Tasuki: PLEASE READ AUTHORS NOTE.

So, as it turned out... I did not know the guy who made the film had discussed their "hive" mentality in an interview that was put on the internet, so I kind of missed out on it entirely. Thus, I ended up making my own assumptions from the movie (which I loved and find tottally AWESOME), which I used for the fanfic... so if it doesn't seem like it fits the director's idea, that's why. HOWEVER, after I thought about it for a while-- 'cause man was I spazzing out that I had missed that-- and i figured that the aliens were acting of their own instead of what was considered the "Hive" mentality, which made me think that once the "queen" was gone (of that particular ship) the workers (normal aliens) would then gain their own independent mind until a new "queen" would emerge. (I have an example of one in the story, which is why I feel the need to sort of explain this out.) Soooo technically, my interpretation could work. But, for the sake of things, I'll call this fic slight AU.

Now, enough of that. I had this idea pretty much the minute after I got done watching the movie, and it exploded from there. This probably would've taken weeks to finish, but it actually didn't take as long since I decided to finish it for Creative Writing. Teacher wanted an example of our "style", so I gave him this. Made me start working my bootay off to get it done, and so I did. 'Course then I spent weeks leaving it in my folders because i was too lazy to put it on here. Gawd I'm so lazy.

N'ways, the story takes place three years later and focuses of Wikus. I try to be realistic, and so I figured that after three years Wikus's mentality might be strange since he was a human that was turned into an alien... and I won't talk much more. Go ahead and have fun reading. Enjoy.

Summary: For three years he's waited. For three years he's lived as one of them. For three years he faced death to see her. For three years he dreamed to touch her again. After three long years, the mother ship finally returns, and everything suddenly feels like a long dream. Post D9 Wikus focus Oneshot. Rated... Everyone.

The Remaining Dream

-T.M. Wolf-

Despite the street and porch light, there was enough darkness for the bipedal creature to remain hidden as he moved silently and with purpose towards the side of the building. Golden eyes wavered back and forth from the distance remaining to the house and the street where the chilling fear of oncoming headlights might suddenly appear and envelope his form. Even with such fears, the creature would not deter from his path, not so long as his clawed fingers grasped the small, metal object he carried. He could not stop until he fulfilled the promise he had made and kept for three long years.

Had the creature been in a light, one would have seen him visible relax when he reached the side of the house and pressed up against it. However, he did not stay long, as the sound of a helicopter's blades could be heard in the distance. At once, the creature crouched down low to the ground as his eyes scanned the sky for the aerial machine while the chilling grip of fear tugged at his erratically beating heart. Should their lights find the creature and reveal his form, the time to flee would come, but the creature could not flee—not yet. He still had to fulfill his promise.

When at last the sounds of the blades echoed into a silent hum, and the creature's heart finally calmed to a steadier pace, he move once more. His steps were swifter now, but he did not have to go far. He stopped short of the porch, eyes moving to watch the street carefully for any signs of movement. Finding none, the creature turned just enough so that the arm that grasped the small, metal object in its fingers could reach the porch and gently set the object down without damaging it. The creature gazed at the object, stroking the metal petals he had carved softly before returning to the darkness and carefully made his way to a window near the other end of the wall. The creature glanced around cautiously to check for any onlookers again, and then peered through the window.

In the dim light, the expression of weariness upon the creature's face softened as he spotted the object of his desires. Sitting at a wooden table was a young woman, whom appeared as an angel in his eyes with her golden hair that fell down the side of her face to her shoulders and with her smooth skin that radiated brilliance in the light. The creature could tell her eyes were red and puffy, but even so he found them to be as beautiful as the stars in the sky.

However, his awe became sadness when he spotted the object in her hands; a picture of her in a white gown, happy, and with a man that was just as happy in his black tuxedo and bow tie. Oh how the creature wished the tears that had fallen were for him, but he knew the woman cried for the man in that happy, wedding day picture.

His heart yearned to reach and embrace her; to wipe away the tears that threatened to floor her eyes once more. He wanted so much to feel the touch of her skin on his own and to breathe in the scent of her hair he remembered he always loved. He'd often nearly given into his desires, but the fear brought by the realization of what he was held him back, for she would not want him. She would not want him to touch her skin or breathe in the scent of her golden hair. She would be appalled by him. She would chase him away. She would scream and throw things at him. She would fear him, and he could not bear to see her look upon him in such a way. No, he could not be with her as he was now. He was no longer the man in that picture. He was no longer Wikus Van De Merwe the husband of Tania Van De Merwe. He was no longer human.

