Revelation (M/F) (F/M) - A sequel to Devastation

[Bandit666]

You know there’s little I can say that hasn’t just been said by two great Grand Masters of the bondage world, though I too can see the near endless possibilities for more adventures to come, can enjoy these quieter times before such actions resume, you ready do entertain and delight while producing a wonderful tale @wolfman

[wolfman]

@Caesar73 @GreyLord and @Bandit666 thank you for taking the time to read and comment.

The possibilities for this tale are many and varied, the challenge is making them feel real and grounded in the characters. I find the quiet moments, make the action of all types feel more impactful.

This is one of a few chapter where you will see how the other characters in this world, jave moved on since Nikita went to Atlantis, before things kick up a gear.

Stay tuned for more

[wolfman]

Well, after a long road this story has reached 500,000 views.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has followed this tale since its inception. With special mention to @Caesar73, @GreyLord, @slackywacky and @Bandit666 for your unwavering support of both my story and mtself.

This has been a heck of a journey for me and I am proud to have shared it with you all.

Thank you one and all

[GreyLord]

Well, after a long road this story has reached 500,000 views.

...

This has been a heck of a journey for me and I am proud to have shared it with you all.

Thank you one and all

Congratulations, @wolfman. This is an important milestone. Not many stories make it this far, even fewer in the M/F or F/F category. You have not only made it, you continue going strong.

[slackywacky]

500,000... Party time! grab the booze/beer/water/whatever and party!
600,000 here we come.

[Caesar73]

Hello @wolfman

as @GreyLord and @slackywacky rightfully state? Congratulations! Chris would gladly sabering a bottle of Champagne for you with her Katana!

[wolfman]

@GreyLord @Caesar73 @slackywacky thank you for your very kind words and messages of support over the years.

Without your patronage, I am not sure, I would have kept posting and got to this milestone.

[wolfman]

Not for the feint hearted

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky


Sasha rolls her shoulders and tries a couple of test punches in the Sheath. She frowns, slightly, “It’s not bad, but it’s a bit loose for my liking.”

“Look at the underside of your left fore arm and tap the panel.” Nikita says, helping Kim into a suit. “When the display comes up, click adjust.”

Sasha shrugs and follows the instruction, with her eye brows raised when the suit tightens and the boots and gloves adjust to fit her perfectly. “Cool trick.” She says, crouching low and sweeping her arms and practicing a capoiera jinga. “Fits perfectly and is so light and easy to move in.”

“You don’t know the half of it. Spider silk and Orichalcum interweave, it is ultra light weight and multi layered, between each layer is impact absorbing gel. Will stop a 12 gauge slug at five metres. It also has contoured inserts for additional protection of vital organs. Pop on the helmet and click pair on the controls.” Nikita says as Kim adjust her suit.

Sasha puts on the helmet and pairs it with the suit. The visor snaps down, and the display fills her eyes with light. “Full spectrum visual sensor suite, everything from IR to UV. Geiger counter, directional microphone sonar, radar and echolocation. Networked to nearby helmets to enable 3D target tracking and indirect fire. Suit also tracks vital signs in real time and feeds back key data.”

Sasha nods appreciatively, however Dani frowns “Sounds impressive, but a bit big brotherish.”

Halpron speaks softly, “You can set your personal network using the control panel to restrict who sees your data. Once that is set it cannot be centrally overriden. Also there is multi layered anti virus protection to protect from hacking.”

Dani nods and smiles subtly, “Nice touch. Anything else we need to know about the suits?”

“Yes, can you enable DNI on the controls.” Nikita says, helping Tara with her suit, “This is a Direct Neural Interface which allow control of the suits functions with a thought.”

Sasha enables it sceptically and then pops her helmet open with a thought, “That’s pretty cool. Is every soldier issued with one of these?”

“Yes and most civilians are too. It is a precaution, so that if the people are called to action, they are protected.” Halpron says, calmly.

“That is pretty hardcore.” Kim says, bringing up a menu, and frowning “Temperature controls?”

“Yeah, you can adjust the temperature of the suit to counter hot or cold conditions.” Nikita explains, “It also adjusts for atmospheric pressure and pressure at depth, although we are still working on underwater options. Your suits also have the first responders mods. You can monitor life signs of a patient by placing your hand on their chest and if their hearts stop the suits will instruct where to place the palms of your hands, which will act as a medical grade defibrillator.”

Kim and Tara face off and begin trading body blows and giggling, “This armour is so good, I can barely feel it. Mind you Kim does punch like a wuss.” Tara says, with a chuckle, earning a roundhouse kick to the chin for her trouble. “Nope, didn’t feel it. This is like a superhero costume.”

“Some superhero.” Kim says, unleashing a braces of jabs, “You can’t even fly.”

Sasha opens her mouth to stop the girls, but Nikita stops her, with a gentle hand on her arm and a whisper, “The suits can take a lot more than that. Don’t worry, they won’t get hurt.”

“Hmmm, OK I guess.” Sasha says, with a wry smile. “If I am honest, it is good that they have something to protect them.”

Nikita winks, “This is just the back up. You haven’t got the main protection yet.”



Sasha, Dani and the girls stand in a semi circle focused on Nikita, “In addition to the suits, you are all wearing an Arrester unit. You can activate it through the peripherals menu. Once activated you will be able to use it through its own interface, without wearing the suit.”

“What does it actually do?” Kim asks, unable to make sense of the commands.

“Have you activated it?” Halpron asks. Kim nods and Halpron nods towards the climbing wall, “How fast can you get up that wall?”

Kim beams a smile and race’s up the wall, maintaining three point contact all the way to the highest point. Halpron nods will a smile, “Impressive. Now let go.”

Kim sees the drop beneath her and hesitates, looking over to Sasha. Sasha leaps forward, kicking upwards on motes of dust in the air to join Kim. “Don’t worry love, I’ll make sure it is safe.”

Sasha drops from the wall and braces for an impact that never comes, instead landing softly. Seeing her puzzlement, Halpron explains, “The Arrester has a dampening field, which dissipates the kinetic energy of a falling person at the point of impact. With it, our soldiers can step out of a plane at altitude, drop straight down and land as if stepping off of a kerb.”

Kim drops straight off the wall and upon landing, exclaims, “That’s so peng.”

Anya, Ali and Tara all race up the wall to try it for themselves with whoops of delight.

Halpron winks at Nikita and walks over to Kim, “I am sorry about that. It was mean of me to ask that of you, without explaining first.”

Giggling, Kim chuckles, “No worries.”

“I’ll even give you a free shot.” He taps his stomach, “I want you to hit me as hard as you can.”

Kim looks up at him nervously, “I don’t want to hurt you. You seem like a cool guy, I don’t want to break you.”

He leans forward and winks, “I will be alright. Go for it.” Halpron assures her.

Kim shrugs and lashes out with cobra like speed, finding her blow turned aside at the last minute. As she stands there open mouthed and confused, Halpron softly speaks, “Stop messing about, go for it.”

Kim tries again finding her strikes turned aside and unable to connect. She then takes a breath and places her fist on his stomach. She tenses throwing her weight behind it, but finding her hand forced back.

Nikita places a hand on her shoulder, “Hal is messing with you. The same field that protects you from hard landings, also protects you from incoming attacks too. While active, the Arrester protects you from gunfire, claws, melee, flame, radiation and heat.”



Dani exhales slowly, as she wraps her head around the functions of the suit. She watches closely as Sasha and the girls throw test strikes against each other. She pulls a pinch of necrotic matter from beyond the barrier and shapes it into a tennis ball.

She subtly throws it at Sasha’s back and witnesses it rapidly slow down and drop to the floor. Nodding, she commands it back to her hand and flings it harder, with the same result. “My God. With protection of the arresters and the Sheaths, these guys must be a nightmare to fight. The helmet has built in filters and I am guessing there are peripherals for air tanks.” She subtly shakes her head and thinks, “This gear in the hands of battle hardened troops, will make them a force to be reckoned with.”

Dani quietly calls up the menu and accesses the arrester options, “Sound suppression? Really? What the heck is NG mode I wonder?”

As of on the same wavelength, Sasha asks out loud, “What is NG mode for?”

Nikita and Halpron exchange a glance, He nods and shrugs, “We give the full package.”

Nikita smiles and playfully says, “Turn it on and you can find out.”

Sasha narrows her eyes and activates it, then, nothing happens. “It doesn’t do anything.”

