Apocalypse Dawn: The New World - Chapter 27

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Chapter 27: Search and Rescue

The game is over, and reality will never be the same again.

 

“I… had help… and a lot of luck” Agent Walters replied cryptically.

 


 
Author's Note: Finally. Here's chapter 27 of book two of Apocalypse Dawn. I was hoping to have it posted last night but I was too tired to give it a proper edit by the time I finished. I hope you all enjoy. ~Amethyst.
 


 
Chapter 27: Search and Rescue

“Where? And how many?” I asked, hoping that Agent Walters was as smart as I hoped she was. If they were hiding these Changed inside of their own homes, then they were likely in danger of being found. Those reporters got Agent Walters and her fellow agents on camera talking to me all peaceful-like. It was almost certain that once their bosses saw that, they would be hunted down as traitors and Changed sympathizers, especially if I was as big a target as they claimed. The first places that the DCA would check would be their homes.

“We have them safely hidden at an abandoned lumberyard in west Toronto,” Agent Walters replied with a frown. “It’s not great, especially for the aquatic types, but we’ve done our best to make sure that it’s secure, and as comfortable as we can make it. There are just over three dozen people, and most of those are children and young teens. There is a mix of different types, and we’ve been doing our best to keep them fed and see to their needs, but we’re learning as we go and our resources are spread very thin. We can’t keep this up. Most of those people we found with nothing but the clothes on their back, sometimes not even that, and it’s getting very crowded for them. They’re starting to get cabin fever too.”

I hummed thoughtfully as I thought about it. Of course, I planned to bring those people to Varüus’kiel, but I also needed to consider that this could be a trap. If it was, I would just teleport us all back again, or deal with the trap in the moment. Honestly though, I didn’t think it was a trap.

Agent Walters struck me as an honest woman who wanted to do the right thing, and her companions seemed to be of similar character when not distracted by my aura. They had passed all of the tests that I had put them to so far, and Jennifer Walters in particular had impressed me with her intelligence. Risha had liked her too. The Sül’shael might be somewhat naïve about the world beyond Varüus’kiel, but they also seemed to be very good judges of character. What was going to happen to these agents once we took these people off their hands? The possible Changed refugees were not the only ones that might need sanctuary.

Worried that bringing in those refugees could be time sensitive now with the agents being seen with us in public, I decided that I couldn’t afford to take my time getting information from them and letting my intuition decide if they were being honest or not. So, I decided to cut to the chase. I asked if they would be willing to consent to a truth spell being placed on them while we got the necessary information from them.

The seven agents consented and, after confirming that they were all really who they claimed to be, were honestly were trying to help the Changed, and had no nefarious purpose or plans to double-cross us, I began to relax my questioning of them as I considered the refugee situation. “I would certainly be willing to take them in as refugees,” I told them after a moment of reflection. “However, I do have a couple of important questions. First, do you have a photo of the target location, or somewhere nearby? I can’t teleport somewhere if I’ve never been there before or at least seen a photo, or I have to know somebody at the location. If you don’t have a photo, one of you may have to go ahead and then signal me when you get there.”

The green-skinned woman looked to her compatriots and all of them shook their heads. “We didn’t want to have anything on our phones that could give away the location of our rescues, in case one of the higher-ups was on to us. We always go there by different routes too, and we alternate who goes, and when. Today was Simmons’s turn, it was why he was late getting to the office and wasn’t caught up in your prank.”

“I was running late today. It was my turn to do the supply run and I wanted to bring the kids there some board games and stuff along with the food and other supplies, so they have something to do,” Simmons confirmed from where he and their other co-workers sat just out of the range of my aura.

The male agents were a good fifteen feet away from me and Lilith, and we all had to speak up a bit to include everyone in the conversation, but that was as condensed as I could manage to get my aura right now. It was the best that I was going to get until Sif could teach me, Lissany, and Lilith to open slightly larger holes in our auras. That was our next goal, but the Norse Goddess made it sound like it could take a long time to develop that much aura control for someone who was not born a god.

