#nathan briggs

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

William Briggs, a character from my novella Nathan and the Allex Cube available to read in full on my Wattpad. Hope you enjoy, and be on the look out for more, even if William hates poetry.

- Erickson

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Character Introductions: Nathan Briggs.

Hello and welcome everybody, I’ve brought you all here today to begin my hopeful plans to fully integrate the characters of my novella, Nathan and the Allex Cube, onto the blog. I want these characters to be real, characters that exist beyond just the story that they are told, to give you a real look at who they are--and by extension, who I am. 

Don’t ask me what that means I’ll be starting to do, I’d be a fool to lie to you here and say I know fully, but some ideas that have been running in my head are like, letters from the characters, different ‘improv’ situations I’d put them into. Answering questions about what they like, dislike, do with their days, etc, even if it was stuff that doesn't fully connect to their world, that kind of stuff. In fact, if anyone has any ideas, questions about the character, stuff in general, feel free to ask me about em, I’m open to answering any questions *cough* until I say I don’t want to because you’ll completely unravel my canon with the answer *cough* anyways, time to get to the man o the hour himself, Nathan.

This is what he looks like:

You’ve seen him before, hard for me not to put the picture everywhere when it was so wonderfully drawn by the cool and awesome and cool and, did I say awesome? Mr. Riggo over at @manic-mediocrity-zone / @adequate-art-zone.

This is Nathan, Nathan Briggs.

And these are the stats that the world turns him into:

Age: 15

Height: 5′ 8″

Weight: 154 Lbs

Sex: Male

Birthday: October 3rd

Race: Half Gongolithian, Half Earth Native

Home: Sabyn, the place that trash finds its way to, and where the smell always lingers.

But here’s the things papers cant tell you, yet words still find a way:

Personality: Timid, Worrisome, Delicate, Reserved, A simple boy, A boy who wants nothing from the world but a place to hang his hat and rest his head. When the world says no, what would become of him? Likes when things are stable, and when he is capable, as so often things are not, and he is never. Dislikes discomfort, and some days, the man who brought him into this world. Some days.

Those are a few things I could tell you about him. But... there’s more. There will always be more. Maybe on this blog, maybe if I try, I can show you who he is.

Or, who he could be.

The decision is on me.

The weight of a man... in my hands.

But there’s more.

So... so much more.

Let this be the beginning. 

Of infinity.

Because, as my father always said.

It all goes back to the cube.

... there it is. There’s Nathan.

I hope he’s good enough for you.

Anyways, I have to go. There’s so much work to be done.

Good day.

- Erickson

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Nathan #3

Me: *best fake suave voice possible* So, Nathan, the people are wondering about you.

Nathan: Literally nobody cares about me... don't you pay attention to analytics-

Me: I've got a fan here who wants to know what your favorite color is.

Nathan: You don't have fans, your Wattpad and Tumblr are dry wells that have been dry for a year, and anything mentioning me is even worse-

Me: *sharpening knife* Answer the question.

Nathan: It's green.

Me: *points knife at him* There. Was that so hard?

Nathan: ...

Me: That's all we have from Nathan today, folks, hope you all enjoy, and see you next time!

Nathan: *whispers* someone call the police, he's gone insane.

Me: ^_^ The police would never help you. You're a son of a war criminal, Nathan.

Nathan: oh shit he's right.

Me: Also you're a fictional character.

Nathan: Darn.

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Nathan #2

Nathan: You managed to make a second one. Huh...

Me: You say that like you're surprised?

Nathan: Well... like... it is *you*

Me: What does that mean?

Nathan: *plainly* You've written like fifteen manuscripts that you've never gotten anywhere with because you're incapable of developing any sort of presence online, or establish any connection or relationship with anyone. At all. Not one. Nobody-

Me: I, uh, think I get it.

Nathan: So... are you gonna stick with this one?

Me: ...

Nathan: Huh?

Me: ... I hope so. I really do.

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Nathan #1

Nathan: Hey, uh... so, Brandon...

Me: *glares* It's Mr. Erickson, to you.

Nathan: Ah, yea. Mr. Erickson... I was wondering when, uh... when you were planning to-

Me: Yes?

Nathan: Uh, actually work on my f***ing character, maybe?

Me: *gasps* Nathan, language! I would never write you to say something like that!!

Nathan: *rolls eyes* You're writing me right now...

