Legends of Amacia Rise of the Caverias

Ten minutes later, Nathanael returned with Arabella, Amelia, and Magnus. They followed him into the bathroom, seeing Hanna unconscious in the tub with an ashen, almost deathlike complexion. Blood oozed from the corners of her mouth. “Oh, dear,” Arabella murmured, quickly going to Hanna. She checked Hanna’s vitals and her concern rose. “Her heart rate is on the high side, and her breathing is shallow,” she stated. “Have you given Hanna her bath yet, Nathanael?”

“No, ma’am,” Nathanael replied. “I heard a rattle in her chest that worried me. That’s why I came for you. Something is really wrong here.”

Arabella touched Hanna’s forehead and felt a burning fever. “Not good,” Arabella declared, “She’s got that high fever again. I’d better check her lungs again.” She put her stethoscope in her ear and checked Hanna’s breathing while she lay partially submerged in the tub. The rattle became very pronounced with the stethoscope. She frowned deeply at what she heard. “Something is definitely going on in her chest, but I can’t figure out what.” Kneeling down beside the tub, Arabella pulled the plug, letting the hot water out.

“Why are you draining the water?” Amelia asked, getting a bad feeling about Hanna’s worsening condition.

“She’s running a high fever,” Arabella stated. “I want to run some cold water in the tub to help cool her down.”

“That makes sense,” Magnus stated, closing in to get a better look. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Maybe you could scan Hanna again,” Arabella suggested, “...just in case we missed anything. Something’s causing this terrible rattle in her chest. It’s even started to affect her breathing. Listen.” Everyone went silent for a few moments and heard Hanna breathing shallowly with a distinctive gurgling rattle echoing from her chest.

Nathanael reached down and took Hanna’s hand, checking her pulse as Magnus leaned over the tub as the water drained out. “Oh, shit,” Nathanael growled, “Hanna’s pulse just became erratic. You’d better check her quick, Magnus, because something is definitely wrong here with this erratic pulse.”

“Right,” Magnus replied, opening his cyborg eye wide and scanning Hanna in all wavelengths. “Not good,” he declared, “she’s having a heart palpitation. Arabella, Nathanael...let her go while I administer a small electrical shock to stabilize her heart.” Nathanael and Arabella moved back as Magnus spread his machine hand over Hanna’s left breast, right over her heart, forming his mechanical fingers around the curve of her breast. They heard a buzz, seeing Hanna’s body jump and tremble for a moment. Magnus lifted his hand and scanned her again, paying attention to Hanna’s heart. “Good,” he murmured. “The small electrical discharge from my cybernetics has stabilized her heart beat.” Moments later, Magnus’s face fell with great dismay. “Oh, no,” he moaned, “She’s been infested by a shebat and it’s starting to move! Eris, I need your help right now if we intend to save her.”

“A what?” Nathanael and Arabella asked simultaneously.

Amelia suddenly noticed a lump on Hanna’s right breast rise out of nowhere, and started to move toward Hanna’s heart. “Magnus...the lump in her right breast,” Amelia cried out. “It’s moving. You have to grab it before it reaches her heart!” She rubbed her hands together and grabbed Hanna on either side of the head, looking into Hanna’s face with the most intense look Arabella and Nathanael had ever seen on her.

“Keep her stable with your gift, Eris,” Magnus ordered as he reached down with his machine fingers, surrounding the moving knot on Hanna’s breast. In the blink of an eye, three of the machine fingers penetrated into Hanna’s breast, seizing the mysterious moving lump as blood spewed from the small incision made by the razor-sharp machine fingers. In three seconds, Magnus withdrew the three machine fingers that held a walnut-sized mass.

Amelia suddenly began to groan and pant for breath, sweat dripping off her brow. Moments later, she looked to the ceiling and shrieked a primal scream of utter agony from the deepest part of her being, letting go of Hanna and crumbling to the floor unconscious. Arabella caught her as Magnus called to Nathanael, “Get a cup or bowl and take this thing from me. Put it in the sink and be very careful not to let it touch you. If you do, it’ll infect you. I need to seal up the incision before Hanna bleeds to death.” Nathanael immediately procured a cup from the cabinets next to the sink and took the small mass from Magnus, depositing it in the sink after plugging it with its metal stopper. Magnus then used his machine fingers to close the wound by cauterizing and sewing it shut with staples. The blood flow immediately stopped as he closed the incision. A sigh of relief rolled out of Magnus’s chest. “That was much too close,” he murmured. “How’s Eris?”

“She’s slowly coming around,” Arabella answered as Amelia stirred in her arms.

“What about Hanna?” Nathanael asked urgently, “Is she okay?”

“That’s what I’m checking now,” Magnus stated as he leaned in close, scanning Hanna thoroughly. After a full minute of scanning, he stood up and said with a relieved sigh, “It’s okay. She’s clear of all foreign matter, though she still has an infection where the parasite was burrowing through her flesh. We were very fortunate to have gotten it out before it reached her heart and killed her. I can’t see how I missed it before. It must have been hiding from my scans.”

Hanna suddenly moaned and woke with a start, violently spewing blood from her mouth for a few moments, gasping for breath afterwards. She had not opened her eyes and wasn’t cognizant of what was around her.

“Nathanael,” Arabella called out, “Rinse her off with cold water. The cold water should help lower her fever and bring her around.”

“Right,” Nathanael answered, quickly finding another large cup in the cabinets near the sink. He immediately turned on the cold water from the ancient faucet and used the cup to rinse the blood off Hanna’s chest.

“Give Eris to me,” Magnus said softly as he knelt down beside Arabella and Amelia. “Your skills are needed now, doctor. I’ve done all I can.”

Arabella handed Amelia to Magnus and immediately set to helping Nathanael to clean and cool Hanna’s body using washcloths and cold water. The whole time they washed her with the icy water, Hanna moaned incoherently, hovering just between being awake and unconscious. Suddenly, Hanna let out a long hoarse gasp, after which her breathing stabilized. Her head wobbled and her eyelids twitched. “That’s it, sweetie,” Arabella cooed, gently patting her on the cheek. “You can do it. Come on; wake up. Nathanael, run the cold water in the tub now.” Nathanael followed her orders and the icy water began to fill the tub. “Wake up, Hanna,” Arabella murmured, “I know you can her me. Come back to us. Wake up.”

