Counter Earth Chronicles Chapter 55: Begging, Whining, Crying And Even Pleading For Evil Not To Be Evil (While She Was Away Part One)

Story by Worlds Apart on SoFurry

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#56 of Counter Earth Chronicles

Last Chapter-

Alex and his mistress had a heated discussion about what happened at the museum. Lady Ursa refused to believe Alex was the helpless victim of the Madam and her minions' machinations. Alex on the other hand believed if he had resisted he would have been skunked. The two argued before eventually making up when a morning report proved him right....


Counter Earth Chronicles

Chapter 55: Begging, Whining, Crying And Even Pleading For Evil Not To Be Evil (While She Was Away Part One)

The next morning Lady Ursa left with Lady Vermin and several junior knights on missions. She wouldn't tell me, but I knew one of them was to take down the Madam. I strongly suspect that she had gained valuable information after interviewing the volunteer that the Madam had sprayed.

And so I spent the next week at Tauren's awaiting her and Tauren's returns. That's right, Tauren was also away visiting family. Well, rather the farmer and his wife who he had worked for before becoming a beastial.

Day 163 (evening)

"Hi Sorren, Lurie." I said as I entered the lair in daze. I found the two on the sectional spending some time together and also missing their bull.

"Alex! How is it going?" The coyote said from within Sorren's embrace.

"How did your outing with Sir Ram go?" Sorren asked.

"Bad and awful." I said to the two of them. "And that is looking at it on the most optimistic side."

"Really? You didn't have a good time all?" The dragon asked me.

I shook my head.

"No. I saw some things today that disturbed and bothered me to the extreme."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lurie asked me.

"I have to otherwise I am going to just stew and stew on it until I get sick." I said joining them on the sectional. Lurie and Sorren looked me as I started to retell the day's events.

"Start at the beginning." Lurie advised me.

"It began this morning after you departed for work and professor Love mysteriously canceled my tutoring."

"Oh you mean when we ran into Sir Ram as I was leaving for work this morning." The dragon interjected.

"Uh-hun."

Earlier that day....

"Greetings Sorren & Alex!" How are you this fine morning the evil beastial said to the both of us.

"Just fine Sir Ram. How about you?" Sorren asked.

"Just splendid on this beautiful morning. The day seems to be ripe with possibilities!"

"What do you mean?" The goofy dragon asked.

"Actually I had some free time today and wanted to see if Alex here wanted to accompany me on a outing."

"Uh what type of outing?" I asked the ram warrior.

"Oh a field trip to the Great Forest." He replied slyly.

"You mean the same forest where we hunted down that genetic werewolf that escaped your lab? Why would I ever care to return to that place ever again?"

"Scientific study." The he beast said to me.

"Scientific study huh? In the forest where 001 killed and ate two hikers?"

"Yes." The beastial scientist and warrior said almost angelically.

"Remember the she-wolf 001 courted during his time there?"

I nodded.

"I believe she has given birth to their cubs." Sir Ram said.

"What is so special about that?" Sorren asked.

"Sir Ram was curious what the outcome of a union between a genetic werewolf and a wolf would be. At the time he wondered if the offspring would be werewolves or just wolves- bipedal or quadrupedal. At the time it was an interesting question." I explained to the goofy dragon.

"Well the time has come to find out the answer boy. Are you interested?"

I thought about it for a moment. I really wasn't interested in ever returning to that forest where I experienced such horrors during my first few months on this world. But the ram had peeked my curiosity and that was just enough to override my prior misconceptions besides, there wouldn't be any danger so I could gain some closure from the whole ordeal.

"Can I Sorren?"

"Is this going to be a day trip Sir Ram?"

"Precisely my dear dragon!" The evil ram grinned.

"Very well then just be back before dark." He said to me.

"Of course! I have been tracking the she wolf for the last few months and determined where her den is. We are just going to observe and record our observations." The beastial scientist said.

