Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Capricious Infection ❯ Act 22: Tale of a Dove, Part 3 ( Chapter 22 )

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Capricious Infection

By: Revamp

Act 22: Tale of a Dove, Part 3

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Everyone met in a large group outside of the bar after they were sure that the offending ships had cleared the area. They were all immersed in different conversations. Dove and the Cut Throat Crew were surrounded by children who ranged from being slightly younger then Dove to infant ages. A few of them spoke directly to the girl who donned shades, full of uncertainty and inquiries.

“Are you sure that you'll be okay, Miss Dove?” One of the girls asked, concern riddled in her voice.

“Those ships were really scary,” a small boy stated as he grabbed the frayed edge of her jean skirt with his little hand.

“Yeah, they might hurt you.” Another girl, considerably younger than the first was worried for her as well.

“We'll be fine.” Dove smiled confidently. “Besides, I've got this guy here, and you'll have Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Boxcars to help you if someone tries to give you a tough time. You guys just play it cool and enjoy yourselves. Gather as much food as you can and we'll come back.”

She was confident that Spades would be the only help that she needed while she broke off from the children for a while. If anything, Boxcars provided enough intimidation for most foes who wanted to pick off some little, defenseless kids.

“We're just going to scout around,” Spades wanted to give the children a positive outlook on their situation. He tried to reassure them by giving them the idea that they would stay out of the enemy lines.

“Be careful.” Even if that was so, Hearts still worried.

“We should be fine. We both have weapons of the highest caliber,”Spades reassured his companion as Dove looked at him with a bewildered gaze.

She looked him up and down, trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about. This guy didn't have shit, unless they had invisible weapons on Arcane, which she doubted. `I must be seriously missing this guy's point.'

“Be careful.”

Those were Heart's last words of advice to the duo as they began walking, keeping close together and looking around at their desolate surroundings. It was quiet for a good hour as the two did nothing but walk. Not to mention it was awkward walking with some guy that she just met, and wasn't quite sure that he had some sort of mental problem, due to the fact that he kept claiming to have a weapon but undoubtedly did not. Spades was nice, don't get her wrong but he was little bit…crazy.

After what seemed like hours, Spades broke the silence.

“Miss Dove.”

“Huh?”

“Thank you for helping us, even if you only are doing it to find your brother,” the Arcane knew that was her main goal, but it wasn't as if they had things they had to do as well. To him, there wasn't particularly a right or wrong, just everyone fighting to survive. The aspect of right and wrong sheerly depended on point of view and moral standards.

“I have more reasons than that. I'm doing it for the kids. You know, to be perfectly honest, I never would have believed any of this back in the day. It's really crazy how things worked out,” Dove kept looking ahead, although her mind was swimming with sepia images of the life she used to lead: a typical disc jockey that was going to college for a degree in music. She spent her days making remixes to her favorite tunes and playing them at popular clubs. Never once would she have thought of traveling around with anthromorph dogs trying to save the world from ending.

That all seemed like some weird science novel or some sci-fi movie.

“Looking back, I agree. I have changed a lot from who I used to be.” From a knight to a rouge, and now to a criminal. Things seemed to spiral down for Spades. It was a blessing that he changed his name to protect what honor he possessed as a knight.

“This place is weird. It's completely desolate. It's like everyone just disappeared,” Dove began to take more notice the farther away they got from the little town. It was just the two of them, like they were the only ones left on Earth.

It felt pretty lonely and it ground on her nerves.

“That's the thing. Whenever Ares is present, at a war, there are no dead or blood left behind.” That was probably what was unsettling his female companion. The lack of natural occurrence often threw off the senses, altering them that something was wrong.

Dove looked at Spades. “So, if someone died and blood splattered everywhere-“

“It would be gone in a couple of days,” Spades cut her off.

“His ships are alive, right? Maybe he feeds them bodies.” It was a theory, but it explained why there were no dead around. It was creepy on many levels, but it was better than leaving no explanation whatsoever.

“Who knows?” Spades mused for a moment, and then froze in his tracks.

Spades stared ahead with white eyes widened as he laid sights to the situation before him. Before him were people with wings and bird-like tails of bright colors. They also had feathers on their arms and legs. Worry saturated his form.

“Oh no.”

