A Piece of the Pie (Chapters 50-52)

Chapter 50 – It Begins

Makonnen and his pride sped onward to the city of Luno Versa. Strad had come across the lions on his way out to find Dmitri, and told them what was going on. Makonnen did not hesitate to help an old friend, and they hurried as soon as they heard the news.

A few clicks out, they could already see the ships dropping into the city, their heightened vision picking up the large masses even in the dead of night. They had to move with haste.

The pride came across a group of shapeshifters that had landed in the dunes just outside the city. Upon their approach, the metal behemoths turned their focus from advancing to the walls to instead face the swiftly approaching lions. A large shifter leveled a rifle at Makonnen in front of the charge, but Majula leaped at them with such force and ripped through their armour with her outstretched claws.

Makonnen and his people had lived peacefully for so long, as had the humans of Luno Versa – but now his friends were in trouble. Another shifter brandished a long sword at the jungle king, but Makonnen snapped this easily between his jaws. The pride made short work of the small contingent of shifters, and moved into the city to join the Versanian warriors.

Dmitri had two days head start, but the king knew his way across the lands, and covered ground quickly. He ran into his old friends Makonnen and Majula some twelve days ago, and they left to aid the city without a second thought upon hearing the king's plight.

Strad felt a degree of reassurance that the pride would be helping to guard his people. Now he could see the mountains rising up before him, but only hoped he would be in time to save his young friend.

Chapter 51 – The Alliance of Earth and Moon

Fifteen long days, but I made it. Standing at the base of the mountain, I just stared up at it.

I really hope I don't have to climb this thing.

Off to my right, a large rock eased to the side, apparently of its own accord, and light shone from inside the bottom of the mountain. Out walked two tall, heavily-armoured humanoids. The shapeshifters approached me slowly and removed their helmets.

"Friend, what brings you all the way out here," the shorter of the two asked in a deep voice.

"I've come to see Noruav, I was hoping to speak with him. I'm really glad you haven't all left yet, I wanted a chance to ask him some questions."

"Ah yes, you want some answers, to better understand who you are," the other shifter gave me a serious look, "Noruav may be able to help. He told us about your possible connection with Mokatin. We will take you to see him, I'm sure he will be happy you're here."

The two shifters lead me through the opening in the rock face, into a brightly lit hallway within the mountain. Walking through a number of wide passageways, we finally reached a large room with a ceiling so high I couldn't even see it.

"Dmitri, my old friend! What brings you to the mountains?" Noruav stepped out from an adjacent room, this time seeming to be in the flesh, "it is so good to meet you in person. Welcome."

"Noruav, I'm so glad I made it in time. You see, I wanted to ask you something before you left. I wanted to know if you know more about me, why I have a connection with your home –"

"My friend. You came all the way out here, and I can see you need this," Noruav smiled warmly at me.

"Are you leaving for your home-world now? I saw some ships leaving," I asked slowly.

"Not quite yet my young friend," Noruav turned and paced a few steps, then stopped and looked to one of the shifters. In a very cold tone he added, "thank you two for welcoming Dmitri inside. Time to kill him now."

The two guards moved towards me.

"Noruav, what are you doing?" I asked quickly, somewhat panic-stricken.

"Some of those ships were leaving the planet, but the rest were on their way to Luno Versa, filled with my soldiers. Whose orders are to kill all your friends," Noruav replied very calmly with the warmest of smiles.

"What..."

Images of the city flashed through my mind.

Images of my friends...

All of them, new and old...

Images of Feo –

The thought of what she said to me – and what I hadn't said back...

"You said –"

"I know what I said you idiot! I said it to get you here. Meanwhile I have begun the destruction of this pathetic rock," Noruav maintained his smile, but it now only thinly veiled the contorted anger lurking behind it – I could suddenly feel the hate emanating from him like a fire.

