Legends of Amacia Attack on Tartarus
Chapter 8: Triaskus Xenocerius Spider Ambush

Triaskus Xenocerius Spider Ambush

Then with a loud bang, the wall split and a slab slid open revealing a darkened passageway beyond it. Hannibal glanced at Ana with a slight smirk, and then his attention went back to the opening very quickly as his innate ability of sensing danger went into overdrive. He backed off a couple of steps, holding the scepter forward like a spear while his Draken Gauntlets opened up to their combat position covering his forearms. “Stay back!” he warned. “There’s something very dangerous in the darkness!” Ana’s countenance fell dramatically as everyone pulled their weapons, including Ana. She had a small katana type blade in addition to her plasma blaster. They moved back toward the opening to the courtyard slowly, covering Hannibal with their blasters as he held his ground. His eyes focused intensely on the darkness of the hole before him. The hole was lined with what appeared to be spider webs with some strands the size of ropes. Then he heard it: a vaguely familiar hissing, chattering sound coming from the cavity. Hannibal could sense its deadly intent even though he couldn’t see it. “All right, monster, show yourself,” he hissed as he slowly backed away. A growl rumbled out of the hole as Hannibal smacked the scepter pummel on the floor again, making it light up like the sun. The light penetrated the hole and his blood ran cold at what he saw: A spider the size of a bull bison in Antilla. Moreover, it looked exactly like the giant spider he killed while taming Tiamat, only larger and this one was hairy like a tarantula. It shrieked at the flash of light, as did Hannibal at the sight of the monstrosity.

“Oh, shit; fall back! Fall back!” Hannibal barked as the monster spider stuck his front legs out of the hole in a smooth fluid motion. He backed away, knowing that they were in serious trouble. By time he had moved three steps back, the spider rushed out with a roar, literally leaping at him so fast no one except Hannibal could respond. Hannibal moved like a cat, diving aside as it tried to sink its eighteen-inch fangs into him, which dripped with poison that was every bit as caustic as that of the basilisk. Hannibal rolled away and the spider crushed the giant table as it turned at him. In a fraction of a second, Hannibal rose to his feet, wielding the scepter like a spear in a guard position, point forward. The spider hesitated, now seeing many other potential meals.

“What do we do, Uncle?” Andrew cried in astonished terror. “It’s faster than a saber cat and twice as large! Do we shoot it?”

“Keep me covered,” Hannibal ordered, “It may be attacking because we invaded its territory. Shooting it may just enrage the beast. We don’t know if our plasma rounds will be effective against it.”

“We have you covered, son,” Nathanael called out, visibly shaken by the appearance of the giant spider.

“Fate, be merciful,” Morpheus breathed, training his heavy-caliber plasma blaster on the spider, “I never believed I see a full-grown Triaskus female again. Beowulf, keep your guard up. The Triaskus females are very dangerous and highly unpredictable. Watch out for the forelegs. They have stingers in them that will paralyze you in an instant if they touch you.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Hannibal returned, eying the monstrosity as its front legs lightly tapped the floor in front of it. “I saw what a smaller one like this did to my friend in Tiamat. Do not turn your back on it, and whatever you do, don’t run. You can’t outrun it.”

“That’s right,” Morpheus agreed. “The only way to deal with them is to be more aggressive than they are. We learned that the hard way in Acheron.”

“This thing is not like the ones I’ve seen before,” Ana called out in a shaky tone. “The ones the Cadre wizards have in their labs are not nearly this large, aggressive, or intelligent. I can feel its intelligence. It’s formulating a plan of attack. Whatever you plan to do, Beowulf, you must do quickly before it decides to attack.”

“We should take this thing down now,” Andrew insisted. “I believe it our combined firepower can kill it.”

The spider lurched several feet, snapping at Hannibal, who countered with a jab of the scepter as he retreated. It jumped back to avoid the thrust from Hannibal. “It’s testing you, Hannibal,” Nathanael observed. “Watch yourself; don’t allow it to spit any of that venom on you. I suspect it may be able to spit venom or have some other offensive weapons at its disposal.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Hannibal growled, growing increasingly angry at the giant spider’s aggressiveness. “It’s trying to bait me in. I’m not going to bite, as much as I would like to. You hear that, monster. I don’t care how smart you are, I’m not going to bite on your teases. I’m not letting my guard down.”

