Hired Gun Pt. 10: Conclusion

"Very well. Captain, it's your expedition, your call," Troy said.

"Audra, I trust you," the captain replied.

All three members grabbed their respective handle. Audra counted out "one...two...three!" They turned the handle and the floor began to tremble.

"Audra!" growled Troy, but the trembling subsided and the door opened slowly. The door finally fully opened and revealed a narrow corridor, which again was lit by torches which spontaneously erupted in flame.

"I'm not stepping foot in that hall until I know what's in it," Troy replied.

"Not a bad move," Elizabeth mumbled.

"What do your texts say about the hall?" Ember asked Audra.

"All ye with stout hearts may pass, but the feeble shall perish," she said.

"That's really helpful," Troy said.

"I'm not afraid of this," Piper said boldly, and stepped ahead of Troy, but he grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her back.

"I'll go," he corrected her. He led them cautiously through the hallway, and when Elizabeth, bringing up the rear finally entered, the door closed behind them.

"I don't like this," Ember said.

"Well, then you're going to love this," Troy said sarcastically as he noticed the walls began to close in on either side. Suddenly, the door at the opposite end opened and torches at that door lit up like a beacon of hope. Suzy began sprinting toward it, but Troy now grabbed her.

"No! Don't anyone move!" Troy shouted.

"Troy, the walls are coming in on us, we're going to be crushed!" Elizabeth shouted.

"Hold!"

"Troy!" Suzy begged.

"I said hold!" he said.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Ember said.

Just as the walls came within inches of their shoulders, a giant flame erupted at the end of the hall where they wanted to run toward. The walls suddenly began to recede.

"How...how did you know?" Audra asked.

"I had a hunch. The folks that built this temple have an odd sense of humor. I think I'm beginning to get their jokes."

"You saved my life..." Suzy said.

"Yeah, well...I have a feeling you'll be returning the favor soon enough, when Catelli figures out the score."

"Speaking of which, shall we?" Ember motioned toward the door impatiently.

"This is it, the final chamber where the stone is held," Audra said.

"And the sentinel," Suzy added ominously.

"Great," Troy replied sarcastically.

The room was fairly plain, with sandstone walls, four tables about as large as a coffee table, made from solid marble, and in the center of the four tables, a fifth one stood, and suspended in mid-air in a beam of white light was the crystal they longed for. Their prize was so tantalizingly close, but if the first two tests were any indication, the final one would be no picnic either.

"Alright...so now what?" Troy asked. The ground began to quake and rumble and the four granite slabs began to crumble into gravel. "I had to ask."

Four blocks of silver metal emerged from the crumbled granite. Almost instantly, the blocks of metal began to melt into a liquid metal like mercury. They ran off the debris and gathered to form a single, large puddle. From the puddle, a figure arose. It was vaguely human-like in appearance, though with sharp, spiky appendages for arms, and hook like blades on his shoulders.

"Amarek mindoo, alcatesk chumaplokee?" the metallic figure spoke in a loud and commanding voice.

"He asked who dares seek the sacred stone," Audra translated. The figure looked at Audra menacingly, scowling its metallic brow at her and gnashing its teeth.

"I do," Troy said, stepping forward.

"And why is it you seek this sacred stone?" the sentinel asked, but this time in plain English.

"These people, they're suffering a plague. Their kind is dying, and we need the stone to save them."

"You are not of their kind, except for the female in the back. Why do you help them with a problem which isn't your concern?" the sentinel asked.

"Because I love them. Each one of them," Troy said defiantly.

"Even the human, who tortured you?" he asked.

"How do you know that?" Troy challenged.

"How else would I speak your language? I have seen your mind, Troy Wooten. You are not pure at heart. You have lived a life full of sin."

"I'm no saint, I'll freely admit that. I just hope you're not going to deny us the stone because of the guilt of one man."

"The stone is precious. I have watched over it for eons. In good hands, it will cure disease, bring peace, prosperity, and long life to the righteous. In evil hands, it will lead to doom, destruction, and suffering."

"I'm not asking it for myself, only for these people. If you've been in my mind, you know it's the truth!" Troy shouted angrily.

"I've been in your mind, and I know your kind is weak. It's why your enemy lands in front of my temple as we speak."

"Catelli is here? Shit," Troy muttered.

"You could take the stone from me, and wipe his existence out from this universe. The stone is more than a simple healing trinket as you so blindly were led to believe. Oh, your friends didn't tell you that?" the sentinel asked with a wicked smile.