"All that stuff about me – how I'm meant to be... to be something–"

"What? You actually thought you were something special? That you have some kind of grand purpose?" Noruav spat out his words as he raged on, and I felt myself sinking deeper into confusion as he continued, "you're a worthless shit. I told you a concocted sob story about my childhood because I know how you weaklings empathize with pathetic tales of woe."

The two guards who had led me in shoved me to my knees, and Noruav drew out a long sword and held it at my throat.

"You are nothing. Never were anything. Never would have become anything. The only reason I told you those lies was because I needed a human from Earth – any Earth human – who I could kill here, in these mountains, where an alliance was formed between the people of this world and your own – to protect them," Noruav ejected these three words with disgust.

"You happened to be stupid enough to be an easy target. Once I had killed this miserable excuse of existence, I would be free to send my hordes to Earth, and strip it clean of all life," Noruav continued.

"I could not physically reach Earth before, and neither could my armies, because of the promise these fools made with ancient Earth scum to protect your planet from people like me, people with greater vision. This alliance created a protective shield, which until now, I could not get through."

"But now, thanks to you..." Noruav laughed harshly and rested the cold steel right against my skin.

From my kneeling position, I glared up into Noruav's soulless eyes.

"Why is your home so familiar to me?" I asked quietly.

"What? I am about to end your pathetic life, and you still care about who you are? I'll tell you," he pulled the sword away from my throat.

"That connection you have with my home – that entire vision was made up by me, you really think I would care about a planet being destroyed?"

"But it was your home..."

"No it wasn't! Are you not hearing me? That vision never really existed. Even if it was real, it could have been blown into a million pieces for all I would have cared. The reason the world seemed familiar to you is because I made it seem so. You Earthlings have such weak minds with all your feelings, and your consciences. It was easy for me to affect your mind, and give you that sense of belonging. It was almost as easy to give you that vision as it is to take your life from you. You are meaningless..."

"So why did you need me out of the city before you attacked? It's not like I'm much of a threat to you. What could I have done to protect Luno Versa?"

"You're right, you would have been easy to dispatch with naught but a waved hand... but, I did need some Earth scum left alive to destroy right here. And I do like the idea that the last thing you will know is that you left, and they will all die..." Noruav's blade rose once more to my throat as a look of intense hatred etched itself across his face.

I could feel what Feo was feeling when the shifter had his gun pointed at her forehead.

Not fear, not regret, not sadness – just an overwhelming clearness of what was about to happen...

Chapter 52 – The Importance of Everything

Two sizzling ripples cut through the gloomy air, and each guard at my side dropped to the ground suddenly, the only other sound was a thud when they hit the hard floor.

Seriously, how many times now has someone shown up just in time to save my ass?

Don't get me wrong, I am doing the opposite of complaining.

"I disagree with you Noruav. As I've always said, everyone and everything is important," a warm, heavy voice echoed from the shadows.

Strad stood at his full height in the flickering light cast from the torches. He clipped his blaster back to his belt and reached for his broadsword. Noruav jumped back from me in surprise, and now brandished his own weapon at the imposing king.

"Oh look, the king comes to save the pathetic kid," Noruav grinned evilly, "this is too perfect."

With a snarl, he vaulted towards the ceiling, disappearing from sight.

"You alright Dim?" Strad turned to me.

"Yeah, only 'cause you showed up just in time. Did he bolt?" my eyes darted around the room, but I couldn't detect any movement.

"No, he's still here, be ready," Strad gripped his sword tightly.

I drew my own.

Noruav flew at us fast. His sword came down first, cutting the air with a hiss. Strad threw me to the ground, but Noruav's blade caught him on the shoulder.

"Aarggh!" the king clutched at his wound, blood starting to stream down his arm.

"The noble Almeht of Luno Versa. You know, if you didn't always worry about others, you might be able to look out for yourself once in a while, Your Highness," Noruav's snarl echoed off the high walls, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"What is he?" I asked, getting up and moving towards Strad to help him with his arm.

"He's an asshole," he waved me off, "I'm fine, it's a shallow cut."

