A/N – Weekend again, and time to write. Haruka – The 'Casers should show
up soon enough, one in this chapter. Most answers regarding them will show
up in the next chapter. Right now, this is dealing with the second
generation.
Disclaimer – SC is not mine, belongs to Nick and PAD and Bill Mumy and lots of other people that are not me.
I hurt. Strangely enough, it was my arms that felt the worse. I would have assumed it was my head, or my mouth after the abuse it had been put through. I opened my eyes slowly, absolutely sure that I didn't want to.
I was right. Instead of seeing the sterile walls of the base, I was staring at walls covered in green and black filth. I could feel it too, where my back rested on another wall. It was cold, sapping the heat from my body and replacing it with numbness.
"She finally awakes." A sarcastic voice to the left of me said. I looked toward him and saw another Earther, of the black variety this time.
"Where are we?" I asked, my voice hoarse. Why? It wasn't as if I had screamed or anything, unless it was in my sleep.
"We don't know." Another voice said, this time to the right. A Saturnian male was hanging to the right of me, after an unconscious Mercurian girl. I think there was someone after him, but I couldn't see that clearly.
"Why not? No daring escapes or ingenious plans?" Great. I got stuck with a bunch of losers.
"Everything we've tried has failed so far." The Saturnian informed me. "Caine is trying to get over the punishment for our last one."
Even better. Incompetent losers. "Fine then. Why are we here?"
"Ritual sacrifice." The Earther said darkly. "These aliens don't look the money-hoarding types."
"Aliens?" That sounded promising. "What kind?"
"I can't find any pattern yet." The Saturnian again. He seemed much more stable then the Earth boy. "But I can assure you the best looking among them is a hundred times worse then a Spung. And they are just getting uglier and uglier."
"How long have you guys been here?"
"I dunno. When you get kidnapped?"
"Earth/Alien Standard? Probably about 10-12." I think that's how it's numbered by month-day. Or is it day-month? Oh well.
"Twelve days for me then. But Chara was here first." He motioned to the right of himself. So there was someone else there.
"Who are you?" So far all I know is Chara and Caine.
"I'm Baraki, and he's Rigel. Who're you?"
"Morrighan."
"Classisc Uranusian name. Do you go to the Academy?"
"No, I don't. Do you?"
"For studies, like Chara. Rigel is actually training to be a Stardog, like his dad." Baraki smiled to the Earther. Apparently they already knew each other.
"Lot of help its doing me now." Rigel moved his shoulders. "So, what's the news on the base? Anything big on us?"
"I was on it for all of twenty minutes. So, no I didn't hear anything." Maybe Mother did. She had a way of hiding things from me.
Mother. How was I going to get back? Suddenly, I had a rush of regret that came in situations like these. Regret, and lots of worries. When was I going to get back? How was I going to get back? What if the goo stained?
Baraki was rambling off next to me, about some detective work and such. I tuned him out and focused on my predicament.
Well, first of all, my arms hurt because my wrists were chained to a wall. After some initial twisting, I came to the conclusion that they were tight on my wrists; no way to squeeze out that way. Maybe if I looked up and zapped them…no, that won't work. My head couldn't get high enough to aim properly, and who knows what would happen if I zapped the goo?
What else was there? My abilities were exhausted already. Wonder if I could zap one of the alien-creatures.
"What's that?" A soft voice asked. I didn't recognize it, and nearly didn't hear it. It came from next to Baraki, I think. Which meant it was the mysterious Chara.
"What's what? I can't hear anything."
"Sounds like fighting."
"So?" Rigel asked. "They're always fighting. Remember?"
I think I missed something.
"This is with someone different. More then one someone." What was he, Andromedan? Wait, that actually made sense. But why didn't he use his super-strength to break out of the cuffs?
"Can you tell what they are?" Baraki asked.
"No."
"Well, can you at least tell who's winning?" Rigel asked, exasperated.
"Well, more are dying then there are surviving. I don't know if that's good or bad yet." Chara's voice was just getting softer and softer with each word. I barely managed to catch the last few words.
"Speak up a bit, would you? I can barely hear, and Rigel's further then me." I said.
"I'll try. They're getting closer." Better by a bit.
"Still fighting?" Baraki asked.
"No, no they're not. Seems like their trying to get where we are, but don't know the way."
"Which means their lost, right?"
"Not in the sense you mean. They know where we are, but not the way."
I gave up trying to understand. "Right. So, are we being rescued or kidnapped again by another group of aliens?"
"They're friends. Trust me."
"I'm sorry, Chara, but I don't really know what species you are yet. Can you understand why it would be difficult for me to trust you?"
"You can see me, can't you? You can trust Chara." Baraki said, smirking at me. I just scowled at him and neglected to answer.
"They found their way."
