Another Halo fic

[Zaia]

Kuja, I love you. I want to have your babies.

And speaking of babies, how do you think the Sangheili reproduce?

He still needs some time to work that out. That's why they were interrupted.


PS: Yay, another chicky!!!

[Kuja]

Chapter 5: Plotting the Course

"Live for the day and work for the pay, since you'll die anyway, just listen to what they say, and keep out of the way." – Unggoy marching chant

The briefing room was hot and cloying, the result of being built for about a dozen Sangheili and being occupied by six of that race, plus ten Unggoy and a pair of giant Lekgolo. Five of the Sangheili sat in the seat provided, while the Unggoy camped out in the aisles or the foreground. The Lekgolo, far too big to even make it down the aisle, stood at the back of the room, a silent yet highly comforting presence.

"Currently, we are two hours from interception," Alve was saying. "When we reach optimal distance, we'll take a Phantom down to the surface of the ring and deal with the heretics." He gestured to the image behind him. "As you know, when the ring was destroyed, much of it ceased functioning. However, this particular facility retained enough energy – possibly from an imbedded generator – to maintain a livable atmosphere for roughly a four-ketra radius, just enough for the heretics to get to and from their ship. When the Hallowed Avenger reaches optimal interception range, our Phantom will take off and bring us to the edge of the livable area spinwards of the facility, which is near the edge of the ring fragment."

The Sangheili captain paused in his narrative and looked his troops over. "This portion of the ring fragment still has gravity, but at the edge of the powered area, it could fluctuate. I want you all to be careful, understood?" Heads bobbed up and down.

One of the black-armored Unggoy leaned forward and rapped a claw on the floor to attract attention. "I've got a question," he rapped out in a scratchy voice, magnified by his breath mask. "Why doesn't the cruiser just open fire at range and vaporize them? Why send in a team and risk lives?" The Unggoy sat back again as several of his brothers-in-arms nodded.

Alve fixed the Unggoy with a cold gaze. "Gedda, are you saying you're afraid to risk your life for the Covenant?" he said harshly.

Gedda narrowed his eyes. "Never," he rasped. "But I question the soundness of a decision that risks lives when we've got all this-" he waved an arm to indicate the cruiser the traveled within, "-at our disposal."

"This order comes directly from the Hierarchs, Gedda. Are you going to disobey them?"

The Unggoy slammed a hand down on the floor. "Damnation, 'Essonee, you know what I'm playing at!" he snarled. Shocked silence followed the Unggoy's comment. Very few Unggoy would dare to speak to any Sangheili, let alone their commanding officer, in such a fashion. But Alve only smiled crookedly.

"There are two reasons, Gedda. First, if the heretics burrow deep enough, they might survive such a bombardment, and that is unacceptable. Second, fighting upon the surface of one of the blessed Forerunners' creations is bad enough, but permissible. Blasting one of them to liquid is not to happen, under any circumstances. Is that understood, half-captain?" Gedda nodded, and Alve continued. "When we hit the ground, we'll move out in standard formation." He glanced at one of the seated Sangheili. "Vene, if you have any reservations, any at all, I want you to let me know."

Vene 'Zagranee, a muscular Sangheili with copper-colored eyes, nodded. "I'm feeling much better, sir," he said. "I'll be in perfect shape for the mission."

Alve narrowed his eyes like a predator closing in on its prey. "Will you?" he said flatly. "Take a deep breath."

Vene grimaced, but inhaled deeply. As his lungs filled themselves his face contorted in pain, but he managed to keep his composure as he held his breath and let it out a few seconds later. "As I said, sir," he said a moment later, his voice strained. Behind him, Ensu leaned forward and patted him on the arm.

"Alright then, you can go, but at your own risk," Alve said firmly. "Bovue, Kodul?" The two Lekgolo straightened. "Are you both ready?" Bovue Lassa Ghefa glanced at his bond brother and they nodded simultaneously. "Alright then, we're the only squad deploying on this mission, so it's more or less open season on equipment. Take whatever you want, and don't spare the ammunition. Got it?" Again, heads bobbed all around. Once again, Gedda leaned forward and rapped a claw on the floor.

"If we're all going in, then who's going to pilot the Phantom?" he asked.

Alve gestured to the person who had been observing the entire dialogue. The small figure leaned against the wall of the briefing room in flagrant disregard for decorum. "I'm sure you all remember Swift, the pilot from our last mission."

