"How's he looking?" asked Jane.

        "Still breathing," said Kevin, "despite losing a SHIT ton of blood."

        "I'm pretty sure that wasn't ALL of his blood."

        "Well a lot of it came from inside him so unless he's a vampire too-"

        "Wh-what is a vampire?" asked James peering closer at the patient.

        "Oh it's a monster that sucks your blood and infects you to become undead."

        "AAAAH!"  The lemming flinched back in fright.

        "Kevin don't frighten him," said Thomas slapping the scientist's head, "that said are prepared for the next attack, the way they were hounding after this guy they're not going to give up after the first try."

        "Perhaps our mutual friend here can explain to us," said Haytham sitting back on his seat, "once he awakes that is, I would like to remain here in case we have need for my omnilex."

        "Didn't you plan on making like some magic for our translators?" said the chief medic creaking his legs.

        "I cannot replicate the enchantment of my book, but I am working on a new means of translatory devices to assist you.  My student and I have discovered some fascinating crystals with unique matrices that enable vocal reciprocation by harmonising to one's speech patterns in conciliatory synthesis with the cerebrum."

        "Uhhhhh ingles, por favor?"

        "We found some crystals that can translate words," said James smirking, "we're trying to make them into the collars that you wore when speaking with Oddclaw."

        "Oh neat, that'd be great!"

        "I certainly hope we can negotiate period," said Jane biting her thumb, "those creatures did not speak anything besides the usual growling snarls, but they DID focus primarily on our new friend here so they must be capable of sentience."

        "If we can't negotiate then we kill them," said Thomas walking out the room, "should they attack us again we have every right to defend ourselves."

        "Oh no I'm not saying we don't of course not, I just mean I hope we can avoid that."

        "Regardless I am putting the base on alert for the next week, is Oddclaw planning to come up anytime?"

        "No," she said following him, "he's still with his family so he won't be coming anytime soon, I think he said he wasn't going to come here until his children were old enough to fight."

        "So that's like three years from now I take it?"

        "Basically yes, we can still visit him too of course."

        "That's fair, I think that's reasonable too, wouldn't be good for young children running around in this place."

The soldier and therapist left as James sat up closer to the lizardman's body beneath the lights of the infirmary wing.  The creature laid naked upon the bed with half his body covered in a sheet, his chest riddled with a dozen scars and cuts as it gently breathed.  Kevin kept checking the equipment beside his patient as it beeped steadily to his heartbeat, hooked to the monstrous body with a few piercing tubes as Haytham peered over the creature's face.

        "He was certainly capable of speech," he mused, "I remember clearly how he barked at us to flee."

        "The monsters must have been chasing him," said James, "but for what purpose?"

        "From the armour and blade he carried I surmise he must be a mercenary, perhaps even a knight like the ones from my homestead."

        "He sure looked like one when you brought him in," said Kevin tapping one of the tubes, "looked like a dragon stole a knight's clothes it was kinda weird."

        "Not as 'weird' as the gargoyle that stormed your infirmary?"

        "I mean yeah but I didn't have much time to process that when I was kicking its face in."

        "Neither did he with his head full of rocks, hmhaha!"  James and Kevin looked at him oddly as the scholar humphed.  "Apologies, my uh...gallows humour reared its head a moment.  Actually I believe I have an appointment, doctor Dixon is helping me with the translatory crystals I mentioned earlier."

        "Awwww I want to work on that too!" whimpered his student.

        "Oh now there will be plenty time for you to progress with us, but someone must keep an eye on our friend here."

        "Wh-what about Kevin?"

        "I'm a CHIEF medic," reminded Kevin pointing at himself, "I can't hang around one guy all day I got experiments cooking in the next lab over."

        "A-alright...but if he wakes up what should I do, you have the omnilex master."

        "Remember how we communicated with the Sxirka?" said Haytham leaning over him.  "Visuals are almost entirely universal, that is why you have your notebook."

        "R-right...alright then."

The two men soon left as James sat patiently beside the lizardman with his book of "Frankenstein" to read.  Three hours passed with nothing to report, the lemming becoming further engrossed in the tales of a man trapped between life and death at the hands of a mad scientist, almost to the point that he did not notice the first twitch of the beastly hands.  Dark claws of indigo pallour creaked until a pair of red eyes opened.  It was only when he raised his head that James took notice.

        "Mmmm-AHH!  A-AAAH!  OH, thank the saviour you are awake!"  He quickly put down his book and rushed to the door.  "HELLO?!  S-SOMEONE THE PATIENT IS, H-HE'S UP!?"

The lizardman squinted from the harsh light as he cracked his neck, groaning before trying to get up until James rushed back.

        "NO NO, no s-stay, stay you are wounded!  We have to wait for the doctor to examine you I-...o-oh."

The beast ignored his warnings enough to slip down most of the covers from his body.  James stared at his body of rippling leather muscles in taut velvet green skin, his chest broad with a pale set of pecs and lower belly in the form of a sheer thick wall of musculature.  He dared not look further down as he turned his head with a hard blush.

        "U-u-um, please, c-could you...sit?"  He motioned half-blind the motion to sleep with hands on one cheek.  "Sleep.  L-lay down, please."

The patient looked at him oddly, thinking that if this thing was going to stop him it would be sorely outmatched but to play it safe he pulled himself back into the bed with the covers over him.

        "Thank you.  Um, m-my name is James.  Jaaames."  He pointed to himself as he sat back down.  "What, is your name?"

Another look.  James silently wished his master were around to translate as he pulled out his notebook and wrote down his own name into it, showing it to him and pointing to himself.  He offered the book to him but the reptile pushed it away.

        "You...d-do you not have a name?  ....or maybe, oh goodness you might not be literate.  Hmmmm...let me think."

He tapped the pencil to his snout before detailing a few preliminary sketches for questions to ask him.  A crude drawing of a stick-figure lizard bleeding out in a forest, then being carried by other people and lastly sleeping in a bed whilst figures touched him.  The lizardman understood with a basic nod as James smiled before scribbling two diagrams, one of the reptile drinking water and one of him eating food.

        "Are you thirsty?  ...hungry?  Hmm?"

The thought of food suddenly brought on a gurgling monstrosity in his stomach.  James smirked and put his hands up indicating him to wait as he went to get something, heading into the main medical lab and looking in the late-night fridge that was used for overnight food.  The only thing inside it was a sandwich in a container with the words "ADENINE'S, DO NOT TOUCH" on its side.

        "Mmmmmmhhhh...I should not take someone's food but...I cannot let a patient starve and I cannot leave this room unattended...hhhhh, forgive me Adenine."

He took the sandwich and brought it back to the patient.  He was reticent at first, sneering at the faux-meat-and-lettuce lunch until James took a bite out of it to prove it was harmless.  It was much more delicious than he anticipated it to be and he had to resist the urge to take a second bite.

        "MMMMMMHHH!  Mmmmm, thas good!  Go on, eat!"

Seeing the pleasure on James' face encourage the beast to take it.  It was incredible as he tasted some sort of sour-sweet paste mixing between the meat and lettuce that made him growl in relief at something filling his stomach.

        "Mmmmmhhhhh...mmmhhh-"

        "Good yes?!" said the lemming proudly.  "Gosh Adenine must be quite the sandwich smith to create such a recipe I will have to repay him when I see him.  Would you like some water?  Drink?"

He made a drinking cup motion as the reptile nodded, lowering his guard at the lemmings attempts to play nurse as James went to get water from a sink.  He would have made some in his hands but he always found it hard to direct his elements into a small container as opposed to the humans' pipes.  He filled up a cup and offered it to the patient who at first refused until James drank it to show no side effects.  The creature sighed as he wettened his throat, as James waited for at least a half-hour before trying once again to have him write something.

        "I know we cannot understand each other yet, but I feel it would really help if you wrote something.  I at the very least want to know IF you can write, anything you want."

The beast was more accepting as he took the notebook.  He calmly wrote out a series of letters from right to left, then handed it back to James who simply stared agog at the inscription.

        "OH!  Alright that is good, so you ARE literate, just the um...I do not comprehend this at all but I am seeing...these two at the end and the beginning mean the same letter yes?  AH, I know."

He pulled up the word the lizard wrote in front of him and put his finger on the first letter.

        "Ah?"

The beast looked at him perplexed.

        "Buh?"

Still no response.

        "Khuh?"

Then it clicked.  He nodded at the sound.

        "YES, yes alright so THIS is a C...or at least a 'khuh' sound.  Alright...Ah?"

He shook his head.

        "Buh?  Khuh?  Deh?  Eh?"

