Yowza! Already on to part 3!
Part 3: The Discarded
Humanity strides deeper into the unknown sections of the universe to encourage peace, trade, and good will with alien races. Despite this benevolent front, they have also left piles of dead in their wake as they continue on, oblivious to those that have fallen to the olive branch it extends to them.
~~~~~~~~~~
"She's coming along nicely! I'd wager you'll be 100% in the next couple days or so." Doctor Hollontop said, beaming a smile at Aisha.
She stared back blankly.
The doctor's smile faltered, "Is something wrong?"
"I can't wait that long! I have to go now!"
"I'm afraid that's out of the question. You'd be unable to even fend for yourself if we let you out."
Aisha slammed a fist to her chest, "None would dare mess with Aisha Clan-Clan!"
"Aisha..." Olviana called.
She turned at her name.
"Catch!" Olviana tossed a small ball to her.
Ha! No problem at all!
She reached up where the ball was coming and waited expectantly. It whizzed by about two feet to the left.
"As you can see you have absolutely no depth perception at the moment."
She waved it off, "I don't need it! I'll just get someone to take me!"
"That's... not a good idea." the doctor sighed.
"Why not!?"
"Half of the people in this town are too afraid to even come near you! The other half... well you don't want them to take an interest."
"Why? They're perverts?"
Olviana hid her giggle behind her hand as the doctor stammered on, "N-no! They think you're a demon!"
"What makes you think something like that?"
I have to get back to Lady Aisha! Where the hell did they take her!?
Darius leaped from rooftop to rooftop, searching the street and windows for sign of her. He had learned a while ago to keep to the rooftops, and only to search at night after a walker noticed him and raised another mob.
What do these people have against the Ctarl Ctarl anyway?
The next leap brought him back to the area the pod had crashed in. A quick survey showed him that the pod was no longer there. As he thought back upon it, he hadn't really seen all that many ships in this city. He shrugged it off and continued with his search. Probably just some poor area...
"...sneak in and finish it."
He stopped fast and crouched low. The voice was coming from the next rooftop.
"I'll be glad to finally rid our world of that menace!" the speaker sighed, "Did these guys really need all that much money though? It's not like it's a difficult job to kill one young woman."
"They're professionals. They know what they have to do, and know how to do it right."
"Still... it was an awfully large amount."
"Can you put a price on the safety of the human race? If that monster were to reproduce, or escape then we would have a definite problem on our hands!"
"You know I don't mean that!"
"Good. You send a deposit to that account they designated. I'll give them the signal."
This has to be Aisha! I knew she was still alive! Damn, why didn't that guy say where or when this is taking place... I guess I just have to follow him until he leads me right to her.
There was the sound of retreating footsteps and then he was the lone person on the roof again. He scampered to the edge and looked down to the street. Both of the men had taken off in different directions down the broad avenue.
Damn! Which one was going to give the signal?
Without much choice in the matter, he followed after the one headed back where he had came from.
"He's agreed to your plan. Please be sure that this works out the way we've discussed, there are to be no concerns raised about the cause of death."
The woman's voice laughed lightly, "No one has ever caught me before. I'm not going to fail you in this task."
"Good, because we paid big bucks for this!"
"It will be done to your satisfaction at the very least."
The man grunted, "Not a very good comment to raise our trust in your ability."
Her eyes turned hard and she glared at the man, "You haven't told anyone who I am. For all I care I could just rip you apart and leave you in her room. That would definitely incite the citizens into doing something drastic to her. No one would ever suspect anything was amiss."
He held up his hands in submission, "Alright! I trust you'll accomplish it!"
She smirked darkly, "Don't worry. I won't even need to bring in my partner."
A smoke-filled dive. Just like the one from that time long ago. He smiled a little as he thought about those distant memories. It truly did still feel invigorating to be able to live for himself once more, instead of serving as some meaningless assassin. It felt good to finally have a choice in whether he had to kill or not.
"Your drink, sir." The waitress purred, setting down a bottle of rum and a glass.
He smiled at her and she left. The alcohol tasted good after his long abstinence, and it helped to relax his tension. After all this time he had very nearly lost this new life through a chance encounter. It's true that he did look different from that day, but of course he couldn't be certain that he had changed that much.
"How horribly unlucky can I be..." He grumbled in his thunderous voice.
A heavyset man brushed past his shoulder, gasping for breath.
"A monster! I saw a monster!"
The frantic call caused a dead silence in the room, as all eyes averted to the doorway.
"Huh, a Ctarl Ctarl." The man mused, taking another sip of his rum.
The Ctarl roared, causing shrieks of alarm to rise up from the silence, "You fool! Why don't you just tell me where she is!?!"
Whispers sprang up as everyone looked toward the addressed. It was the same man that had bumped into him on his way into the pub. He pushed back his chair and stood up slowly. He turned to the beast man who was nearly foaming at the mouth in rage.
"I don't care what your personal argument is, but I do care that you're ruining my peace."
Everyone turned to him in awe, like sheep looking upon the farmer that wards off the wolves.
"This doesn't concern you at all, terran!" The raging animal growled, pointing a sharp clawed finger at him.
"The name is Leilong, but you can call me Shimi. It'd be in your best interest to leave, now."
"Your appetite sure is... healthy... Ms. Aisha." Olviana declared as she watched the other woman throw back a whole side of beef.
"I'm just getting started!" Aisha mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Olviana busied herself by setting up a new bag for the I.V while the dishes continued to pile up.
"The washer is going to demand a raise after this..." she mumbled as she untangled part of the plastic tubing.
"Do I even need that thing anymore? I feel fine!"
"Doctor Hollontop said that until you were 100% we would have to give you a steady supply. You do want to get going soon don't you."
Aisha nodded enthusiastically, before finishing a large glass of milk. Olviana finished the set-up while the seated Ctarl Ctarl finished her meal. When they were both done she wished Aisha a good night before heading out the door with the large mound of dishes. Eventually the sound of her footsteps faded away.
"How long have I been here." Aisha muttered as she carefully tried to count the days. It had been at least four days since she had woken up on this planet, but how long was she out after that fight. No one could tell her anything about that.
"Why did I end up on this planet anyway? Where's the ship and crew? Did they bring me here then go hold up somewhere else? Why didn't they visit me?"
She let out a frustrated huff. Why was she even asking these questions of herself? She put her arms behind her head and started to fall asleep.
