The Nos was being converted into a Cthulhu…
Yamug saw the four arms begin to burst out of the nos' chest, followed by their original arms melting away into green steaming goo. The legs started to change, ripping apart, and splitting into seven parts that started to turn brown. Yamug gasped.
Xairin saw as Yamug looked to his right. An Alpha Nos levitated up off their balcony and began glowing as electrical sparks surrounded the Alpha's body until it was able to release a bolt of blue lightning. Xairin knew then, that was where Immortium and Aeonians inherited this trait from.
This time Yamug saw a Cthulhu warrior take the brunt of an electrical blast. The creature burst into flames. Yamug paid close attention. The creature turned to ash. He now knew how to kill them. Xairin could feel his telepathy reach the Supreme Alpha so that this vital information could be relayed to the other Alphas. A moment later, Yamug could see the Nos Omegas, Deltas, and Betas below, setting their laser staves to vaporize. Unfortunately, it was too late for that. There simply wasn't enough firepower going off to repeal the new generation of Cthulhu that had been spawned.
In the distance, Yamug could see a new Cthulhu emerge from the forward ship. This one was massive in size. This creature was every bit of forty feet in height and had fully developed arms along the sides, instead of the front. Yamug didn't know if this was a queen, a king, or an alpha of some sort. All he knew was that it clearly was directing the assaults. A second one emerged a moment later, followed by two others of equal size and mass.
Dozens of the Cthulhu warriors took to the air with their leathery wings, which made it far more challenging to target. They were slaughtering the Nos below. Yamug retreated inside the pyramid. He pressed a diamond-shaped control panel, closing the door to the balcony. He was running.
Yamug could feel the directions being given by the Supreme. "RETREAT!" It said.
The hallways were all green, a glowing emerald in color. Yamug went into an armory room. The room was filled with laser staves and other weapons. Yamug quickly grasped a stave, and what looked like a suitcase to Xairin.
A tentacle burst through the wall. It was massive. The tip of it opened up like a banana, showing off rows of curved hook-like teeth. The undulating body swiped at Yamug twice, and then came at his face directly. Yamug dropped the case and threw his hand out. Xairin could see his four fingers, glowing, and creating an electrical shield that kept the creature from reaching him. Sparks burst with each strike until the tentacle had enough and retreated back through the hole it had made.
Yamug grabbed the case and left the room, he continued down two tunnels. He reached a security door that began to open, as two crystal panels separated. Yamug stood there, and as the crystal panels slid a Nos standing on the other side fell to the floor before Yamug. It was his brother, Codigan.
Xairin didn't understand the language, that part of whatever he was reliving, he couldn't make out. What he did make out was that Codigan was infected by the Cthulhu. There was a bite, a noticeable one. Yamug was weeping.
Xairin could feel Yamug's pain and watched as he could make out, Codigan begging Yamug to kill him. Yamug grasped his staff, but then put it down. Yamug was a military scientist for the Nos. He knelt down and opened up the metallic case. Inside it, were tools that Xairin couldn't make out, or think of anything in his world that were similar, except for one item. It looked like a gun, a green gun, that had four clear spikes on the top of it.
Xairin could tell that Yamug was asking his brother for forgiveness as he pressed the trigger, causing a needle to insert into Codigan's neck, right as his arms were beginning to disintegrate into green slime.
Xairin watched as the four spikes filled with fluid. Two spikes, filled with bluish colored blood, while the last two were mixed with blue and black. He could see the black swirls. Once Yamug finished, he put the gun back into the case. He stood up, pointed his staff at his brother's chest, and the next thing that Xairin witnessed was a discharge of purple light aimed at Codigan's sternum. He watched as the blue-skinned alien turned to dust, starting from his chest, and then to his head and extremities.
A time-lapse happened. Xairin was walking into some sort of laboratory in which their entire technology was based on controlling and manipulating the very atomic structure of matter itself. Every item in the lab was made of green, purple, or blue crystals. What caught Xairin's eye, was something that contrasted everything he was seeing. Yamug was standing over a red crystal, pointed on both ends, perfectly crafted. He watched as it was filling up with a red fluid flowing from a large vat near the end of the room. The red liquid was running through a crystal tube that was connected to the large shard. Yamug watched as it filled it completely, and then moved like a snake, attaching to another empty red shard.
Xairin watched through Yamug's eyes. He could feel that he was on some sort of space station, that much he knew for sure. He watched as Yamug walked over to a large translucent window. He was looking out into space. He was watching as hundreds of these shards were being moved through the dark void. Each one exited an emerald-colored sphere. Xairin watched as the red shards moved and began fusing with other shards, forming seven different large circular bodies. Xairin knew right then, the crimson comet that passed by the earth wasn't the only crimson comet in existence, there were six others…
"Xairin!" He heard. "Xairin?" He listened again. Xairin woke up. He raised up from the hot tub, feeling a little disoriented. He looked around the room. The warm man's voice spoke again. "Xairin, are you awake?"