This would continue for another five minutes as James went through various sounds and utterances before the reptile gave him his full name.  It was slow but he was patient and much to his surprise the patient was willing to go along with it.

        "Alright...so your name is...Khhhanokhh?"

        "Mmhmm," the lizard pointed to himself.  "Chanoch."

        "AH!  James!  Chanoch!"

        "Ia.  Chanoch."

        "Hahaha, this is wonderful!  Now I only hope master Durai returns soon-"

        "Hey uhhh James?"  The hooded Adenine popped his head through the doorway.  "Diiiid you see a sandwich in the fridge?"

        "....oh.  Um, please forgive me I am very sorry about this but, our patient was hungry."

        "...you took my sandwich?"

        "Yes, I know it said not to touch but he had not eaten and I did not want to worsen his condition by starving hi-"

        "WH-WHAT THE HELL?!"  The alchemist barged with a fit of fury in his swinging sleeves.  "That was MY SANDWICH, YOU DO NOT TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO ME!"

        "I-I AM SORRY, I KNOW BU-"

        "IF YOU KNEW THEN WHY DID YOU TAKE IT?!"

        "B-because the patient had needs!" blustered James.

        "I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT SANDWICH!  I FINALLY CRAFTED MY PERFECT SANDWICH AND YOU JUST TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME!?"

        "I-I WILL RECOMPENSE, I PROMISE I KNOW I WAS WRONG BU-GRRKH!"

With a sudden rush the chemist grabbed James by the scruff of his robe and hoisted him on his feet against the wall.

        "Let me make ONE THING clear.  When something SAYS 'do not touch' it means to NOT, TOUCH, I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SMART YOU LITTLE WORM-FACED JACKOFF!"

        "Wh-what are you-PLEASE f-forgive me I know I am sorry Adenine I will help you make another s-sandwich I know I-i just wanted to help the patien-"

        "I work on this base, I LIVE here, YOU are just a guest, I don't take YOUR THINGS so you DON'T, TAKE, MINE-HNNNRGH!"

Without warning he felt himself being pulled viciously hard against the bed when a huge green arm grabbed his robe and wrapped round his neck to choke him fierce.  Adenine struggled and wheeze with coughing sputters of fright, desperately trying to pull the beast's arm away but it only became tighter.  He felt the bicep cutting into his windpipe as he screamed with strangled cry.

        "CHANOCH S-STOP!  STOP, DON'T HURT HIM!"

        "KH-KHHH, KHAAAARGH!"

        "STOP IT NOW!"

He splashed cold water into Chanoch's face to shock him briefly, giving Ade time to wriggle out free from his grip as he staggered away with heaving choking gasps.  James tried to hurry after him until he was too far gone from the room.

        "A-ADENINE WAIT, NO I'M SORRY!  ...wh-why did you do that?!"  He turned towards Chanoch's dripping face.  "H-he was my friend, he was upset with me yes b-but that is no reason for you to strangle him!  Why did you do that?!"

        "Er iz geven kherting ir," he replied with a shrug.

        "I-i...I-i just...he was right, I should not have taken his food and you just...hhhhhh."

The lemming sat back down frustrated with his head in his hands.  Chanoch said nothing leaning back as he waited for James to calm himself.

        "I-i...forgive me I will just...never mind."

Uncomfortable silence reigned the clinic as James returned to his reading.  Another half-hour wait soon had Kevin return to check up on the patient.

        "OH hey he's awake, howsit going?!"

        "Oh, doctor."  James stood up with a heavy sigh.  "I uhm, I managed to communicate with him, and also fed him some-"

        "You okay, you seem...down."

        "Um...A-adenine and I had a fight."

        "Wha-...why?!"

        "I took his sandwich to feed Chanoch here.  I know he...I know it was wrong but-"

        "Heeeey it's okay he'll calm down."

        "N-no, but then Chanoch attacked him because I think he was defending me a-a-and I feel I did something terrible and it got worse."

He balled up his fists with tears coming down his cheeks.  Kevin put a hand on his hair to ruffle it slightly.

        "I'll talk it over with Ade, don't worry, you can make it up to him some other way."

        "Th-that, was what I was trying to say to him-"

        "Just both of you cool off for a bit and then you can start making it up to him.  But for what it's worth you managed to look after my patient AND get his name so I think you're the best assistant nurse I've had."

        "R-...r-really?"

        "Yeah!  Good work James.  Now uh show me what he wrote."

He offered his notebook to Izquierda who squinted at the odd lettering.  An idea struck him in the back of his mind as he handed it back.

        "Hey uh, sorry about this but could you just hang here with the patient a little longer, I need to check something."

        "Will you be long?" asked James.

        "No no a few minutes, two or three tops just hang on a bit."

The medic rushed off with clanking legs as he picked up the pace.  Several minutes passed before he returned with Thomas strolling behind him as Chanoch looked at them both.

        "You sure about this?" asked the soldier.

        "I mean, you recognised it yes?" Kevin asked.

        "I did...alright lemme think."

He pondered briefly for a moment whilst mouthing things silently.  Then he spoke with a wholly different language.

        "Hela.  Ikh hofn ir bist gut."

The creature reeled his head back hearing the general's voice.  James was astonished looking between them as Chanoch responded in his rasping deep accent.

        "Ir redn meyn shprakh?  Bist ir a id?"

        "Bloyz durkh khsunh," explained Thomas.  "Antshuldigt aoyb ikh ton nisht redn gezunt, ikh bin a bisl farzhavert."

The lizardman's face formed a soft smirk creeping along his face as he shook his head.

        "/Your accent is terrible./"

        "/Like I said,/" continued Thomas, "/I'm a little rusty.  Is this better for you?/"

        "/I...hmm, it is just...nice, to hear my mother tongue again.  I have not heard it since......who are you?/"

        "/My name is Thomas Brightman, I'm the commander of this place, we found you injured on an island that suddenly appeared in our world./"

        "/Island?  ...was there anyone else?/"

        "/Flying beasts, but we dealt with them.  That was however two days ago during which you've been unconscious for all this time./"

The soldier motioned James to stand as he took his seat to get closer to the lizardman.

        "/We know they'll be back, in greater numbers and they were hunting you specifically.  I want to assure you that you are safe here and if anyone tries to take you they will have to kill us first./"

        "/What?/" muttered the lizard.  "\No.  That is stupid./"

        "/Welcome to the human race, hahaha.  But seriously, you have my word that we'll protect you./"

        "/I...I do not deserve your protection./"

        "/I disagree,/" said the general leaning forwards, "/you were found by our troops and we nursed you back to health.  You are protected now, and we shall protect you./"

        "/Why?  You do not know me./"

        "/Doesn't matter.  It's my duty to protect innocents from the forces of oppression./"

        "/What if I am not innocent?/"  The beast leaned towards him with a threatening glint.  "/What if they are right to hunt me?/"

        "/Then why did you tell my soldiers to run?/"

        "/I did not want them to be attacked beside me./"

        "/Then why are YOU running, if you already convict yourself of guilt?/"

He could not speak.  His hands tightly clenched as he struggled to find the answer that would best suit him.  He felt the soldier's hand upon his own.

        "/You know that old saying, 'with two dogs they killed the lion'?  If you are innocent, then we'll protect you.  If you're not, then we'll see to it you are at least treated fairly./"

        "/Alright./"  The beast nodded.  "/Thank you...Thomas./"

        "/What about you?  Can I ask for your name formerly?/"

        "/Chanoch Lieb Jarogniew.  How long must I rest here?/"

        "He's asking how long he has to be here," translated Thomas to Kevin.

        "Uhhhh lemme just do a few more tests," said the doc, "sooo about uhhh fifteen minutes?"

        "/Fifteen minutes or so,/" said Thomas back to Chanoch, "/just relax for now and we'll see what we can do about you and your pursuers./"

Whilst the newcomer recuperated in the ward, Haytham and Andrea were busy in her lab twisting the dense properties of existence itself.  Continuing her experiments with the third-energy gate she continued to parse her calculations to the astrologist who scribbled away in his book whilst they sat side by side in the isolated control room.

        "Now the first time this worked," said Dixon, "the particle diffraction offset was seventy-four and the Kirk-Roentgen was three-hundred terahertz precisely."

        "Of course," said Haytham, "the wavelength must always be the most precise due to the sensitivity of electrons."

        "Yes, now basically it's just trying to find the right vibrations to rip open a hole, but to this day I still cannot figure out why it only happens every four-hundred-and-eleven days or thereabouts."