"I would be curious to see what you two find out as well." Sorren said leaving. "Take care and Alex-"

"Be on my best behavior?" I asked the dragon.

"No, I was going to say get some footage of the litter. I want to see it too." Sorren said as he departed.

I followed Sir Ram back to his lab were he collected some supplies and tools and observation equipment.

"That should be enough. Oh and these." He said grabbing two buttons that he affixed to his knight uniform above his left pec. He then took the second one and attached it to the white tee-shirt I was wearing that day in the same location as his.

"Uh what are these Sir Ram?"

"A little invention of mine in case we get separated or run into trouble." He said to me cryptically.

I started to ask how they worked, but mysteriously he dodged the question.

"That is all you need to know."

After that we went to Room M. Mara's lab where we found the prototype on its pedestal awaiting its next test.

"We are taking the prototype? Are you planning to go into battle?"

"No boy. Mara and I are close to releasing it to the knights for field trials but only to a select few." Sir Ram said loading his supplies in coupe's small, small trunk. I surmised that since the vehicle was a weapon the rest of the storage space was used to store weaponry.

After that we climbed into the vehicle and placed our hands and paws on the dashboard and prepared to leave.

_ "Recognized Sir Ram, Knight of Wundagore Senior Grade." _

_ "Recognized Alex Winter house-pet." _

(Not again!)

"You know Sir Ram, you need to get that fixed."

"What would you like it to say little human? It is only speaking the truth."

"How about Alex Winter specialist or consultant of Castle Wundagore or something along those lines?"

"I will consider that." The Ram smirked as he started up the coupe and we departed the lab through the ceiling sky-light.

"So you are feeling more confident about the coupe being ready for field trials huh?" I asked the ram as I noticed some more refinements he and Mara had made to the vehicle's interior.

"Yes boy."

"So who is authorized to operate the prototype?"

"Only Sanda, Chemar, Lady Ursa, Mara and myself. I decided to narrow down the list to only those who are aware of the vehicle's existence."

"Good idea. You don't want this to get into the wrong paws. That would be a disaster in the making."

"You would also be included too- boy as you have become quite familiar with the copilot systems."

"Thank you. This is really an awesome, awesome invention. By they way, I noticed that you now have a cover for the weapon's console?"

"It is a safe-guard. It blocks operation of the weapon systems when they are not needed so we don't accidentally cause carnage and kill the innocent. To deactivate the cover you press the fire button on the spoke of the steering wheel or the weapons menu on the monitor." Sir Ram said demonstrating.

I watched as the cover retracted back into the center stack revealing the weapons console- the three buttons that opened the side pods and the three toggle switches that fire the weapons payload and control the copilot monitor and keyboard.

"That really is a great idea." I said complimenting the ram who only gave me a demonic smile in response.

It took us a little over two hours to get to the Great Forest west of World Five. Unlike before our vehicle was small and maneuverable so, Sir Ram did not park on the outskirts of the forest but instead we flew over the forest and landed the prototype in a small clearing about a mile from our target.

The forest was vibrant and full of life that summer day. Upon landing, Sir Ram pulled out a scanner and casually looked at it.

"She is about a mile that way boy."

He handed me the scanner, and I started tracking our target. The beastial warrior following me.

As we were leaving the clearing he pressed a button on his communicator. The halo projector on the prototype arose from the rear of the vehicle turning it into some vegetation hiding it.

Sir Ram's tracker was right on the money. We found the she wolf's den in a small cave almost exactly a mile from where we had landed. We sat there for the next hour and observed. Eventually the white she wolf emerged from the den followed by her cubs four in total.

"It would appear boy that they are more than just several weeks old." The beastial scientist said to me.

"It would also appear sir that your hypothesis was correct!" I said pointing to the fourth cub a grey youngling who was following its siblings. But unlike the brown, white, black cubs that preceded it, the grey one was quadrupedal and bipedal just like 001!

"Remarkable!" The ram said as he started recording what we had been observing.

