by SK Benton
"Look, I don't want any trouble, pal. Like I said, I'm just passing through."
The lycan again slammed his open palm on the bar top and demanded an answer from Max.
"Are you a butt-boy for the humans? Tell me!"
Max was off his stool in a blur and had taken the lycan male out through the front doors so quickly that no one really even saw it happen. They were there one second, and gone the next. Dons, Jessica and Cassandra ran outside to see Max holding the man up in the air by his jacket collar, looking at him with a really pissed-off expression.
"Look, bud. I gave you an out, and you could have shut your damned mouth but you didn't. I don't know about these parts, but where I come from we lycans treat each other, and even other species, with respect. Well, except for a really smelly group, but that's a totally different deal. I'm going to give you the chance to walk away and leave me alone. Take it - I'm not asking either."
Max set the man down, and not in a delicate fashion. The lycan scrambled up from the ground and backed away, an insidious grin on his face.
"You think you can push me around, punk? Do you know who I am?"
"Oh my goodness… does anyone know who this nice young man is? He seems to have lost his memory and can't remember his name," Max called out in a sarcastically feminine voice, figuring he might as well goad the man on - he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.
That was all it took to set the lycan off. He growled and prepared to charge Max in front of a growing crowd encircling them, which was starting to chant, "fight fight fight." Max looked around and saw that the only way to get out of his current situation was to take the man out, so he opted to do so in a very quick, clean manner.
The lycan male threw his arms into the air, prompting the crowd to cheer for him. Yelling and growling he pumped his fists and tried to work the crowd up into a frenzy. Max started to sidestep around the perimeter, inside the growing throng of people itching to see a fight, when he came up to Dons' position in the crowd.
"Hey mate, be careful with this one. His name's Marko, and he's a real badass. I won't even fight him without my girls around."
Max gave Dons a quizzical look, and wondered why he would only fight with his girls around - whatever that meant. So he continued to sidestep around, staying completely opposite of the Marko fellow, and intended on ending any future chances of a challenge from anyone.
"Hey, your name is Marko, right? I heard about you. Yeah, you like to wear lipstick and put on neko panties - dirty neko panties, after you've sniffed them, right?"
Max's attempt at insulting the lycan worked perfectly. The man charged straight at him with a look of mindless rage. As soon as Marko was within arm's reach, Max executed a perfectly timed punch into the man's in the chest while simultaneously executing a gravicantus that enhanced the hit tenfold. Marko was immediately push/punched into the air and flew back a distance of 100 meters, only to land in a crumpled heap, having suffered a punctured lung and a broken sternum and ribs. It would be a long time before he could breathe without pain. Seeing the dust cloud that was created as the result of Marko's hard landing, a small group of four lycans immediately ran over to the fallen man's location, not wanting to be the next ones on the newcomer's agenda.
The crowd had fallen to a dead silence, and Max turned around to see Dons staring with his one eye, mouth slightly agape. Looking at his levels, Max saw that they were all topped off, as he only used a simple gravicantus and performed one feat of strength. He did punch Marko with all of his strength, and thinking about it he felt like a bit of a cheat, but needed to shut everyone up so he could go about his business.
Max looked at the door to the bar and walked towards it, the crowd quickly opening a pathway for him. Without looking back, he entered the club and headed for the kitchen, where he felt his food was probably ready. But upon entering into the small room, which had the delicious scent of a typical stew, he saw a normal-sized man stirring the pot and looking down into it with a smile on his face.
"Hello - smells good, doesn't it?" asked Max, only to be ignored by the man stirring the pot, which Max found extremely rude and annoying. "Hey - are you accustomed to going into a kitchen and messing with someone's food?" he added.
The man looked up - he was about Max's age, had brown hair and a medium build. He looked fairly well fed, and most certainly not a warrior type.
"Oh, hello. You must be Max. Jessica told me about you. She said you are looking for the magic man."
"Yeah, that's right. And who would you be?" asked Max, hoping that the man in front of him was not the so-called magic man, but suspecting otherwise.
"Well then, that would be me. I'm Adam, resident mage extraordinaire at your service."
Chapter 5 - Luigi meets Krynos
Draagh, Jennie, Liliana and their new travel companion, former Rear Admiral Luigi Bagatelle, found themselves in the meadow out front of Krynos' massive castle. Bagatelle looked around, admiring the ancient stone construction, obviously rendered by hand. He had brought along everything he could - some clothes, his personal console and stinger - even though the latter two would be useless where they were - and some pens and paper, which were considered archaic, but would be the only way he could take notes on his experiences.
Liliana took her uncle's hand and squealed in delight.
"Tio! Welcome home! This is where we live, and it is really very cool!"
Bagatelle had already grown fond of the little girl - she had pure honesty about her, even though she also maintained a vicious streak that was apparent when she got excited about Jennie's mangling of Lt. Johnson's skull.
"Yes Liliana - this is quite impressive. Are you going to give me a tour?" he asked, fully expecting the answer to be a resounding yes. But before she could answer, Draagh announced the arrival of King Krynos.
"Ahh, Krynos my brother - we bring good tidings, and another of your brethren."