Leilong swung his falchion in a downward hack, which Darius nimbly leaped away from before charging him. The relatively short time that he had spent as an Outlaw had certainly not tarnished his well honed battle prowess, for he dropped his shoulder into the Ctarl Ctarl's chest, knocking him back a step.
"I would never have thought a Ctarl Ctarl would come to this planet, let alone try to cause trouble on it."
Darius bared his teeth, "I'm not the one causing trouble here!"
"Well then, who is? You're the only one I see terrorizing the people of this planet."
The outlaw reversed his grip on the sword and jabbed hard toward his opponent's stomach, causing him to fall back on his heels. He followed it up with a quick jab to the face that sent him reeling.
"I don't have time for this! I could already be too late!" Darius roared to the sky as the combatants broke apart again.
Leilong held his blade at the ready, "I won't let you have this girl you've been talking about. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you kill her."
"Kill her? Why would I kill one of my own race?"
Leilong raised an eyebrow, "In that case I can see why you may have business with her. But why do you bother this man?"
Darius stood straight up, "Because he knows where she is, obviously. Even for a human you're dense."
He let the insult slid by and put away his sword. There was more to this than he had thought at first.
"Why are you in such a hurry to find her?"
The Ctarl growled impatiently before he answered, "I don't have time to tell you the whole story, I just need to get there quick! It's a matter of life and death!"
"If you can't tell me then I can't let you go alone. For all I know these are all hollow words." Leilong walked up and jabbed a finger in Darius' chest, "I'm gonna go with you to make sure you aren't lying."
Darius looked down at the finger with a sneer, "I don't care! I just need to know where she is!"
"You've already made that comment abundantly clear." the outlaw muttered to himself, "We just have a small problem..."
"What?"
"He's gone."
A healthy stream of curses filled the air as Darius dashed around hunting for the man. He eventually gave up and stalked back.
"Damn it! Now how will I find Lady Aisha!?"
Leilong stiffened at the name, but he answered, "I happened to see a Ctarl Ctarl woman this week downtown. We can check around there for her."
Even as he said it his mind screamed at him not too. Honor demanded that he follow through with the ultimatum he had delivered to the Ctarl, but at the cost of his new life... His thoughts clicked together at that instant. It was worth a try.
"Colin, what are you babbling about?" Jafrin muttered as the fat man finished his story.
"I just saw the other monster! He followed me to the pub on Pethra Street."
Jafrin slammed his hands onto his desk as he leaned forward, "Did he follow you here!?!"
Colin shook his head, "No, some guy named Shimi distracted him long enough for me to escape."
"So what do you suggest we do?"
"I'm afraid this one may interrupt our plans. He demanded to know where the girl was, but I managed to slip out without him learning where the hospital was. But there's no way to stop him from asking the next civilian he comes across. He's probably already killed Shimi and is on his way."
"So what exactly do you suggest we do?" Jafrin reiterated, "If the plan is truly being carried out he'll be too late regardless of how fast he gets there."
"You can't be certain! You were never told how the job would be carried out so you don't know just how long it'll take for it to be finished." Colin argued heatedly.
"This takes me back to my question, what do you sug..."
"Get the Discarded on the job. It's expensive, but it'll be worth it to take care of both of them." Colin interjected.
Jafrin hid his smile behind his hand as he put it on his chin. He shot a pensive look at Colin.
"You do know what you're saying, don't you? Are you sure you want to pay for them on top of what you paid for the job already?"
"It'll be worth it."
Jafrin nodded, dropping the smile as he removed his hand, "I'll get them immediately. You just have that money ready for me when I get back."
As the door shut behind the departing Colin, Jafrin let out a quiet laugh. This was going to be an easy job for him and the Discarded. He reached for the watch on his wrist and pressed a series of buttons.
"Slade. Get Forge, Kurshine, and yourself down to the Healing Touch hospital. We've got a job to take care of."
Slade's raspy voice answered him immediately, "Leave it to me..."
"We have to hurry!" Darius hissed, for about the fifteenth time in half as many minutes.
Leilong ignored him as he adjusted the mask over his face and slowly stalked around the fencing. There was something definitely wrong with it, but he just couldn't place his finger on it. He looked at the rocks by the fence, but none of them were giving off the telltale sparks of electricity.
"What are you waiting for, Terran?"
Again he ignored his impatient compatriot and picked up a fairly large piece of stone. He heaved it directly at the fence and watched as it adhered to the surface.
"We can't get in this way... I've never seen a trap like this but it is definitely too dangerous to interfere with."
"What do you suggest we do?"
Leilong scratched his covered chin before answering, "We'll just have to make our own entrance
Darius looked puzzled, but followed the outlaw over to the side of the building where Leilong slammed his fists into the wall. His hands grew white, then a tremor knocked the wall inward. The pieces quietly settled to the ground.
"How did you do that?" the Ctarl inquired.
"Constructive use of a light shield."
Entering quickly, they made certain that the way was clear. A stairwell greeted them, which they sprinted up, quietly opening the doors along the way. They were all empty except for one old man who just stared vacantly up at his ceiling.
"Where is she?" Darius mouthed.
"How the hell should I know?"
"Yes! I'll have three pounds of that chowder! Could I also get a side of those ribs? No, two sides!" Aisha called as she wolfed down the salmon cakes on her plate.
The waiter placed the dishes on her table as quickly as she ordered them, making sure that he kept a constant supply of tea, milk, and saki ready at hand.
Aisha picked up a cake and prepared to devour it when the waiter put his hand over her face. As she looked, the waiter slowly turned into a man in a black mask. He had his hand clamped firmly over her mouth. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she came completely awake.
She knocked the hand away as she growled, "Who are you? What's the big idea?"
"Aisha!"
"Myeow?" she yelped as she turned to the other face, "Darius?"
He grabbed her waist and lifted her up out of the bed, setting her feet on the ground gently.
"We have to get out of here my Lady. Someone has plotted to kill you!"
"Nya?"
The masked man interceded, "We don't have time for this. Please get dressed quickly so we can get out of here."
Darius looked at her, "That gown looks ridiculous on you." he muttered under his breath.
Aisha's ears burned at the comment, "I'm so sorry it doesn't pass reach your standards."
"We don't have time." The masked man said again.
Before Aisha could respond he had walked out the door, motioning Darius to follow. Darius' hair rose at the unspoken order he had been given, but he followed, closing the door behind him.
