3
Chapter 1
A Blitz Story
By Cletus
“Those freaking Tigers!” my gunner yelled in frustration. There I was, in my little T23E3, in the middle of France, looking at a gigantic german Tiger. He hadn’t seen me yet, but he was heading my way, and there was no way my little gun was going to do anything to the massive armor on the front of that beast.
“Jimmy,” I yelled at my driver, “The only hope we have is to get behind him and hit his rear where his armor is weakest. Take a right, go left right through the center of that church. When we come out the other side, we should be just behind him.” This was going to be a pretty touchy operation. If we don’t penetrate his armor and kill his engine, he’s going to turn around and blow us away.
Sitting out of the commanders hatch I felt the tank start to move underneath me. I quickly lowered my chair and buttoned up the hatch, bringing Justice, my attack/recon eagle from his perch on my turret and into the tank with me. Just as I looked through my vision slit I saw the church right in front of us before we smashed into and through the wall. Chunks of concrete flew everywhere, powdering and filling the air with dust. We could hardly see a thing, but we were still moving forward, the sound of crunching pews and altars marking our passage.
Suddenly, we felt the ground lurch underneath us. Underscored by the swearing of the crew, the tank fell through the floor. Luckily, the debris formed something of a ramp. The tank was out of control, sliding and bouncing, with a roar so loud I could only barely hear Justice shrieking in his cage. Somehow, we managed to stay upright through the dark descent.
After what seemed an eternity but could only have been a few seconds, we ground to a halt. I opened my hatch and stuck my head out to take a look around. We appeared to be in a gigantic underground cavern, lit with the strangest blue glow. As the dust settled I saw that the glow emanated from what looked like a giant obsidian obelisk in front of us. The crew was variously moaning and calling out questions, but none of that registered. The glow from the obelisk seemed to be reaching for us. “Light doesn’t do that” I thought as the light reached the tank.
Suddenly, it was so bright and clear in the tank. Everything seemed to emanate light, although there were no shadows and no light sources. At first I felt almost weightless, and then I began to hurt. Soon, I could feel the pain in each separate cell in my body, every part of my being was crying out for relief, and I could feel my body begin to melt away. I looked at my hand, and realized I could see right through it. I looked at Justice, and he seemed to fade into nothing mid screech. Soon, my consciousness faded to…..
Chapter 2
When I awoke, I was still sitting there in my commander’s chair, although it had sunk back into the tank. Through the open hatch I could see clear blue sky. I could hear the crew beginning to shift and moan, and Justice was busily grooming and making sure all his parts were where they are supposed to be. I raised my chair and saw a group of people standing in a circle around the tank. At the head of the circle, grey eyes boring into mine, stood the most androgynous being I had ever seen. He or she was tall and gaunt, dressed in what appeared to be tight battledress and cape, covered in black and white stripes running from head to toe.
“I AM THE RIBBLE!” the creature seemed to say, although the words seem to roar from the center of my head rather than coming in through my ears. “WELCOME TO MY COLISEUM. YOU ARE TO BE A CONTESTANT IN THE GREATEST GAME OF WARFARE THIS MULTIVERSE HAS EVER KNOWN.”
Confused, I asked “What great game? Where am I? And how do I get back home?”
“ASK NOT QUESTIONS OF ME!” Ribble replied indignantly, his almost effeminate lips curled into a sneer. “YOU ARE AS DUST BENEATH MY FEET, YOUR PETTY CONCERNS ARE AS INSIGNIFICANT TO ME AS YOU ARE YOURSELVES. YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED A GUIDE WHO MAY CHOOSE TO ANSWER AS THEY SEE FIT.”
Ribble didn’t turn around, but suddenly he was facing the other way. He started to float away, his advisors sycophantly following him. "Wait just a minute there, Ribble! What makes you think I'll fight for you? I'm not afraid of torture, and I have no fear of death! What hold do you think you have over me?"