I nodded thoughtfully at Simmons’s answer. “Well, at least they’re hidden and somewhat safe until we can get to them. Lilith, would you be willing to take Agent Walters ahead and then contact me so I can create a portal there to bring those people to Varüus’kiel?”

“Of course, my Goddess. I am happy to serve You in any way that You might require,” the Succubus replied with a smile. Thankfully, both the smile and her tone were only slightly hinting at her innuendo.

“Thank you, Lilith, I appreciate it,” I told her as I smiled back. I was still getting used to Lilith and her brood, but I honestly liked my new priestesses, even with their constant flirting and sexual innuendos. They were unapologetically themselves and I found myself admiring that in them. “For my other question, Agent Walters, what do you plan to do once these people are in my care? Once those higher up in the DCA see the footage of you speaking with me, and not shooting first, there are going to be consequences for the seven of you. They will go after you; they might go after your families just to get to you.”

Agent Walters frowned and her shoulders sagged wearily as I addressed the elephant in the room. “Please, Your Majesty, call me Jen. You’re right, so it’s not like any of us are likely to be agents much longer once the DCA finds out about our meeting with you.”

“Honestly, I don’t think that any of us have thought that far ahead,” Agent Jacobs added. He looked to be the youngest of the group, probably barely into his twenties. “We were so focused on keeping those Changed people safe and hidden, and we originally hoped to meet with you in secret. Speaking for myself, I don’t have much family, just my little… sister. Our parents died in a monster attack on Boxing Day, when everything went to hell, and our extended family disowned my sister and wanted nothing to do with her after she came out last year, so they can go fuck themselves.”

Agent Pere looked sick to his stomach as he added, “Yeah, my wife died a couple of days after Christmas; I came home from work to find something eating her corpse. It… it was a week before our first anniversary… we were expecting a baby girl.” He had to take a moment to collect himself before adding, “I moved here to be with her, my family is all in New Zealand.”

It seemed that there wouldn’t be many family members to collect since none of the other men in their group had anyone close enough that they wanted to retrieve either. Their lives were too busy and the world too chaotic right now for any romantic interests, and apparently, the DCA was heavily recruiting young adults who had lost loved ones when the Veil first fell. It was something that all seven agents had in common, and many were from conservative family backgrounds as well, which certainly fit with the feel that I had gotten from Jonesy as well. Agent Walters, or rather Jen, had a similar story too.

“I lost most of my family on Boxing Day as well, including my fiancé, Dylan,” she explained with a haunted look in her eyes. “We all got together for the holidays at my grandparents’ house; they lived in one of those tiny little villages along the shore of Lake Superior that you’d miss if you blinked while passing by on the highway. Those vicious little fairy things set the house on fire just before midnight and they were waiting outside for us, throwing fire, biting, and slashing at anyone who tried to leave. Almost my entire family was burned alive by the rhyming little bastards while trying to leave the house and Dylan… he tried to buy time for me and some others to escape. Only my niece and I survived those things chasing us down, and they burned most of the village to the ground.”

“Are you caring for your niece, or is someone else?” Salem asked. “The DCA could go after her, and we should probably try to get to her and Jacobs’s sister before they do.”

Agent Walters shook her head sadly, her eyes downcast and her voice catching as she replied, “She’s at the Children’s Hospital… in the burn ward. She’s had issues from smoke inhalation and has third degree burns covering over thirty percent of her body. I’m… not sure if she can be moved in her condition.”

“Fucking Tooth Fairies,” Rei muttered angrily, clenching her fists at her side after the silence that fell over us dragged on a little too long. “Give me a name and a room number and me and Salem can go and get her out of there. I might be able to heal her well enough to stabilize her so we can move her here and get her in a F.I.T. A few days inside one of those and she’ll be as good as new.”

Jennifer was despondent as she said, “Her name is Evelyn Walters, but everyone calls her Evie. She’s five years old, and she’s in the ICU. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get her out without causing a scene.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Salem assured her, “I can use a glamour to blend in, and Rei has her shapeshifting. I have a few spells that should convince them to release her to us, if bullshitting our way in doesn’t work.”

