by Michael Todd
It was a celebration of giant proportions. The rest of the valley, starting half a mile from the bloody battle site, was transformed from a rocky and barren landscape to one reminiscent of Viking times on Earth. Kraggen’s army made camp where they stopped. Tents that seemed massive to humans but were just tall enough for the giants sprang up, bonfires were stoked, and the smell of meat and ash filled the stagnant air around them.
Katie called in a favor from a friend close by, having crate after crate of tequila dropped at the campsite. The boxes of liquor outnumbered the boxes of ammo, but ammo wasn’t what they needed to celebrate with. The tequila, on the other hand, was a hit. The giants couldn’t get enough of it, and were trying to figure out how they could make it back in their dimension.
There were giants all over, singing, dancing, telling stories of battles past, and generally having a good time with their fellow beings. Juntto wasn’t missing out on the fun either, standing atop a pile of trees they had gathered for the bonfire from the forest a mile away. He toasted his relatives, his ancestors, and the giants’ blood that ran through them all. He made speeches honoring his old slave and all those who’d died.
Juntto was hailed as the King of Earth and celebrated for his valor and ability to know when he needed his fellow giants to help him through the difficult times. Kraggen’s men even made him a throne of wood and steel. He sat perched at the head of the party, enjoying the sights and sounds and feeling the energy of the others pulsing through him.
The general smiled when he got the short text from Katie letting him know that the Leviathan was gone. At least one thing was off of his shoulders. The phone on his desk rang, and it was too late for the secretary to still be there. “This is General Brushwood.”
“Please hold for the President of Romania,” the pleasant voice said.
The general tapped his fingers on the desk as he waited. “Brushwood. You’re still in the office.”
“Yes, sir, I am always in the office,” he replied. “How can I help you?”
“Well, I was just kind of wondering where the blue monsters are going to go? You know, the ones currently staging a melee in the valley.”
The general rubbed his face. “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”
Calvin, Brock, and the rest of the team pulled their bags from the overhead bin and loaded up. They walked down the steps of the plane and into the hangar, where two HMMWVs sat waiting for them. Calvin carried Sean down the steps of the plane, and Turner unfolded his chair at the bottom. Seeing the waiting vehicles, Calvin laughed. “What, we have one cripple, and they send us the nice cars?”
Sean smirked, holding onto the arms of the chair as Calvin set him down. “If it was on my account, you’re welcome. Let my legs be the bribe.”
All the guys laughed, heading over and loading in their luggage, and, of course, Sean. The drive over was calm and quiet, and they didn’t get to see the scene of the battle. Then again, they had seen so many in the past that it would be kind of a waste of time. They pulled up at the Damned encampment, looking out at the many soldiers and civilians who were obviously resting from their assimilation into the Legion.
Eddie shook his head. “These dudes and dudettes got the shit end of the duty stick. Yes, I would like to join the military, be taken over by a maniacal overlord, and almost get killed by frost giants. What’s that? Would I like to add in being saved by two angels? Sure, why not?”
Brock chuckled, opening the door. “The things we do for our country.”
The guys hopped out, Calvin taking a moment to get Sean situated. Pandora and Katie came over to greet them, having spied the caravan pulling in. It wasn’t hard to spot since they were in a pretty secluded area, one road in and out.
Eddie and Turner pushed Sean while Calvin gave Katie a hug and stepped back so Brock could do the same. Their hug was slightly different. Calvin furrowed his brow as he stood there, hearing music of sorts and deep laughter off in the distance. “I feel like there is a giant frat party going on.”
Katie giggled. “It’s something like that. Those giants really know how to throw down. They are very glad they were able to get rid of the Leviathan.”
Brock nodded. “Yeah, tell us all about that, please. Sounds like there was a battle from hell minus the demons.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “It was definitely intense.”
Pandora scoffed. “Intense? Try, ‘the most stressful freaking battle ever.’ Try, ‘I’ve never actually seen someone’s eyeballs plucked from their heads.’ Try, ‘there were fucking slaves, and the giants think that Juntto is the king of Earth and he conquered the angels.’ Talk about letting a lie get away from you! This one is rolling downhill with no plateau in sight.”
