Chapter 43: The Calm

Excerpts from Brief History of Xoth:

Creature Commonality and Rank

Every creature connected to the SYSTEM is given a rating on a commonality chart and a rank of strength. Commonality scale has the following levels from lowest to highest:

Common

Uncommon

Very Uncommon

Rare

Very Rare

Ultra Rare

Boss

Unique

Unique Boss

The higher a creature is on this chart the lower their population. It is possible for species on the lower scale to reach a higher scale if they become a stronger version of their species. If they are strong enough, they can even reach Boss type.

Unique types are creatures that are one-of-a-kind. The circumstance for a creature of this type to come forth can vary greatly. A creature could get strong enough to become unrivaled by any of its species. It could have been affected by some powerful magic. It can even be randomly born unique.

Creatures are also given a rank of how strong they are. The levels of strength is listed below from weakest to strongest:

D

C

B

A

S

SS

SSS

Rank D creatures are usually creatures that can be killed within a few hits by low level people or creatures, and is unable to cause a person significant damage. Rank SSS creatures are comparable to natural disasters. They are capable of wiping out entire cities and reshaping the landscape. Thankfully these creatures are usually extraordinarily rare and only appear once in a generation.

Item Ranks

Similar to creatures, all items are given a rank to denote its strength and capability. All items use the following rank levels from weakest to strongest:

D

C

B

A

S

SS

SSS

Excerpts from Thunder's Recommendations Report

->Preservation of the Internet

Reason: The internet is arguably one of the greatest inventions in Human history. With its function to instantly transmit information from one side of the world to the other, it gives Humanity the greatest advantage in the coming war with Hastur. The most practical solution would be a satellite-based internet system. None of our enemies on Xoth would be able to attack anything we have in orbit so we could have a future-proof internet.

VVVVVV

Rovaniemi, Finland

A couple peacefully slept in their moon-lit room. The wife was curled up against her husband who was audible breathing through his nose. Across the room was the door to the hallway. The doorknob of the door moved slightly in both directions before it fully turned towards the left. The door slowly opened to the dark hallway. A little girl emerged from the darkness of the hall and stood in the doorway.

"Mommy," she whispered. "Daddy."

The parents didn't react to their daughter calling them.

"Mommy!" she said louder. "Daddy!"

"Mmm," the mother moaned. "What is it, kulta?"

"There was a scary storm and now there's fairies outside my window."

"Fairies?" the father muttered. "Kulta, you're dreaming."

"But the fairies are really scary. They want me to open my window."

"They're not real," the mother assured her. She sat up slightly to see her daughter. "Go back to bed. Now."

"O-Okay..." the daughter said.

The little girl closed her parents' room's door behind her and slowly and reluctantly walked back to her room. She walked inside and closed her door behind her. Through her window she saw the fairies.

The three creatures were the size of cats and their bodies were humanoid in shape. Their skin was dark brown around their slender limbs and reddish-brown on their bloated bellies. Their wings resembled the shape of butterfly wings, but instead of having the same beauty, they were leathery like a bat. Their faces were like a child's but with needle-like teeth and black eyes.

"Little girl," they said in their high-pitch voice. "You're back, little girl. Will you let us in now?"

"Please let us in," the other said.

"Let us in," the third said. "We can have so much fun."

"My mummy and daddy said you're not real," the little girl said to the fairies.

"We're not real?" said the first fairy. "How can that be true?"

"Don't you see us?"

"You can see us, so we must be real."

"We only want to play."

The second fairy lightly scratched her window.

"We can have many adventures together."

"Adventures?" the little girl repeated.

"Yes, adventures."

"Are you all from Xoth?" she asked.

The fairies looked to each other, confused by the little girl's comment.

"You're on Earth." The little girl stood right in front of the window. "Can you all tell me about Xoth?"

The fairies' lips curled into a toothy smile.

"We can tell you all about Xoth. We can have adventures like the ones we've had on Xoth."

"Promise?" the girl asked.

"Promise."

"Okay!"

The little girl reached for the latch on her window. She flicked it in the opposite direction. The sound of the latch opening caused the fairies to grow into a frenzy. They fluttered around the window.

"Yesyesyesyesyes. Let us in. Let us in!"

