Three Square Meals Ch. 136

John's shoulders slumped, the guide's relentless attacks on his biggest insecurities leaving him tormented with remorse.

***

Alyssa sobbed with frustration as she railed against John's mental barrier, not even making so much as a dent despite throwing everything she had at his psychic defences. Head dropping in defeat, Alyssa realised she had no chance of breaking inside, not when both John and his guide were working in conjunction to keep her out. It only took her a moment to realise that their wills combined were far stronger than her own.

Sakura reached out to place a gauntleted hand on her shoulder. "Alyssa... I know you want to help John, but you're in danger here. If he loses-"

"He's not going to lose!" Alyssa hissed, the furious glow in her eyes burning away her tears.

"Okay... I believe in him too," Sakura said quietly. "But we can't get involved. This is between John and his guide."

John let out a tortured groan, a look of anguish on his face.

"He needs me!" Alyssa insisted, growing increasingly frantic. "There's got to be some way I can help him... something I missed."

She wracked her brain for any solution, struggling against the debilitating grief of being cut off from John. With their psychic connection severed, it felt like she had no reason to carry on breathing, let alone focus on anything else. If she could just reconnect with him... everything would be wonderful again. Alyssa's eyes dropped lower and she bit her lip. Maybe there was a way...

"No, Alyssa," Sakura said firmly. "Absolutely not."

"You're right..." the blonde muttered, grimacing with frustration. "John's not in the right state of mind for that right now."

Then like a light of inspiration switching on in her mind, Alyssa knew precisely how she could restore their connection. She still had a source of John's cum that everyone had overlooked in their grief!

She leapt to her feet and sprinted for the exit, ignoring Sakura's plaintive calls to return. Alyssa opened the concealed entrance to the express grav-tubes, then hurtled up to the Armoury before taking the second set of tubes to their old bedroom. She bounded out of the grav-tube with a spring in her step, then ran down the corridor towards the last set of quarters on the Officers' Deck. All she needed to do was open up Faye's remote chassis and retrieve the refrigerated sample that the purple sprite had swallowed in their last group session on Arcadia!

Alyssa's elation turned to confusion when she saw a green songbird swoop out of the grav-tube at the other end of the corridor, the shapeshifted Nymph racing towards her. The bird disappeared in a verdant haze, then reappeared as Jade, who stood directly in front of Faye's quarters with her arms crossed.

"Get out of my way, Jade," Alyssa growled, stalking towards the bedroom.

"I won't let you do it, Alyssa," the Nymph matriarch replied, slowly shaking her head. "John was quite explicit about not letting you put yourself at risk."

Alyssa strode up to her and tried to push Jade out of the way, but it was like trying to shove a ten ton block of lead. "Move... that's an order!" she snarled furiously.

"Don't let her in, Jade!" Calara called out, as she emerged from the grav-tube at the end of the corridor. "John left me in command and I'm ordering you to keep Alyssa out!"

"Why are you doing this?!" Alyssa pleaded desperately, trying to shove the Nymph again to no effect. "John's in trouble... he needs me!"

"You must have faith in him," Jade said quietly. "He needs to do this on his own."

More footsteps echoed down the corridor as the rest of the girls ran over to join them.

Alyssa pushed the Nymph again, but she knew it was hopeless and her heart was no longer in it. She dropped to her knees as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Why don't you understand?" she sobbed, suddenly bursting into tears. "I need him... I'm nothing without him..."

The rest of the girls looked at their matriarch with concern and shared worried glances. Being disconnected from John had left them all distraught, but they could plainly see that Alyssa was teetering on the edge.

Calara sank down to join the blonde, wrapping her arms around Alyssa. "Everything's going to be alright, my love."

Dana hugged her best friend from behind. "Yeah! John's a tough son-of-a-bitch... he'll kick his guide's ass!"

Rachel gently stroked Alyssa's golden hair. "He knows how much we all love him and need him. That was why John visited each of us this morning... to remind himself what he's fighting for."

Alyssa froze and looked up at all the concerned faces gazing down at her. She locked eyes with a worried set of baby-blues, hope rekindling in her heart once again.

