[Luanr Surface, Earth] 

"So, Mr. President, what will it be?" Asked Cthulhu, a smile that said he knew the answer already gracing his lip.

"This is ludicrous!" President Staltson exclaimed, turning to the U.N. representatives. "Ivan, Karla, What kind of a half-assed coup is this? You can not be okay with this." 

Ivan said nothing; Karla, however, cleared her throat and spoke. "Excuse me, Mr. President, but to be quite frank with you, the international community has little interest in keeping you around, especially since the release of the technologies for interstellar travel has been mostly blocked by the U.S. government with a nice message about national security bearing your seal and signature. The only exception to this is Ms. Lansdow's company website which is deeply appreciated. 

Victoria smiled at Karla, and then everyone felt a chill run down their spine as dark energy seemed to emanate from Cthulhu. "Mr. President, is what Karla has just stated true? That despite what you said earlier, you have continued to try and hide and suppress the information that I freely gave all of mankind for the benefit of yourself?" Cthulhu asked, his tone neutral and unreadable, but his body language, if it could be called that, expressed anger.

"Not for me, for the United States, we can not allow…" The President began and was cut off by Cthulhu raising his hand. 

"If you think I do not know of your connections to all the companies that have received the contracts to build the ships, then you have yet to truly accept that I am as close to a God as you have met," Cthulhu said, seeming more human for a moment as he closed his eyes. 

Ivarna shuddered as she felt the throbbing power of Cthulhu reach out the moment he closed his eyes. She knew at that moment that she had made the right call in trying to reach out to the Humans, as the sheer amount of power that she felt flaring out from the dark being made her realize that she was no more a God in his eyes than any of these mortals. She shuddered as she felt the power flow stop as Cthulhu opened his eyes. 

"To illustrate this to you, Mr. President," Cthulhu said, locking eyes with the man, "shall I divulge the contents of the maroon diary you keep at Camp David? Or perhaps I should display the recordings of the Lincoln Bedroom from seven weeks ago? Or maybe…" 

"I get it! Stop!" President Staltson said the blood had drained from his face. 

"So once again, I ask you what you want to do. I will not force any choice on you, but as you have heard, you are not well-liked and probably would have a very bad time trying to maintain your position." Cthulhu said and then waited for the President to respond.

"I…" The President struggled momentarily, glancing from one face to another until his eyes settled on the glares he was receiving from Ted, Victoria, and Brian. At that moment, President Staltson knew that if he did not go along with the group here, he would most likely be found dead from a heart attack or something within a week. "I will appoint Brian as Vice President and resign my position." 

"And you will acknowledge that you are doing so because you have behaved in a manner that is unacceptable for a president," Ted said, and Brian nodded in agreement.

"Yes." The President said through grinding teeth. He knew he was done, and his wife would shortly be filing for divorce. "If I could return to the White House now, I would begin doing what needs to be done." 

"That is not a problem," Chtulhu said and opened a portal. Before the President could enter, Cthulhu raised his arm, stopping the man. "You will, of course, be accompanied by Ivan, Brian, and Ted. They will ensure that everything goes smoothly." 

"Of course." The President said, grinding his teeth once more. 

Without question, Brian, Ted, and Ivan went through the portal after the President. Chtulhu then turned to the Iman, the Pope, and the Rabi. "Gentlemen, if you wish to depart, I am more than happy to send you back to your homes, or you can stay and weigh in on the discussions here," Cthulhu said. 

"I would appreciate the opinions of the three of you, as you represent a vast majority of the religious ideologies of the planet," Karla said.

"Yes, please stay; your insights would be appreciated," Victoria said, and the three men looked at each other before agreeing. 

[Chilxan Homeworld, Gel Froth]

Shiv'Ru was losing her mind, and she knew it. Gel Froth was designed especially for that, to break down any forms of resistance and assure Dem'Noq that all consigned for punishment emerged as obedient servants. She knew it had only been several hours of real-time since she entered, but thanks to the time-dilation field encompassing Gel Froth, it felt like months. 