        "I have been researching the moon and I think I have come to a theory."  He scooted closer to her and showed his scribblings.  "Now as you have said to me previously, the moon affects this world by means of a gravitational pull from centrifugal force of their separate rotations."

        "Mmmhmm."

        "I spoke with Major-General Brightman about its properties and he told me that it was composed of several minerals such as iron, magnesium, silicon, calcium and aluminum, but is that truly all we know?"

        "What are you suggesting?" she asked turning towards him fully.

        "You once told me that you are operating on the idea that electrons are not a gaseous entity but rather akin to metals yes?"

        "The Fermi-Dirac principle yes."

        "Now what if the moon is not JUST those minerals but rather something else?"

        "I mean..." she scratched her chin with a trembling thought, £it's possible but we don't know how or what and also we don't have the technology to go burrowing in."

        "But we can travel there yes?"  He leaned forwards with a glint in his eyes.  "You have a vessel that can pierce through the sky and reach the heavens surely."

        "We do but Thomas doesn't want us using it in case something goes wrong, if we lose the Petrie then that's our best flyer gone."

        "Aaaaaaach, what a WASTE of good science in the hands of ninnies!"

        "Hey now Thomas is a good person," said Andrea with pointing finger, "much as I wanna explore that moon too we're not gonna be able to unless we build ourselves another expendable spacecraft."

        "What of the Duckies?"

        "No those aren't built for space travel, they're specifically for aerodynamic speed not durability."

        "I see, hmmm..." he stroked his beard leaning back in his seat, "is it possible for us to build our OWN vessel for scientific purposes?"

        "I mean we'd have to get a lot of materials," she said rubbing her head, "if we manage to find a good quantity I can convince Thomas to let me take a break from TEG and try out some moon research, but we need some drilling equipment."

        "The automatons would surely help, I have seen plenty of drills amongst them."

        "I'll have to ask how effective they are against stronger metals...you really think we should do this?"

        "Why not?"

        "I...I dunno I just..."  She  sighed rubbing fingers on the sides of her head.  "It's been...just, all these years the only thing I've done was put in calculations and feed data into this thing.  This...giant Stargate fucking thing that just SOMEHOW chooses when it wants to work but never when it wants to send us home and I am so...hhhhhh...I've just never had a chance to do anything else Haytham, I can't think beyond the wavelengths and electrons."

        "That can be changed."  He took her hand in his with a gentle squeeze.  "I want to see you return home, but I also want you to spread your wings and use that marvellous mind of yours for great things beyond these calculations.  You have done tremendous work in this lab but you have so much great potential to be more than just an arithmetist."

        "You're just saying that cuz I'm the only one who can keep up with you."

        "That is preposterous and you know that Andrea.  I adore you for your intelligence but combined with your camaraderie.  You are so different from the stuff-faced twaddle I had to share classes with back at university, boasting through lectures despite being literally incapable of contracting subjects down to less than two hours.  Some of us have NEEDS."

        "Uuuuugh I know exactly what you mean," she said shaking her head, "uni was fun but there are some scientists that just do NOT get what it means to be excited and curious about things."

        "Precisely!"  He snapped his fingers gleefully.  "That is why I am glad we met, you have a spirit in you, it burns with excitement but at the same time there is a modest nature to your means yet you are not defenceless.  I have heard doctor Addison tell me your proficiency with firearms a few years thence."

        "Well I mean we all have to learn on this base...I just got pretty good at it."

The quantum physicist cracked her fingers in a stretch of her hands before slipping them back into Haytham's palms.  The two leaned in close to give a smooch to each other's lips causing them both to blush.

        "Look at us, like damn schoolchildren," quipped Haytham squeezing her fingers.

        "I know," she beamed with a soft giggle, "don't matter how smart our brains get, our bodies are still the same."

        "Indeed.  Now, could you perhaps help me with these translatory crystals?"

        "Oh yeah we were gonna do that sorry I got distracted with TEG."

        "Now now, no need to apologise, there is no subject we can speak of that would be fruitless."

        "Hahahaha, god, damn you can turn anything I say into a compliment huh?"

        "You are welcome to try and dissuade me Andrea."  The man smiled through his beard.  "If my clothes, origin and advanced years did not frighten you off then I cannot think what will."

        "You kidding I love the Obi-Wan look you got going on...sorry, can you just say the phrase 'an elegant weapon for a more civilised age'?"

        "I...alright.  An elegant weapon for a more civilised age."

        "Hhhhhhh yeeessssss."  Andrea tightened her lip against her teeth with hands clenched in joy.  "God, alright I'm ready, crystals let's go."

        "Very well.  Now..." he brought out from his bag a small twisted collection of crystals in various colours, "I have surmised that the matrices are constructed in a manner that resembles sentient speech.  The locals that James and myself met called these 'songlights' and they would use them in ceremonial festivals."

        "Seriously?"  She picked one up feeling along the cold glassy length.  "How do they work?"

        "Observe."  He put one against his throat.  "An elegant weapon for a more civilised age."

The crystal resonated with the strangest sound, shuddering with harmonic resonance as it responded with different words that Andrea recognised to be Haytham's own language.

        "Une armsilah eleganiq pour un agthar tahdurise."

        "Wha-...holy shit that's awesome!"

        "Indeed!  Now if we can just tap into these matrices we can possibly construct some form of anti-resonator, one that instead of transmitting frequencies would actually RECEIVE them."

        "Reverse-engineering a crystal?  Are you serious?"

        "I am nothing but.  I know we are not geologists but-"

        "Hell, yes."  She put her fist on the table.  "Count me the fuck in, this is some crazy Thanos shit that I am all about."

        "HaHA!  Well, alright let us begin!"

KHHRHRRRRRRM!

        "WH-WHAT THE FUCK?!" cried Andrea.

        "Quickly, put the crystals someplace safe!"

        "Wh-what the hell's going on!?"

        "If I would guess I'd say that second attack has come!"

        "Oh god, alright there's a safe I have we can put these in."

They rushed towards Andrea's room whilst soldiers and robots hurried through the corridors past them.  The siren blared with a deafening scream as troops barked orders at the civilians to race into hiding, arming everyone with weapons as the horde came upon them.  The medical bay was whipping itself up into a storm as Kevin prepared his staff, whilst Thomas and James braced themselves for a coming fight.

        "Here they come," said the general, "James I need you to get to shelter."

        "Wh-what?!" he cried.  "But, what about Chanoch?!"

        "Kevin is here, he'll be safe."

        "But those are monsters, he...he cannot defend AND heal at the same time!"

        "James I am not asking you, get to the shelter with the other civilians."

        "NO!"  The lemming stomped his foot.  "I am not leaving a wounded person to fend for himself!"

        "Don't backtalk me, that's an order!"

        "I'm not one of your soldiers!"

        "EXACTLY, NOW GET-...yanno what," the soldier pressed his hand against his forehead, "I don't have time to stand and argue with you, I gave you an order and if you refuse to follow it, you will pay the price."

        "Then that...that is my choice to make."  James stood defiant with umbrella's tip between his feet.  "I will protect him.  I promise you sir."

        "...alright.  Your funeral but don't make it one."  He turned towards the lizardman in bed with a stern finger.  "/Do not leave this room, we will handle the attack./"

        "/I can fight,/" said Chanoch.

        "/I don't care, you're still a patient and the doctor hasn't cleared you, understand?/"

        "/Yes./"

Thomas left the room with assault rifle in hand as he found a squadron to run with, heading to the outside roof as they took positions and fired upon the second horde of beasts that had come in the night.  At first it seemed to be but another flock of winged monsters, harpies and gargoyles shrieking upon them as they tracked their shots and gunned them down by the dozen.  But then they saw the ocean seethe with a tremendous rush, bursting upon the land as there came an army of creatures.  36 soldiers composed of werewolves, skeletons and undead humans, along with a smog of hissing skulls that screeched with the cries of banshees amidst red sanguine mist that followed wherever they went.

        "H-hoh SHIT!" cried one soldier.

        "Th-this, what is this fucking Halloween bullshit?!"

        "ENOUGH!"

Brightman crouched at the edge of the roof before them and locked his sights upon one charging wolf before plugging a burst of fire straight into its skull.  The creature yelped and crumpled with blood trickling down its snout.

        "If it bleeds we can kill it.  If it doesn't bleed, you break open its fucking skull got that?!"

        "YES SIR!"

        "BETA SQUAD, TAKE DOWN THE WOLVES FIRST!  GAMMA SQUAD SHOOT THOSE SKULL THINGS DOWN!"

