A loud noise startled Rixie Tam, former Imperator of the Imperial Military and current head of security for the main office of the Tarsuss Corporation, and she looked up from the book she was reading on her data pad. Alex was playing some strange game on her computer. Somehow, and Rixie decided it was probably better she didn’t ask how, Pryvani had managed to get ahold of a large amount of data from Earth. Included was a large amount of cultural programs- games entertainment programs and music.

There was also a lot of information that wasn’t entertainment, but again Rixie decided the less she knew the better.

“Yeah! Take that Kefka, You crazy bastard!” Alex yelled at the screen. “Ultima spell right in your psychotic ass!”

Rixie smirked and rolled her eyes. As soon as he’d discovered the cache of media from his home world, Alex had made frequent use of the data. Occasionally she’d join him for a “movie” or a “TV show” but she found a lot of them hard to follow without the cultural background that Alex took for granted.

Still, some of them were entertaining. She particularly enjoyed the show about the writer who annoys the law enforcement officer that solves murders and the one with the space cowboy. Maybe it was because the main characters on each of those series reminded her of Alex.

“Haven’t you defeated that game yet?” She called over to him, amusement coloring her tone.

“No! You don’t just rush through games like this. You have to take time appreciate the storyline, and do all the side quests and junk.”

“I see.”

“Although I can’t believe you Titans have a way to make the Spanish telenovellas you inexplicably enjoy sound like English, but I’m stuck playing the crappy translated version of this game, instead of the original Japanese, because for some reason you haven’t figured out how to translate text.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Alex.” Rixie rolled her eyes.

“’Complicated’ she says.” Alex muttered sullenly. “Some highly advanced near godlike race you turned out to be.”

Rixie put her data pad on the table and leaned over the little man, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. “Anyone from a species that has mastered interstellar travel, raise your hand.” Sticking out her tongue petulantly, Rixie raised her own hand.

Alex glared at the Titaness. “‘Anybody from a species of jerks’ you mean.” He grumbled as he turned back to the screen. “And that’s the last time I let you watch The Simpsons!”

Rixie looked at the back of his head, a wry smirk on her face. He was completely engrossed in his game again and wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing.

Carefully, she raised her barefoot up and placed it on the table just behind where Alex was sitting. She paused momentarily to see if he’d noticed her movements.

He kept playing his game.

Rixie’s smirk widened into a mischievous grin and she slowly slid her foot forward until it just touched his back.

“Rixie what are you-”

She struck quickly. Her bare foot surged forward and she grasped the hapless human between her big and second toes. Before Alex knew what hit him, she’d lifted him off the table and crossed the leg he was entrapped by over her other knee, dangling him precariously above the floor, with the grip of her toes being his only lifeline.

“Whoa! Rixie what do you think you’re doing?”

Rixie continued to read her book, as if she couldn’t hear the little man dangling from her foot.

“…Rixie!”

Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She carefully set her book to the side and then raised her foot up just enough that she could address him with without having to bend over.

“Is something wrong Alex?” She asked mildly.

“I was in the middle of my game. What are you playing at?” Alex yelled.

“Hmm…” The giantess seemed to consider. “Just what could I be playing at?”

“Are you mad about something…?”

“Not really.” Rixie replied, bouncing her dangling foot slightly.

“Are you pretending to be mad about something as an excuse to torture me, ultimately leading to sexy times?”

Rixie smirked, barely resisting the urge to laugh. “Quite possibly.”

“And what are you quite possibly pretending to be mad at me about? And before you answer could you maybe not bounce your foot so much? I’m getting motion sickness, and while I might be wrong I’m betting me vomiting would be a bit of a mood killer.”

Rixie’s lip twitched but she stopped swinging her foot. “I’m mad because you called my species, and by extension me, a bunch of jerks.”

Alex nodded. “I see. And how can I make amends for this slight, oh beautiful one?”

Rixie allowed herself a small laugh. “Well, that’s a good start. But I think you owe me an apology. And I think you should kiss my toes and tell me how sorry you really are.”

Alex hid a grin. He leaned over and planted his lips against her soft skin. “Rixie, I am so sorry I called you such a horrible thing.”

Rixie smiled as she felt an electric tingle run up her leg at the touch of his lips. “Mm… that’s a good start.”

She raised her leg up again and leaned down to drop the little man into the palm of her hand. “Do you think you can leave your game long enough to come ‘apologize’ to me properly?” She raised him up until he was held at eye level.

Alex looked into the pale green orbs in front of him that were sparkling with mischief and lust. “Ah gee Rix… I mean I was just about to get to the really good part of the game… and I haven’t saved…”

“Alex…” Rixie’s voice carried a note of warning.

“I’m just kidding.” Alex raised his hands defensively. “You know I’m always ready to… apologize… to you.”

