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My name is Juston Seyfort, and I think I'm about to die, so these are probably my final thoughts about... well, anything.
I admit I'm not the most handsome guy in the world, or the most social. But what I do have is a pretty big brain, which is what helped me rewire a Sentinel and make him my best friend. At least up until he was destroyed beyond repair and I had to use his most important parts to revive my new friend Adam.
But I was able to salvage most of the Sentinel's armor and tech to fashion a suit to wear into battle with the New Warriors. It was around that time that a beautiful humanoid cat princess named Kittania joined the team, and I was immediately drawn to her. But like I said, I'm not the most social person, so it took a while to work up the courage to ask her out.
Our date started off decent enough. I took her to see the sights, we got a little dinner, and we started getting a little bit closer. Not as close as I would have liked, but it was a start. Then we got stranded on Ellis Island overnight. Not the most ideal situation, but we made the best of it. But then everything went to hell, and quickly when what was left of Kittania's race showed up, accusing me of both kidnapping Kittania and causing the near extinction of their people.
Somehow, I don't think I'll be getting a second date...
I admit I'm not the most handsome guy in the world, or the most social. But what I do have is a pretty big brain, which is what helped me rewire a Sentinel and make him my best friend. At least up until he was destroyed beyond repair and I had to use his most important parts to revive my new friend Adam.
But I was able to salvage most of the Sentinel's armor and tech to fashion a suit to wear into battle with the New Warriors. It was around that time that a beautiful humanoid cat princess named Kittania joined the team, and I was immediately drawn to her. But like I said, I'm not the most social person, so it took a while to work up the courage to ask her out.
Our date started off decent enough. I took her to see the sights, we got a little dinner, and we started getting a little bit closer. Not as close as I would have liked, but it was a start. Then we got stranded on Ellis Island overnight. Not the most ideal situation, but we made the best of it. But then everything went to hell, and quickly when what was left of Kittania's race showed up, accusing me of both kidnapping Kittania and causing the near extinction of their people.
Somehow, I don't think I'll be getting a second date...
The survivors of the planet Riff had made a new home on a smaller distant planet, having all gathered in a newly built stadium that they hoped to one day fill to capacity again.
"How is this possible?" Kittania asked as she was led into the stadium. "And where is Juston?"
"We were on a mission of peace," Lynx, a bulky humanoid cat creature with black and white fur said as he walked beside her. "We returned to find our home annihilated. After weeks of searching, we discovered others who had survived by hiding in underground caverns but had become trapped by cave-ins until we dug them out. But the royal family had been declared dead, including you. It was only when a small child had said that he'd seen you leaving with a group of furless creatures that we began to piece together what had happened. So we came to rescue you."
"I willingly left with them," Kittania told him. "I believed at the time that I was the last of our people, and my new friends agreed to take me in to find a new home."
"Your friends were responsible for the deaths of millions," Lynx said. "Now we are down to a precious few dozen. Do you realize how long it will take to repopulate? Months, possibly a year or two! We do not have the resources to wage war with an entire planet, but we can have our vengeance on your kidnapper."
"I tell, I wasn't--"
"You have obviously been manipulated and brainwashed," Lynx told her as they arrived at their seats. "We will cure you, my princess, but first... the trial."
Kittania stared in horror down into the stadium, where Juston stood at the center, his hands shackled while the humanoid cat creatures booed and tossed various objects at him.
"Let the trial commence!" Lynx shouted.
# # # # #
Elsewhere, outside of time and space, Andy Maguire was floating through a vast white void, having fallen into it via a door that had appeared where Franklin's room was supposed to have been.
"You know, I'm starting to think that something's going on in Franklin's bedroom," Andy said. "And I'm hungry. And I have to pee. And I'm bored. I CAN'T MULTITASK!"
# # # # #
"And that's all that needs to be said," Lynx said as he sat down in his chair.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Juston shouted. "You just said to commence the trial, then sat down!"