"Sir Ram help me wrap my head around this- so a human, that you genetically modified and turned into a werewolf - a wolf beastial thingie can mate with a regular wolf nonbeastial and create more werewolves?"

"It appears so boy."

"Sir Ram, how is that possible?"

"I would have to take some blood samples from the mother and offspring to be sure, but I would say that since 001 is a wolf beastial, he has humanoid DNA and wolf DNA."

"Ok." I said trying to follow along. ?

"The wolf DNA combined with the she wolf's to produce the three cubs there. But the fourth one is probably a mutation of some sort involving the father's DNA and the mother's."

Of course the beastial scientist wanted more data. He used the paralysis setting on his weapon and collected blood work from each of the cubs and their mother before tagging each of them. He unfroze them all as we departed.

"I can't wait to analyze the results!"

I looked at the gleeful beastial warrior and scientist as he said that.

"Of course boy I will share my findings." He said as we started to head back toward the clearing and the prototype.

In a weird roundabout way Sir Ram had found another way of creating beastials from the local wildlife. Creating them outright through breeding instead of selecting an animal and then turning it into a beastial the way the High Evolutionary did.

Which is contrary to what that rogue scientist the Madam was doing trying to create beastial - human hybrids or creatures that were dual species. Extremely humanoid looking with slight animal attributes, ears, tails or paws like Shakara's offspring in my dream a week ago.

We were about a quarter mile from the prototype when I started shivering violently.

"Really?! You got to be kidding me! I really, really hate this forest!" I said exasperated.

"What are you going on about boy?!" The ram asked me.

"Danger Sir Ram! We are not safe here!"

As I said that the he beast gave me his science tools and drew his weapon. Just as twelve scraggly looking humans in tattered clothing emerged from the underbrush to surround us -rebels!

"So the reports were true!" Sir Ram said.

"What's that?" I asked moving behind him.

"What you see before you is the Liberate Counter Earth Now movement." Sir Ram said aiming his service weapon.

"Sir Ram you knew about this?!"

"Tch!" The he beast said as he fired.

"That won't work knight!" A blond haired one-eyed man in jeans, boots and a tattered jacket said as Sir Ram's weapon failed.

Sir Ram squeezed the trigger again and again but the weapon refused to fire.

"Don't think so! Blocker!" The man smirked holding up a square device.

"A little technology from the Animalitia!" A red haired disheveled woman said to us.

"Very well hoof to hand combat then!" The he beast grumbled.

"I don't think so either." Another rebel said. "We are quite familiar with you beastial; you are a warrior in title only- not much of a fighter. Really more of a scientist, tactician and strategist than a warrior.

"Precisely!" The one eyed man said pressing a button on the blocker he was holding.

The device caused Sir Ram's service weapon to explode knocking him on his backside.

"Another nice investment from our suppliers. Rough him up boys- but leave enough for us to execute!" The one eyed man who appeared to be in his thirties said. I surmised he was the leader of the group.

As he said that, ten of the rebels descended on the senior Knight of Wundagore and started punching him in the face and stomach. Kicking him in the groin, the ribs and his sides.

"Sir Ram!" I said running to him.

(Two against ten not my kind of odds.)

As I started towards him another rebel grabbed me by my shoulder.

"I don't think you should interfere with my colleagues' fun- they just want a little payback. Besides I think you would rather like to talk to me."

That voice sounded familiar... It was mine!

I turned around.

"Alexander!" I said as I hugged and hugged my doppelganger. "You did make it out of that valley!"

"Hi Alex. Can I interest you in to coming over to our side?"

(Oh crap!)

"And you joined ANOTHER rebel group!"

(Double crap.)

"Why did you join a group of dissidents that have killed many many beastials? What were you thinking!" I screamed clocking him in his face much to the leader's amusement. "You idiot! I begged and pleaded with you to not side with the rebels, to work within the system for change and not to become an enemy of the empire! Why did you do this?!"

