Counter Earth Chronicles - Fallen Empire

Chapter 105: The Center Of All Things

Day 297 [November 1st] (Medical, World Seven Central Tower)

“There she is!" I said greeting the grey vampire bat. “And with your arrival my shift ends."

“Yes boy. How was it?" Nezera asked me.

“I was visited by a few patients who sustained injuries from the remodeling of the Chado's former development on what is our new home planet. Nothing serious. How is your training going by the way?"

“Penny and Lily Blossom have taught me so much." The pretty lady bat started to say. “And Shakara has forgiven me for trying to eat her when we first met."

“It isn't just the medical knowledge- but how you have learned to come out of yourself and start to care about others Nezera."

The grey she bat looked at me funny.

“Not those Others, but your fellow colonists. I bet your time with Kala and the vigilantes started you on that path." 

“Perhaps human." The she bat said while using her webbed paw to mess up my hair.

“Well we needed a medic for the night watch and you are a perfect fit." I said to her.

“I just like that I now have ample access to the blood supplies." She said smiling wickedly. “Now scoot. Do you have anything planned for this evening?"

“I am going to catch up on my journal. I haven't made an entry in it for some time." I said to the she bat while admiring her long ears.

“That sounds absolutely boring. You aren't doing anything with your lovers this evening or are they going to do anything with you?"

“Lady Ursa and Shakara are helping out Hugh, Dianna and Lolly in the new community garden." 

“That's right Mia and Little Corey defected and are helping Mitsa and Lune launch their bakery."

“It is just a continuation of the organized reorganization of the last several months with the move and all. Have a good shift. Penny will be by to relieve you in the morning." I said as I started to walk out of the infirmary. Before stopping in my tracks.

“Something more human?"

I quickly ran back to hug the grey bat. “This. Here's to turning enemies and former foes into friends."

“I suppose- but all of this hugging yech…" She said startled.

“What I am saying is that we are all in this together Nezera our contributions here in the central tower however so slight aid in the overall health of our new colony."

“Very well. But know this for future reference, I am not a hugger, I am a drinker." She said, showing me her flesh piercing fangs.

“Noted." I replied. 

I made my way from the infirmary upstairs to the newly constructed library of remembrance where Dawn and Corbin decided to house their archaeological records. I also decided to place my journal here which documented our lives over the last eleven months. Well almost. I hadn't made a journal entry since August. It wasn't for lack of trying it just was that I was busy as was everyone before, during and after our relocation from Counter Earth.

I found my journal in a lone bookcase just waiting to be filled with knowledge. I removed it, found a comfortable chair and table. (It was the only chair and table in the room.) Grabbed a home-made pencil, sat down and started writing the continuation of my story, my community's story which was really all of our stories. 

(Let's see….)

*scribble* *scribble*

The Story Thus Far:

Now that I have time to sit down and think about it, this has been one amazing adventure. It all started three years ago when I was starving and homeless on Gaia. I accepted a proposal from a nutty professor who wanted to use me to test a transporter device to explore a world he was planning to evacuate to leaving our war torn impoverished planet behind.

When said transporter did not exactly work as advertised, I found myself on another Gaia only this one was in an alternate reality! It was a planet ruled by a despotic dictator who created a prosperous civilization for a select few inhabitants and dystopian one for the rest. 

Upon my accidental arrival I was jailed, tried and convicted of planetary trespass. My sentence was suspended at the eleventh hour and 59th minute when I was adopted by one of the dictator's enforcers becoming her pet. She gave me a home, love, affection and even educated me. During that time I became a productive member of this civilization assisting the dictator's enforcers on a number of missions during the waning days of the empire.  

The empire's end came during a time of upheaval and unrest from a mysterious enemy that had existed long before life was present on the planet. Meaning my new adoptive home was doomed from the start.

The months in the aftermath of the empire's collapse were full of brutality, fear, terror, despair and desperation as I discovered the totality of what had happened; the enemy that had ended the dictator's reign took over his cities, personal mobility, communications, those few who survived the fall- everything. 

If dealing with the conquer of worlds wasn't bad enough, more threats started appearing- creatures shady corporations had created and were experimenting on escaped from their labs, and research facilities forming tribes. And then there was also an extraterrestrial threat from these other worldly beings who had been intensely studying the dictator's creations during and after his reign.

Those who still had their free will, banded together forming small colonies as they fought to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. All too soon they realized that the enemies around them were increasing in size and ferocity; annihilation would come soon. Another solution was needed. Well I and few of my friends. Actually my sister's doppelgänger, found the solution; how to end the long night and rekindle the light to civilization. 

But wait, I am getting ahead of myself...