“How did you escape from the Tooth Fairies though? Those little shits never let their prey escape once they’ve sniffed them out,” Pete asked with a grim expression. It was a good question, she and her niece should probably be dead since there was nobody organized to be hunting down monsters in the chaos after the veil fell. My team and I were still in the game and most of our people who had been out of the Veil early were focused on the Apocalypse Dawn project to try to bolster our numbers and get those of us in the game trained and equipped.

“I… had help… and a lot of luck” Agent Walters replied cryptically.

Did the help come from somebody who wasn’t human? That was the only possibility that worked in my mind. For somebody who had their whole family wiped out by monsters, she was pretty sympathetic to the Changed. The only way that made sense was if she had been helped by someone who was Changed, or was one herself.

Except for her currently green skin, she still looked human, not that that meant much when magick or magical creatures were involved. I wasn’t sensing any magick from her, so she likely wasn’t a Witch and hiding her Familiar somewhere. My instincts were saying that her helper hadn’t been human, but that still left a hell of a lot of possibilities.

“What kind of help?” I pressed. I would have liked to believe that it wasn’t my business until she chose to reveal more, but whatever her secret was, I would need to make sure that it wasn’t something dangerous.

“She called herself Pryswik, and told me that she’s a water elemental. She sorta materialized from the snow when I was cornered, trying to protect Evie, and about ready to die. She told me that if I made a pact with her, then she would help me to slay my enemies, protect me, and those I hold dear. She killed every last one of those little bastards and then created a token for me from a pendant that Dylan gave me for Christmas, but I hid it at the lumberyard a few days ago so she can watch over the Changed people and protect them when one of us couldn’t be there. She said nobody would even know she was there unless she showed herself, and she’d keep them safe.”

My eyes widened in surprise, and I wasn’t the only one. Everyone was looking at her in surprise. I couldn’t sense any magick on her, but there would be none to sense unless she was wearing the token of the pact between herself and the elemental, even then it would be faint. I would likely be able to sense the elemental with my Nature aspect though. Without her token, she was just another human, but with it… “You’re a Druid,” I stated.

“I guess so; at least, that’s what Pryswik told me. I guess she’s had pacts with people before. Our deal is that I give her companionship, and a connection to the physical world through our token. In return, she will use that connection to protect me and mine, and teach me to draw on her power through the token so I can do things with water and ice like she does,” the currently green-skinned woman replied as her fellow agents gaped at her in shock. Thankfully they didn’t seem upset, just very surprised.

I nodded as I thought it over. From what I had learned about Druids while playing Apocalypse Dawn, it seemed like a fairly standard Druid Pact for those who were fortunate enough to find an elemental to form such a pact with. Elementals are nature spirits, formed by elemental magick when the conditions are just right, so it is rare that one comes into being, and they are very childlike at first. It can take centuries before they can take form in the physical world for even a few seconds and can communicate beyond very basic emotions and the manipulation of their element.

They are also very much like Dryads, unseen and unknown by most people and can only interact with the physical world, and its denizens, for very short periods without a connection to anchor them. It sounded like a very lonely existence. “You’ll need to retrieve your token while we’re there; you should keep it with you at all times, Jen.”

The female agent winced guiltily. “Yeah, Pryswik told me the same thing, but it seemed the best way to watch over those people, and I didn’t want to risk anyone in charge at the agency getting curious about my glowing pendant, so I wasn’t wearing it while working.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I explained. “Jen, the only person who is going to think that pendant glows is you. It’s a symbol of your Pact and your connection to Pryswik and only the two of you can see that, but to everyone else, it’s just a normal piece of jewelry. Magi might be able to sense faint magick on it, but other than that, nobody is going to notice anything unusual.”

Jen looked embarrassed as her co-workers ribbed her, not that they would have known any better though. I think that they were just glad to have something to laugh at after the grim and unusual topics that had weighed down our talk so far. It gave them a welcome distraction. For the moment, we had other matters to attend to though, and I thought that the agents had brought up enough about the details of their losses and it would do them well to focus on the matter at hand.