Nikita looks her in the eyes, “Just look at me for a minute.” She says raising an eyebrow, “You see the field suppression properties of the arrester have a lot of applications, from absorbing heat to quell fires, to absorbing radiation to render it harmless. You have seen how it acts on kinetic energy to reduce falling speed and the speed of incoming objects. NG works by negating the effects of gravity and expelling the absorbed force as thrust.”

Sasha frowns, slightly confused until Nikita says, “Look down.”

Sasha looks down to see the ground ten feet below her, as she hangs in the air. She looks back at her sister, with more questions than answers, “How?”

Nikita floats backwards, “Just think about which direction you would like to move, the interface and arrester will do the rest and don’t worry you it will protect you from a crash and from inertia when you accelerate and decelerate.” As if to prove her point, Nikita floats in a circle around the room before taking flight at speed. “Have fun with it.”

Sasha pictures herself giving chase and is stunned by the speed, as she follows her sister in a series of high speed banks and turns.

Soon the air is filled with the whoops and screeches of the girls, when they take to the air. All except Dani who lands next to Halpron.




“I know what you’re doing.” Dani says softly.

Halpron looks at her surprised, “I don’t know what you mean?”

“Rocking up as a man’s man and getting dad onside. Giving the girls access to magical armour that let’s them fly.” Dani says, “Classic misdirection for someone with something to hide.”

Halpron sighs, “Nikita has been with me for six wonderful months, but she has also been away from you. I want you to see that she is happy and that she is safe with me.”

Dani eyes him suspiciously, “When you are married, will you both still go into the field on operations?”

“By the time we are married, our ops teams will be set up to operate without us and we will focus on official duties.” Halpron says, warmly.

“What if your forces encounter something only Niki can deal with? Will you send her off to war, like a state weapon, controlled by marriage?” Dani asks coldly. “I know what she is capable of and I want to be sure that you are on the level.”

Halpron looks at her in shock, before softly whispering, “She is the only woman, I have ever loved and I could never sacrifice her in such a way. I hope that you will give me the chance to prove that.”

Dani feels the warmth and sincerity in his words and softens, “I’m sorry. Niki has been through a lot and I just want what is best for her.”

“In that, we are agreed. She inspires me with the way that she cares so unconditionally for others, despite everything she has gone through.” Halpron says, earnestly, “She makes me a better man. I aspire to be worthy of her and her love.”

Dani sees the look in his eyes as he looks at Nikita as he speaks, watching her arc and swoop through the air. “What is the deal with you?” she asks leaning back against the wall, “You are a king but you don’t act like one and certainly don’t talk like one.”

He sighs and turns his gaze back to Dani, “I have been a man and a soldier, a lot longer than I have been King. I have learned enough to be Regal when needed, but in private, I am still just a man. Behind closed doors to those I deem family, I am Hal. In Atlantis I am King and in the field, I am Apollo. But with Nikita, none of it matters and I lose myself in the love I have for her.”

Dani glances at Nikita briefly and smiles thinking, “You found a good looking, lovely guy, who happens to be a King who adores you. You go girl. You deserve a bit of happiness.”

She turns to him and nods, “OK lets say for now you seem like decent guy. You have got my vote.”

Halpron smiles warmly and breathes a sigh of relief, “Thank you. I appreciate that.” He pauses, thinking for a moment, before checking that Nikita’s attention is elsewhere, “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask a favour?”

Dani raises an eyebrow, “You can ask?” she says, softly ready for almost anything.

He visibly relaxes and he softly asks, the leans in an whispers in a conspiratorial tone, “Would you be able to give me some hints on a wedding gift? I want something special for her, that really means something to her.”




In the air above them, Sasha faces off against Nikita, “Fancy a bit of aerial sparring? Give these suits a real shakedown.” Sasha says, getting a feel for the suit.

“I am not sure that is such a good idea.” Nikita says, with a smile.

“Why is that, little sister? Worried I might whoop you in front of your fella?” Sasha says playfully.

“I don’t want to give you a spanking in front of your kids.” Nikita says, with a grin.

“Not happening.” Sasha says, rolling her shoulders and stretching in mid air.

Nikita shrugs, “Just remember, this was your decision. Pick your weapons.”

Sasha considers her options and decides on a pair of rapiers, “I have spare if you need them.”

Nikita shakes her head with a chuckle, “I said, choose your weapons, not mine.” The smile on Sasha’s face fades, when each of her sisters fingers lengthen into a four foot long razor sharp blade and a swarm of Asian giant Hornets surrounds her. Before Sasha’s eyes her sisters skin changes into a dense bony exoskeleton tipped with spikes, with arcs of electricity sparking between them.

“Jesus, that’s new.” Sasha says, beginning to regret the challenge.

Nikita smiles, showing a glittering row of razor sharp teeth, “Babe, you have no idea.” She says with a chuckle, before breathing a gout of flame into the air.

Sasha darts backwards, narrowly avoiding a handful of blades aimed at her chest. Nikita follows up with another swing of her claws, her left and right raking the air her sister once occupied.

Sasha pulls back thirty feet and then darts forward passing her sister, unable to connect with the swords she wields. Nikita turns aiming a strike at her sisters back and missing, when she darts out of range.

Nikita gives chase raking her sisters back multiple times, with her finger blades. Luckily, the arrester Sasha wears, cancels out the force of her blows.

Sasha darts away, then surges back swinging at her sister. Nikita manages to block some of the strikes but not all, even if the arrester protects her from harm.

They pull back and circle each other. Sasha nods decisively, stashing the rapiers and pulling two urumi swords. Nikita raises an eyebrow and smiles, “Finally going to stop holding back.” She says quietly.

With a flick of her wrists, the weapons flex. The ancient Indian blades flash through the air with a snap. The flexible metal of each eight bladed, whip sword, cracks in the air. Sasha surges forward, weaving a deadly web around herself.

Nikita laughs deeply, “About damn time.” She retracts her claws and changes each arm into eight slim, bone covered razor tipped tentacles, with a lions claw at the heart of each sucker. Then she stashes the suit and her legs split into an additional eight tentacles each.

Giant Asian Hornets dive at Sasha from above and behind, striking at her suit and helmet. She spins, whirling the whip swords trying to catch the predatory insects in the air, slicing and dicing them with abandon.

Nikita wraps a tentacle slowly around her distracted sister’s ankle and squeezes till she has a good grip, slow enough not to trip the arrester, but quick enough to snare her.

Sasha looks down feeling the squeeze and knows, she has messed up. Nikita spins in place accelerating her sister and flinging her at a wall. The arrester prevents serious injury but Sasha knows she has lost the advantage.

By the time she reorients herself, Nikita is charging in, tentacles flailing, razor edged tips streaking towards Sasha’s heart. Sasha stashes the urumi and pulls two short swords. Then begins dropping shuriken from her stash in front of her and kicking them towards Nikita.

Nikita bats them aside as they approach, careful to knock them into walls and not towards the floor. Sasha holds her ground, when Nikita arrives and her swords smash into her sisters armoured tentacles, frantically sweeping them aside as they strike at her like cobras.

On instinct, Sasha launches a full force kick at Nikita’s head, only to have it turned aside at the last moment, putting her off balance. While Sasha is of balance in mid air, Nikita gently nudges her with each tentacle in turn, spinning her ever faster until she lands in a heap on the floor. Nikita pulls back and tilts her head. “Enough of a demo?” She asks, gently.

Sasha smiles, “I think we have proved that the suits and arresters work. Fancy a one on one, no arrester sparring match.”

“No blades, no tentacles, just suits and hand to hand.” Nikita says, with a grin, “Sure, I can handicap myself to give you a chance.”

“The only handicap you are going to have is the wheel chair, I put you in.” Sasha says in a mock serious tone.

Nikita descends landing near the centre of the room and turning off her arrester. By the time Sasha joins her, she is in a full Sheath without helmet. Sasha removes her helmet and the pair face off once again.




Dani and Halpron sit with Liam, Kim and her sister and watch the scene unfold. Kim produces some bottles of ice cold sparkling water from her stash, while Tara passes around a selection of snacks.

Dani begins to commentate, “This should be a bit more of an even match. Sasha is a natural fighter, but has honed her mind and body into a peak fighting machine, acting at the speed of thought. Nikita on the other hand, has massive strength, speed and stamina, but is not a trained fighter to the same degree Sasha is.”