“Hey little buddy whatcha doing?" A red dragon dressed in tan pants and a white shirt said breaking my concentration. 

“King Dragon… uh my liege!"

“For you it is Sorren little buddy."

(Well he didn't quite dress the part. Was it because it was after hours?)

“King Dragon sounds better." I teased.

“Speaking of names, I am thinking about renaming this city. How about the city Dragonia?"

“I don't know, I like Friendship Settlement, anything is better than World Seven. It is too much of a reminder of Counter Earth and the High Evolutionary." I replied. “To answer your question, it has been three months since we left Counter Earth and I haven't been keeping my journal up to date. I guess I haven't had the time."

“Tell me about it. I think the reason the Chado brought us to this world and let us resettle in their former city was just so we can mitigate despites between the planet's inhabitants."

“Well you and the new council have been busy with meetings Sorren."

“It is exhausting!! And they are still going on now!!" The dragon gasped. “I didn't know that being a ruler could be so tiring!"

“King Dragon?" A Caracal shouted from down the hall. “Where are you?"

“Oh no!! They have found me!!!" The goofy dragon whispered.

“Alex Winter as your king I am ordering you not to tell my guards that I have absconded for the evening."

“Yes your majesty err.. Sorren." I said as he ran out of the library.

“Evening Alex." Sanda said, peeking his head inside the library.

“By chance you haven't seen our king?"

Per the king's order, I did not utter a word- I just pointed in the direction he had ran.

“The knights thank you for your assistance Mr. Winter. Chemar, he went that way!!!" The tailless caracal said, resuming the hunt.

(Now Where was I?)

Word spread about Acala's pink hover vehicle the day after Tippi, Corey, Rumble and I recovered it from the Monster King's domain and the mood within the lost city was pretty positive.

But the following morning when Kenna and Arugula zeroed in on the location Tippi had traveled from, the colony went nuts. How nuts?

Day 208 [August 4th] (Central building, Shira's office.)

“Corbin, Yogi, Mia and little Corey good morning and what can I do for you?" The saber tooth tigress said welcoming the mongoose, yeti and human siblings into her office.

“Morning Shira. Yogi, Mia and little Corey were wondering when we are leaving Counter Earth?" The little mongoose boy asked.

“Yeah we are all packed and ready to go!" The manufactured toy exclaimed.

“Yeah, can you imagine we will be able to play outside without becoming monster chow?!" Mia said. “No offense Yogi."

“HMPH!" The yeti said crossing his arms. “Not all monsters eat beastials or humans you know."

“My you are all excited please come in and have a seat." The female barbarian said.

“Wow, nice office." Yogi gasped. “You have acclimated quite nicely."

“I realized during my visit, that I could offer your leadership my knowledge and experience from running my own colony despite Rhinox and Barqs paws in its destruction." The female warrior said. 

“And we are glad to have you here miss Shira. Of all the warriors protecting this colony, you are my favorite."

“Little Corey that is so sweet." The tigress responded. 

“So when are we leaving?" Corey asked.

“Well, it isn't going to be today little ones. Lady Barq, Lady Ursa, Rhinox and I have to plan an away mission first."

“You mean to take Tippi back home?" Yogi said.

“Yes."

“Then what is the hold up?" Corbin asked, adding his opinion.

“Well, we have to figure out exactly who will be accompanying Tippi." The female barbarian started to say.

“Most obviously Alex." Yogi replied.

“Yuppers, he is the only medic in the colony." Mia added.

“He also is our hostile environment expert and his precognitive abilities would also be a benefit." Corbin added.

“And he has recovered enough from his last mission." Little Corey added.

“Well you have a point there. But we also need someone else to go along with the two of them in case he has another shimmer. This third person has to be able to convince Dongo, Doria, Tippi's mother and the rest to let us use their vehicles for travel." Shira countered.

“Oh that is an easy one." The manufactured toy said. “It is you."

“Me?"

“Yeah it makes sense Rhinox, Barq and Ursa are warriors of the former empire without much diplomatic experience." Mia added.

“Neither are any of the other warriors in the lost city." Little Corey said smiling.

“Milton and Melinda are smooth talkers, but if the situation calls for fighting well not so much." Yogi added.

“That leaves you Shira. You led a colony and dealt with outsiders as well. It was in a xenophobic way, though but that makes you more than qualified." The little mongoose boy said.

“Well.. then there is still which prototype to take." The tigress said.

“Well the grey one can't fly so that is out." Yogi said.

“The red one is recently repaired but its weaponry is limited because of the damage is sustained." Mia added.

“So that leaves the blue prototype which is the oldest in the fleet and has the most flight hours on it." Little Corey said.