"What is going on?" she muttered to herself as she pulled up her pants, tossing the hospital issued ones aside.
Carefully, she plucked the I.V from her arm and dropped it on the ground. Adjusting the pants to a comfortable fit she looked in the mirror. Pleased with that she pulled on her shoes and rewound her cloth wraps back around her legs. She tossed the gown to the bed and pulled on the top part of her uniform, adjusting the chest guard carefully.
"At least they didn't unbraid my hair." she laughed as she finished dressing.
She walked over toward the door, and grabbed the knob. She started to open it before her heart fluttered. Immediately she felt her knees turn to water and her stomach clench. She fell forward, slamming her head on the door hard. She quickly clapped a hand to her mouth as her stomach started to heave.
"Wha-what is this?" she choked out before her stomach heaved again.
She felt herself being lifted up again and looked into the face of Darius.
"What's wrong Lady Aisha?"
The masked man looked at the palm that she had coughed into with a scowl. He held it out for everyone to see the blood in it.
"She's been poisoned, quickly lift her back into that bed! Aisha, when was the last time you ate?"
She looked at the clock, "About fo-Urk!" she clapped her hand to her mouth again, "f-four hours."
"Poisoned? How can you be so sure?" Darius growled as he put her back on the bed.
He looked toward the raging Ctarl, "Because her blood is already thinned." then returned his attention to her, "Four hours? Then it couldn't have been then... Have you had any shots since then? Did anyone claim they were giving you antibiotics or pain suppressants? Anything at all?"
She shook her head, a hand clapped firmly over her mouth. The man swore and looked around for anything out of the ordinary. His eyes settled on the I.V. He took a dagger out of its sheath and cut the bag. He smelled it and even tasted a little before spitting it out.
"Nothing..." he mumbled before grabbing the needle. It had a small valve on it to regulate the flow of the liquid.
"Crafty bastards..." he laughed as he smashed the plastic holding the needle.
Darius looked at the broken device as he smashed it again, breaking off a larger chunk of the hardened covering. He gave a cry of victory as he emptied out what appeared to be wet powder. He lifted the bottom of his mask and put a small amount on his tongue before spitting it out.
"Crafty, but cocky. This is just dried cobra venom."
He broke the lock off of a medical cabinet and rifled through the contents before he found what he was looking for. He brought out a bottle of anti-toxin and filled a large syringe with that.
Aisha looked on nervously, "That's a bit big isn't it?"
"How much do you want to live?"
She shrugged, "I definitely don't-ack!-don't want to die now..."
"Good. This is probably going to hurt." Pulling her chest guard down a little, he jammed the needle directly into her heart.
Darius leaped on him almost immediately, "What are you trying to do!?!"
"Cobra venom is a neural toxin. It was too far along to treat with a shot to the arm. If you prefer her heart stopping I can always remove the needle."
Aisha was lying on the floor in shock. She had never been pierced in the chest before and it hurt like hell!
"I... shoulda used... my beast strength...." she uttered.
The masked man shoved Darius off of him and went over to Aisha, "No, I would never have been able to give you an injection in that state. Just stay calm, it's almost over."
He slowly injected the anti-toxin as the female's eyes squeezed shut, tears of pain leaking out of them. As he finished he quickly removed the needle and grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Soon he had the area bandaged and sterile. The effects were quick as her heart slowed down to near normal levels in a few minutes. Her stomach was still iron, however.
"Come here a second..." Aisha muttered, motioning him forward with a finger.
He bent down low, more than expecting her to attempt some type of reprisal. Surprisingly she just patted him on the cheek.
"You're pretty competent for a terran."
He blinked at the unexpected compliment. This gave Aisha an opening to smack him across the face, knocking off the mask.
"But you did stab me after all!" she roared.
Leilong looked directly at her. She must know who he was now... But she had already looked at him without a glitter of recognition in her eyes. He breathed a calming sigh of relief and rubbed the sore red mark left on his cheek.
"Thank you, I guess."
"Could this possibly be the only attempt they had planned?" Darius inquired, scratching his head.
Leilong shrugged, "I'm not sure, but if we plan on leaving, now would be a good time to get going."
The two Ctarl Ctarl nodded their agreement and Darius helped up Aisha. She was a little unsteady, but didn't need help to move herself. Apparently the anti-toxin was already working well. Leaving the two to any last minute preparations, Leilong headed out to scout the surrounding grounds. As he reached the stairwell he listened for the sound of anyone moving up them. When he heard nothing he continued on down, one careful step at a time, until he reached the bottom of the well where he had first blasted in.
"Maybe that was all they had planned." he murmured to himself.
He carefully checked for any signs of entry before he continued on to the lawn outside. It too was clear, but he felt something wrong. It was an intense hatred from some unseen individual, so intense that it seemed tangible. He growled at his own dumb mistake as he realized he no longer had on his mask. Whoever was out here would see him and know that he had helped the escape of the two 'monsters'.
"Darius, why did that man have a mask?"
He shrugged as he thought it over, "He must've had a good reason for it, but he never shared it with me. Maybe he was using it for stealth?"
Aisha shrugged it off as unimportant. Humans were all the same to her anyway. All of them, that is, except for the other crewmembers of the Outlaw Star. That man could do whatever he pleased for all she cared. Finally, she was sure that all of her things were safely packed away and started for the door.
"Wait!" Darius hissed as he grabbed her hand before it could touch the knob.
She looked at him angrily. No one was explaining anything to her and it was starting to grate on her nerves. As she was directing her glare a sound finally echoed in her ears.
"Sounds like a fuse." she whispered.
Darius sprang into action, kicking open the door and looking around. A small explosive was right by the entrance and it was seconds from detonating. With a quick stomp he doused the fire.
"Why don't you just come out, you coward?" he roared down the dark hallways.
"Why don't you just come out?" Leilong shouted into the dark solitude of the night.
A rustle on his right sent him into a headlong dive forward, barely avoiding a sword swinging by overhead. He came to his feet with his own sword in hand, quickly blocking a downward strike from his opponent, a sallow man in a monk's brown robes.
"You blocked that rather skillfully, old man. But none can stand against my Bleeding Moon style!" his opponent laughed in a deep voice.
Leilong wasted no time for talk as he charged his boastful opponent. His age had little effect on his fighting style, despite the beliefs of many other dead men. He delivered a cross-body slash with his right hand, but before completing the maneuver he reversed his grip on the sword and brought it straight ahead toward the man's heart. His surprisingly nimble opponent danced out of harm's way, still laughing.