“What?” Dove instinctively paused and looked at Spades with concern. After all, he was psychic so he might have read someone's mind. The fact that he saw something that made him react in fright was unsettling to her. If Spades was worried, then it must have been important.

Spade's ears folded back and he bore his fangs. “They're here.”

“Who?” Dove asked lowly, confused.

He didn't answer her. Spades just took her hand and ran in another direction, out of their sight.

Dove felt the furry hand grasp her own. For someone so slender, he had a powerful grip. She took awkward steps as she was drug along. Her legs were long, but not at all like the Arcane's. In fact, as athletic as she was it was hard for her to keep up with him.

“What are you doing?” An explanation would be nice.

“Remember those aliens who took over our planet and enslaved our race? That was a group of them,” Spades was shocked that they had shown themselves on Earth. Did they plan on taking this planet over as well? If that was the case then what happened on Arcane? A lot of questions flooded his mind. Because they blocked his brainwaves, Spades couldn't read their minds. Silently, he damned himself for that.

Dove's face morphed into a serious expression. “Then that means that Dradel ship is here, too.”

Her words pierced his heart with worry. “This could be bad.”

“Maybe it's just a small group of them.” They conquered planets, right? So maybe they were just a little group who wanted to go off and find a planet of their own to fight for supremacy. It was just a thought, but nonetheless she could understand why he wanted to keep out of their sights.

“Even if that is the case, we've got to be careful.” If the Minonites knew that he was there, they would seek out the Arcane and possibly try to enslave them or kill them off. Spades had worked too hard to befall the same fate as those of his race, so for now, he would remain hidden.

Besides, he promised the children that they wouldn't get into a fight if they didn't have to. He made good to keep it. The couple headed inside of an abandon building and stayed in there beside of a window that had been broken out.

“If the Dradel isn't here, then we should have a chance, right? They might have wiped out your race, but that was only because they had Ares' technology behind them,” Dove sat down underneath the window, tucking her knees in close to her chest. That was her thinking, anyway. Maybe by themselves, the Minonites were weak. Maybe they were weaker than the Arcanes? She could only hope that was the case.

“They're pretty powerful without it,” Spades noted as she kept his sights out of the window.

However, that was the least of their worries. Above them, a large, anthromorphic praying mantis jumped down from the ceiling and flapped it's wings, pushing its weight off of the ground as it sped towards them with its pincers opened and ready to cause some serious pain.

“The hell?” Dove called out as she quickly drew her bow and fired a shot into the bug's chest cavity, piercing its shell-like armor. The alien fell to the ground, the blue arrow still glowing as she scrambled to her feet with a serious look on her face. “That was close.”

“There must be aliens hiding everywhere.” What a neophyte decision. Spades should have been more alert of what might have been in the building they were in, but he was too focused on his current situation to give the proper warning. What kind of knight was that?

Come on, Spades. Get your ass in gear. You have a human to protect.

“I hope everyone in the abandon town is alright,” Dove was worried now. They never checked for aliens, they just moved in like no one lived there. She hoped that the others were holding out well, and that the children were alright.

XxXxXxXx

“Yeah!” Boxcars shouted as he brought his spiked barbell above his head, bashing a dark-skinned alien in the head. On contact, his forceful blow splattered the room in purple blood.

Clubs threw his knives with precision and managed to nail three different types of aliens, his throws were perfectly executed. They all hit vital areas that killed them instantly. The bodies hit the floor.

“Looks like there are still a few left,” he noted to himself as a large, blue alien shot up behind one of the children. The little girl turned, screaming as a look of horror embedded itself into her features. The scythe-like hands of the alien were brought down on her tiny form, making the child huddle into a ball out of fright. She felt like she would meet her end at any moment.

But the end never came.

Hearts fire her twin pistols, taking the alien's head off as it exploded into blue goop. The female Arcane glanced around with her pistols smoking. “I hate getting brutal, especially with filth,” she commented, and then suddenly another, larger alien burst through the wall, sending the house into a panic.

“Let's get out of here!” Diamonds shouted as he made his way to the door in a hurry.

“Let the children go first! We can hold them off!” Hearts reminded him of his duties to their human member.

