Nick, or Dr Archer as he now styled himself, had been very specific with his instructions to Alex. Firstly, he should take it easy, rest up and drink plenty of water. Second, he should avoid getting into stressful or claustrophobic situations. Finally, and most importantly, he should not go anywhere anything resembling a Titan.

 

Alex reminded himself of these instructions as he elbowed his way after Lysis (his hungover drinking partner from the previous evening), through a crowd of thousands of baying, screaming people, towards the city walls and a rather stressed out one hundred and twenty six foot tall woman. He was trying to decide if the reason he could hear his heart pounding in his ears was down to his aching head or the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he fought against the animalistic urge to run in the opposite direction and hide under the nearest cart.

 

“Lysis!” Zara pleaded loudly, near deafening the guards on top of the walls and fraying the nerves of many in the city, including Alex.

 

This wasn’t right. Everything about this situation was bad. He didn’t know exactly why these people were trying to get to the gate so desperately. There didn’t seem to be much fear. Panic yes, but not fear. The crowd was more angry than afraid. There were thousands of men, women and children pushing towards the gate. Most carried cases, some had large sacks tied to their backs and a few even pulled carts.

 

“What’s going!?” Alex asked a member of the crowd he recognised.

 

“We’re leaving! But that one won’t let us!” the man replied.

 

Alex nodded and swallowed the sick that tried to work its way out of him. He looked down at his feet and pushed forward through the throng after Lysis.

 

He wanted to go back. He was desperate to go back but he couldn’t. There were thousands of desperate people pushing towards several hundred armed men and one nervous giantess. It wouldn’t take much to start a stampede or a massacre. Any loss of life would be too much to bear if he didn’t do something to help.

 

“Captain! Where have you been!?” One very stressed looking soldier said as he let her through behind the cordon of guards who were almost pressed against the walls.

 

“Let him through.” She ordered pointing to Alex and avoiding the question.

 

Alex ducked between two guards. He could look ahead now. Ahead of him rose the walls and they blocked the view of Zara. If he had looked straight up he would have seen her. He tried to tell himself he wouldn’t. He decided it best to keep following Lysis.

 

“Report!” Lysis barked to a guard as she climbed the steps to a wooden platform on the walls overlooking the crowd.

 

“You’re a sight for sore eyes sore. The crowd arrived about an hour ago and demanded to leave the city. The men blocked the gate and called in reinforcements. Shortly after the giant arrived and she’s held the gate shut but the crowd refuses to disperse.” The guard said. He looked as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders as he passed over the command of the situation to Lysis.

 

 

Lysis held up a hand in the air and looked out across the crowd slowly began to settle. She was well recognised across the city and the crowd wanted to hear what she had to say.

 

“Citizens, the countryside is not safe. Bandits roam freely beyond the walls. The gates will remain shut. Return to your homes!” Lysis spoke forcefully, her voice carrying across the square.

 

The crowd booed and jeered in response.

 

“We’d rather take our chances out there.” One voice called.

 

Lysis stood firm. “Return to your homes!”

 

“She’s right! It’s not safe for you out here!” Zara added.

 

The boos grew louder and Lysis set her jaw.

 

“I’m not sure this is the best idea Lysis…” Alex said nervously.

 

A man pushed his way to the guards in front of the platform. A tall, burly man with a bald head and a large beard.

 

“You can’t keep us here Lysis! We wish to be free!” Mardell shouted to Lysis.

 

Lysis gave her response. “Get that man up here.”

 

Mardell was grabbed roughly by the shoulder by two guards and brought up to the platform and presented to Lysis.

 

“Tell them to go home.” Lysis spoke very plainly.

 

“Or what!?” He furrowed his brow.

 

“Or…”

 

“What are you doing!?” Alex half shouted “This is insane! People are going to get killed!”

 

“We’re done here. We won’t stay in a city where we a kept as pets by a giant girl.” Mardell spat leaning closer to Lysis.

