Legends of Amacia The Awakening
Chapter 5 The Shebat Purge

Leaning over Selina, Josephine’s machine arms went into action. In seconds, her machine arms became a two dozen small mechanized tentacles roughly an inch across. On the end of each tentacle lay a cluster of tiny, hypodermic needles just half an inch long. However, two tentacles were much larger, almost three inches in diameter with the ends morphing into a plethora of surgical implements. It made her look like a strange mechanized squid again, only this time the tentacles were smaller and coming out from under her organic arms. Everyone outside the shield watched with a combination of horror and fascination as Josephine’s machine arms became a platoon of mechanized tentacles before their eyes.

“Whoa,” Andrew breathed. “I didn’t think she could change those.”

“Apparently, she can,” Kida declared, watching with baited breath.

“Be quiet,” Enoch hissed. “Don’t distract her. It’s obvious she has a plan on how to deal with this infestation in Selina and Hanna. Let her work.”

“Let’s uncover your chest before I get to work, sweetie,” Josephine said softly, using her organic hands to untie Selina’s swimsuit halter-top, baring her chest down to the belly. “There,” she murmured. “Now I can operate without the swimsuit being in the way. Be ready, Nemesis.”

“On your signal, Jo,” Nemesis stated.

Josephine’s tentacles swarmed Selina’s body, attaching at key points from the base of her head to her feet. “I’m connecting to the main pathways of her nervous system with several of my appendages,” she reported while holding on to Selina’s hands again with her organic hands. “The rest I’m using to surround the infected areas, especially here in the chest.”

“What about your big arms,” Magnus asked. “Are you going to use them to remove the shebat like I did?”

“Yes,” Josephine stated stoically, not letting Magnus’ question shake her focus. “But first, I must surround the infection and send out the kill code.” Her large tentacles suddenly attached to Selina’s chest, surrounding the large mass there. “We must be precise with our timing, Nemesis. I have to send out the kill code and harvest the shebats at the same time you administer the serum. Get ready.”

Nemesis leaned in and cupped his machine fingers over Selina’s left breast, covering her heart. “On your command,” he said, “I’m ready.”

“Now!” Josephine ordered. Nemesis used his machine fingers to inject a large dose of the shebat antitoxin directly into Selina’s heart as Josephine sent an electromagnetic surge through Selina’s body carrying the kill code for the shebats.

Selina suddenly cried out in agony even in her unconscious state, jerking so violently that it took Nemesis, Magnus, and Josephine to keep her down despite the restraints. It was a shriek of primal agony so loud it rattled the ears and hearts of everyone present. At the same time, a howl of agonizing pain roared from Hanna, waking her from her healer-induced slumber. Enoch saw Selina’s vitals go off the scale. “She’s reacting violently!” Enoch shouted in desperate concern. “Her blood pressure, pulse, and brain activity has spiked off the scale! You need to slow her heart down and lower her blood pressure before it kills her! The Healer can’t control it!” The strange music started playing as the healer’s beam turned a bright green as it swept Selina.

Josephine scanned Selina desperately with both her cyborg eye and through her tentacle appendages, seeing the truth of Enoch’s statement. But she also saw the combination of her signal pulse and Nemesis’ serum beginning to affect the shebats, slowing them and burning out their communications link to one another and to the outside. “Nemesis, give her the most powerful sedative you have to calm her heart! It’s safe to do it now. The vaccine is starting to take effect.”

Nemesis touched Selina on the side of the neck with four of his machine fingers, giving her the most potent drug cocktail he had to calm her heart and blood pressure while keeping her sedated. “Done,” he called out as they noticed Selina’s unconscious writhing slowly subsiding.

“Magnus,” Josephine called out, hearing Hanna’s hysterical sobs of pain. “Give Hanna a pain-killer and sedative. Because of the level of her infection, it shouldn’t cause it to run out of control.” She’s only in early Phase 2 on some of the infection.”

