CHAPTER 10: REQUIEM FOR THE LOST

"Where did I go wrong? How did I end up like this? Giroro…I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I was too selfish, too blind by my stubbornness to truly see who you were. And now you're… No, I won't cry. You always admired my strength. I'll stay strong; I'll survive…for you. I'm so sorry Giroro…so very sorry. Please…forgive me."

Even since Cael had told Natsumi of Giroro's demise, she had been lost in her thoughts, unaware of their descent towards the city-planet, Cassidia. Although she stared down at the planet's bright lights—their business and growing economy visible even in space—the Pekoponian did not see them. Instead she saw her dim future, and Giroro's blood on everyone's hands, especially her own. She couldn't get over the fact that if only she was a little stronger, she wouldn't have been abducted, and Giroro wouldn't be… No, she couldn't say that word. Besides, she didn't even know if he was…gone. Maybe Cael was lying to her, forcing her into submission by breaking her spirit. Well, it was working. Alive or…otherwise, her Red Defender wasn't there with her, and at least for the moment, she was on her own.

"You'll like Cassidia," Cael chimed from his position across the ship, his voice brimming with ridicule, "Lots to do, lots to see. Huge red light district, but I suppose your master won't need to go to one of those anymore." He laughed, making Natsumi shudder.

The descent only took a few minutes, wherein they were guided to a landing dock where they could unload their precious cargo. Natsumi's first impression as she walked out of the small ship was that the place was crowded. Everywhere, everything was moving. The space port was bustling with action as ships pulled in and out, loading and unloading people and freight. The dense crowds made the atmosphere hot and humid as many species of humanoids gathered together for one common goal—commerce. Through the crowds of merchants and consumers, Natsumi was pushed outside to a nearby café, where her two escorts enjoyed a nice cup of…what were they drinking? It was hot, but it didn't look as delicious as the Reapers were leading on. It slid out of the cup and into their throats like sludge, reeking of tar, sewage, and a strange whiff of citrus. Whatever it was, they didn't offer her any, which she was grateful for. The twin suns on the strange planet were beginning their descent into the vibrant sky, ships and stands turning into black silhouettes against a vivid wall of color. That meant it was evening, however, Natsumi had been kidnapped at evening on Earth. Had she spent an entire day in that horrible ship? Or was time just different on this end of space? She didn't feel like she had been awake for more than 24 hours, but the stress was beginning to catch up to her, making her slightly tired.

Just when Natsumi was about to shut her eyes and hope to catch a hint of sleep, she was forced awake by a loud cry in some foreign language. Although it came from her two Reaper "friends," it wasn't their insect jargon, or Japanese. It was a different tongue all together. The young woman turned to face the direction the words were heading towards, spotting a large, distinctively masculine, shadow slowly forming from the distance and striding towards her. In seconds it was upon them, its massive figure standing nearly seven feet tall. Natsumi didn't know what kind of alien this was; she had never seen anything like it before. It looked almost… reptilian or avian, yet without the distinctive scales, tail, feathers, or wings. Its blue-gray skin looked as hard as stone and yet as smooth as a snake's stomach. Its face held bone-like crests from which it bore long tendrils of the same substance, which sprouted off the back of its head. And those eyes, those inverted eyes. The sclerae were pitch black, contrasted by its bright blue, almost white irises. Its small blackened pupils dove directly down Natsumi's skull, its frame towering over her in a frightening display of raw power. However, no matter how strange or horrible this creature might have looked, part of it (or better yet him) was almost…handsome.

The new alien began to talk to the two Reapers in what Natsumi suspected to be his native tongue, for he did not stutter once. His language was almost beautiful to listen to, with its rolling R's and strong T's. The conversation didn't last long, however the reptilian one seemed slightly mad and the Reapers responded by being extremely apologetic. Their dispute ended however with a large briefcase being handed over to her captors in exchange for the electronic clipboard she had signed all those hours ago. Suddenly, the massive creature reached out and grabbed Natsumi by her delicate arm, earning an instinctive tug from her. She stopped in shock when she realized the being only had three fingers, two long phalanges, and one thumb.

"Let go of me!" Natsumi spat, jerking her arm out of his grasp. This spiteful behavior shocked the alien, who reflexively reared back his large hand, and delivered a smarting slap across her right cheek. Natsumi's eyes widened as the pain hit her jaw. She had never been hit before, the action seeming to demobilize the young woman as she stood in astonishment.

The creature twisted her jaw upwards to face him with two of his fingers, the plates on his face grinning, revealing his shark-like teeth. "You better learn respect if you are to live with me, little Pekoponian," he spoke to her in Japanese, his accent flawless, "After all, I am your master."

As Captain Fera re-boarded his main ship with his suitcase filled with money, he was greeted by two of his top guards, coming to inform him of the ship's current status. Everything was back to normal, they told him. All the prisoners, save for about ten, were successfully recaptured. Some however, they reported sadly, had to be put down for their rebellious actions. Also, the dead had been accounted for, including those killed by the Keronian soldier in his escape attempt.

"And the Corporal?" Cael asked, striding back through the same halls which not even an hour earlier were stained in their kind's blood.

One of the sentries fell back from the group slightly, his demeanor rapidly changing from one with confidence, into a hesitant stupor.