He was Wikus Van De Merwe the Prawn.

It was this realization he had come to understand that enabled him to suddenly change his view of the woman he knew he loved. No longer was she a young, beautiful angel. The wearied features upon her face made her seem to have aged more than three years, and her watery eyes made her seem like a fragile doll that would break at any moment. Her hair seemed to turn into a dull white and her once vibrant cheeks seem to sink in. She seemed more like a ghost to him now; a figment of a memory from long ago.

The pain in his chest becoming unbearable, Wikus turned away from the window and returned to the shadows. His golden eyes looked to his hands, one with a set of three claws and the other only two. Once, long ago, he recalled having felt fear and disgust when he looked upon his hands. From the deepest reaches of his mind he could remember the panic and rush of adrenaline he had undergone. Now, though… Now when he looked upon the hands he had once thought a horrid disease, he found he could not recall the feeling of human flesh. All he knew now was the cold, rough exterior that was the skin of the Prawns.

Wikus looked up suddenly, when the drone of the helicopter's blades echoed through the sky again. This time, the sound was closer and he could see a light moving in the distance. He spared himself one final glance at the woman through the window before escaping into the darkness.

-O-

The night was still young when Wikus the Prawn returned to the District 10 compound and easily hopped over the barb-wired fence that was really meant to keep out humans than keep his kind in. The only real barrier for his fellow Prawns were the guards stationed at the single entrance, but that did little to stop him from leaving to make good on his promise. He often wondered why none of the others followed his actions and leapt over the boundary in the secrecy of night to acquire what they yearned for, but it did not take many glances at his people's faces to realize they felt no reason to. There was no point in leaving this pen. There was very little point to do anything now that the Ship was gone.

Wikus stopped short when a pair of golden, glowing orbs appeared in the darkness only a few yards from him. At once he lowered his head and shoulders and made sure that his eyes did not meet the other pair. A quick round of angry clicks echoed through the dark, and Wikus flinched. A short growl came from the two orbs, and the tall silhouette of a Prawn emerged that stared down upon him with a glare.

"You must stop leaving this place. The humans will become angry if they catch you, and then we will suffer, too," the Prawn clicked, eyes narrowing slightly. Wikus shook his head, still refusing to meet the gaze of the Prawn. The alien took a step forward and shoved Wikus's shoulder so that he stumbled backwards.

"You must leave that world behind. You are no longer one of them. You are only safe among us now. You are one of us, Wikus."

Wikus made no reply as the Prawn made their equivalent of a "snort" and left him be. Wikus, on the other hand, remained where he stood, still hunkered low in the form of submissiveness he had learned very quickly within his new society. His ran his claws across his shoulder where the other Prawn has touched him. He had been lucky the Prawn had done no more. His kind has become prone to violence against one another ever since they had been moved to the new District. To any human, the violence would seem to be without reason; they had plenty of resources to survive, and each had their own tent. However, unlike the humans, he and his kind could feel the tension than ran all throughout the camp.

Without the mother ship or the knowledge of when it would return, there was no way for the Prawn to get home, and no way for him to be returned to his true form. None of the others knew that the ship would return in three years time. He had told no one, for he knew they would not believe him, just as his wife had not believed he could return, and ff they had not believed him, they would have become angry. Then they would have become violent. He possessed no affinity for their need to fight, and so he had not told them. As the years continued on, he had still not told them out of the fear, but by then he had also begun to loose faith in the ship's return. His friend had promised him three years of waiting, but that felt like a long, long time ago.

Wikus finally brought himself back to his full height and moved once more. He kept to the less traveled routes this time, keeping an eye out for any other Prawns that might want to speak to him as the one before. Some might even wish to fight him out of anger for the very same reasons the previous Prawn had spoken to him. Others would fight him for less or for no reason at all. He did not want to fight, though. He only wanted to make the flowers for the woman in that house and for his friend to return. He wanted everything to finally end—to finally be able to go home.

