Kipo bounced on the back of the thick hoverbike, holding on with tied hands as best she could. It was hard, but it couldn't be as bad as the poor guardian had it; he'd been slung over the back of another vehicle like a particularly wiggly bag of supplies. They'd been going for the majority of the day, and Kipo began to realize where they were going.
Back to where she'd first arrived, the portal on top of the building.
"How you holding up?" she called over the roar of engines, and it took the guardian a moment to reply.
"Oh, just hanging around," he called back. There was a pause, then came, "do you get it?"
Kipo paused, then laughed. "That's the best you could come up with?"
"Made you laugh, didn't it?" The guardian's breath was driven out of him in a whoosh as the vehicle bumped over a rock.
"You ok?"
A grunt of assent, then Kipo had to scrabble to a better grip as her driver went over the same bump. The joke really hadn't been that good, but she needed every bit of humor she could get right now.
She tried to keep up the bravery and bravado she'd presented earlier in the day, but as the sun's light left the sky she felt her resolve wavering. They were captives, and even though Kelsik had promised their safety, Kipo truly didn't know if she trusted the Eliksni. And now she had nothing to bargain with; she and guardian were at their mercy now.
The line of vehicles soon slowed and stopped. Kipo hopped off, twisting her wrists in her manacles; she was getting sore, no wonder. She, fully aware of the multiple sets of eyes on her, moved to where the guardian was being stood up. He stumbled, and she steadied him.
"You look bad. You ok?"
"Oh. I feel fine. A little sore."
"All right, if you say so." He grinned in gratitude, but his eyes sharpened as one of the Eliksni approached them.
"This way, humans. No sudden movements, understood?" Kelsik said.
"Yes," Kipo replied, and the guardian simply nodded. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"A place to speak more. Come." They did so, and while they walked, Kipo watched the guardian. She knew he could summon a blade of fire in his fingers, or pull a gun from data-space, but Kipo hoped that he wouldn't do that. They had something here, so fragile she felt like she was holding an egg in her bound hands. They would work this out without violence; she'd make sure of it.
She'd pushed back her unease and followed Kelsik, so she noticed the guardian doing the same. The Eliksni had told the truth so far, so they could be patient. They didn't walk far before they reached ramshackle tents and shelters built in the wreckage of the ancient city. Kipo didn't have to strain to see the figures moving in the shadows, double pairs of bright blue eyes peering out of canvas flaps. The first time she'd been here, Kipo hadn't noticed just how inhabited the place was, but then again, she reminded herself, she'd been in a bit of trouble that time. Her shoulder twinged.
"Kipo."
"Yeah?"
"Do you understand what I said earlier?"
"I was too busy negotiating a please-don't-kill-us treaty, I wasn't paying too much attention."
"Next time we're in danger like that, just leave me behind."
Kipo sighed in exasperation. "No. In fact, I mean that so much I'm going to go a bit out of character here." She met his eyes. "HELL no." She looked away deliberately, trying not to trip on the uneven ground. "I'm not leaving you, guardian, and that's that."
"Kipo! Look at me."
She did so, sullenly.
His yellow eyes pierced hers. "I. Can. Come. Back. To. Life."
"I was wondering about what that meant. That's a guardian thing?"
"You missed the part when I said I was dead when Pork met me? Anyway, I can come back to life, you can't. Next time, I'll fight and you get out of there, I'll come back and find you after the smoke's cleared."
"No. If we have to fight, we fight together."
The guardian's eyes narrowed. "Kipo, please listen to-"
"Stop talking!" Kelsik growled at them.
Kipo sniffed, head held high. The guardian didn't know what she was capable of. And besides! What was the point of teaching her to use a gun if she never got to try it?
They came to a building with an intact first floor. It had once been a hotel, Kipo guessed, but this entire building-a-home-in-the-ruins thing was very familiar to her, and that helped calm her nerves slightly. Kelsik led them into the building. In the hall, Kipo saw small figures darting in the shadows. Her eyes went wide as she realized what they were.
The trio of tiny Eliksni looked up at their elders with awe, and then saw the humans. They shrunk back in fear, their bright blue eyes peering from the shadows like tiny gas flames. "Children?" Kipo muttered to herself. What was this place?
They reached a large room, and the interior was lit with glowing blue spears along the walls, casting everything in cold light. The Eliksni began setting down crates and unslinging weapons, rolling their shoulders and sitting down. The two guards that were watching them remained, however, and Kipo and the guardian stood and watched as the Captain sank into a massive seat made of messily joined upholstery and metal.
Kipo couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Ok, so… what more is there to talk about?" She looked between the Captain and Kelsik. "I already told you the plan."
"There are details." Kelsik replied. "And deals to be made."
"Allright," Kipo said carefully, looking around. The walls were decorated with an assortment of objects, wide-bladed chipped swords, broken guns of many sizes, small rounded robots. And skulls.
"As the dealmaker, you sit as well," Kelsik directed.
Kipo sat slowly on the stone floor, flexing her fingers. "You'd make a deal with a captive? Shouldn't we bargain from a more equal place, to ensure better cooperation?"