Agent Walters gave me a grateful look as I said, “I think that we are straying a little off-topic. We have refugees to collect and bring to Varüus’kiel, and the sooner the better. I will take us back to Toronto and Lilith will take Jen to the lumberyard so I can teleport to them. As for the rest of you, you shouldn’t risk going back to your homes, so before we go, let’s quickly discuss your options.”

“What options?” Agent Decker asked, looking somewhat confused.

“Well, for one thing, you could request asylum here in Varüus’kiel,” Harley suggested.

Agent Decker’s confusion hadn’t quite waned as he countered, “I thought this was a sanctuary for the Changed. I mean, Jen probably counts now, but the rest of us are still human.”

“Jack, we have seen humans here, though I suppose they could be Druids like Jen, or they just appear human,” Agent Pere pointed out.

“We are a sanctuary for the Changed, and those who support us,” I clarified for the agents. “We do have options available to help you start new lives with different appearances somewhere else, if that is what you want. On the other hand, you would be welcome to join the refugees coming to live in Varüus’kiel. I want people here who can look beyond race and who want to live in peace with all people, and I think that you’ve proven yourselves. In fact, I might even have jobs for you, if you’re interested, but that can wait until after you, your loved ones, and those Changed you’re hiding are all safe.”

With that in mind, I prepared to return to Toronto. Well, not all of us. Agent Walters was coming with us, of course, since she needed to retrieve her token and help us with the refugees. Agent Mike Jacobs would be coming as well, so he could convince his younger sister that they needed to leave the city and bring her with him to Varüus’kiel if she wished. The others stayed behind so they could get to know some of the people in what might become their new home. I even released the seven of them from my little prank before we left since I needed Jen and Mike to look a little more low profile.

There were no real surprises behind the green skin. Most of them, including Jen, definitely looked Caucasian, though her skin was a little more tanned than most of her companions, which looked nice with her dark hair and eyes. Mike’s mixed heritage was a little more obvious though. He looked to be a mix of African and Caucasian. He too had dark eyes, and his short black hair had a bit of curl to it that I hadn’t really noticed before. The others were more obviously Caucasian men, and fairly average-looking as well, except for Agent Maleko Pere who appeared to be of Polynesian descent.

~o~O~o~

Once I had returned us to our hotel room, Lilith left almost immediately with Jen and a pair of her daughters, all of them covered with invisibility spells. Salem and Rei headed off with another pair of Succubae to protect them and fly them to the Children’s Hospital to try to stabilize Jen’s niece, Evie, and bring her back to Varüus’kiel for the more thorough treatment that a F.I.T could give her. As for Daenyss, Megan, my bodyguards, and me, we would be going with Mike Jacobs to meet with his younger sister, Amanda.

Since the Mercedes wouldn’t have room for all of us with Mike along, I glamoured us all up and we took the subway to the University of Toronto Campus, where Amanda had just started as a student before the possible apocalypse began and had a small apartment just off campus. Thankfully, the snow had abated somewhat and it only took us a little over ten minutes to get there, with half of that time being spent on the train. Soon we were all standing outside the door to her apartment, and a very confused person had opened the door, just enough to see who was outside her door and to keep the locking chain in place.

“Hello? I think m-maybe you have the wrong apartment,” she suggested warily with an uncertain and scared look in her eyes through the narrow gap. Seeing nobody else in the hallway, I dropped the glamours on our group. The uncertainty was still in her eyes, and on what little of her face that I could see, but the wariness was quickly replaced by confusion as she asked, “Mike? What? How? Aren’t you supposed to be at work? Who are these people?”

“Amanda, we need to leave town,” Mike said with a worried glance down the hallway. “Sorry, I would have called before coming over, but my phone is toast. I’m leaving the agency and they might come after you to get to me, they could be coming here any time, so I need you to come with me, Sis. This is… um… Empress Taelya and part of her entourage. She’s offered to help get us out of here and give us sanctuary in Varüus’kiel.”

The brown eyes behind the slight gap between the door and wall narrowed in suspicion. “You didn’t look like Mike a minute ago so prove it.”

She had every reason to be suspicious, especially with the glamours I had on us when we arrived. I could have easily expedited things with a bit of magic, but she was right to be cautious, especially since the Veil fell, and I didn’t want her scared or suspicious of us. I wasn’t about to drag her to safety against her will and she deserved to know what was going on.