He slowed his pace to easy walk as he came to his row of tents. He glanced around carefully for other Prawns, taking note of the small three-Prawn group clicking to each other beside a tent in the next row. They were paying him no mind, or he hoped they were not, and so made his way down the row, counting off the tents on the right as he went. One.. Two…

He flinched when a pair of Prawn children suddenly darted in front of him, romping around in a playful game of chase. Wikus watched them with envy. They were so care free unlike their elders. They did not understand the worry of the mother ship—some had never even seen the ship and had to rely upon tales by their creators to imagine it in their dreams—and so did not possess the hopelessness that came with it. Instead, the younglings were filled with the eagerness of its return, something which they all could use.

Wikus coughed as a sharp pain racked his throat, and he quickly chastised himself for getting his condition. Once the fit had passed and the pain numbed he cast a glance in the direction of the group of adult Prawns, but even though he knew that had heard his coughing, they did not show it. Grateful and not willing to waste his good luck, he counted off the tents again. Three… Four… Five… Six… Having reached his desired tent, he entered.

Sometimes he really wondered if the insides of the tent were any better than the shacks of District 9, or maybe even worse. They were, in fact, just as he had described him to his friend long ago. There was barely enough room for the cheap cotton cot they had been provided and the roof was nearly too short; his antennas were forced to bend against the plastic material, which wasn't all that pleasing. Still, it was better than having no shelter at all and facing the rage of the humans outside of the compound where their guns could legally aim at them. This was the safest place any of them could be at the time.

Wikus let his body fall onto the cot limply and stared into the side of his tent. His fingers scratched at the rough, cotton blanket beneath him, wondering why they had even been given the objects. It had been so long since he had felt any sensation of warmth or cold upon his skin. It was only a nostalgic taste upon his senses that belonged to his dreams of the other life. Yet, despite his immunity to the touch of nature, he could feel a kind of coldness with him. It was different from the nostalgia, but he was certain it was coldness. A very strange, painful coldness that made the outside world seem empty to him. If he could, he would have clicked as a young Prawn would when upset, and wondered where his friend was.

When would Christopher return?

-O-

Wikus did not dream of the forgotten life for many weeks after he had fulfilled his latest promise to the woman at the house. Instead, his sleep had been filled with an empty darkness that he would forget with the coming dawn. He did not think of the dreams either, and, instead, busied himself with his need to create. He often did not recall why he created the small imitation of Earth fauna in those weeks, but he could not deny the urge he felt to take the spare scraps lying around and fold them into the delicate shapes. The process was nearly pure instinct now; his mind was prone to wander why his fingers went about their careful work.

That particular evening of the day, however, his mind was not able to wander or focus upon his creation. His hands were able to work beautifully on their own, but the strange feeling that pricked upon the edge of his thoughts refused to leave him be. He could not explain it, but the feeling seemed to be beckoning to him, urging him to set his work aside and follow. It was almost unnerving as it was distracting. Despite such callings, he managed to keep himself focused, the instinct to create his metal fauna pulling him harder than the strange feeling.

Fate would play a different hand for him, as when his antennas detected a sudden change in the air that rushed through the camp as a wave and drowned it in silence Wikus could no longer deny the feeling. His fingers left the petal half finished as he stood and stared up into the sky along with his fellow Prawns. Even the normally restless younglings had ceased their romping and gazed at the sky with wonderment. They all knew something was coming. It called to them as a mother calls to its child.

It was a barely audible, high pitched ringing at first, even to the superior sensors of their antenna. It soon became a loud electric hum that erupted through the sky like a clap of thunder, causing the earth to shudder beneath its power. While humans around the compound collapsed in pain, clasping their hands upon their ear drums, Wikus and his fellow Prawns remained standing. Unlike the humans, the humming had felt more like a gentle vibration that soothed their minds and bodies.

When the humming had at last ended, the sky began to shimmer above the District 10 compound, causing alarm amongst the humans, while Wikus watched eagerly with the others. Before his eyes, their salvation appeared as a dark shape upon the red wall painted by the setting sun, bestowing it a terrifying glory that far surpassed its first pilgrimage. Although it was motionless, there was no denying the dark anger that emanated from the dark shape hovering in silence above the district. It was as if it was watching them; judging humanity's actions in their care of Wikus and his kind. The humans surely felt it, too, for it was not long before the drumming of helicopter blades could be heard in the distance while human soldiers on the ground rushed in a panicked flurry of confusion.