"Well, there's really no need to get all personal about this. On the other hand, if you want to, I can make sure that your darling young daughters are the last and slowest to die once I take over your city," Noruav easily floated to the ground a few feet from where we stood, grinning wickedly, with his arms folded across his chest and his sword hanging from his belt.

"I'm not going to give you the chance to get to them."

"Oooh, that sounds like a threat. You see, that's where you're wrong, Your Majesty. My forces more than likely have your precious home up in flames already, and I will be joining in the fun as soon as I finish with you two. It's too bad you're not back there to protect your people, because you're here trying to save this imbecile."

"Strad, I'm sor –" I started to mutter, feeling useless.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Dim, you are one of us now. And I've seen how Feo looks at you," Strad smiled sadly as a dozen armoured shifters burst through a door on the far wall.

Noruav walked out of the room through a different door, laughing as he left. The shapeshifters approached us, levelling their weapons. Almost on instinct I reached inside my pack and pulled out a coco-grenade, tossing it between them as I dove to the floor, stiff-arming Strad to the ground with me.

What? Did I not mention I brought a couple of those babies along just in case? Seriously, never forget that I can prove to be at least a little resourceful.

After the massive explosion, I hastily bandaged Strad's shoulder while our ears were still ringing, then we rushed for the door Noruav left through.

We tried to avoid the bits of slime littered about. I did not want to think about what the slime was. Really, all this violence and I haven't ralphed yet, I'm doing pretty good – probably just because of the adrenaline holding it back.

Oh God, why did I have to think about it...

The hallway was lit with more torches. I wonder who keeps all the torches burning in the evil masterminds' lairs? Is there like a service that comes by twice a week and polishes the brass?

At the end of the hallway we came to a long set of stone steps. We sprinted up these, taking three or four – in Strad's case more like six – steps at a time. At the top we pushed open a heavy door and stepped into the darkening night.

There waited an airship, and approaching the gangway – that's what you call that thing, right? The platform you walk up to get into a spaceship? Or is a gangway part of a boat?

Approaching the platform thing was Noruav, who turned at the sound of our arrival upon the plateau a quarter of the way up the mountain.

"This has to be a joke," Noruav sighed and drew out his sword once more.

An armoured lackey appeared suddenly on our left, disarming Strad and kicking him to the ground. I turned instinctively and let loose a round from my blaster, toasting the brute, but my preoccupation with him cost me.

Noruav swiftly sliced through my weapon, rendering it useless, then turned his blade once again on me.

"NOW, you will die," he raised his sword.

I took one last look at where Strad lay, and I saw his broadsword flying through the air to me. In what felt like the same instant I watched Noruav's eyes go wide as I caught the heavy weapon and swung with all my force at his torso.

It just happened that I hit him with the flat side of the sword, so all it did was knock him to the ground. I still hit him pretty hard though, and now he was sprawled amongst a pile of rocks, gasping for breath.

I helped Strad to his feet and we walked towards the evil being.

"You will leave this planet," Strad stared him down, massaging his sword hand where the lackey had attacked him.

"Fuck you!" Noruav spat at Strad, then drew a dagger from his belt and leaped at me.

A crackle split the air, a shot of energy tore through Noruav's chest and he fell back into the rocks.

I started in shock, then looked to the cliffs for our saviour.

Above and behind us on a narrow ledge I spotted someone dressed in a robe similar to Noruav's, who's numerous facial scars suggested he had multiple bad run-ins with a weed-whacker.

I looked back at Noruav's crumpled body.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I am no friend of yours," the man called out over the engines firing up on the airship, his voice sounding fairly average but for the lack of any emotion – all the more adding to his ominousness.

"We just can't have you being wasted outside the hallowed halls of the Lunar Alliance."

The man jumped down from his perch and started to walk slowly towards us, all robot-sent-from-the-future-to-kill-John-Connor style.

Strad grabbed me by the shoulder and pointed toward the rising platform on the ship. We hurried and slid inside just as it closed and the ship rose into the air, leaving the very terrifying dude outside.