"The Keronian. Where is he?" Cael reiterated, stopping to face the uneasy solider.

"We…we didn't recover a body. And it seems one of our escape pods was launched in the chaos."

Cael's two right eyes began twitching furiously as the hairs around his mandibles stood erect. In an instant he had pinned the insolent guard to the wall, his razor sharp talons threatening to pierce his subordinate's flesh. They had let that…frog escape!? If the sentry wasn't wearing his helmet, one might have caught the sheer look of horror he reflected, well, if they knew how to decipher insect facial expressions. It was then that it dawned on the captain—the Keronian was no longer his problem. He was gone, fled to the planet below to rescue his beloved Pekoponian harlot. Their love made him shudder. After fully realizing his situation, he released the panicking Reaper and continued walking down the hall. He didn't have to deal with either of them any longer. The bitch was sold, the frog was gone, and he had his cash. He shouldn't be popping a blood vessel for no apparent reason. It just wasn't healthy.

After taking an elevator to the top deck, Cael entered his private quarters. It was dark, but it didn't take long for the Reaper captain to find his way to his desk and turn on a lamp. The halogen flickered to life, casting eerie shadows off of the metal suitcase. The alien plopped himself into his chair, resting his large head between his bony hands as he let out a small, relaxing sigh. It had been a hard job, but it was over now. Or so he thought.

"Stressed, are we?" a dark voice echoed from the shadows. The slaver's eyes shot opened as he scanned the distance in alarm, reaching under his desk. He always kept a pistol hidden away in case of emergencies but…wait, it wasn't there! "Looking for this?" the voice chuckled, the cold metal nipping at the back of Cael's skull. Was it mutiny? Sure things had gotten out of hand for a little while, but the situation was quickly quelled—but that voice, he had heard it before. And that accent… The Reaper's translator allowed them to be able to fluently comprehend and response to any language known within the universe. All it took was the foreigner to speak before it automatically began translating, sometimes without the Reaper's knowledge. "Oh how the roles have reversed, haven't they, Captain?"

"Corporal…" Cael spat, the words tasting of bile as they burned his throat. Giroro was alive, his guards had regrettably told him that, but they also mentioned the fact that one of their escape pods had been launched. "So, it was all a distraction," the Reaper thought callously, his mandibles twitching in both anger and humiliation. The roles had been reversed, and he was the fool.

"This time, you're going to answer questions for me." Giroro's words were twisted in a luscious cocktail of pain, bloodlust, and revenge, his breathing heavy as they fell over Cael's ear sockets. "Where's Natsumi?"

Despite his situation, Cael couldn't help but laugh at the soldier's love affair. All the hell this woman put him through and the only thing he could think about was her safety. He even had a hole in his shoulder (not that Cael knew), and was still trying to pry her location from his greedy fingers. She had him whipped. However, unlike Giroro's interrogation, Cael had nothing to gain or lose by answering his questions. That Pekoponian girl wasn't his problem anymore, and he was almost willing to give up her information just to get the war veteran off his ship.

"On Cassidia. You better hurry lover-boy, we're leaving orbit soon." He mocked, propping his feet upon his desk. He wasn't taking this "interrogation" very seriously, something with frankly annoyed Giroro, causing him to whack the back of the captain's head with his gun as he bellowed his next question.

"Why her!?"

"Oh that's an easy one," Cael answered, closing his eyes, "Because she fit the description. Young, medium build, Japanese, with natural red hair and brown eyes. Her buyer paid extra to special order. Do you know how hard it is to find a red-headed Japanese girl? She was the first one we saw, and we had been looking for three days!"

That was true; Natsumi's hair was an odd color. But was it natural? Giroro had always assumed but… He was getting off track. He knew where and why, but who had taken her? Without this piece of vital information, he would be scouring an entire planet for one girl. "Who was her buyer?"

"Oh dear. What was his name? He only gave his first name; I suppose he was important political character or whatnot. Let's see…started with an A…"

"Tell me!"

"Alright, alright! Calm down. It was Ari. He was a Galean, big fucker too. Almost feel sorry for the girl, don't know if she'll stretch that far," Cael laughed, his morbid sexual humor disgusting the corporal. How dare he taint the beautiful, innocent vision he had of his love—her maiden features untouched by anyone, including himself. It was all this Reaper's fault. He had kidnapped Natsumi, terrified her, stolen the words Giroro was proclaim to her on his own, and sold her away. The embodiment of his hatred was directly in front of him, mocking his foolhardy attempts at a rescue and disrespecting his abilities as a soldier, and a man. With a scornful smirk, he pressed the barrel harder against the captain's skull, his face contorted with wrathful pleasure. "Oh, Corporal, one last thing. When you find her, remember what I told you, okay?"

He squeezed the trigger, blood spurting on his face as the beam pierced through Cael's brain. His head landed on top of his newly obtained briefcase, the thick green liquid staining the papers on his desk. Giroro spat onto the carcass, letting his enemy's juices run down his cheeks, marring his red face with the macabre insides of his victim.

"Okay."

^_^ Done. Oh, and I uploaded a picture I drew of Ari, don't mock my coloring skills. xP

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Hope that link still works! Review!

11/10/12: Small update. Nonessential.