“And it still has its original arsenal available including the surveillance probe." Corbin said smiling.

“So now you know the who, the how and with what. Any further questions?" The youngling quartet said in unison.

“Then there is convincing Dongo and Doria and the rest of their group…."

“I think that will be up to you and Alex to decide. Personally I would invite them to come along with us to the new planet." Yogi said confidently.

“You seem to have covered all of our concerns. I will talk to the rest of the leadership about the forthcoming mission. Now you four scoot. My, out of the mouth of babes." The female warrior said. 

When I checked on my warrior bear a little later she was in deep discussions with her colleagues over that important, important mission.

Day 209 [August 5th] (1:31 PM. Somewhere far east of the former empire.)

“And the four of them literally picked you, myself and Overwatch for this mission saying that we were the most qualified out of everyone else in the colony." The saber tooth tigress said as we flew over what appeared to be a great body of water.

“Out of the mouth of babes." I said looking at the view.

“That is exactly what I said."

*So when you presented it to Lady Ursa, Lady Barq and Rhinox what did they say?*

“Corbin, Little Corey, Yogi and Mia's reasoning was sound." Shira replied.

“And so here we are over this great body of water."

*An ocean Mr. Winter. It is quite expansive in all directions.*

“And has been for the last several hours." I replied sarcastically.

*Wait. The probe is detecting something about a mile away.*

“Bring it up." I ordered the automated assistant. “That is it, Kenna and Arugula were spot on."

“What is this place?" The tigress asked, looking at the image from the front mounted camera on the nose of the prototype.

*A peculiar area comprising of grasslands, plains, forests, steppes, highlands, mountains and tundra surrounding a beach within a four mile radius. Talk about having it all.* 

“There is an encampment consisting of two homes on wheels, a utility vehicle and another that looks like a mixture of the previous two." The female barbarian said.

“Overwatch disengage hover mode and engage hydrofoil mode."

*Acknowledged Mr. Winter.* 

The blue coupe hit the water as two skis extended from the underside of the vehicle and we sped toward the beach.

“Shall we wake our guest?"

*I believe Ms. Otter is sleeping in the back. Something about being anxious and fearful of seeing her mother.*

We soon arrived at the shoreline piloting onto the beach right in front of a cervine, puma and jackal who were playing some type of board game, two otters who were sunning themselves and a human female who was holding a hyena's paw. All of them stopped and looked at the blue coupe that emerged from the ocean right in front of them.

I pressed the PA button on the weapons menu as they stared in awe.

“Greetings! Myself and my friends….. we mean you no harm….. we come in peace to establish friendly relations….. with you."

“What type of greeting is that?" Shira asked, staring me down.

“I heard it on a sci-fi space show on the hub some time ago. The commander of this spacecraft would beam down to a planet and address the locals in just that way."

“Mr. Alex please don't do that again." Tippi said, yawning. “The nexus?! We are here!!"

I stepped out of the hover vehicle and looked at my former colleagues from the consortium. “Dongo, Doria how are things?"

“ALEX?" The male hyena said springing to his feet. He was wearing sandals, a white shirt and brown shorts. 

“As I live and breathe Alex Winter what are you doing here?" Doria said, running to hug me. She was wearing a yellow bathing suit." The otter couple watched silently.

“We were returning a certain young otter and decided to drop by for a visit."

“Tippi?!" The she otter said standing up.

“Um hi, mom." The otter girl said emerging from the prototype.

“Tippi!!!" The female otter lady said running toward her daughter. It was like one of those scenes you have seen in a after school special on the hub. It was until… “You are in so much trouble young lady!!!"

“Tippi your mother and I were worried sick." The male otter sitting next to her said. “Where have you been?"

“What did you do to my sedan?"

“I think it is best to let those three get reacquainted." Doria said to me. “Who is your friend?"

“This is Shira, she is one of the leaders of our colony."

The comment caught the attention of the cervine, puma and jackal.

“Well hello beautiful!" The jackal said eyeing the saber tooth tigress. “What is a knockout like you doing in a place like this?"

*GRAB* 

“Forgive my friend Titanous over there, he sees a pretty face and loses all control. I am Aboa, nice to meet you and welcome to our little paradise." A female cervine said welcoming us.

“What control? He ended a relationship just before new years and now wants another one. By the way the name is Dom." A puma said bowing.

“Yeah unfortunately females are in short supply around these parts until now." The jackal said rebounding.

“Hey what am I?!" The cervine growled.

“Exactly, what are you?" Titanous teased.

“That's it!!!" The cervine yelled running after him.

“Look out mad deer! Mad deer!!" Dom shouted as Aboa started chasing him as well.

