Final Preparations

William gazed out across the desert, towards where he knew his visitor would be coming from, eyes narrowed in both thought and concentration. He had already sent Anna away, along with Sa'lai, despite both of their vehement protests, but he knew that he was playing a dangerous game, and neither he, nor his visitor, would hesitate to capitalize on any weakness. He couldn't afford even the slightest chance of failure on his end, not when he had already worked so hard to get to where he was now, and certainly not after he had worked so hard to put the coming meeting in his favor. He allowed himself a brief smile and mental pat on the back: his unknowing adversary truly had no idea what he was about to walk into.

Schooling his features once more, William glared at the deceptively empty desert, imagining he could see the speck of something approaching on the horizon. He loathed this part, the waiting. He was a creature of action; sitting still, waiting for his prey to come to him, knowing that action was just over the horizon but unable to speed things up, it was like a itch he couldn't scratch. He felt restless energy course through him and spat, a petty show of indignance towards his unseen and unseeing visitor, anger he knew to be irrational inside him at the time it was taking. Growling, he stalked inside, calling for one of his Praetorians to attend to him, having sent both Na'ti and A'da away with his mate and daughter, as protection for both parties. William snarled, he had been invited, he was the guest, the least the bastard could do was hurry up a bit.

William grinned, the irony of that thought cheering him up ever so slightly.

Sa'lai had, at the suggestion of her father, transformed back into her more human form before entering the cell to interrogate the two soldiers her father's Drones had captured outside the powerful man's city. She waited until her enhanced senses told her they were coming to before creeping out, and then, making considerably more noise, walked back in. She could hear a quick hushed conversation as she slowly sauntered to the far cell, eyes quickly darting to one side of it, barely able to make out the form of her father leaning against the wall, making sure that nothing went wrong. She felt a warmth in the center of her very being that he cared so much about her.

The whispered conversation stopped as she approached the latticework, the woman inside blinking in confusion as they saw her form enter in the light that seemed to emanate from nowhere inside the cell, leaving the area outside shrouded in shadow. She heard the women mutter in confusion when they saw her, clearly expecting a Drone or Praetorian, not someone so human looking, and she giggled to herself.

"Where are we? Who are you? What were those things?" One of the women demanded, the other nodding her head in nonverbal support of the inquiries.

Sa'lai giggled out loud this time. "Sweetie, did you bang your head or something? You're the ones in the cell, not me. I don't answer the questions, I ask them. Answer them to my satisfaction, and you will be rewarded. Don't, and... well there are certain creatures that were very disappointed they didn't get to try you out when they brought you here."

The quiet woman shrunk back ever so slightly, but the one who had asked the questions stayed resolute. "So you do know what those things were?"

Sa'lai sighed and shook her head, like a mother disappointed in her child's continual lack of understanding of a simple concept. "Yes, I know what they are. Of course I do, and just so we can get this out of the way and move on, in order, you are in my nest, I am the Queen of this nest an those were my father's Drones. There, now that you know everything you need to, can we please move this along?"

The women were quiet for a moment, appearing to process the information they had just been given, before the first opened her mouth again. "What?" she said, her tone appearing to be one of genuine confusion.

Sa'lai pinched the bridge of her nose, this wasn't going at all how she thought it would. They weren't begging for their lives, nor were they threating retribution if they weren't released at once. It was almost as if... her head shot up and glared at the one who had been speaking, "You're stalling."

She saw, for the briefest of moments, fear cross their faces, before it was gone once more. "What?" the woman asked again, this time with a slight tremble in her voice. "What do you mean? Why would I be stalling? What reason do I have? I have no idea where we are, and even if I did, you have us behind bars, it's not like we're going anywhere. Look, girl, this is clearly your first interrogation, and we are trained soldiers. Why don't you go and get some pointers or something and come back once you've got that figured out, huh?"

Sa'lai felt anger bubble up, how dare she? She was Queen, this was her nest and these bitches dared to insult her in front of her father?! She would show them! Ignoring the triumphant look on the bitch's face, and the insistent voice in her mind telling her that this was a bad idea, she slammed her hand against the cell door's controls and watched with evil glee as it slowly began to rise, intent on teaching her a lesson, when suddenly she was laying on her back, gasping for air and in all consuming pain. She heard a scuffle followed by grunts and then, through her squinted eyes, saw her father bodily tow the two women back into the cell and close the door. Throwing the women to the ground and using the brief moment of their stunned surprise to pin them beneath his foot, he turned to look at her.

"Sa'lai," he began, his deep, rumbling voice, and she cringed as much as she could in the disappointment that it carried, "you are no longer a little girl, able to act like a spoilt brat whenever she pleases. You are a Queen and these two," he ground his foot down ever so slightly, she winced at the snaps and whimpers she heard as her father looked at her with disappointment, "are nothing but worms compared to you. And yet," his voice dropped even more and she wanted to avert her eyes, but knew it was a foolish idea, "you let them taunt you into acting rashly and foolishly, and look what happened as a consequence."

