Chapter 6-The Aftermath

Drag'lan was utterly appalled by the beginning of the vision he had this time; He was forced to re-live the second most traumatic time in his life. No matter what he did, he couldn't get the images of what he saw out of his head.

Drag'lan stood there and watched as his squad family died. It was as if he were bound by unseen shackles. As one member died, the next death was shown.

John was bled as though he were a stuck pig, McKenzie was impaled through the chest with a Predator's spear, Miles was sliced into multiple pieces, Davis was cut off at the waist, and the others were beheaded. They all had looks on their faces saying "Why are you just standing there?", but Drag'lan couldn't do anything. After he re-witnessed them getting butchered, he was teleported into blackness. The figure from previous dreams formed in front of him.

The figure nodded a greeting to Drag'lan and said "You continue to impress, Drag'lan. Your family would have been proud to see your actions. I must ask, however, what caused you to regain control of your anger?"

Drag'lan had no true answer. He might have a guess, but no definitive answer. He shrugged and said "I honestly don't know. My best guess would be tat fact that if I had lost control, I would've harmed an innocent."

The figure laughed the same hollow laugh from the last time he appeared. He then said "You truly are clueless aren't you? Very well, you'll find out the truth soon enough. Now, I told you I'd explain something when we met last. I intend to honor that. However, time is short, so you only get one question."

Drag'lan already knew what question he wanted to ask. He needed to know who this figure was. He sounded familiar, as if he was someone Drag'lan knew, but he couldn't (or didn't want to) remember.

Drag'lan locked eyes with the figure's mask and asked "Who are you? You sound familiar, but I just don't know."

The figure genuinely laughed this time and said "I expected you to ask that. I am Herol'Frag, and I am one of your ancestors. As your hair says, you aren't fully Regollen. Deep in your genes are those of my race, the Yautja. That is why I said you needed to put aside your hatred for Yautja, because you're one of us. Long before you were born, I fell in love with a Regollen women. She loved me back and We had a child together. Luckily, the child was a female and looked most like her mother, otherwise it might not have survived. Either way, we were happy, but the clan I was in didn't approve of inter-species copulation. So, they gave me an ultimatum: Either leave my love and abandon the child, or they would both be killed. I knew that the clan wasn't going to spare them unless I left them. So, I sent my love back to wherever she came from. I never heard from her again."

The figure hung his head down in sorrow. Drag'lan knew that it was hard talking about love and leaving a loved one. He remained silent and waited for the figure to continue.

The figure continued with his story. "Either way, now, so many generations down the line, here you are. You are among the last of your kind, and must look within to find your true path. Now, I must go. Drag'lan, remember your training. It will help you survive."

The figure, Herol'Frag, Drag'lan's Yautja ancestor, faded away.

Drag'lan woke up in a bed again. He felt something lying around his abdomen. He lifted his left arm and found another arm. If he was correct, Fral was lying behind him. He rolled over and saw Fral's face. Yep, he was right; Fral was lying down next to him. He turned back over and tried to move Fral's arm off of him, but it contracted, drawing him closer to her.

Well, might as well go back to sleep. Maybe she'll wake up before I do, or move in her sleep, and move her arm off of me. He thought. But...How did I get in her bed? Ahhhh...she must have placed me here. She might not be as bad as I thought.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

4 hours later

Drag'lan woke up again and felt his abdomen again. Fral's arm was still there, but had a much looser grip. Drag'lan quickly slid her arm off of him and got out of bed. He raised his arm to scratch his hair and saw a brace on his left wrist.

How the hell did I get injured to the point that I needed THIS? He thought.

He looked around the room. He saw his harness and greaves lying on the ground against the wall.

Fral must have taken those off me after everything. He thought. No wonder I slept like a rock. That harness makes sleeping in a bed nearly impossible due to discomfort. Now, the greaves I'm not so sure about. Could've just been because she didn't want the boots on the bed.

He re-equipped his harness, grabbed his greaves and walked out of the room to go into the bathroom. He needed to wash, as his clothes and skin had gotten splattered by blood.

He walked into the bathroom, set his greaves down and was taking his harness off when he saw the brace again. It puzzled him. He looked it over and tapped it. It made a metallic ring when he tapped it. he shook his arm a bit and heard a slight sloshing sound.

There must be some medical liquid in there. He thought.