The window popped open a crack. The fairies reached through the crack and tried to force the window open. Suddenly the little girl realized her mistake in trusting these creatures and tried to hold the window shut. The fairies already had their arms under the window and were actively pushing upwards.

"You gave us permission!" they yelled. "You can't take it back!"

The fairies forced the window up enough for them to squeeze their bodies partially through.

The little girl let out a scream and yelled, "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Come here, little girl!"

"Leave her alone!" another voice yelled.

Several soldiers came from the side of the window and grabbed the fairies by the legs.

"No!" one of the fairies screamed.

The soldiers yanked the fairies out from under the window and slammed them to the ground.

"Now!" one of the soldiers yelled.

The soldiers fired upon the stunned fairies. The bullets easily tore the fairies apart. More soldiers emerged from the bushes. Each of them looked disappointed that they were unable to contribute to the final kills. By then the parents of the little girl had burst in through the door from their daughter screaming and the gun shots.

"Who are you?" the father yelled.

"Please don't hurt my baby!" the mother pleaded.

"UNDF," Laura said to the two parents.

Due to the different languages, the UNDF soldiers and the parents went into a screaming match. The little girl made the situation worse by adding to the argument and claiming the soldiers saved her from the fairies.

"Garza!" Thunder called out. "You got the fairies?"

"We got the fairies," Laura replied back. "We need you to come here and explain the situation. They don't speak English."

"I'm calling the cops!" the father roared.

"We're with the United Nations Defense Force," Thunder quickly explained. He picked up one of the fairy bodies and said, "Changelings appeared in the area and were hoping to kidnap children. Your daughter was close to becoming their victim."

Once they realized the situation, the mother quickly embraced her daughter and sobbed.

"I'm so sorry," the father apologized.

"It's alright, it's alright," Thunder said. "I must say, you have a lot of guts to yell at people armed with military weapons."

"That is... only registering now." The father rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Are there any more of these fairies?"

"Naw. I just got a notification stating that was the last of them."

"Are your friends here?" the little girl asked as she broke from her mother's hold. She dashed to the window and leaned out.

"I'm sorry, but they're currently busy with some work at base," Thunder explained.

The little girl pouted.

"She's a big fan of Xoth and you heroes," the mother explained.

"I read all your books at least five times each," the girl proudly proclaimed.

"That's very impressive," Thunder said. He looked to the father. "I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep. We're going to take these bodies away and head out."

"Thank you for saving my little girl," the mother said.

"Tell your friends that I think they are the coolest!" the little girl added.

Sam, Chris and David took out small glass containers and gathered the fairies and placed their remains inside.

"We're good," David said as he sealed the container.

"Then let's head back to the truck," Laura said.

Laura Garza walked ahead and the rest of the soldiers followed behind. Thunder walked by her side while looking at the Changeling's body through its glass container.

"So why didn't you join our party again?" Garza asked.

"It's to avoid the possibility of levelling fatigue."

"Levelling fatigue?" one of the soldiers repeated.

"It's when you level up too fast," Thunder answered. "Your body has difficulty in adjusting to the boosts you get when you level up. Like exercising too much. It would be dangerous on the field if I happen to defeat something extremely strong and you all got the same experience as me. You would become exhausted on the field and become vulnerable to enemy attack."

"Okay, that sounds reasonable."

While Thunder's explanation was true, it wasn't the only reason he didn't form a party with the other soldiers. If he formed a party with them, they would be able to see all of his stats and titles. In this case, he didn't want them to see his title of "Agent of Kara". The history book he translated contains information of the Xothican religion and its goddess Kara. Thunder would have to explain his relationship with Kara.

It is inevitable that the other soldiers will eventually see his titles, but for now he will keep quiet while the world prepares. Many of his suggestions have been taken seriously by the countries of the world. Thunder expected the world economy to take a downturn due to his recommendations, but he found that the opposite happened. Large amount of spending by both government and private organizations have lead to a surge in the global economy and employment.

"I heard you're going to be meeting with the Presidential candidates after this mission," Chris said.

"Don't remind me," Thunder said. "That's in an hour."

"Don't like politics?"

"Don't like politics. Politics is always so complicated. This life is much simpler." Tom gestured to the area around them. "A monster appears. I go after monster. Monster dies. Done. Politics is just..."

"Talk?" Laura finished.