Diamonds moved out of the way and began to help the children get out. He nearly forgot that they were supposed to be guarding the little tykes. Compared to them, the children were far weaker and had less of a chance surviving this type of attack.

Boxcars folded his ears back and growled, bearing his teeth in frustration. `These damned kids are holding us down,' he wasn't used to taking care of anyone. Unless someone was hurt, the members of the Cut Throat Crew were pretty self-sufficient. These kids were a whole different story. Why did he ever take this mission? He was a gladiator, not a baby sitter.

Hearts stood in the midst of the chaos as children darted past her on their way out of the door. She turned to Diamonds with a serious expression. “Diamonds go and take the children somewhere safe! We'll hold them off here.”

A large praying mantis darted from behind the bar of the door and fluttered to a stop in the middle. His arms extended into natural long, curved, blade-like extensions. He wore a loin cloth with a black belt and chest armor complete with black shoulder plates. The alien spoke in a strange voice that reverberated. “So, you think you can hold me off? This planet will belong to the Mantoids! Yah!”

The Mantoid took off through the crowd of scattering children and used his arms to swipe at them, attempting to cut them in pieces. They evaded his arms by falling to the ground, rolling under furniture or running and dodging out of the way. They screamed and cried as the large, lanky alien tried to kill them. He pursued one boy relentlessly, determined to kill something in the building before it escaped. Bringing back his sickle-like arm he thrust it down in what would be his final strike but suddenly a black blur was in front of him and his blade met with the metallic clank of the metal bar on Boxcar's barbell.

Boxcars shoved him away effortlessly and tried to make contact with his body but the Mantoid turned and stuck his arm out, causing their weapons to clash once again.

“I'm not giving up that easily,” Boxcars braced himself as he shoved back on the barbell. With a final shove, the Mantoid skidded back. Boxcars took a step towards him. “Let me be your opponent. In case you didn't know, I'm Sides Boxcars and I'll be the one killing you today.”

“I am Motrvak Vokar from planet Cion,” his opponent introduced himself, spreading his wings out and aimed for the Arcane with his scythe-like arms. “This planet will belong to me.”

Their weapons clashed again as the two aliens struggled against each other, in an attempt to overpower each other. The gladiator's arms trembled as he fought against the Mantoid's brute strength. “What do you want with this planet, anyway?”

“I cannot return home,” Motrvak pushed back and flapped his wings, emitting high frequencies as he stirred up the wind and debris around him in order to gather more strength and cause Boxcars to topple over.

The gladiator dug his claws into the ground in an attempt to keep his footing. Lightening rained around him, destroying the top of the bar as it crashed into the ground and splintered the wood of the ceiling. They broke their power struggle and the gladiator stood in the war zone of raining debris.

He charged at Motrvak and swung his barbell in a powerful turn of the arms. It made contact with the Mantoid's midsection and propelled the large insect backwards. The alien tumbled head over heels and collided with the wall. He laid there for a while before attempting to pull himself out of the hole he made. Billows of dirt and debris floated in the air. Motrvak swung his arm and created a laceration of white energy that headed towards his opponent.

Boxcars grabbed one end of the pole, holding his weapon like a baseball bat. He swung it powerfully, making contact with the energy as he smashed into it like a batter hitting a home run, deflecting it back to its original source.

Motrvak put up a blue translucent shield that bounced it off. He was then assaulted by numerous spikes that were fired off of the ends of the barbell. Not even his shield could protect him from the contact since they also acted as bombs, and upon contact, exploded.

Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs ran with the children. The group headed towards a massive hill with a steep cliff on the other end. As they made their way up, the children stopped dead in their tracks. Looks of horror crossed their faces. Soon the Arcanes caught up to them and they too, stopped dead in their tracks.

“Look!” Hearts gasped as her lone eye made contact with the situation that was laid before her.

Clubs was in shock. “This place is a war zone! We're heading right into the fight!”

Before them was a massive battle field, littered with war ships, vehicles of all kinds and just about every different type of life form imaginable fighting for the planet.

“We can't go down there,” Hearts turned to the shorter Arcane. It would surely get the children killed.

“We've got to protect the children,” Diamonds said as he looked over the battlefield.

“We definitely can't do it this way,” Clubs remarked as Diamonds pondered on what to do.

Then, an idea hit him. “I've got it! I know exactly what we can do.”

