Chapter Two: Encounter
Kid glanced down to the planet from one of the window aboard the Nirvana, his eyes wide as he had another flashback, this one of him watching a deep blue planet with several grass areas. Yet a battle was occurring, as several explosions could be seen in the distance, ships being shot down, as several cube like creatures made their attack.
"Kid… Kid?... Hey Kid, you there!?"
"Huh?"
Taking a blink, he turned glancing behind, finding Misty nearby, as she walked over to him, a worried look glistening in her eyes. He sighed looking to the ground, then at her.
"I dunno… I guess another flashback… as usual." He mentioned, looking up at her with his still baffled face.
He learned at least a few things, mostly how to speak to people and a few key words. He had no idea what the doctor did since Paiway easily healed the wound up after the blood sample was healed.
"Misty… why are we helping these people?" Kid asked, looking down on the planet.
"Well… the people of this planet live in a harsh environment, a place that is devastated by pollution. We cannot ignore such things as the suffering of others, we have to at least try and give whatever help we can." Misty mentioned, as she stood next to him looking down.
"I wish I could help them." Kid said sadly, as he looked to the ground.
Misty sighed, placing a hand on his shoulders, as she moved in closer.
"Trust me, it's better you stay aboard, you still have to get your memory back." Misty mentioned, rubbing his shoulder.
Kid so far was able to understand a few things, since Dita and Misty were 'babysitting' him with most of the crew being down upon the area. They had helped him so far in speaking, while also dropping him on one another to get a shot at Hibiki. Even with such things occurring, Kid did learn of the fighters aboard, mostly the Vandreads and how each of them worked. He looked upon the planet watching the green shield cover the entire planet his eyes trailing as he looked to the Vandread operating the place.
"Is Mr. Alien aboard that ship out there near the planet?" Kid asked, pointing to Vandread Jura.
"His name is Hibiki Kid, not Mr. Alien. Why that bubble headed girl refers to him as Mr. Alien is beyond my intellect." Misty answered with a sigh, Q-chan giving a sad look.
"What does intellect mean?" Kid asked, tilting his head.
"Oh, another word for knowledge, I'm sure you will learn." Misty said with a sigh.
Kid nodded only once looking to the ship once more.
"I wonder if that blond angel lady is with him." Kid mentioned, still gazing at the ship.
Misty remained silent for a second before she ran to the broadcast panel, opening a comm. window, deciding to drop in and see just what was going on.
"Hey old women, what do you think your doing?" Misty demanded, knowing full well Jura was up to her old tricks.
"Who are you calling an old woman!?" Jura demanded with a vicious glare.
Dita rushed over, pushing in front of Kid, her hands curled, as she glance worriedly to Hibiki.
"Are you alright Mr. Alien, is she trying to do anything weird to you?" Dita asked, shaking in fear at the thought, as kid slowly stood up.
Jura smirked proudly, as she closed her eyes."Whaddaya mean by anything weird?" She asked, as she turned towards Hibiki, he left hand cupping his chin as a tense face spread upon Hibiki's face, "You mean this?"
With that, Jura moved in, kissing Hibiki on the lips tenderly, both girls immediately flipped out over what Jura was doing.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM NOW!"
"HEY, what do you think your doing Jura?"
The girls hollered as they went closer toward the screen to give Jura a lip or two.
Hibiki growled, even as macho as he was, he really was fed up with Jura trying to seduce him, especially when it was within a Vandread for a mission.
"WAHHH!! THAT IS ENOUGH!!" Hibiki yelled loudly, really irritated by all this.
Kid glanced on, seeing the girls still near the screen, growling at it as they were fed up with Jura.
"Dita… Misty… can I go to the bridge?" Kid asked, considering he did get lost most of the time, it was better someone helped lead him around.
"Yeah, Dita, could you lead him to the bridge?" Misty asked, as she looked to the screen, smiling as she saw Hibiki.
"Why don't you, I had to lead him last time!" Dita answered annoyed, as she glared to Misty.
"Damn it Dita, I had to watch over him before!" Misty countered, clenching her teeth as the two glared at each other.
