Legends of Amacia Return of the Beowulf

Unexpected Complications

As Josephine carried Hannibal to the Healer, Elle returned to the Tower with Rachel, who was walking with the new mechanical limbs she’d received from Tal and Abigail. She was pushing a wheel chair that was her size, using it as a walker until she was comfortable enough to walk without it. On the way to the living area, Elle and Rachel met Josephine, Joshua, Harry, Seras, Kida, Emma, and Electra taking Hannibal to the Healer. Emma walked beside Josephine and Hannibal, holding Hannibal’s hand. Elle and Rachel saw them rush by and Elle called out, “What’s going on?”

“Hannibal was injured in the operation. We’re taking him to the Healer,” Emma told them after letting go of Hannibal and stopping.

Rachel became very concerned and asked fearfully, “What’s wrong? Is he going to die?”

Emma smiled at Rachel, noticing her new prosthetic limbs, saying, “No, sweetie. He’s not going to die. He just got hurt dealing with what the Cadre left inside Muriel’s mind, that’s all. It’s not that bad. Come on and see for yourself.” Emma then led them to the Healer where Hannibal had just been laid on a table next to Selina. Nathanael was watching over Selina when they brought Hannibal in.

Elle and Rachel rushed forward, pushing up to the table as the Healer began to work on Hannibal. “Daddy, are you all right?” Rachel cried out as she saw him on the table.

Hannibal reached out and grasped her organic hand, saying, “I’m going to be all right, Rachel. It’s not serious, just a few broken ribs I think. I just wasn’t fast enough against the Hydra.” He glanced at her and noticed that she was on her feet. A smile crossed his pained face. “Rachel, you’re walking!” he crowed. “I knew you could do it. How does it feel?”

Rachel threw herself on him and cried, “Oh, daddy! I love you. It’s wonderful. But it is a bit strange walking again. I haven’t walked in so long that I’m having to learn it all over. And these legs are still a bit difficult to use. I haven’t got used to them.”

Hannibal put his arm around her, saying, “You’ll get the hang of them. You’ll see.”

Rachel suddenly noticed Selina on the other table. She was still out cold and her color was still a bit pale.“Momma? Daddy, what’s wrong with momma?” Rachel asked with great concern.

Hannibal sighed as the healing machine began to make him sleepy. “She was hurt too by the same thing that hurt me,” he told her wearily. Rachel looked at him with the question all over her face: what hurt them. “We encountered a Hydra freeing Muriel’s mind, Rachel,” he told her after a yawn, glancing over at Selina. “Your mother saved my life, but she was bitten by it before killing the snake. It nearly crushed the life out of me, and she came to my rescue. She’s still dealing with the venom, but I believe she will be all right, honey. Amelia helped her as did Muriel.”

Rachel was devastated that Selina was so bad off. “Is she going to die, daddy?” Rachel asked softly with tears in her eyes.

“No, she isn’t,” Hannibal reassured her. “Nathanael, Kida, could I get you watch Rachel for a while? I’m going to take a little nap for a....” Hannibal lost his fight with the fatigue and the machine. He fell fast asleep before he could finish what he was saying.

“Daddy, Daddy?” Rachel asked, shaking him. A snore suddenly roared out of his nose and she looked at Kida with reservations.

“They are going to be all right, Rachel,” Kida assured her. “They just need to sleep. We had a pretty big fight helping Muriel.”

Rachel turned toward Kida and the rest of those present, asking, “What really happened?”

“Well,” Kida began. “It’s a long story, and pretty hard to explain. Let me see if I can explain it to you. You know we are telepathic, right?” Rachel nodded. “Well, we used our gifts to go into Muriel’s mind to free it from what the Cadre did to her,” Kida explained.

Rachel’s puzzlement showed. Electra saw it and approached, saying to Rachel, “Muriel couldn’t remember who she is because the wizards messed around with her mind. They buried her alive in her own mind and set defensive mechanisms around the place where they buried her so that no one would be able to dig her up. The Hydra was one of those mechanisms. Do you understand what we are telling you, Rachel?”