“Right,” Magnus stated, quickly rushing to Hanna’s side and giving her a powerful painkiller and sedative directly into her neck. Taking her hand, Magnus cooed, “Calm down, little sister. I’ve given you something for the pain.”

“Thank you,” Hanna wheezed, squeezing Magnus’ organic hand as he held her hand. “I....” With that, she passed out again and the healer started playing music for Hanna as well.

“What’s next, Jo,” Nemesis asked as Selina stopped moving. “How’s her vitals, Enoch?”

“Her vitals are calming down,” Enoch said with obvious relief. “Her blood pressure and pulse are still high, but they’re not off the scale. Whatever you gave her definitely calmed her down.”

“Good,” Josephine chimed, focusing on the lump in Selina’s chest. “The serum and signal has now saturated her body. The shebats are in a cascade shut down. Now, I can start removing them.” Everyone heard a crunch as Josephine’s large tentacles penetrated Selina’s chest. Selina jerked again as Josephine sent a host of smaller tentacles out of her large ones, encircling the main infestation and removing it from her chest. They saw the large tentacle pulse as it pulled the thing out. “I’m now cleansing her wound and repairing the damage,” Josephine stated. “I’m also sending out my nano-machines in a search and destroy for any other shebats that may be infesting her. This will take a few minutes.”

Nathanael watched with Electra as the operation proceeded. Tears flowed from Electra’s eyes as Nathanael kept his arm around her in emotional support. Yet, he couldn’t hide his own tears. “She’s going to be okay,” he kept telling Electra. “You’ll see.”

“I can’t lose her,” Electra sobbed. “Not like this!”

“You’re not going to lose her,” Enoch said softly. “Look here; the healer is recording everything that’s happening. Look, the shebats are deactivating and Josephine is sending little tendrils of her nano-machines throughout Selina to gather them up now that she’s removed the large one. It’s going to be okay.”

“Enoch’s right,” Josephine called out without looking. “We’re past the dangerous part now. All I’m doing now is purging her of the parasites. Maybe once I remove them from her, she’ll finally recover her full strength and maybe even walk again.”

Kida wrapped her arms around both Nathanael and Electra. “She’s going to make it,” Kida murmured repeatedly. “She has to make it.”

“How’re her vitals? Nemesis called out.

“Steadily coming down to normal,” Enoch reported with a smile. “Even Hanna’s vitals are leveling off now that the pain levels are dropping significantly.”

“Excellent,” Josephine stated. “How’s the scan, Enoch? Can the healer see any more of the infestation?”

“Just a little bit,” Enoch stated, “It’s clustered around her lower spine. I can see your tendrils eating them up. What are you doing with them?”

“I’m vacuuming them up and storing them in a magnetically sealed chamber within my body,” Josephine stated. “Even though they’re becoming inert, the shebats are still dangerous. Do you have any way of incinerating them? It would take something at least as hot as draken fire to completely destroy them.”

“How did the Cadre dispose of them?” Amelia asked.

“We disposed of them in the lava pits,” Horace replied. “The metal composites of the shebats are special. No ordinary fire will destroy them. Only prolonged exposure to the intense heat of fresh magma can disrupt its molecular structure and destroy it. Even the heat and pressure created by our carite explosives won’t destroy them. The problem is the heat and pressure never get high enough long enough to breech the shebat’s molecular lattice. The only place I know of that has a temperature high enough to outright vaporize a shebat is in the center of a star. But the scorching temperatures of magma will cause the shebats to break apart and dissolve after ten minutes of exposure. You don’t happen to have access of a magma pit, do you?”

“Not really,” Enoch stated. “The core of the Red Tower has a magma lake, but it’s sealed off. We can’t get to it without shutting the core down into safe mode. The heat and radiation given off by the core are lethal around the magma lake.”