The spider hissed deeply in response as if it understood Hannibal’s taunt. “It understands you, Beowulf,” Ana called out. “I can feel its rage rising.”

“So can I,” Hannibal replied coldly, slowly backing toward the exit hole to the outside. “This thing is very malevolent, intelligent, and extremely hungry. Spread out and keep me covered. If it moves, do whatever you must to protect yourself. If our plasma rounds are ineffective, we may have to go hand-to-hand to take it down. That’s what we had to do with the one in Tiamat.”

“Got it,” Selina called out. “Everyone spread out. It will make it more difficult for it to take us out.” The team started spreading out to the right and left, keeping the exit and Hannibal covered.

Hannibal continued to ease back towards the exit while the spider edged forward, hissing and growling. Several times it roared, rearing up its front legs in a provocative display similar to that of the giant tarantula, trying futilely to intimidate Hannibal. He laughed it off, saying, “Oh, my...what a fearsome display. Unfortunately, I’ve dealt with your kind before, so I’m immune to such histrionics. You like displays of power; try this on for size, bitch.” Hannibal abruptly smacked the pummel end of the scepter on the floor, making its crystal head blaze like the sun for a few seconds. The spider shrieked and turned its head away from the light, backing up a few steps. “Can’t tolerate the light, can you, bitch,” Hannibal declared icily, returning the scepter to its spear position, “Seems we’re at a bit of a stalemate here. I can’t get to you without being killed, and you can’t get to me without risking your life. I will kill you if you persist in attacking us. So it’s your move, beast. What’s it going to...?”

The spider hissed and jumped, sucker-punching Hannibal in the right shoulder with its left front leg. It moved with such speed that no one saw it coming. The hit threw Hannibal back almost to the hole leading to the courtyard. It followed through with another leap towards Hannibal, who fired the left Draken Gauntlets just before a hard landing that briefly stunned him. The plasma round plowed into the face to the beast as it jumped towards him, stopping its forward momentum and throwing it violently into a nearby wall. It roared and hissed, rubbing its smoldering face with its forelegs before lumbering forward with a bit more caution, eyeing not just Hannibal now, but the entire team.

“Hannibal!” Selina cried out in dismay, feeling the pain of his hard landing. “Kill that mother fucker!” She raced to the right, opening fire with her plasma blaster. The others spread out and opened fire with their heavy plasma blasters, concentrating their fire on the giant spider as it roared in rage and pain. Unfortunately for the team, the spider saw all of them as they tried to get to its blind side. No one escaped the arachnid’s notice as it counterattacked. Turning its head to Selina, the beast spit what appeared to be a ball of silk three feet across at her. Selina tried to dodge the ball, but wasn’t fast enough. The ball struck her in the chest with such force that it knocked her up against the wall some twenty feet back and three feet off the floor. When she smacked the wall, the ball of silk spread out, cocooning her from the neck down, sticking her to the wall. She cried out, dropping both her plasma blaster and her katana when hit by the silk ball.

“Selina!” Amelia cried out, rushing to her aid. The spider spit another ball at Amelia and pinned her to the wall near Selina in the same manner. The silky cocoon was like iron. No matter what she did, she couldn’t break free. By this time, Ana was coming to Selina and Amelia’s assistance while Nathanael, Andrew, and Morpheus engaged the spider with their heavy plasma blasters. However, the heavy plasma rounds they used did minimal damage, enraging the spider.

“The blasters aren’t powerful enough,” Andrew observed as they managed to drive the spider back with their incessant fire. “The ammunition isn’t penetrating its exoskeleton. It just isn’t doing enough damage.”

“I agree,” Morpheus concurred. “We need to adopt a new strategy quick. I’m nearly out of ammo.”

The spider abruptly bristled, ceasing to retreat beside the crushed table. Before anyone could blink, it kicked a ten-foot piece of the giant banquet table at its enemies, forcing them to scatter. The table clipped Morpheus, knocking him senseless as it fell on him. A fraction of a second later, it kicked some dust and bones at Nathanael, blinding him long enough for it to spit a silk ball and pin him to the floor. “Grandpa!” Andrew cried out in fearful rage. Turning to the spider, he hissed, “You’re going to regret that!” He emptied his plasma blaster, firing at the spider’s head, putting out several of its eyes before running out of ammo. This incensed the spider, which jumped at Andrew when he ran out of ammo. He threw his empty blaster at the spider while jumping out of the way. The spider sideswiped Andrew with his right front leg, sending him sprawling to the left of Morpheus. In an instant, it pounced, pinning Andrew down with its two front legs. It hissed, revealing its enormous fangs dripping with caustic venom as it opened its mouth to finish its victim. It snapped its head and fangs down to feed before Andrew could get his wits. However, before it made contact, something hit it in the head and exploded, causing the spider to rear up to see what had attacked it. Hannibal stood just beyond Nathanael ready to strike with the Draken Gauntlets.