Me: Then you should have nothing to complain about *smirks*

Nathan:

Me: ^_^

Nathan: This better keep being a damn segment. I'm so tired of being underdeveloped.

Me: No promises ^_^

Nathan: -_-

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Nathan and the Allex Cube - Chapter Ten (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/GTtH6T8GDQ

This is it. The final chapter of the book. Now everyone online has the same access that anyone who ought the book would have, so I hope you use such access and hope you have some happy readings. Now that this is done, I suppose I have some work to do. Somehow. Don’t ask me how I’ll muster the time, the energy, the resources, or pretty much anything, but I’ll be working my best.  

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Nathan and the Allex Cube, Chapter Eight:

Here we are, the eighth chapter, ready to be read and judged, put on the chopping block of the public discourse. If Wattpad is more your thing, enjoy your reading and judgement on this link instead: https://www.wattpad.com/user/ BrandonErickson2. Anyways, here you go, hope you enjoy, tell me what you think, etc, etc.

Chapter Eight:

They inched across wall after wall, clinging to each one like slugs, slithering by and watching for a beast whose image was still burned into Nathan's head. He was lucky his stomach was empty now.

Renold was in front, as he was told, and around each corner he did the same tilt of his head to check for the beast before turning around and signaling to the others to keep going. Once Nathan's father got to the corner he did the same slow peer onto the other side, waiting a moment for his own analysis of the situation, before moving too. Nathan followed behind and kept his mouth shut. He moved as slow as he could while still being within earshot, waiting much longer than the other two before going around the corners, hoping he could hide the second the monster arrived. He was sweating, his heart was racing, and in his mind he was talking with himself.

This is scary. I feel like I am going to die. I am going to die. At least that would be easier than this. Maybe then I would be comfortable. Shut up. I can do this. Stay in the back like you are told, sit in the shadows and do nothing, like you do best. I hope Dad doesn't kill me. He probably will, probably on accident. I almost want him to, maybe only to end this... this is scary, He repeated.

His heart kept speeding up, and no controlled breathing was stopping it. The wall was cold at first, but he was so hot the walls started to conform to his temperature before he could embrace the cool feeling of each surface. Nathan readied himself as Renold pulled out of one more corner, turned around, and stopped in his tracks.

"What?" William hissed at a whisper.

"I hear it. Do you?"

Nathan heard a banging sound. He could tell the beast was near, stomping around, waiting for them all to show up so it could eat them.

"How near is it?"

"I am unsure, but I believe it's coming closer."

The next few banging sounds were booming louder each time, proving Renold's hypothesis. Nathan clenched his hands in instinct and pushed himself further into the wall, focusing on his breathing. Renold continued.

"Be ready. I'll keep look-out, you get that gun in order. You can use it right?"

"Stop babying me, of course I can!" William exasperated.

Renold turned back around and kept watch. William slowly pulled the gun from off his left shoulder and onto the ground, fiddling with it. Nathan slid down to the ground and closed his eyes. He tried to think back to the well, the one he was sure he would never see again, and the pump that guided him through so much of his teenage life, the one that would rust over if they were gone for too long. He needed some water, and he thought even some of his father's whiskey would do. His throat was scratched, and he could feel a burning from it still since they had ran for their lives. He wondered how long tears would keep coming from him before all the moisture left in his husk of a body was drained. He was crying now, he knew that much, nothing serious, but his eyes were surrounded by a thin liquid ring, ready to burst down the rest of his face at any moment.

The sounds of the beast grew. Nathan could tell it was a corner turn away from them now as it dragged along. He grabbed at his chest and muttered to himself, "You can do this. You can do this." He turned back to Renold and William, who were whispering to one another.

"It's here... is the big cannon ready?" Renold asked.

"It's called the Giant Frickin' Cannon™, Renold."

"No games, sir, is it ready?"

"About as much as it can be. It takes a bit to fire, so you'll have to keep it somewhat still. Still enough, anyways. I dunno how big this beam is going to be, really... are you ready?"

"Yes," Renold said, determined as always.

William motioned for Renold to move. Renold pulled himself straight up and puffed up his chest. He ran across the corner and shouted, "Hey!"

Nathan could feel the beast turn its body towards Renold, but nothing else. It was waiting to attack. Renold jumped the gun and starting running towards it, leading to the beast reacting. Nathan couldn't tell much of what went on, but he believed Renold forced the two into a tighter circle of watching one another, waiting for the right moment to pounce. The beast didn't move again, but it began to grumble and growl. Nathan turned to see his father moving forward past the corner, but still visible, and kneeling. He started to fiddle with the gun as Nathan moved closer along the wall.