“Use the portal,” Hanna called out weakly. “We reached inside the Black Fortress. Surely, we can find an active volcano in this savage land to throw the little beasts in.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Enoch stated.

“We also have plenty of draken fire,” Andrew reminded everyone. “Between Argus, Aeolus, Tethys, and their brood, we have some of the hottest fire in the world here. I bet they could get rid of them.”

“Andrew is correct,” Nathanael agreed. “That’s how we got rid of the first one infesting Hanna. I took it to Argus and he destroyed it with his fire. I saw him vaporize it with his fire.”

“No,” Hanna intruded. “Get them off the island. Take them back to Tartarus. There are plenty of volcanoes in Tartarus and Fornax. Throw them into the volcano. It’s the only way to be sure.”

“Hanna is right,” Josephine declared while continuing to purge Selina of the deactivated shebats. “You have to put as much distance between this weapon and yourself as possible. There, that should do it. Nemesis, Magnus, Enoch...scan Selina to see if I removed all the infestation.”

Nemesis and Magnus scanned Selina with their cybernetic eyes while Enoch scanned her with the Healer. “All clear,” Nemesis stated. “And I see you did a marvelous job of repairing the damage to Selina, Josephine. I’m impressed.” Both Magnus and Enoch agreed.

“Good,” Josephine replied. “I’ll going to disengage from Selina now.” She recalled her nano-machine tendrils and pulled back her machine tentacles, releasing Selina. In moments, the tentacles merged, becoming her machine arms again. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she staggered for a moment. Nemesis quickly caught and stabilized her.

“Are you okay?” Nemesis asked.

“Yeah,” Josephine replied. “That was a major drain on me, but nothing like rearranging my lower appendages into real legs. Just give me a few moments. I’ll be okay. How much shebat antitoxin do you have on hand, Nemesis?”

“Not enough,” Nemesis admitted. “It’s going to take at least another half hour to get a sufficient dose to treat Hanna.”

“Then we must wait,” Josephine stated bluntly. “Only the combination of the serum and my kill code will deactivate these little beasts. Enoch, how’s Selina doing now?”

“She’s doing remarkably well,” Enoch stated. “Her vitals are strong and stable, and the healer is now repairing the damage you didn’t get. She may even get back the ability to walk when it’s done with her.”

“That’s very good,” Nemesis rumbled. “How’s Hanna?”

“Stable,” Enoch stated. “Her vitals are a bit high, but it’s not dangerous. The Healer has sedated her again because it sees the shebats and wants to remove them. But I’m holding it back for the moment. You haven’t administered the kill code and serum yet. Nemesis, can you provide a sample of the shebat serum to the healer when we’re done with this so it can reproduce it when needed?”

“Absolutely,” Nemesis stated. “But Josephine should also provide the kill code as well. We’re having to use this as a binary agent to deal with the shebats.”

“I’ll provide it,” Josephine stated, covering up Selina’s bare chest with her swimsuit, tying the halter-top back in place. “As I said, it takes both administered simultaneously in order to quell these seventh gen shebats. I’d also make sure the machine has some way to isolate the shebats when it removes them. A magnetic bottle is the safest way to contain them.”

“Not a problem,” Enoch chimed as he released Selina’s restraints from the control panel. “The Healer has that capability. Do you want to deposit them right now, Josephine?”

“No,” Josephine stated as she leaned over Selina, stroking her hair as if she were her own daughter. “It can wait until we’ve cleansed Hanna. By hitting the shebats with the kill code and serum at the same time, it rendered them dormant.”

“Thank you for saving our daughter,” Electra called out. “We’re forever in your debt, Jo.”

Josephine straightened up, looking over at Electra outside the shield. A warm smile crossed her face. “You owe me nothing,” she declared. “Selina and Hanna are my family, and so are you. I’m so happy I was able to finally do something good with this body the Emperor cursed me with. Besides, they’d do the same for me.”

“That we would,” Selina whispered as she awoke, hearing Josephine’s last comment. “We love you.”

