The Battle of Baggins, Conclusion
The Time in a Bottle, London...
The TV was going on about the chaos that happened in Rochester and Griffin was going "That dragon there, I'm the one who killed it!"
That was when Officer Benbow burst through the door roaring "Griffin, I want a word! Upstairs,
NOW!"
As Griffin entered the upstairs function room, he said "Is there a problem, officer?"
"
I've heard about you committing violence in Rochester!"
"
Yeah, I did! And I can explain!"
"This had better be good!"
"It is! Late this morning, I got an assignment from my commanding officer, one Archangel Annabelle. Sole objective: get the
Realiser Ray off the current wielder. You've heard of it, right?"
Jill's face paled. She said "I've heard of it. If that thing got in the wrong hands..."
"It was last seen in the possession of Mr. Larry West, formerly of the SAS. Who wanted to use it to make a Metal Gear come to life and start World War Three with it."
"Metal Gear?"
"From the Metal Gear series of games. The most famous variant, Metal Gear REX, is a mech with
nuclear capability. And even worse, it uses a railgun to fire a warhead that's invisible to modern radar. It basically fires a
stealth nuke, officer. You fire an ICBM and every major power will see it coming
and know who they're supposed to nuke back in retaliation! With that railgun and warhead combo, you could nuke someone without
anyone knowing who
really did it! Mutually-Assured Destruction would be obsolete!"
"I've heard of the Terminator Incident, but this is a whole new level!"
"I've heard of it as well. I tracked Mr. West to Rochester, where he was getting a MGS art book at Baggins. I got
this close to surprising him! He slowed me down by dropping a grenade into Rochester High Street while he ran inside! I jumped on it to keep the blast from hitting anyone else."
"That must have hurt."
"Believe me,
it did! What
really boiled my blood was the fact that he was willing to harm civilians! I may not be a saint,
but even I know that harming a non-combatant is completely out of order, no matter who or what you are!"
"...I agree with you there. What did you do next?"
"Only thing I could do. I went inside Baggins to hunt West down. He popped a smoke grenade upstairs, which is a bad idea on a wooden floor due to the fire hazard it poses."
"And you found him."
"No. Found a Space Marine from Warhammer 40K. With a working chainsword. And I wasn't in a forgiving frame of mind, as you can imagine." Griffin then lifted his shirt, saying "That gash there on my left? That's what a chainsword can do to you."
"Messy."
"I know! After I killed the Marine, I found West just after he summoned a dragon out of Skyrim! And that specific breed of dragon is well-known for its hostility to humans!"
"Let me guess, you had to let West go to slay the dragon."
"Yes, officer. Only thing I could do. Saving lives was my main priority."
"And if he got away?"
"I've seen Metal Gear REX in its original game. There aren't that many places in Britain where he could store the full-size version quietly. He'd want to lie low with the book and leave the country to find somewhere to summon it. And he
didn't get away now, did he? I managed to slay that dragon and then I saw West at Strood Yacht Club, trying to use a boat as his getaway. I could see it from Rochester Castle."
"So you landed on his boat."
"The 'Briton' it was called. A small cabin cruiser. So I gave him a chance to surrender."
"When he didn't?"
"I made my move to knock him out. It turned out that he had a lightsabre!"
"From Star Wars?"
"Yeah. I barely caught him turning it on!"
"I take it you took him down."
"Broke his ribs and a leg. Nothing lethal, but he wasn't going to flee."
"Where is the Ray now?"
"First thing I did when I confirmed that I had the Ray was to hand it over to Annabelle. Only way I could be absolutely sure it wouldn't be misused. Same went for the lightsabre."
"Are you certain she won't use them?"
"Believe me, she doesn't have the inclination. The Ray is now out of Earth's reach and the answer's
no, I am
not getting it back for you, not even under penalty of imprisonment."
"What would your Lady want with it?"
"My Lady saw that the Realiser Ray was bad news, and getting it out of everyone's reach would help reduce chaos and drama worldwide! Besides, she doesn't
need it to create something! That was when I flew home, had a kip then came here."
"You didn't breach any restricted airspace, did you?"
"I'm not crazy, Jill! I know to keep away from airports, major government buildings, military installations and prisons. I swear, the Thames must be the biggest flight path in Britain."
"Wouldn't be surprised."
"There's something I think you should know."
"And that would be?"
"I'm thinking of doing a world tour next year, starting with the United States."
"You can afford it, right?"
"Yeah, I can. I'm going to make arrangements tomorrow."
"Why start with America? Why not Europe?"
"Because I want to check out the superhuman world as well. And where better to start with that than the country where powers first became a thing."
"That actually makes sense. I hope you know what you're doing."
"I take attention to detail very seriously, ma'am. In this case, I know that U.S. immigration must assume
by law that you're trying to migrate permanently... Unless you can prove that you have sufficient ties to your home to have to go back. I've looked it up and I think a B-2 visa is the only one that I can get hold of."
"I've been to the States before, and I used an A-2 visa."
"That's for travelling on government business, including law enforcement. B-2's the tourist visa, the one you'd use for going on your own time. I could use that Visa Waiver Program they have, but I can't appeal for an extension if I find myself forced to stay for more than 90 days."
"Looks like you've got it worked out. How many other languages can you speak?"
"One of the powers I've got allows me to speak and read
any language at native level, officer. Ask Sakura Fubuki or the Golem about how they confirmed that one. I take it we're done here?"
"Yeah."
As Griffin and Officer Benbow came downstairs, they saw an unusual sight. A purple-furred whippet wearing a leather vest and spiked collar was on Griffin's table. Griffin approached, saying "Belladonna, I presume. I've heard a lot about you."
"From Annabelle, I presume."
"Yeah, actually."
"How much did she tell you?"
"She said that you were cousins and I can actually see the resemblance. I wouldn't be surprised if you were sist-"
Belladonna quickly got in Griffin's face, saying "
Do! Not! Finish! That! Sentence! I want you to listen up, featherbrain! You have
no idea how much Lucifer would've enjoyed seeing that
Bitch Upstairs finally being proven wrong about humans!"
"I can only imagine."
"For now. I know that you work for my
cousin. Sooner or later, you will
know what it means to cross me!"
Belladonna then sprouted a pair of demonic wings and flew out of the Bottle.
Jill said "Are you okay, Griffin? You just had what looked like a hellhound in your face!"
"I'm good, Jill. Just a hazard of the job, I can deal with it."
"You were just threatened by a hellhound but you remained perfectly calm. That's really unusual, especially for someone with your... issues."
"Like I told you at the Guardhouse, there is only
one I fear! My Lady did something to my brain. It's like she made
sure that I
can't be afraid of anyone but her or anyone I know to directly serve her."
"Did you consent to that change?"
"Yeah. The process to empower a Chosen of any God can be so drastic, it can
only be done with the Chosen's informed and willing consent."
Jill's phone went off. She said "I have to go."
"See you later, officer."
Griffin gets 2 PP, which he saves up.