"After you and the rat lady left, it took me a long, long time to make my way out of that valley- through avalanches, snow drifts, crevices and blocked trails. That arduous journey gave me a lot of time to think. About me, this civilization and the planet. During my journey I realized exactly what is wrong with it." Alexander said rubbing his cheek.

I stared at my doppelganger as he said that.

"It is the dictator and his freaks of nature that are the real problem." Alexander said pointing to Sir Ram who was beneath ten other rebels receiving the beating of his life. "It is because of them that the human race is suffering!"

"The human race on this world was suffering long before the High Evolutionary arrived. That was why they welcomed him with open arms. He established himself as ruler ended hunger and starvation and created one of the most prosperous civilizations this planet has ever seen!"

"Prosperous only for him and his freaks of nature!" Alexander countered. "A big horned sheep should not be allowed to walk upright, speak or live in grandeur while the rest of us are discriminated against and live in poverty."

"Well one of his freaks of nature saved your life that night in the valley, kept you warm and then gave you the means of leaving after many others did not." I yelled back at him.

"But only after ripping my clothes from my body and interrogating me while I was naked!"

"So instead you got angry and decided to join another rebel group! One that has hunted, terrorized and scared the beastial population to enact some stupid agenda." I growled.

"Alex, the system is broken and doesn't work! No amount of protesting and pleading for change will fix it!" He said punching me hard in the stomach and laying me out on the ground.

(That's right, Alexander is a better fighter than me.)

"So I joined another group that demanded that beastials and their master leave Counter Earth forever! The planet belongs to humans and humans alone!"

"You mean a group the knights of the five cities largely destroyed with the exception of you few stragglers?!" I said mocking him.

"Enough you two! This debate while fascinating, could go on for hours." The one eyed man said. "Bring them to the clearing. We will settle accounts there."

The ten rebels finished pummeling Sir Ram and carried him to the clearing where we had landed hours ago while Alexander escorted me at weapon-point; the rebels making us fold our arms over our heads.

Sir Ram and I had been ambushed on our outing. At this point I was beyond very, very scared. Sir Ram on the other paw despite his beating was snickering rather loudly.

(What was going on in that twisted mind of his?!)

"What are you going to do with us?" I asked one of the rebel thugs who was standing next to the one eyed man.

"Don't you know?! This is your final judgement!" He laughed. "The high mucky muck is so fond of them, we thought we should have one as well."

"They are going to exact revenge for destruction of their little movement by killing us." The ram next to me said as he continued to snicker.

(What is so funny?)

"Alexander start us off." The rebel leader said to my Counter Earth counter-part handing him a pad.

Alexander looked at that pad and presented me with a list of charges. "Alex Winter my doppelganger from another world, you are charged with collusion, collaboration, aiding and abetting the oppressors of the human race on this world. Specifically, assisting the High Evolutionary and his forces in spying, hunting, capturing, destroying and killing human opposition and dissidents to his rule."

"And your point is?!" I said mocking him again.

"You are also charged with choosing a beastial as your primary love interest instead of someone from your own species. What do you have to say for yourself?" Alexander asked me with a determined glare.

"What does that have to do with anything? Alexander I have been over this with you before. The empire is not perfect, but it is a stabilizing force for this civilization- there hasn't been any wars in over thirty years and it has prevented the humans on this planet from destroying it and themselves (unlike my own world). In time perhaps it will alleviate the poverty and inequality the human populace is also experiencing. I side with those who defend and protect the empire and this civilization from dissidents both human and beastial who wish to destroy it. End of discussion case closed! Oh, and who I love is none of your damn business!"

The other rebels present chuckled as I said this.

"Spoken like a true patriot boy!" Sir Ram said chuckling.

"You little human are a damn traitor then!" A red haired woman said addressing me. "I can't believe you choose to side with THAT over your own kind!" She said pointing to the evil ram standing next to me.

"That he beast is my colleague. He has even saved my life on a few occasions as well." I said addressing the rebel female. "Besides we have a rapport."