"Stay back, Nathan," William scolded quietly.

"Why wouldn't I?"

William rolled his eyes and focused back on the gun. Nathan's curiosity forced him to look around the corner as careful as he could. Renold was blocking the lower portion of the beast's body, but the mouth went above his head, making it look like eating Renold would only be a mild skirmish. Its mouth was hanging open, the same as in the picture he saw. Its tongue was wide like a dog's and draped over its bottom jaw, and it was curving around and licking the beast's face, cleaning everything under the mouth. It was oddly soft looking, like a pillow Nathan could lie down on and close his eyes for a hundred years. Nathan yawned, and covered his mouth to block the noise.

He looked back to his father, who was muttering curse words to himself. William banged the gun and shouted, "Fifty-percent, Renold!"

That noise freaked out the beast, like it had sensed it was in danger, and it leapt toward Renold in an instant. Renold reacted by kicking the beast's mouth towards the wall. He pushed the beast backwards and kept his eyes locked onto it, swaying back and forth to predict where the beast was going to go. It tried to cut in on the left, but Renold slid his whole body across and punched it in the eye, forcing it back for a moment before it started to open its mouth. The mouth opened like a snake, almost unhinging as the beast turned its head to make its mouth form pincers to pin Renold. Renold was quick, he fell onto the floor and let the pincers go past him before he lifted himself up and pushed the two sides together, putting the beast into a headlock as he screamed to William, "Is it ready yet, sir!?"

"Eighty-percent, Renold!"

"Sir!"

"Hold on Renold!" William pressed a small button on the side, and a cross-hair popped out from the top of the gun. He lined his eyes with it.

Renold struggled with the beast, slinging him around. Nathan saw the front claws scraping along Renold's back, but either he couldn't feel it, or he was ignoring it. Nathan didn't know. The other claws were sliding along the ground with the rest of the body, trying to beat Renold's power and regain footing, but Renold held on tight. Nathan was sure he knew what he was doing, but he was still panting, trying not to scream or get in the way, but wanting to help.

"Will!" He shouted as his feet began to slide around.

"R, I need you to hold on a little longer, please!"

Nathan watched Renold lift his head up and look directly at William as he continued to wrestle. He nodded, "Okay."

It was like the flip of a switch, Renold locked his feet in place and pushed the head against the wall, twisting it over and grinding it along the surface. Nathan didn't know why he did it, but it seemed to confuse the beast and stagger it farther, all four claws trying to keep it balanced. Nathan looked back at William.

"Dad?"

"I have this Nathan. Trust me."

Nathan believed him.

"Renold, when I say 'now', you need to move your ass or get roasted!"

"On your command, sir!" Renold acknowledged.

"Almost, almost," William started to rub the side of the cannon with his right hand, "You can do this, Baby. You were born to save us, you know. To save the universe, too. You'll get to save me. To save my friend. My son. You can do it. Believe in yourself. Come on, Baby," Nathan noticed a tear in his eye, "One more push, and we make a life, we save a life. Baby, push farther. Try. For him. Y-you can do this. Ninety-nine percent. Treat it like a push of a button, Baby, and it'll all be over soon. Y-you can do it. I love you..." He stopped and looked past the gun, "Renold? Are you ready?"

"Now?"

"Hold steady. Almost!"

"I can't do this much longer, sir!"

"Renold! You can do it!"

Nathan started quivering, and now he was crying. His heartbeat pounded, and blocked all the other sounds around him. He scratched his hand along the wall and watched, watched and prayed that his one friend would be okay. He muttered, "Please don't miss..."

"William?"

William said nothing as he steadied his cannon and looked through the crosshair.

"William!? It's fighting back big time!"

He didn't respond.

"WILLIAM!"

"NOW!"

It all happened in an instant. Renold released his grip and slid onto the floor as a large blue beam shot out of the whizzing gun and into the belly of the monster. It was a direct hit, forcing the monster to stagger, but before any of the three could shout 'hurray', the beast regained its footing and ran away. It was untouched. The beam did little but put a mark on the underside of it.

It's invincible, Nathan thought, we're doomed...

William collapsed under the weight of his gun. Seeing this, Renold jumped to go to him. Nathan inched closer as Renold asked, "Are you okay, sir?"

