Disclaimer: This is a fanfic, I do not own the characters created in the show. Krystal and Palin are originals, and there should be others as well, but I don't really care so why do you? =P Happy reading ^_^
TO BE FREE Chronicles of the Prison Planet
Chapter 1: Krystal & Julia
"Ah now, let's see who we have here!" announced a female alien standing over the wrecked Ice fighter-craft.
She looked down upon her worn-out captives fingering the trigger of her X5-23 pistol, a standard hand weapon on Planet Ice, deciding whether to shoot now and ask questions later or just get rid of them. She figured that killing them now would be so much easier since all she had to report was that they had fired upon her first. And she had no choice but to kill them.
Kill or be killed.
That's what she'd have done; and that's what she'd do.... No!
Damn.
For a moment there, she'd almost let her old instincts take control over her again.
Survival of the fittest.
That's what she was best known for. Was. For a moment, everything would have been lost with one squeeze of the trigger. She glared at her two helpless captives. Why should she even spare them? Just because Julia ordered her to?
Julia.
She growled angrily at the thought of the 'All-Mighty' Julia. And damn those shackles that bound her to Julia. Those curs(d shackles were the only things that hindered her from splitting this lousy planet.
Presently, a flash caught her eye. It was starlight glistening off the sash of one of her captives-an Ice inhabitant...and that meant only one thing.
"Well, I'll be," she whispered as she studied the newcomers that she had recently disarmed. "If it isn't the 'great' Cryos, himself." Then as an afterthought, she muttered, "My life has suddenly been surrounded by all these 'high-class' mockeries."
The two newcomers exchanged bewildered looks. The blue insectizoid of Ice faced their captor. "I am Cryos, yes," he admitted politely, resting a three-fingered hand on his chest. Cryos stood to his full height and looked up to their captor. "But I am sure that we have not met before. How is it that you know of me and I, not of you?"
The female alien lowered the pistol lazily as if bored of her new captives. "No, you don't know me. But I know you very well, King Cryos." She smiled rather smugly then continued, conveniently ignoring Cryos' question. "And who might you be, man of Rock?"
Graveheart looked at the alien. She did not seem to resemble any species from the Planet Cluster-the alliance of Planets Ice, Rock, Fire, Bone, and Sand. This female humanoid alien wore a sophisticated gleaming golden-bronze armor that revealed only her piercing clear violet eyes, full dark purple lips, and spunky auburn hair that was held up in a disheveled bun by some metallic-black band and needle. She had a variety of weapons besides the X5-23 pistol; a large silver-gold sword was strapped across her back, a miniature crossbow rested upon her wrist, and Graveheart would bet that she had more hidden in the folds of her armor.
"My name is Graveheart," Graveheart introduced formally, "Formally a Rock Miner; Granite class. And you are...?"
"And what brings you here?" the alien asked quickly, playfully oscillating the barrel of her weapon between the two.
Cryos looked at his well-muscled companion who gave the Ice King a slight nod in return. Shocked, he gave Graveheart his best "Are you sure?" look. A second affirmative nod from the ex-Rock Miner gave Cryos the reassurance to trust the alien...but only for this one moment.
"Very well, since our lives are at stake," the Ice King sighed, looking back at their captor. "Our ship crashed on this world, when we came to warn you of the coming of the Beast planet. Actually, if I remember right, it was your people that opened fire on our ship," Cryos added rather sarcastically.
"That was the Sternum's doing, not ours," she corrected curtly now eyeing the two suspiciously. "Why are Ice and Rock united?"
"All the planets; Ice, Rock, Fire, Bone, and Sand, have united to defeat our common enemy, the Beast," replied Graveheart, noting that their attractive, war-trained captor had somehow gathered a fair amount of information on their worlds. He wanted to know how...and why.
"We are now called The Alliance," Cryos continued for his friend, "under the leadership of this simple Miner." The King inclined his head towards Graveheart.
The female alien looked at the blue Rock-man as if seeing him truly for the first time. She raised an eyebrow, trying to make sense of what she had been told.
"I've heard a lot about your system from around," she gestured vaguely in the direction of the populace. "They say that you're all at war with each other. Raiding each other's planets-Bone for food, Ice for water, Rock for minerals, and Fire for coal...."
As the alien flatly narrated all the great wars and raids fought long ago, Graveheart gazed solemnly to the ground. Memories of the raids haunted him once again, for he had been there. All four planets had been raided, pillaged, and destroyed by the other three. Men, women, and children died on all sides of the war; some died in battle, others had died of starvation. He shook his head regrettably as the Ice King placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.
"...But Planet Sand? I've not heard of such planet nor of the Beast," finished the alien, hoping to drop the hint that she wanted to know more of what had happened.
Now they knew something she didn't. King Cryos smiled cunningly. "May we at least have the pleasure of knowing with whom we are with?"
The alien grinned, almost embarrassingly, and years of war-beaten scars that had etched into her face seemed to evaporate. "Come along now," she said swiftly after regaining her composure. "It's a long way back to the city and we can 'discuss' matters along the way."
Spinning a full three-sixty, she jumped down from the wreckage and walked quickly down a rough path towards the 'city.'
With her pistol tucked into a holster at her side, Krystal tossed Graveheart's and the Ice King's weapons back to their respective owners. Surprised, the two caught their guns rather awkwardly before rushing to catch up with their new 'friend.'
The alien smiled inwardly no longer bored with her new captives, and called out, "Oh and by the way, the name's Krystal."
"So tell me more about the Beast," Krystal said ignoring the "Should we trust her?" looks that Graveheart and Cryos were throwing at each other.
Cryos shrugged, finding no harm in telling her of the dangers of the Beast planet-afterall that was why they had come to warn them of. "The Beast devours planets to feed its hunger. So far three planets that we know of have fallen victims to the Beast."
The blue-crystal rock humanoid nodded. "The first was Planet Tek, a planet far from our own system. It's sole survivor, Princess Tekla, escaped and crashed on Planet Ice warning us of the Beast's approach. We united our forces and destroyed the Beast's first front, the planet Remora, which they had converted into a giant weapon. But by then, it was too late for the Beast Planet had arrived...through our sun. It was then that Tekla found out about the World Engines that could propel our planets away from the Beast."