Swift, a Yanme'e, raised a hand and trailed a claw down one of his antennae in a rakish fashion, an action that prompted a short chuckle amongst the squad. Swift wasn't the real name of the pilot, but his real name was almost unpronounceable by both Sangheili and Unggoy standards, so they had tagged him with the nickname to serve instead.

"I'll give you all a smooth ride down," he promised.

"That will be a first," one of the Sangheili commented. Before Swift could place the voice, a wave of laughter rippled through the room.

Swift huffed in mock anger. "Fine. Just for that, I'm dropping you a few meters outside the safe zone. Maybe choking your way there will make you appreciate my flying." More laughter.

Alve raised a hand and the chuckling vanished. "That's enough," he said sternly. "We're departing in less than two hours and I don't want to be traveling with a pack of immature juveniles." Alve looked over the group, his group, taking the time to look each and every one of them in the eyes. "You are all members of the Covenant Special Operations," he said. "Collectively, you are the best soldiers in existence. Rumors about the human's Demon notwithstanding, I would feel confident pitting this team against any military until in the galaxy."

Alve slammed a hand down on the edge of the projector. "I expect these heretics to fall before us like blades of grass!" he snarled. "On a mission as grave as this, slip-ups will not be tolerated! We are the best, and more importantly, this mission was given to us by the Hierarchs directly! They will accept nothing less than perfection, and neither will I! If you all really think you deserve to be counted among the best, then you will deliver the best!" He paused.

"Dismissed!"

[Singular Quartet]

The amount of "humanity" given over to the characters that you otherwise splatter across rooms is astounding, Kuja. I'd have to say that's one of the best parts of the fic. Keep it up.

[Ghost Rider]

Cool...liked the little guys speaking up.

Waiting to see how you do the battle.

[White Haven]

This will be so much more comprehensible once Microsoft gets their thumb out and releases the PC version of Halo 2. That aside, excellent work, Kuja. I gotta say, I avoid the fanfics here for the most part, I miss some good ones, but I'm too much a writer to stomach some of the bad ones. I see a thread here that you start, and I have a look

[Singular Quartet]

It's questionable whether or not Halo 2 will be released on PC. Microsoft is trying hard to get the XBox to not go under, and Halo is the only mainstream game for it.

Quite simplely, they're running under the "If we release Halo on PC, we lose what little profit we're making on XBox." The Xbox is sold below profit margine, meaning for each one sold, Microsoft loses money. They have to make up the money in games, and when the only mainstream game is Halo and Halo 2, you're somewhat fucked.

[White Haven]

Well, they can go suck me. IF they're so desperate for market share to sell at a loss, they should fucking EXPECT to fail.

[Bill Door]

Well, they can go suck me. IF they're so desperate for market share to sell at a loss, they should fucking EXPECT to fail.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that selling consoles at a loss was standard operating procedure for console makers.

[Ghost Rider]

Guys, less chatter about who's selling what .

[Singular Quartet]

Well, they can go suck me. IF they're so desperate for market share to sell at a loss, they should fucking EXPECT to fail.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that selling consoles at a loss was standard operating procedure for console makers.

apologies to Ghost Rider, but it's a valid point. Just split it off into another thread (just be sure to tell me where)

Nintendo, I am absolutely positive, does not sell their systems at a loss. They make a ridiculously small profit off of them, but given how long Nintendo's been around, they know what they're doing, and they know how to stay in business.

I don't remember as to whether or not the PS2 is sold at a loss, and I have no idea as to how to check.


Now less chatter about Microsoft losing money (as blessed as such a topic is) and more about the greatness of Kuja's Halo fic.

[Lindar]

Swift sounds cute... is there going to be more on him?

[Kuja]

Chapter 6: Secret Problems

"I wouldn't particularly mind having to be quiet now and then if it didn't involve being so damned quiet." – Jiralhanae chieftain

"Hey! Stop fooling around and get down here!" In the confined hanger, Denhuse's voice carried easily. Within moments, a dozen Jiralhanae had assembled in the only clear space the room offered: the deck next to their dropship. Despite the fact that the dropship was only half the size of a Phantom, it barely fit in a hanger that was meant to hold the Ship Master's personal Seraph fighter. Uje 'Letousee had been reluctant to hand the hanger over at first, but a few words from Tartarus had solved that problem. Now, the only difficulties were those of space and amenities.

