Kipo woke up to a gun stuck in her face. She gasped and almost jumped up, but a voice stopped her.
"Kipo, stay calm. Don't fight, and they won't hurt you." It was the guardian, and he didn't sound very confident.
A harsh alien tongue spoke next, an order.
Heart racing, breaths coming quicker, Kipo carefully looked around. Lit by early morning light, their small campfire was surrounded by a group of Eliksni. Spiked, menacing, glowing blue eyes locked on her, weapons drawn. She looked over to the other side, and one of them was holding a sparking knife to the guardians throat.
"Get up, slowly," said another voice, alien, rasping.
Kipo did so, trying her best to control her breathing, controlling the fear, the power, rising in her. Then saw the speaker, a smaller Eliksni. Femenine. "Wait. I know you." The figure looked away, seeming ashamed. Kipo looked around more, and saw the massive figure bearing a long-barreled rifle. "I know you! You shot me!"
The larger alien rose, all four eyes narrowed. He spoke, voice dangerous. The smaller female translated. "Captain Tosik has questions for you, human child, and you will answer him. What did you do with his sons?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kipo replied, mind spinning. She hadn't hurt anyone the last time she'd seen this group of Eliksni! "I didn't do anything to anyone."
The translator spoke back to who Kipo assumed was the Captain, who growled at her words. He replied, angry. The translator closed her eyes briefly, then resumed the interrogation. "You came from the portal, you closed it behind them. What Vex machinations can bring them back?"
"I didn't close it!" Kipo protested, looking between the two Eliksni, trying her best to curb panic at the sight of the knife at her friend's throat. "I have no idea how it works, please don't hurt the guardian!"
Then she looked back at Kipo. "No lies, child. You know nothing of the Vex?"
"No! I'm not from this world, I have no idea at all, please, I wouldn't lie about that!"
The female relayed what she'd said to the Captain, and the larger Eliksni roared in anger, turning and driving an upper fist into the ground. He shouted at the translator, and she snapped back at him. The captain whirled, raising his hand as if to strike her, but she met his gaze, unmoved. Taking deep breaths, the larger Eliksni lowered his fist, looking at the ground.
He spoke again, softer. The female replied, and Kipo took their distraction as a chance to look around. There were four other Eliksni in the area by the ruined house, all armed and ready to fight at a moment's notice. Kipo's eyes darted back to near her bag, and the Vestian Dynasty was still there. She could get to it, if she dropped fast. But then they'd kill the guardian, and she wouldn't last much longer with so many eyes and guns on her.
The guardian's weapons were still where he'd left them, the scout rifle leaning against the house, and his hand cannon on the ground, well out of reach. There were five sparrow-like vehicles near the ancient road, but definitely of alien design, bulkier and covered in armor plating.
There was no sign of Pulled Pork.
Kipo's attention was wrenched back to the pair of Eliksni, who had stopped talking and were looking at her contemplatively. The captain nodded. Two other Eliksni stepped forward and dragged Kipo to her feet. They took a pair of manacles and clamped them around her wrists before she could think to summon her strength, and suddenly she was being dragged away. "Hey! Where are you taking me, let go!"
"Kipo!" The guardian shouted her name, eyes wide, but her view of him was cut off by an Eliksni between them. A command came from the captain, and a wash of ice-cold fear washed down her spine. She didn't know the language, but she knew the intention. She'd heard it in Scarlamagne's tone when he ordered the deaths of mutes, heard it in the voices of the wolves before they'd tried to devour Kipo's friends. There was death in that tone.
Her strength came, and she tugged herself free of the hands restraining her, and Kipo leapt away. She rolled and scooped up the Dynasty, coming out of the roll with her gun raised at the group of Eliksni, hands still tied together. "Don't move! Just listen to me!" she pleaded.
Most of the group didn't move, unsure what to do, but the Captain had raised his rifle.
Kipo flinched but cried out. "Please! I have a solution!"
He fired. The bolt of lightning grazed her ear. She let out her breath and didn't lower her sidearm, adrenaline crashing through her body as a pain shot through her head.
The translator cried out, and Kipo saw that she'd grabbed the captain's arm, averting his aim. He shouted at her, eyes wide and outraged, but she shouted back.
The guardian spoke next, forcing his voice quiet so as not to surprise the Eliksni holding him at knife-edge. "Kipo. Don't worry about me. I can die over and over again, and Pork can bring me back, but you only have one life. Get away from here."