"Very well then. This one's sentence is death by firing squad." The one-eyed man said.

The evil ram really started laughing at that point.

(Had he gone mad?! Had Sir Ram finally lost it?)

"Which brings us to you Sir Ram."

"Senior Knight of Wundagore, you are charged with committing heinous crimes against the human populace including experimentation, forced transformation, maiming, mauling, dissection, and killing. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What I do is for the preservation of my master's rule rebel!" Sir Ram said indignantly. "I punish those who are deemed a threat to the empire- villains, criminals and the condemned!"

"You mean like my cousin?!" A disheveled blond hair man said stepping forward.

"What was his name?" I asked the rebel.

"David Slate."

"Dave Slate, Dave Slate." Sir Ram thought out-loud. "Oh yes, I remember him! He tried to assassinate the master unsuccessfully I recall."

"You bastards killed him!" The rebel said tearing up.

"Actually I experimented on him." Sir Ram smiled demonically." I deconstructed him molecule by molecule down to the molecular level. I then tried to reassemble him with a device I was testing. It failed quite miserably, and I was left with a big- LITTLE mess. But if he hadn't tried to kill our leader he would still be alive today." The evil beastials scientist said snickering again.

Incensed the blond haired man drew his sonic weapon. "I am going to make sure your death is very painful abomination and then we are going to parade your remains around the planet as an example to all who oppose us!"

"Alex Winter and Sir Ram of Wundagore I pronounce you both guilty!" The rebel leader said. "You sentence is death!"

(I noticed that Sir Ram started maw-haw- hawing at the pronouncement.)

"I think that one has lost his mind!" A brown haired man said to another rebel this one was a blond haired female.

"Any last words?" The blond haired man asked the two of us as the rest of the rebels in attendance powered on their weapons and took aim.

(Uh Oh.)

"Uh will it hurt?" I asked sheepishly.

"Relax, you will feel a slight horrific twinge of pain, but you will be dead before your body hits the ground." Alexander responded.

(That bastard.)

"Any other questions?" The rebel leader asked me.

(Ulp.)

Yeah I got one more." I said. "I know the Liberate Counter Earth Now movement had members in each of the five cities- Worlds One through Five. I was curious if you are all that remains of this once nasty rebel group?"

"What do you think? We were driven back here to the forest." Alexander said to me.

"So you twelve are all that remain?!"

"Yes." The blond haired man said.

"Alexander you can sure pick the winning side." I said staring right at my doppelganger.

"Scoff all you want collaborator, I am not the one looking down the wrong end of a weapon!"

"Well, if that is indeed the case. I do have a last request as well." The evil ram warrior standing next to me declared.

"What's that you freak?!" Alexander said as he took aim.

"PROTOTYPE!!! CODE BLACK!!!"

The rebels had unknowingly stood us in front of the blue coupe which now deactivated its vegetation holo projection making itself visible to everyone in the clearing before replicating into eleven other copies of its self with the holo projector surrounding the rebel group.

"What the fuck is this?!" The red headed female said as she started firing. She was joined by the eleven other rebels.

**Side-pods Engaged**

"Get down boy!" Sir Ram chuckled. We ducked as the he beast's ambush continued.

(So that was why the ram was laughing during our final judgement. He was about to dispense some of his own!)

**Laser System Engaged**

No sooner had Sir Ram and I heard that confirmation from inside the blue coupe, the side-pods opened and fired on four from the rebel horde who were firing on copies of the holo copies of the prototype.

**ZYZTTT!!!** **ZYZTTT!!!**

"AAAAHHHHH!!!!"

The lasers went through the four slicing them in half! The rebel leader and three others were cut clean through! Their torsos sliding diagonally off their waists, groins and legs. All of them screaming in pain as they started to bleed out.