"You are good, old man... but you can tell the devil that Kurshine has sent down another one!"
Kurshine swung his sword swiftly, causing a blur of metal to appear before him, rotating it from his left to right hand. He finally flickered forward with a sharp series of stabs. Leilong sidestepped each one and jammed his sword right into the man's chest. Kurshine's mouth dropped open in shock at the foot speed displayed in the avoidance of his attack, and his eyes dropped down to the steel in his torso.
"Names are for tombstones." Leilong whispered in his ear before shoving him off the blade's tip.
An unnoticed shadow darted off at the end of the fight.
The clatter of metal caused his ears to perk up and Darius turned to see a man barrel down the hallway into him. They collided and the rush carried them both into the wall, cracking the plaster. The Ctarl slammed his knee into his opponent's face, sending him reeling back. He leaped out from the wall to attack, but the attacker had recovered and delivered a punch to his chest. He could feel that this fellow was wearing brass knuckles.
Aisha staggered into the hallway, "What's happening?"
Her gaze settled on a leather-garbed man with short blond hair. His mouth had a metal plate sealing it shut. He turned toward her and slammed his knuckles together, causing sparks to fly.
She dropped into a crouch ready to fight, "So you want to take me on?"
Before anything could come of it, Darius grabbed the man's head, slamming it into the wall they had ran into earlier. He then threw the unconscious fellow to the floor.
"If that's all, let's get out of here." he said, walking over toward her.
"Oh, it's not quite over yet my friend."
Aisha turned around as the voice came over her shoulder. It was a bearded man with a large grin on his face.
"Get out of my way you animal!" he shouted at her, slamming the door into her face.
Aisha staggered back but kept her footing. With a roar of outrage her companion leaped forward, ready to tear out the man's throat. He never quite got there as a fist crashed into his temple, causing a loud crack. Darius fell to the floor motionless.
"I guess the stories that you things can't be killed is very false!" he laughed at the fallen Darius.
"You bastard!" Aisha screamed, starting toward the man. She fell to her knees, grabbing her mouth as her stomach heaved. The venom hadn't been completely neutralized yet.
When her sickness subsided she looked up into the face of the man standing in front of her. He pulled back for a punch, but missed as the lithe Ctarl Ctarl rolled out of the way, kicking out the back of his knees. He rose quickly however and tried to grab her skull. She grabbed his hand before he could, holding it back with all her might. He tried to punch her again but she managed to dodge, before locking her other hand to his.
"You have no chance against me, kitten. My strength is undeniable!" he howled madly.
Aisha felt inclined to believe him as, despite her attempts to hold apart his hands, they were slowly pushing inward, bending her elbows as they reached for her head. She felt her heart pounding from the exertion and fresh blood starting to come from the wound in her chest. With teeth gritted she kept pushing, hoping to stop the closing hands.
"How... is this possible?" She gasped as sweat started to trickle down her face, "You're only human..."
He laughed at the comment. "A human has the power of itself and technology. It can crush pitiful weaklings like you!"
She prayed to the gods of the Ctarl Ctarl for strength, but she could feel her muscles nearly tearing from the strain. The hands were almost touching the sides of her face, and when they did, she would be finished. She could feel the blood continuing to flow out her wound and start to trickle down between her breasts. If this didn't end soon she would die of blood loss. She looked down for any signs of inspiration, and her eyes finally settled on Darius' form. She drew every bit of rage she could from her soul at the sight, until her mind burned. With a roar of anger she pulled hard on her opponents arms, the wrenching sound of torn metal filled the corridor as they both tore off.
The man's mouth opened in surprise, "How can this be!? I was winning! I was winning! Slade! Help me!"
No one came to the man's call and Aisha slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The man looked to her before bolting down the corridor to the stairs. The slapping of his feet on the stairs faded away as Aisha still sat, breathing hard from the battle. She put a hand to her wound, pushing the bandage tight to halt the flow of blood.
"Where's that man now?" she gasped.
"Pagawa sumfa, pagawa sumfa, pagawa sumfa..." Slade muttered, deep in concentration.
Leilong prepared his light shield as the Taoist continued his chanting. He also drew a caster gun from his backpack, loading it with a five.
"Slade! We're getting out of here!"
Slade turned his head, his concentration broken, toward the yelling man. He appeared to have no arms from this angle of sight. As Slade started to answer, Leilong pulled the trigger, blasting the man before he could turn. As the explosion subsided, he noted with grim satisfaction that the man was dead. He quickly turned and sprinted back into the building. He jumped up the stairs two at a time and nearly tripped when he came to a dark clothed body in the hall. Looking past it he saw Aisha, breathing hard with blood flowing steadily from her chest, and Darius lying silent on the floor. Darius was beyond his helping so he came to Aisha as quickly as he could.
"You've lost a lot of blood..." he muttered dishearteningly.
Her eyes widened and she pointed behind him. With a quick movement he swung his gun to rest on his shoulder and fired twice. The man that had been faking unconsciousness fell dead. Ignoring the event, Leilong ran back into the room where he had found Aisha, and grabbed as much cotton and bandages as he could find. He tore off her old bandage and wiped up the blood with the cotton, as she still breathed hard. Finally when it was relatively clean, he wrapped the bandage tightly around, making certain it had a good enough tension to keep effective pressure on the hole.
"Th..." she tried to say, but he quieted her.
With a quick look around the room he made certain that he had everything he would need before lifting her onto his back.
"Forgive me, but we'll have to leave him here." he apologized, "For what it's worth, I'm sure he'd be glad that you'll live."
He paid his final respects to the dead that had fallen that night, before heading out toward the planet's spaceport. He had to take off before people awoke to the carnage.
Jafrin was beside himself with rage as he heard the news that the rest of his band hadn't survived the debacle the night before. But the anger was even greater when he realized that Olviana had skipped town with her son and the money she had accepted for the job of killing the girl. All in all it had been a bad excursion for him and he howled to the sun for vengeance. It took several of the space forces crack agents to finally drag him from his home to the hospital for mental illness, despite his lack of arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Part 3...
So how did everyone like that part? I hope you all enjoyed it and it had some degree of surprise for you! But anyone of you who loved it/hated it/didn't read it, any reviews would be good to hear! The fourth part should be up fairly soon!