With orders received the T.E.A.R soldiers began to fight, marking their shots and pumping both lead and laser fire into anything that moved.  Werewolves galloped across the sands to charge at the fence, snarling from the electrical shock it carried but eventually biting through the spasms to try and slash through the wiring.  Skeletons began to climb due to having no flesh that would react to the electricity, but the soldiers shot off their heads and cracked through ribs to knock them back down whilst floating cackling skulls menaced them with screaming divebombs that were stopped by a volley of shooters keeping cover.  For the first seven minutes of the conflict there was tremendous resistance from the base, the lycanthropes managing to shred partly through the steel fence or even risk leaping over it and start savagely attacking the ground troops.  Guards kept behind old steel crates and barricaded shields that had been set up for cover, hurling grenades and smokebombs to blast or confuse the most dangerous opponents.  Holt was amongst them, directing the ground troops whilst Thomas kept cover on aerial support as the sergeant directed his infantry.

        "KEEP ON THEM BASTARD WOLVES, DON' WORRY ABOUT THUH ZOMBIES!"

        "S-SIR, THE FENCE IS BROKEN THROUGH!"

        "AH DON' FUCKIN' CARE YOU KILL ALL THESE FURRY FUCKS EVEN IF YOU 'AVE TO GUT THEM RIGHT IN FRONT OF YA!"

The zombies and skeletons were slow but almost nothing fazed them apart from a good bullet to the cranium.  But they were helped by the screaming skulls that made suicidal attacks, sometimes exploding into shrapnel that would threaten to slice across flesh or ping off against the walls.  But the soldiers gave no quarter, and apart form a few breaches in the fence they were resisting well with only one casualty of a sniper that was blown apart by a skullbomb from above.  Then they saw the ocean rise with even greater mass than it did before.  Something loomed terribly with a flood across the sands as it made a brazen roar that shook the earth, revealing a giant ox the size of a tank with armoured back and a single bleeding eye leering at them.  On its back stood a headless suit of armour, wielding a sword of human vertebrae.

        "What the FUCK IS THAT?!"

        "FOCUS SOLDIER!" barked Thomas.  "KEEP FIRING AND PROTECT OUR SQUADS!"

But the armoured suit had other ideas as the creature he rode upon stomped its hooves on the wet sands.  He raised his morbid length up high as there came a thunderous calamity, the heavens opening with a deep murmur of destruction that shook across the entire roof.  Thomas felt every single nerve in his body twitch with a terrifying realisation.

        "Down!  Get down, get back, EVERYONE OFF THE ROOF, GET BACK IN THE BASE!"

        "FEARG AR AN SPEIIIIR!"

Lightning burst across the sky with one tremendous shockwave as a white ripple scattered towards the roof.  The radar tower was struck with dark bursts of electrical fury that crumpled its base, warping the metal with hot flashes that overheated it to a brittle point as the grinding steel screamed for its death.  The pillar began to fall creaking towards the ocean as everyone fell back watching in fear as the sudden stormy sky became a silver screen of piercing voltage.  The tower fell straight onto the fence, crushing underneath and opening the way forwards for the army of darkness to swarm into the base amidst gunfire and lasers.

        "THE BASE IS COMPROMISED!"

        "DON'T FALL BACK JUST HOLD THE LINE!"

        "DON'T LET 'EM GET INSIDE FER FUCK'S SAKE!"

The giant ox charged through the fence and galumphed upon the broken tower, climbing it like a ramp to reach the top as the headless rider braced himself to jump at the right moment.  He leapt as soon as his mount did, the gargantuan beast crushing an entire crate underneath its hooves as it bellowed out a tremendous fog of grey across the five soldiers that stood before it.  They suddenly became dizzy as their clothes hardened up, crackling sounds of the ashen breath settling on their bodies that became pure solid stone.  By the time the soldiers even realised it was too late, their arms petrified as their legs became rooted plinths and their screams silenced within pewter coffins, sculpted of their last moments before the ox crunched them beneath its hooves, dragging pebbles and bloodied bone in its wake.

        "Awww fuck this."

Holt stood before the one-eyed beast with shotgun ready, pumping two rounds into its face before grabbing a crumpled piece of crate for a shield and repelling its horrid breath.  The smog swept across the sheet metal to harden yet also weaken it into a crackling sculpture of solid granite.  The creature then roared and charged towards him as he dodged easily the galumphing force, hooves crunching upon the sands as Jeremy fired another two rounds into its stomach.  Other soldiers came and joined the fight, pouring all of their rounds and charges into the giant as it became riddled to its foul necrotic core with burning exit wounds.

        "DON'T GET NEAR ITS FACE!" cried Holt.  "IT'LL PETRIFY YA, KEEP AWAY FROM ITS MOUTH!"

Soldiers from all corners focused their fire on the colossal threat, the battle turning arduous in having to focus on both the giant ox and also every other creature that came upon them.  Some of the robots managed their best to assist, but two of the former badniks were stomped to permanent rust beneath gargantuan hooves.  The burning skulls had been dealt with as a top priority, leaving now only the great undead horde of zombies, skeletons and werewolves that amassed to at least 14 left.  Holt stood down against a skeleton, armed with a boomerang of all things that whirled with singing death, the soldier ducking fast only for another unfortunate human to have her head sliced completely off in one clean sweep, dropping instantly to the dirt as Jeremy charged at the bone-soldier.  He shivered nervously without his weapon and cowered the moment before a shotgun obliterated his skull into a dozen fragments of bone, the boomerang sweeping past its owner's arm to bury itself in the beach.

Hearing a howling fury from behind him, he turned fast to see a werewolf pound its feet across the sand towards him and deliver a flying kick straight into his cheek, knocking him hard to the ground as he dropped his weapon in half-roll to push himself back up.  Face to face with a lycanthrope, he put up his fists into a boxing stance as the noticeably-female wolf sneered chuckling to do the same.  She swung with a raking slash he dodged to the side of to punch hard for her kidneys, the beast resisting to slamkick her knee into his stomach and send him buckling over.  She came down with a hammer fist but he swerved his head aside and grabbed her in a rugby tackle to pin her down and violently box her ears with stunning wallops.  She grabbed his fists through the haze of blows and threw him off her with tightening muscular arms sleekly supple beneath the thick brown fur as Holt stood back up into his combat stance.  But she was closer to the shotgun and rolled fast to grab it, smacking the barrel in one hand as she walked towards him and swung it like a baseball bat.

Her strength made it impossible to block the weapon, heaving with such force that it would have broken Holt's wrists to even try as he ducked and stretched his legs into a bowing sweep with occasional gutpunch to stagger her.  The lycanthrope pounded the sand with an overhead swing as the sergeant jumped left, bouncing momentum in his step that helped him swing out a far roundhouse kick to the back of her head and send her stumbling forwards as she kept herself steady with shotgun for a crutch.  He saw her finger slip into the trigger and grabbed for a nearby plate of crumpled steel to shield himself with the moment she turned and fired.

        "GRRRGHKH!"

The buckshot knocked him over, but the steel had resisted the bullets without penetration as he strengthened his legs and waited for another shot.  The wolf became more confident with her new weapon, taking aim once more to fire for his legs as he ducked down to protect all of his body, before charging her like a roman legion and slamming the whole steel across her face to break her snout in a cracking swipe.  Screaming from the blinding pain she immediately countered with a scraping slash that tore across Holt's sleeve and pulled blood from his right arm as he roared with clutching teeth.  Then he saw something.  He ducked away from the front of her just before a sniper's bullet punctured her brain in one single clean hole as her eyes blankly stared.  Thomas nodded from behind the rifle at Holt as he gave a bloody-armed wave and picked up his shotgun racing over to join him.

They both stared at the gigantic beast that was now trying to shove its whole body against the wall of the base to breach through, but it was exhausting itself from the countless wounds of laser and bullet that peppered across its entire body.  With the invader's forces dwindling more soldiers piled onto the colossus in an endless barrage to liquidate every inch of its organs into a bloodied mulch.  It took 20 soldiers ten minutes of constant fire to finally kill it as it slumped with a braying moan, tipping onto its side to collapse with one last fatal breath that everyone stayed clear of.

        "So," muttered Holt clutching his arm, "you didn' get to fight a Tyrannosaurus but you got to fight Paul Bunyan's mount, that good enough fer ya?"

        "Nope," said Thomas handing the sniper rifle back to a soldier, "not by a long shot."

        "God you can't be bloody 'appy with anythin' cantcha?"

        "We're not done yet, ALL RIGHT two squads come with me to clear out the base, the rest of you stay outside in case more of them come!"