"Helene... did John remember to block you out of his mind?"

***

It was dark in the shattered hangar, violent seismic activity having damaged the lunar facility's power grid. The only illumination on the docking gantry came from spotlights on the Tormentor-class destroyer, as an eclectic group hurried to evacuate Tartarus. Lying on a floating gurney In the middle of that group was a middle-aged woman, the attending medical staff making sure that Admiral Devereux stayed sedated.

John squinted into the gloom to get his bearings, still reeling from the disturbing revelation that he had ulterior motives behind so many of his actions. Disorientated and filled with remorse, he struggled to distinguish which of the guide's many accusations were true or false. He knew deep in his heart that there was a kernel of truth behind some of them... but it was getting harder and harder to know which ones.

Rising like a malevolent spectre from behind the docked destroyer, the guide grinned in triumph when he saw John's state of confusion. "Not much to look at, was she?" he noted, nodding his head towards the unconscious admiral. "I don't blame you for making her appearance more... palatable."

John braced himself for another attack. "I owed Lynette for putting her life on the line for me. I just wanted to help her... I wasn't trying to turn her into another puppet leader."

"Well we both know that's a lie," the guide scoffed, before his expression turned calculating. "But I brought you here for another reason entirely. If you really wanted to reward this woman... then why did you turn her into a devoted sex toy for your 'best friend'?"

Jaw dropping open in shock, John stammered, "I-I never planned that!"

"You don't sound very convincing," the guide observed with a smirk. "The truth is that you've never acted in your thralls' best interests. Despite your convoluted efforts to pretend that you're kind and selfless, you used all those women for your own selfish ends!"

John was about to respond when the guide clenched both fists in his direction and lashed out with a shadowy beam of energy. The blast slammed into John's shield, leaving a swathe of cracked and smouldering hexagons in its wake. He had to focus with all his strength to keep the barrier intact, the sizzling pressure on his psychic shield pushing him backwards across the gantry. The group approaching the destroyer scattered out of the way and John saw a flicker of green in his peripheral vision as the quartet of catgirls darted aside.

"The Nymphs!" John blurted out, while concentrating on frantically replenishing his shield. "I did everything I could to give them free will and release them from slavery!"

"They've been longing for children for over 70,000 years! They all know that you're the only man in the galaxy that's capable of getting them pregnant, so what choice do they have but to stay with you?" the guide retorted. "You offered them the one thing that will ensure they serve you for eternity!"

The beam intensified, the pressure against John's psychic shield increasing dramatically as he was propelled across the metallic gantry. He wanted to retaliate, but it took all of his concentration to maintain his hex barrier against the onslaught. The guide levitated sideways, rotating the angle of attack while continuing to force his quarry backwards. John was so focused on repelling that beam of destructive force, he didn't notice the edge of the platform behind him until it was too late. He was blasted backwards off the edge and toppled over into darkness...

... to land with a thump on jet-black deck plates, the room lit with a sinister scarlet glow.

There was no mistaking the interior of a Progenitor dreadnought, but why the guide had brought him there was a mystery. They'd been visiting locations that were pivotal to each of the girls, in the chronological order that they'd been recruited, but John knew that the guide had deliberately skipped some of the crew. What he couldn't figure out was why Jade was a conspicuous absence, or Faye, or Helene for that matter...

Shaking his head to clear the fugue, John picked himself up off the deck and tried to get his bearings. As he turned, John realised he was in the chamber where he'd come to blows with his father... where Rahn'hagon had attacked him in an outburst of fear-driven rage. Instead of facing the Progenitor who had created him as a tool to fight Xar'aziuth, the guide stood opposite, a look of triumph on his face.

"And so we come to the end, the place where you had your loving reunion with your long-lost parents," the guide crooned, his features suddenly twisting into a cruel sneer. "You couldn't manipulate them the way your thralls dance to your tune... so what happened? Your mother rejected you without a second thought and your father tried to beat you to death!"

Those memories were still very painful for John and he hunched over in anguish, vividly recalling the moment his childhood dreams had been crushed. He pictured Jessica Blake sitting in the Raptor, his mother's total indifference to the son she hadn't thought about in forty years cutting him to the quick. After that were a procession of memories of his father; the bonding moments they'd shared and John's elation to see the pride in Rahn'hagon's eyes... only for it to end with bitter words and terrible anger.