 

“She’s here to help us!” Lysis shouted back at the guild leader. “You’re nothing but a f…”

 

“ENOUGH!” Alex shouted half startling the pair who were now nose to nose. “Zara! Leave!”

 

Alex was shaking in his boots.

 

“What!? No! I…” Zara responded, leaning over the walls and looking straight down over the humans.

 

Alex steadied himself on the rail of the platform and looked up. “If you don’t leave now I will call Rixie and tell her you’ve staged a coup and she needs to come back here and throw you off the planet! Now go and find the contraption that Rixie used to appear in my bar!”

 

Zara stared blankly at him.

 

“NOW!” he screamed as he vision started fading to black.

 

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as Zara turned and the ground shook as the Titaness walked away from the city. With each step Zara took the ground trembled less and less and Alex felt better and better.

 

“You two. We’re going to talk about this back in my bar. No one goes anywhere until then!” Alex snapped.

 

Lysis and Mardell nodded dumbstruck. The crowd didn’t need to be told. If that man held the kind of power that could make a Titan flee they weren’t going to make him tell them twice. They would wait.

 

 

 

****

“This has to stop. This city is at breaking point. If you two don’t get it together then this civilisation is finished.” Alex stood at the end of a table in his bar. Lysis sat on one side and Mardell on the other.

 

“She has used her pet giant to take over the city!” Mardell pointed an accusative finger.

 

“And you would see us all starve to death!” Lysis accused right back.

 

Alex sighed. “You do realise that you’ve made me the sensible one in this situation? Seriously think about that for a second. That’s how bad you’ve gotten.”

 

There was a hum and a rather confused looking petite woman appeared in the centre of the room.

 

“Zara,” Alex gestured to a seat at the opposite end of the table. “Glad you could join us. Pull up a pew.”

 

Zara nervously scurried over to the seat and sat down.

 

“Right, now everybody’s here, this is what’s going to happen.” Alex sat down. “You three aren’t leaving this room until a deal is done.”

 

Mardell chuckled and shook his head. “And why should we listen to you? You’re a bartender and an outsider.”

 

Zara and Lysis grimaced. Alex just sighed.

 

“Do you remember during the occultists’ rampage the enormous Titan woman? With all the muscles, braids and stylish knee high boots?”

 

Mardell nodded. “The one they called ‘The Goddess of War’?”

 

Alex smiled. “That’s her. She’s a very dear friend of mine and would be very unhappy if anything happened to me. She has been tasked with ensuring the safety and security on this world. So far she’s let you manage your own affairs but if I tell her that you three are on the verge of starting a civil war she’ll stomp into the city and throw you all off this world. So when I say you’re going to make a deal you’re going to make a deal!”

 

“He’s not wrong…” Lysis said calmly “The warrior goddess loves him. And we three are responsible for the current crisis.”

 

“You are the one who seized power!” Mardell shouted.

 

Lysis nodded. “I did. To try to protect the people. To make sure they didn’t starve or die in the streets.”

 

“Don’t blame that on me. The guild members deserve a fair price for their labour.” Mardell said defensively.

 

“Not at the expense of innocent lives!” Zara stressed.

 

“We deserve to be paid!” Mardell replied flatly.

 

“You all raise good points,” Alex interrupted before the conversation took a bad turn. “So you need to make a deal that ensure the guild get paid for their work,” Alex gestured to Mardell “but also make sure that people aren’t left to starve.”

 

“It cannot be done. The only farms still supplying the city are just outside the walls. I have to pay twenty times what I used to for grain! The butchers pay even more than that! We must pass those costs on.” Mardell explained.

 

“Food is not a problem. We have enough food for every person in the city.” Zara added quietly.

 

Mardell slammed his fist into the table. “We will not live on hand-outs! The Guilds have decided. We would rather leave and start again than live in a cage of city and fed like mice.”

 

“The man raises a good point Zara. Pryvani never wanted this city to be reliant on her. And right now it is. It’s got to be self-reliant.” Alex said.