"Who the hell is there!?" Xairin asked.
"Xairin, I am Arcaidus, the artificial intelligence program you helped vote into allowing my existence. Are you fine? Your body movements suggested an unpleasant dream."
Xairin shook his head and wiped the water out of his eyes. He looked around. "How the heck can you see me?"
Arcaidus spoke. "Look to your left Xairin. I have installed sensors throughout the entire complex, as well as the structures on Tenebris island. I have included holographic programs to increase protection to all staff, as well as the Council quarters."
"Are you fine, Prince Thunder?"
"Yes, I'm fine. But if you can see me, you need to know that I am not decent? I am taking a bath, and this has the whole peeping tom feel written all over it."
"I will turn off my visual scans and switch to motion detection to allow your privacy," Arcaidus said.
Xairin could see a new fixture in his room that looked like a black sphere. It was connected to a black metallic cord that wasn't there yesterday when he fell asleep. Xairin got up and found a towel in one of the drawers by the vanity mirror. He wrapped it around himself and realized the only clothing he had was the suit that Ethan had given him. "Well, shit!"
"What is it, Prince Thunder?"
Xairin rolled his eyes. "You can call me by my first name, just like you were when you were waking me."
"You were not responding to Prince Thunder, so I opted to use your first name to wake you."
"Well, Xairin is fine. As for what's wrong, I don't have any clean clothes to change into."
Arcaidus quickly replied. "I can have a thrall deliver a change of clothing that should fit your body type."
"Fine, please do that," Xairin said.
Arcaidus didn't say anything else. Xairin stood there looking at himself in the mirror. He was shocked. He was certain that what he had dreamed wasn't a dream, but a memory programmed somehow into the shard that was specific to his infection. Xairin had a gut feeling that Yamug had managed to decode the Cthulhu DNA and found a way to splice it into the Nos, giving them immunity to being converted by Cthulhu; however, the side effect was anything infected was the reason they couldn’t be compatible with other strains once a new strain emerged. It had to be true, he figured.
Xairin wasn't sure if the Nos were all killed off. What he was sure of, was there were six other comets out there. He was also sure of another thing. Yamug was responsible. He created what they call
ed, the Aeon Strain. Xairin was also pretty sure that the Aeon Strain was the only means Yamug could think of, that would allow his species to survive, by becoming part of other aliens in the galaxy, that and give them the ability to be immune to Cthulhu conversion. Xairin figured that was why immortals couldn’t interbreed. Cthulhu DNA was used to create the Aeon Strain, making them incompatible with other immortals, and the reason other immortal’s blood was often deadly for each other to consume. If a Cthulhu tried to convert someone carrying the Aeon Strain, it would be deadly to the aliens. It only made sense.
The only question Xairin had for himself now was, "Why am I the only one that had this dream? Why me? And... Should I say anything to anyone?" He thought this and didn't say it out loud for Arcaidus to detect. He was curious, though.
"Arcaidus?" He asked.
"Yes, Xairin?"
"What do you have access to exactly? The Internet I am assuming?"
Arcaidus aptly replied. "I have access to the Internet, the dark web, and limited access to internal networks belonging to the Global Alliance, though my sister program, Eve, can grant me additional clearances as needed. Why do you ask Xairin?"
Xairin was curious if the name Cthulhu had ever surfaced in any way on earth. "Have you any information on the word, Cthulhu?"
Arcaidus again replied aptly. "Cthulhu, The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, to identify the settings, tropes, and lore that were employed by Lovecraft and his literary successors. The name Cthulhu derives from the central creature in Lovecraft's seminal short story, "The Call of Cthulhu," which was first published in the pulp magazine. Weird Tales in the year 1928. Which the novel gained a cult following by supposed dark magick practitioners, which some made claims to Cthulhu being an actual being from a separate dimension from our own."
"Is there anything else that I can assist you with?" Arcaidus asked.
"Actually, yes. Are there any vehicles set aside for council members that I could use?"
Arcaidus promptly answered him. "Yes, there are several to choose from, would you like me to reserve one for you? If so, are there any preferences?"
"I like jeeps if that helps," Xairin replied.
"Color preference?"
"Silver, blue, white, not really all that picky," Xairin said.
"I can reserve a cobalt blue Hover Jeep for your personal use. I will have it updated to recognize your thumbprint for entry and ignition. It will be in hanger six, on the 14th level, for when you are ready."
"One more thing. Can you alert Damien Winters that I won't be needing a ride after all?"
Arcaidus replied. "I can send him a message now."
There was a knock on the metal door to Xairin's latest domicile. He walked over to the metal door and noticed there was a viewing screen to the right. He looked at it. There was a man on the other side, holding a stack of clothes. "Guess that's the thrall."
Xairin opened the door. The man standing there was dressed in a black and red uniform, a suit of sorts. He handed Xairin the clothing. "My Prince, Arcaidus said you requested additional garments?"
