Chapter 9: Hope

She had lost all sense of time. Or days. Her mother and father was safe at least. Corso had taken control, and continued the work that needed be done before they could leave. But Tia wasn't ready to leave. Sonny was too weak to be moved. They checked on him quite often. Bennett had put him om IV- fluids to help him regain his strenght. Worst was the nights. Tia sat by his bedside most of the time. No one really cared. Her part of this mission was over. Tia looked to Sonny again. He looked pale. And she suspected her behaviour the same morning had alerted Bennett to something. Stupid. Why had she offered to change his clothes and do more intimate cleansing proceedures? Bennett's smile alone had told her what he put into it. Bennett said nothing. Tia had turned her back, while he made sure to change Sonny's clothes and wash him.

'It's ok now Tia, you can look' Bennett teased.

Tia looked to Sonny.

'Bennett, please, tell me he'll make it' Tia's eyes were on the verge of tears.

Bennett looked at her. Well, she couldn't really tell. The damn sunglases were in the way.

'I can't tell for sure Tia. He's very weak. The bloodloss drained him. Wich is why we make sure he gets to sleep. That way, he'll conserve his power and heal faster' said Bennett.

Tia looked at the bloodstained bandages that Bennett removed.

'The hit, it nearly killed him, didn't it?' she asked.

Bennett nodded.

'By rights, he shouldn't have survived a direct hit like that. But Sonny is not just anybody. He's strong as an quick thinking helped him' said Bennett.

Tia looked away.

'My quick thinking Bennett? I'm the reason he got shot, don't you get that?' Tia near cried.

'Tia..' Sonny's voice was barely audible.

'Don't try to move Sonny, let me change your bandages first, so the wound isn't infected' said Bennett.

'Water..' Sonny barely managed to get the words out.

Bennett looked to Tia.

'Give him a little water to drink, not much, just enough to wet his lips first. I'll change the bandages' he said.

Tia took a special swab, and made sure to have it soak up water, before she gently pulled it over his lips. Sonny's eyes were still shiny, like he had a fever, and he was too weak to sit up. Still, Tia noticed how he sucked the water off, and into his mouth.

'Now, hold the glas for him, and make sure he is hydrated' said Bennett.

A few minutes later, Sonny looked like he felt better.

'Sonny, I'm so sorry...' Tia held his hand.

Sonny coughed a little.

'Next..time, please,..follow..my..orders..ok?' he whispered.

'Next time' Tia smiled ageeingly.

'I'll leave the two of you alone' said Bennett, as he packed up the first aid kit he had used, and left the room.

Tia looked at Sonny.

'I'm so happy you made it Sonny, I was worried I had caused your death' said Tia.

Sonny smiled a halfway smile.

'Any pirates dream, being killed while saving a beautiful female' he whispered.

'I'd bet' smiled Tia.

'Tia, was I just dreaming, or did you tell me that you love me, not long ago?'

Tia jumped at the question. She had thought they would loose him, that he was on the verge of death. Saying those words had given comfort then. But did she really mean it? If she was honest, and that was truly a shock for her to realise, she had meant it. She had fallen in love with the most wanted man in the galaxy. She was in love with Sonny Blackbones.

Tia nodded slowly.

'I didn't think you could hear me' she whispered.

'Halfdead or not, I heard it' Sonny confirmed.

Tia sighed.

'And now, you're gonna tell me that it's the worst idea I've had yet, right?' she asked.

'That's your words, not mine' said Sonny.

But he was worried, and she could tell by looking at him.

'I'll choke it if that's what it takes' Tia rose from the chair.

But she felt Sonny's hand grab her arm.

'Sit down Tia, we'll talk about this, and work though it' said Sonny.

Tia felt frustrated. She wasn't ready for this kind of rejection that she knew he would come up with. By now, he probobly regretted having gone all the way the last time she massaged him.

'Remember who you are Tia. You're the doughter of the Obia moon ambassadours. Your parents do a lot of good for the galaxy, they work relentlessly to improve things of others, just like the pirates. I'm sure they'd want for you to marry one day. But, the love you feel towards me, it's because of what we've shared' Sonny said.

Tia looked at him.

'You're saying I'd eventually grow bored and move on from what we shared?' she asked.

Sonny nodded.

'Your expertise in that area, is limited Tia. And your reaction is normal. But look at it this way. If we tried, what kind of a relationship would that make?' Sonny asked.

Tia knew where he was going. They couldn't show it in the open. It would not be accepted, and it would make Sonny vulnerable. And for what? A night of pleasure in her arms? Tia knew she was acting selfish, but right now, that was what she wanted.