Both of those problems were in evidence as the squad set down to listen to their briefing. Some of them had knocked over weapons or food crates and sat on them while the rest simply flopped down on the deck. "All right, listen up," Denhuse said bluntly. "I know you're all wound up because we're all stuck in here."

"No kidding," someone grunted.

"Shut up and listen!" Nobody moved, and Denhuse jerked his head at the dropship behind him. "We're leaving in an hour and a half, so just keep yourselves under control until then."

"So what are we doing here?" Nocturnus asked. Of the squad, he was the only one Denhuse considered anything like a friend, which was why he didn't pound the smaller Jiralhanae for his insubordination.

Denhuse gestured to the steel-blue figure beside him. "By now you've all met Erebus. He's the one who snagged us this job. Now, we've got two objectives on this trip." Someone cursed and Denhuse grinned. "Relax, it won't be like last time. First, we're going to wipe out the nest of heretics on the ring fragment. We'll fight just like Jiralhanae; hit them hard, fast, and show no mercy." There were a few nods of approval. "Now, here's the complication. We're not the only squad going in. There's a Special Operations team assigned to this job."

The reactions were as varied as they were immediate. Nocturnus' eyebrows widened in surprise. Jhankis growled in anger. Shlartuis sat up and began paying real attention to the briefing for the first time since the beginning. Nocturnus was the first to vocalize a coherent reply. "If the SpecOps are going in, why were we assigned?" he said. "And why aren't we working in concert?"

Before Denhuse could reply, Erebus stepped forward and took charge of the briefing. "We weren't assigned," he said quickly. "You're stuck in this cramped little hanger because of myself and Tartarus."

Ten Jiralhanae shouted exclamations. Only Nocturnus remained calm. "I certainly hope you're going to tell us more than that," he said.

Erebus smiled in a very unpleasant fashion "How do you like being a second class under the Sangheili?"

The other squad members looked to Nocturnus as he growled. "Not at all."

"We Jiralhanae are the strongest, smartest, and deadliest members of the Covenant. Why do we not stand at the side of the Prophets?"

"The Sangheili!"

"They will not let us!"

"Precisely," Erebus said. "We are going to wipe out these heretics ourselves and show the SpecOps who should truly be at the top of the food chain."

Only Nocturnus did not join in the round of self-satisfied smiles that followed. "I have the feeling I know what our second objective is," he said darkly.

Erebus favored him with another nasty smile. "When we set down, the SpecOps are going to get in the way, you can be sure of that. When that happens, we deal with them."

None of the squad members seemed to have a problem with that.

Denhuse decided he'd let Erebus control the briefing for long enough. "I want everyone ready by the time the hour's up. You know your gear, so no excuses. They're not going to be watching for us, but we'll fly slow anyway. Got that, Harvarus?" The Jiralhanae in question was a huge specimen who looked as though he'd never cram himself into a pilot's seat. Even do, Denhuse knew he was the match for virtually any pilot in the Covenant. "When we disembark, we do it weapons ready. Harvarus stays with the ship."

"Why?" he asked, voice petulant.

"Because you're the only one who knows how to fly it, idiot!" Denhuse snarled. Harvarus winced as if struck, then nodded. "Any more questions?" Silence. "Then we're finished. Dismissed." The squad really had nowhere to spread to, so they simply hung around and began murmuring to each other. Shlartuis retrieved a packet of playing disks and began dealing them out to those interested. Denhuse turned to Erebus and noted the scowl on his face.

"You're entirely too casual with them," he said.

Denhuse shrugged. "I know them. They won't perform as well if we clamp down on them."

"You had better be right," Erebus growled.

Denhuse snorted. "The fact that you have some kind of personal crusade here doesn't mean much to me, Erebus," he said. "So long as you let me run my squad the way I know how, we'll get you the results you need."

Erebus' eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" he asked quietly. Suddenly, his hands shot to his bandoleer and pulled a double bar. As the weapon came free, it unfolded into a long polearm. Before Denhuse knew it, a plasma blade was hovering at his throat. A moment of shocked silence passed, then there was the sound of dozens of plasma rifles being snapped from holsters and aimed at the chieftain. Denhuse looked at him calmly.

"Your move."