Halpron smiles, keeping his own counsel as the sisters circle each other. Quietly, he reflects on the countless hours sparring between he and Nikita over the last six months.

The world slows but Sasha doesn’t, leaping forward with a punishing kick to Nikita’s chest, knocking her back slightly. Sasha presses the advantage, driving forth with blow after blow aimed at her sister head and upper body. Nikita makes no move to stop the blows connecting and allows her sister to strike unresisted.

Sasha pulls back from the assault, seeing her sister battered and bleeding.

“Here it comes.” Halpron says, softly. When all eyes turn to him he simply nods towards the combatants and whispers, “Watch.”

Nikita wipes the blood from her face an casually flicks it towards Sasha. In the time it takes Sasha to duck and wipe away the blood that hits her, Nikita has reset her injuries and bears down on her sister.

Sasha scrambles backwards, but Nikita body slams her, taking her to the ground. Pinned under her heavier sister, Sasha frees an arm and strikes at Nikita exposed face, accidentally catching her in the eye, gouging it terribly.

Nikita grunts in pain and resets her body to full health once again and head butts her sister, squarely catching her on the nose.

Sasha howls in pain and draws on her deepest reserves to shove Nikita off of her. She watches through streaming eyes and Nikita rolls backwards and takes to her feet in a ready stance.

Nikita raises her arms in defence, when Sasha surges forward with a flurry of jabs coupled with sweeping kicks, that fall short of knocking her sisters feet from under her.

Nikita's arm protects her head, from an opening flurry of blows that would splinter a mortal man’s bones. Sasha pummels Nikita’s arms, then sharply kicks her sisters knee.

Nikita grunts in pain and rolls backwards, resetting her dislocated knee mid-roll. She smoothly gets to her feet, however Sasha is on her immediately, with a storm of jabs, to distract her sister, before attempting to sweep her legs away.

Nikita cartwheels sideways, evading the strike to her legs. Sasha finds herself with her back to her sister and spins to face her, straight into a right jab to the jaw, followed by a left cross. Sasha shakes her head, dazed, Nikita closes in with a sharp left backfist – right cross combination to Sasha’s right bicep, deadening her arm.

Sasha backpedals, trying to get away, however, Nikita presses forward, lashing out with jabs and uppercuts that Sasha barely avoids. “Where the hell did she learn to fight like this?” Sasha asks herself, whilst re-evaluating a number of her life choices.

Nikita advances, stance tight and low, giving no opening. Sasha attacks, Nikita counters. Sasha advances, Nikita evades. “Time to end this.” Nikita decides.

Sasha’s heart sinks, seeing the roundhouse kick, aimed at her jaw, too fast to evade. It catches her hard and she spins, lashing out with her left foot. Nikita is too slow to evade the foot and drops hard.

Pressing the advantage, Sasha connects with an elbow drop to the solar plexus taking the wind out of Nikita. Sasha straddles Nikita’s chest and rains down blows on her sister.

Nikita lifts her legs and flexes her hips, then with her pelvis against Sasha’s back, locks her ankles together under her attackers chin. Before Sasha realises what is happening, she is slammed hard onto her back.

Sasha lays dazed, as Nikita straddles her stomach and presses a hand to her chest, with an iron grip. Sasha tries to pry the fingers away. When that doesn’t work, she savagely chops her sister elbow, with a snap.

Nikita flips backwards, but Sasha bucks to her feet and charges, kicking off of dust motes in the air and slamming knee first into Nikita’s chest, with a crunch.



Kim winces, hearing Nikita’s collar bones snap, from Sasha’s two fisted hammer blows. “Jesus, this is not fun to watch.” She psis to her sister.

“Should we like, step in?” Tara psis, watching Nikita grabs Sasha’s hair and slams Sasha’s head into her knee.

“I am frightened to get in the middle of it.” Anya psis, with responses of “True dat.” From her sisters.

Sasha staggers back. Nikita moves forward, but Sasha hammers home a haymaker, putting Nikita on her back. Sasha presses the advantage, leaping to pin Nikita, only for Nikita to catch her by the throat and flip her over, slamming her head into the floor.

Sasha reels, dates from the blow seeing two of her sister bearing down on her. Nikita aims surgical jabs at Sasha’s jaw, with thunderous force that could liquefy bone.

As Nikita’s right fist streaks down, Sasha sweeps her right arm across her body from left to right, redirecting the force of the blow. Instead of pummelling straight down, her force is directed to her left and she is pulled off balance.

Nikita’s shoulder, cracks Sasha’s collar bone when she lands. The pain galvanised Sasha into action and she rabbit punches the base of Nikita's skull three times and , then shoves her sister aside.

When Nikita doesn’t rise, Sasha crouches at her side to check she is OK. Without warning, Nikita opens her eyes and winks. Sasha winks back and whispers, “Thank you.”

Nikita resets her body’s condition and sits up, giving her sister a hug. Sasha hugs her back and whispers, “Why did you hold back? You could have crushed me every time you laid a hand on me.”

“Did you see how closely the girls were watching? They need heroes and not one like me who will be going again soon.” Nikita pauses, “They need to see you as the hero and badass you are. You are the role model that they need. They have so much potential. Show them how to be like you and the world will be a better place.”

[GreyLord]

Sasha is good, Nikita rules.

[Caesar73]

What a magnificent gripping fighting scene between the sisters. You really have a knack for scenes like this - and a lot of other things @wolfman - you rise to ever new hights!

[wolfman]

@GreyLord @Caesar73 thank yoi for your comments.

Sasha and Niki are both formidable fighters ans it was a challengebto write this fight between them.

In a flat out fight, Niki has so many advantages over Sasha, but Sasha is not without her own abilities. I wanted a brutal fight where they went for each other to see who was best, but not to tear each other apart. I like to think this showcases the formidable nature of both combatants, without making one of them look weak.

[wolfman]

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky

Kim and her sisters, stare at Sasha and Nikita with a combination of awe and admiration.

Dani smiles at their hero worship, “It was a hell of a fight, but Sasha only won because Nikita held back.” She thinks, with a shrug.

Halpron smiles at Nikita and winks. She winks back with a cheeky smile. “I want to rip his clothes off first chance we get.” She thinks, laying down a plate of bacon and eggs, next to a plate of baguettes.

Sasha lays down a plate of sausages and mushrooms with a pot of coffee. Everyone has developed an appetite and pounces on the spread before them.

Kim says what her sisters are thinking, “Auntie Niki? How long will you be here?”

Nikita swallows a mouthful of bacon, sausage and mushroom and dabs her mouth, “A few days. We have a natural break in our schedules and have to formally announce our engagement, when we get back.”

“This is so mad.” Tara says, with sparkling eyes.

Nikita smiles, warmly, “Even I have to admit it is pretty wild.”

Halpron, takes her right hand in his left and gently squeezes, “Life is fleeting, when you find that special someone , who makes your world complete. You have to grab hold with both hands and never let go.” He kisses her softly on the cheek, “I will fight for us always, my love.”

Dani feels a tear in her eye, seeing the love Nikita and Halpron share. “I see the easy way you are together, I’m really happy for you both.”

Sasha sighs, “I have to admit, you are good together.” Whilst memories flash in her minds eye of her own wedding day.

Nikita sees the momentary flash of emotion in her sister and takes her hand, “I am so sorry. If this is too much for you, we can change the subject.”

Sasha wipes a tear away with the back of her hand, “I’m OK. It’s great seeing you happy. You deserve all the happiness in the world.”

Nikita rises from her seat and hugs her sister, “Whatever happens, I will always be there for you all.”

“How can you go from tearing the hell out of each other to this?” Kim asks, with wide eyed incredulity.

Sasha smiles through tears, “Don’t be daft, that was a play fight, nothing serious.”

“That.” Kim exclaims shocked, “Was a play fight?”

“Of course, we both wanted to win but we didn’t mean anything by it.” Nikita affirms.

Kim nods, but is not fully convinced, “OK then.”

“What are your plans for today?” Sasha asks, Nikita and Halpron.

“We haven’t really made any plans for today. We were just going to play it by ear and spend it with you guys, dad, Lou and Tommy.” Nikita admits, “I feel bad that I have barely seen Tommy.”

“To be fair, you have been saving the universe.” Tara says, trying to be helpful.

“I fear that is my fault, for keeping her so busy. I am sorry for keeping Nikita from you all.” Halpron apologises.

“Yeah you should be ashamed.” Sasha says, in mock indignation, “I guess we will have to make the best of you both, while we have you.”