Graveheart paused awhile to let it settle in. He didn't know whether he had made mistake of telling this alien of their World Engines, but it was too late to turn back. Krystal, however, inquired nothing about the engines and remained silent, expecting more of the tale.
Sensing that his friend was in deep thought about some important matter, Cryos picked up where the ex-Miner had left off. "We sent word to the others about the engines hoping that they were able to start it up fast enough to move away from the Beast, however Planet Fire, being closest to the sun, could not escape in time. The Prince had his people evacuated to one of Rock's battle moons while the Vizier stayed to steer the planet in an attempt to destroy the Beast." The Ice King sighed remembering that intense moment.
"I'm guessing it didn't work or you guys wouldn't be here," Krystal said, prompting her 'captives' to continue talking.
"No," Graveheart replied. "Even our last attempt didn't work either."
"What happened?" she probed.
"We had met up with a telepathic race, the Sand People of Planet Sand, led by Zumar. She agreed to join us after the Beast made an attempt to annihilate them," narrated Graveheart. "Their planet surprisingly had the World Engines too. With the help of the Sand people, we were able to get to the Engines, escaping the Beast again.
"The next planet we encountered was seemingly uninhabited, so we decided to load the World Engines with explosives. Our intention was to use this world as a bait for the Beast as Tekla had been able to locate the telepod-that's what brings people to the control room of the World Engine-and confirm that it was too damaged for repair. However there was life of that planet...plant life and with the help of Zumar we were able to speak to the plants and explain our motives. They agreed to be used as bait since they had no other choice-well, the other choice would be to die by the Beast-and they were not going to give in." Graveheart paused then, again reliving another dreaded moment.
"All the explosives that Bone could supply was in that planet," Cryos said shaking his head amusingly.
"Yes," chuckled Graveheart, "all the explosives of Planet Bone. I'd have bet Femur was happy to be rid of them."
Krystal raised a brow. "Femur?" she asked, thinking deeply. "Ah yes, the Emperor of Bone."
"That's him," Graveheart affirmed. "Ever heard a saying on Bone: You snag the throne you rule on Bone. The one who dies is food for flies."
"Yes I have, but I don't see what-" Krystal started to say before realizing the irony of it all. She laughed. "Femur helped the Alliance by helping himself!"
Graveheart grinned. "Femur's advisor, Pelvis, has been a thorn to the Emperor. At least now Femur can rest easy knowing there isn't a bomb hiding somewhere in his chambers."
"That is, if he's still alive," Cryos said gravely.
The Rock Miner gave a look of despair. "I hope they're alright."
Krystal frowned. "They?"
"Jade, Femur, and Palin," supplied Cryos, then quietly added, "my son."
They traveled away from the wreckage and into the city in relative silence. No matter how skillfully Graveheart and Cryos probed Krystal into revealing something of herself, she was able to avoid it all cunningly and fiercely.
"This world looks vaguely familiar, somehow," Cryos said after a tense silence.
Krystal smiled mysteriously. "It should," she said in a low voice, staying out of Graveheart's earshot. "Afterall your father was one of the people who authorized the construction of this place."
King Cryos narrowed his eyes and whispered under his breath, "It can't be! But..."
"Well, here we are," Krystal interrupted in a loud voice when she saw Graveheart catching up to them. She gestured to the great bluish-black metal structured buildings that loomed ahead.
"And it's about time too," said a voice from behind.
Graveheart and Cryos wheeled around, hands on their weapons. The speaker was another female alien though definitely not one of the same race as Krystal's. This new alien didn't have Krystal's color or features; she had two bull-like horns on her head that surprisingly seemed to fit quite well with her striking figure and cat-like fingers. She wore only a tight black outfit that revealed most of her white skin and no armor of any sort. Her hands spread apart confidently, showing that she meant no harm to them.
"My name is Julia," she said grandly. "I'm terribly disappointed in you Krystal, to think you could've at least disarmed them...."
"I did," answered Krystal coldly.
The other alien waved a hand, studying the newcomers, Graveheart in particular. "Welcome, dear warriors. I'm the leader of this proud sector," Julia purred, reaching out for the Rock Miner. Now inches from Graveheart's face, she whispered, "And I could use strong men like you to fight for me...."
Cryos stepped in awkwardly forcing Julia to pull back, with irritation glowing in her eyes. "Allow me to introduce ourselves," he said, ignoring the daggers Julia's eyes were shooting at him. "My name is Cryos and this is Graveheart. We crashed here-"
The Ice King was about to say more when Krystal cut in.
"Julia, you have a promise to keep...."
Julia frowned at Krystal, then suddenly broke into a grin, showing her pearly white fangs. "Ah yes," she said fishing out a small key from one of her hidden pockets. "Come here and remove that silly armor of yours. After all, you are among friends."
Without triggering any device, the plate that had covered most of Krystal's face seemed to fall to her clavicle revealing her soft purple face and neck. Around her neck was a collar that seemed out of place-and it was; the collar had spikes that pierced into her skin painfully like some kind of restraining device.
Krystal turned her back to Julia, facing Cryos and Graveheart. The Ice King gasped, awed by her simple beauty of her youth, yet something in her eyes seemed to tell him otherwise, but he could not tell what.... Graveheart thought that his friend had been shocked with the whole collar-restraining deal as he was.
Julia brushed aside several lose strands of Krystal's striking auburn hair and unlocked the collar. First the teeth of the collar retracted harmlessly away from Krystal's neck then the entire collar retracted to become a single cube which fell into Julia's outstretched hand. Then the white-skinned alien walked around Krystal and faced her, glaring threateningly into her eyes, daring her to attack. Instead, the golden-bronze face armor went up around Krystal's face, forming a different helmet than before. This one covered all of her head and hair with a visor sliding down, hiding her rebellious violet eyes. Then swiftly, she brushed past Julia and the two newcomers, and headed into the one of large buildings.