A smirk tugged at Erebus' mouth. Then, without speaking, he slowly pulled the blade away from Denhuse's throat and deactivating it as that he could fold it back into his bandoleer. "Make sure they deliver, captain," he said calmly. "Otherwise I won't be hesitating next time."

Denhuse was silent as he contemplated this unexpected development.

[Ghost Rider]

Coolness..the large apeboys .

[Singular Quartet]

Ooooh... and so, the plot thickens.

[Lindar]

*waits for more, semi-patiently* You know...

[Kuja]

Chapter 7: Last Rites

"History's most pious figures have always been approaching death's door in some tangible fashion. I'm certain there's a connection there." – Statement commonly ascribed to the Prophet of Regret

"You had better speak to them," Ilor said.

"Not now," Jara replied without looking away from the screen.

"Yes, now!" Ilor barked. To his surprise and satisfaction, the shout actually got Jara to turn away from the console he'd been starting at for over an hour. He took a deep breath. "Jara, that cruiser's going to be here in less than an hour. People are going crazy out there. Maqu is talking surrender. I caught Kalis and Rota readying the ship for a suicide strike. And you sitting here without seeing anyone is not helping!" Ilor paused for breath and saw that he had not swayed his friend in the least.

"You're wrong," Jara said calmly. "I am helping more than you could possibly know. And if my efforts are to come to fruition, I must be left alone for just a little while longer." He saw Ilor digging in for a fight and placed his hand on his friend's arm. "I promise I will not disappoint you, my friend. Just keep them calm for a little while longer and you will see." Jara turned back to the screen, effectively ending the discussion. A moment later, Ilor huffed in irritation and stormed out. Jara didn't notice.

Ilor made his way through the complex barely seeing the worried, even panicked expressions on his comrades' face. Only when someone grabbed him by the shoulder did he snap out of his angry haze and take note. Rota's unusual blue eyes stared him in the face, and with a tilt of his head, the young Sangheili beckoned him to follow. Ilor did, trailing behind the young warrior as they went deeper into the structure.

They went three levels down, coming to an area with only intermittent lighting and little sound in the air other than their footsteps. It was here that they found Kalis crouched beside an open panel, her nimble hands working on a serpent's nest of wiring. She briefly glanced up at them, then looked back to her work. "I found it," she said simply.

"Found what?" Ilor asked.

Kalis gestured at two of the wires, then at the pipe next to them. "This is a pipeline from reservoirs somewhere in the ring to the generator that's powering our little hideout." She reached down and tapped the wires. "These conduct the electricity produced by the generator to the lights, the consoles, everything. If I were to splice, say, these two, and cut a little hole in the pipe here, rub them together and add a little heat, we could set off a chain reaction that would blow the lights, take out the generator, detonate the fuel..."

"And shatter the ring," Ilor finished for her. She nodded. He looked from her to Rota and back again. "You two," he said. "Why are you so eager to die? Half an hour ago you were ready to slam our transport into that cruiser. Now I find you doing this." His eyes narrowed. "I agree that it makes a good last resort, but only if we can't fight them off ourselves."

Rota snorted. "You want to take on a cruiser contingent, Ilor? There's plenty who'd call that suicide."

"You're ducking the point," Ilor said harshly.

"When we said we'd be willing to give our lives for the Shining Light, we meant it," Kalis said softly.

"You're entirely too zealous," Ilor said. "That's what got Kade killed." That remark seemed to cool their fire. "Kalis, I want you to run through everything in this plan of yours. Get it ready up until just before shoving the wires into the fuel line. In fact, I want to you to cut the pipe open as soon as I leave. Just make sure it's not too wide. If we luck out and buy enough time to escape, I don't want to hook the ship's siphon up to an empty reservoir. And Kalis-" he leaned down and motioned for Rota to do the same. "Nobody knows about this. Not even Jara. We're going to be sitting on a bomb, and I don't want anyone lighting it too early. Understand?" Both of them nodded.

"Hey, hey, anyone down here?" came a high-pitched voice. The three conspirators leapt up and turned as an Unggoy appeared at the far end of the corridor. "Oh, there you are," he said as he waddled towards them. "You three gotta come back up. Sir 'Tazaanvu is calling a meeting in the big hall and everyone's supposed to be there."

Ilor frowned. "What for?"

"Don't know," the Unggoy said with a shrug. "He said it was something really important." He started back up the path. "Better come on or you'll end up late."