Rachel shook her head slowly, saying, “Not really. But I believe you.”

“We had to fight to break through the defenses to free her. Hannibal and Selina were injured while we were breaking through what the wizards left,” Kida added.

“How did you do it?” Rachel asked innocently.

“Our gifts,” Electra stated. “Your dad gathered everyone that had telepathic gifts, including the drakens, and we used those gifts to go into her mind to free her. I know that you can’t understand what we are telling you. But you will eventually. Just know that they will be all right.”

Rachel hugged Electra, saying, “I love you, grandma. I don’t understand, but I believe you.”

“Good girl,” Electra replied, pleased with her as she returned the hug. “Now why don’t you, Emma, and Kida go and show your new legs to Crystal. I’ll bet she’ll like them. Go play for a while. We’ll keep an eye on your mom and dad.”

Rachel looked at Hannibal and Selina, and then turned back to Electra, saying, “All right grandma.”

Electra looked at Emma and Kida, who had heard what she said and nodded toward the door. “All right, honey,” Kida said to Rachel. “Let’s go find Crystal.” Rachel latched on to her chair and went with them.

After they left, Joshua said, “I’ve got work to do too. Come on, Harry. You guys will let me know when they wake up.”

“That we will,” Electra stated. Joshua nodded and left with Harry following closely.

While Electra was speaking with Joshua, Nathanael continued checking on Selina, and finally noticed the grievous wound on her arm. He grimaced and called out to Electra and everyone remaining, saying urgently, “Honey, I think you should see this.” Everyone gathered around as he held her arm up, showing a very grievous puncture that was almost an inch across and penetrated deep into her flesh. “How can this be?” he asked with rising concern. “This wound was the one she received while inside Muriel’s mind. I didn’t believe that such wounds could manifest like this.”

Electra saw the wound and the flesh around it. It wasn’t bleeding, but oozed a blackish-yellow puss and the flesh around it looked black. A terrible stink rose out of the wound. “I...I don’t know, Nathanael. This is a mystery. I’ve never seen anything like this. This has to be the result of the Cadre’s handiwork. It has to be,” she said hesitantly, looking down into the wound and seeing something still stuck in it. “Hold on a minute. There’s something still stuck down in there. It looks like a tooth or something. Elle, go get Arabella quickly. Tell her to bring her surgeon’s tools. We have to remove this thing from her arm.”

“Right,” Elle replied, running out the door on an urgent mission.

“This just isn’t right,” Electra declared. “How can something from inside Muriel’s mind create a physical wound like this? It’s not natural.”

“Let me take a look,” Josephine said softly, approaching.

“Of course,” Electra replied, moving aside as Josephine leaned down to examine the wound.

Scanning Selina’s arm with her cyborg eye, Josephine frowned. “Nathanael, look at the Healer’s control panel and confirm it sees a foreign object in Selina’s arm,” she ordered.

Quickly checking the control panel, Nathanael growled, swearing under his breath. “It indeed sees what appears to be a tooth embedded in Selina’s arm,” he reported. “Worse than that, it’s detecting an unknown toxin associated with the object. It’s trying to counteract it, but doesn’t know what antitoxin to use.”

“This is bad, very bad,” Josephine declared grimly. “I’d hoped the Hydra Hannibal spoke of was just a phantasm the Cadre imbedded in Muriel’s mind as a guardian. It appears this Hydra is more than just a telepathic phantasm.”

“What do you mean?” Electra asked with growing fear.

“It means the Cadre used their dark sorcery and technology to implant a real Hydra directly into Muriel’s mind as the ultimate trap,” Josephine answered with deadly seriousness. “It’s the only way this wound could manifest in the real world.”

“So you’re saying that’s a real Hydra’s tooth?” Nathanael asked, flabbergasted. “Then that means the toxin is....”

“It’s the Hydra’s venom,” Josephine reported grimly. “I’ve seen my share of Hydras and know their venom intimately. If we don’t act quickly, we’ll lose Selina. I’d better go get Nemesis. He’s the only one who can deal with this.” With that, she ran out of the Healing Chamber in search of Nemesis.