"Yeah. Hell, I translated those books so I could avoid talking to politicians more than I need to."

The others chuckled a bit at Thunder's situation.

"Be thankful that the US is the only country at the moment with an election, or else everyone else would want a piece of you," David said.

VVVVVV

Changeling Level 2 Rank D Health 15/15 Type Uncommon A type of fairy that likes to sneak into homes to kidnap children. These children end up as a food source for these foul fairies. Resistances Physical 0% Disease/Toxin 0% Fire 0% Plant 0% Ice 0% Earth 0% Lightning 0% Water 0% Wind 0% Spirit 0% Light 0% Darkness 10%

VVVVVV

Washington D.C.

Thunder and his team sat at the end of a large rectangle-shaped black table in a meeting room. The room was sounded by a red wall with no paintings or windows on the wall.

"This is a depressing room," Terra said. She leaned back in her chair and rested her feet on the table.

"Well, it is a meeting room on Capital Hill," Thunder mused. "Also, please don't do that. Those candidates could be here at any time."

Terra took her feet off of the table and blew air out through her lips in frustration.

"So why do these politicians want to talk?" Aurora asked. "I thought those books of yours explained the situation pretty well."

"There's a lot more information that they need than what my translated books provide. That's why you're all here. They need more in-depth information and perspectives from Xothicans. It's to help craft future policies for their parties. It's not an exaggeration to say that what is discussed here could shape relations between Humanity and your races for years to come."

"Thanks for taking us from boredom to anxiety," Terra joked.

"Just answer their questions truthfully and it'll be fine," Thunder assured them.

The door at the end of the room made a click noise before it opened. Marcus Rex, the Democratic candidate, entered first and was followed by Tyler Scott, the Republican candidate, Juliana Asker, the Libertarian candidate, and Samuel Hawk, the Liberty Party Candidate. Thunder got up from his seat and approached them.

"Please to meet you, Mister Rex," Thunder greet while he shook his hand.

"Likewise, Thunder," Rex said. "Likewise."

Thunder turned to the next politician and said, "Senator Scott." They shook hands. "Congresswoman Asker."

After he shook the two politicians' hands, Thunder turned to Hawke who kept a soured expression on his face. "Mister Hawke." Thunder held out his hand. Hawke stared at Thunder's face like he was trying to see through the shadow that disguised him.

"Are you going to keep him hanging, Hawke?" Rex asked. "The man is trying to give you his salutations."

Reluctantly, Hawke grabbed Thunder's hand and shook it. Thunder gave it a couple shakes before he let go.

"Ladies, you should come over and introduce yourselves," Thunder said to his companions.

"Oh, right," Tempest said as she and her friends got up.

Everyone shook hands and then took their seats at the meeting table.

Thunder sat at the head of the table with his girlfriends at both sides of him while the Presidential candidates sat across from them. Thunder clasp his hands together and rested them on the table.

"Thank you all for coming," Thunder started the discussion. "The President explained the political situation of your campaigns and the types of questions you all have been asked. My companions and I have set aside the day to answer any questions that you may have to the best of our abilities. I would like to reiterate that we cannot answer questions that are above your current security clearance nor can we answer questions that could reveal our identities."

"The girls and I can answer questions about Xoth and her people," Tempest added.

"That's acceptable," Rex said. "Let's start."

VVVVVV

Inside a small house, Rika sat at a computer desk watching camera footage of the government building that the Presidential candidates entered. While she didn't know why they were gathered in the building, this was a golden opportunity for her to eliminate both targets in one night. Her phone vibrated breaking her focus on the security footage.

Rika got up from the desk and answered the phone. "Yes?"

"Rika, it Micael. I'm afraid that the operatives that we sent after Draig haven't reported in."

"Were they captured?"

"The capture of our operatives would have caused some chatter in the world's Intelligence community."

"Then killed..." Rika's footsteps made a squishing noise in the kitchen she entered. She looked down to see it was a pool of blood. The blood trail led to an elderly couple who sat at the kitchen table. Both of them had large holes blown through their torsos.

"The fact that they haven't check in and that there is no news of their capture seems to suggest as much."

"Was it Thunder and his followers who killed them?"

"Again, like if they were captured, there would have been chatter."