Mike leaned in close to the door and whispered something, which I tried very hard not to listen to since I assumed it was private. I still heard it, but I wanted to give them both at least the illusion that those shared childhood secrets were still something between just the two of them. After several long moments of hushed whispers passing between them through the crack of the door, it closed for a moment before opening once again, fully this time.

Standing there was a tall and somewhat broad-shouldered transgendered woman in her late teens who was fairly pretty and obviously took care to look her best. Mike had warned us that she was transitioning when we were on our way over, almost as if he was worried that we might not accept her because of it. He probably was. I had seen a lot of hate directed at trans people or people who cross-played online games, and Lissany had suffered personally because of it before entering Apocalypse Dawn and gaining a form that she was more comfortable with.

“Okay, this jerk is definitely my dopey brother, but how do I know that either of us can trust any of you?” Amanda asked guardedly. “I finally got on HRT and now you’re asking me to run off to someplace I’ve never heard of and give that up.”

“Where we’re going you won’t need roads… err… HRT,” Lissany said playfully beside me. Amanda looked dubious and more than a little suspicious as she glared at my Guardian. The Beastkin Demigoddess raised her hands to placate her and tipped up her visor so that the earnest expression on her face showed. “Look, I’m not making fun of you. I’ve been where you’re at; hating my body, feeling like everything that I did to express my real gender was never enough, fighting for acceptance that I felt like I would never get. That changed for me and it can for you too if you give us a chance.”

“What, so you’re going to magically make me forget that I should have been born a girl and make me stop cringing every time I look in a mirror? Do one of you fantasy rejects have some magic potion that’s going to make that all go away?” she snapped.

“Amanda!” Mike snapped back, raising his voice, though the concern in it was evident.

“Duh, magic is a thing, or haven’t you seen everything going on outside lately?” Lissany shot back. “And I know for a fact that magical gender swaps exist. If Her Majesty wanted to she could give you the body of your dreams right now. Hell, we’re friends with a gender fluid Kitsune and a God who both change between guy and girl constantly, and, like, half of us here have changed genders. Everyone who used to be a dude, raise your hand.” She immediately raised her hand and with a groan, I raised my own. Harley rolled her eyes on my other side but raised her hand to join ours as well.

Amanda was still dubious, but a lot easier to convince, and less hostile, once I asked if she would consent to a polymorph spell and demonstrated that what Lissany told her was possible by casting it on her after asking for requests. The form that I changed her into was that of a young woman who could have been her and Mike’s younger sister. She asked to be smol, cute, and curvy, so I went with that while keeping a familial resemblance to her old body and Mike.

She ended up close to Salem’s height at just a shade over five feet and had a very feminine figure that worked for her size without looking exaggerated. Her face was pretty and, much like her new body, it wasn’t supermodel material, but enough for the boys to give her a second glance. Chestnut brown hair fell to around halfway down her back and her warm brown eyes were filled with tears as she emerged from her bathroom after looking in the mirror, and presumably checking on other things as well.

Once she stopped sobbing and thanking me, I warned, “Right now, this spell is effectively permanent, mostly so you won’t have to revert to a male body until you decide whether you want to go into an F.I.T to customize a body that you’re more comfortable with and learn some new skills. I’ll have someone talk more to you and your brother about that once you’re safely in Varüus’kiel. Let’s get you both out of here before the DCA shows up.”

~o~O~o~

Snow blanketed the abandoned lumberyard in west Toronto when I teleported us to join Lilith, her two daughters, and Jen. I had already taken Mike and Amanda to Varüus’kiel via a portal and got people preparing an F.I.T for little Evie’s arrival when I did that. Rei had called while Amanda was admiring her new self in the bathroom to warn me that they were probably going to have to move Jen’s niece quickly and they wanted an F.I.T prepared for her just in case moving her caused a change in her condition.

My consort was going to try to heal the girl first, but she might not get the chance. She, Salem, and their two Succubae protectors were having trouble getting in to visit her by asking nicely and might have to use more direct means than glamours and shapeshifting to get inside the ICU, make a snatch and grab, and have Salem teleport them all to Varüus’kiel. If they had to do things that way, Rei was worried that it could cause Evie’s condition to worsen.

