by Ted L C
“Now ask me the questions you wish for me to answer.”
Derek’s eyelids push in opposing directions. “Can I ask two questions? Since you stole my fruit bong.”
“Woah!” Achilles moves the orb toward his face. “How could I not know this! This is my favorite—Achilles’ Heel. Sure, man. Ask me two questions—”
“Now three—”
“The fruit is called Achilles’ Heel because it’s my favorite fruit out of every planet. Henceforth, Achilles’, since it’s my favorite. The Heel stems from the fact it warms my inner and outer body temperature. Thus, d-dampening my abilities.
“Fuck you, kid! I wanna eat this, now. Yet, I can’t sacrifice this artifact of an apparatus. The devil’s lettuce is impossible to come across on Faxian—”
“For a popular figure, you talk a lot,” Derek flashes a rounded fruit from his jacket and rakes his teeth along the surface. “What is a Lycanthrope and why do you hate him/her so much? As for my third question, what’s a Final Offer—”
“I’m going to hang your skin from a clothesline, son,” Achilles’ tongue brush against his own lips. “You do know an Achilles’ Heel is an aphrodisiac, right?”
“Uh,” the boy hurls the fruit toward a tree trunk.
“Mmm!” Achilles’ back ejects a cluster of spikes made of ice. A frigid breeze yanks vapors from Derek’s orifices. “Fine—fuck face—despite you being the biggest piece of shit I’ve met in weeks, it is my duty as a Beta to fulfill my promise to you.
“First off—that penis curdling—red rocket twiddling whore—Lycanthrope. For about twenty-something years—I don’t know, I lost track. That homophobic commie jilling quack comes to my villages wearing my identity. That man—woman—thing—transforms into people, taking on their identities. It’s a rare symptom of Adalfieri, never seen by anyone else.
“Anyway, that gorilla milker took everything before I arrived at my village to collect tribute. By the time I reach there, my subjects notified me that I already came and got it—but you know what? I didn’t—that pedo did. Furthermore, he steals most of the Achilles’ Heels that grow by my biggest netting town, Harbin.
“Usually they’re food for the critters. I like to take my share for keeping them safe from brother Zeresh and Alexander’s followers. Wait—that means—if you’ve got two in your possession, then there’s some by my town. And it’s still two weeks until I collect my A.P.R!”
“Sure—” Derek’s peepers follow the fruit which beckons Achilles’ gaze. “There were like fifty of them when I checked—”
“Thank me—thank me—thank my glorious—holy name!” Achilles shifts his azure eye to Derek. “Let me put the Final Offer into words you’d understand.
“If you were to put yourself in the point of view of a character in those video games you play. Imagine your hit points being at one percent. But you have a virtue that allows your character to unleash their maximum potential. For a short period at least—one hundred percent mode. Don’t confuse it with a Closing Requiem, though!.”
“Closing requiem?”
“My name—you don’t know what a Closing Requiem is? Hasn’t Alyssandra taught you anything about HESTEKS? Or has she been jerking you off the entire time—”
“No—”
“When the D.M.T. in a HESTEK’s brain disperses, they gain what you gamer folk would call is their superb ultimate gift. They first release an ear-piercing scream. Usually, most of them sound the same, by the way. Henceforth, the part, Requiem.
“After that, all energy needed for their gift is absorbed within a one-kilometer radius. It’s then released as whatever gift their D.M.T. vision draws in their head. For instance, Zeresh clones—I take one out, right? Of course. It goes through a brief D.M.T. phase. Absorbs all thermal energy within an aftermentioned radius, and usually transforms it into an acidic goo.
“I theorize this hallucination was planted into their minds by brother Zeresh. To prevent any extraction of their blood, of course. That way Betas, Gladiators, and I, couldn’t harvest the shit out of them—”
“D.M.T? There’s the D.M.T. drug on Earth. Could that activate a Closing Requiem?”
“Oh yes! In fact, I have a funny story involving just that. I was fighting twenty-one of brother Zeresh’s clones and I managed to fill the room we were in with D.M.T. smoke. Since they absorbed the thermal energy, they all turned into acid. And since they devoured all the heat.
