THE VROL TRILOGY

by SK Benton

  This time was very, very different.

  Excusing himself, he ran outside, wiping sweat off his forehead, even though the evening was cool. His vision sharpened its focus as he tracked a Vrol flyer take off with an unfortunate neko in its claws, which it then tore into halves as the poor creature screamed its final sound. Looking to the east, he saw the full moon rising, bright in the sky and obviously having an effect on him - but he didn't feel happy or bubbly.

  Turning around he saw Jessica and Pandy two meters away. They had become concerned when he started to act oddly and had followed him outside.

  "Hey Max, you ok? You look all flushed," said Jessica while wearing a look of concern.

  "Um, I think so. Well, no. Not so much. Why didn't anyone tell me it's the full moon? I feel weird."

  It was at that moment that Max fell to his knees in pain. His stomach was churning as he howled loudly. It was a sight that no one in Los Angeles had seen before, as nature worked in quite a different fashion there. Vampires didn't smell so badly, could go out in the sun and were actually nice. Lycans didn't transform to a third phase in the full moon. In fact, Max had never witnessed a Los Angeles lycan go into battle mode either. None of that mattered at the moment. Something very wrong was happening and he tried to crawl away, but was stopped by Jessica and Pandy, who were unsuccessfully trying to carry him back into the club - the last place where he wanted to be.

  Then it happened.

  Transformative magic particles (which Max called mutatebots) coursed through his system, working like mad, initially causing his internal organs to shift and accommodate new bone and muscular tissue growth. Salubots functioned efficiently, sloughing away dead and unused portions of the body through any and all orifices, in a manner similar to the Ebola virus of Old-Earth, as his clothing stretched and then finally tore. Blood and bile shot out through his nose as he vomited out chunks of his vocal cords onto the ground. It was the most horrid sight anyone had ever seen in Hollywood (and even worse than a Vrol flyer sucking the eyeballs out of a living child, which the putrid aliens enjoyed doing). It was also ending up being one of the worst smelling. As Max's facial structure pushed out with new growth, his human teeth were ejected from his mouth with sickening, popping sounds, only to be immediately replaced with sharp, canid teeth, meant for ripping the flesh off prey. His skin shredded with a sick, dull separating sound, and fell to the ground, having a covering of thick flesh and fur growing in its place. Basically, a large werewolf grew out of an exploding lycan body with disturbing results.

  When the process was completed, a very large beast, the likes of which had never before been seen in Seven Sins, was standing on all fours where a sweaty and uncomfortable Max Gunnarsson was just a minute earlier.

  The werewolf turned and snarled at Jessica, but curiously paused, as if it had momentary lucidity. The crowd that had formed around the horribly changing Max had cleared back, with most running inside the club, but Jessica was right in front of the creature, frozen in place. Its muzzle turning to a snarl, and it appeared to crouch for an attack, when it was suddenly and repeatedly beaten over the skull with a large wooden plank. Pandy had fetched the biggest piece of wood she could find, and had gone to the aid of her best friend. The beast turned its attention to the younger of the two lycan girls who could only defend herself with a wooden board, when the proto-mythical creature was hit hard in the side by five nekos, knocking it into a sideways barrel roll. Startled, it jumped up onto a pile of concrete, rebar and rubble. Rearing its head back, it howled loudly before disappearing into the ruins of the city.

  The crowd started to file out of the club where they had been ensconced for safety's sake. Dons went to make sure his girls were fine, and then thanked the nekos who had acted so bravely while all other humanoids (with the exception of Jessica and Pandy) had hidden.

  "So, Max is a bit different, eh?" Dons asked rhetorically.

  "It appears, so," responded Pandy, still visibly shaken from her brave attempt at protecting her best friend. "I hope he's ok. Maybe he'll come back if he ever turns normal again?"

  "Yeah, what the hell happened to him? What was that all about? I've never seen anything like that before," said Jessica, also still obviously shaken by the episode.