The guide watched John stumble to his knees, beaten down by the relentless attacks on his pride, ego, and self-worth. With a wicked grin, he continued the onslaught, determined to break the man who had thwarted his very purpose for existence.

"Your father, my matriarch, her twin daughters... they were all immune to your influence and did you notice how each of them reacted to you? With nothing but disgust and loathing!"

A fleeting image pierced John's melancholy mood like a ray of sunshine dispelling the darkness... that of a purple elfin face beaming at him with joy. He froze, clinging desperately to Faye's memory; a synthetic girl who truly was immune to any outside influence... and had loved him with all of her digital heart.

"You're wrong!" John declared with conviction, standing bolt upright. "They were all broken people, twisted by their tragic pasts. Them lashing out at me wasn't my fault!"

After thinking that he had John beaten, the sudden act of defiance came as a shock. The guide snarled in frustration, realising he still needed to wear him down further.

John didn't give him that chance, breaking into a psychically accelerated sprint and bull rushing the guide into the wall behind. They smashed into the black metal with a massive boom, tearing a hole in that reality and sending them both tumbling through. Darkness was replaced by bright sunlight, the endless tropical forests of Arcadia spread out below them like a glorious green carpet.

The guide hissed as he realised where they were, a sudden flicker of fear reappearing in his eyes. The two mortal adversaries exchanged blows as they plunged through the atmosphere, then fell through a rent in the sky, immersing the combatants in a black void once again.

***

Sakura stood guard over John with mounting trepidation, watching his expression shift rapidly as he struggled against his guide. She could tell that the internal battle raging within him was taking a heavy toll, as he flinched and moaned in anguish, his torment reflected on his face. Her heart ached to witness John in such pain, especially when she was helpless to assist him in this personal fight for control of his mind.

John's posture shifted and his features went oddly neutral, not giving Sakura any further clues as to the current status of the mental duel. Sensing that the fight had reached a pivotal point, she tightened her grip on the twin ninjato, pensively waiting to see who would be the victor. Her sense of anxiety skyrocketed and, not for the first time, she wondered if she could actually go through with his execution if John lost.

That horrible thought sent her heart racing and Sakura blinked away the tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't afford to fall apart... not when John was counting on her to be his last line of defence for the girls. If the guide was victorious, Sakura knew that she was the only one with any real chance of stopping him. Alyssa went wild when Helene discovered that she was also barred from John's subconscious, and had to be restrained by all the girls to stop her breaking into Faye's quarters.

With Alyssa raging to be released, Athena wasn't available to telepathically ascertain if John or the guide had won their fight for supremacy. Sakura was now left in a dreadful quandary, as she had no way of verifying the true identity of the victor. She circled around John, the cold winds whistling in the hangar, ready to be brought to bear on the guide if he attacked.

The double-doors behind the pacing assassin slid open and when she turned to see who it was, Sakura was surprised to see Neysa entering the huge room. The jaguar-patterned Nymph padded across the floor, a look of sympathy in her hazel eyes.

"Hello, Sakura," the catgirl said softly. "Jade sensed your distress but she's currently occupied with restraining Alyssa. I volunteered to assist you instead."

"Assist me?" Sakura asked in surprise. "How?"

Neysa's concerned gaze flicked to her master. "If John permits me to enter his mind, I'll be able to confirm his identity for you. If he refuses... you'll also have the answer you seek."

"But... he severed all our connections!" the Asian girl exclaimed.

The Nymph gave her a reassuring smile. "My bond with John transcends the Progenitor connection. He is my Master... and will remain so for as long as he lives."

Sakura frowned in confusion. "I thought things were different between you now? That John was only your master by choice?"

Neysa gazed at him with obvious devotion. "He gave each of us free will so we could leave him if we desired... but John will always be our true Master."

Struck by a sudden epiphany, Sakura blurted out in accusation, "Jade must've known this all along! Why didn't any of you volunteer before?!"