'You know there is such a thing as immunity Sonny?' she said.

'And we tried that. Tia, any immunity given from Technoid, has a timelimit. They'll never stop hunting us. Sooner or later, they will succeed. Could you live with it, if you would learn they had captured me just because we had just met for a night of pleasure?' he asked.

The words stung. Tia knew she couldn't. Another thing, he was also her friend and teammate D'Jok's father. And her best friends father in law. What would they think?

Tia was twisting her brain. There had to be a way out of this that wouldn't end like this.

'Sonny..' Tia was still thinking as she spoke his name.

'Still here' sounded his response.

Tia turned towards him.

'6 months, give me, give us 6 months to burn this off. I won't ask you to continue the agreement after that if you accept it' she said.

'What about D'Jok and Mei? Have you thought of how they would react to this? Not to mention Corso and the others' Sonny objected.

'I want to be sure this will pass Sonny, if not, that one night will allways remain between us, every time we'd meet, we'd find ourselves wondering if we gave up too fast' Tia said.

Sonny nodded. He seemed to think it over for a few seconds.

'Ok, but in one condition' he said.

Tia feared what he would demand.

'You will tell your parents about this' Sonny said.

'Sonny, I am an adult in case you haven't noticed. Who I share a bed with, is hardly of their concern' Tia objected.

'Then, there is no agreement' Sonny replied.

'I feel like such a baby' Tia muttered...

The obia moon ambassadours really knew how to hide the shock, Tia thought to herself. Nothing indicated that they felt disgusted by their doughters telling them that she had slept with the chief of the pirates, and wanted to have an affair going with him.

'Tia, you're a young adult. You always proved that you can take care of yourself. It is a bit odd that you'd choose Sonny Blackbones as your lover, but nonetheless, you'd be safe with him' said her father.

'You don't feel like there's something wrong with me, for falling in love with someone that's fathered one of my teammates, someone your age?' Tia asked confused.

Her mother smiled slyly.

'Tia, there is a lot you don't know about Sonny. And he's not as old as you'd think he is' smiled her mother.

Tia looked confused, and her father decided to answer her questions.

'We did a background check on Sonny Blackbones last time we met him. Off course, his current name isn't the one given to him from birth, so we checked old technoid personell files' her father told her.

'How did you know Sonny used to work for Technoid?' Tia asked.

'Things he told us, when onboard his ship, led us to do an advanced background check on him. Sonny was a huge loss to Technoid, he was their best scientist ever' said her mother.

'And they made sure he lost everything..' said Tia.

'As to his past, no one really knows very much Tia. But we know he was found by the pirates, they welcomed him, and took him in like a brother. And later, made him their leader' her father said.

Tia thought about it.

'I can't remove his pain, the past is his own ghost. But I can help him in the here and now' she whispered.

Her parents nodded.

'Help him Tia, like only you can' smiled her mother.

Tia smiled. There was a hope born...

'How did it go?' Sonny looked to Corso who had just returned from the place the titans was seen.

'We found their fuel source. But there is something very strange about this Sonny' Corso said.

Sonny was still weak from the recent bloodloss and confined to his bed.

'Like what?' Sonny frowned when Corso showed him.

'That is odd. We need to look closer' he said.

'Forget about it Sonny, it's too risky' said Corso.

'For a group, yes, for one man alone, no' said Sonny.

Corso looked at him.

'When do you want me to go in?' he asked.

'Tonight' Sonny looked at him.

Corso looked at him. It worried him that Sonny didn't recover faster. He had seemed pale for days, despite the IV-fluids that was supposed to help.

'I don't like this Sonny, you should have healed more by now' he said worried.

Sonny knew what he meant. It felt like the laser had some components he wasn't used to. Not that one would ever get used to getting shot, but still. Sonny had already decided to give it a few more days. If things didn't improve by then, he would need Clamp's help.

'I know. It could be the laser..' he said.

'Or something else' Corso said.

'Let's give it two more days, and see where we're at' said Sonny thoughtfully.

Corso nodded.

'Take care brother, I'll be back soon' he said, as he left the room...

Magnus had checked the gun that had fired the shot that hit Sonny. He didn' like what he saw. Someone had added something to the laserbeam. Magnus knew the potential the kind of toxin he saw had. It wasn't the first time Sonny had been exposed to that. What he feared, was Sonny falling ill again. His men would be hiding him for sure, but this time, they had no way to access medical help.

'If I only knew how to track you down, and help you, Sonny..' he said.