“Selina!” Josephine cried in delight, grasping her hand. “You’re awake! How do you feel, little sister?”

Electra and Kida gasped in astonished relief that Selina had awakened so quickly. Nathanael smiled warmly, greatly relieved that Selina was going to be okay.

“I’m really tired and feel like I’ve been electrocuted,” Selina murmured. “I’m aching from head to toe and have no strength. But I can breathe now. What happened? Was it a shebat like Hanna thought?”

“Yes,” Josephine replied, stroking Selina’s head in a motherly manner. “But it has been dealt with. Had Hanna not called our attention to your crisis, you wouldn’t have survived.”

Selina face radiated puzzlement as Nemesis reached out, holding her hand. “Hanna’s quick thinking saved you, Selina,” he stated softly. “You had multiple shebat infections, with the worst one being in your chest. At Josephine’s order, I gave you the shebat antitoxin while she physically removed the little beasts after sending out the kill code to shut them off. You’re now free of the parasites, thanks to Josephine.”

“My guardian angel once again comes to my rescue,” Selina whispered, still not completely understanding what had happened.

“It was Hanna who alerted us to your trouble, Miss Selina,” Magnus stated. “She’s the real hero here. We’re just helping out.”

“I’m so tired,” Selina whispered. “Is Hanna okay?”

Josephine leaned over Selina, holding her other hand with her organic hands. “For the moment, little sister,” she told Selina. “But she too is in danger. The shebats she and you were infected with weren’t the normal shebats. They were seventh gen shebats with the capability to hiding from normal scans. She’s still infected, but it’s not nearly as serious as your condition was a few minutes ago. As soon as Nemesis can synthesize a large enough dose of the shebat antitoxin, we’ll purge the little beasts from her body as well.”

Selina’s face paled as great concern swept her weary face. “Oh, no,” she moaned in dismay. “You have to save her. She’s all I have. I can’t lose her before you can reverse her mutation, Josephine. Not like this!”

“Calm yourself,” Josephine cooed. “The situation is under control. Her infection has only progressed to early Phase 2. It’s not reached the dire point that you were at with the lump in your chest. I can easily remove these little beasts from her because of what I am: a 1st Age cyborg equipped with nano-machines. I’m using the very machines Bolthor cursed me with to undo what Zaros and Ahriaman have infected both you and her with. Trust me. I can get them out of Hanna just as easily as I removed them from you.”

“You got those things out of me?” Selina asked.

“I certainly did,” Josephine chimed. “Though I had some help from Nemesis and Magnus. But I performed the removal using my nano-machines. I’ll do the same for Hanna as soon as Nemesis makes enough of the shebat serum to treat her. How’s that coming along, Nemesis?”

“Give me another five minutes,” Nemesis stated. “I almost have enough to treat her.”

“Excellent,” Josephine chimed. “Now, just relax, Selina. Both of you will soon be free of those little beasts.”

“It’ll be all right, Miss Selina,” Horace called out from outside the shield. “Between Josephine, Nemesis, Magnus, and me, we have all we need to counteract the weapon. I’ve already provided the information about the shebats to Enoch and the healing machine here. No one is dying of the shebats this day. You have my word.”

“That’s a relief,” Selina murmured. “I’m glad you came over to our side, Horace. You’ve proven yourself.”

“I’m happy to hear you say that,” Horace chimed. “It feels so good to do something good for someone instead of committing atrocities in the name of science and the Emperor’s genocidal agenda.”

“Amen to that,” Nathanael agreed wholeheartedly. “It’s going to be all right, princess. Josephine and Nemesis are going to take good care of you and Hanna. I’m so glad you’re all right.”

“Me too,” Electra sobbed with relief and joy. “I thought I was going to lose you again.”

“Not going to happen,” Enoch declared. “Selina and Hanna are a team, and no force in this universe is going to break up that team. Besides, they have family and friends who love them and will move the universe to help them.”

