Saza watched me over the lip of her earthenware mug. Her dark eyes crinkled at the edges as she smiled and inhaled the steam rising from the hot liquid. I think it was tea, or some herbal drink. I would occasionally catch a whiff of peppermint. She hadn’t offered me any and I hadn’t asked. I was too busy munching on an old dented chest plate.

After having run from the Brood/mob I’d gotten a little lost. It’s not my fault one tree looks exactly like the other. Saza had found me walking in circles muttering to myself and scowling at the greenery.

By the time we got back to her little nest Nel was already there, a soot stained sack at her feet and a tray with the steaming mug in her hand. I’d almost cried when she pulled out the old metal armour and now both her and her master watched in amusement as I treated it like a giant cracker.

Trickling power to my jaw and teeth so they wouldn’t shatter I took another mouthful of the cold metal. It wasn’t appetizing and tasted exactly how you would expect, but I was already healing and pretty soon would be good as new, there even looked like there would be enough to store a little.

“I have a favour to ask of you Alexander.” Saza said after she took a sip.

“Grot grawling me chagrigan?” I asked around a mouthful of metal and had to swallow before trying again. “Not calling me Champion?”

“No, this is more of a...personal favour.”

I don’t know what it was, maybe the way she had looked at me the first time we met, or the perverted comments she had made since then, but as soon as I heard her say those words I tried to stealthy cover my junk. I think Nel knew what I was thinking because she started laughing. I just scowled at her before taking another mouthful of metal.

“The Brood Mother has requested Nelzarastorama head to the Denvii Pack and explain the attack on her yesterday to their Alpha. It is their responsibility to police their own Forgotten, just as we do ours. Her position as my apprentice will lend credence to her words and with a Champion backing her word, not to mention the first hand account you can also give, old Blackpelt will have to take responsibility.”

“Blackpelt?” I asked, trying not to laugh. Of course that meant that I instead started choking on my meal and Nel had to pound on my back. The pounding didn’t do shit to help but she was going at it with so much enthusiasm I didn’t have the heart to stop her.

Ignoring us, Saza took another sip of her tea and set the mug aside. It balanced on a stack of books she was using as a table. “He has been the Alpha for the better part of a century and his position is not that different to the Brood Mothers. Though you would do well to remember that the Pack is more militant and not so...cultured as the Brood.”

“Savages.” Nel whispered in my ear. She stopped patting my back and returned to her seat.

“So where is the Pack?”

It was Nel who answered. She pointed to the far wall. “That way about two days on foot. The Pack territory runs from the edge of the Elder Woods to the Citrus Pools. If we leave now we can reach them the day after tomorrow, mid day would be my guess...then it will be a day before Blackpelt will see us, and another two days back. So six to seven days...maybe longer if we stop at the Citrus Pools.” She added the last with a blush.

I wasn’t too eager about going for a swim. I...well, to be blunt, I sink like a metal robot. But the thought of Nel in something skimpy was definitely appealing and I could stand on the shore and ogle with the best of them so I nodded my head.

“Ahhh, the Citrus Pools,” Saza lamented, her eyes going distant as she remembered the past. “I met a cute little Faun there once. He took my virginity and disappeared that same night. I didn’t mind. Though the walk back to the Brood was a little slow...I was all sorts of sore, if you know what I mean.”

“Okay. Eww!” I said, pointing at the old wrinkled perv. “No more stories from you please! Nel, how long will it take you to pack? I’m ready to go when you are.”

Nel stopped staring at Saza and blushing long enough to say an hour before she scampered out of the nest, her spider legs spurring her along.

“Now that Nelzarastorama is gone, tell me your plans to get the Central Life Core and to stop your fellow Earth Humans.” Saza said, her frail voice turning serious.