Hanna’s color improved and her eyelids flickered a few times before opening. “Ugh…” she moaned, “What happened? Who’s there?” Her lungs still gurgled slightly as she breathed, but the gurgling slowly lessened with each breath while her eyesight remained so blurry she couldn’t see.

“It’s Arabella, Nathanael, Amelia, and Magnus,” Arabella said softly, looking Hanna in the eyes and seeing a hazy film on them. “Just relax, the crisis is over. Magnus and Amelia saved your life just now when some kind of parasite tried to kill you.”

A hoarse sigh escaped Hanna’s lips. “The last thing I remember is getting really sleepy after Nathanael put me in the tub, followed by this searing pain in my chest; after that, nothing.” After a few moments, she asked, “Amelia used her gift on me?”

“Yes,” Nathanael replied. “She used her healing trick to keep you stable while Magnus surgically removed the thing. I still don’t know what it is.”

Hanna’s face fell with concern. “Oh, no,” she moaned. “She shouldn’t have done that. Is she going to be okay?”

“I’ll be all right,” Amelia called out weakly as Magnus cradled her, waking just moments before. “Did it work, Magnus?”

“It did, Eris,” Magnus replied. “Having you stabilize her condition while I removed the little monster kept Hanna alive. It bothers me though that I didn’t pick up on the beast with my earlier scans.”

“You said it may have been hiding,” Arabella commented. “Maybe when you shocked Hanna to stop her heart palpitation, the shock caused it to go on the warpath.”

“Now that is a distinct possibility,” Magnus admitted. “Maybe that charge was just what it was waiting for in order to move to its final phase where it kills the host and explodes.”

A rattling sigh escaped Hanna’s chest. “I don’t know about such things,” she whispered hoarsely. “But I do know when I finally woke up, a strange image flashed through my mind along with a name. It was only a flash but it was strong and definitely malevolent.”

“What did you see?” Nathanael asked.

“I saw a man in a long flowing robe who wasn’t a man,” Hanna reported slowly. “He looked like he was part snake and his eyes were definitely reptilian and the name associated with that image was Ahriaman.”

Amelia and Magnus looked at each other with great dismay. “Oh, no, not him,” Amelia moaned, “Anyone but that snake.”

“I take it by your reactions that this person is known to you?” Arabella stated, seeing Amelia and Magnus’ reaction.

“It is,” Magnus stated venomously, “Ahriaman is the Emperor’s head sorcerer and leader of the Cadre. He’s the most powerful sorcerer on the planet other than the Emperor himself. If he projected his image into Hanna’s mind, then we must consider this an assassination attempt by Ahriaman at the Emperor’s order. Only he has the capability to control these beasts at such a distance.”

“Nicodemus must know about this,” Nathanael stated. “And Argus should be alerted as well. Would you please bring Nicodemus here, Magnus?”

“There’s no need,” a voice called from just outside the bathroom door. Everyone looked, seeing Nicodemus standing there with his back to those present. “When I heard about Miss Bishop, Amelia, and Magnus being summoned unexpectedly by Nathanael, I figured something bad was happening. Is Miss Hanna all right?”

“I think so,” Hanna called out weakly. “Is there anyone else with you?”

“Your team has assembled just outside your room,” Nicodemus stated, “But Harry and Xavier insisted on coming in. May we enter?”

“If you don’t have a problem seeing me naked, yeah,” Hanna answered. “I was taking a bath before this happened, you know.” She slumped into the water, submerging herself up to the neck in the cold water.

Nicodemus came in, followed by Harry and Xavier. They circled around with looks of genuine concern on their faces. Upon seeing Xavier, Magnus motioned to him, saying, “Please come take your wife from me, Xavier. She used her gift to help me save Hanna from the shebat and it has drained her.”

Xavier knelt down, taking Amelia from Magnus, who then stood. “Are you all right, princess?” Xavier asked.

“I will be,” Amelia replied softly. “I had to help her. If we hadn’t moved when we did, that infernal beast would have killed Hanna.”

“I believe you,” Xavier replied, looking towards Hanna in the tub. “Hanna, do you know what caused this problem?”

“I don’t know what it was,” Hanna murmured as Arabella took to checking her vitals again. “All I know is I had this terrible pain in my chest, and then I blacked out. When I woke, the image of a snake-man in a robe with the name Ahriaman flashed in my mind just before I got my wits about me. I’ve been told this Ahriaman is the Emperor’s chief sorcerer in the Cadre.”

“Oh, dear,” Nicodemus murmured, stroking his long white beard, focusing on Hanna’s face. “This is very bad. Ahriaman is the vilest demon the Emperor employs. He’s in charge of making sure every wish of the Emperor is executed with brutal precision. Obviously, if Ahriaman’s in charge of this attack, it was meant to kill you. But thanks be to the Ancient of Days that Amelia and our friend Magnus could stop it. Do you know what it was that caused you this grief?”

Hanna turned her head to Nicodemus’s voice and replied, “No, but Magnus knows what it is since he was apparently able to remove it before it killed me.”

As Hanna was speaking, Nathanael’s cat hearing heard a strange noise from the sink and went to investigate. Hanna blinked a couple of times, shaking her head gently, trying to get her eyesight to clear. Arabella noticed Hanna blinking and looked into her eyes, seeing a hazy film still on Hanna’s eyes. “Can you see anything, Hanna?” Arabella asked.

“Only blurry shapes,” Hanna admitted, “There’s absolutely no detail at all. You’re sitting right in front of me and I can’t see your face clearly. But there is something weird going on here. I can smell and hear everything around me perfectly even to the point I can identify the scent of each of you. It’s totally bizarre. I’ve never been able to do that before. In fact, I can smell Harry and he’s standing over by the door. Harry, get you bum-ass over here.”