Rika's grip on the marble counter tightened and it cracked. She caught on what Micael was suggesting. Rika further remembered the events of the Chinese dam and realized how convenient it was that Mordiggian happened to save her but not her agents.

"That bastard... That demon bastard!"

"Yes. Interference by Mordiggian is the most likely scenario. I'm afraid it gets worse."

"How can it get any worse?"

"Our cells around the world are being hit. I have never seen anything like it. We have already lost half of them. Their locations must have been leaked. I do have some good news. Decryption of the Russian files is finally complete."

Despite her fury, Rika felt some semblance of accomplishment.

"Order all remaining cells to abandon their locations and fall back to Command. I'm going to kill these politicians to avoid Mordiggian's suspicion and then I will return. With those Russian files we can finally enact our end goal."

"Understood. Good luck."

VVVVVV

"Are there anymore questions?" Pyre asked the politicians.

"I believe you all have addressed our concerns," Scott said as he closed his notebook.

"Thank you for your time," Rex said. "This has been a great help."

"While we cannot endorse any political candidate, we can wish you all luck in the upcoming election," Thunder said.

The candidates got up from their chairs and walked out of the room. Tom leaned forward in his chair and rested his chin against his clasped hands. He had a solemn look on his face.

"I'm glad that's over," Aurora sighed. She got up from her chair and walked over to Thunder and rested against his back while she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I have never been asked so many questions in my life," Pyre said.

Terra saw that Thunder was deep in thought. "You okay, Thunder?"

He looked up and asked, "Did any of you get any weird feelings about any of those candidates?"

"You felt it too?" Tempest exclaimed while she leaned forward.

"Hawke," Pyre muttered.

"Oh, thank the goddess," Thunder sighed in relief. "I thought I was being paranoid. It was when all of you shook his hand right?"

They all nodded.

"When I shook his hand I suddenly had the feeling that I needed to either run or attack the guy," Thunder explained. "That's why I urged you all to shake hands with everyone after I did. I needed to see if any of you had that feeling. Shaking Hawke's hand... I haven't felt anything like that since I witnessed that super slime in Madrid."

"But I checked his Status and there was nothing unusual," Tempest said. "Hell, his morality was Neutral."

"It's impossible that we all felt this way shaking that guy's hand," Pyre said.

"But what does it mean?" Aurora asked.

Thunder sighed, "I don't know. I have shook hands with bad people before and none of them gave me the same feeling." Thunder thought on it for a moment before he continued. "For the time being, we can't act. We have no evidence that he has done anything terrible. All we can do, at the moment, is keep an eye on him."

VVVVVV

Hawke entered his hotel room. He grabbed his tie and quickly removed it and tossed it to the bed. Hawke opened his mini-fridge and pulled out a small container. He opened it to revealed that it is filled with raw meat. Hawke picked up a chunk of it and tossed it in his mouth.

"You are not required to eat anything like that anymore," Mordiggian commented as he emerged from underneath the bed. "With your current status you could eat like the royalty you are."

"I have spent centuries eating like this. It's disgusting at first but eventually you develop a taste for it. And soon you develop an addiction." Wendigo ate another chunk of meat and swallowed it. "I managed to get the names of the other girls. That damn Thunder wore some equipment that blocked Status reading."

"And the names?"

"Vivian Terrabane. Tala Mau. Sylmae Lyvan. I doubt those names will help us. I've already had some people check the name Reia Zyer. It exists in the Canadian system, but there is no listed address that she lives at."

"That's a shame."

"Something must be done against them, and quick. I think they got suspicious of me after shaking my hand. What about your connection with Draig?"

"He has been dragging his heels, but he has been vehement that public opinion must be turned against Thunder before he is killed."

"And we are supposed to trust him?" Wendigo growled.

"I don't trust people," Mordiggian corrected. "I trust motivation. In this case, power. It worked towards getting the Zokot Kingdom on our side, it will work towards getting the most prominent Humans on our side. I'm willing to wait if it means taking over the Human governments is made easier."

"But how long are we going wait?"

"Not long. I'd suggest watching the news tonight. Certain photos are going to be leaked and the Humans are not going to be happy."

