THE VROL TRILOGY (107 page)

"I'm sure. And I'll be fine, girls. Still got
the clan, and you know Cassandra will watch my back. Hell, maybe
I'll let her bring Minnie over. Seems her little sis has really
enhanced vision ever since Max healed her that day."

"Well, I am afraid we must depart at this
time," said Gabriel while conveying no emotion, which was typical
for him. "King Krynos, we depart now."

The lycan king was swaying side to side with
the rhythm of the music. He never thought he would like the ancient
music, but he did, and he had Max to thank for it. Waving to
goodbye to Lennie, he turned and walked out of the club with his
companions. The group gathered into a circle, with Dons standing
off to the side. It was at that moment that Gabriel did something
amazing. He reached out and conjured a staff, similar to Draagh's.
But that wasn't what was so cool - it was that a bracelet on his
right hand turned into what resembled a snake, and then slithered
over his hand and melded into the staff.

"What was that?" gasped Pandy.

"That, young one, is my ghanlo. I usually
keep it in a bracelet, but can embed it wherever I please. I simply
feel like carrying a staff right now. Plus, I rather like how
Father stamps his into the ground when he performs a 4d slip."

"Oh, ok. Cool," the young lycan said as she
smiled and waved to Dons.

Within a second they were gone, out of that
dimension and in another part of the galaxy.

Dons looked at the spot where they were just
seconds before. Then, he simply turned around and went back into
the bar and started performing an impromptu breakage inventory on
his liquor - as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 30 - Inoculated

Krynos strode up into the courtyard and
headed directly to his quarters. Pushing his comm he called out to
Max.

"
Commander
Gunnarsson. Are you in the castle or at Vera
Base
?"

"
Hi King
Krynos. I assume you've returned. I'm in my quarters in the castle,
assisting Liliana with her schoolwork. Do you require my presence,
sir
?"

"
No, not at
all, my son - I just wanted to tell you that I met your friend
Lennie. He is a nice young man. I also wanted to thank you for the
song list you provided. Lennie put on quite a show with his
group
."

"
Ha! I told
you it was better live. Did you enjoy your visit to
Hollywood
?"

"
Yes, quite
so. We also brought back another individual who wishes to assist in
our efforts to protect your world.
"

"
Oh really?
Who would that be
?"

"
Max, this is
Jessica. We brought Pandy back with us, and she is asking when she
can see your daughter
."

Max laughed in his head, which everyone
heard, except for Pandy of course, as she had no comm device at
that time.

"
Tell her
Liliana is in the middle of her homework, but will be able to have
a short visit tonight at dinner, after she has taken her
bath
."

Later that evening, practically the entire
team met up for dinner. Seated at the largest table in the main
dining hall, they all enjoyed rack of lamb with rosemary and mashed
potatoes. Bagatelle was seated next to Liliana, who was beside her
parents. Pandy sat across from her little friend as the two mixed
excited conversation in between mouthfuls of food. Michael and
Gabriel conferred with each other in a language unknown to anyone
else, except for Draagh, who was listening intently to Krynos'
story of his weaponless defeat of a Vrol flyer, along with Jessica,
Max and Jennie.

"So, as I had ample reserves and I had gone
to my battle form. I turned around and spied the vile creature as
it came out of the sun, attempting to blind me with its angle of
descent. But ha! I am lycan, and we have excellent daytime vision.
I saw it come at me, but acted like I was ignorant and unaware of
its approach. Then, I suddenly spun around and reached out my hand
to capture the creature's neck in my grasp. It was strong, oh-ho
yes! Quite strong, but no match for me. As it struggled and
scratched at my face, I got my arms around its wings and up behind
its head, where I clasped my hands together. Bringing the beast to
the ground, I put the entirety of my weight upon its back and
wrapped my legs around its flailing body. It was then that I knew I
had to end our most excellent battle, so I pushed its head down and
hard, into its chest, breaking its spinal cord. Once I heard the
snap I dug my claws into its spine and ripped it out completely. I
then extracted the teeth from its great maw and put them into a
bag."

