Surviving Insanity by Kodyax

Surviving Insanity

Kodyax, Bard, Horror, Science fantasy, Tiger vixen, Wolf bear, gunslinger, ranger, space opera, witch

Well, I keep trying to make good fiction, especially serial fiction. I am still writing the next installment so don't be surprised if I reuse the artwork. Shout out to Kalika for making the lovely illustration you see here, I may tap her again for other members of the cast. But I am looking for more critique on this. I went over this twice with at least a week between editing sessions. I think I got everything but that's not always a guarantee. So if you like it or not please give me some of your impressions. I know a certain black dragon won't be shy and I do appreciate it as I am always trying to be a better writer.

Surviving Insanity

"LISTEN UP YOU MAGGOTS!!" A bald dwarf screams at a crowd of mixed beings, humans, dwarfs, elves, gnomes, beast folk and kymera are all present as the drill sergeant continues his berating briefing. "YOU SORRY EXCUSES FOR SENTIENT BEINGS THINK YOU'RE WORTHY OF JOINING THE SENTINELS OF TERRA? I SEE A GATHERING OF PATHETIC LOSERS; NOT ANYONE EVEN PARTIALLY WORTH CONSIDERING FOR OUR PRESTIGOUS AND HONORABLE ORGANIZATION!" A mixture of human, wolf and bear DNA with a set of mirror shade goggles permanently anchored to his skull that most others have also added to their bodies nods to a tiger vixen that caught his eye as she stands next to a combo of human, painted wolf and lioness who smacks her companion and flips him the bird as if laying claim to the other as the drill sergeant dwarf continues his tirade unabated. "I SEE SOME OF THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE MOREAU VON FRANKENSTEIN'S EXPERIMENTS AMONG YOU. YOU FUCKERS ARE THE WORSE AS THAT FUCKING ANNUNAKI THINKS HE CAN PLAY GOD USING HUMAN AND ANIMAL DNA AS HIS PERSONAL ERECTOR SET; MAKING UP FOR THE FACT THAT HE CAN'T GET A FUCKING ERECTION TO SAVE HIS FUCKING ASS!" Kodyax and the other kymera bristles at this as he steals a glance at Takara who subtly nods his way in a way that Chaka fails to notice as she is too busy yelling obscenities of her own at the dwarf along with a few others. "LIKE I GIVE A SHIT WHAT YER WORTHLESS OPINION IS ON THE MATTER! IN ANY CASE YOU KIDDIES ARE IN FOR A TREAT. SOME OF OUR COCK SUCKING SPOOKS HAVE SOMEHOW FIGURED OUT THAT THERE IS ACTUAL EVIDENCE THAT THE FUCKING MORON AND WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT PRESIDENT WHO GOT THE FATE HE FUCKING DESERVED WHEN THE SHADOW STAR SYNDICATE BLEW HIS FUCKING BRAINS OUT ON INTERPLANETARY TELEVISION SOME YEARS BACK, BUT THERE IS APPARENTLY A DATA CACHE FROM NODDAL PRUMT THAT ONE OF HIS LIMP DICKED SUPPORTERS HID SOMEWHERE IN A PRIVATE DATABASE IN THE RUINS OF PHILADELPHIA, A PLACE WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF PATHETIC COCK SUCKERS BUT I DIGRESS." He pauses to take a swig of bottled water before continuing. "IT'S FINDING A FUCKING NEEDLE IN A FUCKING HAYSTACK BUT IT'S PERFECT FOR INCOMPETANT FUCKTARDS LIKE YOU TO SOMEHOW SHOW US SOME POTENTIAL THAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE SENTINEL MATERIAL. FIND IT AND OUR SECRET BUNKER IN THE MEDIA DEPOSITORY AND YOU HAVE EARNED YOURSELF A PASS TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT. DISMISSED!"

With that the bottom drops out on everyone and those that were standing at attention to the dwarf on his elevated platform now have seconds to activate something to save themselves from a high altitude low opening drop into hostile territory. Chaka Zulu uses her technomantic spell casting ability to create a drop ship for her and Takara to safely drop in one piece as Kodyax pulls the chord on a parachute he stole from their supply hold when no one was looking and sails down into what was an apartment complex near a strip mall somewhere north and east of the center of town landing on a balcony still a ways from the ground as the drop ship crashes into a near by apartment to him. The heads up display integrated with his neural computer indicates to Kodyax von Fenryx that there are those that did not think ahead like he did and have already died from the sheer drop from the Magellan class Explorer vessel above them.

Kodyax enters the apartment attached to the balcony only to be greeted with arctic air and a scene of carnage he did not need to see on his first qualifying missions to join the Terran Sentinels as Professor von Frankenstein had tasked him. The apartment had been turned in a kind of primitive meat locker of the worst sort as the naked corpses of humans and elves mostly with a few other races that Kodyax can only guess at as many have already been decapitated and are dangling from the ceiling with the Yellow sign painted prominently on the blacked walls of all the rooms that he can see. He shakes his head as he makes his way out with his scattergun out and ready for use as the ranger strives to be ready for anything as he almost stumbles over a med kit carelessly discarded among the forest of hanging corpses that Kodyax is only too happy to confiscate for himself as he hears a cry for help.

<Mister Wolf-Bear?> The voice questions in his head.

<Who is this?> Kodyax attempts to telepathically return using his access to minor psychic magic that came easily enough as he walks the mystic path of rangers which affords him access to spell power other rangers reject or disregard in their ignorance.