 

Lysis sighed. “I have failed you all. The bandits hold most of the land beyond an hour of the city. They know the land, they are well trained and they are well motivated. As much as I train my men, they are guards, not soldiers. I may be able to take back some of the land but the bandits will simply clear out and pick us off one by one.”

 

“We will not accept Lysis remaining in command of the City Watch. She must resign and turn herself in for the crimes she has committed against this city.”  Mardell demanded.

 

“That is fair.” Lysis replied. She stood and removed her sword, still in its sheath and pushed it towards Mardell.

 

“Has she killed any innocents?” Alex asked.

 

“No, but many good men rot in her cells just for disagreeing with her.”

 

“No deal. Lysis, release the innocent men. You are still the best person to command the city watch. But someone will need to command you.” Alex said.

 

Mardell stood and pushed his chair back. “She must be held responsible!”

 

“Really? You don’t think you’re being a bit dramatic? It’s a mess and the way I see it, she didn’t really overthrow a government as there was no government to begin with.” Alex raised a brow.

 

“The Guild have been functioning as the city’s leaders since the collapse of the clergy.” Mardell sat down.

 

“Appointed by whom?” Zara asked.

 

Mardell looked around and adjusted his collar. “Well…that is…there was no one to appoint us. We naturally stepped in.”

 

“So…you seized power?” Alex pressed.

 

“No! Of course not…”

 

“Here’s what’s going to happen!” Alex cut over him brushing aside the accusation hanging in the air. “First, Zara you are to stop delivering food directly to the city…”

 

“But they’ll starve!” Zara yelped.

 

Alex rolled his eyes. “You will deliver meat and flour directly to the butchers and the bakers. And any other food the merchants ask for…”

 

Mardell tried to interrupt.

 

“…in return the Guilds will pay you a fair price for the goods you supply. They can then sell it on to the people.” Alex explained.

 

“That is agreeable. We will pay 100 gold coins per shipment and sell bread at five silver coins.” Mardell nodded.

 

“Don’t be greedy Mardell. I live in this city and I know the prices. Three silver coins is more than enough.” Alex eyed the Guild leader across the table.

 

“Four.” He replied.

 

“Three! Not a piece more.” Alex said firmly.

 

“Fine…” Mardell sighed.

 

“What am I going to do with their money?” Zara asked.

 

Alex shrugged. “Give it to Pryvani. It’s her money you’ll be using to buy the supplies anyway.

 

“Oh…I suppose you’re right. I don’t think Pryvani will notice another company started in her name.” Zara joked.

 

Alex shifted in his seat, sitting a little taller as he started to feel a bit more confident now things were going well. “Lysis, your men will provide security. Zara can’t be seen supplying the guilds so their caravans will need protection.”

 

Lysis nodded. “I can do that.”

 

“Good!” Alex smiled. He was getting the hang of this. “The next thing you need is a government. A legitimate one. One that can organise the rebuilding of the city and control the Watch.”

 

“I suppose you have a suggestion for that too?” Mardell said somewhat sarcastically.

 

Alex nodded. “I do. Back where I come from cities are run by councils. Those councils are made up of men and women who are voted in by the citizens. They should govern with the citizens’ needs as a priority.”

 

“And I suppose you will want a voice on this council?” Mardell pressed.

 

Alex laughed. “I will want to be as far away from it as possible. I don’t do politics.”

 

“You’re doing pretty well here.” Zara added.

 

“This is all just common sense. Not politics.” Alex backtracked. “I just want to run my bar and find a way to see Rixie again. I can’t run the bar if the city is collapsing around me.”

 

“Awww, that’s sweet.” Zara smiled.

 

“Do we have a deal then?” Alex asked.

 

The three looked at each other and nodded.

 

“I think it could work but I cannot speak for all my people. I will put it to them and each man will make up his own mind.” Mardell said getting up.

 

Alex got up with him. “We should all go. Well, those of us who can stand in the square without stepping on people. We should sell it to them together.”

 

“A united front would be best.” Lysis joined them.