The two continued to argue, as Kid walked to the door, deciding to find the bridge on his own. Keeping the cat still in his arms, he walked out, leaving the two to argue for a while.
"I don't understand, am I just a nuisance to even be around?" Kid sadly asked the cat, who purred with its eyes closed.
He walked along the corridor hallway, looking at the seemingly dead-silent hallway. Most of the crew had been in their quarters, since the mission was an away one. With the captain away, most took the time to get the rest they needed, thus making the ship less crowded.
"I wish I had my memory back, at least then I wouldn't need so much help." He remarked, as he continued through, looking around.
"Listen here missy, you don't have a clue what men even want, I doubt Hibiki could ever like you!?" Misty yelled, holding up a fist, Q-chan growling at Dita.
"Oh yeah, I bet I could please him better then- um… hey… where'd Kid go?" She asked looking around.
"This is your fault, if you just accepted your responsibility and took him to the bridge, then he might not have wondered off." Misty scowled coldly, Q-chan yelping angrily.
"ME? You're the one who was supposed to watch him!" Dita mentioned, crossing her arms.
"Grr, well go find him, he's your responsibility now!" Misty said with a glare.
Dita puffed her cheeks up as she moved in closer, before a loud beeping went off.
"Huh?" Both turned to find Vandread Jura was once more powering the shields up.
"What? Mr. Alien, are you okay?" Dita asked, as Hibiki popped up on the screen.
"Yeah… Just a minor slip out, nothing too bad." He stated with a cocky smile.
"Holding a planet takes so much will… I really am getting weaker." Jura stated, as she slid closer to Hibiki, only to be shoved off.
"You really are a pain, y'know that?" Hibiki stated, as he crossed his arms.
Kid continued onward, looking around the area, blinking as he looked at the dim lit area. Slowly he walked over to the elevator, pressing the down switch, as the doors slid open, Kid slowly walked inside. Glancing up at the elevator floors inside, he pressed one randomly, as he felt the elevator drop down, slowly descending down as it stopped dead in place, the doors opened, revealing a room with several control panels aligning the walls, a few people keeping an eye upon the area.
Walking inside, Kid glanced around, as he passed by a few of the girls, walking around the corridor as he was merely astounded by the features within the area. He continued on walking, holding the cat still in his arms, as he looked from his right to his left, before reaching the glass area where the ships power core was located, the paksis, the enigmatic core that was formed from the fusion of the male ship and the females ship.
Slowly did Kid turn, staring over to where the large sphere was, a few metal bars surrounding it. Kid remained still, his eyes widened, as he looked deep into the azure colored sphere. His eyes remained locked onto the glowing core, as it glowed brighter spinning a bit faster. Panting loudly, his hands shivered as he moved them right to his head, dropping the cat to the ground, as it ran off.
"What the hell, the paksis is showing odd activity." One of the engineers commented.
Kid fell to his knees, images flowing through his heads, the first being his hands covered with blood, but not trembling as one might. The second one was a thirty year old looking man in casual cloths being stabbed by a dagger Kid grasped in his hand. The final one was of a girl in a skin suit laying in front of him, as she looked to him with a smile, holding the wound at her stomach, blood already covered the floor.
As the cat fled, it passed by one of the girls operating the control panel, as she glanced down, seeing it run off, gasping as she knew who it belonged to.
"What the? That means!?"
Two females ran to where the boy was, spotting Kid lying on the floor, now truly forced to his limits, as he was now in a seizure.
"Oh my god."
Alarms blared loudly around the ship, even within the silent bridge that had cut down most of its lighting.
"What's going on now?" Meia asked, walking closer to the screen, as BC skipped through the pages, as she gasped.
"Trouble in engineering, looks like paksis is reacting strangely again." BC mentioned, as a comm. window popped up with a short black haired female making the transmission.
"Commander, Kid has fainted directly in front of the paksis, he's got a pulse, but it's getting weak." One of the girls said with an uneasy tone.
"Get him out of there and into the infirmary immediately." BC ordered in a deep tone voice.
"Yes Commander." The engineer replied, cutting the communication.
BC sighed, as she put her hand to her forehead closing her eyes.