Part 3: The Discarded
Humanity strides deeper into the unknown sections of the universe to encourage peace, trade, and good will with alien races. Despite this benevolent front, they have also left piles of dead in their wake as they continue on, oblivious to those that have fallen to the olive branch it extends to them.
~~~~~~~~~~
"She's coming along nicely! I'd wager you'll be 100% in the next couple days or so." Doctor Hollontop said, beaming a smile at Aisha.
She stared back blankly.
The doctor's smile faltered, "Is something wrong?"
"I can't wait that long! I have to go now!"
"I'm afraid that's out of the question. You'd be unable to even fend for yourself if we let you out."
Aisha slammed a fist to her chest, "None would dare mess with Aisha Clan-Clan!"
"Aisha..." Olviana called.
She turned at her name.
"Catch!" Olviana tossed a small ball to her.
Ha! No problem at all!
She reached up where the ball was coming and waited expectantly. It whizzed by about two feet to the left.
"As you can see you have absolutely no depth perception at the moment."
She waved it off, "I don't need it! I'll just get someone to take me!"
"That's... not a good idea." the doctor sighed.
"Why not!?"
"Half of the people in this town are too afraid to even come near you! The other half... well you don't want them to take an interest."
"Why? They're perverts?"
Olviana hid her giggle behind her hand as the doctor stammered on, "N-no! They think you're a demon!"
"What makes you think something like that?"
I have to get back to Lady Aisha! Where the hell did they take her!?
Darius leaped from rooftop to rooftop, searching the street and windows for sign of her. He had learned a while ago to keep to the rooftops, and only to search at night after a walker noticed him and raised another mob.
What do these people have against the Ctarl Ctarl anyway?
The next leap brought him back to the area the pod had crashed in. A quick survey showed him that the pod was no longer there. As he thought back upon it, he hadn't really seen all that many ships in this city. He shrugged it off and continued with his search. Probably just some poor area...
"...sneak in and finish it."
He stopped fast and crouched low. The voice was coming from the next rooftop.
"I'll be glad to finally rid our world of that menace!" the speaker sighed, "Did these guys really need all that much money though? It's not like it's a difficult job to kill one young woman."
"They're professionals. They know what they have to do, and know how to do it right."
"Still... it was an awfully large amount."
"Can you put a price on the safety of the human race? If that monster were to reproduce, or escape then we would have a definite problem on our hands!"
"You know I don't mean that!"
"Good. You send a deposit to that account they designated. I'll give them the signal."
This has to be Aisha! I knew she was still alive! Damn, why didn't that guy say where or when this is taking place... I guess I just have to follow him until he leads me right to her.
There was the sound of retreating footsteps and then he was the lone person on the roof again. He scampered to the edge and looked down to the street. Both of the men had taken off in different directions down the broad avenue.
Damn! Which one was going to give the signal?
Without much choice in the matter, he followed after the one headed back where he had came from.
"He's agreed to your plan. Please be sure that this works out the way we've discussed, there are to be no concerns raised about the cause of death."
The woman's voice laughed lightly, "No one has ever caught me before. I'm not going to fail you in this task."
"Good, because we paid big bucks for this!"
"It will be done to your satisfaction at the very least."
The man grunted, "Not a very good comment to raise our trust in your ability."
Her eyes turned hard and she glared at the man, "You haven't told anyone who I am. For all I care I could just rip you apart and leave you in her room. That would definitely incite the citizens into doing something drastic to her. No one would ever suspect anything was amiss."
He held up his hands in submission, "Alright! I trust you'll accomplish it!"
She smirked darkly, "Don't worry. I won't even need to bring in my partner."
A smoke-filled dive. Just like the one from that time long ago. He smiled a little as he thought about those distant memories. It truly did still feel invigorating to be able to live for himself once more, instead of serving as some meaningless assassin. It felt good to finally have a choice in whether he had to kill or not.
"Your drink, sir." The waitress purred, setting down a bottle of rum and a glass.
He smiled at her and she left. The alcohol tasted good after his long abstinence, and it helped to relax his tension. After all this time he had very nearly lost this new life through a chance encounter. It's true that he did look different from that day, but of course he couldn't be certain that he had changed that much.
"How horribly unlucky can I be..." He grumbled in his thunderous voice.
A heavyset man brushed past his shoulder, gasping for breath.
"A monster! I saw a monster!"
The frantic call caused a dead silence in the room, as all eyes averted to the doorway.
"Huh, a Ctarl Ctarl." The man mused, taking another sip of his rum.
The Ctarl roared, causing shrieks of alarm to rise up from the silence, "You fool! Why don't you just tell me where she is!?!"
Whispers sprang up as everyone looked toward the addressed. It was the same man that had bumped into him on his way into the pub. He pushed back his chair and stood up slowly. He turned to the beast man who was nearly foaming at the mouth in rage.
"I don't care what your personal argument is, but I do care that you're ruining my peace."
Everyone turned to him in awe, like sheep looking upon the farmer that wards off the wolves.
"This doesn't concern you at all, terran!" The raging animal growled, pointing a sharp clawed finger at him.
"The name is Leilong, but you can call me Shimi. It'd be in your best interest to leave, now."
"Your appetite sure is... healthy... Ms. Aisha." Olviana declared as she watched the other woman throw back a whole side of beef.
"I'm just getting started!" Aisha mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Olviana busied herself by setting up a new bag for the I.V while the dishes continued to pile up.
"The washer is going to demand a raise after this..." she mumbled as she untangled part of the plastic tubing.
"Do I even need that thing anymore? I feel fine!"
"Doctor Hollontop said that until you were 100% we would have to give you a steady supply. You do want to get going soon don't you."
Aisha nodded enthusiastically, before finishing a large glass of milk. Olviana finished the set-up while the seated Ctarl Ctarl finished her meal. When they were both done she wished Aisha a good night before heading out the door with the large mound of dishes. Eventually the sound of her footsteps faded away.
"How long have I been here." Aisha muttered as she carefully tried to count the days. It had been at least four days since she had woken up on this planet, but how long was she out after that fight. No one could tell her anything about that.
"Why did I end up on this planet anyway? Where's the ship and crew? Did they bring me here then go hold up somewhere else? Why didn't they visit me?"
She let out a frustrated huff. Why was she even asking these questions of herself? She put her arms behind her head and started to fall asleep.