"I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE AFRAID OF…." he said. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, a blur of red was suddenly in front of me, spinning with blades in each hand, flaming red hair flying wild as the whirling dervish of death spun towards me. With a deadly look in her bright green eyes, the unholy beauty lunged at me, cutting open my chest in an instant, and ripped out my heart. As she watched me die, I saw her blood red lips part in slow motion as she brought my still beating heart towards her mouth. I blinked and she was gone, I was fine, my heart pounding in my chest, still watching Ribble and his minions walking away.
"Damn," I thought, "he knows my wife."
Just then a bright light appeared high above, like a star, but it was swiftly descending. It grew brighter and brighter as it got lower and lower, and I ducked back into the tank afraid that we were about to get hit by a meteor. At the last second the light dimmed and I saw that it was a group of 6 men, slowly settling to the ground. They were all dressed in what looked like armor from the middle ages and carrying swords.
“We are the Crusader Six. We shall be your guides through this mighty tournament of champions,” said the leader as my crew stumbled out of their hatches. The Crusader Six explained that Ribble was an interdimensional being who, for unknown reasons, started this tournament. He was searching for the greatest warriors who could meld man and machine into the greatest weapon.
“But why us?” I asked. “And how us? I feel like we’re a long way from France.”
The Crusaders all had a look of resignation on their faces as they began the retelling of an ancient tale. “We live in a Multi-verse” the Crusader Sixes explained. “The universe you came from is but one of many. The Ribble is able to pull the greatest tank warriors from each universe to here, the center of it all. Here, you fight to prove that you are the greatest warrior in all of the Multiverse, or you die.”
After a while it became clear to me that we would be fighting creatures from all over the multiverse, in machines we’ve never seen. When I told the Crusader Six that our tank had probably taken horrible damage and was probably not the ideal vehicle for this type of tournament, he advised me that we could have access to every tank from our own timeline, and we would be fighting in teams of 7, our teammates also being drawn from our own timelines.
With that, all the tanks appeared before us. And I mean all the tanks, from one horizon to the other all we could see was row upon row of armored tanks, from America, from Germany, from Russia, from everywhere. I knew what we wanted though.
“Crusader, we already know what we need. Give us our T34 heavy tank.” This tank had a massive gun mounted in a massive turret. It would penetrate thicker armor than almost any other tank in America’s arsenal. My loader, gunner, and driver each conferred with a different Crusader to nail down exactly what we needed in terms of shells, gasoline, food, and other supplies.
“Commander,” Crusader said as all the other tanks disappeared and our T34 slowly materialized before us, “now is the time to accustom your crew to your new tank, and rest. Tomorrow, you shall meet the rest of your team.” Justice landed on the turret of his new tank, liking the feel of the cold metal beneath his talons.
Chapter 3
The next day we woke up on the pallets my gunner had the Crusader Six send us. We were still confused, I was sure I was still dreaming. No amount of pinching helped though, we were still in the same place. Soon, other tanks began materializing. As the crews emerged from their hatches and started mingling, I got together with the other tank commanders to see what I was working with.
The first tanker to approach was a grizzled veteran with a scar running from his hairline to his chin. “They call me Ronaldus Maximus because of my Greek heritage.” he said with a slight smile. He was also American and told me about how he was about to get promoted out of the field when he ran into a little trouble involving his commander’s daughter. “She told me her husband was okay with it, but when her dad caught us that didn’t matter any more,” he said with a laugh. I was worried, he was driving some monstrosity he called a TOG, but it looked like a giant target to me.
Another tanker approached. He was short but stout, but with a wild mane of unruly hair and stinking of vodka. “I am Boris!” he exclaimed, speaking with a thick Russian accent. “I have Russian name, but drive German tank! I drive Dicker Max! Dicker is the tank, but also what I do to your woman!” he yelled at me with a roaring laugh.