That would be Jen’s decision to make though, and she needed to make it fast because the clock was ticking. We had narrowly avoided a confrontation with DCA agents while Amanda was packing some family photos and other things before we left her apartment. She barely had time to grab everything that she wanted before the agents were trying to break down the door and I was getting us out of there via a portal spell.

Thankfully, Lilith noticed that something was wrong and broached the subject just after we materialized. “You look concerned about something, my Goddess.”

“Yeah, the DCA made a move on Mike’s sister while we were retrieving her, so we can assume that someone at the agency has seen that footage. We were lucky to get her out of there in time,” I replied. Then I turned to Jen and added, “Rei and Salem are ready to make a move to grab your niece, but the agency will probably have people there soon so it’ll have to be quick. Rei will try to heal her first if she can, she’s even willing to use her special healing ability for it, but they might have to just get her out of there fast. If Rei can’t heal her for some reason then we have people waiting to give her immediate medical attention as soon as she arrives. There are risks though.”

The former agent frowned as she thought it over but quickly said, “Do it.”

I quickly wind-whispered Salem to let her know to go ahead with their plan and then asked, “Where are the Changed? I’d like to get them out of here.”

“They’re in the main building. It’s best insulated against the snow and cold and has the most room,” she replied as she pointed to the large, worn-out building that looked boarded up and bore graffiti dating back to 2014. “I’ll need to go to one of the side buildings to retrieve my token, and then I’ll have to let them know that you’re all good guys.”

She glanced at Nishalle and Megan in particular as she said the last. That was fair though since Pete was huge and intimidating, my two Guardians were in their full armor, and Tokh’dhraí can be scary and intimidating without even trying, especially my sister with the whole femme fatale vibe she had going. Moreover, since Nishalle and Megan seemed to be bonding, my new driver was starting to pick up some of that as well. I figured that Lilith, Daenyss and I would have to take the lead with reassuring the children that we were safe since Lilith was very maternal and could hide her more demonic features if needed, and Daenyss was naturally sweet, caring, friendly, and a little childlike herself at times.

As we made our way across the lumberyard grounds, I saw signs that this place was abandoned for a long time before it became a temporary sanctuary for Changed. Withered creeper vines clung to many of the available surfaces in death, some sort of animal traps half obscured by snow were scattered about, and snow and icicles decorated a flatbed cargo truck and a forklift that were both sitting out in the open and half rusted. There were even piles of lumber still present, though they too were half covered in snow and showed signs of fire damage.

Despite assurances from Jen that they were very careful to ensure that the agency didn’t know about this place, I still had us check all of the side buildings. The place was creepy and I was more worried about monsters, even though they probably would have noticed any by now and Jen had left her elemental to watch over things. We found nothing of interest save old saws, rusty tools, car parts, more animal traps, and an open manhole with a horrid smell coming from it. There was nothing down there, thankfully, but the smell made me sympathize with any poor Beastkin and other species with sensitive noses that had been sheltering there.

As we checked the side buildings, Jen worked free a knot in the wall of one to remove a silver chain with a crystal snowflake pendant hanging from it. I sensed the token before she even did so. The elemental that imbued that token with her magical essence was powerful, I should have been hardly able to sense it at all. ~I can sense the elemental,~ Lilith sent to me, her feelings seeming very conflicted. ~This Pryswik is very old, possibly even older than I am. I do not sense that she is hostile or bears any ill will toward us though, so long as we do not harm her Druid.~

My eyebrows shifted upward in surprise. Lilith was ancient, and if anyone could sense that, it would be her since she was also an elemental once herself before being cursed into her demonic form. I trusted her judgment and experience on this so I kept quiet for now. Jen had said that Pryswik had made pacts with other humans before after all. I idly wondered though just how many that she had bonded with over millennia of existence. Jennifer Walters was the heir to quite a legacy it seemed.