"Tired as all hell, Renold. I barely saw what happened, but I know it didn't work."

"It... didn't, sir," He confirmed.

"Why the hell not?!" He shouted.

"Somehow it seems resistant. We don't know its origins; we couldn't have made those kind of assumptions."

"What do we do now, Renold?"

"Rest. We're all tired. Even me. I... uh, it got my deadlocks damaged, sir. It has a very strong jaw. The locks for both my arms and legs are both heavily damaged. We need to regroup."

"Get this off of me."

Nathan watched Renold almost struggle to lift the gun. Nathan went up to help and managed to pull the gun off his father. Renold grabbed William and hoisted him back on his feet. William immediately pulled out his flask.

"Thank you, Nathan," Renold said, "It's been awhile since I've had problems lifting."

"Yeah, thanks," William rolled his eyes sarcastically, "Glad you could do one thing."

"Dad, you told me not to do anything."

"Because you're worthless," He started walking back where the three had came from, "Come on, Renold, walk and talk."

"Sir, what about your so-"

"I am tired of doing everything, hurry up."

Renold grabbed Nathan's shoulders and pulled him close, "No, William."

William turned around, "Excuse me?"

"No. Stop treating your son like dirt. Stop making him hate himself. He did nothing wrong, William, the gun didn't work. None of this is his fault. He didn't release a monster on you. He didn't get in the way of your gun, or build the gun, or cause the universe to start dying. You can't put your burdens on him. So... I want you to apologize. Now. Or, I won't go with you."

The two locked eyes for what seemed like forever. William sipped from his flask over and over, debating in his mind. Nathan gulped, he appreciated Renold, but part of him wished he didn't make his father mad, especially after an ordeal like that. William kept his glare and opened up his mouth to let out a sigh, before giving in and saying, "I'm sorry, Nate. Let's go regroup."

Renold and Nathan started walking together, and for once on this ship, Nathan didn't feel like a waste of space.

"What can we do, sir?"

"Stop reminding me how old I am and call me William, please."

"What can we do, Will?"

He ran his left hand through his hair as he took another drink from the flask in the right, "How am I supposed to kill it? My Giant Frickin' Cannon™ did nothing. I... I can't kill it. I can't kill everyone up there. I can't even get up there. There's nothing I can do."

"Then what are we going to do?" Nathan asked.

William stopped, "I suppose we could... go home."

Nathan almost jumped out of his skin. Was it that easy? He was going to go home. He wanted to urge his father, but nothing came out of his mouth. Renold spoke up instead.

"We're going to leave this world to rot, Will? Give up, like that?"

"I can't damage the damn thing! I am not advanced enough, alright! If I can't do anything then I have nothing! What do you expect me to do?"

Renold walked in front of him, "You can stop acting like a shell of your former self."

No! Nathan shouted in his mind, Let him go!

"You can't keep doing this Renold, after enough years it stops working..."

"Do you know who you are?" He asked.

William rubbed his fingers along the ridge of his nose and groaned, "Here he goes."

"William Oswald Rose, a man who single handedly fought off a thousand soldiers in one night."

"That was easy, there were explosives lined across the whole field that I set to go off with a magnetic pulse."

"And you created them all from scratch. You are the man who jumped off of the fifty-story Alpina tower and survived!"

"By converting the ground to a liquid without surface tension with an atomic shift wave, so what?"

Nathan wanted to feed that negative energy like a devil on the shoulder. He was close to going back home. To his house. To his pump. To everything normal. To a life of contentment. He was nearly jumping up and down, but Renold continued.

"A man who snuck into the highest bureaucracy in the multiverse and left without so much as a passing glance. The man who molded me into a human being. You are an amazing man, one who does anything, no matter how bleak the odds. You overcame whole species. Why is this any different?"

"Because I am a different man. A father. A shitty father. An old man. A tired old man. A drunk and tired old man. Someone who can't lift his gun anymore. I don't make miracles these days, Renold."

"Says the man who made a ship out of junkyard parts. Come on. We'll kill it, together."

William sighed again, "I am going back to my ship. There's more whiskey there."

He shoved past Renold. Renold turned to Nathan and grabbed him, "Help me. Please."

"But, Renold, I want to go home."

"I know," He embraced Nathan, "I know you do, but we can't leave this world to burn, Nathan. Please, get your father to understand."