His idea was interrupted by one of the older girls who shouted `look' and pointed into the sky. Everyone followed her finger to see the giant factory and war ships that belonged to Ares looming in the sky.

It seemed Ares was involved in this war.

Clubs shrank back a little. “That figures. We'll let him handle this.”

“Let's go back into the underground pipe system. It's the only way,” Diamonds knew that they could for sure avoid the war that was going on above that way. At least, they would get past it in the safest way possible.

“Come on. Back to town,” Hearts ordered their next movement.

“Man, I thought we were going to have a peaceful life.” One of the older boys said, looking crestfallen as his gaze hit the ground.

“Think again. This place will never be peaceful.” An older girl said doubtfully with a sigh of dismay.

“Should we follow them?” A younger girl looked to another child and asked nervously. Since these dog people came, they've just been attacked by aliens. Dove told them to put their trust in them but they only seemed more problematic.

“We don't have a choice, unless you want to die.” One of the pre-teen boys told her. Dove told them to trust the Cut Throat Crew. She even assigned them to help her by protecting them. They had to trust her word. She never did them wrong before.

“I'm all for not dying! Let's go!” A younger boy agreed as they all moved in the opposite direction and started to head down the side of the hill, back into the demolished town.

“Wait.”

Heart's strong voice stopped them in their tracks. They all turned to look at her.

“Before we go anywhere, I want you to find something, anything that you can to use as a weapon if you get attacked.” Who knew what as lurking in that town? She didn't want them to get separated without proper means of protection. Aliens were everywhere and they were out for blood.

“Good idea! When we finally get to a place that is safe and have some down time, we can teach them how to fight,” Clubs pointed out. These kids needed to know basic survival skills if they didn't want to get killed. It was the least he could do for his newest team member.

“We'll worry about that later. Clubs, you get into the middle. Hearts, you take the front of the crowd and I'll take the back. This way the children will be well-protected,” Diamonds figured that this was the best tactic to move forward. At least if they got split up they had groups with at least one protector in it. It was a good battle strategy at least.

“Right,” Hearts and Clubs agreed in unison and assumed their positions.

One of the boys tugged on Heart's dress, causing her attention to be directed at him.

“What about Mr. Boxcars?” He asked, worried for the gladiator who was still behind dealing with the aliens in the village.

A stern look crossed the female Arcane's face. “He'll find us,” she reassured him as the group took off on foot, heading back into the town.

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Boxcars flew back, breaking a couple of the wooden tables in the bar; a large laceration embedded itself in his skin and bright purple blood oozed out of his wound. Slowly he arose and charged at the Mantoid with his barbell in his hand. He jumped up and brought his weapon down as Motrvak evaded the contact by jumping out of the way. Debris from the wooden floor shot into the air as a thunderous boom sounded throughout the building.

“Feh,” Boxcars spat.

A smile crossed the insect's face. “It seems you've been abandon.”

That only made the Arcane smile. “That's fine with me. I stand alone. After all, I'm the strongest Arcane,” he bought his weapon down once more. “Earth Splitter!”

The ground split instantly and shook with the force of the blow. Motrvak flew into the air, avoiding the ground strike as the earth broke and cracked below.

“What did you think you would accomplish with an attack like that?” He boasted arrogantly. That stupid mutt was using ground attacks on a flying type. It was predictable that he would fly in order to avoid it.

Taking his barbell, Boxcars held it in front of him and switched sides as he spun it around effortlessly. “I'm not done yet.” The spinning weapon formed a bright ring of purple energy, then he switched arms, deploying the ring at the skyward foe. Repeating the action he continued to switch from side to side as he fired different colored rings at the Mantoid, who flew back and forth to dodge them.

After a while, Motrvak was sick of playing games with the puppy and shot flames from his pincer-like mouth at him.

“This again? Violent storm!” Boxcars stood in place as blue energy wrapped around his arm and shot from his barbell. Large snowflakes with razor-like edges cut through the air, slicing Motrvak.

His enemy screeched in pain. The sounds of an enemy failing only made Boxcars quiver with euphoria. A crooked smile crossed his muzzle. “Heh.”

The Mantoid crashed into the ground. It was a perfect time to end this farce. Running over to him, Boxcars leapt over a few chairs and held his weapon behind him, ready to execute the final strike. “Time to bash and crash!”