Julia smirked. "Don't worry about the young one," she said warmly to Graveheart who had unthinkingly started off after the purple alien. "She's always been like that in all her fifteen years on this miserable piece of rock. I actually don't blame her for growing up the way she is now."
Cryos looked unbelievingly at Julia.
"You said you crashed here?" Julia asked ignoring Cryos and taking the miner's arm. "What a coincidence! So did I..."
"What is this place?" asked Graveheart wonderingly.
"This place?" purred Julia. "Oh, some of us call it home. Others still call it the Prison Planet."
Graveheart gasped. "The Prison Planet?!"
The Prison Planet had been a planet in their solar system used to house all the dangerous criminals from Planets Fire, Ice, Rock, or Bone. Glancing over to his friend, he saw that Cryos remained unaffected by this recent announcement. He suspected that the Ice King had already known that much and was trying to cope with other matters. Suddenly, Cryos gasped just as they headed into the main building of the city.
"What is it?" asked Graveheart.
"We're not in our system anymore," Cryos said, almost in a bare whisper, blinking at the new constellations that hung above his head. "The Planet Cluster...it's gone!"
"Sternum!" growled Julia with resentment. "He's activated the Trans-warp engines again."
"Trans-warp?" inquired Cryos.
"Yes, the ability to travel through light years in a matter of seconds!" explained Julia, reveling at its very name. "And it's power...ah, soon to be mine.... If I can just get to Sternum-"
"Sternum..." Cryos said furrowing his brows. "His name is vaguely familiar to me."
Graveheart nodded. "Yes, who is Sternum?"
Julia looked deep into Graveheart's turquoise-blue eyes and smiled warmly. "Why, he was the one who set the prisoners free, according to the prisoners, that is. They also say that he used to be the emperor of Bone, as if anyone really cares....but they do!" she growled almost inhumanely. "And that's why he's their undisputed leader.
"But you see these people here?" -Julia went on gesturing to the building where people of all the four races dwelled-"These people are mine and together we will fight against Sternum for control of this planet. They will serve me to the end...these people will die for me! And what about you?"
"What?!" asked Cryos incredulously, shocked at what he had just heard. He studied Julia intently trying to make sense of everything as he allowed Graveheart to explain to her about the Alliance and why they could not swear loyalty to her cause. The other reason the Ice King didn't want to blurt out was that this Julia seemed a little...insane.
Julia sighed regrettably after Graveheart had finished. "You are fortunate though, to have crashed on our side of the city, for surely your friends would have died by that ruthless Bone Warrior."
Graveheart turned pale with anguish and slumped down heavily on one of the chairs. King Cryos of Planet Ice felt a pain in his heart and soul-for the second time in his life. All he could do was stand up and silently move away. He needed to be alone.
As Cryos proceeded slowly into the dim-lit corridor, he could hear Julia persuading Graveheart to fight with her against Sternum. The Ice King closed his eyes for a moment regretting the moment he had allowed his own son to accompany Jade and Femur. True, he was old enough to take care of himself, but he was the second heir to the Ice Throne. And with his elder brother defiantly out in the battlefield....
"Thinking about your friends?" asked a voice from above.
Startled, Cryos looked up and squinted into the darkness. Straining his eyes, he saw a slight movement then he stood still as a figure moved swiftly and confidently towards him. There was a familiar way in which his unexpected guest moved and suddenly, he knew who it was.
"Krystal," Cryos said softly.
She somersaulted down from above and stepped into the light, faceplate withdrawn. "You're very observant, King Cryos," she noted striding towards a window. Starlight streamed through it, outlining her form and casting a radiant glow around her armor. "Skilled fighter, too....I never did meet any in my travels," she added absentmindedly.
Cryos frowned. "Your travels? You don't look a single year over twenty. How could you have gone exploring the galaxy at five?" he asked remembering Julia's comment that Krystal had been here for fifteen years.
"I...I meant um..."Krystal faltered trying fervently to come up with some plausible explanation. "The uh, five years of traveling my parents and I embarked on..."
Since her back was to the Ice King, he couldn't see if she were lying or not, but he suspected that she probably was.
"You parents?" inquired Cryos.
"What about them?" Krystal asked hesitantly.
"What happened to them?"
Krystal closed her eyes solemnly. Cryos could swear that he saw tears streaming down her cheeks when he looked at her reflection in the window, but he wasn't very sure. So he stood there and gave her the moment of peace that he needed too. For awhile, there was absolute silence, then suddenly red klaxons began blaring from all around. Heavy footfalls thundered from every direction.
"Cry-os!" came Graveheart's voice from over the banging and shouting.
"I'm here," the Ice King called back, looking back into the corridor that he'd come from. He waved his hand until he was certain that Graveheart had seen him; and not long after, the miner made his way through accompanied by Julia.
"By the Great Glacier! What is going on?" demanded Cryos.
"I'm assembling my troops," replied Julia. "We will attack Sternum's hold and bring him down once and for all. You may join in if you wish," she said as if it was an afterthought, but Cryos knew she was desperate for troops.
"I think I'll-" Cryos began to say when he noticed Krystal had already disappeared. Perplexed, he lifted an antennae.
"You'll...?" prompted Julia eagerly awaiting to hear him pledge his service to her.
"I think I'll stay," the Ice King finished pleased to see Julia's face contorted with anger. Turning to his friend Cryos explained he was still feeling tired after the long trek. "Good luck, my friend," added Cryos. "Perhaps I'll join a bit later."
Graveheart gave him one of those "I understand" nods before turning to leave. The Ice King stood contemplating the new stars that shimmered brightly in this unknown part of the universe. He waited until he was sure everyone had left before walking back through the maze of corridors, his mind set on finding some clues of Julia's past. His first problem was not worrying what would happen if he were caught snooping around; it was locating the her quarters.
Suddenly, he heard the thudding of a single set of footfalls. Hiding in the shadows of a pillar, he concentrated on the sounds that this individual was making. Definitely a light individual...no clanking armor...bare-footed...? There was a ninety- percent chance that this was an Ice Trooper and Cryos was taking bets that it was. Quickly, Cryos removed his distinguished Ice-King-sash and hid it behind a box, to appear like any other Ice Trooper.
