Chapter 211: Great Honor
Okay, to be fair, it did look like the Easter Bunny from hell, but it was still pretty obvious what it was. It was maybe six feet tall with a pure black fur coat and ears that had seen better days. Ans sure, it had blood-red eyes and fangs the size of my fingers... but whatever was growing on its back definitely could have passed for a bow.
At its feet were multicolored eggs that, while on the larger side, could have been used as a prop in any mall to celebrate the spring season.
"You know Istar?" asked Da’kea in a whisper, as if even mentioning its name was enough to summon it for the pits of hell. Mind you, if it was that easily summoned, then it would have saved us quite the commute.
"I don’t know that," I said, pointing to the hologram in front of me. "But we have a fairy tale on Earth about a bunny that leaves eggs in people’s... it’s not a fairy tale, is it?"
The men sitting around the table shook their heads. Way to ruin Easter, universe... way to ruin Easter.
"So, how do you kill it?" I asked, not at all put out by the look of the thing. Maybe, with a good washing, it could have looked like a well-loved children’s toy.
"The only way we have found effective is to remove the head without being splattered by its blood," said GA, and I turned to look at the male.
"Because the blood is acid. Got it. Anything else? Wooden stake to the heart? Rubbing it with garlic or dousing it with holy water? What about silver? Did silver bullets kill it?" What? These were all valid questions, thank you very much.
If Easter was about an alien bunny that placed eggs in everyone’s house for people to find, then that meant everything else was on the table as being true, too...
Wait.
"You guys don’t have a jolly fat guy in red leaving things for people, do you?"
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There was a creepy echoing sound as the X96 fighter craft touched down in Sha Shou’s launch bay. I was trying my hardest not to think about every single sci-fi movie that I had ever watched or the long list of ways that this could go badly. Starting with phase one of Da’kea’s plan.
Since he was the only one to have ever fought these things before, I was willing to concede to him and his expertise. But having faith in someone did not stop the warning bells from going off when he told Jun Li to take the fighter craft back to the main ship and wait for us to contact him.
The logical portion of my brain agreed with his decision. The last thing we wanted was for a baby bunny to hop on board the X96 when we were least expecting it and be transported back to Jun Li, only to live rent-free in a giant ship because we had no idea it was there until it was hungry. Saw that in a movie, so I was willing to go with that decision.
However, that also left us completely alone in an abandoned ship in the middle of nowhere, with hundreds of bunnies trying to kill us. Without any way off, we were in an incredibly vulnerable position. Saw that plot in a movie, too. I don’t think I need to tell anyone how that ended for the main leads.
Essentially, it was a damned if you do, damned if you don’t sort of deal, and until I had a better idea, I would bite my tongue and follow the leader.
All of us were wearing armor of some kind or other. Even Midnight, who lacked the nano suits that the rest of us had, was talked into wearing a catsuit made from the bulletproof material. He had protested for a long time, but until I could find something that was safer, he was going to have to suck it up and deal.
I didn’t even make a single joke about a wolf wearing a catsuit. It’s not like he would really get it anyway.
Da’kea, being the most familiar with this ship, led the way, followed by Midnight and Ye’tab on either side. I was stuck in the middle as GA and Tha’juen watched our backs. Each Saalistaja male opted to have their shoulder plasma cannon ready to go, even though they also had their wrist blades and two chakrams in each hand.
They refused to give me one of their blades, but that was fine; I had a few surprises up my sleeve if shit hit the fan. Midnight, apparently the traditionalist that he was, took only his sword. However, in my humble opinion, the word sword was an understatement. It looked to be similar to a claymore, but only longer, the tip of the blade almost dragging on the floor behind him.
It had to weigh a ton if the size was anything to go by.
He had refused to join the guys in any hand-to-hand training, so I had no idea how he would fare in a fight. But knowing him, his refusal had more to do with not wanting to hurt the other males than anything else.
Da’kea stood in front of the closed hatch and let out a soft sigh. "It has been an honor hunting with you. May we meet on the other side of the Dark Lord’s lair and boast of our kills."
Nope. I was not dealing with that crap right now.
"Fuck you," I sneered, pushing aside Midnight and Ye’tab before poking Da’kea in the chest. "We did not come here to die, so fuck off about it being an honor. We are going to go out that door and kick ass. We will not stop until every last Easter bunny is done, and then we are going to burn them until they are nothing more than a pile of ashes. If anyone thinks that it is okay to die or does die, please be aware that I will raise you from the dead and kill you myself. Understood?"
Great honor, my ass.