Sean looked around. “So, are most of these Damned the ones who got caught up in the Legion?”
Katie nodded. “Yep, although there were so many more of them than this. I had a hard time getting the other frost king to start pulling them back instead of killing them. Finally, Juntto jumped in and fixed it, but there are more than enough body parts in the valley if anyone needs them. We are going to have to send a cleanup crew to collect them so we can return them to their families. I’ll make sure that the general knows. Right now, they dealt with Legion, and everybody is partying down.”
Pandora put her hands up. “All right, enough talking about it. Let’s get over there and show them how humans get down.”
She looked around, finally spotting one of the soldiers who could help. “Ah. Garçon!”
He raised an eyebrow. “My name is Rick.”
She patted his chest. “Mmhmm. Good. Okay. I need you to take these guys’ belongings to their tents. Can you do that?”
Rick nodded. “Sure.”
Pandora smiled. “Chuck, you are the best.”
He blinked at her. “Rick. My name is Rick.”
Pandora sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m the worst with people’s names when I just meet them.”
Rick threw his hands up as she walked away. “You just pulled me into the shower thirty-five minutes ago!”
The crew headed out to the party, arriving just in time to see one of the giants doing a headstand while guzzling a bottle of tequila. Turner and Eddie grabbed Sean and rolled into the party, ready to get wasted on whatever alcohol they could confiscate from the frost giants.
Pandora pushed up her tits and slapped Katie hard on the ass, making her squeal. “Time for me to wine and dine the king, and I don’t mean of Earth. That castle was fabulous.”
Calvin, Brock, and Katie laughed as she strutted off, garnering a few whistles from nearby giants. Calvin turned to Katie and Brock. “While I’m here, I might as well have a sip and hang out a bit. Maybe go pay homage to King Juntto.”
Katie groaned, rolling her eyes. “Kick him in the balls for me, and tell him it comes with love from his slave Katie.”
Calvin hurried off and Brock turned to Katie, pulling her into him. “I say we tour one of these huge tents and see what we can discover.”
Katie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to discover the giants.”
Brock laughed. “Not the giants I was talking about.”
The next morning, the smell of cooked meats and bread wafted through the tent city. Kraggen had hosted a feast for the leaders of the armies, giving thanks for all that was done. For the humans invited, the hangovers were stark, but the giants seemed happier and livelier than ever.
Calvin, Brock, Katie, Pandora, and Juntto were there, while the other three stayed in their tents, half-dead, with hangovers that would last them until the war was over. The only one out of the five who had any issues was Pandora, but that was mostly because she had gone to bed alone after beating on a few rude giants and being turned away from talking to Kraggen. Not that she had really wanted to, but she figured he would be fun to play with.
They all sat around a makeshift table Kraggen’s troops had put together. He stood up at the end of it and raised his chalice, which had been h
and-carved overnight. “Thank you all for coming to this breakfast. I know a lot of you had more fun than you could handle last night, and that is the way it’s supposed to be. Of course, none of it would have been possible without Juntto and me and my men.”
Pandora leaned into Katie. “He’s a real modest one. Douchebag.”
Katie snickered, hiding her smirk and clearing her throat. Kraggen took a sip of his drink, which Katie for some reason figured was tequila. He swished his hand in front of him. “I also have an announcement to make. A very important one, and it is personal, so no one need feel obliged to join me. Either way, I have decided that I will not be leaving Earth. I want to stay here.”
Katie dropped her fork, and Pandora giggled. That really wasn’t the way Katie had hoped things would go, but it looked like she might just be screwed. Her eyes shifted to Juntto, who was able to keep his composure. She had to give it to him; when it came to matters involving his people, he had become a professional at keeping calm.