"He'll kill us all..."

"Have faith in your father. Please."

Nathan thought about how cruel his father was. Cursing at him. Yelling at him. Bullying him. Even hitting him. He rubbed the side of his face, the sting was gone, but the trauma wasn't. His father was a horrible man. Yet, at the same time, he thought about how much his father cared about him. He hid it, but he wanted to keep Nathan alive. He wanted to teach Nathan. He didn't know how. His father may have been a horrible man, but he was passionate. He cared about the world, and he did everything he could to save it. Nathan knew that. He knew his father could do it. He could make ships and cannons, defeat armies and destroy meteors. He was a strong man, and a horrible man, but that didn't mean he wasn't the best man for the job. Nathan turned ahead, and his father was stopped at the end of the hallway, waiting for the two of them, waiting for an excuse to stay. To try again.

Nathan breathed in and out slowly, "I know he could do it, but I still want to go home."

"I'll make sure you do, I promise."

"Even if I tried, nothing I say will change his mind."

Renold smiled, "You'd be surprised."

"What do I say?"

"Try your best."

Nathan looked to his father again, "I'll do my best."

Renold let go of Nathan, and Nathan walked to his father. "Dad?" He asked.

"What do you want?"

"I... well I want you to know that... that... well" Nathan tried, but he couldn't think of what to say.

"Spit it out or get away from me," His father said as he took another drink.

Nathan closed his eyes. He imagined the pump and the well that guided him, the stars that he wanted to touch even now, to reach towards and become one with. He spoke with his eyes closed, "Drinking won't help, Dad. And, neither will whining. You're... You're being me, Dad. You're acting like Nathan. I am the one who can't do anything. You're the one who does everything. Who moves so fast it makes me angry that I can't keep up. Who is so smart his presence makes me feel weaker. Who deals with having a son who can't do anything right. You do everything, no ifs, ands, or buts, so... you have to do this," He said sternly, "You have to try. For you son, your friend, your world. If you don't, you're being me. If you don't, you're failing the people who care about you."

William dropped his flask and walked over to Renold. He put his arms along Renold's sides and pushed him against the wall, using one hand to lean on the wall as he got in Renold's face, their noses almost touching, "Why will I do this? For my son? For my world?"

"For her, Will. For her child and her friend."

William spat on the floor and got onto his knees, pulling on his hair. He made clicking noises out of his mouth, along with several mutterings Nathan couldn't make out. Finally he shouted, "Goddammit!"

"William?" Renold looked over.

"Dad?" Nathan did the same.

"I hate when you do this..." He whispered.

"I do what I must, mon ami."

William stood up and fixed his hair, "That's why I keep you. Alright!" He ran back towards his dropped flask and grabbed it, closing it and shoving it in his pocket as he continued, "We have to kill a beast that doesn't die! And, we have to get up onto a floor of Reylis bastards and get to that cube. Two big problems. What are our options?"

"Well, we have none," Renold said.

William laughed maniacally, "Of course we don't! Well I have an idea or two. We have two problems, but the thing is, my friends, we can have one solution! If that beast won't die when we kill it, and we can't get past the fleet upstairs, then we make two problems one!"

Renold's face lit up as he came to a realization. Nathan had his own 'ah-ha!' moment. He didn't think about sicking the beast on the people.

"We're going to send that beast up the cargo elevator. Even if it doesn't fit, which it better, we'll make it fit. We'll send it up and let them deal with it! I have another shot and a spare shot, two that, with Renold's help, should set that boy right in! Then we sit, relax, and listen in as the people above us, the asses of the universe, get gobbled up, or run away. Then we go up too. If the beast is still alive, we'll at least have gotten rid of one problem, but here's hoping they kill it as it kills them! Are you ready?"

Renold nodded.

"And you?" William tilted his head at Nathan, "Are you ready to not get in my way?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Let's go, before this liquid courage wears off. And, Renold?"

"Yes?"

"I still can't lift the gun yet."

He chuckled, "I'll do my best."

Renold went to grab the gun, and William marched down the hallway with his chest puffed. Nathan followed behind, proud that his father could work up the courage to do the impossible. Nathan wanted to believe that through his father, he could too.

[the-erickson-labrynthian]

Nathan and the Allex Cube, Chapter Seven:

Y’all know the drill. New chapter. More story. All for the taking. If you’d prefer reading it via Wattpad, here ‘ya go: https://my.w.tt/tuC0EcwKgQ. For all those people who stuck around here it is. Enjoy.