He continued to look over it. It covered half of his forearm and his palm. The part covering his palm was a rubbery substance, allowing free movement of the fingers. He looked for a way to open the brace. After he found it, he took the brace off and rotated his wrist. He saw how fluidly it went. He recalled what had happened after he had walked into the sparring room.

Okay, I tried pulling Fral off of that other Pred and she hit me. Wait...I blocked the first blow with my wrist. THAT must have been the cause of the injury that put my wrist in that brace. He thought. Well, in any case, I need to wash myself. This blood really looks bad on me and my clothes. My harness will end up cleaning itself as well as my blades. My greaves will be fine, since they didn't get hit with any blood.

Drag'lan slipped out of his clothes. When he looked down, he saw three sets of stitching on his abdomen.

What the...AHHHHHH...now I remember. That bitch of a Pred threw 2 knives at me and stabbed me. Looks like Fral stitched up the wounds for me. She really isn't as bad as I thought.he thought.

He finished undressing and slid into the "tub". He turned on the water to his preferred heat and waited for it to get up to his chest. As it rose, the blood on his skin started to wash away. Once the water hit his chest, he turned it off. He then started to wash his body. He was careful around his abdomen and shoulder, as they were stitched up and he didn't want to re-open the wounds.

He noticed that as he washed, the blood that had dried on him started to glow a bit before mixing with the water. After he had finished washing, the water had a faint aqua tint to it. He then proceeded to wash his hair. Apparently, some of the blood splatter also got into his hair. Although the bright green tinge went well with his hair to him , he disliked alterations that he didn't personally make.

After he was done, he walked to his clothes and looked them over. On them, there were what looked like large green stains. That was where the blood soaked in.

Son of a bitch...this stuff absorbed the blood. Mother fucker... He thought, seriously annoyed. This is gonna be more of a pain in the ass than I thought.

In any case, he picked them up, took off all of the accessories that he had, and took them to the tub. He sat down and pulled his leggings out from the heap. they ALWAYS needed washing after a mission. He doesn't know why, only that it happens.

The water wasn't hot enough for the blood to get washed out, so he drained the tub and grabbed the bowl he had washed his leggings in last time and filled it with steaming hot water. He went about washing his clothes. His shirt took longer than the others because most of the blood splatter was on his shirt. His mind wandered to why he was always followed by some sort of trouble.

Drag'lan sighed. "Why is it that I'm always followed by trouble? My squad always noticed that. Whenever we wet on a mission, something ALWAYS went wrong. Whenever we would raid a hive, one of the smart-gunner's guns would jam or the flamethrower would have a leak in the fuel canister. It's like I'm a curse on missions..." He said to himself.

After he finished washing his clothes, he wrung them out thoroughly. He then picked them up and went into the drying room. He set them down on the second chair and turned the room on. He sat down in the vacant chair, closed his eyes and waited for his clothes to dry.

Fral was having one of the worst nightmares she had ever didn't know why, but the dream had to do with Drag'lan. She thought that he was compassionate, but this showed him as a "monster".

She was trapped in a box-like room. She was unsure how she had gotten there, but knew that her gear was taken, and her mask had been removed.

She heard murmurs from the door to her cell. She approached the door and put her head next to it to hear through it. What she heard terrified her.

One voice said "You want first shot at this one? She's a fiery one. Killed half of Delta squad before Gamma squad got there."

Another voice said "Damn. They said Delta was the toughest squad there was. Well, if that's what she did, I'm not taking first shot at her. No telling what she could do."

Fral backed away from the door after that. She was horrified.

What are they planning to do with me? She thought.

Right after she thought that, an alarm went off. She wasn't sure what was going on.

A voice over the intercom was yelling "Intruder! Someone has broken through! Squads Alpha through Theta go to check on-"

Then the intercom went to static.

"What the HELL IS THAT?" One of the voices outside said.

Fral heard rapid gunfire outside of the door, but the gunfire ended when there were two loud single gunshots. She backed away into the corner of her cell.

There was another gunshot outside and the door to her cell opened. A figure entered, wearing a mask much like her own. The figure then removed its mask and she saw orbs of black where its eyes should be, just like Drag'lan's. Then she noticed the hair length and armor looks. It WAS Drag'lan. Drag'lan looked at her with curiosity before glaring at her. He unsheathed a knife attached to his harness before stabbing her through the chest. She watched as the blade went home. She then fell, vision growing black, as she saw Drag'lan just walked away.