“Do you wanna know what happened?
“What?”
“I was the most powerful being I’ve ever been—for a couple of minutes. But I created an ice tether so big—that once it’s hand brushes through the sky, it decimated a class-A cruiser. By the way, those cruisers are the size of fucking Singapore! My name—I was so high, also—I thought I was in Nirvana.
“You know—”
“What am I supposed to know?”
“You look like you could use a good ole penetration—”
“What?”
“I see it in your eyes—you want to see what a Final Offer looks like—or better yet—my Closing Requiem.
“Do you still have your lover’s blood inside of ya?”
“The fuck?” Derek’s neck swivels. “Didn’t you hear me earlier—”
“Balls-mc-sack—do you truly want me to show you my Final Offer? Even though I just told you that I took out twenty-one Zeresh clones with my Closing Requiem”
“Can you use it in a spar?”
“Strange request—I suppose that’s not a problem, though. Would you like to ask me any more questions beforehand? Things might get a wee bit frisky—making you burst into ashes forever.”
“Why did you call her my lover?”
“Really?” he spreads his arms while moving one leg forward, pressing a foot into jade brush. “Interesting how such a question stands out. Due to the request of a third party, I cannot answer this and provide any further detail.”
“I wanna know!” a tornado of fire manifests, spiraling toward the two.
A grin creeps across Achilles’ face as the firestorm reflects off his glossed eyes.
“Those were the only fourteen questions you had for me?” his voice triumphs the howling gales.
His palms press against one another. His legs carry him to Derek. The sky flashes.
Nanos swarm over Derek’s face.
Achilles appears aside Derek’s peripheral. His body arcs sideway. Revelator erupts from the boy’s palm as it swings.
Achilles’ body morphs into a snowman.
The three balls forming its structure detonates.
As shrapnel of diamonds ejaculates on Derek’s helmet. An arctic breeze scrapes the lad’s chest.
Several ivory appendages grip against the blade. The weapon transforms into a stick made of ice.
“Shatter,” a raspy murmur flows through his helm.
His sword breams. An armada of shards trickles. They melt upon contact with the patches of soil and grass.
The fiery cyclone from earlier molds into frozen cones.
“What do you want on your snowcones?” Achilles hovers his index purple finger over the boy’s visor.
Derek’s butt hurls itself against the ground.
“Ah—youngins—their minds break before their bodies. Now—for my reward.”
“Reward? Do I need to blow you?”
“Inspiration, dude,” Achilles reaches for the red spherical fruit. His eye shifts toward the opening on the side. “I lit it all—no green—no mas—”
“You emptied it—”
“Fuck!” he rests the fruit within the boy’s palm and presses his warm fingers inward, encasing the orb.
“How l-long did it take you to master that—your Final Offer?”
“When you were in Harbin, did you happen to stumble upon a Holo-Flick of our people’s origin? Before I had these abilities I was a general of the great Greek Army.
“It took me 127 years, three months, eighteen days and two hours to master my Final Offer.
I spent that time in Antarctica before it became joint Russia and Brazil occupied. I would live off the animals who inhabited the area. I required energy nourishment when I would push bodies’ limits for at least one hour a day. I did this until I peaked.
“One fateful day, when Russia began colonization, a group of their forces approached me—threatening me—me! During that day, I pushed myself to my maximum potential. Then created an ice shield ’round myself. This seemed to stop their lasers, bullets, and explosives.
“Afterward, I trapped them all under 100 feet of snow.
“That glorious day I felt something I’ve never felt before. An orgasm.
“Years later I found brother Alexander on planet X, who was envious of my abilities when I told him. So he challenged me.
“That day I nearly lost my life when he conjured a planet, which magnetically was drawn to him. It crashed into the planet, annihilating billions—
“He conjured a planet? How did you guys survive?”
