“Get her some fucking rags to cover herself with!” Rulo shouted. “Including a bag to hide her stupid face!”
Hollia slowly nodded as the girls stumbled to the ground and began punching and clawing each other, the centaur then turning around and trotting off while the bickering girls behind her could be heard screaming very loudly.
“What has gotten into them?” Forrus asked as Hollia strolled by her and the other girls.
“It’s more about what recently got into Sasha,” Hollia casually replied with. “I’ll be back after I find some new clothes for her. Make sure they don’t kill each other in the meantime.”
“Um… no promises,” Mika said as they watched Sasha and Rulo rolling around on the dirt in the moonlight. Tabitha merely shook her head at the squabbling girls before turning her sights over to Daemon who was slowly walking further ahead in the darkened land by himself.
“Can we just get going already?” she complained with a twitching ear. “We found Sasha’s stupid sword, there’s no reason for us to be sticking around this dump any longer. Let’s just find the rest of those key fragments so we can get on with our lives.”
“Very interesting,” Forrus snidely remarked. “You’ve always had a rather lethargic attitude towards actually finding those things, what with my lord and all of us always doing the hard work for you at every turn. Could it be that you’re finally understanding the severity that he needs to locate those fragments as soon as possible, or are you just scared for when Charlotte finds out that you failed in keeping her precious swordsman a virgin?”
“I just want to get this job over with so I can get paid,” Tabitha hissed back.
“It must be very terrifying for you,” Forrus taunted. “Knowing that your employer will surely come after your head should she learn that you failed the parameters of your underhanded agreement.”
“Easy, Forrus,” Mika cautioned. “No need to remind her of her precarious position. She knows very well how screwed she is right now. If I were her, I’d be itching to finish the job quickly as well. It’s only a matter of time before those witches check up on her.”
“I do wonder if I’ll get to say hello to them then,” Forrus grinned.
“Please don’t tell them,” Scay whined. “We won’t get paid then. We’ll be in big trouble with the witches if they find out.”
“I’m sure they won’t come after you, Scay,” Forrus chuckled with a mean look at Tabitha. “You’re not the one who foolishly bit off more than she could chew all because of her insufferable greed.”
Tabitha yowled and unsheathed her swords, charging forward with violent intent before Scay quickly grabbed and pulled her back. Forrus ran towards the neko as well, only to be held back by Mika who kept her arms outstretched between both girls. Saffron merely shook her head and blew away her bangs with a small puff, having her arms crossed as she watched the girls with a bored grimace.
“Enough!” Mika called out. “Dammit, that’s enough! Get a hold of yourselves!”
“I’ve had enough of you, cat!” Forrus shouted.
“Bring it on, mutt!” Tabitha yelled back.
“No, don’t bring it on!” Scay pleaded. “Bring it off! Bring it off!”
Saffron squeaked and shook her head before looking down as something caught her attention. Slowly all the girls halted as they noticed the ground starting to rumble below them. Louder and louder the tremors grew while something large was heard charging towards them from the darkness.
“What is that?” Rulo asked.
“Don’t tell me…” Sasha dryly said.
“You have got to be kidding,” Mika groaned, herself and the others all noticing the ominous blue glows in the distance that were gradually coming closer.
“Are you serious?” Tabitha scoffed.
“Is that her again?” Scay worried.
“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” a booming voice bellowed with great energy.
“I’m afraid so,” Forrus muttered.
Saffron sighed and put her earmuffs on again.
From the darkness Minos slowly came into view, running with a heavy stride while holding up her axe with a virtuous cry.
“WORRY NOT, PUNY GIRLS, FOR I HAVE RETURNED ONCE MORE! HAHAHAHA!”
“Puny?” Rulo repeated with anger.
“No, no, no, NO!” Mika shouted as the minotaur drew closer. Sasha and Rulo gave each other one last shove before getting back onto their feet and heading over to join the others, all of them watching with ire as Minos came running up to them. The large brute jumped into a skidding halt, carving up long gashes in the dirt before she stopped in front of the group of women who looked anything but pleased to see her again.