Chapter Seven:

Nathan woke up, finding himself in a black chair in a room he hadn't seen before, and realized he had been doing that a lot. Before he could wonder why that was, his father addressed him.

"Nate, are you up?"

"Yeah..." Nathan rubbed his eyes and looked around. In front of him was his father, sitting at a desk. He was noticeably shaken, the bags under his eyes growing exponentially. He had a small silver flask in his hand with the cap popped off. Nathan could smell it. Whiskey.

"You were out for an hour."

"An hour?" Nathan lifted himself up from the chair, "What happened?"

William groaned, "We found an office. We've been hiding here while Renold's out scouting."

"He's not here?" He started looking around his chair at the dimly lit office. The brown walls and dark colors of the furniture surprised him. It was a small room that was filled to the brim with cabinets and files. The tightness surprised Nathan, too. Since he left the ship, he hadn't seen anything dark or cloistered like this.

"Of course he's not here!" William took a swig from his flask, "Do you see him?"

Nathan shriveled back into his seat. William continued on.

"I want to see what this thing looks like, and Renold is the only one of us I trust getting close to it and not dying, well, besides me, but I don't feel like doing it."

Nathan stayed silent.

"Of course I couldn't trust you, with you passing out randomly and worrying about your 'anxiety'. Bringing you was a mistake. I wanted you to understand what a day in my life was like, and look what you've done. Piss and moan, and vomit everywhere."

"Well maybe if you fed me," Nathan countered.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing."

"Own up to what you say, brat. You think I can just hand out food whenever? Do you think I can make it out of thin air? Or that I am not starving too?"

"What about the bacon?" Nathan muttered.

Why did you say that? He screamed in his thoughts.

"What?"

He took a breath and stuck by what he said, "The stash of food you had. The one that you wouldn't give to me so you could test me? Renold told me all about it."

He watched his father's grip on the flask tighten as he pulled it back up to his lips. William kept his eyes on him as he drank, put the flask back down, and wiped his face. "Well," He began, "I expected my own son to be able to handle it."

"Handle being starved?"

"I gave you food when you needed it. You ate."

"Not enough, maybe that's why eating all that bacon made me sick."

"You ate some?"

Nathan whimpered, "Renold made me some."

"Of course he did," William shook his head, "Whatever, I don't care about training you anymore. I don't care about helping you. You clearly don't want to try."

"You don't listen..."

"I don't need to listen, I read you like a book. If I needed your words, I would ask for them. But, chances are I already know what you're going to say, or I don't care."

"Maybe that's the problem, Dad..." Nathan curled up in his chair.

William got up from the desk, "You're a waste of a son. Sit there and be quiet."

"But you were the one who asked me if I was up!"

"I don't want anything from you anymore. I changed my mind. Go back to sleep. You'll only jeopardize the mission. I don't know why I bothered to bring you on such an important mission, either."

"I don't know why you brought me either, Dad! I've told you over and over that I don't want to do this kind of stuff!"

"Why!?" His father shouted, "Why are you so incapable of being like your father? Why are you so inept? Why do you refuse to live up to my name?! When I die, who is going to keep going?"

"Someone else! Why can't I do what makes me happy?"

"Because I know what's best for you! I want you to be like me!"

"Well..." Nathan got back up from his chair and closed his eyes. He imagined Renold telling him to speak his mind, "Dad, I don't want to be like you."

"Why?"

He took a breath before he responded, "I don't like stress. I don't like working hard. I want things to be simple. Easy. I don't like doing things like this, because I can't handle decisions, or equations, or planning. Dad, I just..." He closed his eyes again and took a breath before tears fell down his face, "I can't do this, Dad..."

He opened his eyes to see his father holding a disappointed expression. He didn't say a word to Nathan directly. Instead, he took another drink from his flask and muttered, "What a son I have."

"That's it?"

William gave his usual sigh, "Sit down and wait for Renold."

Nathan flopped down into his seat. He wiped his eyes and rubbed the fluid onto his jeans. He watched William get up and go to the file cabinets, ripping the drawers open and pulling out files, reading them at the speed of light. Nathan wondered whose office they were in. It was cluttered, but it wasn't expensive looking, so he assumed it was someone important, but not the most important.