 

“Good!” Alex extended his hand to Mardell to shake. “Now maybe you two can go back to being the sensible ones?”

 

Mardell and Lysis looked at each other and then shook hands.

 

“We will do our best.” Lysis said.

 

 

 

****

“Well?” Lysis asked the approaching Mardell. She was a lot more anxious about the result than she had realised. Mardell had been in discussion with his people for several hours, most of which Lysis had spent pacing.

 

“About two thirds will stay as long as the conditions of the deal are met. Only a select few will know exactly who are new…supplier is. The last third refuse to stay. They are demanding to be allowed to leave.” Mardell said wearily.

 

“How many is that?” Alex asked.

 

“About two thousand souls all in all.”

 

Lysis grimaced. Two thousand men, women and children. It was a substantial chunk of the city’s population. It was bearable, but given what the city had been through already she was loathed to let them go.

 

“Do you know where they intend to go?”

 

“They wish to follow the river south to its end. To the great sea. They intend to found a new settlement with fish as the main source of food.” Mardell explained.

 

Lysis paused and thought. She could make them stay. But given the recent accord that made her feel uneasy.

 

“Guard!” she called to one of the men outside the door of Alex’s bar. An eager young Watchman scurried inside. “Return to the barracks. Tell them I want two hundred volunteers to assemble with armour, weapons and supplies for a permanent detachment with the settlers leaving Atlantis.”

 

“Aye sir.” The Watchman replied and hurried off.

 

Zara, Alex and Mardell stared at Lysis not quite sure what to make of her order.

 

“I cannot leave these people undefended. The volunteers will escort them to their new settlement and remain with them to defend them. I will not leave those people free to be harassed by bandits.” Lysis said adjusting the leather skirt of her armour.

 

Mardell extended his hand to Lysis, who took it and returned the shake. “That is very gracious of you Captain. I know this hurts now, but we have enough masons, bakers, butchers and craftsmen to support the city and to make it great again. In the long run a trading partner could be beneficial to all of us.”

 

Lysis nodded, clearly still uncomfortable with the path they were heading down. “What’s next?” she asked bluntly.

 

“I’m not sure…” Mardell turned to Alex. “Perhaps our foreign friend here could enlighten us?”

 

Alex shrugged. “Beats me. I’m just a barman. I’ll leave running the city to you fine folks.”

 

“Can I make a suggestion?”  Zara chimed in.

 

“You may.” Mardell replied.

 

“Before you can have elections you need to establish a provisional government. One with representatives from across the city. Their job will be to manage the city and to organise the elections.” Zara said.

 

Mardell nodded in agreement. “A not unwise suggestion.”

 

“You also need to have a civic conversation.”

 

“A civic conversation? What is this?” The Guild leader asked intrigued.

 

“It’s a discussion between all the people in your society. Your society was bound together by the illusion of the goddess. That goddess is gone and so is the binding force she provided. You need to discuss, as a people, how you go on, what values your society holds and what you wish to work towards.”

 

Mardell stroked the beard on his chin, almost visibly chewing over the idea. “That is an excellent suggestion. A new goal, a new reason for our people to exist.”

 

“Unity.” Lysis added.

 

“Unity and peace.” Mardell replied.

 

“I’ll drink to that.” Alex said pulling the handle of a pump and filling a glass. He pushed it across the bar to Mardell and then filled another and pushed it to Lysis.

 

The colour drained from Lysis’ face as she looked at the pale amber liquid in the glass. “I…I think I’ll just have water.”

 

Alex walked out from behind the bar and handed a glass to Zara who sniffed at the liquid curiously. “It’s bad luck not to skip a toast. Which is why even if Zara can’t drink it, she’ll at least join us.”

 

Lysis sighed. “Very well.”

 

“To Atlantis.” Alex raised his glass. “And to a prosperous and peaceful future.”

 

“Hear, hear.” The three replied and drank from their glasses, or pretended to drink if they were in holographic form.

 

“Eugh…” Lysis groaned.

 

“Ahhhhh…” Alex smiled. “Nothing like the hair of the dog that bit you.”