“MINOS HAS RETURNED! ARE YOU NOT AS THRILLED AS I AM? BECAUSE YOU SHOULD BE! HAHAHAHAHA!”
“First off, shut the fuck up already!” Rulo shouted back. “Goddammit, how many times do we have to tell you not to scream everything you say?”
“Second, why did you return?” Forrus demanded. “We didn’t want you to return to us. We never wanted you to return to us.”
“Go away!” Tabitha yelled, waving the minotaur off. “Seriously, just go somewhere else and scream your lungs to death, anywhere but here!”
“I SHALL NOT BE TURNED AWAY FROM MY DESTINY!” Minos assured them with a bold smile. “THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR HAS LED ME HERE, AND I SHALL NOT LET THIS BLESSING SLIP FROM MY MIGHTY GRASP! I WILL-”
Without warning a rock hit her head with a hard whack, the minotaur pausing for a moment before looking down to see Saffron lightly tossing another in her hand while glaring at her from behind her long bangs.
“WHY YOU HIT MINOS WITH ROCK?” she asked, only to get another stone to the face which didn’t even cause her to flinch.
“To get you to stop shouting so loudly!” Sasha yelled out. “We have told you this many times, stop yelling everything you say! We can hear you just fine, you don’t need to shout to the high heavens just to speak to us!”
Minos opened her mouth to speak before Saffron took out a bombstick from her satchel and wound back to throw it. While Tabitha quickly grabbed the ant girl and tried pulling her back, Mika walked up to Minos and motioned her to kneel. The minotaur watched her curiously for a moment then lowered onto one knee, leaning forward to listen as the sorceress calmly approached her.
“Minos,” she lectured as if speaking to a small child. “My sire explicitly told you not to follow us. We have our own quest to take on, you have yours in hunting those Ancients. We do not share the same path. You should not be here, you should be out there doing your job.”
“Minos is doing her job,” the minotaur insisted with a lowered voice. “Minos is following the way of the warrior, just like her mother taught her to do. That way has led me to that man. He is my destined one. Minos must mate with monster man and fulfill her purpose as a woman and warrior of strength and fertility.”
“…okay…” Mika slowly replied. “But, you’re not his destined one. He already told you this. You need to go take care of those bad Ancients before they cause trouble, that’s your purpose, right?”
“Minos shall defeat Ancients,” the minotaur proudly boasted. “For she not only has the strength and power to do so, but also she has a husband who is a strong monster man, a true warrior who has earned Minos’ heart and her womb.”
“…right…” Mika slowly said. “Except, again, he’s not your husband. He’s not your destined one. He’s on a very important quest and can’t be bothered with this nonsense.”
“Minos’ love for him not nonsense,” Minos snapped. “Minos knows this is her path in life. Meet monster man. Make love with monster man. Destroy Ancients with husband. Save world with husband. Give birth to many minotaurs with husband. That is Minos’ calling in life. That is what Minos shall do.”
“…uh huh…” Mika slowly replied. “Those… are some big dreams you’ve got there.”
Minos showed a wide smile and nodded to that with an eager grunt, with Mika glancing back t
o the girls and shaking her head as they all continued to show annoyance from the minotaur’s presence.
“I don’t think she’s listening to me,” Mika dryly said.
“Maybe if Saffron shoves a bomb up her ass she’ll get the message,” Rulo suggested, with Saffron nodding to that while holding out a bombstick to ignite with her gloved fingers.
Further away from his followers Daemon had his complete focus centered on something other than the tremendously loud and persistent minotaur who he had heard approaching with ease. His eyes were set in a sharp glare, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, and his reptilian scales were beginning to creep upward from his monstrous hand. Before him was Aeon, the chronofly seeming to be unconscious while lying on her side amidst the dirt and charred grass. He stared intently at her, cautious about what he was seeing while also on-guard for how obvious this unknown ploy from the Dark Queen seemed to be.