Whilst the Catoblepas was busy trampling the petrified fools under its hooves, Dullahan had broken through the roof with a hard stomp of his heavy body to land in one of the corridors, startling three robots and four humans, two of which were not soldiers.  An old woman and a pale lady in a labcoat.

        "OH, FUCK!"

        "GET THEM OUT, GO!"

        "OPEN FIRE!"

The two men fired as their bullets pinged off his steel breastplate uselessly at first, but eventually the metal started to crumple against the perpetual force despite the approaching fiend's unflinching walk towards them.  The robots pulled the woman away but not soon enough for them to not see the soldiers face their last moments when one tried to slam his shoulder into the enemy.  The monster grabbed him by the throat and hurled him into the wall with crushing force before lunging his blade through the second solder's stomach, ripping through his stomach and flensing his entrails finely upon his spine amidst a choking guttural scream.

        "O-OHHHHH CHRIST!"

The creature approached them as they ran, but the soldier who crashed against the wall managed to fire off a few shots that rattled through his suit before he dragged him by the leg and swung him viciously against both sides of the corridor like a sleeping bag, crunching his bones into dust until he stopped resisting.  He marched with spine in hand after the woman who turned and fired back with her handgun, pinging shots that the fiend barely staggered from.

        "WH-WHAT THE HELL IS HE?!" screamed the younger woman.

        "I-I DUNNO," shouted one of the bots, "COME ON WE GOTTA GET YOU OUTTA HERE!"

        "SCREW THAT!"

One of them turned to face the attacker, a molebot with large wicked claws that scraped against each other.  His other two friends that resembled apes tried to pull him back.

        "I can handle a walking pile o' scrap, you get Anna someplace safe!"

        "MORRIS NO!"

        "I GOT THIS JUST GO!"

They hurried off as Dullahan kept walking, gripping his sword tightly as it started to crackle with frantic energy.

        "COME ON, YOU WANNA PIECE O' ME YOU FREAK, I'LL RIP YOU IN HALF!"

        "FEARG AR AN SPEIR!"

Lightning burst through the hallway and penetrated into the robot's core.  Screaming agony pierced through his cortex as he stuttered violently with critical errors blanking across his eyes, his arms twitching horribly into unnatural positions that tightened every pneumatic joint.  By the time he was able to recover it was too late, for the moment his vision cleared the beast was upon him, his sword plunging straight through the metal skull as Morris shrieked a song of binary anguish, black fluids pouring down his back as his arms dropped and the sword wrenched its head off when the creature stepped past.  The sound of his clanging feet echoed through the hall along with his bone-tipped blade scraping against the wall.  Four more enemies came to face him, three humans and a small rhinoceros-like tank that charged at him instantly.

The armour suddenly rushed to meet him, stomping down the corridor before leaping over the robot and jumping off his back to carve straight through one of the human soldiers, slicing her entire body in half down the spine without even a chance to scream as her sides split into two meaty chunks.  The two soldiers stuttered in fright for a moment, giving their opponent time to bootkick one hard in the stomach and send him flying before trying to attack the other one.  The third guard recovered faster from the shock and blocked with her shotgun, smacking the sword away before blasting him straight in the chest with a point-blank buckshot that sent the beast staggering back.  He dodged the second shot when she aimed once more and slashed hard upon her gun splitting it in half, before running through her heart with his spine-blade as she vomited screaming blood.  Leaving her to bleed he turned towards the rhino-bot that screeched its treads towards him, not realising his sword had recharged its infernal current as he threw it like a spear.  It plunged halfway into the machine with devastating shock, electrifying its entire circuitry to the point of overload as the robot screamed a fearful cry just before it self-destructed.  The hunter picked up his sword from the smoking fragments and marched off to where he saw the women and hurried after just as they dove into the clinic.

        "H-HOH, OHHH JEEZ HE'S COMING!" screamed Jane.

        "Wh-what?!" cried James standing up from the side room.  "What are you doing here, why is miss Anna here?!"

        "Th-there's a monster!" cried one of the bots.  "I-it got Morris, I told him not to b-but it just killed him, IT'S KILLING EVERYONE!"

        "That's ENOUGH!" shouted Anna pulling away from them.  "You will not do any good losing your heads over it, now let's think of a plan!  Barricade the door, Jane you stand guard, if that thing comes through use your magic gauntlet."

        "A-alright."

They set themselves to work immediately fortifying the door with anything they could find, shoving desks and drilling metal parts into the frame to try and reinforce it.  Jane braced herself with a fearful mumbling as her hands shook with palpable fear, struggling to control herself whilst Anna sat down with James to explain the situation.

        "The base is under attack, obviously, there are monsters coming in and this horrible suit of armour is chasing us!"

        "O-ohh, talisman's sheen wh-what do we do?!" gasped the lemming.

        "Why we fight of course!"

        "B-but...but we're not soldiers!"

        "Then why are you here sitting by this patient and not in the shelter already?!"

        "Wh-why aren't you?!" he scoffed crossing his arms.

        "I was going to," explained Anna patiently, "but that THING made us divert our course in the hallways."

        "I...I-i cannot believe you aren't frightened by any of this."

        "I've dealt with worse James, just keep your head clear and we'll push through this."

        "GHA-A-A-A-A-AAARGH!"

They turned their heads in fright upon hearing the garbled scream from the doorway.  One of the robots had a spine thrust through its face, twisting its vertebrae slowly before pulling back to leave a metallic corpse crumpling on the floor.  A steel gauntlet punched through the frame, cracking one of the metal bars off before it grabbed one of the desks and pulled it to the side.  Dullahan started to throw his body against the door as it crunched inwards with each second passed.

        "OH FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!" screamed Addison clutching her head.

        "I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!" cried the other robot.  "I THOUGHT WE WERE SAFE, I THOUGHT WE WERE SAFE IN HE-E-E-EEEEERE!"

The door flew open with a clanging of metal as the armoured unseelie stood before them.  His torso moved as if he had eyes scanning the room oblivious to the fearful mixed group that stood before him until he raised his sword to where James was sitting.

        "CHANOCH!"

The lizardman sat up suddenly with a look of shock to his face.

        "CHANOCH!  LIEB!  JAROGNI-"

        "FUCK OOOFF!"

Jane screamed as she shot a blast of fire from her hand, sending Dullahan back with a stagger and a charred burn across his breastplate.  He pressed his gauntlet against his pectoral to feel the searing mark, "turning" his neck towards her with latent fury.

        "You...fuckspit of a little SASSENACH!"

He lunged towards her with his blade as she fell back with a scream, only to strike against something hard and colourful that bloomed in front of his face.  James pushed against the spinal blade with his shielded brolly shivering with adrenaline.

        "GET BACK, BACK I SAY!"

        "You, will NOT stand in my WAY!"

The armour swung with a catching strike to pull the umbrella away and send the lemming staggering from the force of his blow, whilst the robot scampered out of the room in desperate screams for help as Jane stood back up.  Dullahan flexed his steel fingers across the sword as his neck loomed upon the mage.

        "I am here for Chanoch.  I will let you live, IF you stand aside."

        "N-no, NO!  I REFUSE!"

        "Boy, don't be an eejit.  Are you willing to die for someone you've just met, whom you have not even the slightest idea what he's DONE against my master?!"

        "I DO NOT CARE DEMON!  So long a-as I stand you will NOT TAKE HIM FROM US!"

        "TH-THAT'S RIGHT!" shouted Jane trembling with fists raised.  "This is our base, a-and you are...you can SOD OFF YOU BASTARD!"

        "Then all of you shall die just like his other victims!  AR GARDA!"

Taking up a fencing position, Dullahan swished his grisly sword with menacing flicks as James and Jane readied themselves to defend.  The lemming gripped his umbrella whilst Addison pretended to cock her left hand in some desperate means of bravado as the creature lunged with a forwards stab.  James blocked against with his own thrust forwards to deflect the blade as Jane cried out a fireblast to shoot into Dullahan's waist.  He swung his fist towards her but she ducked out or range as James responded with a hard gust of air punching the armour back against the wall.

The headless suit scraped his feet hard on the floor resisting the gale, stomping forwards through the headwind with neck bowed low whilst Anna took aim from the side room, plugging a few shots into the cancerous mould of flesh as Dullahan staggered with roaring fury.  He rushed towards her instead, but Jane punched him with a waterblast that knocked him askew as he swung a vicious thunderstrike to his side that frightened the therapist, hitting close enough that it caused spasms down her arm and made her fall in terror.  The monster took another step towards the old woman as she kept firing with shaking grip, but James barged into him hard as he could with another trembling gale that threw his entire body against.

        "ENOUUUGH!"