“Oh, this is I can handle” I thought as I saw that the next tank commander was a beautiful woman. As she got closer and I could see her eyes, any thought of sex left me. Her eyes were dead cold, as if she’d shoot me as soon as she’d look at me. “My name is Dianne Marie Guttier, but they call me DMG” she said. She was French and had a background in interrogation, she said, and I could only imagine the pain those beautiful hands have inflicted. As she turned to go back to her Batchat, I made sure my eyes stayed away from her posterior.
Next was a portly, hairy man, with a twinkle in his eye and a swing in his step. “Argh, they call me Blartch” he said, sounding just like a pirate. This grizzled veteran of a dozen battles seemed supremely confidant in the abilities of his crew and his tank, an Italian Progetto.
A tall, statuesque, shapely woman approached. Her name was Judy, and as she flipped her hair she told me about her past, coming up through the ranks of the army, proving that she was more than just a good looking gal by the destruction brought by her tank. She winked at me as she slipped into her Foch. I knew this one would be a whole different sort of trouble. As she walked away, Ronnie said "I don't want her to leave, but I sure do like to see her go! Look at that big booty, Judy!" Ronnie then lost a tooth.
Finally, the last tanker approached. He had short hair and an all business demeanor. His name was Paul Sitive, and he was the german commander of a battle group. He left me with the impression of a no nonsense officer determined to finish whatever job was put before him. His tank was the fierce Skorpion G.
As Justice flew overhead, shrieking with excitement, I gathered our team together and began preparations for the upcoming battle.
Chapter 4
We were given a couple of weeks to get used to each other and practice maneuvers. Paul Sitive was a natural leader. Ronnie gave him the nickname Positive on the first day. Ronnie was a practical joker, but it was nice to have a laugh or two in this confusing, scary place. Boris hit on DMG on the first day and almost lost an eye, everyone left her alone after that. Everyone hit on Judy, but Judy only had eyes for me. I was used to it, having been extremely handsome since birth, but I had to tell her that I was a warrior, and there was no room for love on this battlefield. Besides, I was married, and if we ever made it back to our own timeline, my wife would kill her. Still, she was sweet to everybody, and Blartch hung onto her every word, looking at her with puppy dog eyes.
After a couple of weeks we were starting to fall into the routine of waking, eating, practicing maneuvers, range practice, maintenance, and back to sleep. The Crusader Six told us about the enemy team we were to face in battle. They would be the red team and we would be the blue team. They were from a different spacetime and drove tanks that we had never seen before. They were led by a creature called OMK, a renowned sabateur. His team all had strange names, like Wrecker and Bellator the Monk. Their tanks had even stranger names, Dracula, Vindicator, and Lupus. We saw pictures, and they looked like no tanks any of us had ever seen. “The battle to come will be interesting, indeed” said Positive.
Next came a visit from Ribble. “PREPARE THYSELVES! THE BATTLE IS NIGH!” The Crusader Six explained that tomorrow we’d have the battle we’ve been preparing for. I told him there was one more thing we needed. Well two more.
"Chickens."
That night, I stripped, and spent a couple of hours meditating, reciting some ancient incantations I know. When the time was right, I grabbed the chickens, biting off both their heads at the same time, the blood dripping across my massive pecs down to my washboard abs, dedicating the sacrifice to X'thultha, my favorite voodoo God, who would insure that our shots fired true. Judy watched lustily, Ronnie tried to pretend not to watch lustily, and even DMG cocked an eyebrow. Later, Boris made a nice chicken dish and we made our way to bed, anxious for tomorrow.
Chapter 5
We were suddenly transported to an ancient land. There were ruins everywhere.
“Look at this!” exclaimed Ronnie. You could see what appeared to be ancient Mayan scripts on the old stone ruins. We were given the morning to explore the area, with our opposing team getting to explore in the afternoon.
That evening, having been supplied some lightly alcoholic beverages from the Crusader Six, we all sat and watched Justice nibble on some creatures he had caught and thought about the battle to come, and what our future might be beyond that.