At the right moment, the Ice King stepped out and grabbed the humanoid just as he intended to pass by. It was an Ice Trooper-young by the looks of his terrified face.
"We've got a few things to discuss," he said threateningly at the little trooper.
Swiping the trooper's X5-23 pistol aside with his third hand, Cryos eyed the young man seriously. It was then that the Ice King noticed a black band encircling the trooper's arm; it was strikingly familiar to that of the one Krystal had around her neck. He frowned, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"I want to know where Julia resides," Cryos demanded.
"I...I d-don't know," stammered the young, frighten trooper looking as if he would empty his bowel any second now. "Somewhere in the West Wing, I think." He pointed a shaky hand in a direction, supposedly 'west.'
"We have never met," said the Ice King coldly, glaring down at the cowering trooper. "Understand?"
The trooper nodded his head so furiously that it was a blur to Cryos. When he set the trooper down and released his grip, the young Ice insectizoid raced off instinctively, not even pausing to retrieve his weapon.
Chuckling, Cryos continued his way down the West Wing. Unknown to the Ice King, a figure hidden in the shadows followed him silently from high above.
As Cryos entered the West Wing, he found the complex surprisingly small. Much to his relief though, he pointed out to himself that that meant he only had to check out ten rooms. Then, from out of the corner of his eye, he saw a movement in the darkness. Trying not to act too suspiciously, the Ice King took out one of his extra hands (well, to him it wasn't considered an 'extra' hand) that was holding the pistol and aimed it at the silhouette.
"You're wasting time," sang out a familiar mocking voice from above.
"Krystal!" Cryos cried looking up. "Stop playing games, I haven't got the time."
The words came out of him before he could even think them through.
"Didn't I just say that?" Krystal asked smoothly. Swinging down from the rafters, she landed, light as a feather, on the ground. "I've come to make a proposition-"
"I don't make promises with potential enemies," interrupted Cryos sternly as if he were talking to a child.
"You'll like this one," she pressed on. "Just hear me out, okay?"
"Alright," replied the Ice King, the diplomatic side of him kicking in.
"I'll show you her room and get you in it," Krystal started. "All you have to do is get a ring of bronze keys, which are behind a picture frame."
"Why can't you get them yourself?" he asked, raising an antennae inquiringly as he surveyed the ten rooms. "You're obviously capable of it."
"Because I can't get into her room."
"Oh?" Cryos replied with mock pity. He walked up to a rather grand-looking room in this shabby building. "That's too bad."
"So do we have a deal?" Krystal pressed on eagerly.
"Hmm?" he said, pretending that he'd not heard her.
"Look," she said rather furiously, "I need those keys and you need to know more about Julia. You sure as hell aren't the type who would ransack all ten rooms just to dig up some relevant information."
Cryos was only half paying attention to her as he was about to place his hand on the knob of door number one, when he realized that there had been something in her voice that warned him not to. He pulled his hand away quickly and tossed a pebble at the knob. A brilliant flash of electric current snaked out around the rock, crumbling it into ashes.
"Ouch," the Ice King muttered under his breath.
"I could get you in there if you want," she said after awhile, as if it were no big deal.
She'd slip, Cryos thought in a flash. Krystal had said she couldn't get near Julia's room and now she was offering her help to get him into this room. It was a hunch, but Cryos was sure this wasn't Julia's quarters.
"Well?" Krystal asked almost impatiently.
Cryos didn't want to give in yet. He surveyed the other rooms closely, his gaze settled on one that seemed most likely. If there was one thing about women, it was their sense of cleanliness and this one fitted the bill.
"Come on, Cryos," Krystal said settling down on the ground boredly. But he could feel her eyeing his every move towards his new pick.
"No need to, my dear Krystal," Cryos answered extravagantly as he bent close to the keyhole and breathed out cold air. Immediately, the lock froze and cracked under the sudden change in temperature. Cautiously, he tossed a pebble at the door. It made a clunk sound, then fell down on the floor. Smirking, the Ice King kicked the door open, revealing a nicely kept room with several of Julia's restraining-collar devices strewn on a table.
"It seems I have underestimated you, Ice King," said Krystal in return with a hint of disappointment.
Cryos remained silent as he stepped in carefully, looking around for any potential traps. It was then that he realized that only the collars and bands would set off the alarms or traps that were in Julia's room. Then, a picture frame caught his eye. Ironically, it had one word inscribed on it: "Freedom." Reaching behind the frame, Cryos felt a strange lump in one of the corners. Tearing open the backing, he found a set of small bronze keys hanging on a hook. The Ice King contemplated he choices, but upon seeing the word "Freedom" again, Cryos made up his mind and tossed the keys. They landed near Krystal's feet.
She looked at them hesitantly then at Cryos who was already opening every drawer he could find. Picking up the little bronze keys, Krystal retracted her full armor back to a belt and began unlocking the bands, collars and shackles that bounded her to Julia. First on her wrists, then around her waist and lastly, at her ankles. She was free! Free after fifteen long years. It was then that she realized that Cryos had stopped his search and was staring directly at her.
"Yeah, I was her prisoner," Krystal said bitterly. "But so what? Everyone else is. Some more willing than others," she added.
Cryos looked down sheepishly. He knew he had not been staring at Julia's restraining devices.
"There's nothing here," he said looking away from Krystal. "Nothing."
"I'm sorry," she replied with real pity, "I didn't know."
Suddenly, there were shouts from above.
"They're back!" Krystal cried frantically as she scrambled to her feet, tossing the keys back to Cryos. Then she gathered the little harmless cubes that were once torturing devices and slipped them into a pocket, her armor already beginning to cover most of the middle section of her body.
Catching the precious little keys, Cryos quickly returned them back into its proper place and left the room, closing the door behind him. As he headed back to the central building, he felt Krystal's hand gripping his arm strongly.
"I am in your debt, King Cryos," she said softly, as her faceplate slid into place to form a light helmet.