**Machine Guns Engaged**

**Bang-Bang-Bang-Bang-Bang**

The prototype fired at the remaining eight rebels with several rounds. Again there were blood curtailing screams as bodies were plastered with bullets. Four more rebels from the Liberate Counter Earth Now movement dropped to the forest floor writhing in agony as they bled to death.

**Electric Pulse Engaged**

(That's a new one.)

The prototype fired again this time a bolt of electricity fired at three of the four remaining rebels electrocuting them on the spot! Charred burnt corpses fell to the forest floor save for one rebel who saw what had happened to his colleagues. He dropped his weapon and started running for the forest.

Sir Ram and I rolled over. "Voice activation? Those were the improvements you wanted to test?!" I asked as the prototype retracted its side-pods and disengaged the holo projector.

We spent the next few moments surveying our would be executioners. I vomited as I looked at their bloodied remains on the forest floor. All of them had died with their eyes open.

"We are missing one- Alexander." Sir Ram said rubbing me on my back.

"It is a miracle he survived that." I said retching.

"Not a miracle boy, it was by design." The ram said to me. "Observing your argument with your double was beyond fascinating. I simply must have him!"

And once again Alexander Winter found himself all alone after his comrades had fallen.

Sir Ram and I returned to the prototype. He picked up his spare service weapon from the supplies he had brought and headed into the forest after my Counter Earth counter-part while I launched the probe.

"Which direction boy?!"

"That is going to be difficult, the forest is so dense here." I said to the he beast over his communicator.

"Assume a radius of one mile from the clearing. Then switch the probe to inferred."

(Wow, that was also new.)

I did as instructed. I soon found our rebel target five hundred feet in front of Sir Ram. I directed the beastial warrior. Sir Ram approached and fired.

"AIIEE!"

Sir Ram soon emerged from the trees with his prize over his shoulder- Alexander Winter.

"Good hunting!" I said to the ram as I recalled the probe. I soon joined the two looking at the remnants of Alexander's comrades.

"Gaze upon your fallen comrades fool! This is what happens to the enemies of the empire!" The ram said gloating.

Alexander vomited after starring at the carnage. Gently the evil ram leaned him forward and rubbed his back while he tossed his cookies.

"You two are very similar. I can't wait to find out just how similar." The evil beastial grimaced.

"What are you going to do to him?" I asked the he beast.

"This little rebel will pay for what he and his little movement have done." The ram said wickedly. "For all the innocent lives he and his group destroyed, he will get the living death but I think I could put a good word in for him."

My Counter Earth counter-part looked at the evil ram.

"I could get that reduced to experimentation!" The he beast snickered. "And boy there are so so many things I want to do to you."

"Sir Ram please don't kill him. I know he made some horrible decisions in his life. But if he were to perish it would feel like a part of myself dying as well."

"Of course not boy! What have I said to you over and over again?!"

I thought a moment then replied. "There are worse things that can happen to an individual in this life than death."

"Precisely! Besides, he is your replacement!"

"What are you going to do to me?!" Alexander said mustering the courage to ask.

"For starters, an exhaustive analysis of you rebel. I am going to study and examine you inside and out! I am going to compare and contrast how you are similar and how you are different from your double down to the molecular level! I may even allow you to breed and when you do I will study your offspring as well. In short you are going to become my favorite experiment!"

"Alex are you going to let him do that to me?!"

"You made your bed Alexander! Now you are going to lie in it. If you are a good test subject, Sir Ram just might use you in some of his other projects he is working on."

With that Sir Ram hoisted the captured rebel over his shoulder and stuffed him into the trunk of the blue coupe. But not before removing his clothes- all of them.

"Now I can't have you escaping before your final judgment!" He said laughing.

Before departing the forest, we called in the ambush and had the rebels' remains collected by Commander Rhinox's forces. This area was their jurisdiction after all.

On the way back to Castle Wundagore, the evil ram was grinning quite demonically. I on the other hand was quite quiet as I reviewed what had happened on our outing that day.

"Quite the capture eh boy?" The ram said breaking his silence.