"We'll follow you in a few moments," Ilor said. Once the Unggoy had vanished again, he turned back to the others. "Come on. Finish your preparations once this meeting's over."

As Ilor started up the corridor, Rota pulled Kalis to her feet and was surprised when she staggered into his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked as he helped steady her. She grunted and shook her head. Worried, her reached up and touched her neck. When it felt colder than normal, he grew even more concerned. "Kalis, are you felling well?" he asked.

"No," she said, but then she shook her head again. "Well, you might say I've come down with a little something." She coughed meaningfully. "A certain infliction that every female thinks about from time to time."

He felt ice touch his heart. "You can't mean-"

She nodded.

Rota felt sick.

She tugged his arm. "Come on. Let's see what Jara wants to say. Maybe it won't come to that." Despite her words, both of them knew it would.

They were the last to arrive in what the Unggoy members of the group had termed the 'big hall'. It was certainly big, nearly a full eighty meters from end to end, with one of the endless drop-offs that the Forerunners seemed to like so much surrounding it and leaving only a few bridges to connect the main platform to the halls around it. Jara stood on a packing crate at one end of the hall so that the whole group could see him. Once Rota and Kalis joined the ground, he nodded to himself and began.

"My friends!" he shouted, sounding for a moment like Kade in his enthusiasm. "I know that you are all aware of our discovery. Indeed, the Covenant cruiser Hallowed Avenger is currently on its way to destroy us." Murmurings began, but Jara cut them off. "Or so they think."

Ilor perked his head up at this comment.

Jara's arms left his sides and he held them out at forty-five-degree angles towards the crowd. "My friends, we have so often compared ourselves to crusaders. Yet what is a crusader in a war but a soldier who fights for a righteous cause? But even so, they are forever remembered for their valiance." Jara's voice began to drop. "We are crusaders, my friends, but even crusaders are not invincible. Even crusaders need to call upon a higher power from time to time, and so I have. When the battle is joined, we, the crusaders, will be fighting for our very lives upon holy ground. And we shall not do it alone." Jara began to raise his arms. Although he could not personally what happened next, the looks of astonishment and awe on the faces of his comrades was enough.

As if directed by his very thoughts, they began to rise from the endless pit behind him. Shining constructs of flawless silver metal, with a lone eye of bright blue at their fore and a powerful cannon slung at their bellies, they lifted into the air like angels supporting their lord.

"We are crusaders!" he shouted. "We are the truly righteous! And our faith is rewarded! Angels of the Forerunners, the mighty Sentinels came at my call and they shall fight alongside us! And with their noble help, we shall not be defeated!"

The crowd roared. Even Ilor found himself shouting in joy. The Sentinels had come to aid the Shining Light. Surely, this was proof that their cause was just. Suddenly, Ilor felt very optimistic about their chances for survival.

[Ghost Rider]

Good intro for what's to come.

[Lindar]

optimism should be a good thing at this point right?

[White Haven]

*delivers the Thumb of Spiffyness, closely related to the Thumb of Approval, but...spiffier*

[Kuja]

Chapter 8: Freefall

"You can put as much forethought and money into a design as you can, but you can't change one thing: it'll only be as good as the pilot at the controls." – Hunagok aerospace engineer

Swift eased himself into the pilot's seat with a quiet exhalation. The chair was small, designed for a Yanme'e and set for his own comfort. For a moment, he did nothing more than close his eyes and lean into the cushioning. Behind him, he could hear the soldiers bantering as they found their places, the sharp yaps of the Unggoy contrasting with a deep, reverberating growls of the Lekgolo. Swift actually felt the transport shift, its antigravity engines compensating as one of the huge soldiers stepped aboard. His eyes still closed, he reached up past his shoulders and pulled his restraining harness into place, then tightened them until his exoskeleton was pressed into the cushioning.

A moment later, an alien hand dropped onto his shoulder and he looked up into the face of Alve 'Essonee. "We're all ready," he said.

Swift nodded. "Then let's get going." Alve returned the nod, then vanished back into the ship. As soon as he did, Swift became all business. He lit his engines one by one, shunting the power into the necessary systems with one hand while he tested the controls with the other. "How's it looking?"

"Full response," came the reply from outside. "Engines?"

"All in the green," Swift said. "Antigravs at full capacity. How's the tractor?"