"Silence, furless one!" a guard said as he jabbed Juston in the side with a spear.
"Hey, I've got... one chest hair," Juston said as he seethed in pain. "And I'm not the bad guy! Those robed maniacs were the ones that were killing planets, and the New Warriors stopped them! We're the good guys in this!"
"He's right," Kittania said, her eyes fixated on Juston. "The ones responsible have been dealt with. Juston is innocent, and as Princess, I order his immediate release."
Lynx slowly stared over at her before he started laughing. "You must be under the impression that you still wield any political power, Princess. Perhaps back on our homeworld, but here you are merely a figurehead, a symbol for our people, nothing more. Here on this world, I am in supreme command. The people now look to me to lead them. You are only a reminder of what we lost and why we must rebuild our society. The furless creature will be executed at dawn!"
"Hey!" Juston shouted as he tried to stand up. "I have something to say! I know I'm not like the rest of you. I'm a human, I'm not agile or have a tail, and I'm not that strong, but me and my friends took your princess into our home when she had nowhere else to go. We gave her a family and looked after her. We love her. I-- I love her. And if you have to kill me, then I at least want Kittania to know that last night was the best night of my life because I got to spend it with you. And if I wasn't about to executed then... I would have liked to go on more dates just the two of us. And maybe someday... you'd love me back, and then I'd do everything in my power to make you happy for the rest of your life, no matter what. I'm in love with you, Kittania, and... if I have to die, then at least I'm glad that you got to see your family again."
The guard hit Juston in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious before being taken away. The crowd started murmuring, which quickly turned into a loud chatter as a single word started being repeated again and again, louder and louder as the seconds passed.
"No," Kittania whispered.
"The people have spoken," Lynx told her as a vicious grin crossed his lips as he raised his hands to address the crowd. "It seems that this human creature has decided to invoke his right to win the Princess's hand in glorious battle. Tomorrow morning, instead of execution, the human will instead meet his fate as he is ripped limb from limb by our people's champion, the Jaguarior!"
The crowd roared and cheered as Kittania approached him. "How did that barbaric monster survive the slaughter?"
"You forget, Princess, the Jaguarior slumbers until he is called to battle," Lynx told her. "And tomorrow morning, he will awaken, with a hunger for human flesh."
# # # # #
Juston woke up in an underground cell, his hands still shackled. He realized he had to go the bathroom and saw a litterbox in the corner.
"You've got to be kidding me,"
Kittania, wearing a cloak to disguise herself, snuck in and kneeled down in front of him, noticing his head was bleeding. She pulled out a damp cloth and put it against his head.
"I'm so sorry," Kittania whispered. "This is all my fault."
"No, it's not," Juston said as he leaned his head back. "It's mine. I just wanted a night out with a pretty lady, so I could get to know her better. I should have known it'd go bad, just like everything else in my life."
"For what it's worth, I did enjoy our time together," Kittania told him. "I would have liked to have more time with you."
"I'm dying in the morning," Juston told her. "So at least I get to see you one last time."
"I'll find a way to help you, I promise," Kittania said as she kissed his forehead. "I won't stand around while you're slaughtered."
"No," Juston told her. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger because of me. If you got hurt--"
"And how do you think I feel?" Kittania asked as she raised his head up. "You are important to me, Juston Seyfert. As a friend, as a teammate, and as... someone I now know truly loves me. We will find a way to return to Earth together."
The guards were heard approaching as Kittania stood up. "I will see you in the stadium tomorrow morning."
Kittania quickly left the dungeon as Juston started smiling.
The next morning arrived as the race of cat creatures entered the stadium, expecting to see a human boy getting ripped limb from limb. They were all murmuring and chanting amongst themselves, waiting for the show to begin. Lynx arrived, sitting in the box seat next to Kittania.
"Do not worry, Princess, the Jaguarrior will most likely kill him instantly by ripping his head off, then consuming the rest of his body," Lynx said. "We'll burn the bones and resume our lives as before."