Halpron sits comfortably in the saddle of a massive black stallion flanked by Kim and Anya. Ali and Tara follow on with Sasha, both girls less comfortable with horses.

“Where did you learn to ride? You are really good.” Kim remarks, with admiration.

“My cousin Tutus and I had childhoods with the knights of Lyonesse and the tribes of the Steppes. They both live on horseback.” Halpron says, guiding his horse in a loose circle to the left.

“How do you do that without using the reins?” Anya asks, confused.

“It’s in the hips and the knees. I learned this on the Steppes. Keeps your hands free to fire a bow, use a lasso or anything else you need to do. To be fair, similar techniques were used by European knights and American cowboys.” Halpron explains, off handedly. “It’s good for taking a selfie at a gallop too.”

“Whoa, could you teach us? That sounds so cool.” Anya says, excited.

Halpron shrugs and glances at Sasha, “Would that be alright?” Sasha nods and Halpron begins to explain what to do.



Dani wears a loose tank top and baggy shorts. She lights a cigarette and leans back against a tree, “How come you aren’t on horseback?”

Nikita lays back on the grass, in shorts and a crop top allowing herself to get some sun. “Same as you, I make horses skittish.”

Dani offers a cigarette, but Nikita declines, “Haven’t had one in about six months.”

“Really?” Dani says, thoughtfully, “A lot has changed with you hasn’t it.”

“Yeah, it has to be fair.” Nikita says, with a faraway look at Halpron, before looking back at her sister, “So what’s new with you?”

Dani sends a plume of smoke skyward and shrugs, “Not much. I am still not sleeping right. I haven’t used my abilities since you left.”

Nikita sits up, and props herself up on her elbows, “Talk to me.”

Dani takes another lungful of tobacco smoke and holds it for a moment, before exhaling slowly, “Where do I start?” she asks, tiredly. Nikita doesn’t push, she allows her sister to compose herself, “I didn’t want to do this. But, I can’t talk to Sasha. She is lovely, but she just won’t get it.”

“You can talk to me, babe.” Nikita says, supportively.

“After Central Africa, in that moment after you pulled everyone’s life from them. How did you feel?” Dani says, with a faraway look in her eyes.

Nikita feels her cheeks flush, “Oh wow. Start with an easy one eh? In an instant I felt their lives end. Their hopes and dreams and the horror at their sudden deaths, hit me like a train.” She pauses, her voice wavering and hands trembling, “I stood in revulsion at what I had done and I brought them back, but the pain didn’t end there. Even now I wonder what would happen if I snap and do it again. It took me a long time to forgive myself.”

Dani listens, quietly nodding before taking another pull on her smoke, “I was a passenger on my own body and couldn’t stop myself. I watched and felt as I unleashed my power and sent their souls to the Great Beyond, yet felt completely helpless. Even now, over a year later, I still feel it.” Dani fights backs tears, “Except, it wasn’t a year ago. It was last week. It was yesterday and today and every day for the rest of my life.” Dani feels her resolve crack and she slumps against the tree sobbing.

Nikita sees the pain in her sister as her voice cracks. She sits next to her against the tree and puts her arm around her, “I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you.”

Dani begins to cry softly, “I see their faces and hear their cries all the time. I can’t escape it. I can’t rest. There is no way out of it.”

“Oh Dani, I had no idea.” Nikita says, hugging her.

“How would you? Even if you’d been there, I have bottled it up and not talked to anyone in the family about it.” Dani hesitates before continuing, “I have tried everything. Counselling, alcohol, self harm.” She pauses and swallows, “Drugs.”

“Oh my god. I had no idea. I am so sorry.” Nikita says, fighting tears of her own, “How bad is it?”

“I am functional, in that nothing is interfering with work and being around family, the problem is when I am alone.” Dani says, sadly.

“When we go back to Atlantis, you could come with us. We have the best trauma specialists available to humanity. We can get you the help you need.” Nikita says, without hesitation.

“You don’t get it. I am not just haunted by what I did. I am terrified of using my abilities and losing control again.” Dani confesses.

“I get. I have the same fear. The difference is that my failure was my own and you were forced. He is gone and never coming back.” Nikita says, gently rocking her sister.

“I know he has gone. But he was in my head and I couldn’t stop him.” Dani whispers, “He might be gone but what if I snap one day? What if a part of him is still with me?”

“I don’t see any pollution from possession or astral parasites in your life pulse. I think if her were a part of you, I would see it and you would have heard from him by now.” Nikita assures her sister, before continuing, “I used to think that. What if I do it again? How many will die? Would I be able to bring them back?” Nikita says , softly, “I practiced meditation and Tai Chi, to focus and discipline my mind until it was a fortress, designed to keep out malicious thoughts. It wasn’t quick, but over time it has helped.” She pauses for a moment, “By focusing on self awareness, it has put me in tune with myself. But I have only been able to do it, by becoming in touch with every aspect of myself, including my abilities.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Dani says, “I can snatch the life out of someone with a thought. I can create a cloud of necrotic weapons that will shred all in it's path. Or wipe out a city without breaking a sweat. No one should have that power, least of all me.”

“We all have that kind of power. I could sweep the life out of a city with a thought. Sasha could break the world with her abilities, she just doesn’t know it. In time Fey could create a hell on earth with her emotion and sensation transfer abilities. Jim could turn every device against humanity, if he had a mind to.” Nikita explains, with a shrug.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess we all have the power to decimate.” Dani says, thoughtfully.

“We are also able to police each other. You or I could take down Sasha and Jim. I could put you into a coma between life and death to contain your power and Fey could overwhelm your mind with sensation and prevent you from exerting your will. Fey or you and maybe Sasha could put me down, long enough to contain me.” Nikita explains, thoughtfully.

Dani lights another cigarette and narrows her eyes for a moment, “Funny, you haven’t mentioned Carl.”

Nikita laughs, softly, “He is just built different. He is in absolute command of himself. If he put his mind to it, he could read the patterns of the world and with a wave of his hand, set in motion a course of events, we could not predict or stop. If we move against him, he would know what we would do before we do and take precautions.” Nikita explains, extrapolating on the spot.

Dani nods, and breathes a plume of smoke out of the corner of her mouth, “Why don’t you sound worried about that?”

Nikita shrugs, “His abilities are based upon observation. He would not be able to lash out without due consideration and is in complete control of himself. He is too grounded and self aware, on a level all his own.”

“To be fair, he is pretty together.” Dani says, before catching herself. Nikita watches the indecision on her sisters face before she speaks again, “Has he ever mentioned his Magnum Opus to you?”

Nikita frowns and shakes her head, “No, what is that?”

“No idea. When he and the others went to Belize, he shut himself away and only comes out for food. Jim says, he is alternating between meditating and tracing the patterns of the world.” Dani explains, flicking the ash from her cigarette and taking a pull.

“That sounds like a Carl thing to do.” Nikita says, with a smile, “Truth is, we all have powers that no one should have. We also have the chance to use them to change the world. I have been where you are. Scared of my own power. Second guessing myself and terrified of being a danger to those around me. There may come a day when I lose control of my abilities, but I made peace with it before La Palma.”

Nikita produces a hip flask with a flourish and takes a slug, before passing it to her sister, “In Atlantis, they have a ritual called the Ritual of the Mirrored Self. I went through it and was confronted with myself and forced to face every aspect of myself. It was tough in a lot of ways, but left me changed.”

Dani coughs from the fire of the Atlantean brandy and shakes her head, “That sounds hardcore.” She shakes her head then focuses, passing the flask back. “In what way changed?”

“It’s brewed from fermented chilli’s and aged in whisky barrels. Does kind of burn the first few times, but you get used to it.” Nikita says accepting the flask and taking a pull, “The ritual helped me confront my self deceptions and see myself anew. It showed me how to trust myself and fully embrace all parts of myself.”

For a few moments the silence between them, is both palpable and comfortable, until Dani stubs out her cigarette and nervously says, “That sounds pretty good.” She pauses and takes a breath, “Maybe I need something like that?”

Nikita smiles and nods, “I will ask, but you need to know that the ritual will make you confront the negative parts of yourself and excise them. If you excise too much, it could kill you.”

Dani chews her bottom lip and takes another pull from the flask, “I am living half a life, in a living death as I am, it can't be any worse than living like this.” She stops herself from lighting another cigarette.