Leilong swung his falchion in a downward hack, which Darius nimbly leaped away from before charging him. The relatively short time that he had spent as an Outlaw had certainly not tarnished his well honed battle prowess, for he dropped his shoulder into the Ctarl Ctarl's chest, knocking him back a step.
"I would never have thought a Ctarl Ctarl would come to this planet, let alone try to cause trouble on it."
Darius bared his teeth, "I'm not the one causing trouble here!"
"Well then, who is? You're the only one I see terrorizing the people of this planet."
The outlaw reversed his grip on the sword and jabbed hard toward his opponent's stomach, causing him to fall back on his heels. He followed it up with a quick jab to the face that sent him reeling.
"I don't have time for this! I could already be too late!" Darius roared to the sky as the combatants broke apart again.
Leilong held his blade at the ready, "I won't let you have this girl you've been talking about. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you kill her."
"Kill her? Why would I kill one of my own race?"
Leilong raised an eyebrow, "In that case I can see why you may have business with her. But why do you bother this man?"
Darius stood straight up, "Because he knows where she is, obviously. Even for a human you're dense."
He let the insult slid by and put away his sword. There was more to this than he had thought at first.
"Why are you in such a hurry to find her?"
The Ctarl growled impatiently before he answered, "I don't have time to tell you the whole story, I just need to get there quick! It's a matter of life and death!"
"If you can't tell me then I can't let you go alone. For all I know these are all hollow words." Leilong walked up and jabbed a finger in Darius' chest, "I'm gonna go with you to make sure you aren't lying."
Darius looked down at the finger with a sneer, "I don't care! I just need to know where she is!"
"You've already made that comment abundantly clear." the outlaw muttered to himself, "We just have a small problem..."
"What?"
"He's gone."
A healthy stream of curses filled the air as Darius dashed around hunting for the man. He eventually gave up and stalked back.
"Damn it! Now how will I find Lady Aisha!?"
Leilong stiffened at the name, but he answered, "I happened to see a Ctarl Ctarl woman this week downtown. We can check around there for her."
Even as he said it his mind screamed at him not too. Honor demanded that he follow through with the ultimatum he had delivered to the Ctarl, but at the cost of his new life... His thoughts clicked together at that instant. It was worth a try.
"Colin, what are you babbling about?" Jafrin muttered as the fat man finished his story.
"I just saw the other monster! He followed me to the pub on Pethra Street."
Jafrin slammed his hands onto his desk as he leaned forward, "Did he follow you here!?!"
Colin shook his head, "No, some guy named Shimi distracted him long enough for me to escape."
"So what do you suggest we do?"
"I'm afraid this one may interrupt our plans. He demanded to know where the girl was, but I managed to slip out without him learning where the hospital was. But there's no way to stop him from asking the next civilian he comes across. He's probably already killed Shimi and is on his way."
"So what exactly do you suggest we do?" Jafrin reiterated, "If the plan is truly being carried out he'll be too late regardless of how fast he gets there."
"You can't be certain! You were never told how the job would be carried out so you don't know just how long it'll take for it to be finished." Colin argued heatedly.
"This takes me back to my question, what do you sug..."
"Get the Discarded on the job. It's expensive, but it'll be worth it to take care of both of them." Colin interjected.
Jafrin hid his smile behind his hand as he put it on his chin. He shot a pensive look at Colin.
"You do know what you're saying, don't you? Are you sure you want to pay for them on top of what you paid for the job already?"
"It'll be worth it."
Jafrin nodded, dropping the smile as he removed his hand, "I'll get them immediately. You just have that money ready for me when I get back."
As the door shut behind the departing Colin, Jafrin let out a quiet laugh. This was going to be an easy job for him and the Discarded. He reached for the watch on his wrist and pressed a series of buttons.
"Slade. Get Forge, Kurshine, and yourself down to the Healing Touch hospital. We've got a job to take care of."
Slade's raspy voice answered him immediately, "Leave it to me..."
"We have to hurry!" Darius hissed, for about the fifteenth time in half as many minutes.
Leilong ignored him as he adjusted the mask over his face and slowly stalked around the fencing. There was something definitely wrong with it, but he just couldn't place his finger on it. He looked at the rocks by the fence, but none of them were giving off the telltale sparks of electricity.
"What are you waiting for, Terran?"
Again he ignored his impatient compatriot and picked up a fairly large piece of stone. He heaved it directly at the fence and watched as it adhered to the surface.
"We can't get in this way... I've never seen a trap like this but it is definitely too dangerous to interfere with."
"What do you suggest we do?"
Leilong scratched his covered chin before answering, "We'll just have to make our own entrance
Darius looked puzzled, but followed the outlaw over to the side of the building where Leilong slammed his fists into the wall. His hands grew white, then a tremor knocked the wall inward. The pieces quietly settled to the ground.
"How did you do that?" the Ctarl inquired.
"Constructive use of a light shield."
Entering quickly, they made certain that the way was clear. A stairwell greeted them, which they sprinted up, quietly opening the doors along the way. They were all empty except for one old man who just stared vacantly up at his ceiling.
"Where is she?" Darius mouthed.
"How the hell should I know?"
"Yes! I'll have three pounds of that chowder! Could I also get a side of those ribs? No, two sides!" Aisha called as she wolfed down the salmon cakes on her plate.
The waiter placed the dishes on her table as quickly as she ordered them, making sure that he kept a constant supply of tea, milk, and saki ready at hand.
Aisha picked up a cake and prepared to devour it when the waiter put his hand over her face. As she looked, the waiter slowly turned into a man in a black mask. He had his hand clamped firmly over her mouth. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she came completely awake.
She knocked the hand away as she growled, "Who are you? What's the big idea?"
"Aisha!"
"Myeow?" she yelped as she turned to the other face, "Darius?"
He grabbed her waist and lifted her up out of the bed, setting her feet on the ground gently.
"We have to get out of here my Lady. Someone has plotted to kill you!"
"Nya?"
The masked man interceded, "We don't have time for this. Please get dressed quickly so we can get out of here."
Darius looked at her, "That gown looks ridiculous on you." he muttered under his breath.
Aisha's ears burned at the comment, "I'm so sorry it doesn't pass reach your standards."
"We don't have time." The masked man said again.
Before Aisha could respond he had walked out the door, motioning Darius to follow. Darius' hair rose at the unspoken order he had been given, but he followed, closing the door behind him.