<My name is Takara Yamaha,> The psychic voice returns. <My mate and I are trapped in an apartment close to you, can you help us?> <What's the situation?> Kodyax asks as he then gives his own name. <My name is Kodyax von Fenryx, interplanetary ranger by profession how about you? I am making my way to you now.>

Takara sends back. <My friend, sometimes lover and activity partner is Chaka Zulu a Technomancer by training. I am a Psycho-Witch. We can't get out and I feel hostile minds approaching. The only reason Chaka isn't boxing my ears about this is because she is unconscious right now.>

Kodyax sends back. <Probably means the Armada of Entropy has claimed this complex as part of their territory here on Terra.> Kodyax enters a darkened hallway that would even more treacherous if not for something in how Moreau put the kymera together granted them the blessing of extreme night vision, with eyes able to pierce all but the blackest and magically created darkness and give vision to a given adventurer though it be strictly in black and white. <More Entropy graffiti in the hallways. Definitely markings that the goblins and their kin have claimed this building for themselves. The suite I just came from was a larder.>

<Disgusting!> Takara sends with a sense of distress in her mental voice. Kodyax mentally calls back. <I'm armed with a scattergun which is good from how I see them coming.>

Savage humanoids with sickly green skin in child and adult human sizes and proportions rush up the stairs to the floor where Kodyax is as he opens the door to the stairwell and pumps a few shells into the oncoming orcs and goblins to force them to retreat for now. The room Takara and Chaka crash landed in, which just so happens to be directly behind him, looks to Kodyax as a kind of butchery center with heads rolling on the floor with the corresponding bodies they belong to nowhere to be seen and if it wasn't for the carnal stench in the room you could almost mistake the flesh and blood remains for mannequin heads although the industrial guillotine and the over powering aroma of blood so pervasive puts a lie to any misguided notions that this place is not as laid out in the service of evil and depravity as it is as Kodyax does his best to ignore the stench of spilled semen that speaks of other functions this room must have had. Chaka is hanging at a dangerous angle as Takara is clutching her throat.

<We were sprayed with debris and shrapnel as we crashed.> Takara explains while holding her bleeding throat.

"Looks like she has a concussion," Kodyax assess as he looks them over. "But she is alive for now. I need to treat that throat or you'll go mute." Kodyax uses the med kit he just acquired to treat both of them although on closer inspection, Chaka was dying but again Kodyax used his connection to nature and the connection of all living things to save her life. "Into cybernetics much?" Kodyax asks in a joking tone as he notes her limbs are advanced prosthetics and a cybernetic third eye in the middle of her forehead. "In any case it's safe to move her now."

Kodyax slowly and as delicately as he can extricates Chaka from her predicament and lays her down on the guillotine, because there is no other suitable surface before Takara gives him an enthusiastic hug and a kiss which Kodyax is not even going to pretend he doesn't appreciates as he finds the witch very attractive and if she was not already in a relationship he would try and get to know her better and try to position himself to be her significant other. Shortly after their embrace Chaka starts to come around and is none too pleased to see the oversized male, Kody is six foot; nine inches tall and weighs about three hundred and fifty pounds of mostly muscle, in such close proximity to her significant other as she draws her automatic and fires a warning shot that just sails over Kody's head. Par for the course with her possessiveness, Chaka is ready for a fight and is not shy to let him know it.

"Hands off prick!' Chaka screams. "She's mine!"

"CHAKA!" Takara screams at her beloved. "He saved your hide! Take a chill pill!" "And you are only too willing to play house to thank him." Chaka snarls. "We don't need his help, Taki, we are perfectly capable of performing this mission on our own." "I do carry cryo guns if you think we need them." Kodyax provides and Chaka just stares at him open mouthed.

"Not yet, but thanks for the offer." Takara says with a smirk as Chaka shoots her a dangerously disbelieving glance. "He stabilized you with his magic, Chaka, I suggest you don't make him regret it."

"I need a healing serum," Chaka announces and goes through her backpack. "Ah here's one, and my favorite flavor too, cherry!" She pops the top of a crimson tube from Cherry Bomb Pharmaceuticals and Explosives and drinks its contents. "Ah! I needed that!" Then she looks around and her afro almost goes straight from fright. "Geez! Where the fuck did we land? This place looks like a butcher's shop." "I think that's its main purpose," Kodyax observes. "The meat locker is up here as well."

"I could have gotten through this mission NOT knowing that, thank you very much." Chaka states in a fear filled failure at being flippant. "Someone really charred these walls and then painted the yellow sign? OK, this does not bode well." "Ya think?" Kodyax responds sarcastically as Chaka trains her automatic at his head. "Fine, next time you have a concussion, I will leave you to the tender mercies of the orcs and goblins I didn't kill on my way to saving your ungrateful tail."

"We need to work our way down to ground level and recover that data." Takara growls as she pushes past the pair. "If you two want to make a contest over this the one that gets us out of this tower or terror will have me for the bed companion tonight. I love you, Chaka, but I'm wondering what it would be like if I hung out with somebody that will let me take the handle occasionally."

"Fuck you, Taki, wait till we get out of this mess..." Chaka grumbles as she goes to work on the elevator.

Kodyax and Takara look at each other and shake their heads as neither one of them thinks using the elevator even if it can be made to work as it should again is a good idea. The escape pod they rode down in breaks apart as Chaka works her magic on the elevator while Takara and Kodyax make a bee line for the stairs. Kodyax restocks his scattergun before preceding Takara down the stairs as she takes out a Hailstorm cold ray rifle and follows behind him as they both keep an eye on the holographic map their HUDs to provide them as an early warning system.

Apparently nobody thinks about the stairwell when it comes to securing the territory for the Armada of Entropy as Kodyax and Takara manage to traverse four of the ten floors without incident until they come across three goblins smoking joints and chilling out on the platform of the fifth floor. A voice of authority comes over their walkie-talkies yells at them to check out a disturbance on the tenth floor from where the wolf-bear and the tiger-vixen just came as Kody switches to his own cryo rifle and takes aim at one of the goblins as they take out vials of something to drink and takes fire with Taki doing likewise. Together they end up taking out one of the three outright with unintentionally coordinated shots.

The two remaining goblins quaff their potions and grow to ogre sized versions of themselves before starting to ascend the staircase wielding machetes that grow with them in size. Kodyax takes a second to study the spriggans as they advance and Takara retreats behind him and then tosses a frag grenade between them and to his satisfaction gets both in the blast as he switches to a katana. Takara looks at him as if he has lost his mind as he leaps into the fray to slice at one of the ogre goblins and almost felling it in one blow before jumping back and taking up a defensive position.