“Good.” Rixie smiled, curling her fingers around him possessively. “Because I think I’m in the mood for an apology that goes from head to toe.”

She pushed herself to her feet and carried him towards her bed.

“Your wish, oh beautiful one, is my command.”

*.*.*.*.*.*

Lysis motioned silently to the group of twelve armed soldiers behind her. They were moving through the alleyway between buildings and converging on a small out of the way building that looked like it was built to be inconspicuous.

Using hand signals, she directed half of her people to circle around to the back and cover the rear exits. When she got confirmation that all of her watchmen were in position, she signaled to the man in the lead and began a silent countdown from five.

When she reached zero, the young man lit the fuse attached to a small black sphere, roughly the size of his fist, and lobbed it through the door. Everybody in their team quickly covered their ears.

There was a loud bang and a bright flash of light. A moment later the soldier kicked in the flimsy wooden door and the entire force of soldiers rushed forward into the room taking advantage of the confusion caused by the flash grenade. Amid the chaos of shouting voices and moving bodies, she managed to make out about eight different people that had been huddled, hiding in the dark and dank of the room.

They wouldn’t be able to hide any longer.

There was a brief struggle. Random shouts, grunts and screams added to the confusion as the soldiers subdued the fugitive cultists. Occasionally Lysis would hear the sounds of one of the criminals attempting to fight back, but these didn’t last long. After only a few minutes, there was quiet.

“Clear?” She called out, even as she held one of the cultists to the ground with her knee braced against their back.

“Clear!” One of her people shouted back. One after the other, each of the watchmen checked in. The cultists had been subdued and there were only minor injuries among her people.

Lysis was pleased; this raid couldn’t have gone better as far as she was concerned.

There was a muffled groan and Lysis looked down at the shabby woman she held pinned to the ground. She had stringy brown hair and wide brown eyes. Her face was pale and streaked with sweat and dirt. There was the pale remnant of an old scar running down her forehead.

“Get off of me you fat whore!”

“Hello Cara.” Lysis said with a smirk as she leaned a little heavier on the woman’s back and pulled her arms behind her. “What’s say you and I take a little walk, yeah? I’m sure Khalin will be more than happy to see you.”

The grungy woman chuckled. “Of course he will, you idiot.”

“Nice chatting with you again, Cara.” Lysis muttered as she hauled the other woman to her feet after binding her wrists together. She pushed the cultist to where the rest of her band were being chained together to be marched back to the city prison.

As they entered the squat featureless building that housed the city prison, Lysis and the others were overcome by the dank musty smell of too many people being crammed into too small of an area. And here they were to shove more into it.

Not that they had much choice in the matter.

Lysis signaled to the warden, who took command of the new prisoners and set about sorting them into cells.

“I bet you think you’re pretty proud of yourself, don’tcha Cap.”

Lysis turned around. Khalin, former leader of the cultists, was gripping the bars of his cell and hanging from them lazily, a malicious grin on his pale and gruesome face.

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t be, Khalin.” Lysis responded mildly.

“Because it isn’t over yet.” The sickly looking man replied. “The Dark One has not been defeated. She will return.”

“Uh huh.” Lysis responded in a bored voice as she signed some paperwork one of the deputies handed her.

“Mark my words, Cap. She will return. I will live to see you disappear into her body.”

Lysis rolled her eyes. “Give it a rest Khalin.”

She walked across to the other side of the jailhouse where Cara was sitting in the corner of her cell with the other female prisoners. Her arms and legs were both shackled by heavy iron chains.

“What are you staring at?” The prisoner spat, rising to her feet. “This ain’t over between the two of us, you understand? You’re a whore, Lysis, and I promise you I’ll live to cut your eyes out and feed them to the lady of Death myself.”

“Well, your threats have improved a bit; I’ll have to give you that.” Lysis responded coolly, gazing levelly at the dirty prisoner in front of her. “I mean, I feel like I should detract a few points for the rather pedestrian ‘whore’ comment, but the eye gouging thing? That was good. I hadn’t heard that one before.”

Cara snarled and spat on Lysis’ boot.

Lysis looked down at her soiled footwear, then back up at the prisoner. “Not sure that was wise Cara. You might not want to waste moisture like that. These guards, sometimes they forget to give the prisoners water. You know how it goes; after all, you used to be a prison guard.”

Before the prisoner could retort, Lysis turned on her heel and left the prison, stepping out into the cool night air.

Drawing her cloak about her tightly to ward off the chill, she quickly made her way to the building in the center of the city that dominated the skyline.

The temple. Despite the best efforts of the Death Cultists during their attack on the city some weeks previous, it was still standing. Although it had seen better days.

As she stepped into the main sanctuary of what remained of the former temple of the goddess, Lysis couldn’t help but notice how much had been damaged in the attack. The walls were broken in many places, and covered in black ash in others. Rubble was still scattered from where the cultists had tried to destroy it.