"Draagh! Jennie! Little Miss Gunnarsson! I am pleased you returned safely."
Bagatelle watched as a very large and imposing bearded man approached, but wore a giant smile that betrayed his intimidating appearance. Krynos, on the other hand, eyed the new arrival with modest approval as he approached Bagatelle and extended his hand.
"I am Krynos, king of these lands. You must be the Bagaduchi, yes?"
"Erm, Bagatelle, your honor. Luigi Bagatelle, and the pleasure is mine."
Jennie nearly had to cover her mouth and nose to hide her snickering when she heard Krynos mangle her brother's surname.
"My friends," exclaimed the king, "I believe we should repair to the main hall for dinner. I am famished, as I assume you all are."
Krynos received nods all around, and thus he led them into the courtyard and on into the main hall where food was waiting for them. Bagatelle stayed with the group as he scanned the area, noticing that nearly everyone in the courtyard was staring at him. He also noticed that he could smell each individual person.
The group of five sat at a large table to eat. It was unusual that Krynos sat at a table on the main floor, but he was especially glad that his friends had returned. Bagatelle simply looked around with curious amusement. Everything he had been told was real, down to the last detail. He would have never imagined that it would be like this, and wished that he had been able to accompany Jennie when she first left Old-Earth for this world. But he did need to safely return the Revolution to Azul, which unfortunately resulted in Councilman Johnson framing him. In any case, he knew that the Revolution and his crew were fine.
Krynos looked across the table at Bagatelle, and wearing a giant smile addressed him in a most respective manner - despite flubbing the man's last name.
"So, my friend Baganello - I have been told that you are a military leader of the highest order where you come from."
Bagatelle merely nodded, realizing that Krynos wasn't going to get his name right for a while, and in an amazing display of modesty said, "That was there, King Krynos. Here I am just a novice, ready and w
illing to learn."
The latter part of his statement was probably the most difficult sentence he had ever spoken in his entire life, but he knew that if he were to master his so-called lycan skills he would have to keep an open mind and work hard. However, the display of modesty did not go unnoticed, as Krynos responded to the former admiral's answer.
"My dear sir - the best, the most wise and powerful of lycan leaders always start with a humbleness such as you display. Please, it is time to eat."
Plates were set down in front of each of them and Bagatelle started taking note of his senses - he could smell things he had never been able to in the past. His nose detected the individual peppercorns in his plate, and even told him how many servants were behind a wall. He remained quiet while Draagh and Jennie recounted their tale of going to Azul and showing Liliana the new world.
"Ah yes, I would like to see another world one day soon. My brother, do you think you could take me on one of your quests?"
Draagh smiled and nodded his head.
"But of course, Lord Krynos. It would be a pleasure to have you along. Of course I would have to first ensure that you retain your skills, as there are a few worlds where they simply disappear for the duration of your time there."
"It is true, my king," exclaimed Liliana. "We went to my mother's home and we pretended to be normals. I could not even smell the pathways where the sewage runs! It was so plain, but quite cool."
Jennie put her hand on Liliana's shoulder, prompting her to start eating her dinner, but was unaware that the little girl had her wand in her lap underneath the table. She smiled innocently at her mother, and then started to eat while watching her uncle out of the corner of her eye.
Krynos also dug into his food, along with everyone else. Bagatelle went to put a fork in some of the steaming venison, but as he did his plate moved a few centimeters away from him. He quickly looked at everyone at the table, but they all seemed busy eating from their own plates. So he went to spear another chunk of meat and this time was successful. As he chewed on the delicious cut he noticed that his plate was slowly creeping back towards him, and he figured out what was happening. Acting as if he had not seen his plate moving he made an over-exaggerated attempt to get more meat with his fork. His plate suddenly went flying across the room in a flash, as everyone turned to look at the little girl who was brandishing a blushing face.
Dead silence hung in the air as everyone glared at Liliana - until Bagatelle started laughing out loud. It was a boisterous laugh, full of joy and happiness as he slid over next to his newfound niece and tussled her hair, causing her to grow an awkward grin. Of course everyone else followed in the laughter while Jennie put her hand out expectedly. Liliana placed her wand in her mother's hand and went back to eating while snickering. The funniest thing about it all was that the little girl didn't even need a wand - she just liked having a physical object to use.
Bagatelle was provided with a fresh plate of meat and purple potatoes and dug in with gusto, listening to the sounds around him - birds chirping, plates clanging - even chains being dragged many floors below in the dungeon. Everything was fascinating to him, and he knew that he had much to learn.
"So G, how do you like the food here? Not bad, eh?"
Jennie was eating with modest table manners, but Bagatelle knew that she simply viewed chow as an inconvenience, and that her time could be better spent elsewhere.
"Hey, I really like it a lot, Jennie. It's very tasty - better than jraxon and fritas for sure."
Krynos broke into the conversation, as he had never had the chance to interview a man who commanded an entire space fleet before.
"So, my new friend Bagatellos - please do tell me a bit about your great ship that flies amongst the stars."