But before Cryos could say a word, Krystal melted back into the darkness. The Ice King abandoned the thought of even looking for her and hurried back through the corridor to greet his friend.
TO BE FREE Chronicles of the Prison Planet
Chapter 1: Krystal & Julia
"Ah now, let's see who we have here!" announced a female alien standing over the wrecked Ice fighter-craft.
She looked down upon her worn-out captives fingering the trigger of her X5-23 pistol, a standard hand weapon on Planet Ice, deciding whether to shoot now and ask questions later or just get rid of them. She figured that killing them now would be so much easier since all she had to report was that they had fired upon her first. And she had no choice but to kill them.
Kill or be killed.
That's what she'd have done; and that's what she'd do.... No!
Damn.
For a moment there, she'd almost let her old instincts take control over her again.
Survival of the fittest.
That's what she was best known for. Was. For a moment, everything would have been lost with one squeeze of the trigger. She glared at her two helpless captives. Why should she even spare them? Just because Julia ordered her to?
Julia.
She growled angrily at the thought of the 'All-Mighty' Julia. And damn those shackles that bound her to Julia. Those curs(d shackles were the only things that hindered her from splitting this lousy planet.
Presently, a flash caught her eye. It was starlight glistening off the sash of one of her captives-an Ice inhabitant...and that meant only one thing.
"Well, I'll be," she whispered as she studied the newcomers that she had recently disarmed. "If it isn't the 'great' Cryos, himself." Then as an afterthought, she muttered, "My life has suddenly been surrounded by all these 'high-class' mockeries."
The two newcomers exchanged bewildered looks. The blue insectizoid of Ice faced their captor. "I am Cryos, yes," he admitted politely, resting a three-fingered hand on his chest. Cryos stood to his full height and looked up to their captor. "But I am sure that we have not met before. How is it that you know of me and I, not of you?"
The female alien lowered the pistol lazily as if bored of her new captives. "No, you don't know me. But I know you very well, King Cryos." She smiled rather smugly then continued, conveniently ignoring Cryos' question. "And who might you be, man of Rock?"
Graveheart looked at the alien. She did not seem to resemble any species from the Planet Cluster-the alliance of Planets Ice, Rock, Fire, Bone, and Sand. This female humanoid alien wore a sophisticated gleaming golden-bronze armor that revealed only her piercing clear violet eyes, full dark purple lips, and spunky auburn hair that was held up in a disheveled bun by some metallic-black band and needle. She had a variety of weapons besides the X5-23 pistol; a large silver-gold sword was strapped across her back, a miniature crossbow rested upon her wrist, and Graveheart would bet that she had more hidden in the folds of her armor.
"My name is Graveheart," Graveheart introduced formally, "Formally a Rock Miner; Granite class. And you are...?"
"And what brings you here?" the alien asked quickly, playfully oscillating the barrel of her weapon between the two.
Cryos looked at his well-muscled companion who gave the Ice King a slight nod in return. Shocked, he gave Graveheart his best "Are you sure?" look. A second affirmative nod from the ex-Rock Miner gave Cryos the reassurance to trust the alien...but only for this one moment.
"Very well, since our lives are at stake," the Ice King sighed, looking back at their captor. "Our ship crashed on this world, when we came to warn you of the coming of the Beast planet. Actually, if I remember right, it was your people that opened fire on our ship," Cryos added rather sarcastically.
"That was the Sternum's doing, not ours," she corrected curtly now eyeing the two suspiciously. "Why are Ice and Rock united?"
"All the planets; Ice, Rock, Fire, Bone, and Sand, have united to defeat our common enemy, the Beast," replied Graveheart, noting that their attractive, war-trained captor had somehow gathered a fair amount of information on their worlds. He wanted to know how...and why.
"We are now called The Alliance," Cryos continued for his friend, "under the leadership of this simple Miner." The King inclined his head towards Graveheart.
The female alien looked at the blue Rock-man as if seeing him truly for the first time. She raised an eyebrow, trying to make sense of what she had been told.
"I've heard a lot about your system from around," she gestured vaguely in the direction of the populace. "They say that you're all at war with each other. Raiding each other's planets-Bone for food, Ice for water, Rock for minerals, and Fire for coal...."
As the alien flatly narrated all the great wars and raids fought long ago, Graveheart gazed solemnly to the ground. Memories of the raids haunted him once again, for he had been there. All four planets had been raided, pillaged, and destroyed by the other three. Men, women, and children died on all sides of the war; some died in battle, others had died of starvation. He shook his head regrettably as the Ice King placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.
"...But Planet Sand? I've not heard of such planet nor of the Beast," finished the alien, hoping to drop the hint that she wanted to know more of what had happened.
Now they knew something she didn't. King Cryos smiled cunningly. "May we at least have the pleasure of knowing with whom we are with?"
The alien grinned, almost embarrassingly, and years of war-beaten scars that had etched into her face seemed to evaporate. "Come along now," she said swiftly after regaining her composure. "It's a long way back to the city and we can 'discuss' matters along the way."
Spinning a full three-sixty, she jumped down from the wreckage and walked quickly down a rough path towards the 'city.'
With her pistol tucked into a holster at her side, Krystal tossed Graveheart's and the Ice King's weapons back to their respective owners. Surprised, the two caught their guns rather awkwardly before rushing to catch up with their new 'friend.'
The alien smiled inwardly no longer bored with her new captives, and called out, "Oh and by the way, the name's Krystal."
"So tell me more about the Beast," Krystal said ignoring the "Should we trust her?" looks that Graveheart and Cryos were throwing at each other.
Cryos shrugged, finding no harm in telling her of the dangers of the Beast planet-afterall that was why they had come to warn them of. "The Beast devours planets to feed its hunger. So far three planets that we know of have fallen victims to the Beast."
The blue-crystal rock humanoid nodded. "The first was Planet Tek, a planet far from our own system. It's sole survivor, Princess Tekla, escaped and crashed on Planet Ice warning us of the Beast's approach. We united our forces and destroyed the Beast's first front, the planet Remora, which they had converted into a giant weapon. But by then, it was too late for the Beast Planet had arrived...through our sun. It was then that Tekla found out about the World Engines that could propel our planets away from the Beast."