“Get off him, you bitch,” Hannibal roared as his eyes glowed red and a red aura briefly enveloped him. When the aura vanished a fraction of a second later, he discharged the right Draken Gauntlet with an elementally enhanced full-power plasma charge. The plasma blast hit the spider in its thorax just behind its head, throwing the beast thirty feet against the back wall with it lying on its back. The heat and force of the plasma charge cracked its thorax, seriously wounding the beast. Hannibal then pulled the Caverias Sword as his berserker rage went nuclear. He uttered a perfect Kaitian war cry as he pulled the sword back to the classic hasso samurai-fighting stance. With blood and fury in his eye, the Caverias Sword opened to its most powerful form in front of everyone with a loud bang. “You’re so dead bitch,” he growled icily as a white aura surrounded him. “You’ll not eat the flesh of humans any longer.” When the sword drank in the white aura, Hannibal darted forward so fast he was a blur. Upon reaching the spider, he rammed the Caverias Sword into the center of the spider’s thorax before it could react, piercing the heart. He twisted the blade and then split the beast open so its internal organs dropped out on the ground. Then to be sure, he sliced off its head in with one stroke. The head fell with a sickening thump on the floor and Hannibal then chopped the head to bits in a frenzied assault. When he was sure the beast was dead, he spit on it and hissed, “I warned you, bitch. Didn’t know who the fuck you were dealing with did you?” He turned to his team with a twisted expression full of rage and hate.

“Uncle?” Andrew called out cautiously, rising to his knees.

“Be careful, Andrew,” Nathanael urged. “The Rage has him. He may not recognize you. Keep your distance.”

“Uncle, are you okay?” Andrew asked softly while kneeling.

Hannibal turned abruptly towards Andrew with a scowl, not recognizing him. He cocked the left Draken Gauntlet with a rear elbow strike while settling into an attack position with the Caverias Sword pointed at Andrew. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t blow you to bits,” he demanded icily. “My enemies die. They always die.”

Andrew instantly raised his hands in surrender, pleading, “Please, don’t shoot! I give up. I’m not the enemy, Uncle. Don’t you recognize me? It’s Andrew, your kindred spirit.”

“Calm down, Hannibal!” Selina called out urgently, seeing and sensing Hannibal was seconds away from killing Andrew, and the rest of them. “You need to calm down now. The spider is dead and we’re not the enemy. Andrew is not your enemy. He’s your nephew and your kindred spirit. Please, calm down my prince.”

When Selina spoke, Hannibal’s countenance softened tremendously and lowered his weapons, shaking his head as if waking from a trance. Dropping to his knees, a troubled sigh escaped his lips as the Caverias Sword closed back up to its normal form. Tears abruptly spilled out of Hannibal’s eyes as he dropped the Caverias Sword. “Oh, no; the Rage got out of hand again,” he moaned. “I was about to kill Andrew. How could I not recognize him, one of my closest kindred spirits? Please forgive me, nephew.”

Andrew got up and went to his side, kneeling down and saying, “It’s all right, uncle. That rage saved my life and the lives of everyone else. I thought I was done when that spider knocked me down. It’s all right. I should’ve known better than to speak to you while the Rage was on you. Now, I know better. It won’t happen again. That’s a promise.” Andrew put a caring hand on his shoulder and Hannibal grasped it. Looking Hannibal in the eye, Andrew added, “It’s okay, Uncle. I forgive you. I know you have trouble reigning in the Rage. Now I see it, and I see how Aunt Selina is truly your salvation, and ours. Trust her, and yourself, Uncle, and together, you will finally beat the Rage. I know you can do it.”

