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Chapter -3- Timeless Vacation

Out of phase with linear time... Parker Family Island ...

Conner Parker placed his hand on the golden pole and pushed it away from himself. It wobbled away with a warblig sound from the way the hooked top clattered across the ground. Conner followed it off the mat, onto the tiled floor.

Trying again, he reached for the cane and, like before, it reversed course. The staff began rolling backwards towards his reaching grasp. "Now _that_is weird. You guys see this, right?"

"Talk about an anomaly," James said in a soft voice, impressed. "That's wild." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, a curious look of intrigue set upon his face.

Reno's expression mirrored James', but without the concern in his gaze. "Put it in the middle of the room, kiddo. Try and get further back and see if you can do it again."

The teenager placed the cane on the gym mat at the center of the room and walked away. He turned about, knelt down on one knee and reached for the cane. It wobbled slightly then, slowly, it rolled across the soft padded flood and came to him like a faithful pet.

"Holy shit," James said, shaking his head.

"Wow," Reno added. "It looks like the force is strong with you, young padawan. Maybe you should have someone check your midichlorian count."

"My what?" Conner glanced up from the cane, looked at Reno. He lifted his hands in a somewhat dismissive fashion. "Wait, pop culture - is this some movie I missed when I was training with my mom as a kid or something?"

Reno laughed. "Uh, no." Nevada grinned. "It was a movie you missed over twenty years before your father was a twinkle in your grandfather's eye. But it's a cult classic. It's easier for you to watch the series than to explain it." Reno snapped his fingers, adding, "Evan would love to watch'em with you." Reno's grin broadened.

James approached. "Alright, I want to see you do your new trick again. Drop it on the floor and see if you can pick it up without bending over and touching it."

Conner grimaced with a slight glare. He dropped the cane on the floor. It clattered loudly. He looked up at James, whose facial expression told Conner that his uncle was less-than-pleased with the way in which he took the man's words so literally.

"Isn't that, like, a family heirloom and one-of-a-kind? You didn't have to..." James held his hands up, as if defensively. "You know what? Never mind."

Conner lowered his hand, palm down, as if reaching for the cane, but without leaning over. The staff trembled for a moment, jostled about, and then the blunt end, opposite of the hook, lifted from the floor. It met his palm with a firm slap. Conner blinked. "Didn't Karla have this ability?"

"Telekinesis," Reno said. "Try it on something else." He walked over to the far end and found another tennis ball. He put it on the gym mat and kicked it over towards his nephew. "Go on."

"Okay." The teenager crossed the room and reached for the tennis ball. Nothing happened. "Maybe it only happens to things that are made from Orichalcum. I'll try it on another piece I have in a small vault in the study upstairs. Not right now, but when I get up there in a little while."

"Wilfred will want to run tests on you."

"What?"

Reno grinned. "My friend, Wilfred. He's a freaking scientist, Conner. He'll want everything except a sperm sample. Blood, hair follicles, skin cell sample, saliva swab, urinalysis, sweat swab, fingernail clipping..." Reno tapped his finger against his bottom lip, trying to think of anything else that would make Conner feel awkward. "Hmm, I guess that should be about it."

James turned away with a snicker, seeing that Reno was messing with the kid.

"No mucus, huh?" asked Conner with a sarcastic voice.

Reno snapped his fingers. "Actually, if you think you can manage it!"

"What would that accomplish?!" Conner exclaimed.

James brought his palm to his face. "Conner, he's kidding."

Conner blinked. "Oh. Uh, right, I knew that. I was playing along." He turned away from both of his uncles and threw his cane about ten feet away. He reached his hands towards it. Again, it began to swivel about then rolled wildly across the tile surface. It skittered across the gym mat, then leapt up from the ground and met his palm. "This is really cool. I wonder what could have possibly caused it. It's like ... some sort of magnet."

Reno's eyes widened. "That's it!" he snapped his fingers. "I have a theory I want to test." He walked out of the room.

James blinked. "That was sudden."

"I guess." Conner tossed the cane, underhanded, across the room and thrust his hands back towards it before it hit the ground. The cane reversed course before striking the wall. It hit the floor, rolled a few times, then leapt back up and connected with his palm. "I wish I could do this to everything. Like ... TV remotes. I'd be so lazy if I had Karla's telekinesis."