Fral woke up with a jolt. She felt her forehead with her left arm and felt sweat there. Her bed was wet as well; the nightmare she had had made her sweat in her sleep. She noticed that Drag'lan was gone. She sat up and looked around. He had taken his harness and greaves as well.

Surely he hasn't left. She thought. I doubt he could survive in space.

She got out of the bed and walked to her closet. She sifted through it, looking for a good outfit to wear. She found one outfit that caught her eye: a simple Lavender tunic with a matching skirt that went down to her knees. She dressed up in that and walked out of the bedroom searching for Drag'lan.

She checked in the sparring room, half expecting to find him meditating, but he wasn't there. Then she headed to the bathroom. It was the most logical location; He had been covered in blood when she tended to his wounds.

It would make sense if he was in the bathroom. I would want to clean myself if I was covered in blood to the extent he was. She thought.

She entered the bathroom and saw that he wasn't there. She did however, notice that his harness and greaves were lying against the wall and a trail of water led from a large bowl near the tub to the drying room door.

Of course...he washed his clothes in the bowl and then took them into the drying room to dry. He probably went as well to dry off as well. She thought.

She approached the door and knocked, not wanting to invade on his privacy.

Drag'lan was brought back to the present by a knock on the drying room door.

That would be Fral, checking to see if I'm in here, heh heh. He thought.

Sure enough, he heard Fral's voice, saying "Drag'lan? Are you in there?"

Drag'lan stood up and said "Yeah, I'm in here. Just give me a bit to get dressed."

He slipped on his boxers and leggings. He bypassed putting on his shirt because since it was somewhat cut up, it wouldn't look good if he wore it right now, without his harness. He shook his head a bit to make sure his hair was dry before he walked out of the drying room.

Fral looked at him as he walked out. She couldn't help but notice his build. He was slim, but muscular. It was no wonder how he could flip her. She heard herself panting ever so softly again.

God damn it. Check yourself, girl. He isn't THAT hot of stuff. She thought.

She couldn't help but wonder at how he could survive through that Zz'Gash venom. Normally, people would die after only 30 minutes, but he survived for over 10 hours and beat the venom out of his system.

He's one tough bastard if he survived 3 knives in his abdomen, one of which nearly piercing his lung, and the other 2 being coated with Zz'Gash venom. It's a wonder he survived with that high of an amount of the venom in him. She thought.

She looked at Drag'lan and said "Are you feeling all right? If you're feeling sick, I'll understand. You've been out for over 10 hours."

Drag'lan looked at her and said "10 hours huh? What put me out of commission for that time? I was only out for maybe 6 of those, just so you know. The other 4 I slept through."

Fral turned her head to the side in confusion. She said "Well, that's surprising. Few could survive the amount of Zz'Gash venom that you were subject to. They normally die within 10 minutes with that dosage you got, yet you survived for 6 hours."

Drag'lan turned an eyebrow at her in confusion and said "What the hell is a Zz'Gash? It sounds like some pest or something."

Fral nodded at him and said "The Zz'Gash IS a pest. They are small creatures that tend to live on desert worlds. They have been known to devour almost anything within minutes if swarms converge. They have a toxin in their saliva that knocks you out and then shuts your nervous system down. Nobody has been found that is resistant, much less immune, to it."

Drag'lan nodded and said "Yea. I've always been resistant to toxins. I get it from my mother. Once, on one of the operations my squad and I went on, I accidentally got on the wrong side of a toxic creature. Within a day, I was back in combat. However, 2 days later, another marine had the bad luck of running into the same kind of creature, and was out of commission for a week."

Fral looked at him in amazement. How could he be THAT resistant to poisons?

Drag heard her stomach grumble and said "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Fral nodded and said "How long ago did you eat? I haven't seen you eat anything."

Drag said "By my count, 4 days."

Fral's jaw dropped. She asked "FOUR DAYS? How can you survive without food for so long?"

Drag'lan laughed and said "Honestly, I'm not that sure. My father told me that Regollen don't need food to stay alive, just healthy. However, my mom said that I needed to eat because I wasn't fully Regollen. She said my spike hair was evidence enough of that. I got my hair from her."

Wait, so his mother was part Yautja? well...that would explain how he can speak Yautjan. Fral thought.

Drag'lan looked at Fral and said "Where's the kitchen? I would really like something to eat."

Fral looked at him and gestured at the door. Then she walked out of the bathroom and down the hall. Drag'lan followed closely. They went to the kitchen. It wasn't unlike what Drag had had when he went on leave. He had had his own little house and would stay there until he was called for via the video phones. He went and sat down at the table.