"What is going on?" she muttered to herself as she pulled up her pants, tossing the hospital issued ones aside.
Carefully, she plucked the I.V from her arm and dropped it on the ground. Adjusting the pants to a comfortable fit she looked in the mirror. Pleased with that she pulled on her shoes and rewound her cloth wraps back around her legs. She tossed the gown to the bed and pulled on the top part of her uniform, adjusting the chest guard carefully.
"At least they didn't unbraid my hair." she laughed as she finished dressing.
She walked over toward the door, and grabbed the knob. She started to open it before her heart fluttered. Immediately she felt her knees turn to water and her stomach clench. She fell forward, slamming her head on the door hard. She quickly clapped a hand to her mouth as her stomach started to heave.
"Wha-what is this?" she choked out before her stomach heaved again.
She felt herself being lifted up again and looked into the face of Darius.
"What's wrong Lady Aisha?"
The masked man looked at the palm that she had coughed into with a scowl. He held it out for everyone to see the blood in it.
"She's been poisoned, quickly lift her back into that bed! Aisha, when was the last time you ate?"
She looked at the clock, "About fo-Urk!" she clapped her hand to her mouth again, "f-four hours."
"Poisoned? How can you be so sure?" Darius growled as he put her back on the bed.
He looked toward the raging Ctarl, "Because her blood is already thinned." then returned his attention to her, "Four hours? Then it couldn't have been then... Have you had any shots since then? Did anyone claim they were giving you antibiotics or pain suppressants? Anything at all?"
She shook her head, a hand clapped firmly over her mouth. The man swore and looked around for anything out of the ordinary. His eyes settled on the I.V. He took a dagger out of its sheath and cut the bag. He smelled it and even tasted a little before spitting it out.
"Nothing..." he mumbled before grabbing the needle. It had a small valve on it to regulate the flow of the liquid.
"Crafty bastards..." he laughed as he smashed the plastic holding the needle.
Darius looked at the broken device as he smashed it again, breaking off a larger chunk of the hardened covering. He gave a cry of victory as he emptied out what appeared to be wet powder. He lifted the bottom of his mask and put a small amount on his tongue before spitting it out.
"Crafty, but cocky. This is just dried cobra venom."
He broke the lock off of a medical cabinet and rifled through the contents before he found what he was looking for. He brought out a bottle of anti-toxin and filled a large syringe with that.
Aisha looked on nervously, "That's a bit big isn't it?"
"How much do you want to live?"
She shrugged, "I definitely don't-ack!-don't want to die now..."
"Good. This is probably going to hurt." Pulling her chest guard down a little, he jammed the needle directly into her heart.
Darius leaped on him almost immediately, "What are you trying to do!?!"
"Cobra venom is a neural toxin. It was too far along to treat with a shot to the arm. If you prefer her heart stopping I can always remove the needle."
Aisha was lying on the floor in shock. She had never been pierced in the chest before and it hurt like hell!
"I... shoulda used... my beast strength...." she uttered.
The masked man shoved Darius off of him and went over to Aisha, "No, I would never have been able to give you an injection in that state. Just stay calm, it's almost over."
He slowly injected the anti-toxin as the female's eyes squeezed shut, tears of pain leaking out of them. As he finished he quickly removed the needle and grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Soon he had the area bandaged and sterile. The effects were quick as her heart slowed down to near normal levels in a few minutes. Her stomach was still iron, however.
"Come here a second..." Aisha muttered, motioning him forward with a finger.
He bent down low, more than expecting her to attempt some type of reprisal. Surprisingly she just patted him on the cheek.
"You're pretty competent for a terran."
He blinked at the unexpected compliment. This gave Aisha an opening to smack him across the face, knocking off the mask.
"But you did stab me after all!" she roared.
Leilong looked directly at her. She must know who he was now... But she had already looked at him without a glitter of recognition in her eyes. He breathed a calming sigh of relief and rubbed the sore red mark left on his cheek.
"Thank you, I guess."
"Could this possibly be the only attempt they had planned?" Darius inquired, scratching his head.
Leilong shrugged, "I'm not sure, but if we plan on leaving, now would be a good time to get going."
The two Ctarl Ctarl nodded their agreement and Darius helped up Aisha. She was a little unsteady, but didn't need help to move herself. Apparently the anti-toxin was already working well. Leaving the two to any last minute preparations, Leilong headed out to scout the surrounding grounds. As he reached the stairwell he listened for the sound of anyone moving up them. When he heard nothing he continued on down, one careful step at a time, until he reached the bottom of the well where he had first blasted in.
"Maybe that was all they had planned." he murmured to himself.
He carefully checked for any signs of entry before he continued on to the lawn outside. It too was clear, but he felt something wrong. It was an intense hatred from some unseen individual, so intense that it seemed tangible. He growled at his own dumb mistake as he realized he no longer had on his mask. Whoever was out here would see him and know that he had helped the escape of the two 'monsters'.
"Darius, why did that man have a mask?"
He shrugged as he thought it over, "He must've had a good reason for it, but he never shared it with me. Maybe he was using it for stealth?"
Aisha shrugged it off as unimportant. Humans were all the same to her anyway. All of them, that is, except for the other crewmembers of the Outlaw Star. That man could do whatever he pleased for all she cared. Finally, she was sure that all of her things were safely packed away and started for the door.
"Wait!" Darius hissed as he grabbed her hand before it could touch the knob.
She looked at him angrily. No one was explaining anything to her and it was starting to grate on her nerves. As she was directing her glare a sound finally echoed in her ears.
"Sounds like a fuse." she whispered.
Darius sprang into action, kicking open the door and looking around. A small explosive was right by the entrance and it was seconds from detonating. With a quick stomp he doused the fire.
"Why don't you just come out, you coward?" he roared down the dark hallways.
"Why don't you just come out?" Leilong shouted into the dark solitude of the night.
A rustle on his right sent him into a headlong dive forward, barely avoiding a sword swinging by overhead. He came to his feet with his own sword in hand, quickly blocking a downward strike from his opponent, a sallow man in a monk's brown robes.
"You blocked that rather skillfully, old man. But none can stand against my Bleeding Moon style!" his opponent laughed in a deep voice.
Leilong wasted no time for talk as he charged his boastful opponent. His age had little effect on his fighting style, despite the beliefs of many other dead men. He delivered a cross-body slash with his right hand, but before completing the maneuver he reversed his grip on the sword and brought it straight ahead toward the man's heart. His surprisingly nimble opponent danced out of harm's way, still laughing.