I shrugged, placing the gnawed on chest plate to the side so I could lean back, braced by one arm and rub my stomach with the other. “Honestly, I kind of thought I’d pop through the gate and be in human central and just start bashing heads. Sandy pushed me through with very little explanation. I think he was worried the Government could track the energy signature of the gate, from when he sent the drone through first, and just wanted me to get through as quickly as possible...that or he noticed me noticing his sex swing and wanted me gone before I asked awkward questions.”

The first was the explanation that made the most sense to me. It would explain his nerves when he answered the door and his rushed behaviour. A sudden pang of concern went through me. He should have let me stay behind to deal with anyone who came! Now I was stuck worlds away if he needed my help. He better be okay, or so help me God I was going to crack apart the desiccated husk of Earth and bath those fuckers in molten lava.

“Have you heard anything suspicious, with the humans or...I dunno, maybe about a group calling themselves the children of Earth or something pretentious?”

Saza cupped her chin and rocked gently back and forth. “Gallad, that’s the Kingdom of Man, has been pushing at its borders of late. The King seems hungry for land.”

“And that's suspicious?”

“No. The humans are always hungry. So short lived, they want to obtain everything and do everything before their ends. What is suspicious is that the armies are led by the new minister of War...I forget his name...Edmund..Edward? Something very bland and human. He came out of nowhere and is now responsible for the control of the entire kingdoms armies. I hear that many of the noble houses are not happy.”

“You sure it's not Bob?” I suggested. "Bob's a real common name and it's not exactly exciting."

She shook her head, her lips turned up slightly in amusement.

It made a sick sort of sense. Come to a foreign world and take over the human population and march them to war. Why march your own men to their deaths when you could borrow someone elses.

“So how do you know so much about what's going on outside of this forest. The Brood doesn’t really seem the type to travel.”

A sly glint entered the old bats eye. “You are correct. The Brood does not travel. But its webs reach far and wide and when one thread is pulled, we all hear.”

“Oooh-kay, creepiness aside, I guess I’ll head to Gallad. Maybe see what this Bob dude has to say for himself.”

“That is a long way to travel...especially for a quick promise to a friend who is not here.”

“Here, there, quick or slow. It makes no difference. Sandy asked me to do and I said yes. That means I do it. And I see it through to the very end.” My voice was steel.

Saza’s nodded, a proud little smile on her face. “You are a strange one, Champion Alexander. You fight and behave like a savage at times, yet you show remarkable loyalty and concern for those you care about. Aeris chose well. Yes, I think I like you.”

“I’d be flattered if you were two hundred years younger and a thousand wrinkles smoother.” I said back with a wide grin, using humour to get over my embarrassment at the praise.

She cackled like an old villain.

“As for the Central Life Core. Not a clue. I don’t know what it is, what it does, where it was or is now, or even what it looks like.” I admitted.

“The Central Life Core is, in essence, Aeris’s heart. It powers his system and controls the gateways to the branch worlds.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

Saza sighed, her frail form seeming to fold in on itself and for the first time I actually noticed how exhausted she looked. Not tired and needing to rest but exhausted, as in, with life.

“You must first understand what Aeris truly means to this world. This, all of it,” she waved a shaking hand around her little room and the world outside. “This is all Aeris. From the nutrients in the soil to the clouds above the trees. He provides life and is life, and at the core of it all, keeping it all turning and living is the Central Life Core. Before long he will run out of power. It will affect the newly born babes first. They will be without status, or worse, skewed towards Hale or Lumin from the beginning. Next will be the land, slowly but surely it will rot and darkness will creep in or light will scorch all as the two once more resume their perpetual war unchecked. The balance broken. All on this world will die before the sickness and death spread to the other worlds.”

That sounded bad. Very, very bad.

“So...no pressure?” I joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Perhaps. You can just return home if you must. No one would blame you.” She looked out the window, the sunlight streaming through and bleaching what little colour her aged skin had. She closed her eyelids, savouring the warmth. “If the core truely is stolen...I give it two years before all is lost.”