Sa'lai painfully sat up and looked down, not wanting to see her father's disappointed eyes any longer. "They almost escaped, they would have if you weren't there, Father. I'm sor..."

She was cut off by a bellow. "ESCAPED?! You think I care that they almost escaped?! My Drones would have captured them before they were able to leave the nest, but if I wasn't here, they could have killed you! You let them taunt you into playing right into their hands, and then, even more foolishly, acted without first thinking, letting your emotions drive you instead of your instinct, which I'm sure was screaming at you to let the insult go, but you didn't listen and could have died as a result!"

He took a pause to breathe, but Sa'lai didn't dare open her mouth or even look at her father, which was a good thing, as he continued a moment later. "Do you know what it would do to your mother if you died? She just got you, and already she tells me of the things she plans to do with you when things aren't so hectic. It would absolutely devastate her. And what about me? Do you think I would just move on as if nothing had changed? Sa'lai, the minute you emerged from that chamber in the desert, you became my daughter, and I your father. Just because that didn't happen the way nature intended does not mean you are any less than that, nor do I feel any different than I would had you been of my own loins, because, in a way, you are." His voice hitched for one brief moment and Sa'lai dared look up, and saw her father was angry, yes, but deep in his eyes, she saw a fear for her that she hadn't seen before.

"Father..." She was cut off.

"Not now, Sa'lai. Now you can either stay and watch, or go to your mother. I will take over the interrogation."

She didn't have to think, "I'll stay."

He nodded, "Very well, you'll watch from outside the cell."

Slowly and gingerly, she made her way out, closing the door behind her.

Wey'land looked at the slightly worse for wear women beneath his foot. "Now then," he growled, lifting his foot up and giving them some relief, "Let's have a little chat, shall we?"

Wey'land made his way up to the throne room, tired but feeling rather good after being able to work out some of his pent up aggression on his two prisoners. He had sent Sa'lai away after the third hour to coordinate the rebuilding of the town with her mother, and he had to say, though he certainly would never say such a thing out loud where either of the two could hear it, they sometimes could still be such women. He had envisioned some nods to classical architecture here and there, with a focus on the single tower being a beacon for miles around, but what he saw was very different to his ideas indeed.

While there was only the one tower, and it was most definitely the focus point, they hadn't skimped on the surrounding buildings either. It looked as if he had emerged into a strange alien rendition of Imperial Japan. Where wood would have gone, instead the organic-like black structure that defined the nests in the Alien movies had been made to look like the swooping arches and structures that were iconic to the period. He was shocked to even discover that there were a few peace gardens here and there, seemingly made from the finely crushed rubble of the torn down towers. But the truly beautiful thing was, of course, the tower standing proudly in the center of the nest. Where once had stood a simple monolith of glass and steel now had evolved. The basic shape still could be seen if one ignored all the additions, the rectangular structure making up the middle of the building, but that was about all of the similarities between the present and former building. Now, stylized strands of the same black substance that made up the majority of the buildings were strung off seemingly endless points all over the buildings, each leading to different areas of the nest, their purpose quite clear and evidenced by the Drones scurrying up and down them to get to different places; a secondary travel system for above-ground movement.

The tower itself as well had clearly been the focus point for remodeling, as seemingly impossible and yet fully organic looking segments jutted every which way, and there was even segments that came off the main building entirely, looping gently upwards until they terminated in a downward point facing the building. Wey'land was enraptured by the seeming non-Euclidian style of building, before he noticed something and began to back up.

It took him a few minutes, but once he was at the edge of the town, he turned back and was amazed at what he saw. Where once he had just seen an intricately designed symbol of power, he had seemingly underestimated his mate and daughter, as what he was looking at now simply blew his mind. Now, far enough away and at an appropriate angle, he saw what had twigged his curiosity before in its full splendor.

It was him. Or rather, a surprisingly artistic rendition of himself, mid battle, tail raised for attack and crest glinting in the sun, seemingly throwing off ropes that had previously bound him. So struck by so many emotions that he subconsciously opened himself to his mate, and jerked when he heard her voice in his mind. "Do you like it, my love?"

Incredulity coating his tone, he offered back, "Like it? I love it! it's astonishing, incredible, amazing and beautiful. How... what... I, I don't know what to say." She giggled in his mind.

"Don't worry, I know, you opened yourself to me. It's quite the rush knowing so viscerally how loved you are."

Warmth coating his words, he sent back, "I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you. But, as much as I wish I could lavish you and Sa'lai with praise for this, we must talk, in person. I have learned some things that we must discuss at once."

Noting the change in his voice, Anna simply gave him directions to his new throne room, and he took off, back towards the tower.