Harry walked over and stood beside Xavier. Looking down at Hanna’s face and seeing her extremely pale and fatigued expression, he murmured, “You look like shit, Hanna. What happened? I thought you were getting better?”

“Seems the Emperor had one last nasty trick up his sleeve,” Hanna replied softly, promptly breaking into a coughing fit that set her chest on fire for a few moments. She sat up and clenched her chest weakly with her useless arms, tears rising in her eyes. Everyone’s concern tripled until she relaxed with a groan, leaning back in the tub. “Damn that hurt like hell,” she moaned.

Harry dropped to his knees next to the tub and took Hanna by the hand. “Are you all right?” he asked with great concern.

“Just give me a moment,” Hanna whispered hoarsely. Thirty seconds later, she sighed in relief. “Remind me not to cough like that again. It’ll set my chest on fire again.”

“What’s this parasite Arabella is talking about?” Harry asked.

“You’ll have to ask Magnus,” Hanna murmured, her blurry eyes getting a vacant look to them. “Whatever that little monster was, it nearly killed me.”

Just then, Nathanael called out, “Uh, people. I think everyone should take a look at this, especially Magnus and Amelia.” Xavier helped Amelia up and walked her to the sink. Arabella went to the sink, leaving Harry with Hanna. Nathanael moved to one side as Xavier, Amelia, Magnus, Nicodemus, and Arabella approached the sink. They looked in and Arabella gasped in astonishment while Xavier swore. Nicodemus covered his mouth to hide his astonishment and Magnus stared grimly at the bloody mass in the sink he’d removed surgically from Hanna’s chest.

Amelia frowned deeply and shook her head. “I knew it. They somehow infected Hanna in Amacia. That’s what I think it is, isn’t it, Magnus?” she asked.

Magnus nodded with a scowl on his face. “It is, Eris,” he answered. “That’s the final phase of a shebat’s lifecycle.”

Arabella looked on in a combination of fear and wonder. “What’s a shebat?” she asked as the bloody mass suddenly began to move with a life of its own. Tiny legs sprang from the walnut shaped mass as a head appeared on one side with a pincer like mouth, looking much like a scarab beetle. It began to crawl around in the sink, trying to get out but the basin was too smooth and it was unable to crawl out of it. “Oh, my god, it’s alive!” she cried.

“Nicodemus, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Amelia asked.

Nicodemus watched the mass crawling around in the sink. “I do, Amelia. What in heaven’s name is that thing?” he asked.

“May I have your dagger for a moment, Xavier?” Nathanael asked. Xavier pulled his dagger and handed it to Nathanael, who began to poke at the thing crawling around in the sink. He stabbed it and it shrieked, spewing out blood, and then began to crackle with electrical discharges as it ceased to move. Nathanael’s eyebrows rose very high with surprise as he said, “My word; this isn’t a living organism. It’s a machine of some kind. Amelia, Magnus; do either of you know what it is? I’ve never seen anything like this before. Its level of sophistication is beyond even what we had on Kaitia.”

Amelia sighed deeply as she leaned heavily on Xavier. “It’s one of the Cadre’s dirty little weapons,” she answered, “It is called a shebat, as we said earlier. They’re not true machines, nor are they true living organisms. The Cadre uses them as a means of torture. Initially, the shebats are tiny, so small that special glasses are needed to see them. They are introduced into a host and once introduced they’ll gravitate to the host’s weakest point and grow, literally feeding off the flesh of the host until they consume him or her. It is a terrible way to die, literally eaten from the inside out. The tiny shebats will grow and multiply, growing in size until they tear their victim to pieces. I remember watching the Cadre using them on too many of their victims. Magnus can confirm this.”

Nathanael withdrew the knife, leaving the inert shebat in the sink. “You mean to say that these things are capable of reproducing and growing like a bacteria or virus?” he asked as he dissected the shebat with the knife.

“Yes,” Magnus replied. “Eris is correct in her assessment of the weapon. I’m frankly amazed she remembered them.”

“You’d be surprised what I can remember now, Magnus,” Amelia declared with a wry smile, “For one thing, I remembered that my name is Amelia and not Eris.”

Magnus straightened up a bit with a smile, saying, “Indeed. In that case, I shall call you Amelia and not Eris. But I still think Eris is a better name for you. It fits your temperament.”

“That’s all fine and dandy,” Arabella suddenly intruded, “But I have two questions I’d like answered since I am Hanna’s doctor. One: what the hell exactly is that thing, shebat, whatever you want to call it; and two: how did Hanna become infected with it?”

“A fair enough request, Dr. Bishop,” Magnus replied with a sober smile, “As I said, Amelia is correct with her assessment of the shebat. What she doesn’t know is that shebats are a bio-engineered cybernetically-enhanced nano-parasites. Like any virus or bacteria, the shebats grow when they are fed. The more they eat, the bigger they get. It tends to act and even look like a scarab beetle in its final form, feeding on the flesh of its host until it kills the host and explodes, sending thousands of microscopic shebats into the immediate area around the body.”

Nathanael examined the shebat closely and said, “Magnus is right. This thing is definitely part machine and part organic. The technology here is incredible. Wait a second; can these things be used as tracking devices?”

Amelia’s face fell dramatically at the question and replied grimly, “Yes. The Cadre has been known to use them as trackers on occasion.”

“Eris is correct,” Magnus confirmed, “The shebats can be tracked when they reach the size of a grain of sand up until they self-destruct, spreading a new generation of microscopic shebats around the body.”

“So they really do have the ability to reproduce,” Nathanael asked.

“Yes,” Magnus stated, “Which is why we were fortunate to catch the little beast before it could mature to that point.”

“This is not good,” Nicodemus commented. “Like Miss Bishop, I’d like to know where Hanna could have picked up such a thing.”

Amelia shook her head as everyone turned to look at Hanna sitting in the tub with Harry kneeling beside her outside the tub, holding her hand. “I don’t know,” Amelia answered, “It’s my guess that she probably picked it up at either at their capture or during her captivity in the dungeons. She was also in the Cadre’s labs when they mutated her. It’s hard to tell where she picked it up.”

