My life is brilliant…
The Handmaid was not always the Handmaid of Death; she wasn't always the feared demon that breathed death; nor was she always the witch that travelled through time. She was once an innocent young troll who dreamed of a gentle world.
The Psiioniic wasn't always the most powerful psionic that lived; he wasn't always the mainframe of The Condense's Flag ship; he was not always the Sufferers follower. Before he became everything he was known for he was just a common troll with a common dream.
Today was like any other day in his young life. He would scurry down the alleyways, hiding from the high bloods that terrorized the streets. As always he had to struggle to find ends meet, after all, how else could a young troll who lost his lusus at an early age survive on this fierce planet?
My life is brilliant…
They say that an odd man lives on the green moon. Other people say that it is just a hoax, while some are completely indifferent about the matter. Well, the rumors are half true; there is an entity that lives on its green surface, but it would be too much to call him a person. On that green moon lives Doc. Scratch, the odd and short man with a cue ball for a head; I am serious and, it is quite literal that he has a cue ball for a head. What most people do not know however is that along with him, a young rust blood lives on the so called green moon.
"Papa, when can I go to Alternia?" asked the young troll as she tugged at Doc. Scratch's arm
"Perhaps when you are older" he replied as he lifted the little girl onto his lap
"How much longer must I wait?" asked the little girl; she looked at her guardian with pleading eyes
"I'll tell you when it's time. For now, you'd have to stay with Papa here where you'll be safe" he replied in a light tune
Two Sweeps Later…
My love is pure…
Two sweeps have passed and the handmaid was called upon by her guardian, Doc. Scratch.
"Handmaid, do you remember when you asked me when you could go to Alternia?" asked Doc. Scratch. She only gave a curt nod and looked at her father expectantly.
"I think you are now old enough to see your ancestral land first hand, but you'd have to promise me something" continued Doc. Scratch
"What would I have to do Papa?" Handmaid asked
"Promise me that you'd be careful, that you'd stay as far away from high bloods, and that you would return safely home before sunrise. Do you understand me Handmaid?" Replied Doc. Scratch
"Ok Papa I promise" assured Handmaid
"Put these on so that you would not catch any attention. On Alternia, trolls with your blood color are not on a good level in society", he warned as he gave his charge drab clothes and a cloak to match. The young troll hastily put on the clothes that her guardian handed her and went into the portal.
I saw an angel…
Of that I'm sure…
Once she got to Alternia she was greeted by a busy street crawling with trolls that wore clothes similar to the ones she had on. The whole place was gloomy and bustling at the same time. A lot of squeak beasts ran from corner to corner and dust was everywhere. "So this is Alternia", she thought to herself as she made her way past the crowded streets. Everything was just as it was until people began running for dear life. They scurried away from the scene like squeak beasts running away from a hungry meow beast. She was left alone on the street in a state of complete panic then a hand grabbed her and yanked her away from view.
She smiled to me in a subway…
"Are you crazy?" asked a boy with mismatched eyes and a heavy lisp. She remained silent and shook her head slowly. "You know it's dangerous to walk around when subjugulators are roaming the streets" continued the boy as he pulled her further into an alleyway which leads them to a small hive.
"Where are we?" she asked softly
"Well this is home. Oh yeah I forgot to ask your name, you can call me Psiioniic" the boy replied as he lead her further into the cluttered hive
"Well… my guardian calls me Handmaid" she replied in a hushed tone
"Handmaid? As in the Handmaid from those wriggler stories" the boy replied
She only gave a nod and looked him in the eyes with slight confusion. She never heard of that story not even once. The only stories she heard would be stories from her father about her so called great future that could help turn Alternia into a gentle world where children like them could roam free without the fear of being culled or enslaved by the so called high bloods that run troll society.
"Judging from your expression, you have not heard of the story yet have you" began Psiioniic. "Well, listen close and I'll tell you about the Handmaid of Death. They say that she's a troll, a low blood like us to be precise. She was said to carry with her to needles that she use to channel her powers and that she could travel to different periods of time. She is believed to be a maroon blood such as yourself, and that where ever she goes, death is close behind. With her powers, she brought an end to a lot of trolls from different parts of the world and different blood colors. And that would be the tale of The Handmaid" he ended
"That's scary" she returned as she slightly shivered in fear
"Not to worry, they say that she only comes in specific periods of time to cause a lot of things in troll society for an unknown reason and seeing that going here would be so mundane I'm sure she's far away from us" he assured
"Oh no" she exclaimed as she looked outside "The sun is about to rise. Papa would be worried I have to go" she bade as she ran out of the house "Thank you again Psiioniic" she ended as she disappeared into the alley
She was with another man…
But I'm wonder who's gonna sleep all night
'cause I've got a plan
The sun was nearing the horizon when Handmaid got back to the green moon. She was greeted by a completely distraught Doc. Scratch who immediately took her into his waiting arms.
"You were almost late dear" reprimanded the man as he gave her a light pat on the head, right between the horns
"I'm sorry Papa, I just got a little carried away" she replied with a sheepish grin on her face
He just gave a small sigh. "Just come home earlier the next time you go to Alternia alright?" bade Doc. Scratch as he released his charge
"Papa, when can I go to Alternia again?" she asked sweetly
"Perhaps some other time, now go to bed young lady" replied Doc. Scratch as they entered their abode
Sometime later
Time passed by and the handmaid finally reached the age of six sweeps. This sweep, her father figure had a surprise for her. He said he would give her something nice for her wriggling day and she was excited to find out what it was.