Hannibal hugged Andrew gratefully. “Thank you, Andrew,” he replied, choked with emotion. “Your faith in me is truly humbling. I’ll try to keep the Rage under better control from now on. I have to keep that beast on a strong leash. Somehow, fighting the spider caused me to drop the leash. I can’t let that happen again.” He looked over at the carcass of the spider and a surge of intense hatred raced through him, sending a deep chill down his spine. “I hate these spiders with a passion, and don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I saw them kill Keshi at Tiamat. I just don’t know, but the hatred that’s surging through me right now for these creatures is very unsettling. I can’t understand why I have such a vehement hatred for these things. I want to hunt down and kill them all. I haven’t felt such hatred since I saw my parents killed in front of me. Why am I feeling like this? It isn’t right, and I know it. They’re just beasts.”

“I can’t answer that,” Andrew admitted, “But I know none of us are safe with them around. If we find more of them, we should definitely wipe them out. They are a direct threat to all life on this planet. Now pull yourself together. We need you to lead us. There’s something here other than the spiders. I can sense it. Something ancient, but familiar is calling from deep within this mountain. It’s faint, but there. Focus, Uncle; where do we go now?”

Hannibal’s focus suddenly returned, allowing him to feel what Andrew was sensing. His face opened with astonishment as he stood up. “You’re right,” he declared. “I can sense it too. It’s faint, but there somewhere deep beneath us.”

“Uh, son, if it isn’t too much of a bother, could you help me out?” Nathanael called out as Hannibal looked around in a daze trying to home in on the call.

“Oh, of course, grandpa,” Andrew replied, patting Hannibal on the shoulder. He went to Nathanael and proceeded to use his dagger to free his grandfather. “Sorry for the delay, grandpa,” Andrew apologized. “I felt Uncle Hannibal needed a helping hand to get him to focus after that rampage. I’m sure glad Aunt Selina was able to calm him down. Another second, I would have been a stain on the floor.”

“You did very well, Andrew,” Nathanael congratulated. “You have a deeper connection to Hannibal than I realized. Your actions saved us in more than one way.”

“Thanks, grandpa,” Andrew replied as he continued to cut Nathanael out of the silk cocoon.

“Hannibal, I could use a little help over here now that you’ve calmed down,” Selina called out. She remained pinned to the wall as Ana continued trying to free Amelia. “And please don’t dawdle. This stuff is restricting my breathing now. It’s crushing me.”

Hannibal snapped out of his daze and went to her immediately. “Shit!” he cursed as he began to cut her down with his dagger. “This stuff is really strong.”

“Hurry up, Hannibal,” Selina wheezed. “I can hardly breathe. This stuff is getting tighter.”

Hannibal growled, saying, “Hold on.” He took his dagger, and put it over her chest and said, “Don’t breathe.”

Selina held her breath and Hannibal made a hard vertical cut on the silk as if he was gutting an animal from the neck to the groin. He had to do it three times before the dagger had sliced through the silk down to her armor. Upon the last slice, the silk let up and she could breathe.

“Oh, thank you. That’s so much better. Now get me down,” Selina said in relief. It took Hannibal twenty minutes to cut her out of the cocoon. Once he made the last cut, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out of the sticky cocoon. Selina fell into his arms and immediately kissed him. “Thank you, honey,” she said softly. “It seems that I’m not as fast as I used to be.”

Hannibal sat her on her feet and touched her on the chin, saying, “You’ll get your speed back. You’ll see.” He saw her katana lying between them and the remains of the table. He walked over to it, letting her lean on him because she was still weak in the legs. He leaned over and picked it up, presenting it to her, saying, “This doesn’t do any good on the floor.” He smiled when he said it and she smiled back. Then with a serious face, he asked, “You all right now?”

Selina nodded, saying, “I think so.”

Just then, Morpheus approached, as did Nathanael and Andrew. Morpheus rubbed his head, saying, “Gosh, my head hurts. That thing really sucker punched me good with that table. I’d forgotten how fast the Triaskus spiders could be.”

“You all right, Morpheus?” Hannibal asked with concern.

“Yeah, I’ll be all right,” Morpheus stated, “Just a bump on the head. It’s just that I’m a little out of practice when it comes to fighting the giant spiders. Like I said before, I haven’t seen a full-grown Triaskus female like this since I was a little boy in Acheron.” At that moment, Ana and Amelia walked up.

“You’ve seen things like this before?” Nathanael asked Morpheus.