When Wey'land entered the throne room, he had thought that his admiration of his ladies' efforts couldn't get any higher, but he was wrong. The throne room, contained in what he now knew to be his crest, was massive. Much like the other structures he had seen, the supports were visible and made of the same semi-organic substance. Shaped into cylinders and run along the walls up to the many pointed ceiling, they gave the whole room an almost cathedral-like feel, which was only enhanced by the pillars and subtly woven in artwork in the walls that depicted not only Wey'land and his achievements, but what looked like future victories, and even scenes from the movies, tastefully edited to show Wey'land, Yu'tani and even Sa'lai where appropriate. Wey'land's keen eyes allowed him to notice cleverly concealed alcoves and small holes which undoubtedly connected to the rest of the tower and allowed for Drones and Praetorians to hide or enter at a moment's notice.

Finally, his eyes were drawn to the far side of the grand and elaborate hall where only his enhanced senses allowed him to differentiate the three separate and elaborate thrones inlaid into the wall. To the casual observer, it would look like a larger than life, almost Sistine-esque mosaic of the three rulers of the nest, and Wey'land noticed that, if he or any of the others were to sit on their respective throne, only obvious movement would give them away, otherwise they would look perfectly like their inanimate self, he imagined that in the clearly intentional lighting, even talking wouldn't be noticed, and he would bet that the acoustics of the room would disguise the origin of the sound as well.

His thought were proven correct when Yu'tani's voice echoed out around him. "Do you like it, my love?"

He smiled, and said, "It's more than I ever could have imagined, but we don't have time for games right now, I'm afraid."

As if to prove his other theory correct as well, the Yu'tani and Sa'lai figures on the wall suddenly came to life and stood from their thrones and made their ways down to him.

Pulling them both into a hug, he whispered, "This is perfect, I'm sorry to have to ruin such a gift with the news that I bring."

Pulling away, Yu'tani crossed her arms, "Nothing doing, mate of mine, now, tell me what you have learned."

He nodded and began to talk. "Well, I learned a great deal from my two prisoners, once they decided to cooperate, some of it isn't as pressing as others, however. Firstly, I have learned that they were indeed infected with the same thing we are and that it is indeed a virus that escaped from the same black site that our daughter's ex father works at. The organization behind the whole thing is called Olympus, ironic when you consider that our friend has chosen to masquerade as Ares, the god of war. His mate is called, once more ironically, Aphrodite. It seems they decided for a theme, like us, though why they are playing into the theme of their enemies, well, only they know I guess, as our guests didn't have anything for me on that.

"But, they did tell me something rather intriguing. It seems that, like we suspected, the virus mutates. What we didn't guess is that every once in a while, it changes enough to grant the infected a new type of power or ability, and that those who are subsequently infected by that person or those of their ilk, are subject to the whims of the progenitor of that strain. I guess we got lucky that our strain was so heavily mutated because it seems that Ares has at least some control over many of these progenitors, so long as they aren't too different. On that topic, I have news regarding our limited ability to gather intel. It seems as if Aphrodite is some kind of powerful druid, as she controls the wall that was stymying our drones. However, it seems as if the roots only go so deep, so they can tunnel under and perform recon that way. I have already given the order to do so.

"Finally, at least for the moment, I have learned the reason they were loitering in the woods outside of Ares' city. It seems that there is a traitor working with the government to bring him down. What is interesting about this traitor is that they and their spawn are powered by chastity. It seems the longer they go without climax, the more powerful they become. That is why they were stalling earlier, Sa'lai, they wanted to get powerful enough to break out. I have also learned the identity and location of this traitor and can send Drones to capture her and bring back."

He was interrupted by Yu'tani, "No, let this Ares deal with her, do not spread yourself too thin."

Wey'land nodded in acceptance and continued. "Very well. Finally, I have discovered the true name of our foe."

Seeing Yu'tani's raised eyebrow, he smirked and continued, "Someone we knew, Aiden."

She gasped, "That little nerd from MA281? He's the one who is trying his level best to take over with a sex virus?!" Wey'land nodded and Yu'tani scoffed and muttered, "Figures, he couldn't get a girlfriend the old fashioned way, so he goes with the next best thing."

Wey'land chuckled but held up his hands. "Now, I doubt that he intentionally did this, but yes, it is him, which may just give me the leg up I need if things come to it."

Yu'tani nodded and waved for Wey'land to continue, which he did. "Finally, I believe that I have come up with a plan to get him to come here, but I will have to modify a drone to be able to talk, can't be that hard."

A Drone was summoned and Wey'land began to concentrate. After a couple minutes, the Drone began shifting uncomfortably and Wey'land had begun to sweat profusely. After ten minutes, two Praetorians had been summoned to hold the writhing Drone down and Wey'land was gritting his teeth in pain. Finally, after almost forty five grueling minutes, Wey'land gasped and staggered over to his throne, laying his head back against the cool wall. Suddenly the Drone sat up.

"H...el.....llllllllllll....o," it rasped tentatively. Wey'land grinned tiredly from his throne, while Yu'tani and Sa'lai inspected the new Drone.

Hours later, Wey'land's eyes shot open from his position on his throne. They gleamed with malevolent glee as he now knew all he needed to to ensure that his upcoming discussion was in his favor. A cruel smile slashed his face open and he laughed quietly to himself, "Now I've got you... Ares."