He slashed down upon the lemming who dodgerolled fast and blocked with umbrella, covering his body as the spine-tipped blade struck and hacked upon the canopy with ruthless fury.  James was trapped, with no means to evade him other than hoping his weapon could not tear through his defence, crying out from the relentless blows that numbed his arms and weakened his grip.  But then he saw someone charge straight into Dullahan, a blur of green that bodyslammed the full suit of armour and crushed him into the wall.

        "AAAARGH!  Hhhhh...hhhhmhhmhmhmhm, so you finally come out of hiding."

        "/Let them go./"  Chanoch stepped back holding a large solid steel tray for a weapon.  "/I am the one you want./"

        "Glad to see yer finally taking it like a demon, not some pitiful HUMAN!"

The demon swiped a hard left as the lizardman ducked, slamming the hard-cast metal across Dullahan's plated chest before shoving his shoulder against to crunch him at the wall once more.  The armoured suit spun out of the way and scarred a mean strike upon Chanoch's back, who backhanded him hard in the shoulder with his tray and sent him off-balance before a violent boot kick knocked him against the desk.  Staggering slightly Dullahan countered with a vicious uppercut that knocked the plate out of Chanoch's hands leaving him defenceless, followed by a skewering thrust that the lizardman strafed round to swipe-kick hard at the back of his opponent's greaves.  Dullahan hopped with an elbow strike crunching into Chanoch's face, sending him reeling towards a desk where he grabbed one of the full beakers of some vile-smelling acid and waited for the next attack.  With cleaving strike came Dullahan as he carved through half the desk, the reptile swerving out his path and dousing his neck-rot in corrosive liquid.

        "A-AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!  YOU...F-FUCKING SON OF A WHOOOOOORE!"

His anger breached to a tremendous flame that burst from the top of Dullahan's throat, blazing unholy green fire that formed a skull of vengeance that screamed at Chanoch.  His sword became viciously fast, slicing cross-strikes and diagonal cleaves that the lizardman struggled to dodge as Dullahan's speed increased.  He grabbed another tray and tried to parry against his cuts, but when one strike was repelled another three came back that scarred through and stabbed upwards through the tray until Chanoch was pinned to the wall.

        "Now...let us END THIS YOU TRAITOR-GA-AAAAAAAARRRRRGH!"

Suddenly he felt a tremendous pain stabbing through the lower part of his spinal column.  He turned his head completely round to see the young lemming, piercing a long sabre through a gap in his armour and straight into his abdomen.  Fearfully he pulled back out and stood before Dullahan with sword in one hand and his umbrella in the other, the brolly length now revealed to be but an empty hardcast sheath.

        "Wha-...you had a SWORD the whole time?!" cried Jane from the floor.

        "Oh you are kidding me."  The armour turned round and swept his sword in a wide circle.  "You want to fence with me?"

        "I...I am not afraid," forced James from his throat, "I...will NOT let you h-hurt Chanoch!"

        "You pathetic little worm you do not even know what he's DONE!"

        "I DON'T CARE, I WAS CHARGED TO PROTECT HIM AND I WILL NOT ABANDON HIM!"

        "Then let me be the first to tell ya, that you are FUCKED til the end of time!"

Gripping his blade tighter he waited for the demon to strike, carving a downwards swipe he deflected with his brolly shield before stabbing hard into the semi-exposed gut.  Dullahan charged up his lightning fury through his sword and came down hard against the lemming, but his umbrella repelled with its magic shield to diffuse the sparks as he thrust once again with a countering spell.

        "IGNIS VERBERAQUE!"

        "A-AAAAARRGH!"

Fire channelled through his sabre as it burst hot flames inside of the demon's gut, burbling through the remains of his flesh and seeping a foul stench of sulfurous lacquer.  Dullahan's skull screamed in rage as he sped up his strikes, cutting across James' brolly in diagonal and horizontal cuts to constantly keep pressure upon him, forcing the lemming back towards a wall in order to trap him.  Despite his best efforts James could not keep up against the unrelenting blows of the demon's sword, frantically blocking with his enchanted felt shield until Dullahan snapped underneath its shadw and tore it free from James' hand.  They struck hard against each other's blades as the lemming was pushed against the wall, his own sword pressed against his throat as the creature's spine-blade rubbed on his snout.

        "Any last words, child?"

        "N-NO!  NNNNNRGH!"

        "No?  No to giving me your epitaph or no as your last breath?"

        "I-I...NNNNNGH!"

        "Wait...what..."

His phantom skull turned towards the handle of the lemming's sword.

        "...no.  It can't be-GAAARGH!"

From behind he felt claws dig into his neckstump and pull him vigorously back, the lizardman grabbing the suit of armour in both hands and with a mighty roar he snapped his back brutally over his knee.  What little flesh and bone he still had left cracked in a shattering snap as Dullahan screamed with blind fury and slammed his foot into Chanoch's crotch to wind him.  He turned towards James seeing Anna rush to help him, the headless beast staggering up to grab for him.

        "GIVE ME THAT SWORD, BOY-AAAGH!"

        "GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU BASTARD!"

Anna screamed firing a shot at point blank into his neck, causing him to grab her throat and hoist her up as she choked hard between his steel fingers.  She tried to grab something in her blouse, digging in her fingers to pull something free amidst the suffocating coughs that turned her face red.  The woman wrenched out a small knife but in turn something else fell when she yanked it hard, something small and shiny that clattered against Dullahan's breast.

        "A-AAAAGH, AAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!"

Suddenly he dropped her with horrendous scream, recoiling as he grabbed his chest with a burning agony that tore through him like acid.  Anna coughed violently, her arms shaking as James and Addison pulled her up carefully.

        "A-are you alright?!" cried Jane.

        "Y-yes-HRRRKH-g-god that bastard throttled me...wait...wait a minute."

She dove for the item she dropped on the floor and looked towards the wounded beast.  Dullahan pulled himself up with twitching anguish in his limbs before he saw something that pierced his heart with such terror his legs became weak.  In the hands of the librarian was a small compact box of silver, with golden gilded inset that gleamed upon him.

        "N-n-no, no, G-GET AWAY FROM ME!"

        "Ohhhh, what's the matter?" mocked Kerkorian with a new strength.  "Are you afraid of a little thing like this?"

        "I am not, AFRAID YOU BAT-FACED CUNT!"

        "Oh now you are being TREMENDOUSLY rude, well maybe I should have you LOOK AT IT!"

        "NO, NOOOOO!"

Dullahan pulled back against the wall with cowering tremble in his voice.  The lady walked forwards holding her compact aloft like a shining lantern to repel the dark, seeing the demon's skull retract its flames into his neck with power weakening.

        "I surmise you must be some sort of faerie yes?"

        "G-g-go, go away, GET AWAY FROM ME YOU BITCH!"

        "Not if you keep talking like THAT I won't."  She took one step further with golden glint.  "I don't remember my folklore TOO well but I do remember something about your people not taking precious metals very well."

        "Y-you...you...why are you standing against my mission?!"

        "Because you're trying to kill not only my friends but also a patient of ours who came here to claim sanctuary.  Under the 1951 Convention of Geneva Relating to the State of Refugees, anyone who comes here with a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of racial, religious, political or national agenda, has the right to be protected on our base."

        "Wh-what, wha-what the fuckin' shite are you talkin' about woman?!"

        "You are on human territory now you deranged lunatic, and you just pissed off the lawyer who's going to tell you EXACTLY what you messed up.  My name is Anna Kerkorian, DON'T say my name unless you want me to shove this into your throat with my last breath, because I am the chief legal advisor of this T.E.A.R. outpost under which we operate by the rules of the United Nations of EARTH!  Now..."

She took one more step, then another, and a third to send Dullahan cowering to the floor hunched up against the corner with no means to escape that glaring golden gleam.

        "Stand down, or else your last meal will be this thin wafer mint."

The closer she got the more he felt his armour start to singe with the reactive metal, burning against his decrepit flesh as he groaned with a fearful sound covering his neck up with his hands.

        "A-alright, ALRIGHT I YIELD J-JUST FUCKING GET AWAY FROM ME!"

        "Good."  She stepped back with a recomposed smile and clasped her hands to hide the compact from view.  "Now, tell me why you are hunting mister Chanoch."

        "Fine."  He stood up regaining his strength and sheathed his blade.  "Chanoch...murdered his superior.  He has committed treason against the Army of Darkness and so he must pay in full."

        "Treason?" asked Thomas leaning over the meeting table.  "You barge into our base and kill our men to capture a criminal?"

        "Yes," said Dullahan from the opposite side, "he fled from us with a group of deserters he aided, during which he killed his superior."