“Just once,” Morpheus answered. “I got lost in the labyrinth with some of my friends and ran into one. But it wasn’t nearly this big. It sure it was one of the Cadre’s pets left over from when the Cadre manned the Acheron citadel. But this one I don’t know. I’ve never seen them this big, though I expect Aeolus has seen them this large.”

Hannibal turned to Amelia and Ana, asking, “Are you two all right?” He could tell that both of them were shaken: Amelia much more so than Ana. Amelia didn’t answer right away. He could see tears in her eyes. Walking to her, he put a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eye asking, “Are you all right?” She shook her head and hesitated looking at him. It was then he realized that his berserker rage had caused her some distress. “Amelia, look at me,” he ordered her gently. “I am your friend. I would do nothing to hurt any of you. But the rage you saw is a part of me. It’s a part of my past that I have yet to tame. I initially thought it was a throwback to my days as an assassin. But Aeolus informed me that the Rage is actually a genetic marker of the Caverias blood within me. Regardless of where I got it from, I hate it when the Rage gets on me like that because it makes it very difficult to distinguish friend from foe. I am really trying to control it. But sometimes, I have to let that beast out in order to get the job done, to protect those I love. Had I not gone into that rage, the spider would have been feasting on us right now. Do you understand what I’m saying? That same rage allowed me to slay Lord Baal, Dagos, and the Devourer in Acheron when I was Hanna. I hate using it, but at times, it proves to be a useful tool. But you saw what it does to me. That is why I hate it so. I’m sorry if I scared you. It was not intentional. Please forgive me for scaring you like that.”

Amelia looked Hannibal in the eye and saw his conviction about what he was saying. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek, saying, “Thank you, my friend for again saving our lives. I now understand why you are so humble and soft-spoken. You fight so hard to keep that Rage in check. I will pray that the Almighty will help you to keep that beast in its place.”

Hannibal smiled sweetly at her, saying, “Thank you for the prayers. I really appreciate that gesture. I need all the prayers I can get to keep that beast where it belongs. And don’t just thank me, thank Andrew. He was the one that kept the spiders off of everyone while I was stunned.” Hannibal turned to Andrew and apologized again, saying, “I’m really sorry about trying to kill you, Andrew. Thank you for your help. We all would have been dead if it weren’t for you. I saw you shoot the eyes of the spider. That was really good thinking.”

Andrew tucked his head humbly, saying, “It’s all right. You’re welcome. By the way, has anyone seen Elle? Where is she?”

“That’s a good question,” Hannibal stated as he looked around. He didn’t see her and feared the worst. “Elle, Elle! Where are you?” he called out. “Everyone spread out. She may be outside. Elle!”

Everyone began frantically search for her. Selina found her five minutes later outside hiding behind a toppled wall, completely terrified and crying like a baby. When Selina saw her, she had compassion on Elle. She knelt down and hugged her, purring for Elle, trying to calm her down. Elle bawled like a little girl with her arms wrapped around Selina. “Shhh; it’s all right. We’re all right. It’s okay,” Selina cooed as she heard the calls. “We’re over here!” she called out. Within a minute, everyone had gathered around.

When Hannibal saw Elle, he was very relieved. He stepped forward, dropping to his knees beside Selina and Elle. Putting a hand on Elle’s shoulder, he said softly, “It’s all right, Elle.” By this time, she was just whimpering. She looked at him, and then threw her arms around him weeping softly. Hannibal put his arms around her, saying, “It’s okay, sis.” He patted her on her back as she cried on his shoulder.

Elle looked into his face, sobbing, “I’m so sorry! I panicked. I left you! Please forgive me!”

Hannibal saw Elle was devastated that she fled when he needed her. “Shhh; it’s all right, Elle. I forgive you,” he cooed. She wept, looking down at the ground. Hannibal raised her chin with his hand so he could look her in the eye. “Listen to me, Elle,” he told her plainly. “Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has lapses like this. It shows you’re only human.” She looked him in the eye with tears streaming down her cheeks. “We forgive you. I forgive you,” he said softly and with great sincerity. He cracked a pleasant smile, adding, “The Almighty forgives you too, but you can’t let fear take you like that. We were all scared to death. I was so scared that I was shaking. So was Selina, right?”

Selina nodded, saying, “Absolutely. I’ve never seen these things before. I was terrified.”