XxXxXx

Dove spotted the large group of children. They looked as if they were headed back into town. Scratching her head, confusion ran through her mind. “What the hell is going on? They're supposed to be back in the abandon village.”

“Something must be wrong,” Spades concluded as he watched them for a moment before they both ran over to see what had transpired.

Dove caught up to Hearts, who was surrounded by children.

“What's going on?” She inquired as they ran side-by-side.

“This place is a battlefield. We have to head back into the town,” Hearts told her in a dire tone.

“Why did you leave? You were supposed to stay there,” she was more than irritated that the Cut Throat Crew went against her wishes. From what she knew, the abandon village was safe for the children. Why bring them back into a field of danger? They were shitty protectors.

“We had uninvited guests,” Hearts pressed.

Spades glanced behind him. “I'd say we have more than a few,” the Arcane stopped.

“Spades!” Hearts shouted, but kept running. She knew that she had to take care of the children first.

Dove stopped beside of him.

Spades looked at her. “You should go. I can handle this.”

The girl refused to move. She pulled out her bow and arrow, ready to fight by his side. She leveled him with a stern gaze. “We're partners. If you think I'm leaving you behind then you're crazy.” She pulled her arrow back, ready to take aim but Spades held out his arm in front of her and shook his head.

What the shit?

This pissed her off. “What? Why are you stopping me?” If he was trying to be a hero then he could cut the shit.

“You won't need to use any of your magical weapons,” Spades assured her.

“You don't even have a weapon,” Dove argued. She knew this guy could control blood, but didn't he have to have a weapon for that?

“But I do. I have a very special weapon.”

Dove frowned. What was this guy's problem? “What? Your invisible powers?” She scoffed sardonically.

Spades said nothing in response. He just grabbed the arrow in her bow and watched as the girl's face lit up in shock and confusion. Dove called out `hey' in irritation but the Arcane ignored her and held out his wrist, cutting it with the sharpened tip of the arrow.

The stubborn girl grabbed the end of the arrow but it was too late, red blood seeped to the surface of Spades' skin. He turned his head only to meet with angry eyes that stared back at him through shades.

“What are you doing? Now isn't the time to start being ball-tripping crazy.” Whatever Spades was thinking, he could just not right now. They didn't need any blood to be spilled, Arcane, human or otherwise.

“Now it is time for you to see the special ability of my bloodline,” Spades announced as he held out his slit wrist. Streams of red blood flowed out into long streams of bright crimson and danced through the air.

Dove backed away with the arrow in one hand and her bow in the other. Glancing around she found herself surrounded by streams of blood. It was as beautiful as it was eerie. The streams reflected in her dark shades. “Your blood is red…just like mine,” her voice was barely a whisper as she made the connection, and for an instant she felt as if they were connected by a common factor.

“The Arcane race usually possesses bright purple blood, but there are those who are born with a deep red blood. Those who are, harbor the power of blood manipulation,” Spades explained his mutation as he flung his arm out. His blood shot towards the crowd of approaching aliens and morphed into a tidal wave, washing over them and drowning them in blood. The ones that did not die by suffocation were sliced to bits by the stray streams that burst through their bodies, killing them instantly.

Dove stood there, staring in awe. “That's amazing.”

Spades looked at her. “That's why I don't need a physical weapon. I can simply kill people with my blood.”

Dove continued to stare in awe as the blood rushed back to the both of them, surrounding them in red streams. Her shoulders slumped and she blinked a couple of times. No matter what angle she looked at it as, everything at that moment was surreal. “I guess you didn't really need my help, did you?”

“Thank you for staying behind,” Spades smiled, happy to have a member who shared the same moral values as they did. There was no doubt that Dove was loyal beyond a fault, and willing to risk her life for him. As a knight, it made him proud that such qualities existed among other races.

Dove's pink lips turned into a small smile. “It's nothing. We have to stick together if we're going to be a team.”

“You're a loyal person. I'm glad to have you by my side.”

Turning quickly, Dove pulled back her arrow and fired, nailing a stray alien warrior in the chest who suddenly appeared behind Spades. “I've still got to use some of my power to help you out.”