        "Do you have proof of this?" asked Anna with hands behind her back.  "Be warned I still have my gold mirror on me."

He turned his neck towards her cautiously.  He was surprised by the lack of fear these humans exhibited despite being the tallest one in the room as he gave a leering "look" over their their unusual clothes.  Standing in the meeting room with Thomas, Anna and Holt on guard he replied slowly to the woman.

        "I wouldn't dare lie to you.  We have all the proof we need, and once we've captured him we shall take him back to face trial in our castle."

        "Really?"  She crossed her arms with one fist holding the compact.  "And I suppose it will be a fair trial?"

        "It will be a court martial," he said turning back to Brightman, "he will be tried by a panel and if found guilty he shall be sentenced to death."

        "If that's true then why attack us?" said Holt digging his tongue into his cheek.  "If all you wanted wuz to reclaim yer fugitive you only 'ad to open channels."

        "Because you attacked our recon group AND aided our fugitive!"

        "He wuz wounded an' being attacked by unknown forces, it's our duty to 'elp people!"

        "This is NOT your battle human, you will hand him over to us or else face the consequences!"

        "With what?" barked Thomas with a pointing finger.  "We already took out your giant ox, and my legal rep here has you covered, you have no power in this base, mister Jarogniew is under our protection and you don't even lift a FINGER against him whilst he is still here."

        "I don't take orders from some gobshite sassenach like you."

        "And I don't take orders from Ichabod Crane's bitch, because I'M the commanding officer of this base so you'd best watch your words when you talk back to me.  I'm sure even demons know when to respect authority."

        "Hmph.  Mister Brightman-"

        "GENERAL, Brightman."

        "...General."  The armoured unseelie crossed his fingers with a heavy sigh from his necrotic throat.  "I will not apologise for performing my duty when you incited an attack against us first to our recon group.  If you refuse to hand over the fugitive we shall amass a bigger army and take him by force."

        "If you do so then you shall suffer our fullest might."

        "That will not be necessary," said Anna clasping her hands together.  "You said you wanted to conduct a trial yes?  Well why not have it here?"

        "What?!" snorted Dullahan.

        "If you can prove to us through a court martial that mister Jarogniew has committed treason, then we shall release him into your custody without further incident.  After which you shall return back to your homeworld and trouble us no further, now I think that's a much more satisfying means of conflict than more bloodshed yes?"

        "And how do I trust you not to pull a fast one miss?"

        "This is a court martial mister Dullahan, there are no 'fast ones' in due process.  In fact, I shall even supply you a book of our laws to give to your prosecutor of choice, also it's MADAME so please address the chief legal authority on the base with some respect."

        "Hmmm...would you excuse me a moment, I must confer with my superior."

        "Of course."

They allowed him to walk to a private room where Dullahan pulled out a locket from inside his armour that showed a tiny mirror made from black quartz.  He spoke through it to a much darker voice that sent unnatural shivers through them as they left him be to speak amongst themselves.

        "You sure this a good idea?" asked Holt rubbing his bandaged arm.

        "It's much better than shooting each other," said Anna shrugging, "I'd rather have my dignity bruised than my throat."

        "I think this'll work," agreed Thomas crossing his arms, "we either prove they're wrong and protect Chanoch, or we find out he's a criminal and hand him over without further incident."

        "That and if we get them to play in our court then we assert our dominance."

        "Ahm jus' glad we're totally fine with thuh fact I beat the shit out of a werewolf," said Jeremy shrugging.

        "Yes you've mentioned that four times already," said Thomas sighing.

        "BUT IT WUZ A RIGH' GAS TOM, AN' THEN YOU PLUGGED IT IN THUH BACK!"

        "You're not going to mention the undead suit of armour or that thing that turned our soldiers into stone?"

        "Well yeah ah mean I wuz jus' gettin' to that."

        "If he agrees to this trial," said Brightman turning to Anna, "what do you need?"

        "I will need an assistant to help me pore through the details, preferably two."

        "Well since this is a court martial I should help, some military expertise and such."

        "I was about to ask, thank you general."

        "So who's gonna be your second assistant?"

        "I'll ask mister Durai since he seems rather astute, I need someone who's a fast reader."

        "Thank you for waiting."

The undead suit of armour stepped out of the private room with boots stiffly clanking their heels together.

        "We agree to your conditions, we shall have the trial here.  However, whilst we operate by your laws, the judge and panel shall be decided by the council of Dracula."

        "Wait, Dracula?!" gasped Jeremy.

        "This judge," butted in Anna, "are they trustworthy?"

        "What do you mean of course he is!"

        "Is this judge selected by an impartial committee?  Because if we find out the prosecutor chose him this will be a mistrial."

        "This judge decides all transgressions within our army, he is the leader above us all and has long existed for thousands of years even before your pitiful race came to being.  You will not find a more impartial spirit in all of existence when it is his duty to pass down a sentence."

        "Is he familiar with our laws?" she asked with hands on hips.

        "He will be," said Dullahan nodding his stump, "I shall pass on your lawbook to him and we will be prepared for the trial.  The standard time of processing is two weeks and the accused is not permitted to leave this place under any circumstances."

        "That is fine.  We have a room available for a makeshift court-"

        "No need, we can provide one for you.  Your rules but our court, just for the sake of accessibility for our less vestigial-equipped members."

        "Hmmm...very well."  She offered her hand which Dullahan shook in an ice-cold grip.  "We shall see you in court."

        "And I shall obtain the case notes for you tomorrow.  Good day, madame."

The unseelie nodded and walked his way outside with an escort guard to make sure he left, taking a book of human law that Anna gave him as promised.  The remaining soldiers of the invading force were allowed to take their deceased back with them through portals of darkness that howled with infernal energy.  Thomas and Holt oversaw the burial of their deceased soldiers along with the robots that were too damaged to restore, whilst Anna went to find Haytham in Andrea's room.

        "I am sorry but I must refuse," said Durai after hearing everything.

        "Pardon?" asked Anna taken aback.  "You don't want to help?"

        "It is not I do not want to help, it's rather that I cannot."

        "What do you mean?" asked Andrea slipping her arm around his.

        "I...well, it, it is rather embarrassing but, one of my greatest, nay THE greatest point of topic myopic for me is that of Law.  I can comprehend the stars, I can determine the Zodiac and even manage to keep up with Andrea's terminology for her own field...but I cannot understand the nature of the courtroom, I have tried and I have failed repeatedly."

        "Oh come on you can't be that bad," scoffed Dixon.

        "I had to take an extra semester at university because I failed the Law course.  In fact, were I more able I would still be married."

        "Seriously?  But...wait, why did you even take it if you were that bad?"

        "I did not take it by choice Andrea, it was mandatory, all students of Ivalice are dutied to fulfil a course in Law and despite all of my other classes being meritable this was the class I failed at.  I struggled for an added year just to achieve a passable grade."

        "Ohohh wow."  She pulled him close as he shuffled his feet.  "I'm...sorry Haytham."

        "No no, tis my own regret, some part of me struggles with the terminology of legal matters and as much as I want to help you miss Kerkorian, I fear I will do more harm than good."

        "Well I suppose I COULD do the case with one assistant," said the librarian biting her thumb, "it'll be much more difficult but not impossible if I burn through the case notes once that thing comes back."

        "AHH you would not need to!" cried Durai as he clapped his hands.  "I have my own assistant I could lend you far more."

        "What?  You mean James?!"

        "His mind is marvellous, he reads well, he can dictate notes, he is a Scribe after all he would be perfect for you to consolidate your work before him!"

        "That is true...plus, actually, of course he does have a rapport with the defendant, it'll make things much easier to get his side of the story."

        "So that's settled then?  Apologies again for my ignorance on legal means."

        "I will ask if he is up for it.  Are you two alright?"

        "Oh we're fine," said Andrea shrugging widely, "nothing like being invaded by demons to really liven things up, didn't even have a chance to meet any, I'm kinda glad but also disappointed."

        "Well be glad you didn't, that bastard throttled me and almost killed James."

        "Oh, Faram is he alright?!" gasped Haytham with a hand to his chest.

        "He is fine do not worry, I shall go see him now but uhm...could I borrow your book, just for the sake of translating with Chanoch, that was another reason I wanted to come to you."

        "By all means yes, the only one I can trust with a book is a librarian after all hmhah!"

He handed her his book as the Omnilex shone with a radiant light beneath her hands before Anna left to find James still in the medical bay.  Chanoch was in his bed once again as Kevin was cleaning up the mess with Jane, Ribose and Adenine.