By nature of the situation of the stairwell only one of the two can come at Kodyax at once for which he is thankful as he manages to parry the massive blade weakly swung at him by a profusely bleeding spriggan. A second swing splits open it skull as it falls backwards and shrinks back to normal as it rapidly converts himself from a living bullying ogre goblin to a bifurcated goblin corpse which does not phase its comrade in the slightest as swings its machete viciously and connects with a brutal slash that tears through his armored space suit and leaves him with a gaping wound as Takara takes another shot with her rifle. Kodyax follows up with another overhead slash with is melee weapon and connects well enough to sever the weapon wielding hand at the wrist which causes the ogre goblin's eyes to go wide with fear as the kymera is determined to finish him off.

A lucky shot from Takara staggers the oversized goblin and allows Kodyax to get in the killing blow, separating the head from the shoulders in a deft and almost subtle slice of the katana as Kodyax makes a tremendous leap forward and landing behind him on the platform, sheathing his katana as the decapitated enemy drops to the platform below, lifeless before the body hits the floor. Takara shakes her head and whacks him lightly with her ring staff and chiding him as a show off before moving past him. Kodyax just shakes his head and follows behind her as the voice on the walkie-talkies yells for a response to what he, it sounds male at least to both of them, saw as unknown figures coming into the caller's own radar so to speak.

Neither of them deign to answer the owner of the voice as they proceed with caution. As they get closer to the bottom a pungent aroma assaults their nostrils as if some unholy cocktail of toxic chemicals had been whipped up for their benefit. Voices discussing things in high goblin can be heard as Kodyax and Takara look at each other in alarm as they both take out sniper rifles and try to locate the hobgoblins with their scopes.

It takes a few hours of skulking about to reach the bottom of the stairwell and see the two technomancer hobgoblins and the pool of toxic waste they have created; Takara is alarmed to see the beaten and bloodied body of Chaka lying before the pair as if they are debating whether or not to dump her into the radioactive pool of slime. One of them goes to pull a lever only to have both adventurers shoot that individual with hunting rifles as a means of deterrence but the bullet ridden body ends up pulling the switch as the other hobgoblin shoots Chaka in the head. The stairs Kodyax and Takara were on turns into a slide that drops them into the toxic drink as a matter of course as the hobgoblin holds an automatic and gets ready to shoot any creature that manages to climb out of the slime pit.

Floundering in the radioactive slime pit Takara starts to go under before Kodyax assists her in swimming to relative safety in an obscure corner of the pit. Swimming through the slime is not something either one had decided that would be on their agenda of things to do, but it looks like they are going to have try and get their way over to try and save Chaka somehow. Then they get the same idea at the same time and start spell casting.

"Mind over matter," Takara intones, "I envelop myself in a life sustaining energy bubble that will allow me to swim through this disgustingness with no fear of succumbing to drowning."

"Ancient spirits of nature," Kodyax prays, "envelop your faithful servant in a bubble of life's triumphant power to transcend the elements and keep mustering on despite the efforts of fate to snuff it out like a candle in the wind."

Both of them cocoon themselves in a sheath of life sustaining force that allows them to ignore the fact that the liquid medium in which they find themselves is not normal fluid as Kodyax grabs the ankle of the hobgoblin technomancer still alive and drags him into the slime as they sink to the bottom. The slime apparently has highly mutative qualities as the hobgoblin turns in a sinister version of a merman with his lower half becoming like that of an octopus. Kodyax and Takara swim in opposite directions to try and catch the mutant hobgoblin in a crossfire as they switch to sonic rifles.

The liquid medium seems to suit such weapons better than the rifles they were previously using, each pull of the triggers hammers the mutated hobgoblin with bolts of pure sonic force. Dents in the armor, emblazoned with the Yellow sign as a kind of unit insignia, eventually rupture as black blood leaks into pool as it fails to target either hero with its psychic assault but the victory does not come without its cost as while the bubbles around them allow them to breathe the viscous liquid without too much trouble it offers no filters and both of them find themselves mutated from the experience. Both kymera find their fur dyed a radical new color scheme to their bodies as they squint at each other and point finger claws.

Vibrant neon green is now the uniform color of their fur with Takara gaining orange tiger stripes much to Kodyax's amusement. Their eyes are now a solid orange as they both have their human like top fur turning neon purple with Kodyax gaining something resembling a mohawk and Takara looking more like a witch with her long tresses. They both get an overwhelming craving for caffeine in some way but for now that is where the similarities end as Kodyax feels his vision darkening even more than usual to the point of being truly nocturnal where as Takara can feel her body beginning to break down as her natural healing facilities fail to fire as something eats away at her vocal chords, dissolving them in mere seconds.

Kodyax grows to become a natural giant, towering over Takara as a matter of course as the lights around them start to dim to the point where the glow of the intense radiation around them provides the only illumination which would not be enough for most folks but their natural visual acuity tends to pierce the darkness of night anyway and while it only provides a grainy picture of black and white to their minds to discern their surroundings with any sense of accuracy whereas the low background radiation might be a concern for most folks is something both of them can safely ignore as Takara discovers she has suddenly developed a limited form of telepathy to off set the fact she can't speak normally. The sound of discharging weaponry above them is some cause for alarm as Takara takes a seat before a dormant computer station and mentally stimulates it back to life as her cybernetic third eye whirls to life as she accesses what's left of the surveillance feed the army of entropy themselves had access to. A large plasma screen winks into life and displays what looks to be a large contingent of undead attacking the apartment complex comprised of mainly ghouls with assault rifles although a couple of them have bazookas and they do have a large force of zombies, the majority of which look like they are outfitted with suicide bomber harnesses as a vampire in an armored personnel carrier that is basically the result of a militarized shot gun marriage of a hearse, a semi and a light tank, looks on from the highway.

<OK,> Takara psychically asks sarcastically of Kodyax <how are we getting out of this one? Preferably alive, I mean they can make zombies, ghouls and other kinds of undead out of us kymera as easily anything else, so what's the plan?>

"Right now the undead are the entropists' problem, not ours," Kodyax relates as he is examining Chaka's lifeless body which looks she was tortured and raped before they got to her and just to add further injury to insult it looks she was shot executioner style which makes her stone dead at the moment. "Chaka is gone, Taki, I'm sorry but see if there is a data cache in the system you are currently connected to so this excursion in error isn't a total waste."