Spades turned his palm up and bent his index and finger and thumb. His blood broke off into sections that levitated in the air. They turned into crescents with sharp edges and flew into a frenzy, chopping up more aliens who neared them. They all produced sounds that resembled screeches and screams as the tearing of flesh sounded and the falling of bits and pieces filled their senses.

“You can do all sorts of shit with your blood, can't you?” Whether it was natural ability or psychic power, Spades was talented beyond anything she could imagine.

“I've been doing this for a long time. What I want to know is how you have that power of yours.” Humans were not known to possess magic of that caliber, and many of them did not even realize the true depth of their psychic powers much less be able to have weapons like that.

She had to have gotten it from an outside source.

“Well I-“Suddenly, Dove's shades tumbled to the ground, followed by her body. The last thing she heard in her mind was Spades calling out to her as everything faded to black.

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Oz and David stood atop of the cliff that overlooked the battle grounds. They managed to get there a good two hours after the group of children left. Bi-colored spectacles reflected the carnage and chaos below as a look of displeasure crossed the Dius' face.

“What a mess.” Oz sighed and placed a hand to his forehead.

“Yeah, there are people everywhere down there,” David couldn't even tell who was human and who was alien. It was just a giant clusterfuck of beings killing each other over a dying world.

The Dius of Time's gaze went skyward. “Ares.”

David followed his stare. The ships and factory reflected themselves in his shades. “You mean those ships?”

Oz pushed his glasses up with one finger. “Yes, Ares appears near battles.”

“But, he's on our side, right?” Oz had never given him a straight answer on the matter. In fact, he noted Ares to be sketchy. That sentence alone unnerved him, especially since he found out Tarvos' true nature. Luckily for them, someone like the Dimension Reaper was on their side, but if Ares was as powerful as they claimed him to be he wouldn't want him to be against them. Not to mention the fact that any of those ships could blast them to oblivion.

Oz said nothing.

Well, that was comforting.

A rain drop hit his cheek, which caused him to glance skyward as a light rain descended upon the battle ground. The droplets clung to their shades. “It's raining.”

XxXxXxXx

The water pounded against her skin as Dove cracked her eyes open. Before her was a black abyss, fuzzy and unrecognizable. A blurred voice called her name and she felt herself being shaken lightly by something with wet, hairy hands. Glancing around, her vision became crisp as she saw Clubs and Diamonds looking at her with their eyes void of pupils.

“I say, are you alright?” Diamonds asked with a look of concern for his fellow team mate. He was happy that she showed signs of consciousness and backed away as the girl sat up with a groan.

“Where am I? Where is Spades?” Her eyes darted around for any sign of the knight, but she found none.

“We found you outside, lying in the middle of a field,” Hearts confirmed.

Placing a hand on her right shoulder, it all began to come back to the girl. A searing pain shot through her form, radiating from her shoulder blade. “Ugh…I remember…my back was hit and I got knocked out.”

“It was more than that. You just got stabbed in the back…literally. Someone threw a bunch of knives or something similar. The laceration on your shoulder is pretty deep,” Clubs pointed out. If there was anything he was familiar with, it was lacerations from throwing knives or similar weapons.

Dove frowned and tried to make a casual joke. “Man, I really liked this shirt, too.”

“You should be worried about your injury,” Hearts wasn't so fond of jokes like that. Clothes were of no value to that of a life.

“I can't see it. Can you look at it for me?” If the injury was as serious as they claimed it to be, then she needed to make sure infection stayed out of it. They moved inside of a nearby building. Hearts and Clubs scoped it out before they let Dove in, then the shorter male turned to the girl with a strange look on his face after noting that question.

Club's cheeks lit up a light pink as he chuckled to himself in perverse glee. He had not seen the nude human form. Such joys of the flesh were promising. He didn't know how long it had been since he could indulge in any romantic situation with a beautiful alien. “Oh? You want me to-“

Before he could take a step towards Dove, the door came open. Everyone grew tense and their sights were immediately pulled to the burly figure that stood at the door.

“Boxcars!” Clubs shouted in shock and relief.

Hearts cast him a look of relief and a kind smile as she stepped towards him. “I'm so glad you're back. What happened?”