“I froze myself, then froze planet—”
“You froze a planet outside of the atmosphere? Somehow preventing it from moving—”
“Yes, now shush—I’m amazing. Brother Alexander teleported like he usually does when in a pickle. Don’t you think I haven’t been through enough, child? These are only a couple psalms in the bible of Achilles.
“Now—if you got any more of that Jamaican joy hidden in that bony ass of yours, might I partake? Faxian is the dryest planet out there—hell, even on Vulcanis they partake of sweet aunt Mary’s kisses.
“Yes, Thede is known for people making their own rum. But fuck rum with a sharp stick—alcohol doesn’t help my performance.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Ever since Brother Alexander trapped us here, which was a while ago. We’ve had no way out because the government surrounds the planets with cruisers. We’re useless up there. The land—Barter; however, is our domain.
“Seen ole Alex, as of late? That bugger should be on your planet.”
Balls, I forgot about him. He was hunting me.
“Nah—”
“How about my brother from an Egyptian mother, Zeresh?”
“Not the real one. A clone executed people I cared about—if I had a Final Offer, I coulda saved them. Wait—not Alexander—”
“Woulda—coulda—shoulda—that’s how a loser thinks. Nothing is impossible, boy.
“How do you avoid a nuclear apocalypse? Hide underground. How do you off ten people surrounding you using only a paperclip? Off one by piercing a vital organ with the paperclip. Use him as a human shield while your back is to a wall, then go bonkers.
“How do you off someone if they’re using a Final Offer? Drain them—I’m only able to stay in this state for two minutes. After that, I will be fatigued for approximately five minutes.
“Unless I’m in snow or an ice-covered terrain; then I’m back up instantly. The same situation would go for Alexander and Zeresh. Keep them both away from places high in thermal energy. Though that would be detrimental to yourself, consider the situation at hand. Evaluate yourself and your opponent—gauge their potential.”
“How do I use a Final Offer?”
“Can you not understand simple human nature? It’s a fight or flight mechanism. When put under enough stress, our virus will see the opposition as a threat to its existence. Therefore, it will do whatever it takes to survive. With that said, it’ll suck up ninety-nine percent of the energy in your body.
“This means every day, for as long as possible, you needa push yourself to your max. At least until you notice your abnormal abilities. It’s like practicing one punch 10,000 times to master it.
“I also recommend at least 16,000 calories a day, along with camping in your preferred element. The aforementioned element for me was an icy terrain. Yours would be the sun, a thermal vent, a volcano, desert, or a place lit on fire. The sun.
“Kidding—don’t actually do that. I don’t want you to permanently transform into a charcoal stick figure. There are folk who need you alive. Who knows, though, your Final Offer might be able to make you withstand the sun’s heat.
“I wouldn’t recommend testing that theory, but basically sums it up. And one more thing, focus-focus-focus. The thing that makes Betas more powerful than you peon HESTEKS is we spend numerous hours in meditation. Giving us impeccable focus.”
“Peon HESTEKS? That’s a fucked-up name—”
“How’s it, ‘fucked-up’? Having the title of Beta means one has a big fat target painted all over their backs.”
“Who are the Gladiators?”
“By Ajanda’s raggedy-ass cloak too many questions—Alpha is obviously the first and the oldest. Betas fall into the second tier. Gladiators fall into the third tier, followed by peons, which are on the fourth. Just be thankful you aren’t a normal, a clone—or an experiment. HESTEKS mock experiments for as long as they live. They’re also banned from my settlements.”
“I want names—”
“Names of the Gladiators? In exchange for that—next time you use a sentence, be more specific. It’s about how you say it. Not what you say. As for the names—wait.”
He flashes a phone from his pocket and slides his finger across the matte surface.
“That works here?”
“Of course not—I use it for reminders and notes, then I charge it using a Potato Head.” his retinas dash through every direction while facing the device’s exterior. “Fuckin hell—someone went into my notes and replaced a good third of them with gobble de goop. Probably that Alexander yanking—dinosaur scissoring cunt, Lycanthrope.