The next morning we all awoke at the same time on the battlefield. Ribble’s voice rang out loud and clear. “THE BATTLE COMMENCES NOW!” “Jeez, can we at least make some coffee first?” Ronnie yelled out. Ribble did not respond.
“Come on people,” I yelled, “let’s get it together before the reds do!” I opened the hatch of my T34 and sent Justice out to do some recon. There were grassy hills to the left, and a large set of ruins to the right.
“Commander,” Positive said, "we need to go the left. The grassy hills will provide cover for our hulls while allowing our guns to shoot the enemies.” I deferred to his tactical wisdom.
As we went to the hills, we saw a small creek flowing around a couple of hills. DMG took her batchat to the top of a hill for recon. "Red tank to the northeast!" she called on the radio. Suddenly, a black tank, fast as lightning, bolted over the other hill.
"Looks like the Dracula the Crusader Sixes told us about." Boris said. The Dracula sent a snap shot towards DMG but she had already backed down the hill. As the Dracula turned and sped back from where it had come, Blartch came around the hill and put three shots into his engine, stopping the Dracula in it's tracks and setting him on fire. As Boris launched the final kill shot at the Dracula, suddenly a massive tank destroyer crested the hill and sent a massive round into the side of Blartch's tank. As the crew evacuated the tank they pulled Blartch out, moaning, and missing one leg from the knee down. Ronnie started laying rounds onto the tank destroyer but it's giant dozer like blade bounced his shots.
Suddenly, Positive put a massive round from his own gun right through the view port of the Vindicator, incinerating it's driver. At the same time Judy came up from behind and shot up the tank destroyers rear, permanently removing it from the battle.
"Stay alert team, there's a lot more of them out there," I say, stroking Justice's feathers. Suddenly Justice let out a screech and launched, alerting me to the double barrelled tank coming behind me. "Forward, now!" I screamed to me driver as both barrels fired. I saw one round screech past as the other bounced off my turret.
"Get that Helsing!" I yelled on the radio as we struggled to turn my tank and turret towards the new threat. Judy came around the corner, hunting for the Helsing, when her tank suddenly exploded. There was the ugliest tank imaginable on top of a hill, it's huge barrel able to depress more than I thought possible. The Lupus fired again, Ronnie's TOG absorbing the round. Meanwhile, I finally had myself turned when the Helsing popped out of cover again. We both shot at the same time. My massive shell went in one side of the Helsing's hull and out the other. Both of his shells hit the front of my hull, killing my driver. Luckily I had duplicate driving controls in my commanders area, but it would definitely slow me down. Behind me, Positive, Ronnie, and Boris were concentrating their fire on the lupus. Many of their shells were bouncing off his armor, and he managed to put one more shot into Ronnie, blowing the TOG's turret high into the sky. Positive and Boris began blasting through the lupus' armor, until suddenly flames spewed out of every hatch.
Suddenly two tanks rounded the hill below the burning lupus. Boris backed behind a rock while Positive tried to spin his tank behind the hill, but was taken out by a shot from each of the Lycans. I took a shot at one, penetrating but I couldn't tell if any damage had been done. His partner bounced a round off my turret, and then took a round from Boris through his own turret. DMG appeared behind the other lycan, pouring shot after shot into the hapless tank when she was hit from behind. One shot, another, another, six quick shots in succession pounded into her little batchat. One of them must have breached her ammo rack, causing a jet of fire to shoot vertically hundreds of feet out of the top of the turret.
Fighting to drive and command my tank at the same time, I headed for DMG. By the time I got to her tank I heard Boris call on the radio, "Help, he came around!". I saw Boris put a round through the front of a Nightmare, when I heard another six shots and saw Boris' dicker start burning, a huge Gravedigger looming over it. I could see the mishappen skull of OMK riding out of his commander's hatch.