The catgirl bit her lip and looked down. "John didn't trust us. He was worried that a Nymph wouldn't be capable of causing him harm, even if the guide had taken ownership of his body."

She went quiet at that awful thought, Neysa's expression becoming troubled as her eyes flicked back to John.

"Can I trust you?" Sakura asked, her voice cutting through the silence like a drawn blade.

Nodding emphatically, Neysa replied, "You are one of John's mates... and my friend; I would never dream of hurting you." She faltered, her voice quavering as she continued, "But I cannot raise my hand against him. I'm sorry, Sakura... this one is not able to do it."

"It's okay, Neysa," Sakura said, swallowing around the lump in her throat at the Nymph's visible distress. "I understand... I really do."

***

Reality shifted... and John hit the floor with a thump, leaving a cracked crater in the flagstone path. He was surrounded by carefully cultivated flowerbeds, the rooftop garden a haven of serenity above Jehanna's apartment. Another loud crash drew his attention to the landing pad on the far side of the roof, his guide slamming into the ferrocrete construction before he could slow his fall.

Shaking a shower of dust from his hair, the guide rose to his feet, burning hatred in his gaze. "You destroy everything you touch! When your latest thrall became entangled in your insidious web, you ruined her life! Her career, her family, her friends... she had to abandon everything that meant anything to her!"

That accusation really stung as John couldn't refute it, not when he knew that Jehanna had made huge sacrifices to join him on the Invictus. He felt sharp pangs of guilt as the guide's barb struck home and was left pondering how much he'd negatively impacted the rest of the girls' lives. The feelings of remorse then began to slowly fade away, replaced by a growing sense of belonging. The sensations grew stronger, flooding his whole being with positivity, the gentle warmth banishing the cold chill of self-recriminations from his soul.

There was nothing the guide could say to distort what had happened between John and Helene, which is why the shifts in reality had excluded Brimor. Recruiting the Abandoned girl was an act of compassion, to rescue her from a lonely life as a shunned outcast. John had gone to great pains to keep Helene from combat, only gifting her with empathic abilities to help devastated parents cope with their grief. With Helene... he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his conscience was clear. John closed his eyes, revelling in the wonderful sensation of absolute contentment that she felt at being part of his family... a gift that Helene had lovingly shared with him.

"How are you doing that?" the guide balked, staring at him in horror.

John's eyes snapped open. "You could never understand Jehanna's motivations. Her decision to join me was made out of love."

The guide opened his mouth to snarl a scathing rebuke, but he didn't have the chance to say anything as John rocketed across the rooftop. Runes flared with a brilliant blue light as John's fist smashed into the guide's shield, sundering it with a single blow. The vicious uppercut struck the guide on the chin, landing with a sickening crunch and breaking his jaw. He cartwheeled backwards from the force of the punch, his momentum carrying him over the edge of the apartment block roof.

John leapt after him...

... and they were dropping towards Arcadia's sprawling jungle yet again.

Healing energies coursed through the guide, resetting his shattered jaw with a painful series of clicks. "Damn you!" he snarled when he could speak again. "You think I'm going to let you choose the site of our final battle?!"

He gestured below them as they fell... but nothing happened... John's firm grip on this reality preventing the guide from tearing another rip in the fabric of the subplane. The guide stared in shock at his nemesis, astonished that John could have subverted his plans.

"There's a fitting symmetry to us ending this on Arcadia," John replied, his tone quietly introspective. "We were both conceived here... and this is where we'll part ways."

The leafy jungle canopy was fast approaching as they plunged towards Arcadia's surface, interrupting any further dialogue. The guide snarled with anger, but had no choice but to accept being stuck in this reality. He activated psychic levitation to arrest his fall, but rather than halting him mid-air, it merely slowed his descent and he was dragged inexorably towards the ground. John used a telekinetic net to reduce his own falling speed, so they both penetrated the treeline and landed at the same time.

The moment he touched down, the guide raised both arms, and discs of intricate runes appeared to either side of him. A horrid tearing sound ripped through the air as a pair of sinister prisms started to rise out of the runic summoning circles.

"Now it's time to end the travesty of your existence," the guide declared, looking at his adversary in triumph.