for a moment, and then stopped to bow with their heads. "What are your orders, sir?"

  Kruxx pointed to Ari's team across the room. "Kill them all."

  The invaders opened fire on the other side of the room, but left Kruxx and Ari alone. Ari couldn't take it anymore. She knew she couldn't wriggle her way free. She ignored her throbbing head and screamed. The focus of the scream, her closed eyes, and the pain in her forehead combined into a strange image in her mind’s eye. The image was in the shape of a star. She stared at the image. After all, what was going on in the room around her was too terrible to face. She stared at it too long, because the image began to collapse inward at her. She rushed to open her eyes, but it was too late. The crude image of the star hit her mind's eye like a sledgehammer. When she opened her eyes, she was still screaming, but she was free.

  Kruxx lay on the floor a few feet away, stunned. She didn't have time to wonder what happened to him. The invader chess men heard the commotion and paused shooting at her team to aim in her direction. She darted out the side door before they could resume fire.

  The minute she left the Dizzy Dragon, with her team inside and under attack, she felt terrible. She had acted primally, out of an impulse of fear, but it didn't mean she wasn't conflicted about it. Tears ran down her face as she ran.

  Around her, chess men were everywhere shooting at people or rounding them up. What the hell had happened and how did she not see it coming? She heard a door slam somewhere behind her and realized she wasn't as far from the Dizzy Dragon as she had hoped.

  "Where are ya going, Ari?” Kruxx called. “You don't belong in this galaxy any more than I do. You know it, too. Deep down. If you belong here, then where are your friends?"

  She was surprised at how badly his words cut. He was a stranger. A murderous stranger. Why should she listen to a word he said? And yet, it was bothering her.

  Ari had been running blindly up until this point, but now she was able to focus a little more. Regal. She had to get back. If she could just get back to the hotel, then Harry and his guys would be able to take care of this. She had seen his considerable secret arsenal. She didn't know who these invaders were, but she knew that was her only hope.

  I'll show him, she thought. She pulled out her phone while she ran and dialed Kirian. She got Kirian's voicemail. Fleek! She tried him. He was always just sitting around watching those stupid Fractals. Voicemail again.

  Kruxx's voice reminded her that he was still following. "You know I'm right. You've always known it."

  "Why are you torturing me?" Ari screamed while she was running. "Why aren't you shooting at me? And if you're in charge of this whole invasion thing then why are you wasting time chasing me?"

  "I want your cooperation for the negotiation. With the Overlord candidates," he answered.

  "No! Get somebody else," Ari yelled.

  "I'm not asking, Ari. You're going to come with me or die."

  "Die." Ari stopped running. She turned to face him. He stopped in surprise. "Go ahead and kill me like you killed my team."

  "Ari," he said.

  "Stop saying my name. You don't know me."

  "In case you're still not getting it, you don't really have any friends. In fact, I'm the only one here who even wants you around. Why not help me out? Why keep pretending you matter to the others?"

  Ari turned and ran across the main strip. Normally that would be a death-defying stunt, but it was deserted. She dialed Drexyl. Nothing. Harry. Voicemail. Soda. Soda? Was she really that desperate? She dialed. Voicemail. What the hell? The tears came again as she ran.

  "Is there any chance that you've already taken over the galaxy and that's why nobody is answering their phone?" Ari asked. She could see the Regal entrance doors now and ran faster.

  "Nope. Just Vega. Stop fighting it, Ari."

  "Bite me," Ari said and threw open the Regal door.

  The lobby was almost deserted. It was an eerie sight that drove home for Ari the desperate situation the city was in. She knew where the security cameras were, so she mouthed help me and headed straight for the main elevators. Maybe she could make it to Harry's weapons stash before Kruxx caught her.

  22

  Ari made it to the elevator and started frantically pressing the button. Come on, she thought. Kruxx had entered the building and was swaggering over in her direction. His chess piece minions in tow.

  The elevator dinged. Finally. Ari prepared to dart in, but it was surprisingly full. With Harry, lots of Regal muscle, and what looked like the entire illegal weapons arsenal.

  Harry was in front. More Regal soldiers were streaming in from other directions. Harry extended a hand to Ari. "It's okay, Ari. You can come with me now. Whatever this is, it's over."