"I dunno how the Captain will take this." BC mentioned in a low tone.
"Shall I keep an eye on Kid?" Meia asked, as she glanced down to BC
"Sounds like the best option, Dita and Misty apparently can't seem to work things out." BC mentioned, Meia smiling as she nodded.
"If the enemy moves in, contact me at once." Meia ordered, as she turned, running to the elevator.
BC watched Meia leave, as she returned her glance to the main monitor. She took in most of the requested supplies Duero had requested, sending them directly to where the armory workers would fulfill them.
"I wonder... if Kid was a experiment that would be able to communicate with a paksis." BC thought, thinking of how odd the boy was.
"Just what exactly could this male be, he certainty is one hell of an enigma, that's for sure."
Dita and Misty stood to the side of Kid's bed, glancing down at the unconscious man. Small exasperations could be heard, as a life support tube was added in order to keep him alive. The heart monitor beeped every few seconds, as his pulse was around normal.
"Kid… please wake up…" Dita asked as she looked down.
"It won't matter, were still going to get a scolding for this…" Misty mentioned shaking her head.
"More then that, you both were responsible for watching him." Meia mentioned, as she walked inside.
Dita and Misty glanced to the ground with guilty frowns pursed on their lips.
"I want both of you to return to your quarters, unless there is an emergency such as an enemy encounter are you not to set one foot out, is that clear?" Meia asked, as both nodded, as they walked out of the infirmary office.
Meia glanced down, seeing Kid breathing slowly, as his heart remained steady.
"I hope you learned your lesson, this ship is no luxury starship." She spoke with a serious tone.
The boy repeated his breathing, still in a sleep, Meia taking a deep breath, as she casually walked over, sitting down on the bench as the door opened, one of the engineers of the sector walking in, as she looked towards Kid with a smile seeing him alive, then to Meia.
"I hope you weren't too hard on the caretakers… it wasn't exactly their fault." The worker mentioned, as she took a deep breath.
"They were responsible for watching him and making sure he didn't wonder off. They didn't and he ends up going into cardiac arrest because of it." Meia noted, as she glared to the girl.
"Well, i-its not anyway like that. Nobody has ever had that reaction, even Misty when she went through that area. I don't know what it is, but I think the paksis is afraid of Kid." The engineer mentioned, looking more to the ground then Meia.
"What do you mean the paksis fears Kid?" Meia asked, really confused by what she just heard.
"Kid wasn't anywhere near the controls or operations panels. What I am saying is that he may have made some type of contact with it, why else would he have gone into a seizure?" The girl noted, as Meia took a sigh.
"Kid is a bit different I suppose, with the marks, the glowing blood, and now this. Maybe he knows something about the paksis that we don't." Meia mentioned staring to him. "I just wonder what his true personality might be." Meia mentioned with a smile.
Dita laid on her bed, holding odd green alien doll in her hands. She sighed, holding it closer, as she turned to her left side.
"Why did I have to make such a comment?" She thought, knowing Kid did overhear the two arguing about who was to escort him.
A soft meow caught her attention, as she glanced to the ground, finding the cat sitting right before her, as it looked up.
"Mr. Kitty!" Dita greeted excitedly, as she reached down, lifting it from mid section up, as she snuggled her cheek against it.
Softly the cat purred, as she held it like a baby, petting its head softly.
"I bet you miss Kid, doncha?" She asked cutely.
Kitty didn't answer, as it only purred, as its tail swayed across her arms.
Screams echoed throughout the dark room kid stood in, as he glanced around, covering his ears as fell to his knee's. He could hear it clearly, a girls voice crying for help, the help of a family member.
"Brother… help!!"
Kid fell to the ground, eyes shut tightly as he shook his head.
"BROTHER!!"
Fear ran through his spin, his heart beating faster, as it eventually overpowered the screams, rapidly growing faster and harder.
Faster did the heart monitor's electric beeps increased, his heart already pumping blood faster then the life support could give. Meia ran to his side, leaning down to have a closer look at him, as the boy rolled back and forth as she remained their, watching, as she knew trying to wake him up wasn't a good idea. He immediately sat up, his eyes shot wide open, as he breath deeply, as he looked to Meia, then back down.