Bagatelle felt somewhat honored that a king in the future would want to know about his ship, so he gave a basic description of the ship and what its purpose was. Krynos was familiar with concepts such as the vacuum in space and the planet being a globe, so Bagatelle was able to describe what had happened to the ship when Lt. Johnson sabotaged the protective field in the flight deck. That prompted Krynos to excitedly recount the tale of Jennie's defeat of Ryder Johnson - the vampire who courted death (Krynos always liked to put a dramatic spin on his stories). Of course, Jennie's destruction of Johnson's skull turned into Johnson's entire body being liquefied and absorbed into the stones of the mezzanine floor, but they all let Krynos ramble on. Bagatelle looked around and felt really, really good. He had never been so comfortable in an unfamiliar place before.
As he watched Draagh show Krynos his new bubble-head invention, which caused the latter to nearly snort mead out of his nose, and he saw Liliana start to nod off after having had such a long and adventurous day, he knew he was among friends - and although he had to work very hard, it would all turn out for the best.
Then he thought about Max. He looked at Jennie and could see sadness deep in her pretty eyes. Even though the two were raised apart, he had always felt a connection to her - it was a blood thing - and he was determined to help her get her husband back. After all, they needed to fight the Vrol within just over four years.
"Luigi, my friend, I believe it is time for us all to retire so that we may start fresh tomorrow. What say you, good man?"
Draagh indeed was correct, as Jennie looked tired and Liliana was passed out on her lap. Even Krynos yawned noisily, having been up for a number of hours.
"Yes, that sounds about right, Draagh. I guess I should hit the rack. Where is my cot? I assume I am to bunk with the new recruits, correct?"
Krynos suddenly woke up out of his semi-sleeping stupor and burst out in laughter, actually causing Bagatelle a bit of alarm, instantly creating visions of a dungeon racing through his mind.
"My friend, you shall do no such thing! We have already prepared quarters for you on the officer level."
Jennie looked at him and grinned, "Yeah G, you get my old room. Max and I have a bigger one down the hall and Lili has her own room next to mine, but since Max has been gone she usually sleeps… with… me."
He could tell she was going to cry - he could feel it. But even more, he could smell it. He almost tasted it in the air. He had something important to do for his little sister, and no matter what happened he was going to succeed. He was determined to train, learn and be the best he could be - for Jennie and his niece - and for Draagh, who despite his odd habits was an amazing being he would like to get to know much better.
"Ok, sounds great. Well, I'm ready to hit the rack. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a busy day."
Krynos bid them all goodnight, and left the hall as they prepared to go to their rooms. Jennie went to pick Liliana up, but her brother stopped her.
"Here, Jennie. Let me. It's not often a guy gets to see his sister and new niece, and then travel through time and space in one day."
Jennie gave him a weak smile and let him pick up her little girl, with all of them following Draagh upstairs.
Once they got up to their floor and he had gently set Liliana into Jennie's massive bed, Bagatelle bid them good night, went to his own room and closed his door. Admiring the accommodations that were provided for him, he looked at himself in the mirror.
He was 45 years old, but he had been taxed so much during his life he looked more like 55. He figured that was why Jennie initially thought he was her father when he went to reveal their relationship. The years of command had been hard on him, and it showed, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He would succeed and achieve - it was his nature, just as it was Jennie's.
Damn, he thought, how is this body going to keep up with the kids? I have a feeling this is going to hurt.
Climbing into bed he looked out his window - there was no moon in the sky as it was halfway through its cycle, therefore only showing its sliver of a face during the daylight hours. In two weeks he would change, as Draagh had earlier told him, so he made a goal of mastering all of his skills in that period of time - no matter ho
w much it beat up his aging body.
Luigi Bagatelle, former human, closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.
Bagatelle woke up in the morning after a restful night's sleep. He yawned and stretched a bit, then sat up in his bed, recalling the previous day's activities. He had no idea what the day held in store for him, but he was ready to take it on.
Climbing out of bed he noticed something unusual - he felt lighter, but he brushed it off as being on a planet with less gravity than his homeworld of Azul. While it was true that there was a difference in gravity, it wasn't substantial enough to make that much of a difference. Liliana had acclimated to Azul instantly upon arrival, and he had really not noticed any difference when he got to Old-Earth of the future the night before.
He walked over to the washbasin, going to wet his face but instead looked in the mirror. He could have sworn that he looked more slender, but gave it no further notice until he got up close and looked at his face - the hard lines and wrinkles around his eyes seemed to have smoothed out, and there was substantially less gray hair on his head and in his beard.
Hmmm, maybe it's the food and the fresh air. This is just what I need.
He finished dressing in some rough-threaded clothing that was provided for him and walked out into the corridor to see if anyone was awake, finding little Liliana standing out in front of his door, wearing a big smile.
"¡Tio! ¡Buenos días! ¿Tenés hambre?"
Thoroughly appreciating that his niece was greeting him, and asking if he was hungry, in his native tongue, he responded with simple, plainspoken Castilian that she readily understood. His niece then took him by the hand and led him down to the mess hall where they would meet up with everyone for breakfast.
After descending down numerous stone stairways the two arrived at the mess, seeing that Draagh and Jennie were already eating.