“Well, Sanderson told me I would need to use the gate the Earth Humans are using from this side if I wanted to get home so it’s not like I’m just going to turn around and leave...besides, I made a promise, remember? Protect the planet, help the people. And I just know those dumb fucks from the Government stole the Core. Somehow.”

“It would be ridiculously difficult. The Temple of Balance is a fortress designed by the famous Juann De’Cashilla to be a sanctuary during the first three way war.”

“...Yeah, I don’t even know what to make of that. So much shit is just flying right past my head. Temple and Jean Cash whats-his-face and the threesome war. Let’s just keep it simple. I’m going to go talk to the Pack Alpha, make him understand that he needs to watch his people. After that, Nel and I will stop at the Citrus Pools and I’ll perv...Paddle! I’ll paddle around for a bit...and then I’m going to come back here and you are going to load me up with so much gear I’ll be a fucking traveling warehouse. Maps, Compass, Rope, tasty metal...maybe a telescope or something nice and shiny...then you’ll show me on a map where to go and I’ll handle the rest.”

Saza nodded happily. The way she seemed to perk right up when I said I would stay to help was a little worrying. I wondered briefly if it was because she wanted my help or the Champions help. I decided it didn’t matter. I was the Champion. Alexander Haha October...great I’m A-HO.

...I also may have the inklings of a plan. It had crept into the back of my mind when Saza had said the Core powered the gate to the branch worlds. I’d need to think on it.

After that a much happier and carefree Saza directed me to the trunk, the same one from before, and told me to have a look inside. For the next five minutes I went clothes shopping at the bottom of an old, dusty, trunk.

“Take whatever you want from there. It all belonged to my brother and we can’t have our Champion walking around with only one pair of pants, can we?”

“So the other Champions, the ones before me, they all came through fully dressed?” I asked, holding up a light green shirt and giving it a sniff. A little dusty but not too bad and it looked about my size. I added it to a small pile of stuff I’d keep.

“Aye. Dressed and armoured, and ready for battle. Each as strong and dashing as the last. There’s a reason all the children want to be Champions.”

“Well at least I’ve got the strong and dashing part down.”

“Strong-yes. Dashing-no. Oh, don’t look at me like that! You must know that you are not the paramount of male beauty...though that body…”

Ew-ew-ew! “Best wipe that drool away before it stains your pretty dress...besides I should hope this body is good. It’s custom made.”

Saza struggled a little to stand up but finally managed it and tottered over to the pile of clothes I was planning to keep. Only after she had folded the two shirts and pants and curled up the old leather belt did she look at me.

“I have been meaning to ask...this body of yours...is it normal on Earth?”

“Not even close. If my own people knew what I was they’d stick me in some lab underground and pull me apart to see how I tick. Sandy made me, then broke the mold,” I gave my best roguish grin. “The face and height are all me, or modelled after my original features but with a little more meat on the bones. Everyone is malnourished in Dockside. I still have a few organs that are still mine and for the most part their real and functioning, though they’re floating around in a cocktail soup of nanobots and chemicals to preserve them.”

“Is this necessary? The keeping of these organs?”

“Sanderson said yeah,” I shrugged and rubbed at my chest unconsciously. “It was all part of his plan to make me more grounded. Psychologically speaking. This up here, my brain...it’s all me, just with a little extra. But that extra wouldn’t help me adjust to a body my brain knew wasn’t mine so he compromised. My nervous system is still mostly me with a little controlling influence from the micro bot overlords, that means there’s no disconnect between the old thinker up top and the body it’s attached to.”

“But you still sleep and eat.”

“I can go without most human attributes, actually. Eating is more for pleasure, though it’s advised I do it every now and again as the bots will break down the food for my human parts. Protein and all that crap. Oxygen is the same, I can hold my breath for ages but it’s unnatural and I start to panic. It’s like that with everything controlled by my Medulla.” I pulled out a worn cloak and held it up. It had a giant hole through it so I chucked it to the ‘dispose of’ pile. “As for sleep. Brain is still mostly human and needs the rest, even if my body never really gets tired. If I don’t sleep it’s bad for my mental health. I start hallucinating and getting paranoid. It was not fun testing that one, Sanderson had to stop the trial early for fear of his health.”