“Amelia is correct,” Magnus agreed. “Any one of those places could have been the infection point. But because of it being in Hanna’s lungs when I removed it, I strongly suspect that it introduced via air vector while she was in execution wing of the dungeon. You see, like viruses, shebats will gravitate to the weakest point in a body, feasting upon it, and then upon the rest of the body as it grows. Hanna was still fairly strong, despite her wounds from the capture, the torture she endured, and the mutation of her body. The shebats lay dormant until she fought in the arena, where the outlander Hades’ fireball so seriously injured her. At that point, the little beasts went to work on her lungs and wounds. It ate her bit by bit steadily growing until it could start moving, which it did just before Nathanael came for us. Her heart palpitation was caused by the shebat starting to move. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it in time and administered the electric shock to stabilize her heart. The shock energized the little beast and it started burrowing through Hanna’s lungs heading for her heart. That’s what it does when it gets to that final phase of its life. When it starts moving, it goes to the closest vital organ; in this case, her heart was its target. If it had reached her heart, she would have died instantly. But we were strangely fortunate and with Amelia’s assistance, I managed to remove it before it killed her. I’m so glad I could stop it from killing her. For once in my miserable life, I saved a life being threatened by the Cadre’s wicked devices. It feels really good to do that.”

“I’m sure it does,” Nathanael replied, patting Magnus on the shoulder after returning Xavier’s dagger. “And I am eternally grateful for you and Amelia saving Hanna. She and Selina are the only family I really have.”

“Hey! What about me?” Harry called out in mock hurt, “Don’t I count?”

“You know what I mean, Harry,” Nathanael retorted, not biting on his sarcasm. “Hanna is connected to me and Selina in ways you can’t grasp and you know it.”

“I know,” Harry replied with a smile, “That fusion between them caused by the Teaching Machine still baffles me.”

Arabella looked up at Magnus and said, “Nathanael isn’t the only one who wants to thank you for saving Hanna. She’s my friend for whom I care a great deal. Thank you, Magnus, Amelia.”

“You’re welcome,” Amelia replied as she held on to Xavier. “It’s the least I could do after everything Hannibal did for me.”

“You’re so welcome, Dr. Bishop,” Magnus replied softly to Arabella, “Your thanks warms my icy heart and makes me believe I made the right choice in saving her.”

“It was the right choice, my friend,” Nicodemus said as he looked on Hanna in the tub. “Hanna is the prophecy coming to past before our eyes. This mutation she’s enduring is all part of the Ancient of Day’s plan to bring the Emperor down forever. When she regains her original male form as the prophecies suggest, there will be no doubt that she’s the Promised One...the Last Caverias.”

Arabella walked over to the tub and knelt down beside Harry. “Let me see her hand, Harry,” Arabella asked softly. “I want to check her pulse just to be sure.”

Harry relinquished Hanna’s arm and rose to his feet, stepping back. “I just can’t believe the shit that just keeps happening to you, Hanna,” he murmured, “It’s worse than what happened to Job in the Bible. Don’t you feel just a bit peeved at being a whipping post for supernatural powers?”

“I do,” Hanna murmured. “But there’s nothing I can do about it so I’ll not curse the Lord for it. It’s all part of a plan that even I don’t know the depth of. I just have to believe He will set things right. All I have to do is endure to the end.”

“But if you keep getting your butt in trouble, that end may be closer than you think,” Arabella chided. “Still, it seems you managed to dodge another bullet yet again. Your pulse is weak, but stable.” She lowered Hanna’s arm into the water and felt her forehead, feeling it wasn’t as hot as before. “And your fever seems to have come down some. You’re not nearly as hot as you were when that thing went on the warpath.”

“That’s good,” Nicodemus commented. “It means she’s going to pull through.”

“Yep,” Arabella agreed, “But she’s got to stop taking such terrible risks. Her luck won’t last forever.”

“I hear you,” Hanna murmured, “I promise to be much more careful from now on.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Arabella declared. “Now, are you ready to get out of that tub so we can wrap those ribs?”

“Yeah,” Hanna said softly, “I’m starting to get cold now.”

“We shall step out for now and inform your friends of your status,” Nicodemus declared. “Come Magnus, Xavier, Amelia, Harry...let’s leave Nathanael and the good doctor to tend to her now.”

“We’ll call when I’m finished with her,” Arabella stated.

“Of course, doctor,” Nicodemus said with a smile. “Come, my friends; let’s leave them to their work.” With that, Nicodemus walked out with Magnus, Harry, Xavier, and Amelia right behind him. Harry closed the bathroom door as he left.

“Ready?” Nathanael asked; hovering over Hanna as Arabella procured the towels from the cabinets.

“Just pick me up already,” Hanna replied as she started shivering in the cold water, “This water is freezing and I don’t have the strength to get up.”

Nathanael gently picked Hanna up out of the tub and carried her to a waiting chair near the sink. “I still can’t get used to seeing you like this,” he murmured, sitting Hanna down on the chair and steadying her. “It’s so strange.”

“You aren’t the only one,” Hanna admitted, “I was a man for fifty years and now I’m not. It’s not natural, but I’m stuck with this body so I must make the best of it. However, I must admit, it’s not a bad-looking form. The Emperor could have made me ugly as sin when he mutated me, but for some reason he didn’t. He gave me this, if I must say, hot body. I could get used to it.”

Nathanael smiled warmly as Arabella handed him a towel. “It is a beautiful form,” Nathanael stated, “...very attractive and desirable. It makes me wonder what your life would have been like if you had actually been born a female.”

“It’s no point in engaging in what-ifs,” Arabella stated as she started mopping off Hanna with another towel. “It’ll just make you question things you shouldn’t, but Nathanael is right. You have a very beautiful body, Hanna. It makes me wonder if this mutation didn’t have something to do with your spirit. You have such a kind, gentle, beautiful spirit about you. Maybe the mutation process mirrored your inner beauty.”

“That may be possible,” Hanna said softly, secretly loving Nathanael and Arabella’s gentle touch as they dried her. “It kind of reminds me of why Selina is so beautiful. I told her that her beauty was a reflection of her spirit. Maybe it’s the same for me.”