I fired. The round penetrated his turret, killing his loader and his Gunner. He didn't need them to finish me. I could see the barrel of his gun centering on my tank as my loader struggled to get another round up the tube. "Faster!" I screamed, watching death line up it's aim. Suddenly, Justice came screeching down from the sky, attacking OMK, his talons ripping across OMK's face, his beak searching for his eyes. Screaming, OMK pushed the eagle off just as I heard the chunk of my loader closing his breech.
The last I saw of OMK, he was reaching for his ruined face as I said "Eat this, futhermucker!" My shell hit him right in the hatch, vaporising his upper torso.
The silence that followed was deafening. Justice, landing on his usual perch on the turret, watched as grief overcame me. Everyone was dead. Everyone but me.
"EXCELLENT! YOU HAVE VANQUISHED ALL FOES! FOR YOUR FEATS IN BATTLE, YOU HAVE EARNED THE TITLE OF CLETUS, THE MIGHTIEST OF ALL WARRIORS!" Ribble's voice reverberated through my head.
"But they're all dead!" I screamed, and the world exploded.
Chapter 6
We woke on our pallets at dawn as usual. We looked at each other, saying nothing, hoping it was all a dream but fearing it was not. Blartch's new wooden pegleg would have confirmed the truth, but we didn't want to think about truth yet. I didn't want to think about seeing everyone die. I didn't want to think about the fact that I didn't die. And I was afraid to admit to myself how proud I was to be the Cletus.
Eventually, the Crusader Six floated down from the sky, as usual. "But we died!" said Ronnie.
"Oh you did," replied the Crusader Six. "But here, if Ribble wants you for more battles, you don't stay dead."
Chapter 7
"Need some help here guys," Ronnie yelled over the radio as his TOG took another hit to it's flank. A small tank was circling him at top speed, just barely staying ahead of Ronnie's gun. With a flash/crack like lightning the little tank's track parted thanks to a hit from Boris' tank, it's barrel poking out of a bush. From the other side of the clearing a blast from Judy finished off the RU 251. Positive, our strategist, found that one good use for Ronnie's huge bulk of metal was as bait. Nobody told Ronnie that's what was going on, but he was the cheese in the mousetrap. It worked because Ronnie's behemoth was able to absorb an astounding number of shells and keep firing.
There were already a couple of burning tanks littering the battlefield. This time they were fighting a weird breed of German from some crazy alternate space-time. They were led by a fellow named Baron von Tink. He had won as many battles as we had so were being careful. We had learned that the first battle was only the beginning. We had learned that every time a tanker was the last remaining alive he was given the title of "The Cletus," but at this point the nickname had stuck with me anyway. We were part of a vast tournament to find the very best team. There had to be some point to it all but nobody could really figure it out.
"Got em," DMG called out on the radio. She had her Bat-Chat parked on a ridge overlooking the valley where the battle was taking place. "Two coming from the north, one from the west and oh my, someone is coming fast from the East. In a Grille."
A few seconds later a Grille burst out from the woods to the east, blasting Ronnie with it's huge gun. I could see Baron von Tink standing up, his sore covered face dripping pus onto his German officer's uniform, yelling "You only live once!" He was shot by six guns at once, turning into a ball of gaseous flame. His ammo cooked off a couple of seconds later, flattening nearby trees. After a few seconds Ronnie's TOG started moving again, but very slowly.
"I wonder what got into him," asked Positive after von Tink's impromptu barbecue. The remainder of the red team was a little smarter about it. One tank pulled off into an overwatch position while the other two approached Ronnie from two different directions, looking for a final kill shot. They were unaware of DMG watching from above and the rest of us were well hidden behind boulders and bushes. As soon as they were in range Positive popped one on the turret while Judy hit the other in the hull. By the time Boris was putting his finishing shots into the two attackers, DMG had already slid her tank down the cliff and emptied her auto-loader into the final red.