"I have faith in my friend," Kittania told him.
Juston was forced into the stadium and shoved to the ground. "Don't I get armor? Or a weapon?"
"You have hands, human," the guard said. "For the moment."
"Alright, Juston, you got yourself into this mess, I have to think my way out," Juston told himself as he stood up. "No weapons? Alright, I'll improvise."
"What is he doing?" one of the guards asked.
"He's... taking off his clothes," Kittania said. "But why?"
"Perhaps he doesn't want the Jaguarrior to choke on the fabric," the guard joked.
"You came here to see a show!" Lynx shouted to the crowd. "I give you the battle of you've been wanting! The pathetic human--"
"HEY!" Juston shouted after he got his shirt off.
"Versus... the Jagurarrior! Don't blink, you might miss the bloodshed."
A rumbling was heard as the ground opened up, with a twelve-foot tall, overly muscled cat creature jumped up and landed on the ground. It large, gray, and had razor-sharp claws.
"Nice kitty," Juston said in a whimpering voice as the cat swiped its claws at him.
TO BE CONTINUED...
"How is this possible?" Kittania asked as she was led into the stadium. "And where is Juston?"
"We were on a mission of peace," Lynx, a bulky humanoid cat creature with black and white fur said as he walked beside her. "We returned to find our home annihilated. After weeks of searching, we discovered others who had survived by hiding in underground caverns but had become trapped by cave-ins until we dug them out. But the royal family had been declared dead, including you. It was only when a small child had said that he'd seen you leaving with a group of furless creatures that we began to piece together what had happened. So we came to rescue you."
"I willingly left with them," Kittania told him. "I believed at the time that I was the last of our people, and my new friends agreed to take me in to find a new home."
"Your friends were responsible for the deaths of millions," Lynx said. "Now we are down to a precious few dozen. Do you realize how long it will take to repopulate? Months, possibly a year or two! We do not have the resources to wage war with an entire planet, but we can have our vengeance on your kidnapper."
"I tell, I wasn't--"
"You have obviously been manipulated and brainwashed," Lynx told her as they arrived at their seats. "We will cure you, my princess, but first... the trial."
Kittania stared in horror down into the stadium, where Juston stood at the center, his hands shackled while the humanoid cat creatures booed and tossed various objects at him.
"Let the trial commence!" Lynx shouted.
# # # # #
Elsewhere, outside of time and space, Andy Maguire was floating through a vast white void, having fallen into it via a door that had appeared where Franklin's room was supposed to have been.
"You know, I'm starting to think that something's going on in Franklin's bedroom," Andy said. "And I'm hungry. And I have to pee. And I'm bored. I CAN'T MULTITASK!"
# # # # #
"And that's all that needs to be said," Lynx said as he sat down in his chair.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Juston shouted. "You just said to commence the trial, then sat down!"
"Silence, furless one!" a guard said as he jabbed Juston in the side with a spear.
"Hey, I've got... one chest hair," Juston said as he seethed in pain. "And I'm not the bad guy! Those robed maniacs were the ones that were killing planets, and the New Warriors stopped them! We're the good guys in this!"
"He's right," Kittania said, her eyes fixated on Juston. "The ones responsible have been dealt with. Juston is innocent, and as Princess, I order his immediate release."
Lynx slowly stared over at her before he started laughing. "You must be under the impression that you still wield any political power, Princess. Perhaps back on our homeworld, but here you are merely a figurehead, a symbol for our people, nothing more. Here on this world, I am in supreme command. The people now look to me to lead them. You are only a reminder of what we lost and why we must rebuild our society. The furless creature will be executed at dawn!"