"No, I'm not leaving you," she replied, just straight-up ignoring what he'd said; it didn't make sense and her mind was somewhere else right now. "I have a plan to open the portal! Please just listen!"
The female Eliksni looked at her suddenly, hushing the Captain's angry words. "You have a plan, child?"
"Yes. The guardian's ghost knows people who know the Vex. If you promise not to hurt us, we can send him to go talk to those people. We don't have to be enemies, we have the same goal!" She lowered the Dynasty, eyes wide and pleading. "I want to open the portal to go back home. You want to open it to save your friends. We can work together."
The translator paused. The captain, angered still, looked at her in frustration. She relayed Kipo's message.
"We don't know anything about the Vex," Kipo went on. "You don't either. But we can get someone who does, and they can figure it out and open it. It's the only option. I mean, what else are we going to do, convince a Vex to help us?" Kipo let out a nervous laugh, then considered. "Is that possible?" she asked, looking to the guardian.
"Nope." At his reply the Eliksni behind him growled and made a sparking cut on his cheek, causing him to cry out in pain.
Kipo gasped at the sight of blood. "No! No, anyway," Kipo stepped forward, forcing a smile on her face. "Anyway! I think we all just started off on the wrong foot, ok?" The Eliksni fixed all of their eyes on her as she moved to set down the Dynasty slowly. "My name's Kipo. Kipo Oak," she began encouragingly, keeping the fear out of her voice. She let go of the grip of her weapon and met the gaze of the translator. "What's your name?"
The female looked around to the others, and they slowly lowered their own weapons. She spoke slowly. "I am… Kelsik. Kelsik of House Dusk." She watched her captain's reaction, and Kipo did too. He was silent, eyes narrowed.
The big guy was the linchpin here. If he decided to cooperate, then everything could work out. But if he wanted to hurt someone or start a fight,-Kipo readied her powers-it was a fight he'd get.
But instead, the large being lowered his rifle, and replied.
Kelsik spoke for him. "How can we know you won't betray us? Send the ghost to other guardians?"
Kipo stepped forward, holding out her tied hands. "I'll be the insurance. Like my guardian said, I'm mortal. I'll put my life on the line to keep our side of the deal. If we break our word, you can kill me."
"Kipo, no! That's a terrible idea!" the guardian called, panic in his voice, but she ignored him.
"If we don't break our end of the deal-and we won't, I promise-then we can just figure things out together, with a Vex expert's help."
The captain growled some low words, and the Eliksni gathered together, with just the one continuing to hold the guardian left out. They spoke together, voices rising and falling. They broke apart, and Kelsik approached Kipo, pistol held at her side. "You have skill with speaking, young one. We will consider the terms of your deal, but for now, you are our captive."
Kipo took a small step backward, but the Eliksni held up a lower hand. "We won't harm you or the guardian again unless you resist. If you truly are an off-worlder, you do not know how much death a single guardian can bring to my people."
Kipo took a breath and nodded. "All right. That's a start."
"It is," Kelsik replied, nodding. She closed two eyes, an expression Kipo didn't understand. "You are wise for your age."
The captain called, and the guardian was bound tightly. But the knife was taken away, Kipo noted with relief. She was led to stand beside him, a single gun still pointed at them both. She looked up at the guardian and smiled.
"Kipo, are you ok? Your head…"
"Oh," Kipo remembered that she'd been shot again. Her ear flashed with pain and she grimaced, then turned it into a smile. "I'm ok. He missed, really."
"All right, if you say so." The concern remained, but he let some annoyance cross his features. "Pork isn't your Ghost. Please be careful about promising his services in the future."
She sniffed. Some thanks that was. "It's the only plan I could come up with so fast. Saved our lives, didn't it? And he'll be ok, he's a smart Ghost."
A muffled voice from the guardian's pocket. "Thank you, Miss Kipo. And, guardian, I did survive on my own for hundreds of years before I found you. A trip to the City is simple."
The guardian sighed. "You're right" He looked around at the Eliksni in a state of blank shock. "Second, I'm just surprised we're still alive. Good job with that."
"You should know this by now, guardian," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm good at talking. And making friends."
He let out a small laugh. "At least about the talking bit. We're a long way from friendship, here."
"But it's a start!" Kipo replied, confidence returning.
"It is."