"ANOTHER WIN FOR MY MOST SUCCESSFUL TEAM OF TANKERS," Ribble's voice roared in our heads. "REST AND PREPARE FOR MORE CHALLENGES ARE YET TO COME!"
Chapter 8
Ronnie stopped at the door to the pool house. Judy and DMG were in the hot tub, giggling, sitting very close, a couple of empty wine bottles floating next to them. Judy's bikini was mostly made of string and hope. DMG's suit would have started riots back home.
Judy looked up at Ronnie. "Come on in, the waters warm," she said with a bubbly smile, adjusting her top before her ample breasts sprang loose. DMG also gave him an inviting smile, flesh jiggling in all the right places. The swimsuits were designed to show more than they hid. Ronnie slipped into the hot tub between the two gorgeous women, putting an arm around each one.
"So what are you ladies getting into tonight?" he asked like a pimp.
"Your pants, stud," said DMG as she moved in for a kiss. Suddenly, Ronnie sucked in a mouthful of water! He picked his head out of the water, coughing it out of his lungs. He had fallen asleep in the hot tub again. He climbed out, not noticing Judy, wearing a sensible swimsuit, climbing out of the adjacent swimming pool to see if he was okay.
"Arrghh Ronnie. Is that a pencil in your pocket?" Blartch asked, stumping around on his pegleg.
Boris, sitting poolside with Judy roared with laughter. "Ronnie cannot drive the Dicker Max, but he is ready for the Dicker Mini!"
Since the Crusader was able to get us anything we wanted we had him materialize a more permanent dormitory for us to stay in, complete with a pool, hot tub, kitchen, and any other amenity we could think of. I was working out in the weight room, just killing time idly benching 600 pounds in ten reps of ten, as one does, when the Crusader Six showed up to talk about our next battle. He told me we would be facing new opponents like we had not seen before. Time flows faster in their home universe so their technology is ahead of ours. The Crusader was confident that our equipment would be more than a match for them, explaining that they barely had any armor. I felt pretty good about it. We had won every match so far, what could go wrong now?
Chapter 9
We sent Ronnie down into the canyon. "But guys," he protested, "I'm probably not best spotter."
Coughing sounds came over the radio. "Cough, cough, bait, cough" Blartch spluttered over the radio.
"Don't worry," I told him, "you got this. Just let us know when you see the first red." DMG was slightly ahead and above on the highest ridge, looking for the enemy tanks. I was on the opposite ridge, hoping to use my strong turret armor and gun depression to full advantage. Justice let out a screech as she was circling overhead. The rest of the team was spread out, ready to counter an expected push on Ronnie.
"Enemy spotted," DMG's calm voice called out. " Two light tanks at Ronnie's twelve o'clock. They saw him and went behind that little hill." Suddenly a missile shot up from behind the hill, curving down and sideways, hitting Ronnie in the upper right side. Another missile shot out, this one going up in the air before turning and hitting the top of Ronnie's turret, vaporising it.
Blartch's gun boomed as he said on the radio, "The quick little buggers are coming from behind us!" I saw the tank he was engaging spin around and hit him in the side with a standard round. I tried to get a bead on his attacker, but just then a missile hit my back deck, disabling my engine. They were coming out of nowhere, faster than we were. Boris shot one but his shell bounced off the sharply angled front of the little enemy tank. The red shot back, penetrating his hull and disabling his tank.
I heard Judy scream out on the radio, her tank burning, while DMG charged down the cliff to engage the tanks shooting missiles from behind cover. She emptied her clip into one, but during that time the tanks each fired a shell into her. "They can fire shells and missiles?" Positive yelled in frustration, just before two reds hit him from both sides. As my crew struggled to re-start my damaged engine, the reds idly drove among us, finishing off the survivors. Finally, as a last hurrah, they all lined up and simultaneously fired a missile at me. The last thing I remember seeing is flame.