“Oh, Nathanael,” Electra cried in horror. “What can we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do except pray,” Nathanael replied in a very worried tone, putting his arm around Electra. “She’s in the Lord’s hands now. I do pray that Josephine is correct about Nemesis being able to deal with this.”

“I can’t lose, Selina,” Electra sobbed. “Not like this.”

“We’re not going to lose her,” Nathanael reassured in a shaky tone. “The Lord isn’t done with her or Hannibal yet. She’ll pull through. You’ll see.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if she died,” Electra wept. “I curse the Emperor for all the evil he’s inflicted on Selina and Hannibal. May he die a thousand deaths for what he’s done.”

“We’ll get through this together,” Nathanael insisted. “And the Emperor will pay for what he’s done. That’s a promise Hannibal made, and he doesn’t go back on promises.”

“I pray that he keeps that promise and makes the Emperor pay,” Electra whimpered, the hate for the Emperor oozing out in her tone.

Nathanael suddenly became aware that Seras looked strange, a faraway look in his eyes. “Seras, Seras, are you all right?” Nathanael asked, nudging him on the shoulder after stepping away from Electra.

For a moment, Seras didn’t reply, and then he shook his head, blinking as if he was waking from a dream. “Seras, what’s wrong?” Nathanael asked, concerned by Seras’ strange behavior.

Seras shook his head, saying, “Oh, it’s nothing.”

Nathanael looked into his eyes and said, “Come on. I saw you with this odd look in your eye. I’ve seen it before on Hannibal when he’d see things. You saw something, didn’t you? What was it?”

“There was a ruined fortress on a tall mountain in the desert,” Seras stated. “There was a structure with a hole in the side of it in this ruin. Inside was a large table with skeletons everywhere, big ones. Some were crushed, some were broke apart. There’s one sitting in a chair at the end of the table. He’s really big, enormous as a matter of fact. I didn’t think people could get that big. He’s pointing to his left to another large hole in the wall. The sound of water is echoing through the hole. That’s it. That’s all I saw.”

Nathanael put a hand on Seras’ shoulder saying, “Sounds like the watchtower of Ezra Karac. I’ve seen it and you’ve described it to a T apart from the hole inside the keep. I wonder why you are seeing it now.”

Seras shook his head, saying, “I have no idea. I gave up long ago trying to figure out why these visions come when they do.”

Just then, Elle returned with Arabella, Naomi, and Lola. They ran up and Arabella asked, “Where is the wound?”

Electra composed herself and showed Selina’s wound to her after Arabella put her bag on the vacant table next to Selina. “You should be very careful,” she told Arabella as she donned her surgical gloves from her bag. “We’re not sure what is stuck down in the wound. When Josephine looked at it with her machine eye, she claimed it was a Hydra tooth filled with its venom. She’s gone to get Nemesis to deal with this, claiming he could handle it.”

Everyone gathered around as Arabella gently grasped Selina’s arm and looked at the wound. She cringed and asked, “A Hydra tooth; how did this happen?”

“We don’t know,” Nathanael answered as Arabella examined the wound intensely. “It baffles me. The wound is the same one she took while freeing Muriel’s mind. It shouldn’t have manifested physically at all.”

“Ah, there’s the problem,” Arabella crowed, seeing the fragment of the Hydra tooth in the wound. “You’re right about there being something down in the wound, Electra. And you say Josephine identified this as a Hydra tooth?”

“Yes,” Electra replied. “But I’ve never seen a Hydra tooth, so I cannot verify what Jo said. However, I do believe her.”

“Whatever it is, the Healer cannot identify the toxin associated with the fragment,” Nathanael stated. “Therefore, it cannot treat Selina properly. For the moment, it’s working to keep the toxins from spreading. If we don’t get that thing out of Selina’s arm, it’ll kill her.”

Just then, Hannibal called out in his sleep, “Beware the venom of the Hydra. It’s very dangerous and deadly.”