William started to talk to himself, "None of this is useful. Stupid paperwork that I've filed a thousand times. Nothing about the ship in here. Garbage!" He pulled out the whole top drawer and threw it to the ground. Nathan jolted in his seat and grabbed his chest. William continued, "Why did I have to open my stupid mouth," He kicked the cabinet, "Bring my stupid kid," He kicked it again, "And care enough to save. This. Damn. Planet!" He kicked with each pause and grunted, sitting down on the drawer he threw down and pulling on his hair, "What do I do?" He screamed.

Nathan knew he didn't want an answer from him.

"I have to kill a monster, stop a fleet of Reylis soldiers, and use that cube to save a world that doesn't even care... and to save myself. To save my son that never tries. To save my servant who never listens. Why?" He questioned, "I don't care about any of you! I could use the cube to save myself, maybe save Renold, so we can explore the world together, and so I still have a servant. I'll use this whole damn ship myself and travel straight to a new universe. I'll be unstoppable, and I'll tumble the whole Reylis empire," He paused, "That's what I oughta do, let this world rot. Let this bullshit world that hasn't given me anything rot. Let everything I don't care about fade the hell away... I don't know. I don't know how to do any of this. I don't know if I can kill that thing, even if I use the gun... ugh," He sighed again, "I'm so damn tired."

Nathan hadn't seen his father lose control of a situation for a long time. Though he knew it wasn't true, he used to believe his father was invincible. It was hard not to when he announced himself like that, and likened himself to a god. Seeing him weak like this made Nathan feel wrong. For once, Nathan wanted to help, but he had no idea what to do.

The two twisted around at the sound of soft knocking on the door. After a second, Renold opened the door and rushed it closed behind him before exhaling in relief, the giant bag still strapped to his back. William was the first to react.

"What the hell are you doing scaring us like that?"

"Shh," He said, "I found it, but I want to make sure it doesn't find us. It's bloodthirsty."

"What is it?" Nathan asked.

"I'll show you myself," He walked over in front of the two and clicked on the side of his head, suddenly an image appeared on the floor like the slide of a projector. Nathan grabbed his stomach once he saw the... thing. That was all he could describe it as. It was exactly what they all kept calling it, a monster.

The monster was large. It took up the whole hallway that appeared in the picture. Nathan thought it looked two yards tall and two yards wide. It was hunched onto all fours, it's claws were the size of Nathan's feet, and it had three on each foot. The legs were skinny towards the bottom, but the thighs were bulky, pushing veins to the surface of the skin, which was a sickly purple.

The upper body was like a canine, but the ribs stuck out larger than they did even on someone as starved as Nathan. It was not skinny, though, it was almost all of the beast's size. Hairs stuck out from the bottom of the stomach that could be seen, and larger streaks of hair stuck out like spikes from the monster's back. The face was like a cone, and the mouth was shaped to a beak, but looked like normal skin (aside from the purple coloring). The lips were sunken in and had no distinct separate coloration. The teeth were perfectly ordered, and were sharpened, like a shark's. The tongue was stuck between the gap of two teeth in the picture and slid all the way down to the bottom of the face, and it was bright red.

The eyes were the worst part to Nathan, as they looked entirely consumed by the pupils, with a thin white outline around them. They were too close together and sat on the top of the cone face, and from the angle of the photo it looked like the monster had no eyelids. Nathan looked back down to its feet and noticed something small behind it. He turned to Renold, "What's that behind its feet?"

"A corpse. It was much better at finding them than we were, I suppose. It was a poor young Reylis man. I caught this picture while the beast was feeding on it." "So it saw you?"

"I outran it, luckily. That's why I took so long, I had to hide for a while before I could come back. But, I learned quite a bit from this endeavor."

"What did you learn?" William asked.

"I figured out the structure of the ship, and I think I found our way out."

"Do tell."

"Well, on the other side of this ship is the main elevator. It's a large one, most likely meant to bring cargo up and down the ship. It seems to be disabled by the people up above, but it is still a way out. I think you could break into it, if you tried. Then we could get up there."

"But we would still have to deal with the Reylis."

"Yes... but this is a start, no?"

William smiled, "Good work, Renold, what about the beast?"

"It's big and powerful, but it's no different than any other animal. I think we only need to be well-equipped."

"Then you know what to do. Let's open up the bag."

Nathan twisted his head back to the bag Renold had been carrying the whole mission. He was wondering what was in it. He stepped back as the two pulled the bag onto the desk and unzipped it. Nathan asked, "What is it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" William laughed, "Quick answer? Our way out. Would you like to see it?"