“Or maybe the Emperor mutated you this way because it would make ravishing you that much easier,” Nathanael suggested, “Not to play devil’s advocate or anything, but if you were ugly, no one would want to molest you. With this form, it would be easy for someone with a depraved mind to go after you. Beauty can be a curse.”

“That’s what Izanami and Myra said in the Harem,” Hanna murmured. “It was because of their beauty that they were taken. The Emperor has a thing about surrounding himself with the most beautiful women he can find. It has to be because of the Black Prince. That beast loves to defile and desecrate the most beautiful things in God’s creation and what better way to slap God in the face than to take the most beautiful elements of His creation, in this case, women, and defile and destroy them. He’s a sicko of the first degree.”

“No arguments there,” Nathanael agreed as he started drying Hanna’s hair, “I have no reason to believe that you would lie to me about the girls in this Harem. It’s not in your nature now to do so. You will rescue them as well when you go back to get Selina, right?”

“Absolutely,” Hanna stated resolutely. “No one deserves the treatment they get at the hands of the Emperor. I just hope we can reach them before the Emperor decides to kill them all. I don’t put it past the bastard.”

“You’ll find a way to get them out of there,” Arabella stated as she finished drying Hanna’s legs and torso. “I know you will. Now let’s get those ribs wrapped and that back brace in place again. We can’t have your vertebrae messing up now that they’re healing.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” Hanna stated as Nathanael finished drying her hair.

Arabella retrieved the back brace first. “Hold her arms up and keep her back straight while I put the brace on her,” she ordered.

Nathanael gently lifted Hanna’s arms to each side until she groaned, and then held them up while making sure her back remained aligned properly. Arabella quickly put the back brace on Hanna, snugging it firmly with its straps. Hanna let out a pained moan when Arabella tightened the brace. “I know it hurts,” she said softly to Hanna. “The pain will only last a moment.”

No sooner than she said it, Arabella finished adjusting the brace. A sigh of relief hissed from Hanna’s lips. “That’s better,” she breathed. “My back doesn’t feel so pressed now.”

“That’s what the brace is for,” Arabella chimed, getting the long elastic bandage for binding Hanna’s ribs. “It’ll support your back, keeping those vertebrae from shifting too much. It’ll also help stabilize your ribs once I wrap this elastic bandage around your chest and back. If we don’t your ribs may snap again.”

“Right,” Hanna murmured, feeling very fatigued.

“Now this is probably going to hurt a bit too,” Arabella warned as she started wrapping Hanna’s chest, breasts, and back with the bandage, pulling them snug as she wrapped Hanna’s ribs.

“Ugh,” Hanna moaned, “That hurts even more than the back brace did.” She visibly flinched when Arabella started tightening the bandage.

“The pain will only be temporary,” Arabella stated as she worked quickly. “Once the wrap is on, it’ll stabilize your ribs and back too, and the pain will subside. But you’re not going to be able to do much until those ribs and vertebrae finish mending.”

A painful chuckle arose from Hanna. “I’m feeling a bit like Humpty Dumpty right now,” she murmured through the pain, “I’ve fallen off the wall and you’re trying to put me back together again. How many times does this make for you trying to put me back together?”

“I lost count,” Arabella stated as she finished the last wrap and fastened the bandage so it wouldn’t slip. “But that’s why I’m here...to put you back together when you mess up like this. Can I give you a piece of advice?”

“Sure,” Hanna whispered as her rib and back pain subsided slowly.

“Don’t mess up like this again,” Arabella ordered, “Next time, I may not be able to help and neither will all the king’s horses and all the king’s men. Don’t fall off that wall again.”

“Deal,” Hanna agreed, “If I have anything to say about it, I’ll not even climb that wall again.”

Arabella smiled warmly and patted Hanna’s cheek. “That’s my girl,” she chimed pleasantly. “Now, let’s get her to the bed so we can finish putting the braces on, Nathanael.”

“Okay, doctor,” Nathanael stated, letting Hanna’s arms down gently before scooping her up. Making sure to support her back, he carried Hanna to the bed and laid her down on it. Arabella put a pillow under Hanna’s head as Nathanael straightened her legs out carefully. “Do you want to put the splints on her legs?” he asked.

“No, but they do need to have wraps on them like her ribs do,” Arabella stated, opening her satchel and pulling out two smaller elastic wraps. “Dr. Drew told me the wraps they use would be more than enough. But Hanna’s still not going to be able to walk for a while. We have to make sure that the fractures are healed completely. Do you understand, Hanna?”

“Yeah,” Hanna said softly. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem right now. Both of my legs have very little feeling in them anyway. And when I do feel anything, it’s a deep, throbbing pain.”

“Good,” Arabella stated, handing Nathanael one of the wrap bandages. “Wrap her left leg at the break while I do this one, Nathanael.”

“Right,” Nathanael replied, going to work. Within two minutes, Arabella and Nathanael had successfully braced Hanna’s broken legs with wraps like the one Hanna had around her chest.

“How’s that feel?” Arabella asked as she finished fastening the bandage on Hanna’s leg.

“A little tight, but a lot better than those splints you had on my legs,” Hanna answered. “It’s actually relieving some of the throbbing I’m feeling there. Are you going to put one on my arm too?”

“Yep,” Arabella answered, shuffling up beside Hanna to look her in the eye. “I need to bind your arm too. We can’t be too careful. Then we’ll get some clothes on you so our friends won’t have to see you buck naked.”

Hanna again chuckled softly, as did Nathanael. “I’ll get the nightgown,” he said, moving away to find Hanna’s nightgown.

Hanna looked Arabella in the eye and said softly, “I’m so sorry that I’ve become such a burden on all of you. It was not my intention to be mutated and mutilated.”

“Rubbish,” Arabella chided, “You’re not being a burden on us and we know that you didn’t intend for any of this to happen, so don’t worry your pretty little head about it. You just were sideswiped while you weren’t looking. It can happen to the best of us.”

“I didn’t get sideswiped,” Hanna retorted, “I got run over by a train. I should have known better than to step on those tracks.”