"Wow, King Krynos. That sounds amazing!"
exclaimed Jennie.

"May I ask what you did with the teeth you
collected?" asked Jessica.

"Why, I gave half to a nice family of
normals. The rest I gave to Lennie and his good wife Jelly, in
celebration of the new addition to their family."

The lycan woman smiled, knowing that Lennie
and Jelly appreciated the gift.

"Lili, may I see your sharks tomorrow?" Pandy
asked excitedly.

"I would imagine so, but there are a number
of things I believe you must accomplish before we can play,"
responded the young lycan-mage in a most responsible manner.

"Yeah, sis, like you gotta get your shot,"
added Jessica.

"My what?"

"Your inoculation, my dear. Yes, we must
inoculate you," said the ancient mage seated next to Krynos.

"What does that mean?"

"Pandy," said Liliana matter-of-factly, "you
must understand that your genetics are slightly different from
ours, so in order for you to be able to properly assist in our
efforts you will need to be… enhanced."

"Um, what kind of enhancement do you mean"
Pandy asked, with a bit of preoccupation in her voice.

"My dear girl, there are a number of
skills which you lack. It is not your fault - it is simply due to
the fact that your lycan mutation is mild. You only have a bit of
enhanced strength and senses. In reality, you only possess roughly
10% of the extranormal abilities that the people of this world
enjoy. In order to bring you up to speed you will need to be
re-turned
and inoculated," Draagh
explained, which really didn't do anything to help with Pandy's
confusion.

"Returned? Like I'm going back? I'm sorry, I
don't understand."

"No, my dear. Re - turned, as in being turned
into a lycan as would happen to a normal. It is necessary in order
to reintroduce a more potent version of the lycan virus into your
system. Then, we shall give you a painless shot that will enable
you to enjoy your skills on a myriad of worlds," Draagh explained
further, hoping that the girl would start to understand.

"And so, how am I turned?" she asked, but
before she could formulate another question she looked at her best
friend and practical sister Jessica, who had transformed to her
battle state, or phase 2 as it was also called. Baring long canines
she smiled at Pandy and said "Hold still, sweetie. This won't hurt…
much."

Pandy woke up on a bench, surrounded by
everyone. Groggily opening her eyes, she mumbled, "Am I
turned?"

"No Pandy, You passed out before Jessica
could even perform the procedure," Liliana said with a bit of
disappointment in her voice.

"My dear young girl, I believe I shall
enhance the inoculation to include all of the necessary components
for turning a normal to a lycan, eliminating the need for an
inefficient double process."

"Huh?"

"I am going to include the lycan virus and
some blood in the inoculation."

"Oh, ok. I guess that sounds good," she said,
feeling somewhat relieved.

"Pandy, you so totally passed out it was
funny," said her longtime best friend, who had reverted back to her
day form while her best friend was unconscious.

"I must agree - it was quite humorous.
Especially as you fell backwards and nobody caught you before you
hit the floor with a resounding thud!" added Liliana, in her own
sinister little way.

"So Jessica, are you like Max now? All wolfy
and stuff?" Pandy asked.

"Oh no, sweetie. All lycans can transform at
will to their Battle State. We have enhanced strength, speed,
senses and bigger teeth."

"Then what was it that we saw Max turn
into?"

"The first change you saw in me, on the full
moon, is what happens to us all, but we have nice little cells we
stay in for a few hours when that happens. When I returned - well,
that was completely new, and as far as we know I'm the only one who
has done it so far."

"Yeah, we call it Assassin Mode. Jennie made
up the title," said Bagatelle.

"Ok, so we can change into other forms.
That's cool. What else can I look forward to?"

"Pandy, we have a levels meter readout in our
peripheral vision. It monitors health, stamina and strength. And
food tastes a whole lot better too," said Max in a very positive
fashion, "so don't be afraid. It'll all work out."

