The Price of Peace

[2 hours later]

[Captain Strydum POV]

"Buzzzzz" the blades of the helicopters slowly came to a halt as they began their descent.

'I can't believe it boy.'

I was still in disbelief at the amount of trouble the boy had been able to cause in a single day. Not only was he coming to collect on his demands, he was also bringing a priceless "treasure" of humanity along with him.

The helicopter carrying the two beasts landed at the hoverpad, as I continued in my thoughts about the sheer lunacy of the situation.

However it was far from a laughing matter.

The boy jumped out his seat with gusto, showcasing to his friend how to do the same with great care and respect.

Just looking at that cavemen made me glad of the government's decision to not yet reveal his existence to the public, and by extension him.

"How's it going Captain, let me introduce you to my good friend Pickle here." The boy continued trying to play dumb, as if ignoring the sheer absurdity for the situation.

Even the President was still trying to come to grips with reality, initially treating the boy's words as a joke of some kind, only to be slapped in the face by the truth during Doctor Payne's briefings.

The news was blaring all over the world, about the discovery of a prehistoric man found frozen in time, somehow able to be woken up by one of the greatest scientific minds in the world.

The act had certainly raised the Doctor's already great prestige to a whole new level, but few knew of the boy's contributions to the endeavour, as well as of his ability to 'control' and somehow understand the beast.

Had it been anyone else to have made the find, I was sure that the U.S. would have simply laid 'claim' to the find as their own, however the boy's firm refusal to disturb his 'friend' prevented that.

In fact, a lot of government officials were even grateful to the boy in a way, for taking the 'problem' off of their hands, especially when Doctor Payne had already studied the man carefully in the process of waking him up. They decided to gloss over the fact that the boy broke innumerable laws by keeping such a find of his a secret for so long.

'Not like any of them would have the balls to question him to his face about it.'

Rather, they were all currently terrified of the boy's threat, especially considering that we had somewhat 'failed' our end of the bargain.

Although the boy had only asked for the name and location of his prey, obviously he had done so with the intention of taking revenge, the same revenge he had been willing to go to war over, and the very same revenge he had been deprived off.

'At least the boy seems to be much calmer as compared to last time.' I atleast assumed so considering his considering for shaking my hand as a good sign for starters.

'I just hope that it's not a front.'

There was a name that they were starting to call him unofficially at least...

'The Chimera.'

"Please Captain, I've already been informed of his current state as well as of his past relations with my family, just take me to him."

The boy cut off my attempts to explain the situation further, not wanting to wait a second longer as he entered the underground safe house, which contained within it the body of a man I had known well.

The boy stood there, in silence, as he thoroughly analysed the body with his eyes, from head to two, until finally...

He laughed.

[Kuzan POV]

"ha"

"HA"

"HAHAHAHAHA" I simply couldn't stop laughing at how well everything had turned out.

I had initially been furious at having been deprived of my prey, however after learning more about the man's 'backstory' as well as reading his 'suicide note', it was nice that the man had saved me some trouble.

Actions speak louder than words.

I would not have not cared about any of the words of 'reasoning' behind his actions before continuing to torture him for his attempt to harm all of them.

Although it might've left a bad taste in Aunt Elizabeth or Uncle Albert's mouth if they ever become aware of the situation in the first place, that had nothing to do with me.

Fortunately for everyone standing here next to me, I was in a very good mood.

However, I couldn't show it if I wanted them to fulfil my next set of demands.

[Captain Strydum]

"Captain Strydum" the boy spoke in a soft whisper, while turning away from the dead body to go sit on the nearby cushioned chair.

"This isn't what I agreed upon with the President, I'm sure you can understand my frustrations."

"Maybe he and I need to have another chat?"

The boy spoke out plainly, not even attempting to veil the threat in his words. However I knew well that the boy wouldn't be acting like this if we didn't have something of interest that he wanted.

Instead, he would have simply flown away on his helicopter, not wasting even a few more seconds until moving onto his next prey.

"Kuzan."

I spoke to the Boy, not wanting him to escalate the situation more in an attempt to 'scare' them, as there was simply no need anymore for these childish little games.

[Kuzan POV]

"What is it that you want?"