Fral looked at Drag'lan and smiled in her mind. She happened to be a very good chef. She said "Is there anything you'd like in particular?"

Drag'lan shook his head. He didn't know the first thing when it came to Yautjan cooking. He said "Nope, nothing I'd like in particular. Just surprise me. I've had to survive on almost anything."

Okay Fral thought, Time to see what I can come up with.

Fral always relished a cooking challenge. She pulled a large squirrel-like creature out of the fridge. She skinned and gutted it. It might be dirty and messy, but it was necessary. She then took the meat off the bones. Drag watched as she worked. She poured a sauce that he didn't recognize into a pan and put it on the stove to simmer. While the sauce was heating up, she dashed up different herbs and spices. She then rubbed the mixture into the meat. After the sauce started to slightly sear, she put the meat into the sauce.

Drag'lan smirked at this.

Looks like she has a hidden skill. He thought

He caught a whiff of the meat and felt his mouth salivating. It smelled delicious.

Fral noticed his smirk and chuckled. She said "Didn't expect me to be this good of a cook, did you?"

Drag'lan shook his head and said "Couldn't say anything either way with that, as I don't know you that well."

Fral looked at him with an understanding expression and said "Same here."

Drag'lan chuckled and said "Well, everybody has a skill that people don't know."

Fral nodded. She knew that all too well; Her older brother happened to be a very talented musician, but had a muscular build, so it was assumed that he only know combat.

She smelled the meat and, because it started to smell very sweet, flipped it. A few minutes, later, the meat was finished. She pulled out some basic circular sheets of metal to act as plates and put even helpings of meat on both. She put the pan into the sink and walked over to a drawer. She pulled out 2 large dumbbell-shaped fruits. She knew that they were tart, and figured that they would go well with the meat. She put one on each of the "plates" and brought one to Drag'lan. She then sat down next to him.

Drag'lan said thanks for the meal, and Fral nodded. Drag'lan tried some of the meat. It was even sweeter than he had expected. It was as if the sauce had been absorbed into the meat, making it both tender and sweet. He nodded his head and said "DAMN! This stuff is GREAT!"

Fral laughed and said "Well, I've never cooked with this kind of meat in this way, but I do agree. It is good. But try some of the fruit. You might like the mix."

Drag'lan picked up the fruit and bit into the corner of it. It was tart, but complimented the meat very well. He nodded his approval.

He said "While this fruit isn't something I'd eat on a regular basis on its own, it is a good mix with the meat."

They kept chatting throughout the meal. Fral learned that, as they spoke, Drag'lan wasn't so cold and distant as she had thought. It was all a guard. He was actually quite nice in conversation. He was somewhat sarcastic, but she could live with that. Drag'lan also learned that Fral was more caring and compassionate than he had thought. They got along quite well, as it turned out, despite the conditions that they met.

After the meal was finished, Fral started to get up to wash the dishes, but Drag'lan stood up and said "I'll take care of the dishes. It's only proper, as you cooked and served the meal."

He went over to the sink and started washing the dishes.

Wow...a warrior and a gentleman...what isn't he? Fral thought with a slight chuckle.

She felt something deeper than joy in her heart as she watched him work. She didn't know why, but she just knew that she liked having him around.

After the dishes were cleaned and put away, Drag'lan returned to the table and Fral stood up. She then did something that caught him completely off-guard: She hugged him. He was so caught off guard that he wasn't sure what to do. So, he just hugged her back.

They remained embraced like that for a few minutes before Drag'lan started to come to his senses.

WHAT AM I DOING? he thought. I vowed to not get attached to anything. How can this be different?

Then he heard a voice in his head. It was the voice of his father.

The voice said "My son, you feel this way because you know deep within that she can help to end your anguish."

Drag'lan didn't know why his father was speaking to him, or if he even was, but saw the point in what he said.

Drag'lan felt Fral release her hug and did the same. She raised her head and locked eyes with his.

Drag'lan saw uncertainty in her eyes, as if she was combating some clash of feelings inside. She, on the other hand, saw Strength, with an undertone of kindness in his eyes. She couldn't explain how she saw the kindness, just that she could.

Drag'lan broke the silence by saying "Thank you, Fral'Drylx for...everything...that you've done for me."

Fral nodded, hugged him again, and whispered "And thank you, Drag'lan, for teaching me even more that not everybody is what they appear to be." into his ear.