Kelsik narrowed two eyes, then translated for the Captain. He eyed her appraisingly, then barked an order.
Kipo flinched as one of their guards leaned in suddenly, but he only passed a small device over her cuffs. They unlocked, and she was free. The guard took the empty cuffs, and she rubbed her wrists gratefully. There was some blood where her skin had torn, but she'd had worse. She touched her ear and winced. There was definitely a chunk of flesh gone. Kipo touched her head below there, and it was sticky with dried blood. She tugged at her poncho, and it too, was stained darkly.
If she'd known how bad she looked, maybe she would have understood a little better where the guardian was coming from with her escaping without him…
"So, Kipo of Oak." Kelsik began.
Kipo looked up at the huge form of the Captain on his throne, and Kelsik standing beside him. "So...?"
The female Eliksni pressed a button, and a blue light turned on. A recording device?
"Your plan to re-open the portal, in detail."
She swallowed nervously. It had been hours since her last drink. "Um, ok! It's not that complicated. The guardian and I will stay here, with you, as collateral, while Pulled Pork, the guardian's ghost, travels to the Last City to contact someone who knows the Vex really well. They'll return with Pork, and help us reopen the portal. I'll go home, and you guys can have your people back. Ideally."
"When will the Ghost depart?" Kipo looked at the guardian. He then looked like he was listening to nothing for a second.
"Can they give us a day? Pork would like to contact them first before leaving."
There was a pause, and then Kelsik hesitantly translated it. Another pause, while her words were considered.
The captain spoke, and Kelsik replied. "You have a day. But if you betray us?"
Kipo took a breath. "Then you have every right to kill me where I stand. Or sit. Or whatever I'm doing when our-totally-not-going-to-happen betrayal happens."
The Eliksni eyed her.
"Yeah, that's basically it!" She grinned nervously. "So, um, we're both very hungry, it would be nice if we could have something to eat. And to drink too," she added hastily.
"The terms have been set," Kelsik stated in an official manner, then the blue light turned off.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were still-"
The captain growled, and Kipo shut her mouth. He said something, and Kelsik made a clicking noise reminiscent of a laugh.
Kipo realllllly wanted to ask what he had said, but thought better of it. At least he was in a better mood than this morning.
The captain waved his hand, and Kipo took that as a motion to leave. She stood, and bowed slightly. "Thanks for not killing us." She darted back to the guardian's side, not waiting for a reply.
Kelsik moved to them. "Kipo. We'll leave you unbound, but the guardian is too dangerous. If either of you tries anything, you understand what will happen."
Kipo and the guardian nodded.
"I cannot be with you always as a translator, I have other duties. Instead there is Siliska, my niece." The Eliksni called out, and a form at the edge of the room hurried over. It revealed itself as a smaller Eliksni, also feminine, with long red hair tied back in a thick braid. Siliska was not armored, but did have a pair of daggers sheathed on her belt. She looked very nervous.
"She knows your tongue. If you need anything, ask it of her, and she will try to get it for you." Kelsik turned to the younger Eliksni and spoke to her in their language.
She nodded, then turned to Kipo. "Humans. Come. We have food." Her tone was lighter than her aunts, but her accent much thicker.
Kelsik nodded, but said nothing and returned to where the warriors had begun conversing amongst themselves.
Kipo looked at the guardian, but they were silent as Siliska led them back down the hallways. They were still followed by the pair of guards, and one of them held their crackling energy spear at the ready. It was pointed at Kipo, and the threat was clear. If the guardian made any moves, Kipo would die first.
They turned a corner that led to a wide flight of stairs leading down. There were more lights down here, of many colors now, and more Eliksni. Hallways led to the left and right at a landing, but they continued to descend. They drew lots of eyes, but nobody said anything to them.
But Siliska wasn't spared. She was asked a lot of questions from curious Eliksni, and several of them seemed to be her own age. Even though Kipo didn't know Eliksni, she could tell that Siliska was a strange mix of excited and nervous to have been given the job she had. She didn't speak too long though, what with the eyes of the guards on her, and soon they'd arrived at their destination.
Soon they'd reached a lower level, and Kipo sucked in a breath at what she saw. The entire basement floor of the hotel had been cleared out and remade. There were rooms, lit warmly, carved out of the concrete walls. There were small stalls where bits of metal, weapons, and unidentifiable meats hung. There was an area dedicated to electronics and a group of Eliksni working with welders and machines, and another area was left completely bare. And there Kipo saw yet more small figures, running and chittering, and Kipo then realized that of course there would be children here. This wasn't an army camp, or a base. This was a place where Eliksni, people, lived.
It was a burrow.
…
Author's note- thank most of you for your patience, I'm currently working on another project right now on top of school, so that's where I've been. This story has been getting some attention recently, and I'm really grateful for it, so that's why I've picked it back up.
(And hey. Fan. You know who you are. Chill out with the demands, bruh. If you want to ask things of me or get personal updates on the progress of this story, get an account and I'd be more than happy to talk in PMs.)