  "Max appears to be a different type of lycan - maybe a mutant," proclaimed Adam as he exited out of the club in a most triumphant manner, acting as if he had actually done something. "I was going to dispatch him to another place far away, but these brave nekos took care of the situation and scared him off before I could prepare a spell. Of course, my solution would have been more permanent, but we are safe for the time being. I shall keep vigil over the entire area with my magical skills and make sure he does not come back and harm anyone."

  Adam had been hiding in the toilet during the whole altercation, and Dons knew it. The faker wasn't a brave individual - he was an extreme opportunist who tried to take advantage of and get the credit for anything good that happened, while summarily dispensing the blame for his errors on anyone unfortunate enough to be the one he picked. He was a bit sharp, but not anywhere near having the genius-level intellect that he claimed.

  Some nekos looked at the puddle of pus, organs, intestinal liquids and shredded flesh on the ground and licked their lips, but Dons screamed at them to get away from it - he had no idea if it was infectious, and he needed to protect not only his employees but his clientele too. They whimpered a bit and then returned to the club where everyone got back into the full moon festivities, almost as if nothing had happened only minutes before. Adam turned to enter into the club again, but was stopped in his place as Dons uncharacteristically poked a finger into the pseudo-mage's chest.

  "Not you mate - remember? You are going to protect us all in case Maxie returns. So do your job. You're out here - all night. And clean up the mess he left. It smells terribly."

  Adam got a surprised look on his face and gulped. Quickly regaining his composure he said, "Oh certainly! I was just going to get myself a refreshment to take outside. You can count on me, of course!"

  "I'll get you some water. Be right back," said Dons with a tone that was less than friendly. He had long suspected Adam was a crass bullshitter, but now he knew for a fact that the man was nothing more than a coward. In retrospect, he could only recall Adam heating up some things and doing some soldering for the clan. He had never displayed great feats of magic like those of which he always claimed - teleportation, banishment, transformation, etc. Dons had installed the protective magical device that he kept as an umbrella over the roof of his establishment - and even he understood it emitted sound on a frequency that hurt the hearing of the Vrol, keeping them away. Adam had nothing to do with it, but tended to lay claim on and take credit for its adoption.

  ###

  The newly formed werewolf streaked up over the Santa Monica Mountains, sniffing scat and howling on occasion. It took out a medium-sized deer and quickly devoured the delicious liver, heart and a good percentage of the gentle creature's muscle mass before moving on. It was operating on pure instinct, but had momentary flashes of memories it couldn't understand. Feeling a pull to the north, it encountered what were the remains of a freeway, which it took north by northwest. Bounding at incredible speeds it furthered itself from the general populace, no longer having Vrol flyers in the sky or mantis-like Vrol troops on the ground. It did encounter a mountain lion mid-way up into the San Fernando Valley, which it disemboweled, using the massive claws on its hind legs. Stopping briefly to see if its prey was edible, it wrinkled its large snout in disgust as it watched the big cat bleed out all over the ground. Carnivores never tasted very good, and they only ate each other during times of starvation.

  By the time the moon had run its course, the creature that was once, and would again be Max, had reached the ruins of a very large amusement park - previously known as Magic Mountain. The beast had eaten its fill, so Max wouldn't suffer a crash upon awaking.

  But then an odd thing happened - the wo
lf gained reason before changing, which probably wasn't a very good thing for Max in terms of the pain of reverting to his normal form. He looked down, razor-sharp vision seeing minute details in his forepaws - a combination of dexterous hands and massive canine paws. He lifted one up and studied it. Then, holding onto the moment, as he didn't know if he was going to slip back to his primal state again, he collected as much in his mind as possible. He could feel blood pumping through his veins and his fast twitch muscle fibers ripple with anticipation. All of his senses were on full alert, and he could smell even the smallest of creatures that were kilometers away. He found it to be a most exhilarating feeling - one he wanted to experience again, and quite soon. He had the same senses in the Dominion when he went through his change every lunar cycle, but this time was special - he could enjoy them with a rational mind.