Their attempts would be in vain as the ship let out another hum, this one much stronger than before, and a ray of blue light akin to the one seen long ago shot down from the ship. It touched down in the center of District 10, bringing forth curious and eager Prawns to gaze upon it and touch it to see if it truly was real before it suddenly burst forth and engulfed the entire area in the blue light. Wikus turned his eyes to watch as the light met the incoming helicopters and brought the aerial machines to a pathetic end. Whatever force the light had been made of was more than capable of not only preventing their entry, but somehow causing their blades to stall and for the crew to scream in panic as the machine fell.

The sight of the ingenious light was soon forgotten along with the outside world as a loud chorus of clicks rang through the camp and all eyes turned to gaze up at their salvation. From high above, a large, rectangular platform fitted with four anti-gravity engines at each end was slowly lowering itself down towards the center of the compound where an ever growing mass of Prawns was forming. Wikus was one of the few that remained away from the crowd, his eyes searching for familiar faces upon the various figures that were becoming visible upon the platform. He knew not what had become of his friend after so may years, and a part of him feared the Prawn had forgotten him, but the other part—the one that still had kept faith—assured him that his friend would not go back on his promise.

When attributes could at last be seen upon their visitors, Wikus felt the dreadful sense of abandonment. Instead of his friend, his eyes gazed upon a group of five, much larger and well-built Prawns that carried long staffs possessing decorative blades on their ends in their right hands. In the other hand, they—save for one he instinctually knew to be the leader of the group— carried a gun-like weapon that he had not seen before even prior to his change. The hard gaze of their eyes made Wikus lower his own as the platform touched down onto the ground gently and the Prawns of District 10 began to swarm at their feet.

"Spears! The Spears have come! We can go home!" he heard some shout, and the Spears responded in kind by nodding, bringing about a cheer of clicks. It was quickly silenced when the leader of the Spears let out a guttural growl that Wikus knew would have made him shiver were he human. The other Prawns surely felt the same as they were almost desperate to scramble away when the leader of the Spears stepped off the platform, followed by two other of the group. Obviously finding the space not to his liking, the large Prawn swung his spear so that the smaller Prawns shuffled backwards even further.

"We have returned, Brothers. The Crown has heard your pleas and sends us to bring you home. You will no longer suffer at the hands of these insects!" the head Spear spoke, slamming the but of his spear into the ground as he finished, bringing another round of clicks from the crowd. "Now come forth one at a time and we shall return you to the Mother ship."

Wikus watched as the Prawns moved swiftly to enter into the line the Spears created for them and make their way to the platform. He did not move, though. Even when the same tugging he had felt just moments before urged him forward, he would not. Not when he suddenly recalled the dreams he'd had of that other world. If he dared to follow his fellow Prawns, then what would become of those dreams? What of the woman in that house? What of that life he had once known?

He looked upon his clawed fingers as he wondered of that life he had known. It felt so far away now. Those feelings he had lived and shared were just tastes at the back of his mouth that he could not name. The moments in his dreams seemed so alien now, and the woman suddenly did not appear as clear as she once had. Was this what he was to become? Were those memories to be forever lost to dreams he would not recall when he would awaken the next morning? Somehow, deep within the endless questions, he knew. He knew that Wikus the human had been dying ever since that fateful day in the year 2010, and in his place, Wikus the Prawn was being born.

"You look different, but you still carry the scent of a human on your clothes," a cheerful clicking spoke, bringing him out of his thoughts to find a male Prawn and his youngling, standing before him. Wikus could only stare for a few moments before he reached out and touched the male Prawn's shoulder as if he might suddenly vanish. The Prawn didn't, though, and neither did his youngling. At once, Wikus visibly brightened and his antennas and smaller claws attached to his chest fidgeting happily. His friend had kept his promise—Christopher had returned!

Christopher clicked with amusement at first, but then became more solemn, "I'm sorry it had to take so long, and that you've had to suffer."

Wikus shook his head vehemently and then gave a look of reassurance. His friend smiled lightly, but his son, Oliver, looked more puzzled than relieved.