We returned to checking for potential hazards as we left the worn-out structure and made our way to the main building, but we had to be careful to be quiet. The fence was mostly still standing and the gates were snowed over, giving some privacy at the moment, but Jen warned us that there was a fairly busy intersection nearby and I could clearly hear the sounds of traffic. The main building looked boarded up and graffiti-covered from a distance, but Jen led us around the side to the back, where they had managed to make the rear door accessible.

Jen stepped inside ahead of us to let the people inside know what was going on and reassure the children and I waited until I heard her finish her explanation before I stepped inside, preceded by my protectors and followed by Daenyss and Megan. There were close to forty Changed inside, most of them teenagers and children as Jen had earlier claimed. In fact, I could only spot six adults among them.

The majority were fairly obvious Changed; Beastkin, Merfolk, and even a few Fauns. There were no Fae or Witches amongst them, but there were a few surprises, including a Centaur boy, a seven-foot tall woman that I was fairly sure was an Amazon, and a young teen girl who had sprouted wings like mine and looked extremely fit for her age. She wasn’t a Demigoddess or anything, but I thought that our Aesir friends would be interested in a Valkyrie emerging among the Changed.

For now, we needed to get these people to Varüus’kiel and find people to help care for all of the young teens and kids without parents. It was disheartening to see so many kids separated from or, in a few cases, abandoned by their parents after they changed. From what Jennifer had told us, many of them had slipped away from the DCA or monster attacks while a similarly Changed parent covered their escape. We would help these kids though, I promised myself that as I opened a new portal to take these new refugees home. We would make a home for them, find people to care for them, and make this world a place where they could all be accepted one day.

Copyright © 2021-2024 Amethyst Gibbs
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Comments

Nice chapter

Nice chapter
Really sad about Agent Pere's wife and daughter
Hopefully Evie will be okay when they move her
Maybe they can find an Aesir to train the Valkyrie
Damn annoying Tooth Fairies but glad Jen and Evie survived
Nice Back to the Future reference

Thanks Cybergirl007

Amethyst's picture

Yeah, most of these agents have lost a lot, especially Agent Walters and Agent Pere. They will do everything that they can for Evie and their new refugees. Lissany couldn't think of a good LoTR reference, so she had to make do.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

So hapy to see another

So hapy to see another chapter. I had only just finished re reading the entire series yesterday :)

Cool

Amethyst's picture

It's nice to know that people enjoy this story enough to reread it :)

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

Rereading your books

Stoney1's picture

All of Apocalypse Dawn, all five I Wish books, Twice Removed, Raven’s Blood, A Cold Fae in Hell, both Naethari books, and the stories currently on Patreon. I have read them ALL more than once, and I am reading a couple of them again now. You shouldn’t be surprised at people rereading your works. They are too good not to. I just wish it was easier for you to find the time and energy to write more.
Thank You!

Stoney1

FANTASY IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD, BUT THEN SO IS REALITY. SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

new apoc

A new apocalypse chapter!!! My favorite! I go back and reread the whole story every now and then.I love it!

awesome

Amethyst's picture

Another person who likes it enough to reread :)

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

I am always happy to see more of this story……

D. Eden's picture

I enjoy reading all of your work, but this one has been a favorite of mine since you posted the first chapter of the first book!

It’s nice to know that even amongst the DCA there are decent people. I am not surprised that the DCA has been recruiting from amongst those who have lost family to monster attacks since the veil fell - they would be the most likely to hold a grudge against the changed, even more so than those who are simply prejudiced. That’s just basic recruiting.

Interesting development about Pryswik. One can’t help but wonder how she will play into the bigger picture. Not to mention the appearance of an Amazon and a Valkyrie. Perhaps Taelya is about to gain two more body guards? Or perhaps this is the beginning of a defense force for Varuus’kiel? Or perhaps the core of a special operations group?

Only time will tell. More please?

D. Eden

Dum Vivimus, Vivamus

Thanks, Dallas

Amethyst's picture

Book one was one of my best stories I think, and I really challenged myself in a lot of ways when writing it. I've been trying to keep that same quality of writing with book two.