"We've got you. Optimum launch window is forty seconds."

"Better clear the deck." Even as he said the words, Swift saw the hanger alarms begin blaring and anyone in the vicinity began to make themselves scarce. Swift threw the switch that retracted the boarding ramp. "Guns, check in," he snapped. One by one, his gunners – all Yanme'e – reported full operational capacity. Swift nodded to himself and tapped the intership communicator. "Thirty seconds," he said, his voice echoing throughout the transport. "Make sure you're all braced properly." He tapped the switch again. "Powering up," he announced. He gently pushed the throttle forward, hearing his engines' whining grow louder and louder. The entire ship began to vibrate around him. "Full thrust reached," he announced.

"Optimal launch window in fifteen seconds," the deck officer replied. Swift narrowed his eyes and glared out at the stars before him. In just a moment, he would be out among them. "Release in ten," the deck officer announced.

"I that do not presume to know the stars and yet I swim amongst them," Swift said softly.

"Five, four, three-"

"I hate this part!" one of the soldiers yelled.

"Release now!"

Swift was thrown back in his seat as the gravity tractors holding the Phantom in place were cut and the dropship erupted from the hangar at top speed. Swift jerked back on one of his attitude controls and sent the ship into a spin that made the stars whirl in the forward view. He heard one of his gunners crow over the speakers and he flexed his antennae in amusement. A moment later, he ended the transport's crazy whirl and straightened out as the ring fragment came into view. The cruiser certainly had gotten them close. He pointed the Phantom's nose towards it, watching it grow larger as they approached at maximum speed. If the heretics were paying any attention at all, they would be detecting his energy signature even now, and he remained wary of any possible attack.

"ETA is two minutes!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Ranak, are you alright?" one of the Unggoy squawked.

"I'm fine!" another Unggoy replied. "Just need to turn up the fan a little!"

"I've got that." A moment later, Swift heard Ranak squeak something –presumably thanks – in his own language.

"Special Forces!" Alve's voice suddenly barked. "When we joined the Covenant, we took an oath!"

"ACCORDING TO OUR STATION, ALL WITHOUT EXCEPTION!" the entire squad thundered back.

"On the blood of our fathers; on the blood of our sons! We swore to uphold the Covenant!"

"EVEN TO OUR DYING BREATH!"

Swift found himself quietly reciting the passage along with the Sangheili captain as he spoke the next part, "Those who would break this oath are heretics, worthy of neither pity nor mercy!"

"WE SHALL GRIND THEM INTO DUST!"

"And continue our march to glorious salvation!"

The Phantom banked sharply it swept over the dead plains of the inner ring. Swift's HUD lit up with the coordinates for the landing zone and he throttled back, again tapping the communicator. "Get ready to get lost," he said calmly. He dropped his altitude, burning his momentum as the antigravs caught the surface of the ring and braced against it. When the craft was a bare two meters, Swift activated the Phantom's gravity beam and opened the belly hatch. "Go, and good luck!" he shouted.

Meras 'Mequalee was the first out of the ship, the female scout touching town with the grace of a dancer, her carbine sweeping the dead landscape around her. Next was the sniper Ensa, his powerful rifle ready to drill a hole in any attackers. The rest of the Sangheili followed them, then the two Lekgolo, and finally the massed Unggoy. With their departure, the only soldier left aboard was Captain Alve 'Essonee himself. "What are you waiting for?" Swift yelled. "Go!"

"I've got a bad feeling," the Sangheili captain said. "Swift, be careful." A moment later, he was gone. Swift closed the hatch behind him and pulled on the controls, tugging the nose of the Phantom back and clicking up his throttle to ascend away from the ring and towards his designated wait zone. As he did so, he couldn't help wondering about the captain's words. Alve 'Essonee was the one running towards the nest of heretics, wasn't he? Why then, had he told Swift to be careful?

[Lindar]

*applauds* OOOH! Yes why oh why did he tell swift to be careful???

[Singular Quartet]

Why do you think that? I mean, we only have both the heretics and the annoyed bunch to worry about.

[Ghost Rider]

Cool chapter. And nice foreshadowing at the end.

[Zaia]

Yes! Finally caught up!

Goddamnit, where's the sex scene?

[Singular Quartet]

Yes! Finally caught up!

Goddamnit, where's the sex scene?

It didn't happen, and that's the problem.