"Why do you not speak?" the young Prawn inquired, causing Wikus to look to down in shame. His eyes wavered back and forth from the ground to the two Prawns, whom were watching with worried curiosity. To satiate them, he made the odd sound that had become his speech and went into a small coughing fit as the act tore at his throat. When the pain numbed, he found the two watching him with sympathy, and Christopher let out a sigh.

"I see," he began and then put on a happier expression, "We can return you to normal now, Wikus—just as I promised. You can return to your life once more."

Wikus looked up with such elation that it surprised himself. He had not realized the temptation of possibly regaining the life in those dreams that once seemed far beyond his reach was so powerful. He could not deny he still secretly yearned for it, no matter how alien they had become to him. Though, when he realized it was simply temptation that had caused him so much happiness, that the truth seemed so much worse.

He knew now, without a doubt, that he no longer belonged in that world of his dreams.

His expression must have changed, as Christopher gazed at him with confusion. He sighed mentally as he turned his eyes away from the two and back to the ground. Beside him, his friend stepped closer and clicked at him for his attention. Once he looked back, Christopher let his own gaze drop for a moment before meeting Wikus' eyes.

"Do you… want to be changed back?" he asked gently, and Wikus shook his head. When his friend continued on to question why, he looked to his son and a memory of that day Wikus the human had died returned to his mind. He crouched low beside the young Prawn and held out the same arm that had begun his transformation. It took only a moment for Oliver to understand and hold up his arm as he had done three years ago. Cheerfully, he looked up to his father.

"Just like us!" he clicked happily, and Wikus nodded in agreement as he stood. Christopher gazed at him with a sympathetic sadness and even placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. He smiled, albeit weakly, and his friend smiled back.

"You will be welcome among us," he spoke with reassurance. Wikus nodded, but then stopped suddenly when he recalled a figure in his dreams and the promise he had made to it. Wikus the human was not completely gone as he stuck his hand into the one remaining, tattered pocket of his ruined pants and pulled out a small, worn and slightly torn photograph. He stared at it, his remaining human self recalling the adoration he felt for the woman that was reclaiming the angelic features his dreams used to always give her. The remains of his human self having gained enough influence, he turned the picture so that the angelic face was bestowed before the two Prawns. Although he knew Christopher had not known his wife, his friend could understand what he meant and nodded.

"I will wait for you as long I can, but you must hurry. The ship will leave once all the others have been brought aboard. Be careful."

There was no need for more words, and so Wikus took off with the sun setting on the horizon that would give him the cover of night he needed. The world passed by in a blur for him. Nothing else mattered to him—not even the incoming troops of soldiers in their armored vehicles or the amassing formations of aerial crafts in the distance could deter him. He had one final promise to fulfill before Wikus the human could be laid to rest.

-O-

Had he been human, Wikus surely would have been out of breathe as he came to the side of the house with the darkness of night covering his form save for the golden glow of his eyes. He had evaded the guards with ease on the way here, no doubt thanks to the Mother Ship, which provided a far more dangerous threat than a single measly Prawn. He supposed he owed another thanks to the Ship of his kind, as he found that not one person was out on the streets. He imagined they were, instead, watching the television to watch the news reports of the pandemonium that had surged through the people of the planet. Whatever the reason, it made his journey all the easier.

He rushed past the lit window where he would normally have stopped to gaze upon the angel of his dreams, and stopped just short of the lighted porch. He breathed in deeply as he gained the courage to face what he so feared every time he came. This time was different, however. This time, he reached across the porch and, instead of dropping a flower, lightly rapped upon the door. He instinctually spun back into the shadows when the sound of movement was heard inside the house. The organ within his chest beat rapidly as the footsteps within the house came closer, and the beating only skyrocketed when the door knob clicked.

"Hello—" her voice cut short when she realized that no one was there. Wikus knew she would not stay long and so quelled the fear brewing within him, turned the corner just enough to appear as a dimly lit figure, and let out a cough. The golden-haired woman jumped, whipping her head to face him, and shrieked. He was quick to act and thrust the nearly finished metal flower he had kept all this time out towards her. As soon as she spotted the item, her eyes widened and her shrieking was replaced by silence. Her fingers slowly and cautiously grasped at the flower, and he let her take it. She brought it close, tracing the petals with her fingertips. The more she gazed upon it, the more she seemed to understand until, at last, she looked up his dimly lit form.