Everyone looked at him and he was still out cold as the machine worked on him. The machine continued working on Selina as well as Arabella gently laid Selina’s arm down before going to her bag. Hannibal’s comment caused everyone to be puzzled. Did he know what he was saying? Was he delirious?

Arabella opened her bag and grabbed some forceps and a scalpel. “Hold her arm still,” she ordered and Electra pinned Selina’s arm to the table firmly. First, Arabella probed the wound with the scalpel, pushing on the fragment to see if it was going to be a problem to get out. She gently pushed on the fragment and when she did, the wound began to bleed rather profusely. “Hmm, this isn’t good,” Arabella commented. “Elle, get the bandages.”

At that moment, Josephine and Nemesis arrived. He was very concerned with her well-being because not only had he’d seen Selina’s wound inside Muriel’s mind, he’d also heard Josephine’s report about it manifesting in the real world. When he saw everyone gathered around her, he came forward quickly, asking, “How bad is it?”

“Just look for yourself,” Elle stated. “There’s something stuck in that strange wound. It appears to be a tooth or something.”

Nemesis scanned the wound as Arabella managed to stop the bleeding with the bandages. “Let me see, Dr. Bishop,” Nemesis ordered.

“Elle’s right,” Arabella stated, moving aside. “The wound is deep, and there’s something that looks like a tooth embedded in it. I suspect there may be some arteries damaged by the fragment because when I pushed on it a little, it began to bleed rather profusely.”

Nemesis looked at it with his cybernetic eye, zooming in on it. He immediately saw the tooth fragment, and that it had penetrated to the bone in her arm, damaging the bone. He also saw the poison and he swore. “You were right to wear those gloves, doctor. The poison I’m seeing here is a very dangerous neural toxin that’s lethal to humans in the smallest amounts. You didn’t touch the wound with your bare hands, did you?”

“No,” Arabella stated. “I put on my gloves the moment I got here. I always put on my gloves before checking a patient just to avoid contaminating the wound. When Electra said Josephine suggested we might be dealing with a Hydra tooth, I made sure to protect myself. Is it Hydra tooth?”

“I’m afraid it is,” Nemesis replied grimly. “Because of how dangerous the Hydra’s venom is, I insist that you dispose of anything that’s touched Selina’s blood. There may be enough venom in it to kill you. Be very careful you don’t let the blood touch your skin.”

Arabella looked at her hands, the bandages, and the scalpel and paled, holding them away from her. “Can someone find me a bag or something that I can dispose of these things in?” Seras took off running to find something to dispose of the contaminated items in. “Is it that dangerous?” Arabella asked with a tremor in her voice.

“It is,” Nemesis stated as he continued to examine the wound. “The Hydras are one of the Cadre’s deadliest creations. They’re an offshoot of the basilisk with multiple heads that can regenerate if cut off. Their venom is just as toxic as that of the basilisk. Like many poisonous serpents, the Hydra’s teeth act as channels for their venom. Being bit by a Hydra is usually a death sentence with the victim dying in agonizing pain within five minutes of being bitten. The venom causes uncontrollable convulsions as it attacks and shuts down the victim’s nervous system. Moreover, like the basilisk, the Hydra’s venom is extremely caustic, dissolving the flesh where the venom is introduced. Because I have an immunity to this venom, I’ll handle this. In fact, I am very surprised to see this wound. I knew she had it when they came out of the monolith, but didn’t realize that it manifested in the real world until Josephine informed me. This greatly concerns me. Electra, you’d better back up. You don’t want to get any blood on you.”

Electra immediately backed off as Seras returned with a metal can. Arabella immediately dropped the contaminated material in the can, and then carefully peeled the gloves off, dropping them in the can. Seras put the can next to her bag as Arabella asked, “Do you have the antidote to the venom, Nemesis?”