A moment later, Reno returned to the room with a vest in his hands. "This has lead in it. I want you to gently place the cane on the floor and walk away from it. Then I want you to reach for it. I'll hold this vest between your hand and the cane. We'll see if it makes a difference."

"Uh, sure." Conner put the metallic pole on the floor and walked across the room, stealing a glance at James. "Don't look upset. He asked me to set it down nicely."

"Yeah, yeah." Jaye glanced at Reno and shrugged. "Are you sure lead will block a magnetic field? I don't think it works like that. In fact, I'm pretty sure it won't make a difference."

"I don't know." Reno shrugged. "I got it from next door, cause you guys have an x-ray machine. It's dense, though, right? I want to see if he can do it through a wall or something, too. Might as well try everything while we're at it. By the way, Conner, why does your family have an X-ray machine here?"

"Because we break a lot of bones while training." Conner lifted his hands and the pole began to shudder. It slowly dragged along the ground, long-ways, headed towards the boy's extended palm.

Reno held the lead vest between Conner's hand, and the staff. The pole stopped sliding but continued to twitch on the ground. "Okay, well, it didn't stop it; you see it's wobbling. But by blocking your path to the cane, it's kind of reduced your effectiveness to reach for it, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so. So is the lead blocking the field?"

James shook his head. "I don't think you can block a magnetic field, so to speak. You can only, uh, redirect it or something. I mean, you've got a whole bunch of stuff between a compass and the poles at either end of the planet. Right? Tense up; try harder to pull that thing to you."

Conner tensed his body. The cane began to scoot slowly across the floor again.

Reno pulled the vest away. The cane suddenly jumped up from the floor and flew into Conner's hand.

Silence.

"Okay," Conner said in a soft voice. He twirled the cane again, like an oversized baton. He didn't drop it this time. "So what's your hypothesis, guys?"

"Hell if I know," said James. "But I kind of hope it's a Parker thing. I'd love to be able to reach for things like something out of a movie."

"I've never heard of anyone else being able to do this," Conner said with a shrug, his voice still soft.

Reno rubbed his chin then ran his hands back through his hair. "If you run electric current into a screwdriver, you can magnetize it. So, maybe it happened when I electrocuted you."

Conner frowned. "Stop saying you electrocuted me. The way you say it implies you were at fault. Let's just ... refer to it as the anomaly or whatever."

"Fine." Reno sighed and then shrugged. "Okay, so, after that random-ass bolt of lightning erupted from my chest and struck your cane and threw you clear across the room, and burned the living shit out of you ... maybe you somehow became like a magnetized screwdriver. Maybe you can do that to anything that's metal. We tried it on a tennis ball earlier. Find something metal. Or, maybe we charged the cane and you're the only one that can reach for it. Why it only goes to you ... well, I don't have a theory on that."

"Because it was inside of me?" Conner asked, mostly to himself. "It was covered in my blood. Maybe ... hell, I don't know. That sounds stupid, huh?"

James began pacing. "Yeah, that would only be a feasible guess if the cane was struck by lightning while it was sticking out of your torso." James paused and glanced back at his nephew. "You weren't struck by lightning while you were laying there, in that pile of rubble with it sticking out of you, were you?"

An awkward silence followed.

Jaye shook his head. "Right, of course not. You'd have been burned, the wound would have been cauterized from the inside out, and you'd have marks like the one on your hand, but all over your torso."

"That's, uh," Reno cleared his throat. "Quite an imagination you have there."

"Imagination? Me? Hello, I'm James Parker. I write comic books."

"...Right." Reno glanced to Conner. "So, you okay?"

Conner shrugged. "Don't mind me. Just sort of reliving the most embarrassing moment of my life, getting my ass handed to me. Nearly dying. Having my confidence shattered. But, uh, no ... I wasn't struck by lightning, thankfully. That would have added a whole new layer of suck to being impaled."

James winced. "Sorry. I ... sorry, I was being insensitive when I said all that."