  "Rrrrrrrrrrr… losht," he growled, not even trying to speak in the werewolf language that everyone in the Dominion studied since childhood - and he could barely pronounce. He was just very aware that he was a werewolf and would soon change back. And when he did it would hurt. Badly.

  Chapter 9 - Recon Time Parte Dos

  Luigi Bagatelle woke up much earlier than normal, most probably due to the fact that he was excited about the day's coming activities. He had been stuck inside the castle walls since arriving in the Rhönen Dominion, albeit with a couple of exceptions when surveying the perimeter and learning particulars tasks, such as how to feed the moat sharks. It was to be his first true mission, and even though it sounded simple, they would be actually putting themselves in peril as they attempted to corral some cannibals into a safe zone.

  After dressing, he headed down to the mess hall to get his morning chow, but found that the castle servants were still not yet done preparing food for the day. Not being bothered at all, he went into the kitchen area and assisted the staff with the rations. He rather enjoyed cooking, having learned quite a bit during the few months of his unjust house arrest on Azul. Looking through the ample selection of herbs and spices, he offered some suggestions to the castle cooks, as he found the food prepared to be a bit on the bland side. They took his suggestions kindly, and then promptly ignored him, as to overly-season the massive pots of stew and meats on the grill would not be satisfactory to everyone. Once he felt he had sufficiently assisted in the kitchen, he grabbed a plate of food and ate a bit more than usual, wanting to have stacked resources for the day. Sitting at his usual table he was nearly startled when he saw his niece sitting next to him, never having heard her arrive nor sit down.

  "Good morning, Tío!" she said in her usual bright fashion. She would tank out early in the evenings, but was always quite chipper in the mornings.

  "Good morning, Liliana. Did you sleep well, my dear?"

  "Oh yes, quite well, Tío, thank you for asking. Are you to accompany Jennie and give a new home to the brainless ones?"

  Bagatelle chuckled to himself when he put that together. What the little girl had said was quite true - cannibals suffered from an incurable viral infection that rendered them senseless. They would run around at full speed, desiring only to eat normal human brains, until their systems burnt out. However, it was quite simple to contain and eliminate them - if they were contained they could not feed. If they could not feed they would painlessly die of starvation - they felt nothing. It was determined to be the most humane solution available. In other parts of the world there were those who actually reveled in hunting down the poor, witless fools, but Draagh was a very sensitive immortal being, and guided Krynos like he guided no other.

  "Yes sweetie. Your mother and I are going to help the poor people who cannot think anymore. You know, while we're talking about Jennie, may I ask why you don't call her mother or mami?"

  Liliana gave her uncle a curious look, as if he had asked an odd question. "Well, Tío, I do not believe I yet have earned the right to call her by a name such as that. One day I might, but not on this day."

  Bagatelle was amazed by the child's response, but decided not to give her an explanation of how it is a term of endearment that one simply uses when they love someone, and is not something that needs to be earned.

  Minutes later the two were joined by Jennie, and surprisingly King Krynos, who had not been seen within the confines of the castle for quite a few days. Bagatelle immediately stood up when he noticed the leader of the Dominion arrive.

  "Good morning, my family! And an excellent morning to you my good friend Boragnilo!"

  Krynos' almost comical mangling of Bagatelle's surname was so frequent that most were starting to believe the king did it on purpose, even though it truly was not in his nature. There was a kingdom to the far south, on the other side of the great mountains, in the area once known as Italy, where many had surnames similar to Bagatelle, and the former rear admiral was informed that Krynos regularly mispronounced their names also.

  Liliana stood up and curtseyed to her king while saying, "Good morning, my liege! It is so nice to see your strong countenance!"

  Krynos lit up, very happy to see that the little girl who had virtually saved his castle a year prior was growing to be such a respectful young lady.