 

 

 

****

The Council of Avalon’s first meeting was not held in a grand palace or ornate room. It was not held in the Temple of the Goddess; though that space was lovely, the transition council had decided to make a break with the church. Not to eliminate it, mind you, but to signify that the church was no longer the ruling authority on the moon.

 

No, the Council of Avalon’s first meeting was in a bar – Rixie’s, to be precise. It had room for the thirteen men and women and for the audience; had grumbled that he wouldn’t make a habit of this, but the council paid him enough for lost revenue that his grumbling was mostly for show. They wouldn’t meet here for long – one of the damaged buildings near the Temple was being rebuilt with the idea of turning it into a permanent home for the government.

 

They had called the council to order, and elected a President of the Council – Eudoxia Rabtes, a calm, level-headed seamstress who had won her seat by pledging to listen to and respect all Avalonians. Each of the council members had given their initial addresses – some expressed hope, some concern, and one, Hesiot Zavat, expressed doubt that they’d last a fortnight. And when they’d finished their address, they welcomed a visitor. A neighbor to their home, one who they had asked to come.

 

There was more than one reason they’d chosen Rixie’s for this event.

 

She shimmered into view, and even though the room knew she could, they still gasped; she had appeared as if by magic. Had she taken that moment to declare that she was truly their goddess, and that she had been testing them, the people of Atlantis might well have believed.

 

Instead, she walked to the area in front of the council that had been set up for citizens to speak, she straightened her back, and she smiled.

 

“Fellow citizens,” President Rabtes said, “we have a visitor. You probably recognize her. Please, proceed.”

 

“Thank you, Madam President,” Pryvani said. She looked around the room, at the people who had once worshipped her, and Syon, and her great-grandmother Marwa, and her great-grandmother, Lorla, and so many of her ancestors, for so very long.

 

They were so unworthy of that reverence.

 

“Madam President,” Pryvani said, “members of the Council, and citizens of Avalon. My name is Pryvani Tarsuss. For far too many generations, you were told that you were ruled by a Goddess, one who would both protect you and, when you did wrong, punish you. As I have told you, this is a lie. And that lie has left deep scars on your city and your people. Before I say anything else, know that I am sorry, so very sorry, that you were ever told this lie. That I know nothing I can say or do will undo that lie. And that you owe me and my family nothing – not respect, not forgiveness, and certainly not obeisance.”

 

She paused; she was half expecting someone to interrupt her angrily at this point, or worse, to interrupt with an absolution. She didn’t want absolution. Her family’s sin was grave.

 

“I wanted to address you at this opening session of your government, not as a goddess, but as a neighbor, and someone who hopes to be a friend to you, if you will have me.

 

“I have told you part of the truth, that I am not a goddess. But I have not had the chance to tell you all of the truth. Why you are here, the truth of what my people are, and why you were taken from Earth.

 

“I know that myth holds that your people were taken from Earth because you did something wrong. This is simply not true. Most of our ancestors were brought here because the land where they lived was threatened by natural disaster. Others have been brought here from places they lived within the Titan Empire – the worlds where my people live. We brought you to this moon to keep your people safe, and to ensure that should some disaster befall Earth itself, that there would be humans who survived somewhere else.”

 

“That makes some sense. We know that disasters have befallen Earth,” Council-Member Mardell said. “We know the legend of the Great Flood. Did you consult with our ancestors, tell them this?”

 

“I will be honest, I do not know,” Pryvani said. “But sadly, I doubt it. And that is because of my people. You have met some of them – Taron, Zara, Brinn, Rixie, and lamentably, Trell. Our size is as you have seen. We are bigger than you. And unfortunately, too many of my people have believed that size difference meant that we were also better than you. They have not always listened to humans. As you know all too well.”

 

“Your people,” Rabates said, “you can do things that we can scarcely imagine. You appear to us today as simply another human, yet we know you are not. How?”