Graveheart paused awhile to let it settle in. He didn't know whether he had made mistake of telling this alien of their World Engines, but it was too late to turn back. Krystal, however, inquired nothing about the engines and remained silent, expecting more of the tale.
Sensing that his friend was in deep thought about some important matter, Cryos picked up where the ex-Miner had left off. "We sent word to the others about the engines hoping that they were able to start it up fast enough to move away from the Beast, however Planet Fire, being closest to the sun, could not escape in time. The Prince had his people evacuated to one of Rock's battle moons while the Vizier stayed to steer the planet in an attempt to destroy the Beast." The Ice King sighed remembering that intense moment.
"I'm guessing it didn't work or you guys wouldn't be here," Krystal said, prompting her 'captives' to continue talking.
"No," Graveheart replied. "Even our last attempt didn't work either."
"What happened?" she probed.
"We had met up with a telepathic race, the Sand People of Planet Sand, led by Zumar. She agreed to join us after the Beast made an attempt to annihilate them," narrated Graveheart. "Their planet surprisingly had the World Engines too. With the help of the Sand people, we were able to get to the Engines, escaping the Beast again.
"The next planet we encountered was seemingly uninhabited, so we decided to load the World Engines with explosives. Our intention was to use this world as a bait for the Beast as Tekla had been able to locate the telepod-that's what brings people to the control room of the World Engine-and confirm that it was too damaged for repair. However there was life of that planet...plant life and with the help of Zumar we were able to speak to the plants and explain our motives. They agreed to be used as bait since they had no other choice-well, the other choice would be to die by the Beast-and they were not going to give in." Graveheart paused then, again reliving another dreaded moment.
"All the explosives that Bone could supply was in that planet," Cryos said shaking his head amusingly.
"Yes," chuckled Graveheart, "all the explosives of Planet Bone. I'd have bet Femur was happy to be rid of them."
Krystal raised a brow. "Femur?" she asked, thinking deeply. "Ah yes, the Emperor of Bone."
"That's him," Graveheart affirmed. "Ever heard a saying on Bone: You snag the throne you rule on Bone. The one who dies is food for flies."
"Yes I have, but I don't see what-" Krystal started to say before realizing the irony of it all. She laughed. "Femur helped the Alliance by helping himself!"
Graveheart grinned. "Femur's advisor, Pelvis, has been a thorn to the Emperor. At least now Femur can rest easy knowing there isn't a bomb hiding somewhere in his chambers."
"That is, if he's still alive," Cryos said gravely.
The Rock Miner gave a look of despair. "I hope they're alright."
Krystal frowned. "They?"
"Jade, Femur, and Palin," supplied Cryos, then quietly added, "my son."
They traveled away from the wreckage and into the city in relative silence. No matter how skillfully Graveheart and Cryos probed Krystal into revealing something of herself, she was able to avoid it all cunningly and fiercely.
"This world looks vaguely familiar, somehow," Cryos said after a tense silence.
Krystal smiled mysteriously. "It should," she said in a low voice, staying out of Graveheart's earshot. "Afterall your father was one of the people who authorized the construction of this place."
King Cryos narrowed his eyes and whispered under his breath, "It can't be! But..."
"Well, here we are," Krystal interrupted in a loud voice when she saw Graveheart catching up to them. She gestured to the great bluish-black metal structured buildings that loomed ahead.
"And it's about time too," said a voice from behind.
Graveheart and Cryos wheeled around, hands on their weapons. The speaker was another female alien though definitely not one of the same race as Krystal's. This new alien didn't have Krystal's color or features; she had two bull-like horns on her head that surprisingly seemed to fit quite well with her striking figure and cat-like fingers. She wore only a tight black outfit that revealed most of her white skin and no armor of any sort. Her hands spread apart confidently, showing that she meant no harm to them.
"My name is Julia," she said grandly. "I'm terribly disappointed in you Krystal, to think you could've at least disarmed them...."
"I did," answered Krystal coldly.
The other alien waved a hand, studying the newcomers, Graveheart in particular. "Welcome, dear warriors. I'm the leader of this proud sector," Julia purred, reaching out for the Rock Miner. Now inches from Graveheart's face, she whispered, "And I could use strong men like you to fight for me...."
Cryos stepped in awkwardly forcing Julia to pull back, with irritation glowing in her eyes. "Allow me to introduce ourselves," he said, ignoring the daggers Julia's eyes were shooting at him. "My name is Cryos and this is Graveheart. We crashed here-"
The Ice King was about to say more when Krystal cut in.
"Julia, you have a promise to keep...."
Julia frowned at Krystal, then suddenly broke into a grin, showing her pearly white fangs. "Ah yes," she said fishing out a small key from one of her hidden pockets. "Come here and remove that silly armor of yours. After all, you are among friends."
Without triggering any device, the plate that had covered most of Krystal's face seemed to fall to her clavicle revealing her soft purple face and neck. Around her neck was a collar that seemed out of place-and it was; the collar had spikes that pierced into her skin painfully like some kind of restraining device.
Krystal turned her back to Julia, facing Cryos and Graveheart. The Ice King gasped, awed by her simple beauty of her youth, yet something in her eyes seemed to tell him otherwise, but he could not tell what.... Graveheart thought that his friend had been shocked with the whole collar-restraining deal as he was.
Julia brushed aside several lose strands of Krystal's striking auburn hair and unlocked the collar. First the teeth of the collar retracted harmlessly away from Krystal's neck then the entire collar retracted to become a single cube which fell into Julia's outstretched hand. Then the white-skinned alien walked around Krystal and faced her, glaring threateningly into her eyes, daring her to attack. Instead, the golden-bronze face armor went up around Krystal's face, forming a different helmet than before. This one covered all of her head and hair with a visor sliding down, hiding her rebellious violet eyes. Then swiftly, she brushed past Julia and the two newcomers, and headed into the one of large buildings.
Julia smirked. "Don't worry about the young one," she said warmly to Graveheart who had unthinkingly started off after the purple alien. "She's always been like that in all her fifteen years on this miserable piece of rock. I actually don't blame her for growing up the way she is now."