  "Why thank you, my dear young lady! And might I say that I have spoken with your grandfather. He has informed me that your magical studies are coming along tremendously. I have great hopes that perhaps one day you shall perform magical services for the kingdom."

  Liliana blushed and bowed before taking her seat to finish her breakfast, as Krynos looked to finish his conversation with Bagatelle.

  "So, Bagnatello, I understand that you are accompanying your sister and her recon group to cordon off the latest infestation of cannibals. Indeed you must be pleased to leave the castle grounds."

  "Yes, my king. I am eager to get out into the countryside. It's very beautiful here and I look forward to seeing more of your lands."

  "Brother," Jennie interjected, "it's no small feat what we do today. Cannibals can be dangerous, and there's even a chance of infection, albeit not a permanent one for us. Normals are irrevocably contaminated once an infected one transfers his blood and saliva into the blood stream of the victim. From that point on there is absolutely nothing that can be done. Our main concern is to keep their numbers small and eventually eradicate them by choking off the viral transmission. However, now that Vladros' vampire forces have been decimated, cannibal populations have begun to thrive."

  "Then, what does the lack of vampires have to do with an increase in cannibals?" asked Bagatelle, not having been part of the Battle of the Blood and only knowing about it via mostly exaggerated tales of great derring-do.

  Krynos responded in Jennie's staid by saying, "My sir, while Vladros was a most annoying enemy, and not being much of a danger to our kingdom, even though he had a most inflated ego, he did unwittingly perform services to assist in the balance of nature. One of them was the culling of cannibal nests. The vampires, being cowardly and vicious, frequently hunt cannibals for sport, as they would rarely dare attack lycans. They are also able to consume the blood of the infected with no mal effects. It was for this reason that I allowed his coven to exist in the outskirts of the Dominion, even though he believed we feared him. Since he decided to attack us in the year past we were forced to eliminate his forces, thus creating a power vacuum where the cannibal infection could run rampant. Today we seek to shut it down in a humane fashion, as has always been suggested by my old friend, Draagh."

  Jennie simply smiled and nodded at her brother, knowing that Krynos' ample explanation was more than sufficient.

  "My king, I must take Liliana to her classes and then meet with the recon team, so if you'll excuse us-"

  Jennie stood and bowed, then took Liliana by the hand. The young girl smiled at the two gentlemen as she skipped off with her mother, leaving a very young Luigi Bagatelle and a very old Krynos alone at the table.

  "Luigi, may I ask you a question?" Krynos queried, causing Bagatelle to gain a surprised expression, and not only becaus
e Krynos used the man's given name for the first time.

  "Yes, of course, King Krynos. I'll answer to the best of my abilities."

  "You are not being pushed too far, too quickly, are you? I do understand you have gone through quite a transformation."

  "I believe I am doing well. At least I can't see any ill effects so far."

  "Excellent. Please know that there is no shame in asking your trainers to slow down. It is not like you were raised in the Dominion, growing with your lycan skills. It is almost the opposite for you, so you have become younger as you gain new skills and knowledge. And speaking of knowledge, I would very much like to hear more of your world one day soon as I am intent on visiting it, especially when the invaders arrive. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as great battle against new enemies."

  Bagatelle thought for a moment, and at first was unsure if he should have been insulted at the offer of relaxed training or if he should been grateful. He chose the latter, understanding that not only was Krynos correct - he was growing young and learning, but also that sometimes it is better to take a step back in order to go forward more rapidly.

  "I would be more than happy to tell you about my worlds anytime you please, King Krynos. I am also honored that you would wish to assist in the defense of our home."

  "Very well then, my boy - I shall be off. Please, take care today. Cannibals are extremely light on their feet and they bite quite hard. Good luck."

  As he turned to leave, Krynos made a slight bow to Bagatelle, who reciprocated in the same and then left in the other direction to meet up with his sister and the recon team.