Epilogues

1. In the Ruins

Peter, Dan, Judy and Karen watched in awe as the battle ended and then turned their attention to getting the old tire off the van. They succeeded, with more effort than they had expected, only to have the van shudder, making the spare suddenly bounce away and “run” off into the rubble nearby.

“I’ll get it,” Dan announced and started off

“I’ll stick with him,” Judy replied, “and keep him out of trouble. You two okay here watching the van?”

Pete looked at Karen who just nodded. “Go,” he said, and Judy ran off.

Dan made it to the rubble and saw the tire a short way off, under a segment of a fallen wall. “Ah, good - I’ll lift that rubble if you can get the tire?” He asked as he saw Judy. She moved over to where the tire was and nodded for him to lift the rubble.

Dan got into position to lift and heard something that distracted him for a moment. “Did you hear that?” He asked.

“Yeah, sounded like something moving around nearby. Please get the wall?” She requested.

Dan nodded, resumed his lifting stance, and, slowly, leveraged the wall segment up high enough for her to slip in and grab the tire.

As soon as she was out from under it, he jumped back and let it crash down. Creaks and groans echoed through the building, and then Dan thought he saw something move in the shadows.

“Over this way, Judy, I’m sure I saw something,” Dan called out, moving through the partially collapsed building. Judy followed behind, unhappily, after setting the tire in a more stable spot so that it would not bounce off.

As Dan shoved aside some rubble, Judy let out a wordless cry and pointed. Dan followed her arm to look into the shadows. There was definitely something there.

The couple moved in slowly as the figure stirred.

Dan was the first to recognize the slender form and long, silver hair: “Trinity!” he cried out. Judy ran to his side at this

Weakly, the pale-haired girl turned to face the two of them. “Dan? Judy? Thank the gods! I… I am in a lot of trouble, and I … I need your help!”

***

2: Exerian Command

High Lord Xiaren paces back and forth in his command center…. “Ghios was supposed to report back…where are they?” He complained to the universe in general.

Then one of the monitors beeped and he turned his attention to it. “Report, Destrax,” he commanded.

The screen came to life, showing the avian features of the Commander of Exerian operations in the Americas. “Your honor, I have to report that Ghios is lost.”

“Defeated? How?”

“No, lost - they seemed on the verge of defeat when something happened, and we lost all track of them” the shrill voice replied. “We are attempting to determine what happened. We have confirmed a female is working with the Prototype and they were, apparently, too much for Ghios to handle.”

Xiaren frowned - an impressive feat for that monstrous face, and was about to speak when a series of chimes went off in the chamber. “I’ll get back to you, Destrax,” Xiaren said abruptly, going slightly pale, and closed the connection. Another monitor, larger than all the rest, suddenly went live.

A massive, amber-skinned humanoid creature in ornate red, gold and blue armor appeared. This creature had small tusks jutting up from its lower jaw, and large red-rimmed, dual-pupiled eyes above a boar-like about.

“We send greetings, High Lord Xiaren,” it said, simply.

Xiaren performed the nearest thing to a deep bowl its body could permit: “It is an honor, your highness,” Xiaren replied, his face turned to the ground.

The figure on the screen replied: “Rise, subject, and explain - we have felt a disruption to the Unity.”

Nervousness creeping into his voice, the High Lord answered: “I am investigating, your highness. It appears that we have somehow lost Ghios.”

“Lost… and are the rumors that the Prototype was recovered by the Terrans true?” the figure on the monitor responded.

Xiaren cringed at this but answered: “Yes, your highness. Ghios was engaging them. against orders. when we lost contact.”

“Them? So, the theory that the Prototype could extend to others is true?”

Xiaren cursed silently at letting this slip out. “Yes, sir it appears that way.”

There was a long pause, before the armored figure spoke again. “It will take us about seventy Terran days to get there, but the Imperial Guard will come with me to bring this world to submission. Maintain observation and disruption operations, but, unless you can guarantee a kill, do not confront the Prototype if you have any choice until we arrive. Am I clear, High Lord?”

“Absolutely, Emperor Unas. It shall be as you command,” came the reply.

“Good. The Prototype must be destroyed or forced to leave the planet. And you are clearly not up to the challenge. Emperor Unas out.”

And the screen went dead.

Xiaren remained motionless for several seconds and then began cursing in over a dozen languages, most of them completely alien to Earth.

The Emperor himself was coming. This could not be worse…. For Xiaren or for Earth.

***

3: Australia

Sato Hakama had rented a personal watercraft and, on his second day of searching, had found what he believed to be the island from the ancient video. A rocky reef surrounded the island, and it took all of his skill to avoid running his craft aground.

It looked, strangely, exactly like what the Australian officer had seen and recorded roughly three hundred years earlier - lush but stunted plant life, surprisingly diverse animal life, and rough terrain with few paths but which somehow still seemed to lead visitors ever inward and up the land.

Two hours after making landfall, Hakama saw a cave a short distance up from his current position. He paused to eat a quick meal before heading out.

As he approached the cave, most of the electronics he was carrying began to act up. “Maybe Kirk was right, and the video was shot on film instead of digital media?” he mused aloud.

Rummaging through his equipment, Hakama found an old-school battery-powered lantern that still worked, and a replica of an antique tape recorder that seemed to still function. Armed with these, he headed into the cave.

The cave narrowed into a passage leading into the small ‘mountain’ that formed the core of the island. It seemed longer and narrower than the one Irwin had filmed so long ago. He pushed through, but it was tough going. He hit two dead ends when passages branched off from the one that he was following, and Hakama considered going back outside to rest for a few hours before trying again, when he realized he was seeing a blueish radiance up ahead.

Slowly, he eased through the passages which grew narrower and less straight for a while, until he began to fear he would have to turn back - but just as it would have hit that point, it opened up into a cave so massive, even the odd radiance could not show the farthest wall.

Something in the cave moved and he realized what he thought was a rock formation was, in fact, a gargantuan leg, that looked more like that of a king crab than a spider - but following the leg to its source, he confirmed that it seemed attached to a spider of immense proportions, one that would dwarf an Arachdyl.

Nervously, he spoke: “Am I in the presence of the Dream Spider?” He asked the chamber in a voice far shakier than he hoped.

There was a moment of stillness, and then a sound that his mind interpreted as a voice speaking in all four languages that he could speak, concurrently responded: “That is one name your kind has given me. You are Sato Hakama?”

Hakama could not resist a little joke at this: “That is the name my parents gave me, yes.”

“Your arrival is not unexpected, but also not welcome…” said the mysterious voice.

Hakama began: “But we are…”

The voice replied: “At war with the Exerians, yes. And the Prototype was recovered. The stakes grow.”

“Can you explain?” Hakama asked.

“Not to you, at this time. Leave me now, and if you return, bring the Protector with you. Bring me your son.”

Hakama simply stared into the room for a moment, stunned by this order, but then details began to fall into place, and he understood what he was just told.

He left the cave as quickly as he could, already planning on the several phone calls he would need to make as soon as he could get to the mainland with a stable connection…