Kraggen smiled at the giants who were nodding their heads. He shrugged and looked at Juntto for a reaction. When he didn’t get one, he continued, “I want the Earthly nobles under Juntto’s control to pay me homage, as is my right. They need to know how deep his roots really go. What do you think, Juntto? I’m sorry…King Juntto.”
Juntto gave him a mocking smile. “I think that may be unnecessary. Our people will be chomping at the bit to give you gifts and rewards back on our home planet, and it might be too much to carry. Besides, humans don’t worship us, they fear us. They don’t give deep-rooted love; they give you attention so they can survive. You’ll be much better off at home.”
Kraggen’s smile slowly faded, and he set his cup down. He began to chuckle angrily, shaking his head. “You know, Juntto, you almost had me fooled. I don’t think you conquered Earth. I don’t think you rule this planet. And do you know how I came to that conclusion? Your little angels over here. They are too comfortable, and you are too happy to look to them for answers. A true king would never need that. A true king would always have the answers.”
Juntto smirked, his eyes shifting downward. “And you believe you are a king of that sort?”
Kraggen smiled, picking up his cup again. “I know I am that kind of king. Therefore, since there is no leader, I am declaring myself the new King of Earth!”
All of Kraggen’s men stood and cheered, raising their glasses to him. He waved his arms and looked at Juntto and the rest in warning.
22
Lucifer took a gulp of his drink and glanced at the screen just as Kraggen declared himself King of Earth. Lucifer choked, spraying his drink all over the floor in front of him. He gasped for air, wine running down his chin. He leaned over and slapped his paws on his thighs, his laughter reverberating through the throne room. It became almost manic and high-pitched, and he let go of the chalice he was holding, spilling the wine all over the floor.
Mania and Baal quickly stood up, glancing at each other. They had never seen him act that way, and usually when laughter was involved, it wasn’t a good sign. It most often was followed by the extreme torture or death of one of the demons. Neither of them wanted to be next, so they simultaneously began to back away from him. Lucifer hadn’t noticed that he was scaring the hell out of them, and they kept looking at each other, unsure of what to do.
But the reality of it was that Lucifer wasn’t upset. He was actually thrilled at the way everything was going. He looked around for Baal and Mania, who stopped moving and grinned. “Oh, that is the perfect thing. Absolutely the perfect thing. Can you believe it? I can’t. I mean, I love all of this. The way it is blowing up in their faces by bringing the frost giants to Earth! Oh, the glory of it all. If the other idiots had just waited, they would see that humans will just kill themselves off with stupid decisions.”
Baal and Mania looked at each other again, and Mania let out a deep sigh. She sauntered back over to the chairs and took a seat. Baal wasn’t as sure about his chances, so he took his time making his way back. The last thing he wanted to do was end up lashed to a pole with only one testicle and no limbs.
Lucifer stood up and let out a deep sigh. “Oh, man. That’s just so great. I’m really hoping that somebody finally murders that asswipe Juntto. He’s a fucking lunatic; that’s why we used him in the first place.”
Baal smirked. “The Leviathan who grew a conscience. Disgusting.”
Lucifer quickly pointed at Baal, making him jump. “Exactly right. Exactly fucking right. I’ll be honest, though, I’m more interested in how Lilith is going to deal with this. She has a tendency to think without touching. Not to mention that if you give her one victory, she will be headstrong and stupid about other situations of the same magnitude. That’s how she ends up getting her dumb ass into cracks.”
Baal looked at the footage. “Do you think she can take this frost giant down? He’s pretty cocky.”
Lucifer shrugged. “She brought Juntto to heel, but man, I don’t know. I don’t know if this bitch can bring Kraggen under her control. He isn’t the same as Juntto was. He cares about fame and the other fucking stupid shit humans cling to. I’m not mocking it; it’s what fills my quota of beautifully disgusting demons. But it’s still different than Juntto. He was ruthless, just like her. He was…beautifully disturbed. A being after my own heart…if I had one.”