You're beautiful, you're beautiful…
You're beautiful it's true
and I saw her face in a crowded place
"Just close your eyes" he ordered calmly and Handmaid obeyed without question. She felt him pulling lightly on her hair and inserting something metal between her messy locks. "You can open your eyes now" said Doc. Scratch as he stepped away from his charge. Once she opened her eyes and looked at her reflection, she found her hair tied in a neat bun with two needles poking out then she remembered the story that the Psiioniic told her.
This was the beginning of her rebellious stage. This is when she began trying to escape from Doc. Scratch.
And I don't know what to do
'cause I'll never be with you
Several Sweeps after that
You're beautiful…
You're beautiful it's true…
Yeah she caught my eye
as I walked on by
she could see from my face that I was
fucking high
She tried desperately to be free of her destiny but alas, her fate was already written in stone. As much as she hated it she had to serve the demon and do his bidding by travelling through time and space, just like how Psiioniic told her all those sweeps ago. Today, she was in luck; her master gave her a free day, without any missions to attend to. Today she could just walk among other members of society. It was just like when her guardian let her explore Alternia all those sweeps ago, despite the fact that she was older and that she was now the feared Handmaid. She walked through the streets of Alternia and went to a familiar hive hidden behind a series of alleyways that could pass off as a maze. She entered the battered edifice and decided to toy with the rubble that lay around the place by moving them with her powers then a figure came in. It was a mustard blood with mismatched eyes and odd clothing. "Who are you?" he asked in a deep voice.
"Psiioniic? Is that you?" she asked back as she looked at the man who stood behind her
The man was silent for a moment then replied "Handmaid?"
She gave a nod and went closer to him. She examined the now mature Psiioniic. She found out that his build became leaner and more muscular than before and that he was not that skinny little mustard blood that saved her all those sweeps ago. They exchanged stories for a while and told each other of what has become of their lives.
"So you really did become the Handmaid of Death" he commented
"I'm afraid so" she replied in a downcast tone of voice "I am sorry if whatever I do would cause you and your friends grief. I truly am" she ended then a voice rang through her head saying "HANDMAID, IT IS TIME FOR YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT". She stood up then said "I'm afraid I'd have to leave now, but it is great to see you again Psiioniic"
And I don't think that I'll see you again
but we shared a moment that would last till the end…
You're beautiful… You're beautiful… It's true…
A long time passed that it would take a longer amount of time to count the sweeps than had come and gone. Now, the Psiioniic is a part of the Condense's Flag ship and the Handmaid is living a miserable existence. It is now time for her most awaited death.
In the engine room of the flag ship….
The Handmaid went for a little detour before she went to face her impending doom. She slipped into the engine room where the Psiioniic, currently known as the Helmsman resides. Her heart seemed to have skipped several beats when she saw him again. She felt compassion for her friend who was now tied to a machine. A burgundy tear rolled down her eye and she touched his face.
"What has she done to you?" she asked morosely as she looked into his eyes
"Handmaid?" he asked weakly and as always she gave a nod. "How nice of you to visit" he joked as he gave her a toothy smile. "It has been a while since I last saw you. How have you been" he asked
She was not able to reply and gave him a sweet embrace. "I came here to say goodbye Psiioniic" she whispered sadly
"Goodbye?" he asked "where are you going?"
"I'm going to somewhere peaceful" she replied as she forced a smile onto her face
"Can't you take me with you?" he asked
"I'm afraid not, but I assure you that I'll be waiting for you there" she replied "good bye Psiioniic, I love you", she ended right after she gave him a quick peck on the lips then she disappeared
There must be an angel with a smile on her face
when she thought that I should be with you…
But it's time to face the truth…
I will never be with you…
On the deck of the ship, stood the two competitors who would soon fight a battle to the death, the Handmaid and the Condence. They battled each other out until one of them fell and went into the state of eternal rest. The Psiioniic watched the whole thing from his lowly prison through the ships surveillance system and saw his dear Handmaid fall at the hands of the empress. Grief was able to overwhelm him when he saw her fall and drown in her own blood. He did not know what to do anymore. He felt like he was drowning, and sinking in a pit of despair. Moments later his hard drive finally gave out and he tried to rip himself away from the machine. He tried to go to her side but he failed to do so. In the end he died trying to crawl his way to her side but he was never able to be with her for one last time.
Several sweeps later
"AA where are we going?" asked Sollux impatiently as he followed the energetic maroon blood
"Aww be patient we're almost there", replied Aradia as she pulled Sollux's hand
After a short walk they reached the top of a hill with a magnificent view of an old village which was now covered in dirt and shrubs.
"What exactly are we here for?" he asked as he looked upon the ancient community that lay below
"What else silly?" retorted Aradia
"Another archaeology expedition?" he half asked as he looked at her quizzically
"Well not really", she replied "I just want to show you something that I found last week. I found something interesting in one of the hives", she ended as she dragged him downhill.
The pair moved through the labyrinth of alleyways and reached a very rundown and old hive that was hidden behind the numerous buildings
"What exactly did you find?" he asked as he begrudgingly went into the hive
"This", she replied as she pointed towards the symbols drawn on the wall side by side and the crudely drawn picture of two young trolls who were hand in hand.
"Those are our signs and those two look like me and you", he returned as he stepped closer to the graffiti
"That's what I thought when I saw it last week", she stated as she stared at the drawings
"Wait, you didn't make these?" he asked
"Well, they don't look like they were drawn a thousand sweeps ago now do they?" she retorted
"This is mind boggling", he added as he looked at her, "but it's sweet, just like you", he ended
Little did they know that it wasn't just any rundown hive that they entered that those streets aren't just any streets, that it wasn't just any ordinary town. To anyone it is just a common and boring old village, but it isn't; that village, those streets and alleys, and that one rundown hive that they entered are witnesses to a tale. They are witnesses to a sad and tragic love story that began long ago, the story of the Handmaid and the Psiioniic.