 

“You have developed many things,” Pryvani said. “I have heard you have several water mills, that you have learned new ways to forge metal. You know more than your ancestors did. We are no different. There was a time where we lived much as you do. Imagine a hundred years from now, your children’s children’s children’s children, what they might accomplish. They will have learned more. They will do things differently, and better. Now repeat that, a thousand years from now.

 

“That is why we can do things you cannot. Not because we are smarter, or better, but because we happened to have gotten just a little head start on your people. In time, everything we can do, you will be able to do.”

 

“They say Earth is another world,” Hesiot challenged. “That it goes around another star. Are you telling me your people flew to another star, and that we will someday?”

 

Pryvani smiled. “On Earth, they are already learning to fly from world to world. Your people will be able to fly from star to star. It is only a matter of time.”

 

The president nodded. “So tell me, Former Goddess,” she said, “what comes next?”

 

“I am not here as a goddess, an ex-goddess, or a giant,” Pryvani said. “I live on the mountain, where I’ve lived most of my life. I can see Atlantis from my home. Avalon is a world with tough and brilliant people. I believe that if you work together, there is nothing you cannot accomplish. What I want you to know is that as your neighbor, I am willing to help – if you want me to, and how you want me to. Not to make sure that you live in luxury, nor that you have no worries; never to keep you in a gilded cage. What I want to do is to help your people develop into the people you can be – if that help is wanted.”

 

Hesiot harrumphed. “And you’ll be telling us what’s good and bad? When we should get up and go to bed? What if we tell you to get the hades out of here, go up to your mountain and don’t come back unless we tell you to?”

 

Pryvani looked Hesiot dead in the eye, and smiled. “Then I shall,” she said.

 

“That is a good beginning,” Mardell said. “I think the council would like you to leave us alone – for a time,” he said. “But only for a time. I think…we’ve spent forever under your rule. We need to figure things out for ourselves, I think.”

 

“I understand,” Pryvani said. “I will ask – there are some humans that I know, some who are already here….”

 

“We can use help from humans,” President Rabtes said. “Any human who wants to help. We know Dr. Nick knows the goddess…I mean, Brinn. And Alex knows the warrior. But they are humans. They know what it is like to live as we do. They are of our people.”

 

Pryvani nodded. “They are. There will be a few others – but know that they represent themselves, not me.”

 

“In time,” the President said, “we will want to talk to you. As neighbors. I know, we are not your equals….”

 

“You are not,” Pryvani said. “Madam President…you are so, so much better than I.”

 

“I doubt that,” Eudoxia Rabtes said, with a smile. “But I thank you for saying so. And I look forward to the future in which, equals or not, we can call each other friends. But before we can hope for that…we must begin to grow ourselves.”

 

“I have the utmost faith in you, and your people, Madam President. I look forward to speaking to you when the time is right. Thank you for your time,” Pryvani said. And with that, she shimmered away into nothing.

 

 

 

****
“Wow…” Lysis eyed the rather petite woman with braided hair who had appeared as if from nowhere in the empty bar. “You’re a little short for a warrior goddess, aren’t you?”

 

Rixie walked over to the bar and gave Alex a peck on the cheek, on her tiptoes, before pouring herself a beer. “I should really be a lot taller if this hologram were accurate but I tried it before and I quite liked it. To be honest it’s quite nice being the one who’s looking up for a change.”

 

Lysis’ lip curled at the side as she mulled over an idea. “And there is no way I could use this…hologram? I could appear as a giant and hunt the bandits down and trample them underfoot.”

 

“It doesn’t work like that I’m afraid.” Rixie said taking a seat beside Lysis. “But if you like I could do it for you. I’m not Zara, I’ve been fighting for most of my life. I’d likely have a lot more success.”

 

Lysis sighed wearily. “Believe me warrior goddess…”

 

“Rixie…”

 

“My apologies. Believe me Rixie, there is nothing I would like more than to you enlist you but the council have forbidden me from requesting Titan assist. This is a human problem and it must be solved by humans.” Lysis said taking a swig from her glass.