VVVVVV

Tom, Vivian and Reia sat on the couch with Tala lying across all of their laps. Tom sat to the left side petting Tala's head and scratching her ears. Vivian was in the center, rubbing Tala's stomach, and Reia was on the right rubbing her legs and tail. Tala writhed onto top of them while she loudly purred. She, at this point, shed her shyness in their private lives and fully embraced being pampered by her lovers.

Sylmae sat on a chair next to them while enjoying a cup of tea. She was watching the CBC news while occasionally stealing glances at the her lovers.

"A tragedy has occurred in Washington D.C.," Bhan, the news anchor, announced. "Senator Tyler Scott and Congresswoman Juliana Asker have both been found dead in their hotel rooms. According to authorities the case of death was cardiac arrest due to electrocution. An investigation is underway to see if foul play was involved."

"They're dead?" Tom muttered as he stopped petting Tala's head. "My god. We just met with them today."

Tala sat right up and quickly nestled herself to Reia's right side. Everyone paid attention to the news after the announcement. Before they could hear more about the situation, the phone rang. Sylmae got up from her chair and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh, Agent Moore, hello. What? Just a minute, I'm putting you on speaker."

Sylmae pressed a button on the phone and then placed it on the table in front of the couch.

"Okay, we can hear you," Syl said.

"Everyone there?" Moore asked out loud.

"We're all here," Reia answered.

"We have a situation."

"We've seen the news," Tom said. "Scott and Asker."

"Oh! Oh, shit. Yeah, that's bad, but I'm afraid another situation has come up. It's about you."

"Me?"

"All of you. Quickly turn to CNN."

Tom picked up the remote and changed the channel. Large text was visible on the bottom of the screen.

BREAKING NEWS:

THUNDER'S SLAVE HAREM SCANDAL

"While the source of these leaked photos is unknown, we have confirmed their authenticity," the newscaster said.

Images appeared in the corner of the screen. Each one depicted Tom, in his Thunder garb, being aggressively affectionate with one of his girlfriends, or even several of them at the same time. The way the pictures were taken, it appeared that Tom was an aggressive predator and his girlfriends were fearful in his presence. Each photo appeared to have been taken at the UNDF Training Facility when they all thought they were alone.

"Rumours have been flying all over the internet for weeks over Thunder's personal life, but now we have been given confirmation that he has taken advantage of the position he was in to make his Xothican companions his sex slaves. According to sources, the world leaders were aware of this situation and allowed it to continue simply to have Thunder's continued cooperation. CNN researchers are currently looking into the other rumours to gain a better understanding of the situation. Please stay tuned for more."

Everyone's mouths were agape from the newscast.

"Oh shit..." Tom muttered under his breath.

VVVVVV

Rika walked into Phoenix's main base of operation. She had completed the task Mordiggian asked of her and killed both Presidential candidates. The assassination was straight forward. She sneaked into their hotel rooms while they were alone and quickly killed them. With her Shadow Creep ability, she was able to quickly escape without anyone knowing she was there.

Rika found a large number of agents moving around the base. She approach Micael who sat by his computers.

"Do you have it?" she asked.

"Right here," he said with a grin. "Cатана or the Satan Facility."

Schematics appeared on his monitor. The schematics were of a large missile facility with multiple silos. In the top right corner of the screen was the symbol that warned of a radioactive threat.

"We now know the facility's layout and security. Even with them changing the codes, they can't stop us."

The schematics of the facility showed the main building on the surface, tunnels that extended below the ground, and six nuclear silos. Each of these nuclear ICBMs used advanced technology that allowed them to move at high speeds while remaining hidden from radar.

"Finally we can achieve our goal," Rika said. "We are going to launch each of these nukes at the capital of the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, France and India."

"Without their leadership, they will fall into a panic and quickly retaliate against whoever they believe launched the nukes," Micael continued. "And with that, we will achieve our goal."

"A world reduced to ashes, so that Human can be reborn or die. This world will be made pure."

"We still have the problem of armed guards," Micael cautioned. "Even with your powers, they're still going to be too much for our current forces to handle."

"I have a solution," Rika assured him. "In every visit Mordiggian has paid us, he provided us with a low-energy Soul Axis. I stopped using them and have just been hoarding them."

Rika reached into her Inventory and pulled out a hand-full of Soul Axes.

"Everyone gets one."

"What about the Agony?"

"They don't need to know. After this mission, it won't matter."