“Have you considered that by shutting yourself off from your abilities, that you will never be able to control that part of yourself and the strength you get from that aide is lost to you?” Nikita asks, taking a slug from the flask.

Dani considers the point for a moment, “Maybe, but if I maintain my focus to suppress it, it can never be a danger.”

“I can only speak for myself, but I used to put a lot of energy into controlling my abilities. When I made peace with myself, i got all of the energy back that I used to use to manage the wild part of myself.” Nikita says, trying her best to put into words how she feels.

“You are wrong you know.” Dani says, with a wry grin, trying to change the subject.

Nikita takes back the flask and has a slug, “In what way?”

“You could stop any of us, by removing our abilities.” Dani says, in a matter of fact tone. “I need you to promise me, that if the time comes that I lose control, you will take my powers and stop me.”



Tara sprints at full speed, barely ahead of Kim. Vaulting over a fence, she rolls and comes up on her feet, legs pumping. She ducks a branch and kicks away from a tree.

She doesn’t feel the rope snag her ankle, until it is too late. In an instant, she is stopped in her tracks and falls flat on her face. The arrester prevents serious injury, but she is down.

Kim leaps off of her horse and wraps the rope around her sisters ankles, before pulling her arms behind her and binding them at the small of her back, with the other end of the rope.

Tara struggles for a moment, but with her ankles and wrists bound and pinned in a tight hogtie, she cannot resist being lifted onto her sisters horse.

“Damn it. Seriously?” Tara says, when Kim mounts the horse and places her hand on the small of Tara’s back to keep her in place.

“Think nothing of it. You have run hard, least I can do is give you a ride back.” Kim says with a giggle.

“Fine. Just remember, when you least expect it, you will wake up, like a duct tape mummy, face down in a canoe. In that moment, remember that this was your decision.” Tara says, with a chuckle.

“Does Niki seem different to you?” Kim asks, urging the horse to begin the walk back.

“She seems so much more chill if anything.” Tara says, beginning to feel discomfort from her position.

“I think you’re right. I’ve been trying to put my finger on it. She always used to be a bit on edge, but does seem more relaxed.” Kim says with a nod, geeing the horse to a trot.

“I will make sure the canoe has a hole in the hull.” Tara says, being jostled by the motions is the horse.

Kim pulls one end of the rope and frees Tara’s hands allowing Tara to free her ankles and sit on the horse. “Thanks babe.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you, babe.” Kim says, with a grin. “I like Hal.”

“Me too. He has a kind of cool uncle vibe, a bit like Jim and Carl.” Tara confesses.

“For me he is kind of a badass uncle that teaches all the stuff you should never know.” Kim says, warmly.

“Watch his eyes.” Tara says, adjusting her position to get more comfortable.

“How do you mean?” Kim asks, confused.

“When he talks to anyone, he looks at whoever it is and they become the centre of his focus.” Tara explains, with a shrug.

“Yeah, I get ya. When he talks to you, he makes you feel important and that what you say matters.” Kim confirms, with a nod “It’s weird, but I was telling him about that fried chicken Sasha makes and he was listening to me as if I was telling him the secrets of the universe.”

“He was talking to Ali about rugby and asking her for tips on tackles and if it would be a good sport for his troops to learn, in order to make them better soldiers.” Tara says, with a shrug, “Ali said he sounded serious about it.”

“As we rode out, Anya pointed out some rabbit tracks and she showed him how to spot tracks, tell direction of travel and all sorts and he was attentive and asked all kinds of questions.” Kim explains.

“I guess the old saying’s is true, tell me about you and I will think you are interesting. Ask me about me and I will think you are charming.” Tara says lightly.



“There is something else. Something I need to talk to you about.” Nikita says, taking a deep breath.

“Is everything OK?” Dani says, sensing a change in her sister’s mood.

“Yeah, in some ways better than OK.” Nikita says, “When I went after the Annunakin Mother, I fought hard and was in a bad way after.” She shakes her head, “I grew wings to fly back and they were pristine and I realised that, I can take any form I wish, including a pristine version of myself.” She pauses, for a moment, “I effectively reset my body with a thought.”

Dani raises her eyebrows, “OK, so instead of rapid healing now you have instant healing?” She exhales, slowly, “That is a game changer, at least it has been for me.” She clicks her fingers, “That’s how you recovered so fast from Sasha’s attacks. You reset the damage away.”

“It’s more than that.” Nikita says, holding back tears.

“Niki? Are you alright?” Dani asks, seeing tears in Nikita’s eyes.

Nikita wipes her eyes and smiles, “When I reset my body, I fully reset it to a pristine state.” She takes a slow breath, before continuing, “I reset my whole body. I healed myself fully.” She stops on the edge of tears, “I have my eggs back.”

Dani looks up in shock, “Fuck. Really?”

Nikita cannot speak, she can only smile as the tears flow. Dani wraps her arms around her sister and begins to cry, “That is amazing.”

When the dust settles and the tears stop, only smiles remain as Nikita looks at her sister, “After the wedding, we are going to try for a baby.”

“That is wonderful. You will be an amazing mum.” Dani says, beaming a smile.

“If we have a baby, I want you and Sasha to be a part of their life.” Nikita says, gently, “Promise me, you will be there.”

“In a heartbeat. Every day and in every way.” Dani pledges with a beaming smile.

[GreyLord]

As always, @wolfman, another great chapter. I think that you have moved us back to the deep end of the pool.

[Caesar73]

As always, @wolfman, another great chapter. I think that you have moved us back to the deep end of the pool.

I concur It is a tender scene among other things - and who wouldn´t wish that Nikita and Harpon can found a family. Anybody who knows Nikita´s past must know how important that must be for her. Becoming a mother and being with the man she loves.

[wolfman]

@GreyLord @Caesar73

Thank you for your wonderful comments. Nikita has suffered so much and deserves a happy ending. There is a way to go before it all plays out but we will follow her and her sisters journeys to see the futures that they have

[wolfman]

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky

Sasha leans across to Halpron, watching the girls as they canter around the field. “I love my sister very much.” She whispers to him.

“So do I.” He says glancing at Nikita across the field, before turning his gaze to Sasha.

“I don’t want to see her hurt. If you are anything less than genuine, it will break her heart and I can’t bear the thought of that.” Sasha confides quietly, “She has faced so much pain in her life, she deserves to be happy.”

“It would kill me, if I ever thought that I had caused Nikita to be anything but happy.” He turns to Sasha and looks into her eyes, “She has shared the weight of her life and the pain she has suffered. In our quiet moments, she has allowed me to reach beyond it, to comfort the person she is inside.”

Sasha feels her breath catches in her throat as Halpron, continues to speak passionately about her sister, “She has opened herself to me and shines in my night sky, with her intelligence, compassion, warmth and gentle heart.”

Sasha feels flushed, thinking, “When he talks about Niki, he has the same look of love in his eyes that Kurt used to have. God I miss him.”

“Sasha? Is everything alright?” Halpron asks, noticing tears in her eyes.

She wipes her tears, accepting the handkerchief he offers and smiles, “Sorry. Just feeling a little melancholy.”

“I am sorry, I am talking about my feelings for your sister and...” Halpron begins, but Sasha cuts him off warmly, “No please don’t stop. It is lovely to hear.”

He bows his head slightly, “Thank you, Sasha. Truth be told, I have been a bit nervous of talking to you.”

“Really?” Sasha says, raising an eyebrow.

“Niki says, you are the most fearsome woman she has ever met.” Halpron says quietly, “Having now met you in person, I am inclined to agree.”

“Stop buttering me up.” Sasha says dismissively, with a smile

“I err. I don’t know what you mean. I mean, I like and respect you, however, I have no desire to cover you in butter or any dairy based spread.” Halpron says, confused.

She smiles amused at the thought that as poised as he is, he can be caught off guard, given how together he has been, “It means flattery will get you no where.”

“Ah, I see.” Halpron says, rolling the phrase around in his head, before saying, “I saw how terrifying you were fighting Nikita. I have never seen anything like it.”

“You know she threw the fight, right.” Sasha says, with a shake of the head.

“Yes. However, I have never seen her come that close to being matched.” He confirms then tilts his head, “Bear in mind, I have seen her fight armies of foes.”

“To be fair, I have watched the video and she surprised me.” Sasha says, with more than a little admiration.

“The video is nothing compared to some of the things she has done.” He says with a faraway look, “Just as she inspires me, she has inspired my people with her strength and courage. She is a hero to all of Atlantis and her allies, for her actions and she is a hero to me.”