<Gotcha, Kody,> Takara telepathically messages Kodyax in a somber, defeated tone. <I had thought of leaving her many times, you know? Just for fun she'd fuck with my cybernetics as I was sleeping or beat me. Her attitude never helped. She once screamed that I could break up with her when she was dead. Kind of ironic now isn't it?>

"You deserve better than that," Kodyax says as he gives her a hug as best he can. "I know you had a lot done the one time we played Gestapo in the pleasure dome. How extensive is your chrome?"

Takara psychically coos to Kodyax in a seductive tone of voice, <I will eventually submit myself to you for breeding that way if you want. I like being submissive a lot of times and sometimes I like being dominant. Although getting to use that plug-in to peg your tail hole was a lot of fun. I look forward to doing that again, maybe after or before you invade me with the cyber-tentacle that you made your joy stick.>

"A part of you is just itching to have that inside of you isn't it?" Kodyax inquires in a jovially sarcastic manner to which Takara sighs submissively and gives him a nod and then a kiss. "I told you I wanted you that night even after you told me it was a one off because you and Chaka had a fight. I haven't changed my mind on that."

"Amazing sometimes how much tech we rely on a daily basis isn't it?" Kodyax asks facetiously.

<Found it!> Takara telepathically announces. <It was hidden in an old file the army kept for folks it had previously executed but I got the data. Good thinking of checking before we leave. Now what?>

"Now we sneak out of here as best we can while the hordes of greenies upstairs are distracted." Kodyax states and directs Takara to a flooded sewer channel that is mostly safe from radiation. "We still have that spell active so getting out this way should be easier than finding something edible at a buffet you like going to."

<Ya think?> Takara psychically asks sarcastically.

"You lucky there's no bondage shop from here to the rendezvous point." Kodyax growls as he descends into the polluted water.

<Kinky! Momma like!> Takara telepathically giggles as she joins him. <And before you ask, that damn slime dissolved my vocal chords but I have a limited form of telepathy. So I guess it kind of works out. I can give you a blow job and still talk about whatever.>

"Knowing you, it would be a running commentary or an ode to the kraken or something similarly weird." Kodyax sarcastically grouses before they go under. <But better be safe than sorry I have telepathy magic too so we'll use that to communicate until we're sure it's alright to be breathing again.>

Takara telekinetically concedes. <But I wonder if Chaka's corpse is alright?>

<Did you really want to drag it with us?> Kodyax psychically inquires in all seriousness. <Neither one of us has enough room in the null space portal in our backpacks to carry her. We would be literally dragging her with us as we swam through this filth.>

<Good point,> Takara psychically responds in a dejected tone of voice as they swim through brackish water that they can barely see in. <Have you heard about any monsters in this sewer system?> <That's a disturbing thought,> Kodyax telepathically returns. <Whatever gave you that idea?>

Takara telepathically states.

<Cistern devil!> Kodyax telepathically grouses with tremendous menace. <And we have to get by it before we get out of here. You're going to want your sonic rifle for this.> <Sure, it worked last time we were underwater so why not this time?> Takara says telepathically as they swim into a large pool of waste water and gawks at what she sees. <That's a cistern devil? How are we going to beat it?> <It hates sonic weapons like we have now,> Kodyax psychically assures her. <They do more damage to it than other weapons. Unless you happen to have some sort of plasma weapon.>

The cistern that they are about to crawl out of is roughly a hundred foot cube of solid concrete that has a conch shell roughly the size of a compact car at the bottom with tentacles as thick as Kody's arm extending out from under the shell in all directions and something that looks like a holographic eye floating over the shell taking in the sights from all around it. As the pair grows closer portions of the waters near it chill to the point of becoming ice which is then sculpted into crab like claws that rush to meet them. Kodyax swims overtop of the huge shell and drops five screamer grenades as Takara just treads waters and gawks in sheer terror as to what she sees.

Kodyax squints his eyes in pure rage as he takes aim at the dirty ice claws and shatters each one in a single shot as his own HUD shows the battery of the weapon rapidly depleting. A mental shriek of pain can be psychically sense as the grenades go off, much to Kody's satisfaction with the only regret being that he did not bring more than the standard five of each type he has access to as his level of experience. Takara broadcasts a blast of destructive psychic energy that sends the devil reeling as Kodyax grabs her and puts he on the ladder to get out of this forsaken place.

<Did we kill it?> Takara asks desperately in her mental broadcast.

<Hardly,> Kodyax admits psychically. <We injured it greatly but it will recover. But congratulations on surviving an encounter with it.>

<It wanted to eat us, didn't it?> Takara telepathically inquires fearfully.

"Yup," is all he says as he claps a hand on her shoulder. "But enjoy the consolation prize for not killing it, we get to live as it's not about to rise out of the cistern to pursue us." <How droll,> Takara mentally grouses. <Where are we supposed to meet that little shit and hand over the packet?>

"There should be a drop off point somewhere around here." Kodyax reasons. "They had taken over what were public libraries. Where are we?" He looks up and reads a sign. "Cottman avenue and the Roosevelt boulevard? We are not too far from one actually." <Really?> Takara asks before pulling up a map software program. <You're right, it's just up the street. Seems like we took the right path for where we landed.>

As the pair walk off to hand off their data packet a pair of black armored jack boots stomps into the room of the slime pit carrying a man in suit of armor made from the blackened flesh and bones of countless murdered humanoids with skulls on his shoulders like the protective padding of an American football player. A grotesquely bald human head with bleached white skin and eyes that are pools of utter darkness smoldering with ebony flames and choking smoke wafting through those dead sockets is attached to the armor and surveys the carnage with a smile. It swiftly kicks the dead hobgoblin into the slime pit and with the power of its own dark mind levitates Chaka's lifeless corpse before him and sniffs her.