"Is this true?" he asked Ember.

"We were going to use it to cure the plague. After that...my government decides what to do with it," Ember said.

"You could have told me," Troy said.

"Troy, you have to believe me, it's for the plague. Everything else is just a fringe benefit."

"Fringe benefit," he spat in disgust.

"You never answered my first question, Troy Wooten," the sentinel said. "Do you care for the human?"

"I did answer your question, and you know it. You pretend to be so righteous and pure, but I see right through your bullshit. You're goading me on, you're instigating me. Doesn't sound very holy of you," the human warrior said with a fiery voice. "So, my question to you is, will you give me the stone?"

"No," he said, turning his back, then turned again to face him and smiled wickedly. "You'll have to take it from me."

"Take it from you? How the fuck do you expect me to take it from you? You're a big glob of talking liquid metal, with swords for arms and blades on your shoulders. This game is rigged."

"Would it help...if I handicap myself? Become flesh and blood, weak as any one of you?" the sentinel asked.

"It would be a start," growled Troy.

"Very well," the sentinel said, and with a flash of light, he shrunk down to a human form of similar height and build to Troy. His hair was blonde and slicked back, his eyes still steely and gray, the only betrayal of what he once was. He wore a military outfit, and Troy recognized it right away.

"A lieutenant general? Why not go for the fourth star?" he snickered.

"I didn't want to seem too pretentious," the sentinel replied. His name tag on the uniform read "SENTINEL," in English. He was armed with a pistol, a knife, and a rifle similar to the one Troy was armed with.

"Alright, so what are your rules?" Troy asked.

"Rules? Ah, yes...a game, a game! So we shall have rules then! You seek something which is precious to me, but what do I get if you lose? I think you should lose something precious to you!"

"How about my life? Seems precious enough to me," Troy offered.

"No, no, no," the sentinel laughed. "Remember, Troy, I've been in your mind. I know you are more than willing to sacrifice your life for your lovers. Pity, really. You should seek to place yourself on a higher pedestal. Nonetheless, I shall not be too greedy. Which one, which one?" he asked.

"Which one what?" Troy barked.

"Which one will I keep as my concubine to pleasure me until the end of time?"

"What? No! No, you can't do that!"

"Suzy? No, no, she's too plain. Piper? No, I would tire of her attitude. The human? I don't believe you would be too heartbroken if she suffered. The choice comes down to your captain, or Audra."

"Take me," both Audra and Ember said simultaneously.

"Oh, oh my, my, my, isn't this splendid? Such bravery! But I've already made up my mind. I've seen your mind, Troy, and I know lovely little Audra will pleasure me for the rest of time. You know what it is I'm talking of. She enjoys playing the submissive. I'll test her limits, keep her alive with the stone, testing the very limits of her pain endurance, and then pushing well...well beyond them."

"You bastard," Troy said with tears rolling down his cheek.

"Yes...yes, that is the reaction I wanted. You will lose something precious to me. I'll still take your life, Troy, but you'll know in your dying breaths that you'll have the easier fate, as poor little Audra becomes my personal slave. Forever."

"You motherfucker!" Troy shouted, disengaged the safety on his rifle and shot three rounds at the sentinel, but the bullets froze in mid-air.

"Naughty, naughty, Troy. We haven't begun, yet."

"I thought you said you're mortal now," Troy said, fighting back tears and clenching his teeth.

"Not until the game officially begins! Rules, ah yes, rules. So, my dear Wooten, here are the rules. Single combat. Just you and myself, here in this very room. I with my rifle, pistol, and knife, you with your weapons. I'm your height, your weight, your level of fitness, and I even have less weapons than you. Your friends may not help you. In fact..." he said, and with a wave of his hand, a green, translucent box of energy enveloped the women, trapping them in a sort of cage as forced spectators to this death match.

"Let them go!" Troy said.

"They will not be harmed; you have my word," the sentinel said.

"Which is as valuable to me as tits are on a bull," the human said icily.

"Nevertheless, they shall not be harmed. We will start on opposite sides of the room. There will be obstacles," the sentinel said, and waved his hand. Pillars and obelisks of varying sizes and shapes sprung from the ground, creating ample places to duck for cover.

"Wounds are irrelevant; this is a fight to the death. There are no...what do you call them? Timeouts. No penalties. Just plain, straight combat."

