[The Gunslingers, Book II, Epilogue] [Epilogue] "What do we call you now?" asked Cora. "I have a few suggestions," said Colt. "Colt, will you just stop it, you're acting like Wesley," scolded Cora. "Hey, I stopped jabbing at Colt!" protested Wesley and grinned. "Anyway, it's more fun to watch him fight with his high majestic honor Prince kissy kissy the Emperor's backside." Cora threw her hands up. "Boys are so stupid." "I am getting a little tired of it Colt," said West. "We are all on the same side." "Me too," said Duke. "I'm going to go pack, and find my father's horns; some First-Year is running around wearing them." "Oh let him wear them, Duke," said Cora. "He earned it and deserves the honor to carry them to our new world." "You do know a First-Year is carrying around your cabin's Cormon Battle Horn?" said Duke. "I know, I talked with the boy carrying it," said Cora. "Stop trying to be so noble," said Wesley. "I heard you threatened to cut the boy's fingers off if there was even a scratch on the Horn when he hangs it in the new cabin." Cora laughed. "I love you guys, I'm going to go pack," said Cora. "Colt, Wes, try to make up already." The others left Colt and Wes standing alone to either make-up or kill each other. The boys glared at each other for a long time before Wes broke the ice. "I can do it without you, brother," said Wes, "but people might die without your special blend of Gunslinging. Cietan City is full of gangs, drugs, murder, gambling, and prostitution, and then there are the bad guys." "You're guarding a Raven egg," said Colt. "Yes, she is half-Raven, and half-Hawk," replied Wes, "but she is full mine. Do you get that, brother, she is my child?" "She will turn on you in the middle of the night and stab you in the heart," said Colt. Wes made a wry face and raised a brow but said nothing. "Okay, that was wrong," said Colt. "Does this mean I'm a Raven's Uncle?" "She will need someone to take her to the fair and eat blue cotton candy," said Wes. Colt gave a half-grin, blue cotton candy was his favorite. "I have to go, Mother is getting ready to leave," said Wes. "You really are a Raven now," said Colt. "So, are you coming with us?" asked Wes. "You're really serious about this?" said Colt. "You're moving all the camps, all the classes, and the headquarters to Pyra?" "We can never allow our forces to be split again," said Wes. "There must be one united Gunslinger Order." "I'll come with you," said Colt. "But I don't like some of your new rules, especially about shooting bad guys." "There will be an internal investigation into every summary execution to ensure the Gunslinger acted according to the law and not his or her anger," said Wes. "That doesn't sound very Raven to me," Colt nodded past Wes. "Is that your Raven Mother?" Wes held his hand out and Colt shook it. "I'll see you on Pyra," said Wes. Wes left Colt to prepare his team for the trip to Pyra, it would be a very uncomfortable trip for everyone, nearly a hundred-thousand ships were being packed tight with lumber, equipment, ammunition, and food to begin on their new world. The Gunslingers would all have to go into slow-sleep for the trip, there would be no room to move around in even the largest ships once they launched. The skies were already filled with ships launching and the rumor from Pyra was that the gangs, bosses, and criminals were abandoning Pyra like rats leaving a sinking ship at the announcement that the entire Gunslinger Order was on the way. Wes didn't think it would affect the Raven's profits in the slightest, but instead was likely to become the hottest tourist attraction in the galaxy as Pyra became a safe environment for everyone wanting to throw money away on the gambling tables. "There you are, dearest son," said Mother Raven. "You were starting to worry me." "I'm sorry, Mother," said Wes. "There is just so much to do, I wish you were coming with us." "I must return to Darai and make preparations for the evacuation," said Mother Raven. "The prophecy?" asked Wes. "Darai will be destroyed and the Eagle will lead our people to a new world," quoted Mother Raven. "Which world?” asked Wes, "if that actually happens." "Your friend that hates us the most will provide that," said Mother Raven. "Colt?" asked Wes curious. "You're coming here?" "Not here, my son," said Mother Raven. "I slipped a last little something into the treaty, though I doubt Colt has noticed he now owns another planet as well." Wes thought about it for a moment, "Cepheus is the only uninhabited world, but it belongs to the Empire." Mother Raven grinned. "Not anymore." Wes couldn't see how Colt would ever agree to give Cepheus to the Daraians; it was a rich and fertile world nearly five times the size of even Cormon. The Emperor's had kept Cepheus forbidden to be colonized. Most people suspected the reason was to have a back-up world for them to colonize one day if the need ever arose. But if the Kitsune has lost control of Cepheus… then Colt now owned the most valuable real estate in the galaxy. Wes hugged Mother Raven. "I will miss you, Mother." A Daraian engineer came down the ramp and helped Mother Raven to walk up the ramp into the ship; she turned and looked down fondly on the boy that had become a son to her. "Wait, Mother," shouted Wes. "You said your replacement would be going back with us." A Daraian girl walked past Mother Raven and down the ramp. "I would get away from the back of those engines if I were you," said the girl walking past Wes. "Where's your mate?" asked Wes. The girl stopped and held a diamond studded collar out to Wes. "Huh? OH! NO NO NO," shouted Wes and turned back to Mother Raven. The Ramp was starting to rise. "MOTHER!" "You are House Raven now, dear," shouted Mother Raven, "all Daraian mating's are pre-arranged, happiness and long-life to you, my son." The ramp closed and Wes jumped away from the engines barely in time to keep from being roasted. The ship