“Listen to me, Hanna,” Arabella said soberly, looking Hanna dead in the eye. “What happened to you could not have been avoided. It’s not your fault. In fact, it’s a miracle that you even in one piece after everything that’s happened to you. The Lord has a job for you to do, and this shit you just went through is part of it. I’m sure of that, so don’t berate yourself for what happened. You beat the odds and survived, which means your job isn’t finished.”

Nathanael heard Arabella’s gentle reproof of Hanna as he found Hanna’s nightgown. “She’s right, Hanna,” Nathanael declared, “If your job were done, you’d be dead, but you aren’t. You still have places to go and things to do. This Enoch and Kida are waiting for you, as are Selina and her new friends in the Harem you spoke so fondly about. You’re not going to give up on them, are you?”

“Perish the thought,” Hanna murmured, “I’d sooner let the Emperor slowly melt me in his acid vats than let that happen.” She sighed and added, “I am so glad I have loving brothers and sisters who know when to slap some sense into me. I was being stupid and selfish just now. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Nathanael stated, sitting down on the bed next to her. Caressing her cheek with his large furry hand, he declared, “You’re just trying to make sense of this terrible situation. There’s nothing stupid or selfish about that. But if it will make you feel better, yeah, I forgive you.”

“Me too,” Arabella replied, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. “I’m just happy you’re still alive. Now, let’s get you dressed so you can rest.”

“I’m all for that,” Hanna agreed. “I’m getting a bit sleepy anyway.”

Within thirty seconds, Nathanael and Arabella dressed Hanna in the nightgown. Nathanael scooped Hanna up gently while Arabella cleared and prepared the bed. Once ready for Hanna, Nathanael laid her gently on the bed same as a father would do for his injured daughter. As Arabella pulled the blankets up to Hanna’s chest, she said, “Rest now, Hanna; and no more problems. Do you hear me? I forbid you to get any worse.”

Hanna chuckled weakly. “Yes, Doctor,” she said softly. “I won’t go or do anything. I can’t. I barely have the strength to even speak to you.”

Arabella patted Hanna on the head and kissed her on the cheek, saying, “Now, you get better. I know you don’t want to sleep, but I believe that is what you need. Go to sleep.”

As Arabella got off the bed, Nathanael looked down at Hanna as a father looks at a daughter who was gravely injured. “She’s right. Get some sleep. The Emperor can wait for another day,” he ordered.

Hanna yawned and asked, “Can I see Amelia again for a moment?”

“Okay,” Arabella replied. “I’ll go see if they’re still outside in the hall.” She went out into the hall to fetch Xavier and Amelia.

Nathanael stroked Hanna’s hair gently as she looked up at him. A warm, fatherly smile decorated his features. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Hanna murmured.

“I’m just admiring your strength and will, Hanna,” he replied.

“I don’t think that’s the only thing you’re admiring,” she retorted.

Nathanael chuckled. “You’re right,” he admitted. “Your mutation has fascinated me as a scientist and as a friend. Of all the forms the Emperor chose, he chose to make you this way. It’s given you a mysterious, alluring quality that you didn’t have as a man. Despite my better judgment, I find myself attracted to you because of it. I’d like to figure out what it is about this form that makes you so attractive.”

Hanna smiled as she touched him on the hand. “It’s okay to feel like that, Nathanael. I know that this form has a mysterious quality that makes me attractive to everyone. Hell, even I’m attracted by it. But don’t worry about whether it’s right or not. Your strength of character will keep you from taking advantage of me in my weakened condition.”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Nathanael stated. “For some strange reason I can’t explain, you’re reminding me of my wife, Electra. God, I miss her so. I wish I knew what really happened to her.”

“Maybe this mutation isn’t just for me,” Hanna stated, “Maybe it’s for you too, and those around me who need me to be more than just a crusty old coot.”

“You were never a crusty old coot,” Nathanael retorted. “You’ve always been a kind, sensitive person who’s always looked out for the well-being of those around you.”

“True,” Hanna agreed. “But did it occur to you that I never really took care of my own shit? Maybe this is part of why I’m now like this; so I can take care of myself for once.”

“I don’t know about that,” Nathanael returned. “Since I’ve known you, you’ve always seemed to take care of yourself before taking care of everyone else. More than once you’ve mentioned that if you didn’t take care of yourself, how could anyone trust you with their problems. I think you’re just trying to rationalize something that really has no rational explanation for it.”

“It’s possible,” Hanna admitted as Arabella led Xavier and Amelia back into the room.

Hanna yawned, noticing the three figures approaching the bed. She tried to focus to see them clearly, and then gave up with an irritated sigh. “Amelia, is that you?” Hanna asked as Xavier sat Amelia on the edge of the bed opposite of Nathanael.

“Yes. I’m here, Hanna,” Amelia replied. Hanna reached out blindly for Amelia. She grasped Hanna’s hand and asked, “Your vision has not improved?”

Hanna shook her head and said, “No. Not since I woke. Everything is still a blur, but what about you. How are you feeling? Are you all right? I know that for you to use your gift on someone as close to death as I was put you at great risk.”

Amelia squeezed Hanna’s hand gently, saying weakly, “Yes, I really put my head on the block this time, and I’m reaping the consequences of it. I’m drained like a glass of water. I cannot move under my own power. My head hurts and my chest burns. But it’s slowly receding, the pain is. I’ll be all right in a day or so.”

“Do you regret doing it?” Hanna asked directly.

“Not at all,” Amelia replied instantly. “You’re my friend. You put your head on the block for me. Now, I had the chance to return the favor. I did it once, and I’d do it again without hesitation if I had to. Besides, if I hadn’t helped to keep you stable while Magnus removed that little beast, you’d be dead. I couldn’t have that on my conscience when I had the power to help.”

“I know you would,” Hanna answered. “Go on and rest. You deserve it. The worst is past now. Xavier, take her back to your quarters and let her rest.”

Just then, Nicodemus returned with Joshua, Doug, Bruce, and Magnus. Nicodemus entered first, followed by Joshua, then Magnus. Bruce and Doug followed up the rear, closing the door behind them. “Good. You’re still here,” Nicodemus said with a pleased tone, noticing Amelia and Xavier were still present.