"Sir Ram I am quite cross with you." I said looking at the big horned sheep.

"Oh?"

"You used me! This trip out here to observe 001's offspring was a pretense and farce!"

He looked at me.

"Let me guess! You got word that Alexander had joined the Liberate Counter Earth Now movement and that the last of them were hold up out here in the Great Forest. You then had your spies get word to them that you would be traveling out here on a scientific mission with Alexander's doppelganger so they could ambush us. But in reality you ambushed them and hunted them."

(Sir Ram indeed may not have been much of a fighter. But he was a good strategist.)

"Very good Alex. But what was the tip off?!"

"The buttons we put on earlier. They were detection devices so the prototype would not fire on us or Alexander."

"Very very good boy." The ram said wickedly.

"But why all the pretense? You could have just told me what you were doing."

"Feeling guilty boy?!" Sir Ram said evading the question. "If I did pet, given your history with these woods you could have said no. So I convinced you to go on a scientific outing with me instead."

(He had a point about that.)

"Besides if your conscience is bothering you, you can quell it with the knowledge that we had a fantastic outing today!" He said as I looked at him. "We learned that beastials can sire other beastials through occasional mating of nonbeastials, you assisted in the destruction of a heinous evil rebel group, saving countless lives of your fellow beastials in the process, aided me in the apprehension of your double and successfully tested the emergency weapons systems on the prototype and all it cost were eleven lives and the self respect of a little collaborator. I don't know about you, but I call that a GREAT day.

I just stared at the ram as he said that.

(There was that anything for the cause mentality again. The ram had taken a beating for his so called great day today.)

The empire thanks your for your service today Alex Winter." The Ram warrior said smiling devilishly at me.

"And so that was my outing with Sir Ram." I said to the coyote and dragon.

"Wow, that's just, just wow." Lurie said trying to comfort me.

"So just exactly what part disturbed you?"

I looked at the dragon.

"Was it the fact that Sir Ram tricked you into going rebel hunting, or was it the fact that you saw Alexander again and learned he hadn't changed his ways?" Lurie asked me.

"Or was it seeing Sir Ram slaughter the remaining rebels from that faction?" Sorren added.

"As I see it Alex, Sir Ram's ambush was justified because the group was going to kill the both of you. So you shouldn't concern yourself about that. It was like when you and Sorren fought your way out of the ambush in the warehouse in World Three." The female coyote said to me.

"I think you felt betrayed by Sir Ram and Alexander." Sorren said to me. "Based on what you know about that Knight of Wundagore you shouldn't have been surprised. Remember he will do what is necessary to protect the dictator, defend the empire and this civilization. I think you should have come to terms with that a long time ago."

"Which means the real thing that has you disturbed is your doppelganger's decision to support the resistance. I think that is what is truly bothering you." Lurie said to me.

(Those two had made great points.)

"Don't obsess over it little buddy- you will only make yourself sick; just remember everyone has free will to make good or bad decisions; to pursue good or evil." The dragon said to me.

"We know you tried very very hard to save Alexander sweetie but the bottom line is this- you can't help someone who does not want to be helped." Lurie said taking my hand.

"That is a great analytical analysis love." Sorren said. "When did you become so smart?!"

The coyote girl just grinned at the dragon.

"From the sounds of it Alexander is going to learn a very hard lesson about being an enemy of the empire. So don't burden yourself about it anymore." The 'yote girl said.

"Why is that?" I asked her.

"Because in a moment you are going to COMPLETELY forget about the crappy day you had." Lurie said licking her chops as she picked me up and carried me upstairs. "I am missing one of my boys if you hadn't noticed and I am in need of a stand in."

"I think he will do quite nicely don't you think Lurie?" Sorren laughed.

The she beast nodded.

"Thank you my dear friends but remember I am in a loving committed relationship!"

"That's ok squirt, do what you can." Lurie said growling at me.

To Be Continued....

Next Week:

A story inspired by the Discovery Channel television series A Haunting.