Cryos looked unbelievingly at Julia.
"You said you crashed here?" Julia asked ignoring Cryos and taking the miner's arm. "What a coincidence! So did I..."
"What is this place?" asked Graveheart wonderingly.
"This place?" purred Julia. "Oh, some of us call it home. Others still call it the Prison Planet."
Graveheart gasped. "The Prison Planet?!"
The Prison Planet had been a planet in their solar system used to house all the dangerous criminals from Planets Fire, Ice, Rock, or Bone. Glancing over to his friend, he saw that Cryos remained unaffected by this recent announcement. He suspected that the Ice King had already known that much and was trying to cope with other matters. Suddenly, Cryos gasped just as they headed into the main building of the city.
"What is it?" asked Graveheart.
"We're not in our system anymore," Cryos said, almost in a bare whisper, blinking at the new constellations that hung above his head. "The Planet Cluster...it's gone!"
"Sternum!" growled Julia with resentment. "He's activated the Trans-warp engines again."
"Trans-warp?" inquired Cryos.
"Yes, the ability to travel through light years in a matter of seconds!" explained Julia, reveling at its very name. "And it's power...ah, soon to be mine.... If I can just get to Sternum-"
"Sternum..." Cryos said furrowing his brows. "His name is vaguely familiar to me."
Graveheart nodded. "Yes, who is Sternum?"
Julia looked deep into Graveheart's turquoise-blue eyes and smiled warmly. "Why, he was the one who set the prisoners free, according to the prisoners, that is. They also say that he used to be the emperor of Bone, as if anyone really cares....but they do!" she growled almost inhumanely. "And that's why he's their undisputed leader.
"But you see these people here?" -Julia went on gesturing to the building where people of all the four races dwelled-"These people are mine and together we will fight against Sternum for control of this planet. They will serve me to the end...these people will die for me! And what about you?"
"What?!" asked Cryos incredulously, shocked at what he had just heard. He studied Julia intently trying to make sense of everything as he allowed Graveheart to explain to her about the Alliance and why they could not swear loyalty to her cause. The other reason the Ice King didn't want to blurt out was that this Julia seemed a little...insane.
Julia sighed regrettably after Graveheart had finished. "You are fortunate though, to have crashed on our side of the city, for surely your friends would have died by that ruthless Bone Warrior."
Graveheart turned pale with anguish and slumped down heavily on one of the chairs. King Cryos of Planet Ice felt a pain in his heart and soul-for the second time in his life. All he could do was stand up and silently move away. He needed to be alone.
As Cryos proceeded slowly into the dim-lit corridor, he could hear Julia persuading Graveheart to fight with her against Sternum. The Ice King closed his eyes for a moment regretting the moment he had allowed his own son to accompany Jade and Femur. True, he was old enough to take care of himself, but he was the second heir to the Ice Throne. And with his elder brother defiantly out in the battlefield....
"Thinking about your friends?" asked a voice from above.
Startled, Cryos looked up and squinted into the darkness. Straining his eyes, he saw a slight movement then he stood still as a figure moved swiftly and confidently towards him. There was a familiar way in which his unexpected guest moved and suddenly, he knew who it was.
"Krystal," Cryos said softly.
She somersaulted down from above and stepped into the light, faceplate withdrawn. "You're very observant, King Cryos," she noted striding towards a window. Starlight streamed through it, outlining her form and casting a radiant glow around her armor. "Skilled fighter, too....I never did meet any in my travels," she added absentmindedly.
Cryos frowned. "Your travels? You don't look a single year over twenty. How could you have gone exploring the galaxy at five?" he asked remembering Julia's comment that Krystal had been here for fifteen years.
"I...I meant um..."Krystal faltered trying fervently to come up with some plausible explanation. "The uh, five years of traveling my parents and I embarked on..."
Since her back was to the Ice King, he couldn't see if she were lying or not, but he suspected that she probably was.
"You parents?" inquired Cryos.
"What about them?" Krystal asked hesitantly.
"What happened to them?"
Krystal closed her eyes solemnly. Cryos could swear that he saw tears streaming down her cheeks when he looked at her reflection in the window, but he wasn't very sure. So he stood there and gave her the moment of peace that he needed too. For awhile, there was absolute silence, then suddenly red klaxons began blaring from all around. Heavy footfalls thundered from every direction.
"Cry-os!" came Graveheart's voice from over the banging and shouting.
"I'm here," the Ice King called back, looking back into the corridor that he'd come from. He waved his hand until he was certain that Graveheart had seen him; and not long after, the miner made his way through accompanied by Julia.
"By the Great Glacier! What is going on?" demanded Cryos.
"I'm assembling my troops," replied Julia. "We will attack Sternum's hold and bring him down once and for all. You may join in if you wish," she said as if it was an afterthought, but Cryos knew she was desperate for troops.
"I think I'll-" Cryos began to say when he noticed Krystal had already disappeared. Perplexed, he lifted an antennae.
"You'll...?" prompted Julia eagerly awaiting to hear him pledge his service to her.
"I think I'll stay," the Ice King finished pleased to see Julia's face contorted with anger. Turning to his friend Cryos explained he was still feeling tired after the long trek. "Good luck, my friend," added Cryos. "Perhaps I'll join a bit later."
Graveheart gave him one of those "I understand" nods before turning to leave. The Ice King stood contemplating the new stars that shimmered brightly in this unknown part of the universe. He waited until he was sure everyone had left before walking back through the maze of corridors, his mind set on finding some clues of Julia's past. His first problem was not worrying what would happen if he were caught snooping around; it was locating the her quarters.
Suddenly, he heard the thudding of a single set of footfalls. Hiding in the shadows of a pillar, he concentrated on the sounds that this individual was making. Definitely a light individual...no clanking armor...bare-footed...? There was a ninety- percent chance that this was an Ice Trooper and Cryos was taking bets that it was. Quickly, Cryos removed his distinguished Ice-King-sash and hid it behind a box, to appear like any other Ice Trooper.