Conner walked over to James and punched his uncle in the shoulder. "I'm not that big of a pussy. God. I'm kidding. Clearly, I don't remember it happening. I mean, c'mon ... I had a building fall on me. Nobody, and I mean nobody_could shake off something like _that. I was lying there, helpless and pinned. The dickhead that ran the cane through me was a coward for attacking me while I was down. That just means one thing - I'm better than him and he can't fight me on fair terms. If anything, that made me more_confident, because he can't beat me man-to-man, _and because it won't happen again."

James fidgeted, not sure how to handle Conner's odd humor. "Okay, so, speaking of that guy ... aren't we related to him?"

"Yeah. Distantly. He thinks he should be a beneficiary to the family claim on this island," Conner explained. "I told him he's nowhere near having any claim to this island. Ironically, one of his legitimate businesses is to provide legal counsel and act as a fiduciary. So how he thinks he has any legal claim to this island is way beyond me."

James shrugged. "Sounds like he puts the douche in fiduciary."

Nobody spoke.

Again, James shrugged. "Okay, I thought it was funny. I don't exactly know how to spell that word anyhow. So, you're saying this guy understands how such entitlement works, yet he wants what he knows doesn't belong to him?"

"Exactly." Conner twirled the cane slowly, causing a low whooshing noise. "Joe Pendleton, senior and junior. Both those guys can kiss my ass. They'll never get anything at this point. I wouldn't even send those guys my hospital bill. But I doubt we've seen the last of them."

"Great," James muttered.

"We got bigger fish to fry. They can have your island vault if they can get in," Reno said, "if we all wind up dead trying to fight Aris Falcon. And then Pendleton will have to live through Falcon's drama. I'm surprised those dopes haven't wound up on Falcon's radar yet anyhow. For all we know, those guys might wake up tomorrow in a room full of dudes wearing black military gear, guns in their faces. Conner, don't even think of those clowns anymore. You tried to extend an olive branch and they spit in your hand. Fuck them."

"Wow," Conner murmured. "You don't usually say that much stuff at once. Anyway." He turned to James and said, "Do you think Dawn and Tamamo will ever actually talk, or do you think Dawn will avoid my girlfriend forever? Sorry to change the topic, it's just ... yeah."

"I think she wants to be called Rachel now," said James. "Even by me. So ... let's honor her wishes and call her Rachel."

"Okay. So do you think Rachel will continue to avoid Tammy?"

"I'll talk to her, Conner."

"Alright. Cool. For this team to function, we all have to be friends here." Conner turned to Reno and offered his hand. Reno met the handshake. Suddenly, Conner jerked his hand back, "Ah, GOD, you just shocked the shit out of me!"

Reno blinked. "Wait, what? I ... I did?"

Conner smirked and gave Reno a firm slap on the shoulder. "No, but I know you still feel bad about electrocuting me. Don't. You didn't do it. So stop acting all guilty and stuff." Conner turned towards James, adding, "And you. Get our girlfriends to talk. Please. Tammy feels like Rachel is avoiding her. Which is because that's_exactly_ what Rachel is doing. And it makes Tammy feel awkward. And, to be honest, Rachel doesn't talk to me all that much, either."

"With all due respect," said James, "Rachel was possessed by your girlfriend, and retained intensely personal memories of what Tamamo no Mae has done in her past. Rachel remembers killing people. Rachel remembers having sex with you. Rachel remembers lots of really dark things that, to be honest, has made her a different person. So don't take it personal - Lord knows she's doing that enough for all of us. But she's my fiancée and I won't abandon her just because she's changed. Let's face it, knowing what it's like to take someone's life, and having unwanted carnal knowledge of people she's never met ... that would change anyone. So ... maybe it's best we let her work through her issues on her own."

"Blah."

"Give her time, Conner. She can't exactly look at you the same way. She saw you as a young boy, who would become her nephew by marriage when we finally tie the knot. Now she sees you as someone she fucked, because she has Tamamo's memories imprinted in her head. Let's face it, possession is pretty weird."

Reno ran his hands through his hair. "Okay, so ... wow? I don't even know what to say to any of that. Conner, if Rachel really has experienced all that stuff, you need to empathize and give her the space she needs." Reno glanced to James, adding, "And you_need to take your girl to get psychological help. Not for us, but for _her. She needs to work out some seriously dark issues."