Hanna heard them walk in and could only see the figures. She suddenly got wind of Magnus’ scent and called out, “Magnus. Is that you?”

Magnus strode over to the bed and looked down at Hanna as he stood next to Nathanael. Magnus stood head and shoulders over Nathanael. “Yes. I’m here, Great One,” Magnus replied as Joshua strode up to look at Hanna.

“You look terrible, Hanna,” Joshua commented.

“I’ve been better, Joshua.” Hanna replied to Joshua’s voice. “My sight has failed me somewhat for the moment. All I can see is blurred shapes and figures. But I smelt Magnus. Because of my extended exposure to him while he brought me out of Amacia, I know his scent intimately. But for those of you who don’t know what happened, let’s enlighten you. Nathanael, go and retrieve the thing that nearly killed me a few minutes ago.”

Nathanael went back into the bathroom for a moment. He reemerged with the remains of the shebat in a cup. Nathanael displayed the little bug to Magnus, Joshua, Doug, Bruce, Xavier, and Nicodemus, who had already seen it. Hanna’s blood still coated it. “Tell everyone what you told us about this thing, Magnus,” Nathanael ordered.

Magnus’ cybernetic eye opened up and zoomed in on the cybernetic bug for a second time to verify its identity, leaning close to it. He growled in a most unpleasant manner, straightening up after his examination. “I had to be sure,” he announced, “When I removed it, I didn’t have time to adequately examine the little beast. But now, I’m sure what it is and who infected Hanna with this diabolical parasite.”

“What is it?” Doug asked, staring at the little cybernetic monstrosity.

“It is called a shebat,” Magnus stated, “Amelia verified its identity because she has seen them in action before. I’m grateful for your assistance in removing this beast from Hanna, Amelia. Without your stabilizing healing energy, Hanna would not have survived its removal.”

“I’m well aware of that, my saber-toothed friend,” Amelia murmured as she sat next to Hanna on the bed.

“What does it do?” Bruce asked.

“It’s a cybernetic bio-weapon, much like I am,” Magnus declared, “however, the shebat is much more insidious in its purpose. In its inception form, the shebat is microscopic in size and can be introduced in a plethora of different ways. To make a long story short, once introduced to a host it acts same in the same manner as a bacterial or viral infection does. The original shebat concentrates on the weakest point in a body. It feeds on the host and multiplies, growing like a cancer until it reaches what the Cadre terms Phase 3. In Phase 3, the shebat grows to the size you see here and starts to move inside the body, literally eating the internal organs and flesh of the host as it hones in on the vital organs, such as the heart or brain, excreting a deadly toxin as a byproduct of its consumption of the host, further poisoning the host. Once it kills the host, the device explodes, many times opening up the abdominal cavity and spreading tens of thousands of microscopic shebats around the body where they may be inadvertently picked up by an enemy, at which time the whole process starts over.”

“That’s absolutely heinous,” Doug replied with disgust.

“I fully agree with you on that,” Magnus stated, his tone betraying his intense hatred of the device, “The shebats are the most efficient and sinister weapons the Cadre has to offer. Not once in all my years have I seen someone survive a shebat that has grown to the Phase 3 status we see here. Fortunately for all of us, this one had just reached Phase 3 and not matured to the point it could explode. Otherwise, it would have exploded the moment I grabbed it. They’re designed to self-destruct once they mature in Phase 3.”

“That’s all fine and dandy,” Joshua blurted out sternly, “But what we really need to know where Hanna picked this thing up. If you’re really one of us and you know anything, you’ll tell us.”

Magnus looked at Joshua with a slightly sour expression, and then replied, “As you wish, Master Joshua. I believe Hanna picked it up in the dungeon just before being taken to the Arena to die. She was down in the lowest portion of the maximum-security execution wing for at least twenty-four hours...more than enough time to become infected. Besides, Ahriaman has many operatives in the dungeons. He selects his victims from that pool. It’s possible Hanna was infected as a back-up plan in case she somehow survived the Arena.”

“Please remind me how these little monsters are introduced to a host, Magnus,” Arabella requested, “It’s something that would be useful to a doctor such as me.”

“There are a myriad of ways to introduce them, Dr. Bishop,” Magnus declared, “They can be put in food or water. They can be directly injected into a victim, or sprayed into the air the victim is breathing. When introduced into the air, water, or food, they’re microscopic; so small that they are literally undetectable without highly sophisticated scanning devices. In Hanna’s case, because of where it was located in her, I surmise she was infected when Ahriaman’s operatives put it into the air she was breathing while chained in the execution wing. The little beast settled in her lungs because of earlier traumas, and remained dormant there until the Arena. The damage she took to her chest in the Arena gave it the optimum environment to grow and mature in. Hades’ fireball burning her chest gave it fuel and it started feasting on the wounds inflicted by that assault. It’s very likely the yellow puss that oozed from the burn was the toxin from the shebat’s early feeding frenzy. I’m very relieved that we were able to remove it before it progressed into its full-fledged matured Phase 3 form.”

“So am I,” Hanna called out, “but it still caused me much distress that I’m still dealing with. Are you sure that I’m free of those little monsters? What’s to stop Ahriaman from having infected me with multiple shebats?”

“I’d like to know that myself,” Joshua agreed.

“Me too,” Nathanael stated.

“I scanned Hanna right after I removed the shebat from her chest,” Magnus declared, “But to be sure, I shall scan her again.” He leaned over Hanna, opening his cyborg eye wide to scan her.

Joshua began to protest, putting his hand on his sword. “Hold you sword, Joshua,” Nicodemus ordered as he saw that Magnus was not moving in a hostile manner.

“What’re you doing?” Hanna asked Magnus as he propped himself up with his cybernetic arm on the bed.

“I’m looking in the x-ray spectrum at you to see if you are clear of the little monsters,” Magnus replied, “They’ll show up in the x-ray spectrum as a foreign mass in your body. And as an added precaution, I’m scanning down to the microscopic level since it was able to hide from my scans before.” Magnus looked up and down the length of Hanna’s body, and then rose up, saying, “You’re clear of all shebats, though it did significant damage internally to you. You must not overexert yourself while healing.”