The DCA may have gone after people more apt to be prejudiced, but people are individuals, and it was nice to show that not all of their agents have taken on an attitude like we've seen from others so far. The appearance of Pryswik was indeed interesting, as was that of a few of the rarer type of Changed. We will see how this affects things as the story continues.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

Yay

More please

Poor agents Pere and Jen lost so much I feel for them. It would be awesome if Taelya could bring their loved ones back somehow or one of the gods in Danu’s alliance maybe the Aesir since they were protecting a Valkyrie.

I’m pretty sure she has agent Jacob’s loyalty for what she did for Amanda. Probably Jen’s also for healing her niece from her severe injuries. I’m hopeful some of the children’s parents who are also changed are where they are heading.

hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna

Yup, Jen and Agent Pere in

Amethyst's picture

Yup, Jen and Agent Pere in particular have both suffered heartbreaking losses. It's doubtful that they can, or would even attempt to, bring back the dead, but they will do their best to help them to get over the loss and move on with their lives in a positive way. Taelya has definitely secured loyalty from them, though she wasn't really after that, she just wants to help people. If they can't find the childrens' parents they will do their best to place them with loving families. I can already think of one couple who would do well.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

Yay!! Doing the happy dance

Yay!! Doing the happy dance right now. Soooo wonderful a shiny new chapter from one of my favourite series here. Good to read the empress is out to impress future subjects. Bright future ahead for much traumatized people, it's heartwarming.

Also I'm curious to the ancient elemental, the name sounds a little familiar somehow. Hmmm.

Thanks Amethyst, a real happy received chapter.

You're welcome Jo-Anne

Amethyst's picture

I'm always glad to give my readers something to make them happy, and you know I love the sappy stuff.

As for the elemental, it's just a name that I pulled out of my pretty little ass.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

Eventful chapter

Doing the right thing can be damn hard.

I know some of those allies (e.g. Evie) will need F.I.T. treatment.

I assume a good number will opt to remain human. I assume a F.I.T. treatment does not mean a need to change species, right?

Correct. Without a genetic

Correct. Without a genetic sample and additional programming, the FITs were built for renewal/repair only.


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Genetic sample is needed

IIRC any FIT that changes a person whether just to make them healthier or change species requires a genetic sample otherwise there is no basis
Only if the person in the FIT is learning skills then no sample is needed as those are filled with water

If you're making an

If you're making an alteration - taller, shorter, species, etc, then you need the sample. If you're just repairing, then you wouldn't need one - it's been inserted into the F.I.T. :)


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

The F.I.Ts

Amethyst's picture

If people are just learning new skills and such, then no green goop or DNA samples are needed, simple water is used in them in that case. In the case of major healing or a change in species, form, or size, the green goop and a DNA sample is required. Usually, two samples are used for a good mix of DNA for a new form and to give more options for customization, but in the case of healing, when one doesn't wish to change their body, they usually use a sample of the person's own DNA as a basis to rebuild their body and repair any damage. This takes less time because the form and DNA are not being changed, just repaired.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

Jennifer's family

almost completely burned alive will probably haunt her for the rest of her life. So, I think it's safe to assume that any tooth fairies she'll meet will meet with a terrible (and final) fate.
With the F.I.T.s "on the table" I wonder how many ex-DCA agents will find a new challenge. ;-)

Thx for another nice chapter^^

Yep

Amethyst's picture

That's some major trauma to go through. I'm sure that Pryswik will be happy to help her deal with anymore tooth fairies that they come across.
All of the agents will be given the choice, of course, but we shall see how many, if any accept the offed of using a F.I.T.

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

And Another

terrynaut's picture

Yes. I've said it before. This is my favorite (so far) of all of your stories. I love urban fantasy.

Thanks and kudos (number 92).

- Terry

Thanks, Terry

Amethyst's picture

This is defiinitely the story that I've put the most work into, so it's nice to know that it's being appreciated :)

*big hugs*

Amethyst

ChibiMaker1.jpg

Don't take me too seriously. I'm just kitten around. :3

So happy to see a new chapter

So happy to see a new chapter.
Thank you for sharing it and this wonderful story from the bottom of my Little heart. You are such a talent.

favorite story

are there any updates coming? I love this story