“So true,” Andrew chimed, suddenly getting a flash of divine insight. “The Ancient of Days isn’t done with either of you. You and Hanna still have a job to finish and the Almighty is going to see that you finish it.”

A chill raced down Selina’s spine at the truth of Andrew’s words. “You are so right, nephew,” she replied softly, looking over at Andrew. “I forgot about that. Thank you for reminding me, Andrew.”

“You’re welcome, Aunt Selina,” Andrew chimed. “Now, why don’t you get better, okay?”

“Okay,” Selina murmured, looking up at the ceiling. “I’ll see what I can do.” She yawned widely, showing her fangs to everyone. “Oh, me,” she whispered. “I’m crashing and can’t stop.”

“Don’t fight the Healer,” Enoch called out. “Go to sleep and don’t worry about Hanna. We’ll take good care of her. You have my word on it.”

“He’s right,” Josephine cooed, hovering over Selina. “Go back to sleep, little sister. Sleep now; sleep.” She waved her organic hand across Selina’s face gently, letting her voice get a hypnotic tone. In seconds, Selina dropped back into a deep sleep. “There we are,” Josephine chimed, kissing her on the cheek. “Sleep, my little one; regain your strength. Hanna will be okay.”

“Wow,” Arabella breathed, having finally found the words. “You’re a marvel, Jo. I had no idea you could be so talented and caring.”

“Me neither,” Drew agreed. “Every deed you do proves your loyalty to us. I’m so glad you weren’t corrupted by the Emperor.”

“Me too,” Josephine agreed, standing up, looking to Arabella and Drew. “But you have no concept of the evil the Emperor is preparing to unleash. These shebats are but a small taste of them. If I can save at least one soul from the Emperor’s evil, I’m content. That’s one less soul he can corrupt and destroy. Are you ready, Nemesis?”

“Yes,” Nemesis rumbled. “I have a full dose for Hanna now, though I don’t think I need to give her as high a dose as I did to Selina. Hanna’s shebats aren’t as far along, though they’re still doing considerable damage to her. Will you repair her internally like you did to Selina?”

“I will certainly try,” Josephine stated. “I owe Hanna my very life and soul. I can’t let her down. Let’s do this.”

“Right,” Nemesis states as he, Magnus, and Josephine gathered around Hanna.

“Monitor Hanna’s vitals closely, Enoch,” Josephine ordered, “And let me know if there’s any reaction. Like Selina, Hanna may react violently to the initial treatment of the shebats so we must be ready to deal with it.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Enoch stated, “Hanna’s vitals are steady. Her pulse and blood pressure are still a bit high despite the sedation from the healing machine and Magnus’ sedative. Hanna’s brain activity is also on the high level, but her pain level is low right now. I suggest Magnus give Selina an extra sedative in case the pain from Hanna’s treatment transfers to Selina.”

“Good call, Enoch,” Josephine stated, moving into position. “Give her a heavy sedative, Magnus. Selina needs to rest after the cleansing I did to her. Her body needs time to recover.”

“Got it, Josephine,” Magnus replied, moving over to Selina. In seconds, he injected a powerful sedative into Selina’s neck using his machine fingers. “How’s Selina reacting, Master Enoch?” he queried.

“Very good,” Enoch replied. “Her vitals are strong and steady and her brain activity is calm as if she’s in a deep sleep. Your sedative has given her the nudge she needed to fall into a deep sleep, which is what we wanted. It’ll both dull her shared pain with Hanna and allow her body to repair itself with the Healer’s assistance. Just out of precaution, I’m going to put the restraints back on Selina.” In seconds, Enoch restrained Selina again from the control panel, the bands wrapping around her arms and legs pinning her to the table.

“Excellent,” Josephine chimed, hovering over Hanna. “Let’s do this. Nemesis, just like the last time; when I give you the signal, I want you to inject the serum into Hanna’s heart.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nemesis stated, “...whenever you are.”