However she didn’t get up or break out into maniacal laughter at him being near, or even start monologuing about how foolish he was for walking into her trap. She just laid there, appearing rather ill by the look on her face, with drool running down her chin and her hand only twitching ever so slightly. It almost seemed like she was crippled, sickly, or even dying at first glance.
“Not quite what I expected her first move to be,” Daemon spoke to himself, watching as she lurched and gagged for a moment before lying still again.
From behind Daemon the sound of a minotaur stampeding closer with her heavy stride could be heard, along with many others rushing along the ground and closing in before they quickly swooped behind him in a large cluster.
“For the last time, stop!” Sasha ordered. “Get back, you crazy beast!”
“That’s it, this bitch needs to be put down for good!” Rulo declared.
“If she dares comes any closer to my lord she’ll have left me no other choice!” Forrus growled.
“I’ve had enough, I’m slitting her throat and adding her battle-axe to my collection!” Tabitha shouted.
“Stab!” Scay joyously cheered.
“Minos, this is your last warning!” Mika yelled out.
Saffron squeaked loudly with what was presumably in agreement.
Glancing back over his shoulder Daemon saw his followers standing in a line behind him, all of them facing off against a giant minotaur who looked more than eager to leap into battle with them, what with the wide grin on her face and the ominous looking battle-axe she held up above her head. One by one the girls slowly looked back to him as they noticed him watching them, then down at the chronofly lying before his feet, silence filling the air while a gentle breeze rolled by as everyone froze in place. After realizing what they were seeing his followers quickly jumped around with surprised screams, all of them staring in shock and rage at what they saw.
“Aeon!” Mika yelled, quickly holding her sword out towards the chronofly with a crimson casting ring forming before her other hand.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Rulo exclaimed as she clutched her hammer tightly.
“Master, what’s going on?” Sasha asked, taking hold of Daemon’s arm while holding her sword out towards the sleeping woman. “Why is she here? What happened?”
“Why is she just lying there?” Tabitha cautiously asked. “What is she doing?”
Aeon groaned and twitched uncontrollably, with everyone watching in puzzlement as the chronofly spat more bile out from her mouth before lying still again.
“Um… what happened to her?” Forrus slowly asked.
“Is she sick?” Scay wondered with a twitching eye.
Saffron pulled out two bombsticks from her satchel while keeping on-guard, her stance remaining on the defensive while she carefully eyed over the incapacitated woman with twitching antennae.
“WHO IS THAT?” Minos asked scratching her head. “SHE LOOKS STRANGE TO MINOS!”
“Minos!” Sasha yelled at her. “What have we told you about lowering your voice? We’re right here, you don’t need to shout!”
“That’s Aeon, the Dark Queen of Time,” Mika cursed, seeming ready to leap into an attack on the motionless chronofly yet clearly using restraint as she didn’t trust any such opening with the chrono monster.
“DARK QUEEN?” Minos exclaimed. “THAT IS THE DARK QUEEN? THE ONE THE PUNY HUMAN SET FREE?”
“Yes, now shut up already!” Tabitha shouted at her.
“Master, what-” Rulo started to say as all eyes turned to the man. Daemon held up a hand to silence the women, all of them remaining tense as he carefully observed the chronofly.
With a painful groan Aeon finally started to open her eyes, her wings flinching as they shakily tried to lift up behind her. Slowly she brought herself upright, her breathing ragged and strained as she struggled with her ailment.
“What… have they done?” she quietly cursed before coughing heavily. After taking a moment to steady her breathing and regain her senses she slowly looked up to see everyone watching her. She eyed over Daemon and his followers, coughed into her hand and spat off to the side, wiped her mouth and chin with a tired sigh, and then looked up to Daemon with a dull stare and raised eyebrow as she gently reached out her other hand towards him.
“Well? Aren’t you going to help a woman up?”
“And just why would I do that for you?” Daemon demanded while the girls remained poised to lunge at the Dark Queen at a moment’s notice. Aeon closed her eyes as she had to use great willpower to not only keep her senses about her, but also force out the following words that were spoken with both a sharp bite and withheld desperation.