  "She's not going anywhere," Kruxx said, catching up surprisingly fast and blocking Ari's path forward.

  "In that case," Harry said. "I'm happy to announce that you have lost your privilege to live. Not one of you here will be prosecuted. Oh no, you will be executed. The current security footage will be deleted, and nobody will even know you were here. And I'll still have Ari. Care to reconsider?" Harry's men cocked their weapons and aimed them at Kruxx and his men.

  The alien weapons whirred and clicked to life once again. Ari got the feeling she was in the middle of a Tarantino movie.

  "You don't get it, old man," Kruxx said. "We're not here to destroy her or your stupid casino. We're here to destroy your entire galaxy. Poof. Well not poof. Usually there is a lot of bleeding and yelling and smoke and stuff. The point is, the only thing left between your puny galaxy and annihilation is negotiation. And I've picked Ari here. She's going to come with me to your capital, Arcturis, and help me track down your Overlord candidates until we have somebody to talk to. Got it?"

  "This guy is completely off his nut," Harry said. "You sure do find all of the crazies, don't you, Ari. I'm going to count to three."

  "Harry, no. These guys are really dangerous. There was a missile attack. On the beach. I think they've taken over Vega. I don't want anybody else to get hurt."

  "One," Harry said. Then he shook his head. "Do you really think I'm going to let you go with a bunch of heavily armed insane psychopaths because you're afraid somebody will get hurt? Not gonna happen. Not to my employee. To my friend," he corrected. "And not in my house. Plus, you're one of us. Two."

  "See?" Ari said. "I do have friends."

  Carpe showed up in Harry’s crew. Ari could see him staring at her, his eyes wide. She was deliriously happy to see that he was okay and hoped the rest of her team was too.

  "Is it true? Ari,” he asked, “did you get the smiling dragon tattoo? Are you officially a made Regal?"

  Ari moved slightly to her left, lifting her shirt sleeve and exposing the tattoo for him to see.

  "Carpe?" Harry asked.

  "Already done," Carpe answered, typing on his phone. “Every crime organization in Vega knows what’s going on now.” Then he looked up at the invaders and shook his head. "There's something you mates don't understand. Being made in Vega is a whole extra level of made. Even if you idiots manage to shoot your way out of here, you'll never make it out of Vega. Every crime family here will send every one of their armies to stop you. You might as well just walk away right now."

  Kruxx tightened his grip on Ari. "You people have no idea who you're dealing with. You should have listened to her when you had the chance."

  Ari locked eyes with Harry a split second before it went down. She saw his lips move. Heard him say the wo
rd three. Then everything exploded into movement and noise and screams and weapons fire.

  In the haze of those moments she saw both Harry and Carpe go down. She vaguely remembered the same scene playing out repeatedly on their way out of Vega with different faces until she was on a spaceship. If anything, the silence that followed was worse than the screaming. It echoed in her mind.

  23

  After Kirian left, Brad and Trisha just stared at each other.

  Trisha spoke first. "It's really sweet that she's so concerned about Fleek. But I thought we were the conspiracy nutcases. That might have been the craziest thing I've ever heard. I mean, framed for things that you actually did? Banishment threats for posting bail? It doesn't make sense."

  "Did that really just happen?" Brad asked. "Were we just talking to Kirian, Destroyer of Planets?"

  Trisha stared at him for a moment. "Yes, that just happened. Snap out of it." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Her being here was not the weird part. The weird part was you not telling her that you believe we will be under imminent alien invasion."

  Brad's face turned red. "Well, she looked like she was under enough stress to me. I mean, she was already bleeding. Plus, that Fleek situation and wanting to kill Mantix. I just thought that she had enough on her plate."

  "Don't we all. You didn't want her to see your tin foil hat, you mean."

  "That's not it," he insisted. "We can deal with the conspiracy theories and let her kill Overlords. I'm okay right now with my place in the galaxy. What I'm not okay with is bogus banishment threats to keep people quiet."

  Trisha thought about it. "I know, that's really messed up. I thought that sort of thing didn't happen here. Let's go to the Galactic Library and dig around a little, try to figure out what's going on. We could grab lunch on the way at that little cantina that you like."

  Brad shook his head and pointed at his computer. "You have no idea how much things have changed in the last half hour since I spoke with you. I hate to say it, but I really hope this time that the conspiracy isn't true."