“Okay,” Josephine stated, untying the top strap of Hanna’s single piece swimsuit and baring her chest to the belly. “Let’s do this.” Josephine’s machine arms split once again into the same mechanized tentacles she used on Selina. They attached to Hanna just as they did to Selina while Josephine leaned over Hanna, scanning her with her cybernetic eye. Once the tentacles were positioned with the two larger tentacles latching on to the general areas where she saw the main shebat infection, Josephine ordered, “Now, Nemesis.” She sent out the electromagnetic kill code through her tentacles into Hanna’s body while Nemesis cupped his machine fingers around Hanna’s heart, injecting the shebat antitoxin.

A scream of primal pain erupted from Hanna’s unconscious form. She jerked violently against the restraints as Nemesis and Josephine held her down, waiting for the vaccine and kill code to take effect. A soft cry of pain rose from Selina as she started writhing in pain without knowing it. However, her movement wasn’t nearly as violent as Hanna’s. Magnus grabbed her hand with his organic hand and gently squeezed, murmuring in her ear, “It’s okay. I’m here, little sister. Just hold on.”

“Hanna’s vitals just spiked off the scale just like they did for Selina,” Enoch called out urgently. “Her pulse and blood pressure are dangerously high and her brain activity went ballistic. Someone needs to calm her down now.”

As Enoch spoke, an unearthly moan seemed to come from all directions. It sent chills down the spines of everyone present, including Nemesis. “What is that?” Andrew asked with growing concern. “It doesn’t sound human!”

Without warning, Hanna’s eyes flew open, wild with panic and pain, tears flowing like rivers. Josephine, Nemesis, and Magnus suddenly floated off the floor as if gravity had been suspended. Josephine latched on to the table Hanna laid on with her organic hands, using both her organic arms and the machine tentacles to keep from losing her contact with Hanna. Two seconds after floating off the floor, both Nemesis and Magnus flew back as if something had struck them. They crashed hard into the biohazard shield, stunning both for a few moments.

“Nemesis, Magnus!” Enoch cried out in concern, completely astounded and puzzled by the strange phenomena occurring inside the shield. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Nemesis replied, still floating. “Something has nullified the gravity in here and pushed me away. Does anyone know what’s happening?”

“Whoa,” Magnus rumbled, shaking off the hit. “What the hell is going on here? Is Hanna doing this?”

“Yes!” Josephine called out. “The pain of the purge is causing her to manifest her elemental power again. She’s locked into a cycle of pain that’s causing her to hallucinate. She thinks we’re the enemy!”

Selina suddenly snapped awake, seeing and feeling what was happening. With surprising strength, Selina called out, “Hanna! Snap out of it! We’re not the enemy! Don’t let the beast off the leash! Snap out of it!” Selina’s words found their way into Hanna’s tormented mind, instantly calming her. A gasp of relief escaped her lips as gravity resumed, bringing everyone crashing to the floor.

Nemesis landed on all fours with a groan. Magnus dropped on his side with a hiss of pain. Josephine managed to land on her feet as she hovered over Hanna. “You guys all right?” she asked, noticing Hanna was unconscious.

“I will be,” Magnus growled, standing up.

“Me too,” Nemesis agreed, instantly coming back to Josephine’s side. “I had no idea Hanna harbored such power. She knocked me away like a fly.”

“Indeed,” Josephine stated. “This complicates things. I had no idea the purge would trigger her power like that. Thank you for reaching her, Selina. You saved us.”

“It’s okay,” Selina replied groggily. “You didn’t know. Whatever is happening was powerful enough to wake me. When I woke, I felt Hanna’s Rage burning like a nuclear fire. She was having a very bad flashback, but things are settling down now. Are you getting those infernal shebats out of her now?”