Hannibal looked into Elle’s eyes saying as he held her hands, “But we didn’t let our fear break us. As I told Rachel, and Ana, you can’t let your fear rule you. Fear can be a power ally or a terrible enemy. Fear as an ally can keep you from doing something stupid, but as an enemy fear can destroy your life. Even Jesus’ own disciples fled in fear when he was taken in the garden. Fear is an unpleasant fact we must all face. We’re all hardwired to feel fear, but you must keep it in its place. Don’t let it keep you from doing what you must. We all do what we must in the face of the most malevolent and hideous evil. The spider is just one of many monsters that we face these days. It is just a beast and beasts can be brought down as we did just a few minutes ago. You can’t be afraid of them. Now come. Rise and face it down.”

Hannibal stood, still holding on to her hand. His words smote her to her heart and she stifled her sobs and rose, putting on her warrior face. Hannibal looked her in the eye, saying, “That a girl. In a way, it’s good that we saw this fear in you now. It’ll allow us to deal with it before the time comes when we will really need you to stand with us. Come on. We aren’t done. We have to go into its lair. The way to Leila is in there. I’m sure of it.” Once again, fear rose in Elle and he held on to her hand firmly, saying, “Fight it, Elle. Don’t let that fear beat you. You’re a strong-willed girl. You can conquer it. Come on. I’ve got to retrieve my sword and the scepter.”

“I’ve got the scepter,” Ana called out.

Hannibal’s gaze shot to her, seeing that she was holding the scepter with her cybernetic hand. “Be careful with it, Ana,” he warned. “Don’t let any of your organics touch it. It will drain the life out of you.”

Ana nodded knowingly, saying, “I won’t. I’ve seen how you handle it. I’ll be careful.”

Hannibal smiled slightly, saying to all, “Come on. Let’s do this so we can go home.” He led them back to great hall where the spider lay dead. The first thing Hannibal saw was the spider lying on its side with its thorax and abdomen split open. The remains of its head lay in pieces just in front of it. Ten feet from the mangled head of the spider lay the Caverias Sword on floor. He shuddered as he looked at the spider, his ire rising just by looking at it. Then he noticed that the skeleton of Ezra Karac by some miracle was still sitting in his chair even though the table was in splinters. For a moment, Hannibal thought he saw Ezra’s skull face smiling at him, but shrugged it off as an adrenaline-induced hallucination.

Elle saw the beast and turned to leave. Andrew and Selina restrained her. “You have to face it down, Elle. It’s dead. It can’t hurt you now,” Selina said plainly.

Hannibal walked towards the monstrosity, picking up the Caverias Sword in route. Venom from its fangs drooled on the floor, eating the floor away where it dripped. Selina and Andrew gently forced Elle toward the spider with everyone else. Hannibal stopped just a few feet away from the beast and looked at it. He grimaced as a foul stench arose from the carcass. “Ugh. What a stench!” he growled, noticing the venom eating away the stone floor. “Be wary of the venom. It appears to be as caustic as the Basilisk’s venom. It’s melting the floor.”

Morpheus moved closer, looking at the mangled head and the dripping venom eating away the floor. “Fascinating,” he commented. “I wish we had time to study this creature. It could show us what its weaknesses are.”

“Maybe later, my friend,” Hannibal stated, “Right now, we have a job to do.” He struck towards the floor, flinging the spider’s blood off the Caverias Sword before he slung it over his shoulder. “It seems your plasma blasters didn’t do much damage to the beast. Only the Draken Gauntlets had the power to do any major damage to it.”

“I noticed that,” Morpheus agreed. “The only thing it really did was enrage the beast. I exhausted my ammo in the battle.”

“So did I,” Nathanael reported. “Only with all of us concentrating our fire on it did we manage to drive it back. However, it did only minimal damage and caused it to rampage. It kicked that table at us so quickly I barely had time to get out of the way. It then blinded me by kicking up dust in my face so it could pin me with those incredible silk balls. By time I cleared my eyes, I was pinned down with the silk, but I saw Andrew shooting out its eyes. It seems to me its eyes were its weakness. That’s the only place our ammo had any noticeable effect.”

“Interesting,” Hannibal commented. “I noticed its exoskeleton is very tough, acting almost like armor. It’s a most formidable predator. What concerns me is there may be more of these beasts lurking farther in. In my dream of Leila, I saw several of these spiders crawling down the outside of the keep. Furthermore, Aeolus told me he saw evidence of a nest when he passed by here on his way to reconnoiter Srandi, seeing several spiders emerge from a hole in the top of the mountain. We should keep our guards up.”