At the right moment, the Ice King stepped out and grabbed the humanoid just as he intended to pass by. It was an Ice Trooper-young by the looks of his terrified face.
"We've got a few things to discuss," he said threateningly at the little trooper.
Swiping the trooper's X5-23 pistol aside with his third hand, Cryos eyed the young man seriously. It was then that the Ice King noticed a black band encircling the trooper's arm; it was strikingly familiar to that of the one Krystal had around her neck. He frowned, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"I want to know where Julia resides," Cryos demanded.
"I...I d-don't know," stammered the young, frighten trooper looking as if he would empty his bowel any second now. "Somewhere in the West Wing, I think." He pointed a shaky hand in a direction, supposedly 'west.'
"We have never met," said the Ice King coldly, glaring down at the cowering trooper. "Understand?"
The trooper nodded his head so furiously that it was a blur to Cryos. When he set the trooper down and released his grip, the young Ice insectizoid raced off instinctively, not even pausing to retrieve his weapon.
Chuckling, Cryos continued his way down the West Wing. Unknown to the Ice King, a figure hidden in the shadows followed him silently from high above.
As Cryos entered the West Wing, he found the complex surprisingly small. Much to his relief though, he pointed out to himself that that meant he only had to check out ten rooms. Then, from out of the corner of his eye, he saw a movement in the darkness. Trying not to act too suspiciously, the Ice King took out one of his extra hands (well, to him it wasn't considered an 'extra' hand) that was holding the pistol and aimed it at the silhouette.
"You're wasting time," sang out a familiar mocking voice from above.
"Krystal!" Cryos cried looking up. "Stop playing games, I haven't got the time."
The words came out of him before he could even think them through.
"Didn't I just say that?" Krystal asked smoothly. Swinging down from the rafters, she landed, light as a feather, on the ground. "I've come to make a proposition-"
"I don't make promises with potential enemies," interrupted Cryos sternly as if he were talking to a child.
"You'll like this one," she pressed on. "Just hear me out, okay?"
"Alright," replied the Ice King, the diplomatic side of him kicking in.
"I'll show you her room and get you in it," Krystal started. "All you have to do is get a ring of bronze keys, which are behind a picture frame."
"Why can't you get them yourself?" he asked, raising an antennae inquiringly as he surveyed the ten rooms. "You're obviously capable of it."
"Because I can't get into her room."
"Oh?" Cryos replied with mock pity. He walked up to a rather grand-looking room in this shabby building. "That's too bad."
"So do we have a deal?" Krystal pressed on eagerly.
"Hmm?" he said, pretending that he'd not heard her.
"Look," she said rather furiously, "I need those keys and you need to know more about Julia. You sure as hell aren't the type who would ransack all ten rooms just to dig up some relevant information."
Cryos was only half paying attention to her as he was about to place his hand on the knob of door number one, when he realized that there had been something in her voice that warned him not to. He pulled his hand away quickly and tossed a pebble at the knob. A brilliant flash of electric current snaked out around the rock, crumbling it into ashes.
"Ouch," the Ice King muttered under his breath.
"I could get you in there if you want," she said after awhile, as if it were no big deal.
She'd slip, Cryos thought in a flash. Krystal had said she couldn't get near Julia's room and now she was offering her help to get him into this room. It was a hunch, but Cryos was sure this wasn't Julia's quarters.
"Well?" Krystal asked almost impatiently.
Cryos didn't want to give in yet. He surveyed the other rooms closely, his gaze settled on one that seemed most likely. If there was one thing about women, it was their sense of cleanliness and this one fitted the bill.
"Come on, Cryos," Krystal said settling down on the ground boredly. But he could feel her eyeing his every move towards his new pick.
"No need to, my dear Krystal," Cryos answered extravagantly as he bent close to the keyhole and breathed out cold air. Immediately, the lock froze and cracked under the sudden change in temperature. Cautiously, he tossed a pebble at the door. It made a clunk sound, then fell down on the floor. Smirking, the Ice King kicked the door open, revealing a nicely kept room with several of Julia's restraining-collar devices strewn on a table.
"It seems I have underestimated you, Ice King," said Krystal in return with a hint of disappointment.
Cryos remained silent as he stepped in carefully, looking around for any potential traps. It was then that he realized that only the collars and bands would set off the alarms or traps that were in Julia's room. Then, a picture frame caught his eye. Ironically, it had one word inscribed on it: "Freedom." Reaching behind the frame, Cryos felt a strange lump in one of the corners. Tearing open the backing, he found a set of small bronze keys hanging on a hook. The Ice King contemplated he choices, but upon seeing the word "Freedom" again, Cryos made up his mind and tossed the keys. They landed near Krystal's feet.
She looked at them hesitantly then at Cryos who was already opening every drawer he could find. Picking up the little bronze keys, Krystal retracted her full armor back to a belt and began unlocking the bands, collars and shackles that bounded her to Julia. First on her wrists, then around her waist and lastly, at her ankles. She was free! Free after fifteen long years. It was then that she realized that Cryos had stopped his search and was staring directly at her.
"Yeah, I was her prisoner," Krystal said bitterly. "But so what? Everyone else is. Some more willing than others," she added.
Cryos looked down sheepishly. He knew he had not been staring at Julia's restraining devices.
"There's nothing here," he said looking away from Krystal. "Nothing."
"I'm sorry," she replied with real pity, "I didn't know."
Suddenly, there were shouts from above.
"They're back!" Krystal cried frantically as she scrambled to her feet, tossing the keys back to Cryos. Then she gathered the little harmless cubes that were once torturing devices and slipped them into a pocket, her armor already beginning to cover most of the middle section of her body.
Catching the precious little keys, Cryos quickly returned them back into its proper place and left the room, closing the door behind him. As he headed back to the central building, he felt Krystal's hand gripping his arm strongly.
"I am in your debt, King Cryos," she said softly, as her faceplate slid into place to form a light helmet.
But before Cryos could say a word, Krystal melted back into the darkness. The Ice King abandoned the thought of even looking for her and hurried back through the corridor to greet his friend.