"Kid, you okay?" She asked, moving back to her upper stance.
"Yeah… I think… what happened, I remember looking into the glowing ball… but I don't remember anything after…" He answered, taking a deep sigh.
"Was that all?" She asked, with a serious glare.
"I saw images… blood… people in pain… and I held the dagger that killed them…" He said, sulking down to his bed.
"Kid…"
"Meia, what if I am a murderer, what if I do gain my memory and start murdering people aboard?" he said, taking deep shaking breaths, his eyes getting watery.
Meia remained silent, looking to him with a concern glance. She slowly calmed down, closing her eyes taking a deep breath, as she looked to him.
"Kid… do your think you're a murderer?" Meia asked emotionlessly.
"I don't know… I don't know what I am, who I am, and why I am here." He said sobbing, tears streaming down his face.
"I don't think you are evil. When we first examined your ship for an entrance, we were scanned for identification. It seems that it was sealed up so you wouldn't fall into the harvests hands. If anything, I think whoever did send you off intended for you to live. I may not know what your true identity is, but if you were a murderer, you'd probably be dead." Meia remarked, as she smiled looking to him.
Kid remained silent, looking down to the ground, taking a deep breath, as he wiped his tears off. As the door whisked open, his eyes darted to it, Dita slowly walked inside, as she held Kitty in her arms.
"I know I should be in my quarters, but Mr. Kitty seemed a bit lonely, so I decided to bring him here." Dita softly mentioned, as she walked over, setting the cat on Kid's stomach.
Kid stared a few seconds, as he lifted his arm, petting the cats head gently, a smile curling on his face.
"Thank you Dita…" he mentioned, closing his eyes as the cat purred.
Meia took out her comm. link, as she held it to her ear, listening for a few seconds, before turning to Dita.
"It appears the cargo ship from the harvest fleet has arrived, you know the drill by now Dita." Meia said, getting one nod from Dita.
"What about me?" Kid asked, as he looked up, with a sad glance.
"Stay here, you already worried us to death once today." Meia answered, as she turned to the door, trotting out, Dita following.
Kid sighed sadly, as he stopped petting his cat.
"Why the long face?" Came a familiar voice.
Looking over to the door, he smiled seeing Misty leaning against the door, a smile pursed on her face.
"C'mon, lets get to the bridge for a front row seat to the fight." Misty said, Kid nodding eagerly, as he leaped up out of the bed, trotting over to her, as she smiled to him, taking lead as he followed her right behind her.
The twin elevator doors opened, as both Misty and Kid ran through, looking out through the ships main deck windows. Several Dreads flew off towards the large pod like ship that was advancing towards he shielded planet. Flying at attack speed, the Dread closed in, as several cube types intercepted their advancement towards the main flagship. Rapid laser shots blazed forth, tearing apart three enemies, as the cubes suddenly merged together, spinning wildly as each of the shots the Dreads gave off were reflected away from the main ship.
"What, they just…!?"
"Looks like their starting to find more evasive maneuvers against our Dread teams." BC said with a clenched fist.
A group of cube types swarmed around Vandread Jura, blasting directly at it, the shields upon the ship already weak from Jura's now depleted state of will. Flying in as usual, Dita shot forth, taking out one of the cube type enemies, as the three trailed after her.
"Vandread Jura's sheild's are unstable." Amaron clarified loudly.
"The condition of the pilots is deteriorating." Celtic mentioned from her corner, as BC still kept her cool.
"Hibiki? Jura? Do you read me?" BC questioned quickly.
"I really hate to tell you this, but I think were starting to lose control." Hibiki answered frustratingly.
Dita flew in once more, as she blasted two enemies, the second getting partially hit, as it fell directly down, slipping through the shields Vandread Jura had placed upon the atmosphere.
"SHIT!!" Hibiki yelled, as he noticed the cubic enemy slipping through the shields and going through orbit.
"An enemy fighter has slipped through the shields, it's speed is increasing." Amaron mentioned fearfully.
"What!?"
Kid glanced over, fear flooding his face.