“How should we deal with them, Uncle?” Andrew asked. “We’re basically out of ammo for out plasma blasters. Should we call for Uncle Elias and return to Antilla to get heavier weapons? That’s seems to me to be the most logical thing to do.”

“No,” Hannibal replied bluntly. “We haven’t the time. Besides, our skirmish with this spider shows it’s vulnerable not just to bright light, but also to our swords. If we watch our step and keep quiet, we may not have to deal with the others.”

“How can we be sure of that?” Selina asked. “I’ve never seen such creatures move so quickly with such aggressiveness.”

Just then, the carcass of the spider started to roll forward towards Hannibal and Morpheus. “Look out!” Amelia cried in warning.

Hannibal latched onto Morpheus by his collar, yanking him away from the settling carcass. One of its forelegs rotated with the body, coming down on Hannibal and Morpheus from above. Hannibal saw it and swung his right Draken Gauntlet towards it in a high blocking motion. To the surprise of everyone, a sixteen-inch blade shot out of the fist-end of the Gauntlet, slicing the spider’s leg off as it came down. Hannibal’s arm motion then batted the severed leg away from them, causing it to land in front of Nathanael and Ana. Once the blade did its work, it retracted back into the Gauntlet.

“Whoa,” Andrew breathed, “I didn’t know the Draken Gauntlets had blades too.”

“Well, it does,” Hannibal growled, irritated that the spider’s carcass rolled toward him and Morpheus. “The Gauntlets are a complete weapons system with not just plasma rounds and armor, but small retractable blades for hand-to-hand combat.” He then saw Elle in a fearful panic, trying to escape Andrew and Selina’s grip. “Elle! Control that fear. Do it! We need you sharp and alert,” Hannibal rebuked her harshly. “If you can’t control that fear, then you need to leave.”

The rebuke was a surprise to Elle, causing her to forget her fear. Anger rose in her at the rebuke. She pulled away from Andrew and Selina, moving right up to Hannibal, who stood right by the spider’s abdomen with Ana. “Why do you speak so sharply to me?” Elle returned just as harshly. “I thought I was your sister.”

Hannibal smiled, saying, “You are, and look at where you’re standing.” It was only then that Elle realized that she was standing an arm’s length away from the spider. Her mouth fell open in shock and she began to move back. “Hold it, Elle,” Hannibal ordered. “Control that fear! Do it! Touch the beast.” She shook her head fearfully and Hannibal glared at her ordering forcefully, “Touch that thing now, Elle. You conquer that fear now!” He spoke with great authority and she stopped. She shook as she slowly reached out, approaching it. “Do it!” Hannibal insisted. As she slowly approached to the dead spider, Hannibal changed his tone, saying with a more understanding and gentle tone, “You can do it, Elle. Conquer that fear. Yes. That’s it; you can do it. That a girl.”

Elle hesitated with her hand just a couple of inches away from the side of the spider’s abdomen. She was in pure terror as she looked at Hannibal. But she feared Hannibal more than she did the spider. She feared failing him again. She looked at Hannibal as he looked at her with great urgency and anticipation, saying, “Go on, sis. I know you can do it. You faced your fear with the basilisk. You can do it here. There’s no difference between them other than this one is dead.” She trembled and swallowed hard as she lurched forward, touching the spider with her gloved hand. The moment she did, her fear fled away, having been conquered. She sighed deeply, putting her other hand on it and a smile crossed her lips as she looked at Hannibal. He walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder, saying, “I knew you could do it. You had it in you all along. Are you all right now?”

“Yes, little brother; I didn’t understand till now why you spoke so harshly to me,” Elle replied while turning to him. “Thank you, Hannibal.” At that, she embraced him in a sisterly fashion.

“You are most welcome,” Hannibal replied, smiling soberly. “I know what it is like to fight fear. I have fought it all my life, even used it on occasion. Welcome to the human race, Elle. Now, let’s pierce the darkness of the great unknown. Is everyone ready?” The team indicated they were. “Okay, how much ammo is left for the blasters?” he asked.

“I exhausted my ammo with the firefight,” Morpheus reported, checking his heavy-caliber blaster. “There’s nothing left.”

“Same with me,” Andrew reported. “But I did see the only weak spot on these abominations is their eyes. If you shoot, concentrate on their head and their eyes. If we blind them, we may have a chance to kill them with our blades.”