Boxcars came in and shut the door behind him, sitting on the ground and laying his massive barbell beside of him. He needed to take a load off of his heavy feet. “I just got into it with another alien, but he's gone now. I took care of him with brute strength,” the gladiator boasted as he flexed his large muscles, and then dropped his proud façade as he looked around the room. “Where the hell is Spades?”

Dove glanced down. “That's what I was wondering. He was with me before I was knocked out. When I woke up and saw you guys, I thought that he would be here with you but he's not.” The more she thought about it the more she worried about him.

“I'm worried, because on my way back, there was a big crowd on the battlefield all gathered in one place,” Boxcar's piece of information only amplified her trepidation at the possibilities.

“What?” That definitely wasn't good.

“They were carrying around several wooden crosses. I don't know where they were headed, but I think we can still catch them if we hurry,” Boxcars knew it was worth investigating. If Spades had been captured then he wanted to stop any executions that were about to take place.

Dove shot up to her feet and grabbed arrows and her bow. “We've got to go. I have to find Spades.” She couldn't forget the beast man's kindness. Dove couldn't forgive herself if anything happened to him. For the time she got to know him, they had a lot in common. He held her interest, more so than the other members.

Hearts frowned. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I say! What about the children?” Diamonds knew if they all went then the children would be unguarded.

Dove glanced behind her at all of the children who stared back at her. She was quiet, consumed in thought for a moment. Everyone was quiet, and then a little boy stepped out of the crowd with a determined look on his face. He had to be no more than seven years old, with messy brown hair, dressed in a holy tee shirt and cut off jean shorts.

“Hey, just go. Don't worry about it,” his voice was strong, and it made some of the other children stare at him in disbelief, anger and shock that he would suggest that they be left unguarded.

Another girl with long blue hair, dressed in leans and a spaghetti strap shirt, looking to be about fifteen stood beside of him, trying to look brave. “We can hide and fight with all of our might if something tries to get us.”

A seventeen year old girl with short, black hair in a battered dress stepped up beside of the two with a confident smile. “You can count on us to take care of ourselves.”

Dove was thankful that the kids were feeling brave. She shot them a confident smile and nodded. “Right! Let's go.”

With that, the remaining Cut Throat Crew members grabbed their weapons and followed Dove out of the house, running back towards the battle field. They ran down sidewalks and alleyways, taking any available short-cut to the cluttered side of town that they could think of. As they came upon the battlefield, Hearts stopped and pointed at the ghastly sight before her.

“Look!”

“I wonder if he knows where they are going,” Dove saw an alien staring at the vast crowd. He stood out, wearing blue and white armor, much like a medieval knight. His hair was shoulder length, straight and bright blue. The man had large wings that looked like a bird's that were white and blue in coloration. He possessed horns that were curved and of a tan color. He wasn't a Dius but he looked more humanesque.

“You there!” Boxcars shouted, causing the alien to turn around.

It was a young man with slanted blue eyes, thin lips and a pointed nose. “What is it?” His voice was youthful and snippy, like someone of aristocracy.

“What's happening?”

The alien shrugged. “I don't know. I ran from the battle scene to find that this place was abandoned,” he didn't plan on going back out there either. If that was this group's plan then they could forget it.

“You must keep far away from there,” a young, feminine voice warned.

They turned to see a petite girl with long, shaggy, cotton candy hair, lavender skin and long horns that stuck out from either side of her head. They coiled in a circle then curved inward and from them dangled two dark purple bows. Compared to the girl's stature, her horns were impressive, making her look regal.

“Why?” Dove asked.

“They are holding the mass crucifixion,” the girl with impressive horns informed them.

Panic shot through Hearts' form. “The what?”

“They build wooden crosses and crucify those who are caught, hanging their bodies from them for all to see.” It was a form of public humiliation and punishment.

“Do you know if one of my friends here is involved in that?” Dove felt her heart skip a beat. She hoped and prayed that Spades wasn't a part of that group, but the dread was consuming any positivity that she had.

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment, placing a finger to her lips. “I have seen someone similar. My people found him lying on the ground. He has killed many in this war.”

Dove barged up to the small girl, fueled by anger. “Take me to the crucifixion scene,” she barked, demanding that the alien do as she wished at once. There was no way in hell that she was going to let Spades suffer like that.

…To Be Continued