The following day was spent in negotiations. More people from the united nations attended the meeting and, with the help of Cthulhu and Ivarna, managed to hammer out an agreement that could be surmised with the following points.
- Trade will be conducted on a trade-by-trade basis without the interference of gods or governments unless the trade is performed by a government. The Gods will only intervene in the event that one side raises opposition.
- Joint military cooperation will be called for in defense of homeworlds and core worlds. Colonies and outlying planet defense will remain the sole purview of the individual races.
- In the event of war with another race, Humanity will serve as ground troops. The In'Quinar will serve as a space force until such a time as Humanity has a fleet capable of performing this task on its own. At such a time as Humanity has a fleet, both parties will be required to work out who does what in war.
- Individual relationships of any kind will only be conducted on the terms of the individuals in the relationship only; no government or Divine intervention is allowed except to persecute crimes against those in an individual relationship or if a crime is committed by a couple or group in an individual relationship.
- Any who wish to join the coalition can do so on an individual or species-wide basis. They must agree to the prior four points, with roles, and agree to a role in joint military cooperation and interspecies war.
The document that outlined these was hundreds of pages long. It outlined many rights of individuals and other things. Still, these were the primary points, with footnotes on many sections that stated any further clarifications of rights, liberties, or any other event should be handled by a council of all races in the coalition.
They parted on good terms, and both parties agreed to start working towards sending a diplomatic entourage to the other's homeworld, consisting of predominantly scientists and culture experts. Cthulhu then offered to portal them all home, and they accepted.
The next day Cthulhu felt a throb of power that echoed out from the hall of the gods. He knew it could only mean one thing, so he excused himself from the rooms Victoria had offered him and summoned a portal that took him to the source of the power.
When Cthulhu stepped through the portal, he was greeted with a sight that would fit well in one of Humanity's comic books. The first thing he saw was Ivarna backed into a corner by two other Gods as she seemed to cower in fear slightly. And surrounding him were the rest of the Gods, save for four, with weapons drawn and Dem'Noq at their lead, a fire burning in his eyes.
"You!" Dem'Noq said, rage seething in his voice. "You and your pathetic humans will pay for the insult you gave me. Starting now!"
Cthulhu waved his arm, and the weapons in the room vanished. Cthulhu looked around, and when he spoke, every eye in the room grew wide. Cthulhu said two words. "Sit. Down."
The tone of his voice held a wave of power the likes of which the Gods had never felt before. It compelled them. It forced them to take their seats. "Now," Cthulhu said, "why don't we try this again. You clearly summoned me here, though why I do not know."
"You started this!" Dem'Noq said, slamming his fist into the table. "You and your humans will be exterminated! You stole a priestess and then had the nerve to attack me when I came to fetch her."
"You abused the right of teleportation to attempt to enter my domain and thought that I would do nothing to stop you?" Cthulhu said, smiling that terrible smile of his. "Tell me, Dem'Noq, what makes you so special that you can break this council's rules?"
"I am Dem'Noq! God of war, the hope of the Chilxan, and the scourge of a dozen worlds! I am the most powerful God in this room! I will do as I please." Dem'Noq said, using his rage to throw off the shackle of power that Cthulhu had laid on the Gods when he told them to sit down and stand to glare at Cthulhu.
Cthulhu laughed. And Ivarna snickered quietly to herself. She had caught a glimpse of Cthulhu's power and true form a few days ago and knew that no combination of the Gods she knew of could begin to face the monster who was her new ally.
"You think this is funny?!" Dem'Noq said, his ire only increasing as he rounded on Ivarna. "And you! You think that I can't kill you here and now?!"
"Oh, I think you could try," Ivarna said, drawing some comfort from what she was about to say. "But I think you would find yourself in far more pain and agony than it would be worth. As of yesterday, the humans and the In'Quinar formed an alliance. And one of the clauses that the humans petitioned for was Cthulhu's assurance of safety for allied Gods. If you attack me, he will attack you."
"And you believe him to be a match for me and the other aligned with me?" Dem'Noq asked, his tone mocking the very idea of it. The other gods in the room looked shocked at Cthulhu, most looking as if they were waiting to move out of his way if he moved to strike.
"I believe that even if everyone in this room were to strike at him in the same moment, he would slay us all in a moment and smile while doing it," Ivarna said, her eyes glancing at Cthulhu somewhat fearfully.
That gave Dem'Noq pause, as Ivarna had always been the voice of reason in the council for as long as he could remember. Some part of his enraged brain registered that she was fearful of this being more than any other group of gods, which made him consider.
Dem'Noq turned back to Cthulhu. "What do you propose? I will have war with or without our involvement."
Cthulhu had thought this would happen and had spoken to the members of the U.N. delegation that had been on the moon about it, so he knew what was needed. "I offer you this," Cthulhu said, standing to be face to face with Dem'Noq, "in six months, we will meet you in the field of battle of your choosing and let our two peoples work things out for themselves. We will pick instead if you do not provide a battlefield location within a month. During the battle, no God may interfere, nor will I."
"Priests may use powers granted to them," Dem'Noq demanded.
"Fine," Cthulhu said and stuck out his hand. "Agree to this, or we can duke it out right now."
Dem'Noq considered for a moment and took Cthulhu's hand. At the touch, Dem'Noq's eyes went wide, and he quickly pulled his hand back. "You have your battle in six months, be ready for a defeat the like of which you have never seen before."
With a flash, Dem'Noq and the Gods that supported him were gone, leaving Ivarna and the four Gods that had been sitting before Cthulhu arrived.
Ivarna looked to Cthulhu. "Well, it went just as you said it would." She gestured to the four gods at the table. "You even guessed right about who would be left.