James threw his hands up in the air. "They'd commit her! How do you approach a shrink and tell them you were possessed? He wouldn't help her for her memories. He'd try and commit her for believing in that mythological shit!"

A door at the end of the gym opened and Tamamo stepped in, shutting the door behind herself. "Gentlemen, please. Yes, I was right outside, just in case Conner was injured during your experiments."

"You were?" Reno asked. I didn't see you." He tossed the lead vest to the floor mat.

Tamamo continued, "But I cannot sit outside and listen for one moment longer. James-san - please accept my apology for putting such stress on your relationship. However, there is a man who can help Dawn ... _Rachel_with what she's been through."

"Who? She would gladly speak to a doctor, if she knew she wouldn't be committed."

"My doctor. Usagi-sama."

"Your doctor?" James blinked. "Goddesses have shrinks?"

"When I possessed Tamae, I was working through her issues combined with my own. I actually was committed. I was assigned a doctor named Usagi. He can help Rachel, because he came to learn that I am a true celestial being. But he helped me even before he believed in me. I can take Rachel to him. Perhaps just a few weeks in his care, and she can work through her issues and deprogram herself from the things she feels guilt or awkwardness over, such as the memories she received from me."

"I'll talk to her," said Jaye. "But why did you stay in her so long? That's what caused your memories to imprint on her."

"With all due respect, it usually takes months of possession for such to occur. Dawn ... _Rachel_managed to retain all that I am in a very, very short time. She even learned to speak Japanese and Chinese. Very impressive. She has an impressive capacity to learn with ease."

"Yeah, well, I'll talk to her about seeing this doctor. Why did you have to see him?"

"Tamae, before I took possession of her, was in the hospital on suicide watch. She lived through something very ... very dark. I thought I could handle her memories, but I was experiencing her breakdown. It weakened me, as I pondered my own past, what I had been, what I was trying to become ... and the doctor helped me to understand the choices I made, and accept myself without medications. I cannot guarantee it will help Rachel become her old self, but I certainly suggest she unloads this heavy burden to a professional."

"So, I should just let her stay in Japan for a few weeks while she has intense therapy to remind her that she never killed anyone, or had sex with teenaged boys, like you did?"

"Hey!" Conner erupted.

Tamamo held her hands out, gesturing for Conner and James to relax. "In my time with Usagi, I learned that I was emotionally abused by my first husband. He was considerably older, and I later felt less emotionally threatened by Kenoe-tenno. My first true love was fifteen years old. And so I learned to look beyond one's age. And when I met Conner, I did not feel threatened by him either. So I opened up to him. I'm not simply some ... pervert."

"I see," James said in a soft voice.

Tamamo approached Conner and took his hand but continued her conversation with James. "Now I have come to accept what happened to me in the past. I benefited from Usagi's council. He is a wise man. It would be beneficial for Rachel to seek his help."

"Okay, okay," James said. "I'll talk to her about it as soon as we leave."

Reno sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Maybe it's best if you get your girl the help she needs now. Talk to Raul. Nobody here is going to judge you for taking care of your girl first. Plus, she's smart. She can help this team once she's got herself in order."

James bit his lip. "I've appreciated all the training I've done with you guys the last five months. But ... maybe that's a good idea. Conner, you wouldn't mind if we left early?"

Conner shook his head. He approached Jaye and they hugged. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"No, you were defending your girl's honor, Conner. I got out of line. I'm the one who's sorry. Rachel ... I just... I love her. And the possession is a sore spot for me because I know it really messed with her head. I'll talk to Raul."

Tamamo cleared her throat into her hand. "Yes, please, find Raul and talk to him about leaving the island. I will fetch you Usagi-sama's card. But, please, I wish to speak to Rachel before you go. Let me tell her about the doctor. I want to personally apologize to her for burdening her mind with things that she cannot un-see. I wish to beg her forgiveness."

"I ... I guess. Okay." James turned to Reno, and the two shook hands. Jaye nodded to Tamamo. He walked out of the room.

Reno shook his head. "Boy. This all got really weird, really fast."