At the center of the room, his body outlined in light from the torches that lined the walls, was Dahntnee. The young Priest stood with his back to the entrance, and to Lysis.

“I trust everything went well?” He asked, with a somber tone in his voice.

Lysis instinctively snapped to attention. Dahntnee was still a man to be respected, despite being the head priest to a goddess who… didn’t exist anymore.

“Everything went according to plan, sir.” Lysis responded. “Minimal injuries, none escaped.”

“And that is the last of them?”

The captain of the Watch nodded. “As far as we can determine, yes.”

“Good.” Dahntnee sighed. “And the rest of the city? How are they faring?”

Lysis shifted uncomfortably, they were treading into territory she was unfamiliar with. Away from discipline and strategy and into… emotional stuff.

“About as well as can be expected Sir.” She finally responded. “Many of them are still in shock. I don’t think it’s quite settled into their minds. But that won’t last. All it’ll take is a single spark to set this city off if we don’t find a way to defuse the situation.”

The young priest sighed. “I just wish I knew how to do that.”

There was an uncomfortable silence, as if both were hoping the other would come up with some brilliant idea.

Neither did.

“What should we do in the meantime?” Lysis asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Continue on as you have, Captain.” Dahntnee finally turned to face her. She could see the telltale signs of stress on his face. He looked like he’d aged a year in the last month alone. “Perhaps increase the number of patrols, just to be on the safe side.”

“Of course.” Lysis nodded and, with a crisp salute, excused herself.

Dahntnee turned and stared up at the statue that used to represent the Goddess he worshipped, the center of his Universe. The statue was charred on one side, a memento of the Cultists’ attack. It was an ironic reminder of the admission the Goddess… that is to say, Pryvani, had made to the entire world. She had been lying. She wasn’t a goddess. Now that Pryvani had admitted she was mortal, same as he was, it was like his world had been set adrift. Anchorless.

“What are we supposed to do now?” He asked the unmoving figure of stone, plaintively. “Did you consider that at all? Did you ever wonder if maybe we would have been better off not knowing? That we could have been content with the lie?!” His voice was rising. Now that he was alone the emotions he’d had to keep in check in front of the people who looked to him for guidance were free to rush out in an endless torrent of fear, confusion and anger.

“What are we supposed to do?” He yelled. “Now that we can’t look to you for guidance, how are we supposed to know what to do?!”

The young priest, (assuming he could even call himself that anymore,) collapsed onto the stone floor at the foot of the statue. His body sagged, deflated; his emotional energy spent.

“Why am I even asking this?” He muttered. “It’s not like you can actually hear me.”

“I always heard the prayers spoken in the temple.”

Dahntnee shot to his feet and whirled around, alarmed. Behind him, floating in the air at about waist height off the ground was Pryvani. She was human sized, and aside from the fact that she floating in the air and looking like she was seated in an invisible chair with her legs crossed at the knee, she looked… ordinary.

She looked human.

“My Lady!” Dahntnee gasped. “I mean, Pryvani, what… what are you doing here?”

Pryvani smiled. “I told you. I heard you praying.”

He drew closer to her, stepping down off the statue’s dais. “How is this possible? Are you able to make yourself smaller?”

“No” Pryvani shook her head with a grin. “That’s not possible. Actually, I’m not really in the temple with you. What you see is called a ‘hologram.’ It’s a projected image. An illusion.”

Dahntnee carefully stretched out his hand towards the image, then hesitated.

“Go on.” Pryvani encouraged. “Touch it.”

The young priest reached his hand further, and then was shocked when his hand seemed to pass right through her body. He felt nothing.

His eyes widened. “Are you certain you’re not a goddess?”

Pryvani giggled. “No. This isn’t magic. It’s just technology. One day your people will be able to do the same thing.”

“I doubt that very much.”

“Don’t sell humanity short.” Pryvani scolded gently. “You have the potential inside of you to do great and wonderful things. I have no doubt of that.”

She “stood” and her feet alighted on the floor. “As for the answer to your question: Your people must make their own way now. But, I’m not going anywhere Dahntnee. I’m still here to help if you need me. We all are.”

“I just wish I knew what to do now.” Dahntnee sighed.

Pryvani nodded. “I know. Things are going to be difficult. I’m sorry for that, I really am… but, I had to do it. I couldn’t take lying to you all anymore. And as much as I wish I could have done things a bit more gradually… I don’t think it would have worked. It had to be quick, like removing a bandage. It hurts for a moment, but then you’re done.”

“Well I suspect this will be hurting a bit longer than just for a moment, my L-… Pryvani.”

Pryvani smiled, sadly. “Yes, you’re probably right. But, as I said, I’m not abandoning you to the wilderness, Dahntnee.”

Dahntnee chuckled darkly. “So then, Miss Pryvani, how does an entire city go about healing itself?”