Chapter 10
Do you know what it's like to die? I do. When you wake up, you're alive, but you always feel like some piece of you got left on the battlefield. And you always have new scars and burns, you are never rebuilt like new. The tanks were rebuilt like new, but the people bore the scars. Blartch's leg never grew back. And this time was worse. We had all been killed in battle before, but we had never lost the fight. We weren't even sure Ribble reanimated those who lost his tournaments. As we went to the restroom and got coffee, there were many angry grumbles and complaints.
Ribble appeared, as always wearing a black and white striped outfit, even his face was striped black and white with makeup. The Crusader Six was at his side.
"I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. I DID NOT BELIEVE YOUR OPPONENTS WERE AS GREAT OF TANKERS AS YOURSELVES."
"Sir, they probably were not as great as us, but their tanks were much more advanced than ours," you reply. "They had guided missiles!"
The Crusader Six spoke up. "I have done a careful evaluation of the equipment used by both sides and found them to be equal. This team is welcome to use the same tank."
One of the new missile tanks appeared before us. Boris pulled on his ever present vodka bottle and climbed inside to take a look around. “Where is control? Is all screens and buttons!”
“Yes,” said Crusader, “you must learn to use the computers in the tank. That is the only way to use the guided missiles, switch the ammo, or load the gun.”
Right then I knew Crusader did not know what he was talking about. I had seen computers before, they are the size of a small house. There’s no way one could ever be installed in a tank.
It was time to end this farce. “Ribble, if it’s not a fair fight, I’ll not fight for you anymore.”
“YOU HAVE NO CHOICE! HAVE YOU ALREADY FORGOTTEN YOUR LESSON?”
Just like before, a red haired vision of death appeared before me. She was fast, her blades flashing like lightning, spinning and laughing, coming closer. As she lunged towards me I stepped into her strike, causing her to miss. I grabbed her hands, staring into her bright green eyes.
“Chill bi-atch,” I said seductively, pulling her closer until our faces were almost touching. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
As with almost all women, she couldn’t resist my pure, raw, animalistic attractiveness. She melted into my arms as we had a long, deep, tonguey, kiss. I felt a warmth, a power, in the center of my body, spreading out into my limbs. I had never felt so strong, I had never felt such vitality course through my veins.
Ribble’s face, for the first time ever showed confusion, and even a little bit of fear. “HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” he asked as he willed the redheaded demon back out of existence. Somehow, in beating Ribble’s construct of my greatest fear, I had absorbed some of his powers.
I didn’t realize it at the time but my teammates told me later that I began to glow, and float a couple of inches off the floor.
“It’s the power of love, Ribble!” I shouted. “It’s something you couldn’t understand. Now you have three choices, make the matches fair, either return me to my home, or kill me for good!”
“SILLY MORTAL, THERE IS ANOTHER CHOICE. I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM MORTALS SUCH AS YOURSELF, EVEN IF YOU ARE MY VERY BEST TANKER. I SHALL WAIT AND THINK UPON THIS DILEMMA. YOU SHALL REMAIN HERE UNTIL MY DECISION.”
With that he disappeared.
Chapter 11
Time flows awkwardly in our corner of the multiverse. As we waited for Ribble’s decision we didn’t know if weeks or months had passed. I found that I had indeed somehow absorbed some of Ribble’s power. I had to learn to use it though. I could make myself float, and could make some small objects materialize out of the ether, but I knew I was capable of so much more. I needed time to practice. I couldn’t help but worry about what was happening in my home space-time. Were we winning the war against the nazis? Were my fellow soldiers in France even still alive? As I thought more and more about my responsibilities I had left behind, I felt a pull in my heart. It was almost as if my home was pulling me back. I began to feel a call….A….Call...of….Duty.
[Editor’s note: That’s the end of the story for now. It may continue, it may not. It all depends on what Ribble’s decision is on the OP missile tanks. Thanks for reading, or if you’re in Triarii, for listening to the books on tape edition.]
Edited by _Cletus, 24 January 2020 - 07:04 PM.