Tamamo offered a slight bow to Reno, then leaned in to kiss Conner's face. "I will see the both of you at dinner. I am going to find Rachel. And, for the record, Tamae feels happier now than she has in a long time. She accepts my past, she accepts Conner's relationship with me. This host is very, very pleased. I only hope that no harm comes to this host's body in the upcoming war against Aris Falcon and, worse, the upcoming war against those who now hold the Celestial Realm hostage."

Conner pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, that's a whole other ballgame. One thing at a time."

"Hai. See you both this evening at dinner." She walked out of the gym.

Reno shook his head. "I didn't know this was going to become, 'Days Of Our Godly Lives,' or 'As The Celestial World Turns.' Anyway, I feel a lot better about all my bullshit drama. So, kid, you ready to try some training? You can absorb my lightning with your metal stick. You should be able to hold your own against me now. You wanna go at it?"

"You kidding?" Conner said with a weak grin. "After all that crap? I think I need a good fight. Let's go." He motioned towards the large cushioned mat. "I held my own against Karla, once. Don't feel like you need to baby me."

"Let's go, kid. Show me what you got."

X

X

Cairo Egypt...

Karla arched her hips and sat up, straddling her playmate. She reached down and placed her right index against the man's lips. "No, I said no kissing. That makes it too personal. This isn't personal." She brought her hand down, where their bodies met, and used her fingers around the base of his girth, to increase the sensation of tightness from tip to hilt, working him quick.

"Too soon, I'm about to..."

"I know," she said. "I told you this is a quickie. Stop trying to take your time, babe." She clinched herself around him and goaded, "c'mon, fill me."

"You are a sure? I am not having of the condom," he said in broken English.

She snatched one of his hands and brought it to her breast. In a commanding tone, she said, "Fill me up. Do it."

And, finally, euphoric bliss. Not for her - not this time. She could feel his warm, frothy seed geyser into her. She huffed with finality then sighed, bearing down firmly so as not to spill a single drop. "That's it. Good boy. That's what I wanted tonight."

Karla reached down and used her palm to wipe a bit of sweat from the man's forehead then she brushed her hand on the hotel pillow. Carefully, she eased herself from him and dropped down beside him, keeping her legs up. "Sorry I don't have all that long to play around. Besides, I wouldn't want you getting attached."

"You were most certainly, ah, what is the verb ... tighter than any virgin I..."

Karla reached over with her hand and placed two fingers on his lips. "Surprise. Seventy-two virgins are tight for a few seconds. A woman who knows how to use her body is tight every time. Paradise should be full of soul mates, not virgins. How many wives do you have anyhow?"

"I ... I had four. There was a ... a bombing, you know, and it ... what's the English word..."

"Killed your wives?" Karla frowned.

"Yes, that is it. They were a-killed."

She opened her mouth to correct him but decided against it. "That's awful. I'm sorry, I can't be your wife. My husband died recently. I'm not over it - I'm not ready to move on. But I'm sorry your family died. Did you have any children?"

"Two sons from Fifka. All daughters from the others. Fifka was lucky, good for having sons. She is ... er, uhm, was Russian."

"You do know that men are the ones who determine gender in children, right? It's 2049, this has been common knowledge for, like, a hundred years, babe."

"Science is not always being the right."

Karla shook her head, sat up and scoffed. "Okay, well, thanks for the romp. Good luck finding more wives. Here's a suggestion: Raise them in an area that isn't being bombed."

The man sat up, too. He had an insulted expression on his face. "That is why I did came to Cairo. To start over. Do you judging me for where I lived?"

Karla reached over and picked up her panties from the floor. She slid her legs into them, idly saying, "No. I was mistaken. I'm glad you moved to a safer area. But let's face it, the whole region is unstable. Cairo is nice - it's beautiful. There are some really nice places around here. But let's face it, babe, it's not Dubai. You speak English. Why not live in England or America or Canada or something?"

"I am hated a-there. I am misunderstood because of my loving for Islam."

Karla rubbed her face. "Let's not talk about religion. I'm a Welsh girl who lives in America. I don't hate you. Hell, I fucked you. You're not a violent extremist are you?"