Nathan nodded and peered over.

"Well, you know me," He began, putting his flask to his side and both his hands into the bag, "Smart. Intuitive. Explosive. I've made just about everything, but all those machines have been washed away by time, by running. No more. I recall my old laser guns, teleporters, deathrays, ice bombs, and I miss them all dearly. No more missing out. No more running. This is my final stand, so I came prepared. I dabbled back into my old mind, to the time before I had to deal with..." He glared at Nathan before shaking the look off and pulling his head back to his gun, "Responsibilities. And this time, I am bringing Hell to this ship. Stand back boys, and gaze upon my final creation. I call it," He started to pull it out, struggling to hoist it onto his shoulders, "A Giant Frickin' Cannon™!"

Nathan looked at his father, now hunched under the weight of a behemoth of a gun, one that was the bulk of Renold's whole upper body, but looked larger than his father's entire body. It was a long gray barrel that met with a bulky black and blue core. The trigger was a contrasting white at the belly of the cannon. Four black wires connected between the core and the barrel, inserting themselves into light blue circles that Nathan assumed to be outlets. On the side there was a blue computer screen with plenty of numbers and figures Nathan couldn't understand, except for one: Power Level: 100%. Nathan agreed, it fit the name of Giant Frickin' Cannon™.

"And with this baby, I'll blow the sucker to smithereens! I haven't tested it, but if I am right, this high-discharge radioactive laser oughta' force it to buckle, and rot it away. Then I'll do the same to all those asses upstairs! Well, if I aim right. Here's the problem, with my resources, I can only fire it three times. Three. But I won't miss, probably."

"Aren't you drunk by now?" Nathan asked.

"You should know your father, Nathan, I have a high tolerance to drunk-ed-ness. Don't question my authority."

He pulled his gaze away onto the floor. He knew he shouldn't have said a thing. Though, his father's word choice only worried him more. He could barely drive the truck half of the time, and he let Renold pilot the ship.

"So what's the plan?" Renold asked.

"We find it. We kill it. We eat it."

"Eat it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Kidding, we'd probably die, but we could save some parts for experiments..." He trailed off, "Either way, we kill it, and then we get that elevator working. We can do that, can't we? Of course we can, this is me we're talking about!" He tried to swing his other arm into the air but he stumbled trying to shift his weight back, "It can't possibly fail!"

Whatever you say... eh... please be careful, Nathan scratched his neck. He knew thinking it wasn't going to change anything, but saying something didn't seem to do anything either.

"Renold, you're the most expendable, so you go in front and warn me when it's coming."

He laughed, "Of course, sir."

"Then I follow behind with my Giant Frickin' Cannon™ and shoot it right into that beast. It's as simple as that. Then, once we are in the elevator, I'll set up another charge and threaten everyone upstairs."

"But with only two charges, could you do that?" Renold wondered.

William's face contorted to a grin, "What they don't know can only hurt them. Let's hope they buy it."

"Whatever you say, William."

He almost buckled under the gun again, "It's sir," He said as he pulled himself up.

"Yes, sir... let me grab the stand for the gun..."

"I don't need it!" He protested.

"In case we do."

William grumbled and went to the door, leaning on it. Nathan joined Renold as he shuffled through the bag.

"Do you think we can do this?" He asked.

"I have faith. It's either have faith in your father or die. It's a simple choice, if you ask me. I don't want to be eaten, or be caught by those... brainwashed men. So," He paused, "I put my faith in your father, since I would rather not be sold back into slavery."

"Right..."

"Cheer up," He grabbed his chin and lifted his head to eye level, "We'll be home before you know it."

Nathan smiled for the first time since they had gotten on board. He hoped it wouldn't go away anytime soon.

"Are we ready?" William asked.

"Let's go," Renold replied.

"You first, L'esclave à aucun"

"Eavesdropping? You know you butcher that language, mon ami," Renold said as he walked out.

Nathan followed next before his father put a hand on him.

"I almost forgot, uh, Nathan, try to stay in the back and only do what I tell you. Don't you dare get in my way."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Dad."

Nathan's smile faded. He took solace in knowing he got to stay in the back, true, but the tone his father had kept bothering him. He hoped Renold was right, and that it would all be over soon. Nathan couldn't take this kind of living much longer.