“That’s an excellent observation, Andrew,” Hannibal stated. “What about you, Selina? How much ammo do you have left?”

“One clip of twenty-five rounds,” Selina reported, checking her blaster. “Another thing we may try next time is everyone shooting at one spot on the spiders. Maybe concentrated fire on one spot may be enough to break through its armor.”

“Good idea,” Hannibal agreed. “Everyone keep that in mind. Hopefully, we won’t encounter any more of these things, but I doubt it. My danger meter is still pegging well in the red so I don’t think we’re done with them yet. Ana, Amelia...how much ammo do you have left?”

“Two clips, about fifty rounds,” Amelia reported. “The beast got me with the silk ball right after it got Selina so I didn’t get many rounds off.”

“My blaster is empty,” Ana stated. “I emptied it into the spider, but it did little damage. Are you sure we should use them?”

“Yes,” Hannibal stated. “We must have every weapon at ready. Elle, what about your ammo; did you use any of it before bolting?”

Elle looked down, feeling ashamed at her failure in battle. “My blaster is still fully armed. I freaked out and ran when that thing jumped out of the door. I’m so sorry I ran. Please forgive me.”

“It’s okay,” Nathanael stated. “We forgive you, Elle. After all, you’re only human. To be honest, I almost bolted myself, but managed to control my fear enough to engage the spider. By the way, Hannibal; my blaster is empty too.”

“Hmmm,” Hannibal murmured. “One hundred seventy five rounds left with Elle’s blaster being the only one not having seen action. Okay, this is what we’ll do. Elle, give your blaster to Nathanael along with its ammo. Nathanael is a crack shot and should be able to take out their eyes without any trouble.”

“As long as I can see the eyes, it won’t be a problem,” Nathanael stated as Elle handed over her blaster and ammo.

“Ana, you take what’s left of Selina and Amelia’s ammo to use in your blaster,” Hannibal ordered. “That gives you seventy-five rounds. With your cybernetics, targeting should not be a problem. However, be careful of what you shoot at, both you and Nathanael. You both have a limited amount of ammo. The rest of us will have our swords and blades ready in case we need to go hand-to-hand. I pray we don’t, but it’s better to err on the side of caution than to walk into a world of shit unprepared.”

“Got it, my friend,” Ana chimed as she gathered the remaining ammo from Selina and Amelia, reloading her blaster. “I’ll shoot out the eyes of every spider I see, and if I can shoot down its throat, I will.”

“Good,” Hannibal answered. “Those of you with empty blasters, leave them beside Ezra. We’ll pick them up on the way out.” Selina, Andrew, Morpheus, and Amelia dropped their weapons beside Ezra’s skeleton.

“How many shots do your Gauntlets still have, Uncle?” Andrew asked. “I counted three shots in the mayhem.”

“That’s right,” Hannibal stated, checking his Draken Gauntlets. “I fired three shots with the Gauntlets. That leaves me with about thirty-seven rounds along with another fifty in my belt pouch, so I have plenty of ammo. I’m sure we’re going to need it since the Gauntlets were the only thing here that made that beast back up.”

“Indeed,” Ana stated. “Make sure you have those things ready to bring the pain. I pray we don’t need them.”

“Amen to that,” Hannibal said whole-heartedly.

“Watch over our weapons until we get back, my ancient friend,” Morpheus told Ezra’s skeleton. He then unslung his scepter, readying it. Selina unslung her katana, slipping it into her belt, keeping her hand on its handle while Amelia pulled her sword.

Hannibal noticed Elle didn’t have her bladed bo-staff in hand. It remained slung across her back. “You might want to get your bo ready, Elle,” he told her and she pulled it. Hannibal started to move toward the passage with the others when Elle, after staring at the bestial spider for a few moments, cried in anger and plunged her bladed bo-staff into its abdomen all the way up the blade’s hilt. She stabbed it several times as everyone watched. Hannibal grinned and called out to Elle, “That’s enough, Elle. We can use that anger. Come on.” By now, Elle had lost all her fear and she moved to the front with Hannibal and Selina. Ana was close behind them, covering them with her blaster. He stopped at the threshold of the passage and looked back at everyone, saying, “Stay close and do not get in front of me.” At that, he smacked the scepter and it blazed, lighting up the passage beyond the threshold.

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