"This is bullshit," Troy said, tossing down his rifle.

"Pick up the gun," the sentinel said softly.

"No. You'll bend the rules to ensure you win."

"Pick up the gun, Troy," he said more sternly.

"I'm not playing this game."

"If you forfeit, I kill them all. Could you bear to watch as I slowly suffocate them in that box?" he asked, and at that moment, the air began to thin in their small prison. The girls began to gasp and pound on the invincible barrier.

"Stop it!" Troy begged.

"Pick up the gun," the sentinel said calmly once more. Reluctantly, Troy picked up his rifle.

"Good boy! I think you're ready for the game to begin."

"Whatever," Troy said bitterly. In his mind, he knew he was going to lose. He misjudged the civilization who built this sentinel. He thought he understood their sense of humor, but he was wrong. This sentinel, whatever he was, was darker and more twisted than anything he could have ever imagined. He was certain he would lose, but he couldn't. He couldn't allow Audra to live forever in such a horrifying existence. Troy summoned all the courage and strength he had left, and readied himself for battle.

They each went to opposite sides of the obstacle filled room.

"In three, two, one...begin!" the sentinel cheerily announced. Troy crouched and ran to the first pillar. He checked both sides with his gun before advancing to the next. By the time he advanced to the third pillar, he heard a loud bang, and felt a sharp pain in his left bicep. A bullet grazed him.

"I'm sorry, Troy, did that hurt? Don't make this too easy for me, Troy. Tell you what, I'll let you live long enough to watch me begin on Audra. It would be a shame to see her beautiful fur burn off, but I'll make sure it grows back!"

Troy grunted. His arm bled, but he fought through the pain. He advanced to an obelisk and saw a brief glimpse of the sentinel ducking for cover. He took a potshot at the sentinel, just to let him know he still cared.

"Temper, temper, Troy!"

The human pulled a grenade from his vest and lobbed it in the general direction where the sentinel hid. It blew up with an ear-piercing boom.

"Ooh, that was pretty! What do you call those?" the sentinel asked.

"A grenade. You like it? Here's another, asshole!" he lobbed another in the vicinity.

"Fun, fun, fun!" the sentinel goaded him.

Another loud crack, and a bullet ricocheted inches from Troy's face.

"Was I close?" the sentinel asked teasingly.

"Missed me by a country mile, dick-wad!" Troy lied.

"I'm in your head, Troy. Remember? I saw how close that was to you."

"In my head..." Troy said to himself, but another bullet missed him by an even closer margin, making him lose his train of thought. He scurried to the next pillar and fired an entire magazine of rounds while he ran.

"You're so very close, Troy!" the sentinel said happily.

"I'll show you close," Troy replied, going full-auto on his gun, unleashing a torrent of hot lead.

"Yoo-hoo!" the sentinel said right behind Troy, and as he turned around, the knife sunk into his shoulder. The sentinel ran away.

The girls could only watch on in horror at the maddening trial their beloved man endured. They couldn't even offer him words of encouragement, as the shield now blocked their voices. It was just as well, for the sentinel, because Audra was desperately trying to tell Troy what to do. She knew the sentinel's weakness, but there was no way to tell Troy.

Troy bled from wounds to his left arm and right shoulder. His face was bleeding from chips of sandstone scraping it from the near-misses. He was tired, wounded, and utterly defeated. The man, if he could call it that, was too fast, too agile, and too cunning with weapons to fight.

Troy collapsed to his knees, bloody, broken, and sobbing. The sentinel approached from one of the pillars with his pistol drawn. He pointed it at Troy, who still wept on his knees.

"So, you surrender?" the sentinel asked.

"I'm offering you a trade," Troy managed to say.

"What could you possibly offer me?"

"Me."

"I told you, you're too easy. You want to die," he said dismissively.

"Take me instead of Audra. Torture me for the rest of eternity, I don't care. Just don't hurt her. Don't hurt her."

"I won't do that," he said blandly.

"Please," Troy's voice cracked.

"I won't do that, because I have no need to. Nor will I hurt the girl, nor any of your friends," the sentinel said. He reverted back to his silver-metallic form.

"What?" Troy asked with genuine confusion.

"You're not going to like this, Troy...but I am you..." the sentinel said, confusing Troy even further.

"What are you talking about?"