"No. I was a school teacher."

The succubus slid her feet into her flats and brought her palm to her face. "You do realize I look about as young as a student right? Geeze that's..."

"I am a general manager of a hotel, now. I left my old live the behind."

"Right. Well. Good to meet you. I've gotta go." She adjusted the lay of her clothing. "Thanks for not being clingy or weird or nasty. I have enough drama in my life. I did this to get away from drama. I was a little nervous you'd be weird afterward."

"I ... did not even get what you call yourself."

"My name isn't important. I hope it doesn't mess with your belief system but ... I'm a sex demon." She reached for her handbag and shouldered it.

"Wait ... what? Those do not exist. There has been no proof."

Karla offered a wan smile. "This coming from the man that just told me that science isn't always right?" Karla's smile broadened. "Watch this." She telekinetically levitated herself a few feet off the hotel floor. She delighted in the widening of his eyes. "And now, watch_this_." She teleported out of the room. Shoes first, body second.

The succubus appeared on a street corner. She stepped back into her shoes, looked around and crossed the street, headed towards another hotel. While waking, she withdrew a bottle of perfume from her handbag, spritzed beneath the hem of her skirt, and stretched. Her back replied with two faint pops. Karla placed the bottle back into her bag with a pep in her step.

All at once, the dazzling sensation of a euphoric high raced through her body. She sighed long and loud in contentment. "The queen is back."

X

X

Parker Island...

Reno dropped into a lounge chair and propped his feet on the adjacent ottoman. "Evan's ready. We just had a pretty long talk on the beach. By the way, gotta love the beach. Sand fleas can't bite. The sunrise has lasted a week. And now Conner can hold his own against me for the most part. I think we're ready."

Carmen Parker offered Reno a wry grin. "Is that so? You know, that chair you just flopped into is a 1956 Charlie Eames original? Don't just drop onto it like it's some beat up old sofa, please."

"Good God, you sound like your brother. Respect all the stuff, don't spend the family gold because it might destroy the world. Enough, I get it."

Carmen smirked. "Good, I'm glad to hear my brother isn't some louse. Did you know I was put into stasis, just like you, for seven months? I was freed by Elvena Loupe, Karla's daughter. My childhood best friend. And they caught her. I escaped. I laid low down there and blended in. So I know what you went through."

Reno fidgeted for a moment. He reached up, ran his hands through his tousled black hair and looked down at his shoes on the ottoman. "I miss your aunt Nichole. I wish you could have had the chance to meet her the way I knew her. She was a really great girl."

"Yeah. She's not a very nice person down in that city." Carmen rubbed her thumb and forefinger together for a moment then asked, "Why is Raul such a drunk?"

"I'm not sure. He hits on anything that moves and stagger-crawls to bed." Reno sighed. "Something else, though. I heard him mutter something about the 'real reason' why he can't go forward beyond this point. He said the world becomes unlivable Something happens. Something called an 'ELE.' Maybe that's why he drinks."

Carmen swallowed and began pacing. "Uncle Reno, an E.L.E. is an acronym for an 'extinction level event.' That's the name for a theoretical event where most of the human race dies. If he can't go forward in time because there's nothing left ... then it's possible Aris Falcon fools around with whatever he finds down in that city under the bedrock. Whatever he finds must cause something much, much worse than the quake of '25."

Reno stared at her in silence for a moment. He rubbed his face. "This is..." he trailed off.

"Unacceptable." The voice came from behind. Tamamo no Mae crossed the room and shoved Reno's feet from the ottoman and settled onto it. She folded her hands in her lap and sighed aloud. "The Celestial Realm has been overrun and is now inaccessible. Whether it is because other beings are dead, captured, or have accepted to Earth, I cannot be sure at this time. The gods could also bring about the extinction of each other's worshippers. That would also cause lives to be lost."

"Why would they do that to people?" Carmen asked, eyes wide and horrified.

"Because," Tamamo said, "If you cannot kill your enemy, kill his believers and your enemy disappears from existence. It is that simple. Yes, it is possible this man, Aris Falcon, could bring about the end of times. But there's something you should both know."

"What?" Reno folded his arms and sat up in the lounge chair.