“That’s what I keep telling her,” Arabella chimed in a directed scold.

“No shit,” Hanna replied in a half-mocking tone, “It seems I lucked out yet again.”

“You are indeed fortunate,” Magnus agreed, “As you suspected, shebats have been known multiply into separate individual bugs like the one Nathanael is holding and attack different organs simultaneously. However, for some strange reason, they didn’t do that or get into your bloodstream. Had they penetrated into you blood at the first infection, you would have been beyond all hope.”

Hanna looked up at Magnus with a weary smile and said, “I have been beyond all hope of survival so many times that I can’t count them. I have been beaten, pummeled, stabbed, shredded, shot, burned, and blown up so many times before that I don’t even care to remember them. Now I can add mutation and torture to that list. By all logic, I should have died long ago because of the choices I have made. I have made many enemies all over the world. They all wish to see me depart this world. I shall give them their desire soon enough, but not in the way they want. The Lord has given me a job to do and I will do it. Hell has already come to me and it hasn’t stopped me. The Lord is my strength, my shield and buckler, my exceeding great reward. He will not abandon me.”

“Neither will I,” Nathanael said forcefully.

“Me neither,” Magnus said with stern, stout resolution. “When you go back to Amacia to retrieve your wife, I will be there with you, little sister.”

“I know you will, my friend,” Hanna said bluntly. “Nicodemus, I believe we have our answers. Magnus has been forthcoming and truthful. I picked up that little monster in the dungeons; something I didn’t realize until he spoke about it just now. It was the perfect place to be infected because I was chained and unconscious most of the time I was in the dungeon.”

Nicodemus shook his head knowingly and said, “So it appears. Thank you for being truthful in what you shared, Magnus. You may go now.”

Magnus nodded and made a parting gesture to Hanna, saying, “If you need me, just call.”

Hanna smiled, saying wearily, “I will do that.”

Magnus turned to Nathanael and said, “You need to dispose of that right away. Take it far from here. The Emperor and Ahriaman can and will use it to track our position.”

Nathanael held the cup containing the deadly cyber-parasite carefully, replying, “I know just how to get this little beast away from here.”

Magnus smiled a little and walked away. Doug and Bruce followed him. Joshua looked at Hanna and asked, “Do you trust the Xenian?”

“Yes, Joshua. I do,” Hanna replied, “I trust him with my life.”

Nicodemus turned to Joshua and said, “Do not weary Hanna with questions right now, Joshua. Let her rest. Now that the bug is gone, she should recover her strength quickly.”

Joshua apologized, saying, “Sorry Hanna. I still don’t exactly trust him. He is a spawn of the Cadre and they may still have some control over him.”

“It’s quite all right, Joshua,” Hanna murmured, “In your position I would be just as skeptical. But let me say this about Magnus. His actions have allied him with us. He came to me in the dungeons while my mind was locked in the clone and warned me about what I was going to ultimately face in the Arena. Then, when the time came, he rescued me from the Arena and got me out of the city. He’s not the only one there like him that is with us. The Nemesis has also apparently allied himself with us. It’s my belief that Magnus was operating under orders from Nemesis himself. They’re not with the Emperor or the Cadre. The Cadre may have created them, but they weren’t able to control them. That’s why the Xenians you see on the battlefield are merely clones of them. Clones can be programmed and controlled, whereas, Magnus definitely has a mind of his own. Give him a chance. He will prove himself in due course.”

Joshua sighed, saying, “Very well. You seem to think he’s with us. I’ll give him a chance. But we’ll watch him carefully.”

“That is all I can ask of you,” Hanna said as she grimaced from a surge of pain that ran through her chest.

“We’ll leave you to your rest now, Hanna,” Nicodemus said. “If you need anything, we’ll check in on you after a while, all right?”

Hanna nodded as a wave of drowsiness swept over her. As Xavier helped Amelia out of the door, Hanna called out to Amelia, saying, “Thank you, Amelia.”

Amelia smiled and replied as she left with Xavier, “You’re welcome, Hanna. What are friends for?”

Nicodemus, Joshua, and Nathanael followed them out of the room. “Nathanael, could you stay for a little longer?” Hanna asked.

“All right; but I need to get this thing away from here first,” Nathanael replied after Nicodemus and Joshua had gone. “I’ll be gone only a few minutes. I’m going to get Argus to deal with this thing.”

Hanna bobbed her head as her eyes became heavy. “Good idea. Argus will know what to do with it,” she replied sleepily, “Don’t be long. I’d rather not be alone right now.”

Nathanael nodded, saying, “Ten minutes at the most.” Hanna nodded as she tried to fight the sleep that was overtaking her. Nathanael darted out of the door and closed it behind him. When he came out, he found Bruce and Doug standing guard. “Is there a problem?” Nathanael asked them.

“No problem, Nathanael,” Bruce replied. “Nicodemus just wanted us to hang around to make sure nothing else happens.”

Nathanael smirked and patted Bruce on the shoulder. “Good man. Hanna is afraid to be alone right now,” Nathanael stated. “So much has happened to her that she feels that being alone will cause more problems for her. Bruce, why don’t you go in and keep an eye on her until I get back, all right?”

Bruce smiled and said, “Sure.” Nathanael smiled and darted down the corridor on a mission. Bruce looked at Doug and chuckled. “The Emperor must have really done a number on Hanna to get her afraid to be alone,” he told Doug.

“I’d be afraid too if I’d been mutated from a man into a woman and went through what she had,” Doug retorted.

“I guess so,” Bruce replied, blushing a little for having belittled Hanna’s condition. He went in, looked to the bed, and found Hanna sound asleep, snoring just a little. A slight gurgle rattled in her chest as she snored. Bruce walked over to the bed and felt sympathy for her. “Poor girl; you’ve been through so much,” Bruce whispered. “Sleep on. May your dreams be sweet this time.” He sat in a chair and waited patiently for Nathanael’s return.