“Yes,” Josephine stated, scanning Hanna closely with her cybernetic eye. “We were waiting for the medicine and kill code to take full effect when she attacked us. I’m relieved to say the medicine and kill code have now saturated Hanna and I can start the process of removal.”

“But this power spike caused the shebats to grow tremendously,” Nemesis stated, scanning with his machine eye. “The shebats are at 70 percent Phase 2 now, on the verge of coalescing for Phase 3. This was unexpected. They grew and fed off Hanna’s power when we attacked them with the kill code and serum. Is it possible for them to do that, Horace?”

“In certain circumstances, yes,” Horace answered. “They have the ability to mutate when necessary to avoid detection. Remember, the shebats are cybernetic, programmed to survive at all costs. They may have altered when Magnus removed the first infection. Can you still recover them, Josephine?”

“Yes,” Josephine declared. “But now that I’m getting a closer look, I can see you are correct. These little beasts are different from those I removed from Selina. They have definitely mutated, but thanks be to Fate they’re still accepting the kill code. If they mutate again, I doubt even my kill code would stop them. Okay, I’m beginning the purge now that the little beasts are shutting down.” She sent her nano-machine tendrils into Hanna through her tentacle connections, sweeping Hanna’s entire body, removing all traces of the shebat infection. At the same time, she enacted repairs of Hanna’s damaged organic tissue. “What’s the Healer saying,” Josephine asked.

“You’re doing well,” Enoch stated. “I can see those little tendrils of yours removing the shebats and repairing the damage to her. It’s good too because when you gave her the serum and kill code, they initially went on the warpath, causing serious internal bleeding. But you’ve successfully stopped the bleeding, and her vitals are stabilizing well.”

“Good,” Josephine murmured. “We have been strangely fortunate. The last time I saw a shebat do this, it killed the host in less than a minute.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Amelia called out in a worried tone.

“Hanna’s going to be fine,” Josephine insisted. “Hanna and Selina’s reaction to the serum and kill code always happens. It takes the shebat a few moments to realize it’s not being attacked and to accept the kill code and serum. In those moments, the host does exactly what you saw, except for the apparent telekinetic pulse Hanna exhibited. I’ve never seen that before. It worries me.”

“Why is that?” Andrew asked.

“It worries me that something like that may occur when I reverse Hanna’s mutation,” Josephine declared. “It means I’m going to have to be exceptionally careful in doing it. A telekinetic pulse like we just saw could do irreparable damage to her and possibly me, causing the reversal to fail. That would be disastrous.”

“You’re telling me,” Enoch agreed. “But don’t worry about it. Hanna has suggested her elemental power may be tied to her adrenaline levels. If we can keep her adrenaline from spiking during the procedure, then it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“You’re right,” Nemesis agreed. “I’ve seen Hanna’s elemental power up close. She’s never fully engaged them except in battle. Her battle rage is the key.”

“If you can keep Hanna’s berserker rage in check, then you should have no trouble,” Selina called out. “Hanna’s accessing these abilities by instinct, using her Rage to fuel them. If you can keep her calm and that beast on the leash, then I’m sure you’ll not have any trouble. She wants to be Hannibal again. As much as she likes being a woman, she’s growing weary of it. I can feel it. Hanna’s ready to become the man she once was.”

“Agreed,” Josephine said softly. “Hanna’s definitely ready to become Hannibal again. Every time she looks into a mirror, she’s reminded of what the Emperor did to her. She’d tired of it. She wants to be Selina’s husband, not her sister. She wants to be the man she once was, but sadly, that will never happen. She’ll never be the same man who came to my attention. That man is gone because of what’s happened to him. In his place, a new man will arise, a man who finally knows who he is and what he must do. No longer will he blindly grope in the Darkness. The light of the Almighty Ancient of Days is a torch in his hand that will drive back the Darkness and bring everything back into balance. He will become the Beowulf...the Last Caverias.”

“How do you know that?” Magnus asked bluntly.

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