The toxin..it resembled Vega's. Wich made the old ex- pirate worried. Vega's toxins was strong, it could easily have killed Sonny. This toxin seemed like it had been mixed in a way that made it milder. Magnus knew what he had to do. He needed to contact his old friends, and check up on Sonny, wherever they hid him. Magnus walked back into his office, and accessed a program. It would allow him to check the toxin he held a sample of. Magnus didn't like what he saw at all. It was just a hunch. He really had never bothered to check Cerine's background. Well, now was as good a time as any. Magnus widened the search grid. What he found, made him gasp.

'Vega and Cerine are sisters?' he muttered surprised.

This changed things conciderably. He needed to find Sonny and his men. Magnus decided to place an encrypted code in the city's lightsystems. To the general public, it would seem like it was just problems with the powergrid again, to the pirates, he knew the right meaning would surface...

Tia and her mother had been wiewing old pictures, and Tia had told her what had happened between her and Rocket.

'I'm so sorry to hear that Tia, you and Rocket seemed a solid couple' her mother said.

'Apparantly, Rocket saw it differently' Tia said.

'So, this facination you have for Sonny, are you sure you're not on a rebound over Rocket?' her mother asked.

Tia sat down on the bed.

'Positive mom. I can't explain it. It's more than physical attraction' she said.

Her mother smiled knowingly.

'What is it mom?' Tia asked.

'Nothing Tia' her mother kept smiling.

Tia knew she had to learn why her mother had that smile, but when she was like this, there would be no answers given.

'Mothers..' she muttered as she checked her gear..

The mine field was seemingly empty. Corso didn't like coming here all alone. But there was something big cocking, and they needed to know why. On top of everything, he worried for Sonny. The wound in his chest was definately infected. He had been with Bennett when they changed the bandages. The edges of the wound was greenish and the skin just under a flaming red. And clearly, however light the touch was, it caused Sonny great pain. He had been sweating alot. Even Bennett had worried and accessed an online connection to speak to Clamp. They had given him a shot that had eased his pain. Corso knew of the given prediction. He recalled Sonny's words when he had tried to talk him out of it.

'Sonny, let someone else do it, we need you alive'

Sonny had turned slightly.

'Corso, D'Jok's ready, he might need some guidance yet, but not of us are gonna live forever. Not even me. If this is the end, than that's how it will be' he had said.

'You know, if they surrender you, you're done for?' Corso was desperate to stop him.

'Yes Corso, like I've known since I ran away from them' he said.

Corso laid a hand to his back.

'Sonny, if I loose you, then I'm done for too!' he whispered.

'No, the cure is near complete. I'll have it done before it's time' he said.

'I'll never forget your courage, brother...'

Corso returned to the here and now. He had known when they changed the bandage. Sonny was seriously sick this time. And it seemed the prediction could still be right, they would loose him.

Slowly, Corso made his way into the mine. It seemed dusty enough, no human presence had been around for a while. But what were they looking for? Corso moved deeper into the entrance. He had to find the answers.

He found that there were two tunnels in here now. Two options, who could both reveal answers to their questions. He chose to head right. The tunnel seemed endless. Corso would never admit to being afraid of the dark, usually he would be working with someone on a job like this. Sonny mostly. Corso felt like a claw grabbed his heart when he thought of his friend and head of the pirates. If they lost Sonny, the pirates would fall apart. Unlike Sonny, Corso didn't think D'Jok was quite ready for a role like the head of the pirates yet. He needed some more raffinement, and that task was Sonny's to teach his son. When he spoke, D'Jok would pay close , he saw light. Lights? This deep in the mountain? Corso was curious. And he made his way towards the light. He gasped as he saw what was infront of him.

'NO!'

Corso imideately called Sonny.

'Sonny, we're in deep trouble, I'd say the entire galaxy is at the mercy of an extremely dangerous breed' he whispered.

Sonny looked confused.

'Corso, what are you talking about?' he asked.

Corso was breathing hard.

'Remember Vega?' he asked.

He saw Sonny's face hardened when the unpleasant memories of the serpent that had tried to poison him emerged.

'I wish I could forget' he said.

'Then, see through my eyes Sonny. If we don't act, the galaxy is done for!'

Corso turned his transmitter to let Sonny see.

Sonny ignored the burning pain in his chest.

'No, this isn't happening, they were extinct, whiped out!' he said.

'What..are those things?' Tia watched in horror.

Sonny had never looked more serious than when he answered them.

'The very end of this galaxy as we know it'...

uh oh, what does those ominous last words of Sonny mean? Is there really no hope that they will survive this time? Is it the end of all of them? Well, the continuation will most certainly surprise you.