“Because… I need your help.”
Chapter 2
A Big Bad Future
Far from the reach of man and monster, or any mortal being in Eden for that matter, lay a unique “river” comprised of time and fate. For those very few who knew of its existence, whether believing it to be metaphorical or mystical, this river was properly dubbed the Timestream. Within it was everyone’s destiny, all preordained before their time ever began in the world, all ever flowing towards a supposedly inevitable conclusion. However, it was conceivable to change one’s destiny, for better or worse, by either force of will or maybe a random fluke.
Or perhaps, even more unlikely, by a goddess of time itself.
*****
“What did you just say?” Sasha questioned, herself and everyone standing before the weakened chronofly wondering if they had heard correctly.
“She did not just say what I think she just said,” Forrus argued, shaking her head slowly.
“I said… I need your help,” Aeon reluctantly spat out.
“Is that what you thought she said?” Scay asked Forrus. “Because I think that’s what she said the first time too.”
“You need… our help?” Sasha hissed at the chronofly. “You want us to help you?”
“I’ve got a better idea!” Rulo shouted, lunging forward and slamming her hammer down onto the chronofly. With a sickening crunch Aeon was crushed into the ground with a splatter of blood, her leg twitching briefly from underneath the heavy stone before remaining still while the rest of her was smashed into the dirt. Everyone stared in stunned silence at the sight, with Rulo failing to speak for a moment before finally turning to the group with a puzzled look as she seemed surprised by her own actions.
“Did… did that really just work?”
“You killed her,” Tabitha breathed out. “You… you actually killed her?”
“That… was rather anticlimactic,” Sasha slowly mentioned.
“No way,” Mika said in disbelief. “Did you really just kill the Dark Queen? It was that easy?”
“You wish,” Aeon spoke up, with everyone quickly turning to see the chronofly standing behind the sorceress. Without pause Mika spun around, rammed her sword through the monster’s gut, and held her glowing casting base to the woman’s face. Minos hopped aside while Scay quickly dodged the other way, both avoiding the sorceress’ magical torrent of searin
g red light that tore through Aeon’s head and upper chest while streaking through the air across the field. Slicing her sword out the side of the monster, Mika quickly lifted her blade while running her hand along it, imbuing the steel with a haunting crimson and black glowing light, before she struck down and slashed her weapon through Aeon, launching another deadly wave of magical energy outward that engulfed and annihilated the chronofly’s body. Everyone stepped back and observed the billowing smoke that floated along the long crevice Mika had created in the ground, the haze gradually parting to reveal nobody left standing in its wake.
“NOT BAD FOR A PUNY HUMAN!” Minos mentioned with a simple nod.
“Is she dead?” Mika cautiously asked. “Is she… is she actually dead this time?”
“Again, you wish,” Aeon said, with everyone turning to see the chronofly now leaning against Forrus for support with a tired groan. She opened her mouth to speak before the lycan quickly tackled her to the ground and started slashing apart her chest. Scay rushed over and began hacking her dagger into the chronofly’s face while everyone tensed up around them, all the fighters closely observing Aeon as she didn’t make any effort to stop the two girls from butchering her.
“Stab!” Scay screamed as she splattered the woman’s skull across the ground. “Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! No friendship for you! Stab! Stab! HAHAHAHAHA!”
“And stay down, you godforsaken hellspawn!” Forrus yelled, the two girls slashing Aeon to shreds before quickly backing away from her remains.
“What is going on here?” Tabitha asked, glancing to where Rulo lifted up her hammer to reveal no more squashed chronofly beneath it. “What trickery is this? Was that the real Aeon, or was that her?”
“Where did she go?” Rulo grunted as she eyed over the empty fracture.
“What the hell?” Sasha exclaimed as the mutilated remains of Aeon that Scay and Forrus had ravaged to bloody pieces vanished before their eyes. “She’s gone! But… how?”
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act II Page 4