“I must admit, most of the terms you use are beyond me. Your people’s technological advancements are nothing short of incredible. But I believe I get the gist. You are human where it counts and artificial everywhere else.” Saza said, patting me on the shoulder in a gesture that reminded me of Mr. O’mally.

“Sure. That works, I guess.”

The old crones smile turned creepy and when she leant forward to whisper something at me, I just knew what she was going to ask.

“So, are you still all you below the belt? Hmm? Perhaps I should find out.”

I knew it! Viziera my ass! She was nothing but a pervert...but then again so am I.

“You would break in the finding.”

“What would break when finding what?” Nel asked sticking her head through the doorway, the curtain parting around her pretty face. Saza and I both jumped like a couple of guilty kids with our hand in the cookie jar.

Saza, being the more experienced pervert, recovered first and waved a hand casually through the air. “Nothing of importance, apprentice. I was just getting to know our Champion. Are you packed?”

“Yeah...but...uhh..Champion...Alexander...There was something I wanted to, that is to say there’s a favour, I mean not for me but,” Her eyes darted around the room as she mumbled something I couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“Could you just come outside?” She asked, suddenly forceful.

Sharing a shrug with Saza, I did as requested. Saza stopped me before I could leave though and passed over a simple sack with my new clothes in it. Nodding my thanks I threw it over my shoulder and went out.

Nel stood on the porch berating her brother. Rima looked alot better than the last time I saw him, you know, not covered in blood and all that. He was still a little pale and there were circles under his eyes but he stood straight as his sister growled up at him. I took in his freshly armoured form, much like his masters but not as elaborate, and the spear slung across his back, the sword at his waist, and made a quick deduction. Listening to what Nel was saying may have helped a little.

“Why do I have to ask?” She hissed at him, one pointed finger jabbing at his metal chest plate with a soft ping. “It is your request, Rimatrastorama. Do you not think it shows more backbone if the words come from your mouth and are not just repeated from mine.”

“I have seen the way he looks at you. He will agree if you ask,” her brother whispered back. To my augmented hearing he may have well have been shouting. “And I do not know if he will allow me the same courtesy. Please, sister, this is important to me. Master has given his approval...though grudgingly.”

“He’s standing right there! Just go and ask him!”

“Yo, Rima!” I called out loudly. “How are you feeling?”

Rima turned and shocked me with a low bow. Talk about a one-eighty in the attitude department! “Champion, I am well. Thank you for asking.”

I nodded. He didn’t say anything more and Nel and Saza just stood there. The awkward silence stretched on and he started to fidget, his fingers drumming a beat against his thighs and his spider legs rubbed together behind him, the soft scraping noise coming from them sounded like a long constant sigh.

“I also wanted to say,” Rima coughed lightly. “That... I am very sorry for my earlier actions. When we first met. You wore nothing but leaves and mud and my sister carried a bloodied spear. I believed the worst and thought you had attacked her and she was bringing you back as a prisoner. In my anger I acted rashly. I seek your forgiveness.”

“Yeah, sure. I mean, I’m not thrilled, you drove a spear through me but I’m okay and it’s not like I didn’t already get you back for it.” I gave an evil smile. “And then some.”

He bowed again.

“I take it you want to come along?” I asked, figuring I may as well move the conversation along if we were going to leave anytime today.

“Yes, Champion, if you will have me.” He stood straight, puffing out his chest. “I can provide an extra layer of protection for my sister if the need arises.” Nel scowled and stomped her foot at the thought of needing protection. Oblivious, Rima continued. “The Pack is not always understanding and they may turn aggressive, as is their way.. I also have Tima, who will be able to carry our packs, though I fear she cannot carry the three of us so we will have to walk, unless you wish to ride her.” He added the last part quickly.