Gel Froth was a prison camp, one that was used to torture those who Dem'Noq found wanting in commitment to his divine plan. As one can assume, this meant violations of every kind for those condemned to this place. 

Shiv'Ru had tried to keep her mind centered and had tried to block out the things being done to her. She had attempted to focus on her God, Dem'Noq, in an attempt to block out what was happening. Still, she was all too acutely aware that Dem'Noq was why this was happening to her. 

After what felt like the third week, she stopped focusing on Dem'Noq, and found her mind wandering; she thought of Ted and the dark being that had proclaimed himself to be the God of Humanity. 

"They wouldn't care." She thought to herself, a desperate thought popping into her head. She argued with herself for what felt like hours, even as her next torturer entered the room. She watched the torturer prepare his tools and decided.

"Well, here goes nothing," Shiv'Ru said and quietly knelt as far as her chains would allow, praying silently. "Cthulhu, God of the Humans, the one who rescued Ted, I know not if you hold sympathy or any emotion for races other than Humanity. If you do, I no longer regard Dem'Noq as my God. Please Help." 

Shiv'Ru thought that she had done all she could, and grit her teeth, preparing for the pain as her latest torture turned to her and smiled. 

[Earth, The White House]

The President had tried to argue that the V.P. could not just be fired, and therefore the plan could not be carried out. The Vice President had surprised them, calling the President a slimy worm and resigning his position. 

The President had regretfully appointed Brian as his Vice President and then ordered a press conference. 

Ted and Ivan stood off to the side, listening to the President's speech about what he may or may not have done. Though both of them knew that he was leaving out the worst things he had done. 

The President then stated that he was stepping down and that Brian would be taking over since the Vice President had recently stepped down, not wishing to further associate with the President. 

A dark portal opened as Brian was sworn in on national television, and Cthulhu stepped through beside Ted and Ivan. 

"Ted, I need to speak to you. Ivan, can you handle things from here?" Cthulhu asked, and Ivan nodded. "Good, and if you would please deliver this to the Whitehouse legal team, it is a complete list of all Mr. Staltson's infractions against the country while president." He handed Ivan a hard drive that was pitch black. 

Ted stepped through the portal with Cthulhu and was suddenly on the moon once more, roughly twenty yards from the table where Victoria and the other humans were meeting. "So, what did you need to speak to me about? Cthulhu, um, God, I have no idea what to call you when Victoria isn't around; I have just been taking cues from her."

Chtulhu chuckled at Ted. "Chtulhu is just fine. As to what I wanted to speak to you about, do you remember Shiv'Ru?" 

"The priest lady on that ship that I was captured on? Yeah, I remember her. Why do you ask?" Ted asked, confused.
 
"To put it shortly, I can hear the prayers of those who pray directly to me; it is not prayer as the religions of man know it; think of it as psychic communication that is only active on my part," Chtulhu said, clearly trying to put something infinitely complex into simpler terms. "Anyways, Shiv'Ru sent me a prayer and claimed that she no longer felt Dem'Noq was her God. I am not particular to most, but she mentioned you by name. Is there any reason that you feel that I should help her?" 

Ted thought for a moment; he realized that Cthulhu was asking if there was a reason for divine intervention. "I.." Ted paused, thinking back to his time on the ship. "I can't tell you that it isn't a lie, but I can say that Shiv'Ru was the only one genuinely kind to me. Other than that, I only have my opinion: had we met in another situation, we could have been friends." 

"I see," Cthulhu said, thinking for a moment. "That, and the sheer rage that it is sure to bring Dem'Noq, are good enough reasons for me." Cthulhu nodded for Ted to join the other before stepping through another portal. 