Cthulhu smiled and turned to the four Gods sitting at the table. "Now, let us discuss what you wanted."
[Earth, Whitehouse]
"I'm frankly shocked," Brian said, leaning back in a chair in the oval office.
Across the table, the former vice president, Fredrich KIet, sat briefing Brian on the duties of the presidential office. "Yeah, to be honest, the former President has done almost nothing other than his public appearances for the last year. I have been holding the proverbial ship with duck tape and spit."
"I knew a little of that, but I just did as I was told and was just looking for an opening," Brian said, somewhat ashamed. "I have to ask Fredrich, will you come back as Vice president? I know we are not receiving any of the political backlashes we expected. On the contrary, the most recent opinion polls are ecstatic to have him out of the office. So this is not political in motivation. I think you are lost in the private sector."
"Well," Fredrich said, pausing, "I don't think I can come back to the office, but how about your old job, special advisor to the president?"
"Accepted," Brian said and stuck out his hand. Fredrich shook it.
Just then, Victoria, Ted, and Shiv'Ru, wearing some small device that Cthulhu had given her to negate the effects of gravity on her, walked in.
"So I just got word from Cthulhu. It went just as he expected." Victoria said.
"So now it's our turn, then?" Brian asked, leaning back in the chair again.
"Yep," Ted said, sitting down in an open chair.
"Well then, let's get this shit show on the road," Brian said, straightening his suit. "Let the games begin.
[Earth, New United Earth headquarters, Three months until war]
"We have united in ways that no one ever expected!" Brian said, continuing his speech. "When I first set about uniting Humanity, I thought, like many others, that it would never work. I have never been so happy to be so wrong!"
A cheer went through the crowd of thousands gathered in the plaza. Brian raised his hands for silence, and it returned. "I was the President of the united states for only two and a half months, and in that time, I got to see the best of Humanity. And you good people saw fit to elect me into the role of President of Humanity. I am honored beyond emotion. I know that you all know that we have hard times ahead and a war against an enemy that is not just the enemy of one nation but an enemy of Humanity!"
A roar filled the air, one laden with a human drive to survive. "I will do everything that I can to assure our victory, but this is not something that I can do alone. I need your help, I need your skills, I need your human drive to live!" Brian paused as a cheer ripped through the crown once more. "So I ask that if you have the will to fight and want to enlist, do so! If you have skills that can be useful in the production of ships or the morale of troops, let a U.E. rep know! If you desire to serve as a priest of any religion, let the Temple know!"
Another cheer echoed through the crowd. "I know Humanity. I know why Dem'Noq," A boo rippled through the crowd at his name, "and his cronies should fear Humanity. They have threatened your homes, your lives, your very existence! Will you stand for it?!"
"NO!" The single word resounded through Brian shaking his very bones.
"Good!" Brian said. "We are human. We are the forgotten." Brian had decided to have the news write up what Cthulhu had revealed about being discarded by their 'creator' and release it to the public. This had three effects, the first was a drop in Abrahamic religious beliefs, the second was the drastic increase of those who began attending the Church of the Faith to Cthulhu, and the third was to galvanize a majority of Humanity against the way many gods chose to rule their subjects.
"If we must, we will fight alone," Brian said, continuing. "But we are not alone; as you know, a team from the former U.N., along with Cthulhu and several others, forged an alliance with the In'Quinar. And with the help of the In'Quinar and their Goddess, that same team has since brought about alliances with four other Gods and their people."
Brian paused for the cheer that rippled through the crowd. "We all know that God, as we imagined him, is not around. But there is a quote that I would share. Keep in mind that this is not the original quote. It has been modified by a friend of mine who was in the United States Marine Corps."
The crowd fell silent. "I am Human, and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for I AM the worst mother fucker in the valley!"
The cheer that tore through the crowd at that moment put the one that came before it to shame. Brian had hesitated to swear like that on a broadcast to the entire world, but he could not deny that he felt pride at the statement.
"Now," Biran said once the cheer had subsided, "I know I have talked enough, so let us get to why you are all here. Behind me stands the single largest structure that Humanity has ever built."
The structure behind him comprised a silvery metal that was a new alloy of steel, plastic, titanium, and several other elements that put almost every building material to shame in its strength. The base was the size of ten football fields, and the height was almost twice that of the Burj Kalifa, with a hole through the middle.
"I am proud to announce that the portal is open. This structure will allow us instantaneous travel from here to the moon, which will serve as a base for our interactions with other races. And as the shipyards for the fleets we will build as we venture out into the stars after claiming victory in the upcoming battle!" Brian let the crowd cheer.
"I am also happy to announce that anyone may visit the moon, with its new atmosphere, any time they wish!" Brian turned to Cthulhu. "If you would do the honors."
Cthulhu turned to the crowd. "You all know who I am, and love or hate me, know I am on your side. I must revert to my original form and size to activate this. Please close your eyes if you do not wish to see it."
Cthulhu changed then, shifting from his vaguely humanoid shape to that of a multi-story tentacled monster. A single tentacle drifted out to touch the structure, and suddenly there was a flash of dark energy, and a black portal filled the hole in the middle of the building.
Cthulhu shited back and turned back to the crowd. "If you have closed your eyes, you may open them once more." Cthulhu watched as the majority of the crowd opened their eyes. And a cheer roared through the crowd.
Cthulhu looked out over the crowd and knew he had done the right thing to reveal himself. He smiled as the vast majority of the crowd began making their way up the massive ramp that led to the portal. Everything was going well, not only for him but also for Humanity. For the first time in millennia, epochs even, Cthulhu felt a sense of pride, not in the humans he watched over for so long, but in himself for being able to do all that he had for the humans.