"Is the people down there going to-"
"Don't worry, its sped a few miles off course from the away teams location, but the impact force might still be a risk." Belvedere clarified.
"Enemy flagship is closing in on Vandread Jura."
Slowly the enemies mouth like crater changed, as it started a massive suction, Dita nearly getting in as she flew in close after delivering a punch.
"That thing's going to suck in Vandread Jura." Misty mentioned fearfully.
The twin elevator doors opened, as Bart ran forth, running to the front end, as she dove into the helmsman's area, the ship now being able to route. Several missiles sped forth, canceling the entrance to the beasts mouth.
"Mrs. Gasco!!" Kid said cheerfully.
"Right on time as usual." BC mentioned with a laugh.
The ship suddenly began turning, the front side moving in position with the main enemy target.
"I'LL PROTECT HER. I'M NOT GONNA LET THOSE BASTARDS GET ANY CLOSER!!" Bart said in a deep serious voice.
"What the?"
Kid glanced to the side, noticing a strange glow.
Slowly did the ship moving into place, as the bridge glanced around.
"Bart, what in the hell are you doing?" BC demanded getting a silent response.
"What's up with him today, usually he's a total coward in battle." Misty mentioned looking to the crew.
"He IS a coward, this is the first time he's actually had guts." Amaron clarified loudly, Bart making no comment.
Dozens of cube fighters moved around, firing upon the Nirvana, but their shots didn't once penetrate the ship, as it remained strong, not moving from its position.
"WHATEVER HAPPENS, I'M NOT GONNA BUDGE AN INCH!!" Bart yelled once more, every gasping in shock.
"What's going on, why is he speaking like Hibiki?" Kid asked, getting a shrug from Misty.
The enemy continued to attack once more, the ship holding its position as a few seconds past.
"I SWEAR I WON'T LET ANY OF THOSE THINGS GET YOU!!" Bart concluded, as the ship suddenly began shaking, several area's of the Nirvana charged with jolts of electricity, as a couple of compartments opened up, revealing several round chargers emerging into place as each charged up.
"GET AWAY FROM THIS PLANET!!!"
With those last words, several light blue lasers shot forth in a straight line, tearing through the cube enemies, as each one curved when nearing a Dread fighter.
"I've never seen that before." BC mentioned with an astonished look.
"Huh? What is that thing?" Misty asked amazed as well, her Gutron forming a question mark.
"It certainty is one fantastic weapon." Ezra said, a surprised look on her face.
"Wow… uber cool!" Kid mentioned as he watched, the cat's eyes glued to the beams.
As each one continued on path, going in a curving arc pattern, intersection upon the enemy flagship, tearing inside, several explosions following before the final one unleashed a large blast with a blinding light going through.
"I don't believe it!" Amaron stated, looking on in amazement.
Kid smiled, turning around with his arm out in place, holding up his two fingers giving the victory sign with a toothy smile.
"VICTORY!!" He said cheerfully, the crew looking with puzzled faces.
Noticing the dead silence, he glances around seeing their odd glances."What? We did win right?" He asked, really confused by the reaction.
"Aheh heh, I guess he rubbed too much off me." Misty said with a embaressed glance.
"Well, at least he's showing personality development." BC mentioned crossing her arms.
"Personality development?" Kid asked tilting his head.
"Guess he's still got a lot to learn, if he even decides to listen." Celtic mentioned rudely.
Walking over to Misty, he smiled, to her , as he glanced to the ground.
"Thanks Misty, for taking me here. I'm sorry if I caused you to get in any trouble." He mentioned.
Misty smiled, as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad to see your alive and well." Misty mentioned with a smile.
It had been three hours since the crew left the planet, already giving a light of hope to them for survival. Now the ship was at top speed to make up for the time lost due to the recent events. With the recent news, Duero had now decided to get back to analyzing the blood that Kid had. Hearing though of the incident that occurred in the Paksis control center, he easily had a feeling there was a connection.
"You called?" Parfet asked walking in.
"Yeah," He mentioned turning to her, "did you bring the analyzer I asked for?" He asked as she placed an index finger on her chin.
"Yep, right here. So why do you want me to analyze him?" She asked, knowing only more about machines then people.