        "The same fucking week," muttered Kevin, "why do monsters keep trying to ruin my lab?!"

        "I dunno," said Ade, "maybe they're anti-vaxxers."

        "Wow we're really just going there huh?" said Ribose.

        "Listen I was sick to DEATH of those people everytime they came to the apothecary, whining about their warts like PLEASE just go to a doctor, this chamomile tea is WORTHLESS to you!"

        "Could you keep your voice down please?!" snarled Addison leaning on her broom.  "My ears are still hurting from that thing attacking us."

        "Mister Jarogniew?"

Kerkorian stepped into the resting room as Chanoch looked up surprised to hear her voice translated.

        "My name is Anna Kerkorian.  I am your legal representative concerning your treason."

        "WH-what?!" sputtered James standing up.  "Treason?!"

        "Allow me to explain.  The army that invaded us wishes to capture Chanoch on the grounds of treason, they have accused him of murdering a superior."

        "Wh-wha-...oh talisman's grace that is quite a serious accusation."

        "You may recall that I forced that walking monstrosity of an armoured suit to stand down, but after we finally sat down and discussed the situation, we have agreed to give Chanoch a fair trial here where he shall be judged, rather than force him back."

        "A trial?!"  The lemming clapped a hand to his hair.  "Th-that...well that's wonderful we can, th-this is good you can defend him!"

        "Why are you doing this?"

The lizardman's voice rumbled with a bass raspy tremor through their ears.

        "You are defending me in trial.  For no reason."

        "Because I have a duty," said Anna promptly, "to give every person on this base a fair and legal representation as is my true duty."

        "Your true duty?"

        "Many people think I am just a librarian.  That is simply my secondary occupation, for my first and foremost is as legal rep for the people on this base.  Do you know much INCREDIBLE red tape there is concerning time travel, it's quite a lot I assure you and that's where I come in through my years of experience."

        "I am not one of your people," said Chanoch shrugging, "you do not have to do this."

        "I do it for two reasons.  One to avoid any further bloodshed and two, because you are legally-speaking a refugee and under our laws that protects you."

        "Hmm.  Even if I am guilty of treason?"

        "Even the guilty have the right to a fair trial," said miss Kerkorian clutching the tome close to her chest.  "What matters is we find the truth and give you the chance to speak your side of the story."

        "Ah."  The reptile clenched his hands together.  "You would still defend me, even if I told you the truth?"

        "I would expect you to tell me the absolute truth mister Jarogniew, for that is the only way we can properly defend you to the fullest."

        "You will not judge me?"

        "That is not my job.  It is MY job is to represent you fairly and fully, the judge and jury are the ones who judge you."

        "I......hmm.  Well...thank you."

His voice petered out as he curled up into the sheets confused and uncertain.  Anna motioned James out of the room and briefly explained a further point to him.

        "You...you want to make me your assistant?!"

        "Yes," she said proudly, "to help me with the legal documents and the case itself."

        "Wha-...WHAT?!"  He leaned against the wall taken aback.  "Wh-why me?!"

        "Because your master told me that he was abysmal with law and that you would be a much better pick, you're a fantastic reader, you have a young sharp mind good for retaining details, and you already know Chanoch so he should open up to you more."

        "But, why not sir Brightman, he spoke at great length with him!"

        "He has to help me with the military side of things plus the burials of our soldiers from the conflict."  She gave him the Omnilex as he clutched it like a babe.  "I need to set up my folders, your first task as my assistant is to speak to Chanoch and write down everything he tells you."

        "Um...everything?" asked James.

        "Name, age, date of birth then ask him to recount his story.  Tell him he has the right to not answer but the less we know the more difficult the case will be.  Try to make him feel relaxed, do not push him unless you think he is hiding something, he should have no reason to hide anything from us and the more honest he is, the better our case shall be."

        "What if it's something terrible?"

        "Then I want to hear it.  Like I said, it does not matter if he is guilty or not, what matters is we represent him fairly.  There's always more to an incident than meets the eye, remember that James."

        "A-alright.  I...I shall do my best."

        "By the way."  She put a hand on his arm before he left.  "Were you going to tell anyone you were just walking around with a sword hidden in your umbrella?"

        "I...I-i am sorry it, um...was that terrible of me?"

        "Normally one should claim if they are carrying a weapon into our base, I hope you knew that."

        "I did not think I had to, it IS my weapon, what did you think it was for?"

        "I don't know maybe to help keep rain off your head like a normal brolly?!"

        "Well it is also my conduit for magic casting, ergo it is my weapon, built for offence and defence.  My apologies for not explaining."

        "That is fine," she said patting his shoulder looking down at his brolly, "just, please, I just do not like surprises is all."

The lemming walked back into the room where Chanoch sat, closing the door for privacy and covering the blinds as he sat back in his seat with his umbrella and Haytham's book placed on the counter.

        "Soooo I...I-i am now representing you too."

        "Hmm?"

        "Miss Anna requested me to be her assistant to help with legal matters so I...I am here to...take down your story."

        "Ah.  I thought you were a mage."

        "Well I am essentially, but my main occupation is a Scribe."  He pulled out his notebook and flipped it to a new page.  "So...first off I should explain that you have the right to remain silent if you so wish, but in doing so you will make this case harder for us with less details given now, do you understand?"

        "Yes," said the defendant.

        "Let's get down to some basic details, what is your full name?"

        "Chanoch Lieb Jarogniew."

        "Alright...when were you born and where are you from?"

        "I was born 5051, March 14th.  Gdansk.  Poland."

        "Poland?  OH I've heard of that place!"  He realised something to note at a later date with a few extra scribbles.  "How did you become part of this army that are currently pursuing you?"

        "I survived the death of my city."

He said this bluntly without any indication of a followup.  The air turned dead between them as James struggled to choose either apology or clarification.

        "That sounds...terrible but how did that lead to-"

        "They approached me," the lizardman said rubbing his thumbs, "said I had a powerful soul.  Wanted it.  Offered me a contract."

        "A contract?  Stating what?"

        "To join them.  Swear allegiance.  Save me from death."

        "Were you wounded?"

        "Yes."

        "I see."  The lemming tapped his pencil to his snout.  "Were you forced to sign this contract?"

        "No," he said staring dead into his eyes, "but the other option was death."

        "Death, from them?"

        "No.  The enemy.  The ones that murdered my city."

        "Ah.  Alright, so what happened next?"

        "I signed it.  They took my humanity."

        "Humanity?"

        "I was human once.  Sign the contract, you lose that."

        "Oh...o-oh talisman's grace that sounds awful!"

        "It was."  The lizardman clenched his fists.  "First five years I felt only shame and hatred for myself."

        "Why?" asked James leaning forwards.

        "I betrayed...everyone.  I felt...I had betrayed my family...my father...Elohim."

        "But you survived.  What happened to your family?"

        "Dead."  He did not even pause in response.

        "O-oh...that...I am so sorry."  James sat closer and offered a hand to him.  "Do you...do you need anything, would you like to stop?"

        "No.  I have mourned already, it was years ago."

        "I see...alright," he sat back and continued writing, "tell me how life was for you amongst this army.  What exactly is it?"

        "Dracula."

        "...I-sorry?"

        "Dracula's army.  He wants to fight Elohim, kill him."

        "What?  Your father?!"

        "Yes."

        "Wh-what did he do to this Dracula?!"

        "He is pure Darkness."  Chanoch stared towards the covered window.  "He wants the world for himself, to conquer humanity."

        "Hoh...saviour help me that sounds terrifying."

        "Yes.  I did not want to betray Elohim, I could not.  That is why I am here."

        "You could not serve someone who would want to kill your father, I understand."

        "Do you?"  The reptile flicked his red eye at him without moving his head.  "Have you ever met the one who wanted to kill your god?  One that actually could?"

        "G-god?!  ...I thought this was...about...yes I see."  The scribe realised and hastily corrected his notes.  "I understand now yes, forgive me, let's continue.  This, army of...Dracula, what purpose did you serve and how exactly did your service lead to treason?"

        "I was a soldier.  I killed my superior."

        "But, why?"

        "To protect my friends."

        "Well...that sounds very noble of you but I need context."

        "Hmm.  How much?"

        "Well perhaps tell me who your friends were, who this superior was, what was your relationship with them and what led to this tragic act upon which you have been accused of."

        "Alright.  I shall tell you."

Chanoch leaned forwards with his scaled hands clasped thickly against each other.

        "You might want a new pencil."

        "Hmhmhm," tittered James patting his robe, "I have four fresh and ready just for this, now tell me everything you can sir Jarogniew."