lifted into the sky and Wes watched it with his jaw hanging open. "I told you to get away from those engines, now look, your hair is all singed. My name is Karissi." The girl twirled the diamond studded collar on her finger. "No, I am not wearing that, we are not mated, and that's final." Wes stomped past Karissi. "Suit yourself, wear it today or wear it tomorrow, but you will wear it," said Karissi. "Will not!" said Wes trying to walk away from the girl following him. "I'm going to enjoy being a Princess, do we have a palace?" asked Karissi. Wes stopped and spun around. "WE do not have a palace, I have a broken down couch in my office I sleep on." "Well you'll have to sleep on the floor, of course," said Karissi, "and I'll sleep on the couch. "We are different species, we aren't even compatible," insisted Wes. "Sure we are." Karissi rummaged through a backpack she carried. She found what she was looking for and handed a worn dog-eared book out to Wes. Wes read the title, 'Everything you ever wanted to know about mating with an off-worlder.' Wes turned bright red, turned and ran. Karissi chased after him. *** The Hatching mother stood in the tall lush grass of the Demonian 'primordial world'. The Demonians had carefully maintained their world and lived in harmony with nature, their cities carefully built to live peacefully with the world they had so lovingly kept pure since the dawn of their civilization. A rock lizard lazily slept on a rock near her, she reached down and stroked the beautiful creatures back and got an annoyed hiss for her effort. She motioned to one of the Tarlock accolades standing nearby. "Take him inside, and you others search around for his lounge," ordered the Hatching Mother. The young accolades spread out and searched for more of the lizards to save. A group of young girls, still too young to bear eggs, ran past her carrying baskets of every possible plant they could quickly dig up. "Hurry, children," shouted the Hatching Mother. "Get them to the hydroponic gardens and replant them, we must save as many as possible." More Demonians ran past her carrying various wild life as they could, the poor animals struggled in fear at being removed from their natural habitats. "Mother, we are going to lose most of the birds," said Tarlock. "I know." Tears flowed down the Hatching Mother's aged face and fell on the rich black soil of Demonia. She watched the Kitsune Battleships in the distance pounding the cities into extinction. "We can't wait any longer," said Tarlock. "They are getting close to the tunnels." The Hatching Mother sat down on the rock vacated by the lizard. "Open the vents," ordered the Hatching Mother. "We have to get inside, Mother," insisted Tarlock. "I can not live in the world that I must destroy," said the Hatching Mother. "I will witness the end." "Mother, it is the only way to save our people, I could force you to go," said Tarlock. "Would you defy me now," asked the Hatching Mother. "No, Mother," Tarlock dropped his head and his tail lay flat on the ground in the deepest sadness a Demonian could show. "Tell my daughter she is the Hatching Mother now," said the Hatching Mother. "She must find the Dragon Goddess and waken her." "There is still time, Mother," said Tarlock sadly. "The Dragon Goddess created this world, how could I, the destroyer of Demonia ever face her," said the Hatching Mother. "Go now, open the vents." "You did not do this," said Tarlock. "Those two hateful creatures, Carina and Corvus are responsible for this horror." The Tarlock turned and walked into the tunnels and the Hatching Mother breathed deeply the clear pure air of Demonia and stared up at the beautiful red sky of her beloved world. The vent seals on the thousands of secret tunnel shafts dug into the planet were opened and the toxic fumes created by the magma at the planet's core were released into the atmosphere; carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, argon, hydrogen sulfide, methane, and nitrogen choked the planet. Volcanoes kept dormant by the Demonians were released and pyroclastic balls of molten rock were propelled into the sky. Dozens of Kitsune Battleships were destroyed within the first few minutes of the planets death and tens of thousands of the Kitsune drop-troops were killed in a vengeful inferno. The Hatching Mother watched the vast forests burned away to a desolate barren wasteland, rivers of lava burned away the oceans and the planets average temperature rose to over four-hundred degrees, and often much more closer to the vent shafts and now active volcanoes. A Demonian can withstand incredible temperatures and breathe the most toxic fumes if necessary, but not even a Demonian can breathe volcanic ash. The Hatching Mother sat patiently on the rock and watched her world burn away. She was covered with ash and soon her breath stopped and her body was entombed in the hell she had released. The Kitsune had coveted the Demonian world since they had first invaded, and now to be denied that world as the Demonians hid behind their now toxic atmosphere deep in the tunnels the Kitsune could not get to infuriated them. The Wolf Emperor vowed to wipe the Demonian species from existence. The other conquered twenty-five worlds of the Empire watched in horror the destruction of Demonia over the few remaining News Satellites left and within hours every world declared open revolt against the Over-Lords. The galaxy was plunged into war. *** Fox sat in his House Battle Carrier and watched the horror. He could not attack the Wolf Emperor with only his seven remaining Carriers. The Wolf Emperor had command of the entire Kitsune fleet. Fox opened a Vid-channel to the Emperor's Battle Carrier. The Emperor stared at Fox with contempt and hatred, and knew victory over House Kitsune was finally complete. Fox bowed his head to the Wolf Emperor, House Kitsune was dead. "House Fox joins the Imperial Fleet, my Emperor," said Fox.