"Please call me Xairin. And yes... I did ask Arcaidus for some clothes." Xairin looked at the outfits. They were mostly just shirts and shorts and a few pairs of socks. "I am going to need some shoes to go with these. All I had with me was dress shoes. I wasn't expecting an overnight stay."
The man standing there was about five foot eight, slenderly built, with no facial hair, but well-groomed brown hair with a hard part on the left side. He nodded. "Size preference?"
Xairin almost let his mind go to the gutter. It was on the tip of his tongue, "Oh, yeah, I prefer a guy with at least a 7-8-inch cock with decent girth." Thankfully that sentence didn't leave his mouth. He stopped himself. It had been a while since he had experienced any real intimacy, and he was starting to feel that itch that needed scratching, that and sex always was a good stress relief for Xairin, and right now, he was feeling it. "Oh, um... I wear a size 13 1/2, wide. Sneakers are my preference, but as long as it is a tan shoe, black or white is okay, it should match what you brought me. Also, no high tops, I hate high tops."
"I will see what I can find."
He was kind of cute. Xairin wasn't getting the gay-dar alert but was going to be polite and ask. "What's your name?"
"Harry Zelwiger."
"See you soon, then, Harry."
As soon as Xairin's door slid down, he dropped the towel to the floor and began changing into a white t-shirt, and tan shorts. He was going to have to free-ball it since no boxers or underwear had been included, which was fine by Xairin. The socks Harry brought, were anklets which worked well. Xairin hated socks that pulled up past the ankle unless they were dress socks for obvious reasons.
"Xairin, Damien Winters, seems a little distressed that you wish to travel without him. He has requested that you reconsider and is on his way to speak with you." Arcaidus announced.
"UHG!" Xairin grunted.
Arcaidus spoke again. "You are scheduled to meet with Alice Grimm today, she is one of the Society's top scientists. She has requested to personally be present for when you and your family have your blood drawn and analyzed per the meeting yesterday."
"Ah crap, I thought they were just going to analyze Sara's blood?"
"No, Xairin, they will be taking blood samples from you as well. Would you prefer her to come to you, or meet in the infirmary?"
"I can go to the infirmary, that's fine," Xairin replied.
The door to his domicile slid upward into the ceiling. Damien was standing there. Xairin turned around, rolling his eyes. "Yes?"
"What is this, you going off on your own without me? I thought I was to take you back to Ethan's mansion?"
Xairin shrugged. "Change of plan?"
"You really shouldn't be going around without a guard Xairin." Damien implied firmly.
"I'm not trying to play the spoiled brat thing here, but I really need some space, from all of this. I truly appreciate getting to know you, and honestly, you do make me feel safer than I have been in a while, but I need my own space. I feel smothered. I realize that you just found out that you have grandkids, I promise, I do understand that, but I feel like you're trying to cram in the last twenty-eight years of my life that you missed out on, in just a few weeks. Plus, the funeral yesterday, one moment I am trying to say something about my friend, then protestors show up, and then the next thing I know, I'm whisked off to this island for a council meeting. I just want some time to breathe and just process everything I am going through right now." Xairin said softly yet sternly.
Damien tried his best to put himself in Xairin's shoes. As much as he disagreed with it, he did understand where Xairin was coming from. "Fine, but I want you to check in with me regularly, at least twice a day, even if it is just a text."
"I can do that," Xairin said.
"Look, I am supposed to give some blood samples, and I think I am going to hang around here at least for the rest of the day. I spoke with the Sasquatch tribe leader and received permission to go and visit Alex Fifer's grave, I really want to pay my respects. Then, probably head back to Ethan's. Xairin informed.
"Maybe I should go…" Damien tried to say before Xairin interrupted.
"I want to go alone. You said it, everyone else keeps calling me it, I am a prince, right? I already got his permission to be on their land. I will be fine." Xairin said hastily.
Damien looked shocked and sad, all at the same time. He was feeling overwhelmed himself, and what Xairin had just said, did nail one thing down. Damien did feel like he needed to make up for lost time, but he never thought about it being too much, too quickly. He had to give Xairin his space. "You're twenty-eight, you're a grown man, so, I will respect your wishes."
Damien turned around and left. Xairin was about to say something because he could tell he was upset, but D
amien walked off faster than Xairin could react.
"Is what it is, I guess," Xairin said.
Chapter 3.2
Xairin was sitting in the infirmary waiting for Alice Grimm to make her rounds to get to him. He had kept to himself, avoiding Sara, Cecilia, and Vaughn. He had eyed Isac a few times and tried to avoid him to at the moment. He just wasn't ready to take on new family members that might try to make up for lost time right now.
Troger made an appearance. Xairin noticed him on a cot in the sizeable blue-colored room. He couldn't help but walk over and check on him. Troger looked as if he had suffered burns to the face. "What happened to you?" Xairin asked.
He was slow to sit up but tried his best. "Xairin!"
"Please tell me you made it to a team by now?"
Troger nodded. "I finally did, Team 309."
"Are these practice burns?" Xairin asked.
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