It was a question that I had gotten familiar with answering, especially considering how easy it was for me to 'take' nowadays without consequence.

However, my request was not something nearly mundane enough for me to simply 'steal'.

"Two things Captain Strydum," I relayed my demands slowly, taking great care to make sure that they were noted.

I handed the old Captain two different folders with 'demands' which initially seemed to greatly worry the man, however after he took a quick glance inside, the only expression left on his face was confusion instead of apprehension at my demands.

[Captain Strydum POV]

It seemed that I had been worried over naught, as I read the boy's demands in exchange for letting the U.S. off the hook.

Although they seemed long, it was merely the 'paperwork' that his team had already completed to provide more clarity for his demands.

"I get your first demand, boy, finding a suitable living environment for your friend, but this second one..."

It was not that we wouldn't be able to fulfil it, it was just that I didn't know how to make heads or tails of it.

I wasn't even sure if this was a real demand and not just his attempt at some kind of joke.

[Kuzan POV]

"Hahahaha, I'm not like my father Captain. I believe in an eye for an eye. This is my price for both forgiving you and giving you access to Pickle's 'data'. Two demands in exchange for two gifts. Take it-"

"No, no Kuzan, it's nothing like that." The Captain interrupted me, as if not wanting me to get the wrong idea about the situation.

"I'm sure the government would be more than happy to provide it to you, it's just that..." Captain Strydum leaned in closer to prevent others from hearing our exchange "...and I really shouldn't be saying this boy, but are you sure that this is all you want?"

"Hmm...now that I think about it, how hard would it be to get a Presidential Pardon Captain Strydum?"

[Captain Straydum POV]

'I knew the boy had more planned up his sleeve.'

The boy was acting especially strange, even when discounting his strange demands. It was as if he was about to go through with something and this was just the warm-up.

"For what boy? Something you did, or something you're about to do."

Unfortunately, the boy kept his silence, only replying to me with a bloody grin that I had only seen on one man's face before.

And it shocked me.

"Boy, boy, tell me what you're about to do, don't walk away from me!"

However, despite my best attempts, the boy remained silent, only leaving me with dread about what actions he would possibly take next.

[Kuzan POV]

"Yawn..." It had certainly been a long few days, constantly travelling from one place to the other, and I had no plans of stopping that anything soon.

Our next destination was Brazil, where I would be dropping off my friend while I had some fun of my own.

Contrary to what others might think, Pickle was far from a 'beast' both in values and in spirit. Although I could easily arrange for him to 'live in the jungle', I knew better than to treat him so inconsiderately. Instead, the Rosen family had already perfected the necessary measures to ensure Pickle's lifestyle and happiness for the foreseeable future.

My first demand to the Captain had been exactly that, to 'force' the American government to deal with all of the necessary procedures to procure a sizable portion of the Amazon Rainforest for Pickle to comfortably live in and reside if he so chooses. I had even made plans to build him a grand mansion to live as a true King, taking his every idea into account while constructing the building.

And hopefully, in the near future, maybe he too would find the love of his life to have a family with. Fortunately, I didn't have to worry about that as I had already pushed that responsibility onto Hanayama as part of our agreement as 'friends'.

Pickle seemed more than excited when I first mentioned all of this to him, refusing to let me out of his bear hug until I threatened him to stop.

It was wonderful, seeing that caveman's smile as he got ready to explore a whole new habitat. I was sure that he would show the previous residents his new 'hierarchy' in the food chain in the coming days.

'Now that that's taken care of, looks like it's finally time for me to get serious.'

I had still not forgotten for a second my rage and anger at their attack on my family.

I'd been waiting so long for this moment, for someone to be stupid enough to give me a valid excuse to knock their brains out.

Now no one would complain, no matter how much damage I caused, no matter how much death I inflicted. They would only consider it as 'normal', for provoking the son of that demon.

It would serve as a reminder to them.

As Uncle Lander and I had concluded long ago, there were 2 separate contractors who hired that assassin, and although one of them was already out of my grasp, the one's left couldn't be any more delicious to devourer.

'It won't be long now...'

'Until I play with my first nation.'

[Unknown POV]

"You're Majesty! We must evacuate the Palace!"