"…W-Wikus?" she breathed, her eyes silently beckoning him to come forth. Although he knew he was not who she truly beckoned for, he stepped into the light to reveal his alien form. He had long since learned that humans would shy away from the appearance his kind out of an instinctual fear, but that did not make the pain that the remains of his human self felt when she shrank away from him. His eyes fell to the ground shamefully.

"Is that… you?" she questioned, causing him to look up at her sadly as he sensed the fear in it. Her eyes were wide with the emotion, and it made his chest hurt. He found he could not take the pain, and so turned to enter the darkness once more, but the sudden touch of soft skin on the rough exterior of his arm made him stop and turn to meet her gaze once more. This time he found her eyes filling with tears. He looked away once more as he crouched down so that his head was even with hers. To his surprise—and happiness—she brought her hands up to cradle his head, whispering his name softly this time.

"I… I always knew you were still alive. I just knew," she uttered, her voice shaking, but trying to be strong. "And I knew you'd come back, and I know you'll fix things and come back to live with me again."

There was nothing to describe the bliss his human self felt at the thought his angel had kept faithful to him, that she had waited all these years for him to keep the promise he had made that day long ago. Yet, he knew it was that faith that had caused her to loose the light she once possessed. Although she was still an angel to him, he could tell from the weariness brought by her love for Wikus the human had caused her beauty to waver. He also knew that she would keep that faith for as long as it took, even if it ravaged her body away so that only her soul remained, and he could not let her suffer such a fate.

"That ship—it's what can fix you, right? The Prawns coming back means we can go back to the way things were, right?" she asked with desperation and pulled one hand away to fumble through a pocket on her jeans. From it she revealed a golden ring and held it out to him. "You can finally come back to me?"

Wikus the human would have nodded and embraced the woman before him, but that Wikus was waning in strength. Wikus the Prawn, on the other hand, shook his head and used his claws to gently close the woman's fingers upon the ring. He could only give her a look of pity as tears ran anew from her eyes.

"Why, Wikus? Can the aliens not fix you?" she whispered, bringing the closed hand to her lips. He shook his head again and looked to the street where a "Humans Only" sign he had known for many years now was posted and lit by the street's light. He pointed to the sign, and she followed his hand, spotting the picture of an alien with a circular "No" symbol printed on top of it. She followed his arm again when it turned to point at him. At once she understood and the tears came harder as she repeatedly asked him why.

Wikus wished he could speak to her; to utter her words of comfort to her, but he could not, and so he did the only thing he could think of. He leaned his head forward, gently touching it to hers, and nuzzled her gently. He could hear her whisper "I love you" to him, but it did not make his chest beat as rapidly as before. It was then he knew it was time. Wikus the human had breathed its final breath and freed his wife from the bonds of faith that threatened to devour her. All that remained now was Wikus the Prawn, and he did not belong in this life of dreams.

The woman made a protest when he moved away, but he did not look back as he leaped away in the darkness. Her cries were lost to him as he raced back to the world he now considered his own, leaving the remains of the human he had once been far behind.

-O-

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it," Christopher mused with a grin, and Wikus looked back apologetically. His friend merely pat him upon the back and ushered him towards the platform where the numbers of Prawn had diminished greatly. The three of them quickly joined the ranks of the remaining Prawn, whom he heard clicking eagerly and most likely doing their best not to shove one another. Even he could not help but feel a bit of that same eagerness as he gazed upon the Mother ship, knowing it would lead him to his new home.

"You will enjoy our planet," Oliver clicked happily from beside him. "It is far more suited to our needs than this one. There are no shacks or tents, and there is plenty of food to eat."

Wikus smiled down at the youngling and nodded.

"You will also be able to stay with us until you can make your own place in our society," Christopher added, and then continued, "Don't worry, Oliver and I will help you, and it's not as hard as you think."

Wikus grinned sheepishly as he nodded again. His attention changed to the Prawns in front of them as they were pulled forward by the larger Spear Prawns that he had forgotten about. The minute they turned their eyes upon him, he lowered his head and shrank back a little. The head Spear appeared to take no note of him, for which he was secretly grateful, and instead turned to his friend.