"Pain, hatred and unfinished business." The dread lord says to no one in particular. "This one has potential indeed. I think the Plutonian Order has found a new recruit." "General-King Tepes!" A bald female with ashen white skin and a similar but lesser version of her superior's armor cries out. "The complex of free of the goblin-kin vermin." She takes a bite out of a freshly severed arm before asking. "What do you want done with the corpses?" "Load what corpses that are suitable for zombification into my hearse," Vlad Tepes orders. "As for the rest, my dear Dame-Sergeant Mary, you and the other ghouls are welcome to devour as much as you like and burn the rest."

"By your leave, my master," Mary Preacher states as she bows out of her master's presence to carry out his instructions.

Ebony flames erupt from the armor of Vlad Tepes and flow like water into the body of Chaka Zulu causing her to convulse and writhe in his grasp. She screams again as she is reborn as a true creature of the night, a revenant wight burning with hatred and already in the process of being consumed by an overwhelming desire to find the female she once called her mate and murder her for abandoning her. Slowly but sure she opens her eyes only to have the jelly that once allowed her to see rapidly evaporates leaving the same burning pits as the undead thing that spawned her.

"A wight!" Vlad exclaims in utter disbelief. "Impressive, most impressive, I was expectantly maybe a revenant but this level of power in a newly reborn undead is unprecedented. What is your name, child?"

"Child?" Chaka challenges to which Tepes gives her a dark looks that speaks volume of his own great age and power without uttering a single syllable. "Well, I guess compared to you I am a child. My name in life was Chaka Zulu."

"Welcome to the Plutonian Order, Chaka Zulu." Tepes greets warmly with a voice steeped in the chill of the grave. "What kind of adventurer were you in life. I am General-King Vlad Tepes. In life they called me the impaler then a worthless human author dreamt of me and gave me a new name." "Dracula!" Chaka squeals with delight. "I adored reading every story ever written of you in life. I was a technomancer in life, your majesty."

"Excellent, Chaka," Tepes says with a toothy grin. "Since the dawning of this new age we have sorely needed folks like you. I'm afraid the highest rank I can offer is Tech Sergeant. But depending on your ambition, you can get higher in time." "I graciously accept the rank, General-King Dracula or do you prefer Tepes?" Chaka asks nervously.

"I have come to expect either Sergeant Zulu." Dracula says as he shrugs his shoulders indifferently and then gives her a dangerous smile. "It is the adoration of folks like you that have opened my eyes to how popular the name is. I have swooned throngs of people by revealing my name as such. And that pleases me greatly."

"What do you wish of me, my lord?" Chaka asks.

"You will be sent to Pluto for a span of five years where you will learn all you can on how to harness your powers and then return to hunt down those that betrayed you." Dracula explains. "Slaughter them and bring me their corpses for reanimation. After that you will serve as one of soldiers of undead until your destruction."

Burnt out and abandoned cars litter the street and parking lot between where Kodyax and Takara climbed to relative safety and where they determined they need to go. As they approach a large donut shop they notice these weird creatures firing on kymera trapped on the inside with the corpses of a few humans, elves and dwarfs lying freshly killed between them. The creatures stand about as tall as the average human male on a quartet of crustacean like legs with a carapace the color of freshly spilled blood topped with a dome of deepest ebony whose twin arms terminate in what can only be described as weapons, with one being a massive claw and the other being a smallish cannon.

<Any idea what those things are?" Takara asks telepathically in an extremely sarcastic tone.

<Warp Guards,> Kodyax returns in a simple telepathic missive. <They're rarely seen without a Dagonite of some stripe to give them orders. We can take out the guards without any trouble, I wanna know whose signing their marching orders. We can take on some Dagonites but not others. >

Takara psychically relates. <Could that be something?>

<Yeah, it's a saboteur,> Kodyax confirms psychically as he observes the field and its close proximity to themselves.<They are spies and assassins in addition sabotaging things. If an overseer or agitator wants a trained observer to watch things over they send a saboteur.>He grabs a frag grenade from his backpack. <I'm just to give it a quick hello, don't want to be rude now, do we?>

The dagonite disappears after the grenade goes off which prompts the five warp guards to turn their collective attention of the explosion and starts firing indiscriminately in their general direction.

<Well,> Takara sends to Kodyax in a psychic sarcastic remark,<If you wanted to get their attention, congratulations, mission accomplished.>

Kodyax observes them as covertly as he can and smirks. <Oh, this is almost too easy.> He psychically sends Takara who gets confused and concerned about how cocky his mental voice sounded then she sees him lob three grenades at a cluster of three of them.

<Are you fucking crazy!?!> She yells psychically at him.<You have no idea where they will land.> <Just trust me on this one, OK> Kodyax mentally pleads, All three grenades fall perfectly to spread death and devastation equally among their intended targets.

Takara mentally broadcasts as she watches three of the five fall from massive damage and the unseen figure in its chameleon cloak slinks away from the battle to make its own report.

Even if one can see through the illusion brought by an unholy marriage of sorcery and science the figure skulking about is in some ways the personification of the cryptic proposal of a conundrum enveloped within an enigma and stored in a puzzle box. It's height is roughly that of a tall human whose features are lost within the folds of an impossibly voluminous hooded robe so dark in hue that it would be conspicuous by the utter absence of any ambient illustration with glove gauntlets of technomagical origin who sharp claws look like they could easily eviscerate elephants if the possessor so wished. What can be seen of a face not obscured by the upturned hood, that is never lowered voluntarily or otherwise despite ambient weather conditions, is a marvelous mask that seems to protect the wearer from toxic gas, sudden bright illumination and other such environmental hazards.

<Tripwire to Soapbox,> The creature mental broadcasts on an encrypted psychic wave length. <Tripwire to Soapbox; Praise the Overseer; return this communication; over.>

<Soapbox to Tripwire,> The other communicates in kind. <Praise the Overseer; I am receiving you just fine. What is your situation, over.>

<We have a situation,> Tripwire reports. <Two kymera are making their way to your location. One is a witch and the other is a ranger. I believe the ranger is the one the overseer wants regular reports on, over.>

<It's a wolf-bear type right?> Soapbox inquires. <What is the witch?>

<The witch is a tiger-vixen, but she is of little concern.> Tripwire contends.