I just shook my head. I wasn’t too keen on letting the giant lizard between my legs.

“also...I believe spending time with you will further my education. I received a gift from Aeris after our duel, among other things, and I can only imagine what more I could learn if given the chance.”

I considered it for about a second. The only real downside I could see was that I wouldn’t be able to ogle Nel quite so openly at the Citrus Pools but the extra protection balanced that out. Also I wouldn’t mind borrowing his sword to see how it handled.

...Yes, I am aware of how that sounds. No, I’m not talking about that sword. Moving on!

‘You’re in! Lets go.” I made an ushering motion towards the edge of the veranda while moving towards the rope ladder hanging from the side. Saza, being spider-limbless, needed another way to get to and from her nest. Thus, the ladder.

Without thinking about it I dropped a light kiss on the top of Saza’s head, like I imagine one does to a relative, and swung myself over the edge. My sack bounced between my shoulder blades as I ambled down to the forest floor. It’s a lot harder going down a ladder with one hand than you would think. But I made it.

Tima blew warm lizard breath in my face by way of greeting. Her thin, scale covered lips pulling back slightly to show dagger like teeth.

"Aren’t you just the prettiest girl in the whole wide world!” I cooed, scratching her under the chin.

She tried to hiss at me threateningly, but with her eyes hooded in pleasure and the way her tail was thumping against the ground I didn’t believe it for a second. A saddle was strapped to her back, leather thongs holding it in place between the raised bumps along her spine. I could make our three large packs, bulging at the seams, tied together near the centre and with an effortless heave, chucked my sack to join them.

“Shall we?” Nel said, sidling up to me.

She was wearing a forest green cloak, the hood bunched up behind her head. Her dark curls were in a plait and she tucked it under her collar as I watched. The front of her cloak seperated with the movement revealing a tight fitting top, much like the one she had worn the first time I saw her, and a loose pair of pants that were cinched at the ankles. A small dagger hung at her waist on a thick belt made from plaited strips of leather, the silver hilt nestled among an assortment of little bags and pouches.

“What?” She asked, reaching under her cloak and adjusting a small satchel so it fit more snuggling against the gentle swell of her hip.

I just smiled in reply. She looked like a sexy-ass rogue. My type of woman.

We left the Brood with much less fanfare than I had expected, especially considering the...lets say, aggressive, introduction I had had. Saza waved at us from her perch, her body looking small and delicate so far away. I waved back, startled to realise that I would miss the old witch.

Members of the Brood flickered above us as they hopped from tree to tree or ran across rope bridges. The gentle hum of their voices slowly fading as we got further and further away until all there was to hear were the sounds of the forest.

Tima ambled along behind us, her serpentine form slithering through the underbrush silently. Occasionally she would turn and flick her tongue at me and I would smile and wink back. I think she liked me, and a part of me enjoyed a difficult pet.

“Look! There, you see that shrub with the dark blue bell shaped flowers? That’s Umbrafell. They often grow in the darkest parts of the shadows. Saza uses the roots to boil a tea that helps with joint aches and fevers.”

I nodded along, half listening and half watching. Nel would point excitedly at something or other that would catch her attention and then tell me all about it. In her excitement she often forgot to watch where she was walking and her spider legs were in constant motion, keeping her balanced so she didn’t fall flat on her face. I was watching to see if she actually focused on where they went or if it was unconscious. So far it seemed unconscious.

“Oh! Oh! Alexander, Look!” She squealed excitedly, pointing at a butterfly the size of my head as it fluttered between two trunks. The large segmented wings were a deep rich red with purple highlights. I stared in wonder. There was nothing like that on Earth. Nel’s finger jabbed at the air as she said “And look, you see how it has the golden markings running along its body? That means its a fully matured Monarch. During mating season, he will be swarmed with female butterflies vying for his attention.”

“Lucky bastard.” Rima muttered from behind me and I smothered a laugh.