Sasha smiles, before her suspicions get the better of her, “I think you might be the nice guy you appear to be, however, I have to ask you something.”

As she gathers her thoughts Halpron looks at her, concerned and speaks softly, “Ask away.”

Sasha purses her lips and looks him in the eye, “Are you here recruiting? I mean, Nikita loves you and you seem very much in love with her, but at the same time, when you are married, she might have to step back from that. Are you looking to recruit some of the family to step into her shoes, so she can step be your queen?”

Halpron’s face softens with dismay, “I am so sorry that you have to ask that question, however, I understand your need to.” He takes a long slow breath and exhales, “Over the last few months, we have completed a number of campaigns. I have never asked, or indicated that it was expected that she help, she has always volunteered.” He breathes out looking tired, “After battle, she can heal her body at an amazing rate, however, I have seen the weight on her soul. After our last campaign, I saw the toll it was taking and saw that she needed the kind of healing that only comes from time with family. I suggested that we come here because I was worried about her.”

“She does tend to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders.” Sasha says, glancing fondly at her sister.

“I can already see that it was the right thing to do.” He says, with a sigh, “The moment she walked into your home, she relaxed and became, for want of a better word, softer.”

“I can see a change in her.” Sasha admits, “She is at ease in her own skin. It’s hard to explain, she always had an almost constant exhausted look to her, but now she is calm, confident and more chill.”

“Its a long story, that by rights she should tell you. However, the short version is that she has battled all comers since arriving in Atlantis, including her own demons.” Halpron says, glancing over at his bride to be once more.

After a moments pause, he smiles, “In answer to your question, no. I am not here to recruit anyone. That said, there is a place in Atlantis for you if you wanted to come.”

“Thank you Hal, I’m flattered however, I am not sure about the life it would give for my children.” Sasha says, hoping not to offend him.

“Realistically, with your services to the earth, in La Palma and Snositi, you would be provided with a decent sized villa with some grounds and the girls would be welcomed at one of our colleges.“

Sasha chuckles, “They are only fifteen.”

“No matter, if they sit the aptitude test and pass they may be selected for a college placement.” Halpron says almost off handedly.

“Oh really?” she asks sceptically, “And what college would they be able to go to?”

He shrugs, “It depends on their scores. If they show an aptitude for art, they would go to an art college, if they lean towards the sciences, maybe engineering or a science based school. It all depends, however if the girls display different aptitudes they may be accepted to different colleges and fields of study.”

“Hmmm.” She says thoughtfully, “Sounds tempting, but how would we pay for that?”

He smiles, “We are a society that can make gold. We don’t use money, everything is paid for in social credit. In Atlantis we view study as an investment in the future. In some cases awarding credit based on research findings made by a student during their course.”

“It almost sounds too good to be true. What is the catch?” She asks, feeling herself warming to the idea.

“Some colleges are hard and have high drop out rates. Others require an induction period of intense learning which can take up to three months, in isolation to instill the course fundamentals.” He admits.

“That might be a bit much for them.” Sasha says, not entirely dismissing the idea.




Jeans and t-shirts are the order of the day back at Sasha’s House as everyone lounges in the garden. The late afternoon sun beats down with the last of its warmth as the sky begins to darken to a deep purple to the east.

Nikita beams a smile with Liam cradled in her left arm and Tommy snuggled into her right. Halpron beams a smile back , relaxing on a lawn chair thinking, “She is so beautiful.”

Steve brushes the pork ribs with an apple based barbeque sauce and closes the smoker. “Another half hour and we are good to go.”

Sasha and Kim look on from the kitchen while they prepare salads and sides, while Tara begins taking dishes out to the table outside. “Ali says, her folks and Dean will be here in ten minutes and Anya says, she and Moses will be here in an hour.” Kim says, chopping fresh coriander for the sweetcorn salsa.

“Sounds good. We will probably be ready to dive in by then.” Sasha says, pulling a tray of spiced sweet potato out of the oven.




From her bedroom window, Dani watches the scene unfold and lights a cigarette. She pulls her pure white silk kimono, slightly tighter around herself.

She watches everyone relaxing around the table and the food being piled onto it. “Everyone looks so happy.” She thinks, considering the bottle of vodka in her freezer.

Dani moves gracefully away from the window and steps into her bedroom. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she gasps, “My eyes have bigger rings than Saturn and I look fucking awful.”

Sitting on the corner of her bed, she takes a pull on her cigarette and blows the smoke towards her reflection, “Maybe it is time to open up to the other side of myself.” She thinks, feeling numb.

She closes her eyes and begins to flex her mind to reach across the barrier between life and death. Her eyes flash open and she takes another drag, “I’m not ready.” The whispers to herself trembling.

Dani hears the gentle burble of conversation and laughter from outside. For a perfect moment, she feels a moment of peace, filled with thoughts of her family and loved ones. “The problem isn’t controlling my abilities, it is controlling myself and I can’t hope to master myself, if I deny a part of who I am.”

She looks at her reflection once more, with steel in her eyes, “Time to stop living half a life.”



In an instant, Dani finds herself back on the plains of the Dead World. She takes a deep breath that isn’t real and hops into the air that doesn’t exist.

She floats, slowly rotating so she is on her back, to stare at the Dead Sky, seeing only the ghosts of stars that no longer shine.

“I had forgotten how quiet it is here.” She thinks, calmly savouring the quiet allowing it to permeate her non-body and soul.

She looks around for a moment, nodding to herself, “He isn’t waiting for me. I guess it is possible he has gone for good.”

A small stone levitates into her hand, becoming first a knife, then a pen, then a dice before returning to its original form. She lights a cigarette that isn’t there with a lighter that exists only in her mind and feels a sense of homecoming and peace wash over her.

“If I am to heal. I need to do it here as well as in the Living World. I straddle the barrier and need to make peace with that and myself.” Dani thinks, calmly before closing her eyes.




Dani opens her eyes back in her room. Her reflection stares back at her, this time flawless and toned as ever. With a stretch and a twist, she clicks her back a couple of times.

Her mind reaches across the barrier, plucking a small mass of necrotic matter and bringing it into the Living World. With a flex of her will, it twists and shrouds her naked body, forming snug, black jeans and a white button down shirt. Her toes flex in no-show socks within a pair of ankle boots and she gently smiles, “This feels right somehow.”

Dani crafts a stylish leather jacket, picks up her keys and heads for the bedroom door with a subtle spring in her stride, “One step at a time.”



Dani strolls lightly into Sasha’s back garden and beams a smile at her sister. Sasha beams a smile back, “Wasn’t sure if you were coming.”

“Sorry, I had a nap.” Dani says, moving in for a hug.

“Glad you could join us, I will get the girls to grab you a blanket and slippers, if you want to sit down with your knitting.” Sasha quips.

“Cheeky bugger.” Dani says, playfully elbowing her in the ribs.

Sasha hides her reaction, when she notices, how rested her sister looks and quietly whispers, “Are you OK?”

Dani nods, subtly, “Yeah. It’s too early to say that I feel like my old self, however, I am doing OK.” She looks up and sees Nikita grinning at her. Dani nods towards her and Nikita winks in return.

“One step at a time.” Dani thinks, accepting the glass of ice cold prosecco from Sasha and taking a sip.

[GreyLord]

You have had us in paradise, @wolfman. Now, you are giving us hints of complexities. I'm looking forward to the ride, wherever it may take us.

[wolfman]

@GreyLord i have quite a few plans for where we will go on this journey. Watch this space

[Caesar73]

A wonderful Chapter. What does make it so interesting? In my personal opion it are the Contrasts which make it so good. First we have the Conversation between Halpron and Sasha. My personal favourite: When Halpron wonders what "buttering someone up" mean.

Then the Change of Pace: Danit watching the Barbecue from her Room. The temperature, the mood changes. Becomes darker. We do know that Dani is struggling with her inner Demons for quite a while. We learn how Dani feels - and what she is about to do.

[wolfman]

I always like playing with phrases that native speakers use but those not familiar struggle with, just for a little levity.

Dani has a long and tough road, but she is not alone and she is starting to realise that.

[GreyLord]

@GreyLord i have quite a few plans for where we will go on this journey. Watch this space

I know that you do, and I look forward to taking this journey with you.

[Caesar73]

@GreyLord i have quite a few plans for where we will go on this journey. Watch this space

I know that you do, and I look forward to taking this journey with you.