[Chilxan Homeworld, Gel Froth]

When Cthulhu stepped through the portal, he knew this place was special. Time flowed faster. What had been a few moments for Cthulhu as he spoke to Ted had been hours, maybe even days here. What he saw also indicated what kind of 'special' place this was. 

Shiv'Ru lay upon a table, stripped of clothing, and another Chilxan stood over her with a glowing brand that had already been pressed into her carapace-like skin. She had her eyes closed and gritted her racial variation of teeth waiting for the next branding when she heard a terrible voice.

"I think that is quite enough of that." The voice rattled the room, sending fear shivers down Shiv'Ru's limbs. Her eyes snapped open to see the torturer spinning quickly. 

"Who the hell…" The torturer began, but his voice fell silent when he looked upon the being of black that had appeared in the room. A tentacle burst from the thigh of the being that Shiv'Ru recognized as Cthulhu and pinned the torturer to the wall. A silent scream formed in the torturer's mouth, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. 

"Now then, Shiv'Ru?" Chtulhu asked and snapped his fingers after she nodded numbly. "I have heard your request, and Ted informed me that you were the only one who was kind to him. If I take you from here, you may never return, and you may never seek contact with Dem'Noq again. If you wish this, I will take you from this place to Earth. In return, I will ask that you provide any information you can if the Chilxan people declare war on Humans." 

"Yes, I agree." Shiv'Ru nodded, speaking hoarsely. She knew that if she did not accept now, she would lose what little of her sanity remained.

"Very well," Cthulhu said, waving a hand at the woman. Suddenly her body seemed energized. Shiv'Ru was shocked to find her body healed, her mind seemed to have recovered somewhat, but she assumed that it was due to the stress of constant pain being lifted. "Now, child, if you will step through the portal, a new life awaits." 

Chtulhu gestured, and a dark portal formed behind Shiv'Ru; she stepped through without hesitation, and Cthulhu followed. 

[Luanr Surface, Earth] 

When Shiv'Ru and Cthulhu stepped through the portal, Shiv'Ru immediately felt her faint connection to Dem'Noq shatter in a flash of rage.

It seemed that the humans and the In'Quinar were taking a break. Ted walked over to Cthulhu with Victoria. "Hello Shiv'Ru; how are you doing?" Ted asked.

"I am…" Shiv'Ru paused, searching for a word that she could use to describe what she had been through. "I am alive." 

"That is good to know," Ted said with a large smile. "This is Victoria; she is the high priestess of Cthulhu." 

Shiv'Ru's eyes went wide, and she made as if to fall to her knees, but Victoria caught her before she could complete the action. "It is good to meet you Shiv'Ru." 

"It is good to meet you as well," Shiv'Ru said and made as if to speak but was interrupted by a sound that could only be described as an explosive gonging. 

"What was that?" Ted asked, looking around for the source of the sound.

"Oh, just the blocking of uninvited guests," Chtulhu said with a smile as he ignored the sheer look of terror on Ivarna's face.

[Chilxan Homeworld, Temple of The God]

The attendants of Dem'Noq waited. Their God had left to fetch a wayward priestess for summary execution on the grounds of betrayal. As one of the more powerful Gods in the universe, it was not uncommon for Dem'Noq to bend the rules regarding teleportation, so his misuse of the ability was commonly ignored. 

They felt a familiar rumbling that indicated their God's return and prepared to restrain the Priestess and attend to Dem'Noq's needs. What happened next shocked the attendants. The typical portal opened as per the usual flash of golden-red light, but instead of their God-descending light-made steps, a massive black tentacle encased in flames that ate light appeared. 

It emerged and uncoiled, slamming something into the floor hard enough to nearly pulverize the stone beneath it into dust, the tentacle left, and the portal shut. In the crater on the floor was Dem'Noq, his flesh burned where it had come in contact with the black flames. 

As the attendants watched, their God's flesh healed slowly. Dem'Noq stood, seeming to be in pain, and spoke only one word in a voice that broached no argument. "WAR!"