<The Overseer assigned you five or are you worried about your cover?> Soapbox asks pointedly. <And what do you mean green furred? These are mammal based kymera we are talking about, yes?>

<Affirmative, but I am detecting mutative elements corrupting their genetic bases,> Tripwire explains. <But the goblinoids are nearby and we have it on authority that they are conducting unstable experiments with mutagenic compounds so they may have just escaped one of their towers.>

<An excellent subjugation, Tripwire, I will forward it to the local broadcaster to update their files.> Soapbox returns and then adds: <Don't forget, our orders are that we are to refrain from engaging the subject so observe only.>

<You don't need to tell me twice,> Tripwire responds.

<And excellent course of action, proceed with that,> Soapbox agrees. <Praise the Overseer; over and out.>

The warp guards wink out of existence only to reappear behind them as Takara blinks in confusion. Kodyax sees them falling back and then takes a look inside the donut shop to find four survivors: a quartet of raccoon-ferret kymera one of whom has a bowl cut to his top fur, one has extended wingtips, one has his parted down the middle while the other is completely devoid of head fur. As the warp guards retreat the bald one produces a rocket propelled grenade and fires it at the departing creatures. It gets about fifty feet out before it hits a wall of psychic force and prematurely detonates.

"Interesting," Kodyax cryptically observes. "Not a normal ability found in saboteurs. Either there is another type at work or this one is expanding its repertoire."

"What was that thing, mister?" The bowl cut ferret-raccoon asks. "Thanks for saving us by the way. I'm Moses Zachary Stooge. These are my brothers Lawrence Albert," the one with the wing tip hair style nods to his name being called, "Shempatrick Donovan," the one whose head fur is parted down the middle nods like Larry did, "and last but not least, the most trigger happy of all is, Karl Edward." The bald one gives a thumbs up.

"Nice to know you," Kodyax says with a solemn nod. "I am Kodyax von Fenryx, this other one is Takara Yamaha. What type of adventurers are you? I am interplanetary ranger by trade."

Takara psychically broadcasts for emphasis especially since actually enunciating her words is an ability that has been stricken for her.

"We're all gunslingers, sir," Lawrence states. "We act as a unit mostly. Moe is the oldest so he gets to be leader, I report our findings back to HQ so I am the radio mammal I guess. Shemp is our sharpshooter and Karl is our heavy weapons mammal and explosives expert." "Except Karl, we're all sharpshooters, Larry," Shemp says as Karl just smirks.

"I like making things go boom." Karl says simply.

"Yeah, but ye gotta work on making sure you make the right things go boom, numbskull!" Moe growls before slapping Karl upside the head. Then he turns to Kodyax, "You saved us from those things, Kodyax, we follow your orders from now on.

<Oh, this is just too rich!> Takara psychically giggles but makes sure only Kodyax can hear what she is mentally broadcasting. <You literally now have stooges! How's it feel to have minions?>

<You want me to spank you, don't you?> Kodyax telepathically grumbles.

<Ooh! Foreplay!> Takara telepathically teases. <Hurt me, daddy!>

"I see all four of you are using disintegrators," Kodyax observes, "Is that your standard?" they nod as one to his inquiry, "I'm not a big fan of acid spitters but then again I like scatterguns a little too much. Alright, I want you four to fan out and head towards the general retailer and get to the ground floor as quickly as you can."

"And then?" Moe asks.

"Report back to me," Kodyax orders. "Be as noisy as you like."

The brothers whoop it up and rush to follow their instructions to the best of their ability which causes Takara to raise an eye ridge in his general direction. Kodyax just smirks as he knows the quartet will be a suitable distraction as he takes out his own cold beam rifle and advances forward with Takara doing the same as she follows him. Explosions going off in the general direction that the brothers wandered off in is cause for concern until Larry checks in.

"Back parking lot is mined, boss," Larry radios in.

"Well then be careful going through and try to use some of these abandoned vehicles as cover." Kodyax advises as he shakes his head. He telepathically promises Takara.

<We both have sniper rifles right?> Takara asks.

<Yeah, you have an assassin rifle like me, right?> Kodyax asks as Takara just smiles and nods. <Are you suggesting that we use the scopes and catch a glimpse at what we are going to face down the rode?>

Takara just smiles and nods as hey share a conspiratorial look between before they assemble their Assassin rifles and fit the proper scopes to them. Looking through the telescopic scopes they see what looks to be a rather commanding figure dressed in a robe as dark as the midnight sky with motes of light twinkling like stars in random spots with hands ensconced in glove-gauntlets with fingers claws that are as wickedly shard as they are supremely elegant and the same face concealing and protective mask as the saboteur. Surrounding it is a legion of ten warp guards who are firing their arm cannons at what's left of what once a large branch of the local library system.

<What the fuck is that?> Takara asks as she fights off being fascinated by the thing's robe as Kodyax is struggling to keep his composure.

<The dagonite is a Provocateur,> Kodyax replies with bare contained rage in his mental voice. <They are often part of the first wave of invaders doing their damned best to capture the hearts and minds of a given populace and paves the way for an easier full invasion. If a Provocateur does its job right it forms a kind of cult that welcomes their oppressors with open arms.>

<Are we out of its mental broadcast radius?> Takara asks with a worried tone of voice.

<Probably, are you hearing word and sayings that makes you question your life choices?> Kodyax asks in a probing manner.

<Yes, but that mental noise started up when I saw Chaka dead.> Takara admits. Kodyax wraps his arms around her and interrupts her concentration. <I'm here for you, what I can do to ease your mind I will do, I promise you that. You are NOT what Chaka accused you of.>

<Thank you, Kody, I appreciate that.> Takara responds as she leans into his comforting embrace. <Here's a question though, if we kill the provocateur; what will happen to the warp guards?>

<They'll fight on,> Kodyax admits. <But they will be far less organized.>

The provocateur is proselytizing to beat the band when an armored van , like those that carry around large sets of currency between banks and businesses, drops directly on the dagonite and all the warp guards converge on where the truck came from. Kodyax's muzzle has a stupid and utterly self-serving smirk creep unto his muzzle as Takara gives him the most incredulous look. One by one the warp guards go down as the brothers invariably concentrate fire even as the other warp guards keeps firing at them.