“I want everyone to understand,” Brock explained, pacing in front of the Damned. “The frost giants were the ones who made it possible to get rid of Legion. They are also incredibly hard to kill. If we don’t have to fight them, we won’t. This is more an intimidation tactic than anything. Nobody here moves until me or Katie gives the word. No need to accidentally start an incident.”
The Damned had gathered together at Brock’s request. They had a problem on their hands, one that Katie wanted to deal with as quickly as possible. The Damned were humanity’s best hope, but at the same time, they wanted to avoid a massive outburst. A fight with the frost giant army would most likely not end well for the Damned or the world. When the call was sounded, though, everyone came. Every Damned who had been put down by the Legion showed in support of their promise to protect the world, not just themselves. Sure, the frosts had saved them, but that didn’t give them the right to attempt global domination. They weren’t going to allow it.
Korbin had arrived and was finding the newest development more than a bit disturbing. He walked into the comm tent and looked at all the Damned gathered there. He noticed their solemn faces. The idea that they needed to protect the country from those who had saved their lives was hard for them to swallow, especially after such a short amount of time. Still, it was a dire situation, which was why he’d come as soon as he heard the news.
The tent flap was pulled back, and Sean rolled himself inside. Calvin nodded at him, knowing full well it was his choice to be there. Sean hadn’t come all that way to sit it out. He had come there to help. He knew he would get pushback for it, but it was what it was. He was not going to spend any more time being pushed because his legs were wheels and his stature not as high. He had spent a huge portion of his adult life as a Damned, and just from that, he was tougher than most.
Eddie was worried about him, though. He saw him roll in and to the side, listening to Brock. When they had been sent to the airstrip for the trip over, Eddie had jogged ahead to catch up with Sean. “Hey, man. I really think maybe you should sit this one out.”
Sean just shook his head and kept wheeling. Eddie sighed and jumped in front of him. Sean stopped and lifted his eyes to Eddie’s face. “Move, Eddie.”
Eddie put his hands up. “Just hear me out. Not only are you dealing with bad motherfucking beasts, but they are massively larger and much more highly trained. I think it’s fucking amazing that you want to stand behind this, but I don’t want to see anything happen to you.”
Sean released some of his anger. “I really appreciate you caring about me. I do. It means a hell of a lot. But this is my choice, and I know the ris
ks. If you want to be my friend, you’ll support that.”
Eddie narrowed his eyes as the crew headed out. Finally, he nodded. “All right, man. I got your back.”
Sean held out his hand and Eddie fist-bumped it. “Come on, let’s catch up.”
The entire Damned group walked together toward the frost encampment, with Katie and Pandora leading the way. When they arrived, the frosts stopped, staring from each side. Juntto was there, and Kraggen had begun to walk toward them. “What is this?”
Katie walked up to Kraggen. “I am here representing the people of Earth. This planet has gone through more egregious and terrifying scenarios in the last three years than most civilizations go through in a lifetime. We are not willing to allow you to continue that with your presence. You need to go home.”
Kraggen glanced at Juntto and began to laugh. “Juntto, is this another one of your jokes? A welcome from your people?”
Katie gritted her teeth. “I assure you, Juntto had no knowledge of this. I can also promise you that if you and your army of frost giants do not peacefully go back to your world, there will be consequences.”
Kraggen smirked. “Like what, little angel?”
“Like motherfucking paperwork. That’s what, you rude-ass blue blob,” Pandora spouted.
Juntto gasped, putting his big blue hand to his chest. “Come on, now. I think that’s too harsh a punishment even for the frost giants. And are you forgetting that these are also people that assisted you in getting rid of the Leviathan and saved the entire world in the process? Regardless of your feelings about them being here on this planet, we will not torture them. That is disgusting, even from you.”
Kraggen nodded. “Thank you, Juntto, although I don’t know what this paperwork torture is.”
Juntto hadn’t finished. “At the same time, Kraggen, you must return to your own planet. Although your presence and comradery have been amazing in our darkest of moments, you do not belong here, nor will you understand the customs and lifestyle. Do you agree to leave peacefully and without confrontation?”