"You are good, old man... but you can tell the devil that Kurshine has sent down another one!"
Kurshine swung his sword swiftly, causing a blur of metal to appear before him, rotating it from his left to right hand. He finally flickered forward with a sharp series of stabs. Leilong sidestepped each one and jammed his sword right into the man's chest. Kurshine's mouth dropped open in shock at the foot speed displayed in the avoidance of his attack, and his eyes dropped down to the steel in his torso.
"Names are for tombstones." Leilong whispered in his ear before shoving him off the blade's tip.
An unnoticed shadow darted off at the end of the fight.
The clatter of metal caused his ears to perk up and Darius turned to see a man barrel down the hallway into him. They collided and the rush carried them both into the wall, cracking the plaster. The Ctarl slammed his knee into his opponent's face, sending him reeling back. He leaped out from the wall to attack, but the attacker had recovered and delivered a punch to his chest. He could feel that this fellow was wearing brass knuckles.
Aisha staggered into the hallway, "What's happening?"
Her gaze settled on a leather-garbed man with short blond hair. His mouth had a metal plate sealing it shut. He turned toward her and slammed his knuckles together, causing sparks to fly.
She dropped into a crouch ready to fight, "So you want to take me on?"
Before anything could come of it, Darius grabbed the man's head, slamming it into the wall they had ran into earlier. He then threw the unconscious fellow to the floor.
"If that's all, let's get out of here." he said, walking over toward her.
"Oh, it's not quite over yet my friend."
Aisha turned around as the voice came over her shoulder. It was a bearded man with a large grin on his face.
"Get out of my way you animal!" he shouted at her, slamming the door into her face.
Aisha staggered back but kept her footing. With a roar of outrage her companion leaped forward, ready to tear out the man's throat. He never quite got there as a fist crashed into his temple, causing a loud crack. Darius fell to the floor motionless.
"I guess the stories that you things can't be killed is very false!" he laughed at the fallen Darius.
"You bastard!" Aisha screamed, starting toward the man. She fell to her knees, grabbing her mouth as her stomach heaved. The venom hadn't been completely neutralized yet.
When her sickness subsided she looked up into the face of the man standing in front of her. He pulled back for a punch, but missed as the lithe Ctarl Ctarl rolled out of the way, kicking out the back of his knees. He rose quickly however and tried to grab her skull. She grabbed his hand before he could, holding it back with all her might. He tried to punch her again but she managed to dodge, before locking her other hand to his.
"You have no chance against me, kitten. My strength is undeniable!" he howled madly.
Aisha felt inclined to believe him as, despite her attempts to hold apart his hands, they were slowly pushing inward, bending her elbows as they reached for her head. She felt her heart pounding from the exertion and fresh blood starting to come from the wound in her chest. With teeth gritted she kept pushing, hoping to stop the closing hands.
"How... is this possible?" She gasped as sweat started to trickle down her face, "You're only human..."
He laughed at the comment. "A human has the power of itself and technology. It can crush pitiful weaklings like you!"
She prayed to the gods of the Ctarl Ctarl for strength, but she could feel her muscles nearly tearing from the strain. The hands were almost touching the sides of her face, and when they did, she would be finished. She could feel the blood continuing to flow out her wound and start to trickle down between her breasts. If this didn't end soon she would die of blood loss. She looked down for any signs of inspiration, and her eyes finally settled on Darius' form. She drew every bit of rage she could from her soul at the sight, until her mind burned. With a roar of anger she pulled hard on her opponents arms, the wrenching sound of torn metal filled the corridor as they both tore off.
The man's mouth opened in surprise, "How can this be!? I was winning! I was winning! Slade! Help me!"
No one came to the man's call and Aisha slumped to the ground in exhaustion. The man looked to her before bolting down the corridor to the stairs. The slapping of his feet on the stairs faded away as Aisha still sat, breathing hard from the battle. She put a hand to her wound, pushing the bandage tight to halt the flow of blood.
"Where's that man now?" she gasped.
"Pagawa sumfa, pagawa sumfa, pagawa sumfa..." Slade muttered, deep in concentration.
Leilong prepared his light shield as the Taoist continued his chanting. He also drew a caster gun from his backpack, loading it with a five.
"Slade! We're getting out of here!"
Slade turned his head, his concentration broken, toward the yelling man. He appeared to have no arms from this angle of sight. As Slade started to answer, Leilong pulled the trigger, blasting the man before he could turn. As the explosion subsided, he noted with grim satisfaction that the man was dead. He quickly turned and sprinted back into the building. He jumped up the stairs two at a time and nearly tripped when he came to a dark clothed body in the hall. Looking past it he saw Aisha, breathing hard with blood flowing steadily from her chest, and Darius lying silent on the floor. Darius was beyond his helping so he came to Aisha as quickly as he could.
"You've lost a lot of blood..." he muttered dishearteningly.
Her eyes widened and she pointed behind him. With a quick movement he swung his gun to rest on his shoulder and fired twice. The man that had been faking unconsciousness fell dead. Ignoring the event, Leilong ran back into the room where he had found Aisha, and grabbed as much cotton and bandages as he could find. He tore off her old bandage and wiped up the blood with the cotton, as she still breathed hard. Finally when it was relatively clean, he wrapped the bandage tightly around, making certain it had a good enough tension to keep effective pressure on the hole.
"Th..." she tried to say, but he quieted her.
With a quick look around the room he made certain that he had everything he would need before lifting her onto his back.
"Forgive me, but we'll have to leave him here." he apologized, "For what it's worth, I'm sure he'd be glad that you'll live."
He paid his final respects to the dead that had fallen that night, before heading out toward the planet's spaceport. He had to take off before people awoke to the carnage.
Jafrin was beside himself with rage as he heard the news that the rest of his band hadn't survived the debacle the night before. But the anger was even greater when he realized that Olviana had skipped town with her son and the money she had accepted for the job of killing the girl. All in all it had been a bad excursion for him and he howled to the sun for vengeance. It took several of the space forces crack agents to finally drag him from his home to the hospital for mental illness, despite his lack of arms.
~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Part 3...
So how did everyone like that part? I hope you all enjoyed it and it had some degree of surprise for you! But anyone of you who loved it/hated it/didn't read it, any reviews would be good to hear! The fourth part should be up fairly soon!