"Well they do say the gods smile on fools," Kodyax says in a sarcastic tone of voice.

<You can't be serious!> Takara mentally screams at him. <You do know how much you're stretching it?>

"Hello, what have we here?" Kodyax asks as he looks through his scope. "The dagonite is crawling out."

<It's not dead?> Takara asks in disbelief. <Wanna finish him?>

"Let's," Kodyax returns as they take aim as one.

Both kymera line up their shots darn near perfectly and each shoots out a different eye, or what would have been the eyes of human or human like creature. As the thing dies a greyish white putrescence forms a pool of a substance that defies description as it lacks any form like a stain formed of spilled and spoiled milk that dries but does not change color as the sickening hue bakes into the concrete of the sidewalk. The warp guards, the few that are left, mill about as they have no one to defend and no visible enemy to take out as the brothers use the abandoned vehicles as cover to mask their movement.

Kodyax shakes his head as he goes over to the stain and takes a sample to be analyzed later as he sighs morosely as he doubts they will ever figure out what the dagonites are let alone find a panacea to exterminate them once and for all. He's been fighting these things too long to hold out any hope anymore that he will be able to actually defeat them, at least not alone. He looks over at the library and sees silhouettes at the windows watching him, judging him he has no doubts.

Takara tries to use her magic to try and piece together just what happened here and all her training to extract even the barest of facts from the morass of eldritch chaos in abundance in the goo that is new to her as is the stench that seems to be overpowering with something else lingering within the stench unseen but its presence is almost overpowering to her subconscious senses. A kind of psychic malignancy permeates the very molecules of the atmosphere just waiting to be breathed in and start the process of corrupting the basic genetic helixes and tarnishing the soul with a madness that can only be cured by the eternal and perceived mercy that comes only by the final internment into one's own grave. She convulses as she feels invisible tendrils snake their way in through her nostrils and attempts to engage in the invasion of essence to attempt an ounce of agency on the part of the entity to enact vengeance for its destruction upon its own murderers.

Kodyax yanks her away from the stain before it can somehow breach the mystical protective layer of livable conditions granted to them by the casting of magic hours before. Takara looks at him strangely, uncomprehending of the peril she was in until a psychic tendril lashes out and strikes her psyche, the only thing it can do at this point as it has no corporeal form with which to physically assault her. It is then that she hugs him and starts to cry and in response he just holds her close to him and caresses her body in an attempt to non-verbally assuage her fear.

Chaka would have tried to push me away, Takara thinks to herself in a bitter manner, even as most of her is enjoying the attempt at comforting her that Kodyax is trying to render. Chaka would have tried to get us to snap out of this shit, a psychic voice in her head argues and there is no denying the truth to this mental accusation either even if his touches make her feel good. She presses her body against him and feels something stir in his groin unbidden that causes her to smirk even as her own body, especially her nether regions psychologically opens up to invite him in as her own pheromonal arousal starts to permeate from her body like some kind of lustful musk that he is hard pressed to resist.

"The physical debris of a dead dagonite that would probably kill you if you managed to actually breathe it in is turning you on?" Kodyax asks fearfully as if regretting in some way his desire to be with this female.

<NO!> Takara psychically shouts back. <Sorry if that was a little too forceful, you are causing this, Kody; your touch; your care for me is arousing this response in me. Chaka would...>

"Chaka would have slapped you silly and screamed for you to get out your funk." Kodyax observes harshly which provokes a sobbing episode from Takara in response. "I'm sorry, Taki, I want you for myself, it's a selfish desire I know but one that I have and I am not going to give up anytime soon."

<Please don't,> Takara telepathically pleads. "Stop thinking like Chaka wanted you to think!" Kody growls. "Yeah, we are probably acting on lust more than love at this point but we can covert the one into the other can't we?" <I'm willing to try,> Taki responds mentally,

"Yeah, but I think this is the way it's supposed to be." Kodyax states in agreement. "But right now we still have a mission to complete."

The dagonite saboteur going by the call sign of Tripwire watches Kodyax and Takara take out Soapbox with little effort and is shocked, startled and appalled all at the same time. It wants to assassinate the two kymera but is mindful of its mission parameters. Risking exposure it sets up a long range psychic communication emitter, a sprawled out techno-organic machine looking like a rather large, erect human penis that rolls around on a grotesque scrotum that somehow keeps it stable, and attunes itself to it.

<Tripwire to Channel X; Tripwire to Channel X; come in Channel X.> Tripwire sends out and soon gets a reply through the emitter.

<Channel X to Tripwire; All hail the Overseer, report!> The mental voice is received loud and clear by its intended receiver.

<Tripwire to Channel X; All hail the Overseer, I have found the hunter the Overseer want monitored,> Tripwire reports. <He has a mystical companion and has taken command of a squad of gunners. Soapbox is the recent victim of his onslaught. He and the witch shot it down with tandem shots made on sniper rifles. Unsure how to proceed; require additional orders, over.>

<Continue to covertly observe,> Channel X commands.

A cigar shaped craft with roughly the same dimensions as a stretch limousine flies into view at supersonic speed only to stop abruptly when it reaches Kodyax and Takara. The two kymera look at each other and shrug their shoulders mutually but start making for cover when the vehicle opens fire on them with weaponry not visible to the naked eye. It scores a grazing hit on Kody's shoulder as Taki manages to dodge completely.

Kodyax grimaces as he takes out a zero point energy rifle and returns fire with Takara doing the same but with no effect. Each of the four Stooge brothers decides to hot wire a random car from the parking lot and drive it towards the flying machine hoping to run over a mine that will send the wreck flying and hopefully careening into craft. Shemp and Karl manage somehow to tag team the engines whereas Moe and Larry each hit the thing in the middle which causes all sorts of problems even before the rocket propelled grenades from the library are launched and force the craft to land.