“I take it those three are good friends." I replied.

“Never a dull moment around these parts." Dongo said walking over. “Thanks for your warning Alex. If you hadn't contacted me…"

I gave the hyena a big fat hug.

“We warned as many as we could only the otters and those three blokes actually listened." Doria added. “Mr. Xavia joined us along the way." 

“So have you spoken to the rest of our group Bess, Tess, Neil, Nikko, Cinder and Ember?" The hyena asked nervously with his paws placed against his chest.

“Dongo, Doria there is something you two should know." I started to say as Shira placed her paw on my shoulder.

And so…

“Poor Nikko!" Dongo's main squeeze said.

“Guys it is bad out there. I haven't seen or spoken to Neil in eight months, I think he is dead."

“Cinder and Ember are with the KLISS?! And Bess and Tess were possessed by the conquer?" The former leader of the consortium gasped.

“Alex saw the buffalo calves a few weeks back." Shira said.

“Despite what happened, those two were still trying to help any and everyone even after becoming Others, I mean vessels for the entity."

“That brings us to why Alex and I are here today." The saber tooth tiger next to me said.

“YOU DID WHAT TO MY VEHICLE?!" A perturbed otter in the distance shouted at her daughter.

The sudden noise startled Shira and myself and we grasped our weapons.

“Perhaps we should wait until Acala has calmed down?" The hyena said nervously watching the heated discussion between the three otters.  

“I can see why Tippi referred to this place as the nexus." I said joining my friends on the beach overlooking the ocean."

“We thought so too, all those environments very near each other." Dongo replied. “It is all right here."

“So you have been here since January?" The sabertooth tigress said asked our hosts.

“Pretty much." The jackal said returning. “Mr. Xava led us here."

“We were a bit apprehensive being so far away from the empire and all." The puma said returning. “But when you get down to it there is no better place right now."

We were soon joined by Mr. Xava and Acala who was leading her daughter by her ear.

“OW!! I said I was sorry!!" 

“Sorry that you pulled a stunt like that?" Acala asked.

I noticed that Tippi's mother was near naked except for some beads she wore around her neck and a white loin cloth around her waist. Her companion was wearing red shorts and sandals.

“Or were almost eaten?" Mr. Xava said.

“All of it. I just really missed my neighborhood and friends. I soon realized that all of its gone. Even more so after I joined Shira and Alex's colony."

“So all of you are out here by yourselves?" The female barbarian asked the otters, hyena, cervine, puma, jackal.

“All by ourselves." Doria responded.

“Mr. Winter, what is it that you wanted to talk to us about?" The male otter asked.

“Reality. Those that are living in the after empire era are largely isolated and facing numerous challenges threatening their very existence. Where Shira, myself and our allies reside, it is ONE, monsters, the KLISS and TWO."

I noticed that our hosts were baffled by the last enemy I had listed.

“We have started giving aid to nearby colonies that were struggling to survive as well. In doing so, we realized that it isn't getting better." The female barbarian stated.

“While I was staying with them, their community was attacked on a number of occasions." Tippi said.

“We managed to repel the attackers." Shira replied.

“Fortunately we have no such challenges here." Acala said, holding the paw of her handsome companion.

“For now." I replied. “But as ONE spreads its influence there will come a day when the ocean and your great distance from the empire will not help."

“During our travels we have found a way to deal with the encroaching darkness facing the planet."

“What is that Shira?" Dongo asked.

“By leaving it." I replied. “We have found a way to do so thanks to some friends of ours."

“Here comes the however." Dom said. 

“The evacuation point is so far away, that we don't have the means to transport everyone in our colony." Shira said.

“But we do?" The male otter asked.

I noticed his gaze was particularly piercing like he was the protector of the group.

“We do." Tippi said, looking at Aboa's, Dom's and Titanous' vehicles.

Our proposal raised a lot of discussion among the group.

“What would we receive for this undertaking?" Mr. Xavia asked.

“We would take you with us to a completely different planet far from the chaos plaguing this one." I said. “We just need to have the means to do so."

“Well…." The hyena started to say. “That is a big undertaking."

“Leave this world and everything that we have come to love?" His main squeeze asked.

“That is unbelievable!" Aboa exclaimed while Dom and Titanous exchanged glances.

“The answer is no." The male otter said.

“Great so when do we leave?" I said beaming.

“Alex, that was a no." Shiria said bringing me back to reality.

“Wait, what?!" I stammered.

“May I ask why?" The female barbarian said.

“I rather like it here; this place has become my home." Acala said looking into her companion's eyes.

“I do too." Mr. Xava replied.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

To Be Continued….