“I can tell you a couple of names of mates who I’ve seen for at least over 500 years. The disciplined anime goddess, Eri. The stripper angel, Daisy. The grumpy Japanese grandpa, Tsubasa. The bitch who owes me two D.M.T. tokens on Vulcanis, Tye. The Gothic Lolita cosplayer, Jean-Zoey. The woman with buns of a goddess, Abigail. My former lightning buddy, Warden. The queen of Chrysanthemums, Cynthia. And lastly, the Buddha tickler, Lahn.”
“Wait, Tsubasa?” a thump punches the core of Derek’s inner left chest.
“Yeah, got a problem with Tsubas’ geriatric pair?”
“The person who I’m working for and I retrieved plans that said he’s attacking Japan with a massive force. In just a couple of days—”
“Then what are you doing on a planet that takes two months alone to travel to? And that doesn’t sound like him—the government did execute his children and use his wife in an experiment.
“I couldn’t see him raging against an entire country for this. Based on your technology, you’re employed through Reivscere Corporation. Correct?”
“Yes—”
“Where’s Alyssandra now, by the way? I know you two wouldn’t separate for any reason, especially here where Betas and Gladiators lurk.”
“She’s in the desert off the eastern coast. We separated because of some drunk hicks, then I ported here to see if I could get a good view—Gladiators?”
“Oh yeah!” a grin creeps across his face. “We’ve got the three Asian Tigress’ here; Lahn, Eri, and Jean-Zoey. Wait, Jean-Zoey is part Egyptian and white—nevermind. The third Asian Tigress, Abigail, is on Clarum. But in all reality, you made a grave mistake by coming here.
“If you wanted a way off Faxian, you were better off searching around Thede for an old ship. But you don’t wanna take Alyssa by Thede.”
“Why not?”
“Leaf licking—shit for brains, Diablo, decided he wanted to commit genocide. With a scourge of an experiment by his side! This is an atrocity. Especially with that experiment’s former vessel—”
“Who was—”
“Who was an eighteen-year-old girl who lived in Thede when it was owned by Prime minister Abe. She worked at Alyssa’s favorite garden in the outskirts of town—to the east. She would be visited once a day by Alyssa and her friend—”
“Blitz?”
“Ah—she must’ve told you—yes Blitz.
As events began to get dive toward the dark side. HESTEKS got more hostile. Alexander kidnapped the girl then tested the Bloodwerk mechanism on her. Permanently imbuing her with a hefty sample of Abigail’s blood.
“Alexander delivered her back to the garden, everything went back to ‘normal’ for two weeks. Then the girl changed. One day Alyssa and Blitz went to the garden to find the girl’s parent’s staked to wooden crosses. The girl, along with the flowers soaked in blood laid in the garden. Behind her, Diablo was caressing her hair.
“This happened to be the day that I showed up to see what the two girls been talking about for so long. The pristine quality of the garden that is.
“The results of the battle shoulda favored us. But you can only do so much against density manipulation. As we were floating toward space, Diablo smoldered the city below us, wiping out thousands. I don’t even want to know what that little girl did.
“So I did what I do best and used my Final Offer. Manipulated our density, putting us back on the ground before we lost any more oxygen.
“If you see her, I suggest you use any means possible to avoid confrontation with that Lich—”
“I finished her—and Diablo—”
“I understand why you were sad about offing the girl. But why Diablo—wait—I remember, because he’s your brother—”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about taking his life! He was an abomination to the HESTEK community. He initiated the Deity War—he was one of the primary causes of the Seige conflict. If he didn’t open his mouth, Germany wouldn’t be a piece of meat between five dogs.
“As for the girl, you had the potential to change her. I’m sorry to put this pressure on you now, but I need you to realize something. The choices you make now, and the choices you’ve made in the past, greatly affect your future as a whole.
“I observed your quarrel against Blitz and the Jialong—”
“You said Diablo is my—”
“That’s another example of what I mean. Despite how strong you are, you lack awareness. A tree coulda fallen on you. The hallucinogens from the oils in the pine needles and bark woulda overwhelmed fried your brain. I’ve seen people O.D. from that shit—HESTEKS and Normies—it is definitely not a pretty sight.