"I am the sentinel, yes. But everything...the challenge, the threats to Audra, the pain you endured...were all from your own mind. I am designed to probe the mind of the one who seeks the stone, to see if they are worthy. You're not going to like this either, but I determined you were worthy from the moment I read your mind."

"Then why all this?" Troy asked with pained astonishment.

"Because you didn't believe yourself as worthy. Only when you accepted defeat, and offered to trade yourself in Audra's place did you truly realize what you are made of."

"I told you I would have given my life for any one of them," he said.

"You did. But did you believe it?"

"I..." he couldn't find any other words[i].

"By the way, you're not bleeding," the sentinel said. Troy looked down at his arm, and it wasn't bloodstained, or even scratched.

"You're saying I can have the stone?"

"You may. But it is your burden. Do not let it fall into the wrong hands. You may be worthy of the stone, but so many others are not...and they will try to take it from you. Just remember, their violence doesn't consume you, it consumes them."

Troy nodded his head, though he wasn't exactly sure what the sentinel just told him. The barrier suddenly dropped around the girls, and the rushed over to him. The pillars and obelisks sunk back down in the ground, and the silver sentinel vanished into thin air.

"I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't," Audra said.

"It's alright now," he said, hugging her. She helped him to his feet and the group made their way over to the stone. Troy reluctantly grabbed it, not sure if one last booby-trap waited for him, but it was safe. He held the stone, and just as he grabbed it, a shot rang out in the air.

"I'll take that, thank you very much," Catelli said as he and a dozen of his men stood at the entrance of the room.

"There's no way I'm letting you take this stone, Catelli," Troy said calmly.

"Well, it looks like you don't have much of a choice! Hand it over, or we'll mow you all down!"

"You'll mow us down whether I hand it over to you or not," Troy said.

"If you give me what I want, I'll leave you all in peace," Catelli threatened.

"I can't do that, Catelli," Troy replied softly.

Catelli raised his gun and fired at Elizabeth, she instantly fell to the ground, the life sucked from the vixen before she even touched the floor.

"Elizabeth!!" Suzy screamed, kneeling down and opening her trauma kit. The doctor looked up at Ember and Troy with tears in her eyes and shook her head.

"How many more, Troy? How many more will I have to kill before you give it to me?" Catelli shouted at the warrior, but Troy ignored his longtime adversary and knelt down beside the human woman. He held the crystal over her wound, and without so much as a conscious thought, the crystal glowed yellow, and the wound began to heal in front of their eyes.

Catelli's men readied their weapons, but he commanded them to hold their fire as he waited and watched with everyone else. Suddenly, Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes. She looked around in stunned disbelief, then at Troy who still held the crystal in his hands.

"Troy?" she asked softly, but Troy simply got to his feet and looked at Catelli.

"Give it to me!" he commanded fiercely.

"No. No more death, no more fighting," Troy simply replied, and pointed the crystal at the group of armed marauders. Suddenly, their weapons became hot to the touch, forcing them to drop them to the ground. They burned up into ashes at their feet.

Incensed, Catelli charged at Troy, determined to seize the stone with his bare hands if he had to. Troy looked at the charging maniac, and it was almost as if the crystal told him what to do. He held it outward toward the rushing officer, and a shockwave threw him and his men back like bowling pins being knocked over. Seconds later, several dozen Furvoid and human soldiers rushed into the room with weapons drawn and surrounded Catelli and his men.

"Major Catelli, on behalf of the Interspace Justice Cooperative, we're placing you and your men under arrest for high crimes and misdemeanors against several Co-Op member planets. You have the right to remain silent..." one of the military men decreed.

Amongst the men and furvoids was a furvoid priestess, a vixen wearing a bright red gown and a square hat. She approached Troy with a warm smile upon her lips. "You must be Troy Wooten," she said.

"I am. Who are you?"

"Troy, this is Priestess Alanna Coyten, of the Furvoid Purity Sect, she's an expert in the stone and its history, and the most qualified person to possess it," explained Ember.

"Give me your hand," Troy demanded. The priestess complied. He held her hand for a few brief seconds and smiled.

"This one is qualified to wield the stone," he announced. When he released the stone to her, Troy put his hand to his head.

"Whoa, what a rush!"

"Troy?" Suzy asked.

"It's like it was me, but it wasn't me. That stone is some pretty fucking powerful juju," he said.

"That sounds a lot more like our Troy," Ember said with a grin.

"Sure does," Audra said with a smile.