I do too!

[wolfman]

@Bandit666 @Caesar73 @GreyLord @slackywacky

The babies sleep in their bed, while under the darkening sky, all the other members of the family are gathered around the fire pit as Halpron speaks, with powerful sweeps of his arms, “So we are charging through this forest on the back of a rhino, the size of an elephant. The trees are whipping by like you would not believe. Arrows are raining down out of nowhere and we have no idea where our pick up is.”

He motions hanging onto the reins of the animal, as he speaks and Nikita laughs and blushes next to him, “Niki starts picking the arrows out of our mount and then just stops and shouts, SHIT! At the top of her lungs. I think she has been hit and begin to panic.” He takes a swig of lager and continues, “At this point, there is no slowing this thing down and by now, we are racing along a cliff edge, with the forest one side and a thousand foot drop the other. I am trying to find out what’s wrong when this ape the size of a horse lands on the back of this beast next to me. So I start swinging at it and trying to keep hold of the reins when Niki shouts, “IT’S YOUR SISTERS BIRTHDAY, WE NEED TO GET HER A PRESENT.”

Halpron takes a swig of his lager and shakes his head, looking around in mock confusion. “So I duck back from this ape trying to take my head off and shout back NO WORRIES, I’LL ASK THIS FELLA WHERE THE GIFT SHOP IS. At which point Niki swings back up onto our rides back and kicks this ape into a tree. Then I swear, without missing a beat, she looks at me like I’m a dumbass and asks, “What fella?”

Nikita raises her hands laughing, “That’s not what happened, you sod.” She pauses slightly tipsy, “Alright maybe it did, but we needed to get her something.”

“True enough.” Halpron says, chuckling, “Why don’t you tell everyone what we got?”

“Damn it, you stitched me up.” Nikita says hanging her head, everyone leans in and waits for her to speak, “I knew there was one thing she was craving but there was only one place to get it. So when we got picked up, we divert the portal home to a realm called Avalon which was having a celebration at the time. Hal asked the King for a boon and all went well until we had to take part in a re-enactment where Hal played a Knight and I played a dragon.”

She takes a sip of wine and shakes her head with a snort, “I ended up getting shot with almost a hundred arrows just to get a jar of Marmite.”

Kim rocks in her chair with laughter, “Really?” she manages to blurt out.

Hal nods, “My sister loves it, but out in the realms it is hard to get. The only place we can reliably get it is Avalon due to it’s permanent portal to Cornwall.” He bursts into laughter once more, “The worst part was, that it was on sale in a shop half a mile from the Palace in Avalon.”



When the laughter dies down, Sasha speaks softly, “OK, I’ve got one for you. I was working disaster relief in South East Asia and I get this call about an incident, late on a Sunday night. They wouldn’t give me any details they just wanted me there pretty much straight away. I was on call and we were still getting calls about injured people that had been found in the jungle and outskirts of the cities. So I get my bag and hop on a tuktuk. About an hour later I am outside this dive bar in the middle of the jungle, in deepest Thailand, somewhere near the Vietnamese border. At this point, I have no idea what I am walking into.”

Sasha takes a mouthful of wine and shakes her head, “A handful of massive bouncers come out and I am suspecting trouble at this point. Bear in mind, I don’t speak the language and have no idea where I am and neither does anyone else. So this guy walks out. Biggest Thai you have ever seen, I mean huge. Comes over and directs me to the back of this bar.” She shakes her head, “I am thinking that I have no place being here at this point, until I get round the corner and then I know I need to get out of this place.”

Sasha chuckles to herself, “I see this guy, suited and booted, laying on his back, calm as you like, sipping some of the local brew. Meanwhile, eight guys are sat on this thirty foot crocodile, that has this guys left leg in his mouth, to halfway up his hip. Turns out he lost a bet and had to try to feed himself to this thing but chickened out at the last minute and only put one leg in its mouth.”

The girls look on in shock as Sasha continues, “After a bit of gesticulating, pointing and broken English, I work out that they want me to cut off the guy’s good leg to properly settle the bet. Worse than that, the guy is quite chill about it and has even used his tie as a tourniquet around his right leg in preparation.”

“Whoa. That is mad.” Tara says, shaking her head.

Sasha runs her fingers through her hair and smiles, “I am in the middle of no where and surrounded by big guys, not wanting me to leave and demanding I take his leg. Anyway I check my bag and manage to convey to them, that I haven’t got the tools I need with me.”

A sip of wine later, she sighs, “Big guy lumbers off and comes back with a full set of surgical tools, that would be the envy of any top flight medical facility, less than two minutes later. Anyway, I am trying to think of a way to get out of here, when this old tuktuk skids to a halt in a cloud of dust and gravel. Then this tiny Thai lady leaps out of it screaming blue murder. The bouncers surround her and she whips of her left shoe and starts wailing on them.”

“Really? Was she like a Muay Thai master or something?” Anya asks, wide eyed.

“Not as far as I could tell. There was no precision or training, just a straight up shoe bashing.” Sasha smiles remembering the sight of the bouncers running off, “Turns out she was the Crocodile guy’s wife and she wanted to drag his ass out of there to give him a whopping at home for losing all their money. I just about managed to get the stump of his leg out of the croc’s mouth and patch him up and send him on his way, when the big guy comes back over and tells me that they have another guy running up a debt and asking me to hang round just in case.”

“I look this fella in the eye and jab him in the chest with my finger, giving it large. LOOK PAL, WE ARE HERE TO SAVE DISASTER VICTIMS, NOT TO ASSIST YOU IN YOUR WILDLIFE FEEDING PROGRAM. I turn tail and stomp towards my tuktuk and get the hell out of there before they decide to drag me back. I made sure the office knew to screen their calls after that.” She drains her glass and sets it down, with a bow.

“That is so mad.” Ali says, chuckling.



After a few minutes, discussing Sasha’s tale, eyes turn to Dani, when Kim asks, “Do you have any wild stories?”

Dani shrugs, “Nothing mad like that.” She ponders, for a moment, “However, I do have an odd one. “Couple of years ago, during my time as The Zombie, I was on the trail of this money launderer. I tracked him to this place in Northern Siberia. It was a place he had as a bolt holt and the only place, I could conclusively link him to.”

She checks the wind direction and lights a cigarette, letting the breeze carry the smoke away from the others, “It was late December, less than eight hours day light per day, temperature dropping to minus forty Celsius at night.” She snorts, a chuckle, “Wonderful holiday spot for a romantic getaway. But I digress. I was camped out on a ridge about a mile away, hunkered down in a hollow with a scope trained on the place. I had spent about a week watching the place trying to get confirmation of my target being onsite and tracking guard patterns. The place almost had a rhythm to it.”

“How did you keep warm?” Anya asks, imagining the terrain.

“I was basically dead and moving through willpower alone. I ate cold tins of food and drank water melted from ice. I didn’t think much of it at the time but, I don’t know if I could do it now.” Dani explains warmly. She takes breathes a plume of smoke into the breeze and settles back in to her seat, “It gets to around eight in the morning and the sun is just peaking over the trees and I am almost ready for my first pee of the day, when I feel like I am being watched.”

She closes her eyes and breathes slowly, explaining as the scene unfolds in her memory, “Now in this area, there are a lot of wolves and black bears, on occasion you might see a stray polar bear to. So I lay still, not moving a muscle and just listen. I search the nearby area as much as I can with just eye movements and see nothing. Then for a moment, I am chiding myself for being an idiot and then a twig snaps behind me.”

She takes a sip of wine and speaks softly and slowly, “I don’t even think about it, I just flip over and point my rifle at the source of the noise, ready for almost anything.” She pauses, before continuing with a hint of disbelief as she relives the day, “I lay there on my back looking up at this man. Ginger hair past his shoulders, bushy beard, a hair under ten feet tall, build like a body builder.” She pauses, taking a deep lungful of tobacco, “And stark naked.”

Dani realises that she is sat forward in her chair and leans back in the chair, “Our eyes lock and the area becomes silent. You know sometimes when things get real and time slows down? Well on that ridge, it stopped as we locked eyes. Even the steam coming off of his skin, stopped.” With a faraway look in her eyes, Dani stubs out her cigarette and takes a mouthful of wine, “That was bad enough, but those eyes. They drilled into me and felt like they were looking into my soul. Even now, I remember how devoid of feeling they were and I knew if I so much as blinked, I was done.”