"Apparently I think he has something inside him, something that might have triggered his seizure." He mentioned looking over him.
"So you think he might have something to do with a paksis?" Parfet asked excited.
"Probably, but lets just see what we can find." Duero mentioned, Parfet nodded, as she pulled out her handheld scanner.
Sitting calmly on the examination chair, Parfet calmly moved the scanner around, a few beeps going off, as she kept scanning, as she ran it around his head, a loud beeping going off. She gasped, her hand covering her mouth as Duero looked over her shoulder, looking at the results.
"Can it be?"
"Apparently so…"
Both stared over to where Kid sat, looks of surprised pursed on their faces, then looking to the results.
"It's not as strong as the Nirvana's Paksis, but it does give off the same frequency and reading as a paksis does, just not as much power." Parfet mentioned, as she glanced over to him.
"Is something wrong?" Kid asked, seeing their perturbed faces.
The two didn't answer, from what they noticed from the readings that indeed a small object located around the brain seemed to be latched to his brain, as it gave off a certain chemical that boosted his strength, stamina and senses. Within each of the nerve senses was an odd flow of energy, all working in alignment. The idea indeed was both an amazement to their eyes, but at the same time it gave a disturbing feeling.
"My god, this man, he was used as a project!" Parfet thought shaking her head.
Duero glanced over, seeing Kid staring up, as he looked to the results.
"Kid, you may leave now…" he mentioned, as Kid hopped off, looking to them strangely.
"I-Is something wrong with me?" He asked in a near whisper tone.
"It's nothing… nothing to worry about." Duero mentioned, looking back.
Kid nodded, as he walked out of the infirmary, the door closing behind him.
Duero and Parfet looked to one another, before looking to the results.
"Duero, I don't know what to think. I feel so full of energy to think we may have found someone whose civilization may have advanced research of the paksis, to have one so small that I might as well call it the 'Micro Paksis… but…" Parfet's voice one excited and eager turned to sour, as she glanced to the ground.
"I know, it's sad to think humans would even use their own kind for such an experiment." Duero mentioned as he sighed.
"Hmm, what about the feline? Have you done a check-up on it?" Parfet asked, looking up into his eyes.
"I think you know the answer. Still, if you want to check it for anything strange, then be my guest." Duero answered, a smile on his face.
"Guess your not as hungry for answer's as I am, huh?" Parfet asked, putting her handheld scanner away.
"I found my answer to why his blood glows, but now I have more questions unanswered." Duero stated, resting his chin on his index finger and his thumb.
"So your gonna wait until his memories return?" Parfet asked with a pout.
"I rather not make our guest feel unwelcome. For now I rather keep this between us, I will notify the captain, but it could be trouble for the crew if they overhear what is in him." He cited standing to his feet.
"Understood, I just hope kid doesn't find out." Parfet remarked.
"Speaking of finding out!" Duero mentioned as he walked to the door, pressing the open panel, the door opening immediately as Paiway stood right in front, jotting down notes in her notepad.
She looked up, with a innocent toothy smile spread on her face."Paiway, just how much did you hear!?" Duero asked, giving her a fiendish glare, as she back away.
"Oh, he has a paksis in him and of what it does." Paiway mentioned with a fiendish smile.
"And its also information that should be kept secret as well." Parfet stated, as she glared to Paiway through her glasses.
"I know, I know. I already caused enough trouble when I started a raid against you males. You can count on me though to get this information to the captain." She said with a smiled
"How am I sure you won't stretch the truth?" Duero questioned, as Paiway nodded.
"I promise to tell the captain nothing but the truth. Females honor." Paiway mentioned with a deep truth.
Duero only nodded, as Paiway trotted off.
"You sure it's a good idea to trust her with the message?" Parfet asked, as Duero turned looking to her.
"Not really, better then having them find out at the worst time." Duero confirmed as he took a deep breath. "Still, Kid is just a man without his memory, he's not threat at the moment. The paksis might have just had a reaction with him because of the first encounter. Until he regains his memory, I think it is best we keep him out of the area." He mentioned as Parfet nodded in agreement.
"Understood Duero."