"Hey!" Juston shouted as he tried to stand up. "I have something to say! I know I'm not like the rest of you. I'm a human, I'm not agile or have a tail, and I'm not that strong, but me and my friends took your princess into our home when she had nowhere else to go. We gave her a family and looked after her. We love her. I-- I love her. And if you have to kill me, then I at least want Kittania to know that last night was the best night of my life because I got to spend it with you. And if I wasn't about to executed then... I would have liked to go on more dates just the two of us. And maybe someday... you'd love me back, and then I'd do everything in my power to make you happy for the rest of your life, no matter what. I'm in love with you, Kittania, and... if I have to die, then at least I'm glad that you got to see your family again."
The guard hit Juston in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious before being taken away. The crowd started murmuring, which quickly turned into a loud chatter as a single word started being repeated again and again, louder and louder as the seconds passed.
"No," Kittania whispered.
"The people have spoken," Lynx told her as a vicious grin crossed his lips as he raised his hands to address the crowd. "It seems that this human creature has decided to invoke his right to win the Princess's hand in glorious battle. Tomorrow morning, instead of execution, the human will instead meet his fate as he is ripped limb from limb by our people's champion, the Jaguarior!"
The crowd roared and cheered as Kittania approached him. "How did that barbaric monster survive the slaughter?"
"You forget, Princess, the Jaguarior slumbers until he is called to battle," Lynx told her. "And tomorrow morning, he will awaken, with a hunger for human flesh."
# # # # #
Juston woke up in an underground cell, his hands still shackled. He realized he had to go the bathroom and saw a litterbox in the corner.
"You've got to be kidding me,"
Kittania, wearing a cloak to disguise herself, snuck in and kneeled down in front of him, noticing his head was bleeding. She pulled out a damp cloth and put it against his head.
"I'm so sorry," Kittania whispered. "This is all my fault."
"No, it's not," Juston said as he leaned his head back. "It's mine. I just wanted a night out with a pretty lady, so I could get to know her better. I should have known it'd go bad, just like everything else in my life."
"For what it's worth, I did enjoy our time together," Kittania told him. "I would have liked to have more time with you."
"I'm dying in the morning," Juston told her. "So at least I get to see you one last time."
"I'll find a way to help you, I promise," Kittania said as she kissed his forehead. "I won't stand around while you're slaughtered."
"No," Juston told her. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger because of me. If you got hurt--"
"And how do you think I feel?" Kittania asked as she raised his head up. "You are important to me, Juston Seyfert. As a friend, as a teammate, and as... someone I now know truly loves me. We will find a way to return to Earth together."
The guards were heard approaching as Kittania stood up. "I will see you in the stadium tomorrow morning."
Kittania quickly left the dungeon as Juston started smiling.
The next morning arrived as the race of cat creatures entered the stadium, expecting to see a human boy getting ripped limb from limb. They were all murmuring and chanting amongst themselves, waiting for the show to begin. Lynx arrived, sitting in the box seat next to Kittania.
"Do not worry, Princess, the Jaguarrior will most likely kill him instantly by ripping his head off, then consuming the rest of his body," Lynx said. "We'll burn the bones and resume our lives as before."
"I have faith in my friend," Kittania told him.
Juston was forced into the stadium and shoved to the ground. "Don't I get armor? Or a weapon?"
"You have hands, human," the guard said. "For the moment."
"Alright, Juston, you got yourself into this mess, I have to think my way out," Juston told himself as he stood up. "No weapons? Alright, I'll improvise."
"What is he doing?" one of the guards asked.
"He's... taking off his clothes," Kittania said. "But why?"
"Perhaps he doesn't want the Jaguarrior to choke on the fabric," the guard joked.
"You came here to see a show!" Lynx shouted to the crowd. "I give you the battle of you've been wanting! The pathetic human--"
"HEY!" Juston shouted after he got his shirt off.
"Versus... the Jagurarrior! Don't blink, you might miss the bloodshed."
A rumbling was heard as the ground opened up, with a twelve-foot tall, overly muscled cat creature jumped up and landed on the ground. It large, gray, and had razor-sharp claws.
"Nice kitty," Juston said in a whimpering voice as the cat swiped its claws at him.
TO BE CONTINUED...