 

Since the formation of the council Lysis had grown close with Alex, and Rixie to a lesser extent. She had no family left in the city and few friends. She would regularly arrive after closing for a drink or two and some conversation before returning to the barracks to bed down.

 

“How is the fight going?” Rixie asked noticing the pain that the Captain of the Watch was trying to hide.

 

Lysis shook her head. “Not well…our enemy is crafty. He strikes as if from nowhere and returns to nowhere before my men can react. He knows the land, we do not. We lost two more men on the Ostia caravan today.”

 

Rixie winced. She knew that feeling. “How is morale holding up?”

 

“The men are weary…but determined. They have lost friends but they know to give up could mean the end of our city as an independent state. They do not want that. But they are not soldiers, hells I’m not even a soldier!” Lysis flung her arms up.

 

“You’re a watchman.” Rixie understood where the Captain was coming from.

 

“For generation upon generation we have thought we kept the peace but we really didn’t. The goddess kept the peace. To commit a crime against a person was to commit a crime against Her and She would punish you in the afterlife.” Lysis took a swig from her glass. “For generations the Watch has done nothing but stand on the walls, arresting drunks and tracking down missing livestock. We know how to track criminals within our walls but not how to fight a war outside of them.”

 

“I could offer training. We could set up projectors in the barracks. I’ve plenty of experience dealing with guerrilla fighters.” Rixie offered.

 

“If only it were allowed. Alex has told me many tales of your deeds. You would be invaluable”

 

Alex blushed red.

 

“Your experience would be invaluable but the council is very clear. No help from Titans.” Lysis drank once more and slammed her glass down on the bar.

 

There was a long pause. Alex continued to dry clean glasses, Lysis refilled her own and Rixie stared keenly at the shelf behind the bar.

 

“There is one possibility. It’s a long shot but it could work.” Rixie eventually spoke up.

 

“I am willing to consider anything at this stage…” The Captain responded wearily.

 

“What if I could find you a human who could lead an army to victory? Who could inspire men to fight? Who can teach your men how to be soldiers? And most importantly, someone who can outwit the bandits and beat them at their own game?”

 

“I hear all the Humans in your Empire are witless pets. Do you intend to steal a soldier from Earth?” Lysis asked with not a small amount of sarcasm.

 

Rixie smiled, quite pleased with herself. “I don’t think I have to.”

 

Alex stopped drying glasses and looked up. “Is this the guy you were talking about before?”

 

“Yeah, what do you think?”

 

“I think you’re getting her hopes up. We don’t even know if it’s him who’s in charge.” Alex leaned on the bar.

 

“I’m positive it’s him.” Rixie replied.

 

“Well you’re the tol-bot fan, not me. Gonna have a word with him?” Alex enquired.

 

“Not yet…I’m going to keep watching him though. Maybe have Pryvani do some digging.”

 

“Can I see this man?” Lysis asked.

 

“Maybe…not quite yet. I will see what I can do. Just don’t lose hope.” Rixie said placing her hand on Lysis’ shoulder. “You’re a fine leader and a great warrior. I know the council said you can’t accept Titan help but there’s no harm in two friends sparring.”

 

Lysis smiled knowingly. “I’m sure I could learn a thing or two from you.”

 

“And I you.” Rixie said getting up.

 

Lysis stood and slipped off her cloak while Rixie moved some tables to make space.

 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Alex shouted from behind the bar “No fighting in my bar!”

 

“Oh relax! I’m just going to show Lysis some tricks. And then maybe later I’ll show you some tricks…” Rixie said with a wink.

 

Alex pretended to mull it over but had already made up his mind. “Fine just don’t break anything.”

 

Rixie adopted a simple defensive combat stance and turned to face Lysis. Lysis copied the diminutive Titan’s stance and held Rixie’s stare.

 

“Very good.” Rixie smiled. “Now, defend yourself!”

(Thanks to DX for contributing one scene, likely you can guess which one. Apologies if there were any mistakes in this chapter. I didn’t have time to proof – OHH)