Two things happen simultaneously which shock everyone in the immediate vicinity as a Segway launches from the wreck carrying a figure in the same black robe as the provocateur but this one produces a saber made of pure energy from the blackest void of outer space with a sinister hue to match whereas a huge sphere of deepest ebony rises from the wreck on spidery mechanical legs. Kodyax recognizes the dagonite on the glorified motorized skateboard as a vanguard which is not good for any of them with the unseen mech pilot being an unknown although the fact it is a manned vehicle is rather obvious as a chainsaw tipped tentacle erupts from the top as the two converge on Kodyax. Takara is now officially annoyed as she grips her ring staff tightly and with only the power of her own psyche produces a forceful blast of psychic force that she directs to travel from the middle of the large ring finial of her staff to strike the vanguard and knock it off of its rolling perch.

Roaring out of what was the library's parking lot is a lady skunk-raccoon hybrid Kody and Taki both recognize and groan as she is a reckless star bard known far and wide as Lorelei Jenkins. She is driving a hovercycle made more for speed than actual combat but she uses the tow line on the bike to tie up the legs of the mecha before using the on board plasma cannon to knock out the huge glaring eye it had in the middle of the sphere. Lorelei hoops and hollers in celebration as Kodyax holds his head and shakes which solicits an odd look from Takara as if questioning his reaction but an armored cone emerges from the wreckage sporting twin weapon arms with the one being a plasma cannon and the other a chainsaw sword its presence alarms the two females but not the huge male.

"Of course the pilot is a psychopath." Kodyax grumbles and reaches for his own sonic rifle and takes aim.

Takara asks Kodyax telepathically. <This is pretty overt if you ask me.> <It both is and isn't unusual,> Kodyax telepathically returns as the psychopath reels from his attack. <This is a quick strike, kill the leaders and the rest fade back into the shadows for further orders. This isn't even the most field pieces I have seen them deploy at once. I hate to say it but this could have been a diversion. While we take care of this force another squad is setting up something even nastier.> "Kodyax to Stooge brothers, come in one of you." Kodyax barks as his cybernetic communicator broadcasts his message to the Stooge brothers specifically.

"Larry here, go ahead boss." Larry returns over an encrypted channel.

"Larry, tell your brothers I want them to concentrate their fire on the armored one." Kodyax orders. "Do you copy?"

"Your wish is our command, boss!" Larry returns enthusiastically.

Larry was crouched down as he took their orders and when Moe comes over to see what is going on, Larry relays the communication to which his older brother just grins like a fiend and nods. The psychopath is just in their sites as they blast their weapons as a unit with the vanguard needing to leap out of the way of the stream to keep itself safe only to feel the bite of cold steel as Kodyax brings a katana to bear on its body. Lorelei and Takara stand there dumbfounded as the psychopath gets doused in acid and the vanguard gets its robe slashed to reveal pale ash white skin beneath that shows no sign of bleeding from the deep wound the ranger gave it.

The vanguard inflicts a deep gash in Kody's side as the ranger pulls off a decapitation strike on his opponent, an attack it does not even react to as it continues its assault on its assailant. It's about to give Kodyax a fatal wound when it realizes that too much of its actual physicality has been revealed and commits seppuku, a move that Takara finds odd and alarming that it would choose suicide rather than continue a battle that is more stalemate than anything else. Kodyax himself raises and eye ridge at this as the psychopath sets its armor to self-destruct in hopes of getting some of its killers in the blast.

All seven of them walk through the front entrances of the library to be greeted by an imposing battle robot that scans them before standing down. They file around it as the dwarven drill sergeant calls for them to join him on the second floor. Lorelei and Takara share their findings with a lady elf officer who is disturbed by what she sees.

"Two more data packets, Brom," She says to the sergeant. "Looks like these are the pieces we were really searching for."

"Well done you three," Brom Blackstar beams and then he sees the Stooge brothers. "You actually survived? How? When I saw those warp guard thingies converge on your position I thought you were goners." "With very few exceptions, I cannot suffer an aberration to continue its existence." Kodyax growls as a way of explanation. "It's a methodology I chose to emphasize as part of my training."

"Glad to hear it," Brom beams. "Now can you tell me what the Hell was that with that one with the energy blade?" "I cut the vanguard well enough to expose it." Kodyax states matter-of-factly "Once it realized I was going to reveal its true form it decided that suicide was the only solution. The Dagonites as you know are extremely secretive."

"We have speculation files from the xeno-druids," Brom states. "But the top brass deemed them too bizarre to be real."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kodyax returns with sardonic smirk. "You saw the truth for yourself."

"So there really is no discernable features behind those robes?" The unnamed elf officer asks to which Kodyax just grimly nods which elicits a shudder of sheer terror from her. "I am Major Hillary Greene and I think it will best serve us if we keep the seven of you as a unit. Kodyax, I am giving you the rank of Captain and the commanding officer of this unit." Kodyax nods without emotion as she continues. "Takara I will make you and Lorelei Lieutenants with you as Kody's second and science officer." Takara smirks and just nods to this. "Lorelei, I think you are best served as communications officer." Lorelei just nods as Hillary continues. "The Stooge brothers will also be assigned to you, Kody, more because you have gotten the most out of them. But how would you assign enlisted ranks if it were up to you?"

"That's actually quite simple," Kodyax says with a smile. "Moe is the one keeps the others in line so I would make him the Sergeant with Larry as corporal and the other two as privates first class."

"I find you logic exemplary, I will award them ranks according to your suggestions." Hillary says as Brom hands outs stripes to the Stooge brothers. There is an apartment complex we just cleared out from the Armada of Entropy. You will be given quarters there presently. For now you are on leave to rest and recuperate from this experience." "Thank you, ma'am," Kodyax says as he clamps a hand on Taki's shoulder and orders. "Alight team, let's get to our assigned quarters and head out."

Kodyax casts a healing spell on himself as they leave and get their assigned rooms, not in the building where Chaka died but close enough to cause Takara to involuntarily sigh. As Captain Kodyax is assigned the largest with Lori and Taki each having their own apartments with the brothers sharing two apartments among the four of them. Kodyax has the largest as one of the rooms is designated a meeting room for when they need to gather for meetings and strategy. That first night is actually uneventful as the team settles in for a much needed slumber session.

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