Nemesis firmly grasped Selina’s arm with his organic arm, saying, “Yes, but there is little point delivering it until we remove this fragment. It is full of venom. That is why she isn’t getting any better. Once we remove it, I’ll give her the antivenin.” He then touched all around the wound with his cybernetic fingers, using the fingers to administer a drug to the damaged flesh to numb it and slow the blood flow. Then three of his cybernetic fingers changed into a long slender three pronged forceps of surgical quality. His cybernetic eye opened wide and he zoomed in as his cybernetics moved with flawless precision. Nemesis gently pushed the forceps into the wound and grasped the tooth fragment. Slowly, as to not damage her flesh further, he pulled the fragment out. It came out with a sickening pop. The wound then gushed blood, cleansing itself. He quickly stored the fragment in his cybernetic arm. The forceps became machine fingers once more, and he pushed one of those fingers into the wound. A flash of heat and light from the machine finger cauterized the wound, killing any infection and stopping the blood flow. Nemesis removed his machine finger from the wound, and grasped her by the arm above the wound, near her shoulder, administering the antivenin.

“What are you doing now?” Seras asked.

“I’m giving her the antivenin now,” Nemesis replied as he administered it again, this time below the wound, near the elbow.

“That arm of yours is really handy, Nemesis,” Arabella commented, impressed with the way he’d repaired Selina’s wound. “And you have a great deal of medical knowledge. Did they give that to you?”

Nemesis nodded as he looked at his bloody cybernetic hand, saying, “Yes, they did. They gave me a great deal of medical knowledge because with it, methods of killing and torture were much easier. I’m glad that I can now use that knowledge properly.” He switched his hand again, changing it to the forceps he’d used to remove the tooth. The forceps still had the tooth in it. “Take a good look my friends,” he told everyone. “This is one of the most lethal poisons on the planet. Do not touch it for the venom in this tooth can kill you in less than five minutes and remains active for at least a hundred and fifty cycles.” Everyone looked at the tooth with morbid fascination.

Nathanael’s scientific curiosity was peaked by the fragment, asking, “What are you going to do with that, Nemesis?”

“Well, I was planning on taking it back to the lab to do some tests on it,” Nemesis stated. “Maybe I can figure out why this thing manifested physically when it shouldn’t have. Obviously, the Cadre included something physical when they imprisoned Ana...something to this day I’ve never seen them use. That Hydra must have been more than just a telepathic construct. I have to discover the secret of what they did in case we have to deal with another one.”

“That sounds like a very good idea,” Nathanael agreed. “I’ve never seen this sort of thing before.”

“Since you have samples of the Hydra’s antivenin, wouldn’t it be wise to provide a sample of it to the Healer just in case it encounters this poison again?” Electra asked. “The Healer had trouble identifying the toxin, so it couldn’t fight it properly.”

“She’s right,” Nathanael stated. “Since you now have samples of both the venom and the antivenin, you should share it with the Healer. That way it’ll be able to combat the toxin if it ever shows up again.”

Nemesis stored the fragment inside his machine arm as he switched back to his machine hand. “You’re so right,” he agreed. “I’ll do it after I generate more of the antivenin. My reserve of Hydra antivenin is depleted right now, but I’ll do it as soon as I replenish it. In the meantime, burn those contaminated items, even the bucket, doctor. Put them in the incinerator and get rid of them.”

Arabella nodded, saying gratefully, “Thank you for not letting me handle something so dangerous. I had no idea how toxic the fragment was.”

Nemesis looked at her and smiled. “You’re welcome,” he chimed. “Next time you encounter something that you are unsure of, come get me. I keep telling everyone I’m nigh invulnerable to nearly every toxin, poison, and agent the Cadre has ever cooked up. I’m always ready to help. In fact, let me have that bucket. I’ll dispose of it.” He switched his cybernetic hand again, and a strange device appeared that looked like a small bowl with wires and hoses coming out of it. Pressing the device over Selina’s wound, he used the device to cleanse the wound. He scanned it as the device worked, seeing Selina responding positively to the Healer. “Good,” he rumbled with satisfaction. “Now that the Healer isn’t having to deal with the poison, it’s starting to heal the damage done by the tooth.”