Carmen said nothing.

Tamamo cut her eyes to the left and glared at the floor for a moment. Finally, she said, "There was a Norse deity who was a prisoner. I used to amuse myself by spying on his conversations with his wife to listen to their delusions of grandeur. They were talking about guiding a series of events to help a man, Aris Sokolov. Perhaps you didn't know this but ... Sokolov, in Russian, means 'Falcon.' Later on, Dr. Falcon continued to receive their help, in a matter of speaking, to make changes to the world so that one day gods might walk amongst humans again. This would only happen if the Esoteric Council members were killed. And now? This deity's race, known as the Jotnar, have managed to blitz the Celestial Realm, locking away many of the gods. The Shinto gods, for example, are locked away in the Cave of Heaven, where the Sun Goddess once lived away from the other deities, according to the Lore. It was before my time."

Carmen rubbed at her temples for a moment then pinched the bridge of her nose. "So how do we stop it?"

"We kill Aris Falcon," said Tamamo.

"I'm down for that plan," Reno replied with a smirk. "So everyone here, plus Sinopa, Karla, Kalen, Natalia and Rufus ... that's the core team, right? We are going to come up with a plan, then we're going to go down there, free everyone, and kill that son of a bitch. No more bullshit. That guy has to die."

"Agreed." Carmen nodded firmly. "We kill Aris Falcon. Then, what? What about the Celestial Realm or ... whatever?"

Reno folded his arms across his chest. "Well, the way I see it, if the supernatural race was created, or whatever, so that we could keep the deities off of Earth, then we're the only ones that stand a chance at fighting those yoht-nar things."

"The jotnar," said Tamamo. "It is possible that the group of us, if careful, could blitz the realm and fight our way to the Cave of Heaven. We could free the Shinto deities, and release at least one more group of deities, should we find another group. I suggest the angels."

Carmen blinked. "Angels? As in ... like, angels? With wings?"

"Many angels are fierce warriors. The archangels are the greatest warriors in the realm. If we can find them, they could mount a resistance and turn the tide in the Celestial Realm. Then we could leave."

Reno slid off the lounge chair and stretched. "Okay, how the hell do we even get there? The place is closed down now, right?"

"Hai, Reno-san. But Natalia Kincade knows of the location of a mirror that could take us there. If we do not mount an assault on the Celestial Realm, the Jotnar will eventually find a way here, to Earth. And then their numerous soldiers would overwhelm the humans. It would become a war of attrition. There aren't enough supernatural people left in the world to hold them back if they broke through. So, first, before we fight Aris Falcon, we should restore balance to the Celestial Realm. Can we agree to this?"

Reno shook his head with a sigh. "Christ. This is like ... the Avengers battling against the forces of Loki."

"Hai. Loki is the leader I mentioned. The one who was imprisoned."

Reno stared at Tamamo for a moment. "Bullshit."

"Iie, Reno-san. I would not lie to you."

Reno glanced at Carmen then back at Tamamo and started laughing. "You're dicking with me."

"No. I am not lying."

"Wow. Life really does imitate art. Marvel Comics did this already. But hell, why not. Let's go fight the Frost Giants."

"The Jotnar are not all giants, Reno-san. Many are only slightly taller than myself. Some are disgustingly gnarled looking. Others are hauntingly beautiful to behold."

Reno glanced at Carmen. "You up for fighting mythological creatures?"

"We have a man who can stop time, Reno. If we can get his cooperation, it should be fairly easy."

Nevada grinned. "Then let's get the hell out of this stupid island - no offense, Carmen - and get this bullshit war started." He turned to Tamamo. "Gather the troops. I'm ready to throw lighting at gods. I hope the Celestial Realm sells t-shirts at the gift shop. I'll want one."

"Do you take anything serious?" asked Carmen.

"Not since learning how to throw lightning bolts, no. I used to be a cop. I took that seriously. But now my life turned into a freaking comic book. So, no, I don't take things seriously anymore. Now, let's get back to the mainland and get started."

Tamamo slid off the ottoman, smoothed her kimono and bowed to Carmen and Reno. "I'll have everyone ready within the hour."

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Next chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/776198