"I am so happy you are well, Pandy," said
Liliana as she gave her friend a hug and appeared to whisper some
reassuring words into her ear.

Everyone except for Krynos, Michael, Jennie
and Liliana went to Draagh's study, where he concocted up a new
inoculation. He would now have two versions, as he didn't want any
adverse affects debilitating a full lycan upon injection due to the
introduction of someone else's virus into their system when not
necessary.

Pandy sat down on a chair, mildly excited
that she would soon join her best friend as a full-fledged
lycan.

Draagh turned from his infoscreen and was
holding a small syringe in his hand. He had considered playing a
joke on Pandy and conjuring a giant syringe as he had earlier done
for Alicia Vasquez, but Pandy apparently fainted easily, and he
just wanted to get the job done.

"Ok, my dear. Here we go. Please hold
perfectly still."

"Will it hurt?" she asked as she squinted her
eyes in anticipation of something immensely painful.

"Oh yes, it stings quite a bit. In fact, I
had heard that some have been permanently damaged from the pain,"
Draagh said eloquently.

"Then no way! Do NOT touch me with that
needle!" she screamed out.

"Pandy, it's already done," said Jessica.

"Wha? Huh?"

Draagh started to snicker, which prompted
everyone to start laughing, including Pandy. That is, until she
went suddenly rigid, eyes staring straight forward, gasping in
little breaths.

"Oh my god, Pandy! Are you ok?" Jessica cried
out, shaking her friend.

"Dear me, it does appear that we have a
negative reaction here. I must correct this right away," said
Draagh as he went to touch the young woman's forehead.

Before anyone could say another word, Pandy
started to moan, and slowly moved her eyes around, with her body
completely immobile. Even Draagh appeared to be alarmed, and he had
seen much sickness during his eons of existence. But right before
his finger made contact with Pandy's forehead she jumped up and
screamed.

"Psyche!"

"What the hell?" yelled Jessica, practically
in a state of shock.

"Liliana said it would be funny!"

"Oh my god Pandy, Liliana has a morbid sense
of humor. You should know that by now," said Max, well aware of his
daughter's precocious ways.

"Ok, ok. I'm ready to get serious. What do we
do next?" asked Pandy, satisfied that she had her revenge.

"Well, first we need to get you to your
quarters, and tomorrow you will start training to learn your new
skills," said Jessica.

"Oh, my own room? I thought I would just
share with you."

Gabriel and Jessica immediately grew awkward
expressions, when Bagatelle jumped in saying, "We are all required
to have our own quarters, Pandy. I have your room assignment, so
please come with me. You will need your rest, trust me."

"Yeah, I'm out too," said Max. "Gotta tuck
the little one in before she goes to sleep."

"Until tomorrow, then," said Draagh, as
everyone departed.

The following morning Michael was the first
one to arrive for breakfast, which was a simple bratwurst sausage
with potatoes and some apples. Liliana and her parents, who sat
down on the other side of the table, soon joined him.

"Abuelito, what are your plans for
today?"

"Oh, I don't know, Liliana. I will probably
go to Vera and continue work on the underground base. But we will
need to do some recon on Azul. I'm assuming you will probably like
to handle some of that, won't you, Max?"

"I think I've had enough of Azul for the
present. Working with Mom and Janice is good enough for me right
now. Plus, being with my girls here makes life all worthwhile."

"Max, I have received some intel from
Alicia," said Bagatelle, as he entered the dining hall. "It appears
that Johnson has a team working on surveillance, and they have
managed to see some idiosyncrasies in the vids from your mom's
holding apartment and your family home."

"What do you mean, G?" asked Max.

"According to her sources, they believe that
you are alive and using some advanced cloaking technology in order
to foment rebellion."

"What? That's ridiculous! I haven't tried to…
foment rebellion… well, not yet, anyway."

"Max, you know how the government works.
They'll gin up all sorts of controversy, and probably even fudge
some vids and try to get public opinion on their side," Bagatelle
responded.