Sasha shifts in her seat, seeing how uncomfortable her sister is and reaches out, taking Dani’s hand. Dani squeezes her sister hand, without thinking, “I don’t remember how long we were staring at each other, but I did eventually blink and then the sun was high in the sky and he was gone without a trace.”

“Whoa, were you OK after that.” Tara asks, slightly awestruck.

Dani smiles weakly, “Yeah. No injuries and nothing missing, however, I was a bit shaken up after. One of the few times in my life, I have been really scared.”

“Oooh, what were the other times?” Tara asks, leaning forward.

“La Palma, when I knew that the nuke was going to go off and there was a chance that is could kill Sasha and Niki. Milton Keynes, when the car hit Sasha and Kim was kidnapped. Arno’s island, when I knew I couldn’t stop myself.” Dani says, before her words start trailing off, “One of many times where, things change and I feel a change in me too.”

Sasha gets up from her seat and puts an arm around Dani, whispering, “It’s OK. We’ve got you.”

Dani composes herself and whispers back, “Thanks babe.”

“Did you get your target?” Ali asks, not picking up on Dani’s emotional state.

Dani lights another cigarette to steady her nerves, “Not quite.” She sits for a moment, before deciding to finish the tale, “I stayed there for another couple of days, but there was no movement from the place. After three days of nothing, I stashed the rifle and headed in to the site.”

She drains her wine, then takes a drag, “Everyone was dead. Target. Security. Staff. Everyone. All dead. No marks on them, just gone. Damndest thing. The only thing was the smell.”

Dani sits introspective and Halpron speaks softly, “Almonds?”

Snapping back to focus, Dani stares at him, open mouthed, “Yes! I have been trying to place the smell ever since but yes, it was almonds. How did you know?”

Nikita looks at Halpron with her eyebrows raised, suspecting the answer. He takes a deep breath and ponders thoughtfully, “Could be a Nephilim.”

“A say what now?” Dani asks, with a shrug.

“A Nephilim, offspring of an angel and a human. Much larger than humans, some retain traces of their angelic lineage.” Nikita says, sadly, “Most of them died long ago. None have been seen for over a century.”

“It was thought that the last of them had died, seems that may not be the case.” Halpron says, thoughtfully.

“If it is important, I can remember where I saw it. I could probably take a covert insertion team and track it down.” Dani suggests.

Halpron considers it for a moment, “They have always kept themselves to themselves and avoid people, sticking to the wilderness. We would never find one that doesn’t want to be found. Let it be at peace.”

“What about the men who died? Could it be a greater threat?” Dani asks, feeling uneasy.

“I think if it were a threat, we would have heard of more incidents.” Nikita says, warmly. “To be honest, I would be asking why you lived.”

“Technically, I didn’t. As the Zombie, I was dead inside.” Dani says, remembering how it felt so different and yet so similar to how she has felt lately.

“True. Maybe it was going to kill them anyway, but when you were there it got curious.” Nikita suggests.

“More likely, it was drawn to your Annunakin lineage and sought out a kindred spirit.” Halpron says softly.

“Wait. Hold up a second. Are angels real?” Kim asks, confused.

“Yes they are but no one really knows what they are. But every realm has legends and myths regarding winged humans touched by the divine.” Nikita says, gently before turning to Dani, “Just like you.”

“Funny.” Dani says with a tone of mock sarcasm.

“All joking aside, you are nothing like the angels in some of the legends. Soaring through the night, with blood dripping from their wings, raining death in their wake.” Nikita says, warmly.

“To be fair, that is kind of like me.” Dani says, defensively.

“True, but they can conjure weapons from thin air and command the forces of nature.” Halpron says, putting his arm around Nikita.

“Er hello. I can create weapons from necrotic matter. However, I can’t really control natural forces. Apart from death.” Dani says, feeling backed into a corner.

“Don’t worry, being an angel is not a bad thing.” Halpron says, comfortingly.

“How can you be sure?” Dani asks, nervously.

“I have met with one.” Halpron says with an inscrutable smile.

“Really?” Kim asks, in disbelief.

“An angel came to us, as if sent but the gods, in our hour of need and saved our nation and inspired its people. Here name is Nikita.” He says, giving Nikita a squeeze and a wink.

“Dumbass.” Kim says, chuckling.

Nikita leans forward in her seat and in a serious tone speaks softly, “Kim, darling. You do realise that insulting a King, is classed as treason. It carries a penalty of death in Atlantis.”

Kim’s eye go wide with fear, seeing Halpron become serious, “Whoa, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Halpron looks at her without emotion and speaks quietly and calmly, “Kim, you have insulted the ruling monarch of Atlantis. This is a most grave crime indeed. How do you plead?”

Kim’s lip quivers, “I’m sorry. I didn’t. Please.” She pauses seeing her pleas are falling on deaf ears, “Guilty, Your Majesty.”

Halpron nods, thoughtfully before quietly getting up from his seat and approaching Kim. He leans down and whispers in her ear, “Insulting a King is a crime in Atlantis.” He pauses and winks, letting it sink in, “We are not in Atlantis.”

Sasha chuckles, “That is so mean.”

Kim settles back in her chair, her eyes pricking with tears, “But I thought I was in real trouble.”

Halpron places a hand on her shoulder, “ I am so sorry the last thing I wanted to do was upset you.”

Kim dries her eyes with her sleeve and grin up at him, “Gotcha. Just because a teenager gives you the puppy dog eyes and starts to cry doesn’t mean she is upset.”

Halpron roars with laughter and gives her a hearty slap on the shoulder, “Well done. You did get me.”

Still chuckling he returns to his seat next to Nikita and hugs her tightly, whispering, “You were right, the girls are a delight.”




In the early hours of the morning, everything winds down and Dani stands in her bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror. “Today was a good day. There will be some rough days ahead, but this was a good start.” She sighs, with a subtle smile.

She steps across the barrier into the Dead World. She takes a deep breathe out of habit and nods to herself, “Had some good time in the land of the living, now I need to spend some time getting back in touch with my other side.

Dani rises high above the land and allows her wings to unfurl. For a moment she hangs in the air, before streaking across the Dead Sky to the shadow of Hemel Hempstead.

As she flies through the night, spirits of the recently deceased rise up to flow through her to the Great Beyond. With each passing she feels a sense of peace, taking away the fear of those who cross over and speeding them on their way.

“They can pass without me, but this was is less difficult for them. I hope they find peace.” Dani thinks, soaring towards London.



Sasha rolls on to her side, room spinning for too much alcohol for the PCS to deal with quickly. She stares at a photo of her and Kurt from a vacation in the Cotswolds. With a gentle finger she reaches out, tracing the line of his jaw on the picture.

“I miss you Kurt. Why did you have to be taken from us?” Sasha whispers into the night, “I have been thinking about you all day and the life we should have lived. I have tried to do right by your daughters and I love them like my own, but I have been so wrong.”

She reaches out for the pillow on his side of the bed and embraces it. It has been too long and washed too many times to carry his scent, but she takes solace that his head once laid upon it.

“You would be so proud of them, they are so smart and funny and....” she stops, softly crying into the pillow. “Fuck, I miss you.”

“Why can’t you be here to see them grow up, hold your son? It's just not fair.” Sasha says sadly.

Sasha wipes her eyes and sits up in bed and returns the pillow to it’s spot. She listens to the whispering and giggles from the girls room and smiles, “Life isn’t fair. If it were, you and all of Kim’s sisters would be alive and somehow, we would look after them all.” She tries to imagine the chaos of so many of Kim’s sister together, “Life may not be fair, but, I am going to do the best with the cards I have. That’s what you would have done.”

She quietly rises from her bed and approaches Liam’s cot, finding him sleeping peacefully. “I am going to best the best mum, I can be, to give you and your sisters the chance to be the best and happiest that you could ever be.” She pledges silently, “Your father may not be here, but you will know his love through my actions. I love you little man.”

Silently she leaves her room and approaches the girls room. The door is slightly ajar and she can hear a few whispers from within. She listens for a moment, hearing the whispers but not the words. Each giggle brings a smile to her lips.

Before turning back to her room she softly whispers, “I love you girls. Thank you for all the joy you bring to my life. I hope to do the same for you.”

[GreyLord]

You bring such wonderful surprises, @wolfman. I never expected to run into a Nephilim here.

[Caesar73]

I do really love the last part of this chapter: This intimate moment when Sasha talks to Kurt. It is captured so perfectly.