“Will she ever fully recover from the poison?” Nathanael asked as Nemesis finished cleansing the wound.

Nemesis looked down at her and sighed as he switched back to his machine hand. “No,” he replied bluntly, applying a special ointment to the wound using his machine finger. “She will carry the effects of this particular wound the rest of her life. The venom of the Hydra is now part of her. The antivenin I gave her will neutralize it, but the mark it leaves on her cellular structure will remain. Who knows, maybe it will make her stronger, giving her a tolerance to it. However, be of good cheer. She’ll be all right now. Now I have to dispose of this stuff.” Picking up the bucket of contaminated medical supplies, he added, “Doctor, now that I’ve sanitized the wound, you should put a bandage on it, just to be safe.”

“It’s safe now?” Arabella asked.

“It is,” Nemesis answered. “I cleansed the wound of the venom, and the ointment I applied should help promote healing. Covering it is just a precaution.”

“Okay,” Arabella replied, “Thanks for taking care of this for me. I’d like to learn more about this Hydra venom when you have the time.”

“I’ll keep you informed, doctor,” Nemesis stated. “Now, let me dispose of these contaminated items. Then I’ll return and provide the Healer with samples of the Hydra venom and antivenin. I should have a sufficient supply of the antivenin by then.” With that, he walked away carrying the bucket of contaminated medical supplies.

Arabella promptly donned another pair of surgical gloves from her bag before grabbing a roll of gauze bandages. “Give me a hand, Elle,” she ordered.

“Right,” Elle chimed, “Do I need the gloves?”

“Yes,” Arabella stated, “Just to be safe. We don’t want to contaminate the wound. Just think of it as proper medical hygiene and procedure.”

“Okay,” Elle answered, promptly donning a pair of surgical gloves and helping Arabella bandage Selina’s wound.

Electra hugged Nathanael while Arabella and Elle covered Selina’s wound. “I’m so glad Selina’s going to be okay,” she said in great relief. “She means everything to me.”

“That she does,” Nathanael agreed, returning Electra’s embrace.

“Selina has a place in everyone’s heart,” Arabella stated as she and Elle finished binding the wound. “She’s such a pure soul full of love and life.”

“I must agree,” Josephine stated. “Selina is definitely a beacon of light in this dark world. I’m glad we caught this odd wound before it did irreparable damage to her. But it concerns me that the Cadre could create such a beast. Telepathic attacks and mechanisms can cause physical harm, such as breaking bones or crushing organs, even causing major disruptions in the body’s ability to function. But it never leaves behind a physical piece of the weapon as it did this time. In all my long life, I’ve never seen one of the Cadre’s telepathic weapons leave behind a physical trace. It’s as if they somehow took a real Hydra, pushed it out of phase with our reality, and implanted inside Anastasia’s mind to keep her imprisoned. I definitely want to find out how they did this.”

“So do I,” Electra agreed. “This is beyond my imagination. We have to find out how they did it so we can stop them from doing it again.”

“Amen to that,” Nathanael agreed. “No one should have such a monster locked inside their minds. It’s obvious the Cadre have tapped a form of technology we’ve not encountered before. Maybe Horace can help explain this.”

“He might,” Josephine concurred. “Horace may have seen how they did it. I may have seen the rituals and tech they used, but I didn’t see what those rituals did to Anastasia’s mind. I was merely an outside observer. What I do know is the rituals utilized the darkest sorcery mixed with the most advanced technology Grimbold had at the time. It took them days to do what they did to her. I’m astounded you guys smashed it so completely as quickly as you did.”

“So am I,” Electra agreed. “But we couldn’t have done it if Hannibal hadn’t called out the angels to help us.”

This statement caused Josephine to pause. “Hannibal called on angels to help?” she asked in puzzlement. “How is that possible?”

“The Ancient of Days is how,” Nathanael stated. “Our God saw we needed help to do it and allowed our guardian angels to assist us while we were in Muriel’s mind at Hannibal’s request. Besides, if you remember the prophecies, it says the Beowulf would have command of the hosts of Heaven whenever he needed them. In this case, we certainly needed that help. If they hadn’t been there helping to fend off the dark defense mechanisms we encountered, we most likely would not be having this conversation.”