The rest of the day continued in much the same way. Tima, burdened with our gear moved along without complaint as Nel flittered here and there, her body in constant motion and her rich voice echoing through the forest as she laughed and called out at some new and amazing wonder. Her simple joy was infectious and on more than one occasion I found myself smiling at her exuberance.

Rima followed behind us silently, his head swiveling about like some bodyguard on duty. The dark circles under his eyes had faded and his colour was returning as his regeneration finished off healing him. Every now and again he would shadow box and I would try to watch out of the corner of my eye.

As far as travel companions go, they weren’t so bad and walking through a lush green forest wasn’t nearly as dangerous as walking down central Dockside at night so I let myself relax.

Oh yeah, I did nearly get eaten by a plant so there is that.

Honest. Here’s what happened.

It was near dusk when Nel suggested we set up camp before it got too dark to see. Tima flopped to her stomach right there and then. The rest of us went about setting up our hammocks, made from the same white thread as everything else in the Brood, and collecting wood for a fire. Nel had suggested we go hunting because...well fresh meat. I agreed because...well fresh meat.

What the two of them hadn’t realised was that I had next to no hunting experience and even less wilderness training. So of course they slipped away with all the stealth of ninjas, and I went lumbering off in one direction like a drunken elephant. I was a fair hand at throwing, so a rock became my weapon of choice. I figured I would just brain whatever I found and that would be that. Biotic arm and augmented eye for the win!

Now, as I have said, I have never actually hunted before and you have to keep in mind that this is an alien planet. So when I lifted a bush expecting to find a tasty rabbit and instead came face to face with a grasshopper the size of a large dog, it’s understandable and completely manly of me to scream like a little school girl. When said grasshopper launched itself through the air and fastened it’s creepy insect body to my face...it is also understandable that I freaked THE FUCK out.

I got over it quickly though and I don’t think that bug has ever flown so far, so fast, in its life before. By this point in my hunt I was convinced that heading back to camp was the smart option and turned to do just that. Little problem. Trees all look the same and I don’t know where the hell the camp is.

Now, do I scream for the others, possibly scaring away any game they may catch along with losing all self respect for myself, or do I blunder around like an idiot until I either get really lucky and stumble upon the camp, or get so lost I end up back on Earth.

I picked the second option.

That’s how I walked into the venus fly trap to end all venus fly traps.

The first clue I had that something wasn’t right was when I stepped on a root that was a little too squishy to be a root. Thinking I had just put my foot in something rotten I pulled my leg straight up and the root came with it, the limp green thing now glued to my foot. It looked like some sick tentacle.

Then it moved and I nearly lost my shit again. The vine or root or whatever it was twitched then shivered as black veins crept along its surface. With a tug it pulled me off my feet and started to drag me across the forest floor. Not only was that creepy as hell, it was a little embarrassing. I spat a clump of leaves out of my mouth then cussed when my skull bounced off a root. Sitting up while in motion was a little tricky and I kept tipping over sideways but I finally managed it.

“Fuck you!” I said to mother nature and tore the vine apart. I slid to a stop and sighed in relief before the bushes around me started to shake even more and I bowed my head in irritation.

More vines, each thicker and longer than the last, slithered or sprung towards me. The black veins pulsed angrily just below the surface but that was okay my veins were pulsing as well. Only mine were orange and I was pissed.

The first vegetable tentacle to reach me was crushed in my fist. The green sap bubbled and hissed as it dripped from between my fingers and I gagged at the smell. Which is saying something; garbage being a big part of my early years meant I was used to bad smells.

One vine wrapped around my ankle and I reached down and tore it away. No sooner had I done that then another was creeping up my other leg. I hissed in annoyance and made to stand only to stagger back as another ropey green mass, this one as thick as my thigh, wrapped around my waist and pulled me down.

This was just getting ridiculous. There were too many to squash and I don’t think damaging it hurt whatever the hell it was.

“Fuck it,” I muttered to myself before going limp and letting the vines pull me away. “Take me to your leader.”

Hopefully I could punch that.