"Is this the one you spoke of?" the large Prawn inquired, and Christopher nodded.

"He is the one that enabled my return, as well as underwent the change."

The head Spear turned to regard Wikus for a moment, "The Crown will wish to meet with you. Come. We must not keep her waiting."

The larger Prawn them used his spear to point towards the platform and use her arms to usher them forward from behind. Wikus hurried after Christopher, making sure to stay close as he stepped onto the platform and then watched the Spears wearily as they joined them. The platform shifted roughly beneath them and surely would have forced some of them to the ground were they not all so closely packed together. After the initial movement, though, the climb upwards became smooth enough for Wikus to relax and watch as the world began to shrink.

Oddly enough, he felt the cold feeling of fear trickling through his body. He was leaving this place he had called home for such a long part of his life, even if that part of him was now just a memory in his dreams. Perhaps it was just the thought of having to begin his life anew; to go beyond the sky that served as a boundary to humans without their protective shells and see what lied beyond the stars. He supposed any form of life that had never been beyond the skies of their home land would feel such a fear.

The fear suddenly left him when he felt a tiny hand grip his own, and looked down to find Oliver gazing up at him happily while making a few clicks of reassurance. He smiled back and squeezed the small had tenderly. Although he feared what lay ahead of him, it gave him some relief to know he would not be alone in that new world that he headed to. Then, as the world became replaced by the metal interior of the ship, he realized that although he was afraid, he strangely felt like he was going home.

-O-

The flow of time seemed to race past as the planet Wikus had once known found its company of lies and hidden secrets that had been christened the task of taking care of his kind destroyed in a flash of lights and sound. The humans were no match for their weaponry and could not catch them as they entered into the black void that the planet's inhabitants knew as Space, entering a tunnel of lights that blurred and swelled together into a glowing ocean unlike any on that planet that was now far away. That too, raced past them, and soon they emerged before a planet much like the one from before. However this planet bore more was resemblance to a ravaged wasteland upon that blue one and with many more moons that carefully strolled past their fellow spheres of rock without making contact.

As Wikus came to witness the land of the planet, he found the dream of his memories that had remained with him for so long was nothing but a nostalgic feeling now, and he knew it would leave him all together as the new world beckon him forth to the new life he had been given.

End

Tasuki: Aaaaaaand there we go. Wikus begins his new life upon their planet where the head Queen (the "Crown") awaits to meet him and all kind of other Prawn things. Yay.

Sooo I'd like to point out that the "Sprears" and "Crown" are not actually canon, as they came about due to my own interpretations. Obviously, the "Crown" is the Queen. I know apparently the aliens queen died on the ship, but I believe that was only A queen, not THE queen. Kind of like a Royal Governor, rather than a king. I figured the idea fit since the director said the ship could "attach to something bigger", making me think they were only a platoon or unit of the entire colony and that maybe there was a Supreme Ruler Alien on their planet-- thus, the "Crown". The "Spears" should be pretty easy. They're basically the "guards" of the alien species that act as protectors and enforcers of the law since they are much larger, stronger, and better equipped than normal Prawns ("Workers", so to speak). If I had gone a bit more into Wikus returning the planet, I would have included other classes, like a "researcher" kind, where Prawns like Christopher would go, but I didn't think it would fit the fic, so I only had "Spears" and the "Crown".

Now, uh, I imagine Wikus's behavior may be confusing. Well, I figured since he was one human and he had been transformed into an alien, he would begin to have conflicts with the behavior changes. I figured he would still retain his human characteristics the first year or so, but eventually the alien nature would come out, since his DNA was changed, which would effect his brain as well. However, since he was a human for over 20 years, the human side of him wouldn't be so easily erased and certain old habits/feelings (his ability to do arts and crafts) would still come through. It would also make him different from the othe Prawns, such as being non violent-- or, at least, not prone to violence as the others were shown to be in the movie. And since I wanted to keep this story third person limited, I kept namely to Wikus' internal thoughts/emotion. Sooo that's why Wikus is all confusing.

Ummmm... I guess that's about it...

Is it weird to find Oliver EXTREMELY adorable? 'Cause I do. He's so freaking cute.