“I’m sure we wouldn’t,” Josephine replied. “I’d like to speak with him about that when he wakes up. I didn’t realize he could summon angels the same way the Emperor can summon demons.”

“It’s not the same,” Nathanael insisted. “Not from the way I understand it. Hannibal has a unique relationship with the angels. He considers them his friends, and doesn’t command them the way the Emperor commands demons. Most of the time the angels show up only when he really needs their help.”

“Interesting,” Josephine murmured, glancing over at Hannibal as he lay asleep on the table beside Selina. “There’s much I still don’t know about him. I thought I had him figured out when I reversed his mutation, but it seems I was mistaken. He’s a mystery that refuses to be solved.”

“Hannibal is Hannibal,” Nathanael stated. “I stopped trying to figure him out long ago. He’s a good man trying to undo a lifetime of evil. He never wanted to be a leader or messiah to these people. It just happened. He just wants to live in peace, but won’t ignore evil. He knows better. That’s why he’s always trying to do the right thing.”

“I haven’t known Hannibal as long as you have, Nathanael,” Arabella stated. “But from what I’ve seen since we first met, he’s a good man with a terrible burden upon him. When he saved me from Gulez’s soldiers, I purposed to be his friend, and to be there for him. It’s all I can do. I hope it’s enough.”

“It’s more than enough,” Nathanael stated, patting Arabella on the shoulder as she removed her surgical gloves, storing them in her bag. “He considers you a true friend, Arabella, as do I. Don’t ever think he doesn’t appreciate you and what you do. After all, how many times have you put him back together?”

“More times than I care to recall,” Arabella replied, chuckling. “But I’ve never regretted my decision to follow him here. Since I joined the team, I’ve felt I finally found my place.” She glanced over at Hannibal as the Healer continued to work on him. “With him and you, I’ve found a new family...one that I can be proud to call family.”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Nathanael purred. “You are a part of our family, as are Elle and Josephine. We’re proud to have you as part of our family. Your loyalty is beyond reproach.”

“That it is,” Josephine agreed, “Your light is as bright as that of Selina, Dr. Bishop. I can see it. I am honored to call you friend.”

“The honor is all mine, Josephine,” Arabella replied gratefully, taking Elle’s surgical gloves after she removed them. “You’re a true friend. Oh, well, I guess I must be going. I have other patients who need me. We’re still treating many of those rescued from that fortress in Cushar.”

“Then don’t let us detain you,” Nathanael stated. “I’ll keep an eye on things here for a while, just to be safe.”

“That’s good,” Arabella replied. “Let me know when they wake. I’d like to check them over before they return to their quarters.”

Electra patted Nathanael on the shoulder, saying, “Same here, honey. Let me know when they wake up.”

Nathanael nodded as Josephine, Arabella, Elle, Electra, and Seras left, leaving him there to watch over Hannibal and Selina. He went and got a chair, pulling it up between Hannibal and Selina. He stroked Selina’s hair with the love of a father relieved that everything was going to be all right. After a few moments of that, he sat down, relieved that Hannibal and Selina had yet again eluded the Reaper. “Thank you for not taking them, Lord,” Nathanael whispered in prayer. “But I cannot help but wonder what you yet have in store for them, Lord. Are they truly ready for what you will have them to do? Are any of us truly prepared for the onslaught I see coming from the Emperor and the Darkness backing him? Please, Lord, be merciful and preserve us from this evil tide that threatens to snuff us out. In the name of Jesus, please preserve us in this dark hour.”

The doubt troubling Nathanael abruptly vanished as he finished his prayer. Great peace filled his soul knowing the Almighty Ancient of Days still had His hands on the situation no matter how bad things got. The Light would eventually triumph over the dark tide rising. The thought caused a smile to creep across his lips. “Thy will be done, Lord,” Nathanael whispered, “Thy will be done.”