"Great." Rigel muttered. The door blasted open at the same time, some shrapnel barely missing my head. Four people filed in, each one odder then the last. The first one in was small, light, and winged. Though it was not weak; I easily saw the connection between him and ancient golden gargoyles. Behind him was a normal-looking girl, if normal was lacking the antennae and having a bronze and silver color theme.
The cuffs snapped open before I could properly see the other two. I slid down to the floor, surprisingly. My legs weren't responding to any orders I was giving them and my back was still numb. Rigel seemed to be in pretty much the same state, looking slightly dazed. Caine, the Mercurian, was still out like a lamp.
"Pick them up and bring them back to the Christa." The girl told the gargoyle look-alike. "There's enough room in the medbay now."
"Got it 'Ris. Yarani, grab the Mercurian. Podkayne and 'Ris, help the other three. I'll get the Andromedan." Gargoyle ordered. I was promptly pulled up by 'Ris, the bronze and silver girl. Rigel was on the other side, still looking dazed.
Podkayne, I think, was a feather being. All I could see was the back, but I had a feeling that was the best part. A long and glorious tail of blue, green, and gold trailed from butt-level to the floor, looking desperately out of place with all the sick green and black slime.
A cloud started to grow in front of her, purple and gray. It seemed familiar, somehow. But before I could analyze that, Podkayne jumped through with Baraki. 'Ris jumped in next, in one of the worse moments of my short life.
My nerves burned, feeling like all the electricity that ran through them suddenly turned to fire. Which, by itself, was very inconsiderate of my nervous system. Then my head decided to rebel with my system and bloat up five times its usual size. All I could see was red and gold haze, spiked with black and blue.
Just as suddenly as it began, it was over. I was on a warm floor, staring up at a purple-veined ceiling sparkled with silver. I think the silver was just in my eyes, rather then actually on the ceiling.
"They all passed out?"
"Just as we entered the Umbra. Well, except for the Uranusian. She's stunned but conscious."
A head moved into my view. When my eyes focused on him, I realized it was an Andromedan. Chara? No, he was probably out like a light.
"Can you here me?" The Andromedan said slowly and clearly. I nodded, too tired to roll my eyes. "Can you stand up?" I shook my head. "Can you talk?" I shook my head again. Everything was going fuzzy, yet I recognized this kind of fuzzy. This was the lack-of-food-going-to-pass-out kind. And, true to my biology, I passed out.
Disclaimer – SC is not mine, belongs to Nick and PAD and Bill Mumy and lots of other people that are not me.
I hurt. Strangely enough, it was my arms that felt the worse. I would have assumed it was my head, or my mouth after the abuse it had been put through. I opened my eyes slowly, absolutely sure that I didn't want to.
I was right. Instead of seeing the sterile walls of the base, I was staring at walls covered in green and black filth. I could feel it too, where my back rested on another wall. It was cold, sapping the heat from my body and replacing it with numbness.
"She finally awakes." A sarcastic voice to the left of me said. I looked toward him and saw another Earther, of the black variety this time.
"Where are we?" I asked, my voice hoarse. Why? It wasn't as if I had screamed or anything, unless it was in my sleep.
"We don't know." Another voice said, this time to the right. A Saturnian male was hanging to the right of me, after an unconscious Mercurian girl. I think there was someone after him, but I couldn't see that clearly.
"Why not? No daring escapes or ingenious plans?" Great. I got stuck with a bunch of losers.
"Everything we've tried has failed so far." The Saturnian informed me. "Caine is trying to get over the punishment for our last one."
Even better. Incompetent losers. "Fine then. Why are we here?"
"Ritual sacrifice." The Earther said darkly. "These aliens don't look the money-hoarding types."
"Aliens?" That sounded promising. "What kind?"
"I can't find any pattern yet." The Saturnian again. He seemed much more stable then the Earth boy. "But I can assure you the best looking among them is a hundred times worse then a Spung. And they are just getting uglier and uglier."
"How long have you guys been here?"
"I dunno. When you get kidnapped?"
"Earth/Alien Standard? Probably about 10-12." I think that's how it's numbered by month-day. Or is it day-month? Oh well.
"Twelve days for me then. But Chara was here first." He motioned to the right of himself. So there was someone else there.
"Who are you?" So far all I know is Chara and Caine.
"I'm Baraki, and he's Rigel. Who're you?"
"Morrighan."
"Classisc Uranusian name. Do you go to the Academy?"
"No, I don't. Do you?"
"For studies, like Chara. Rigel is actually training to be a Stardog, like his dad." Baraki smiled to the Earther. Apparently they already knew each other.
"Lot of help its doing me now." Rigel moved his shoulders. "So, what's the news on the base? Anything big on us?"
"I was on it for all of twenty minutes. So, no I didn't hear anything." Maybe Mother did. She had a way of hiding things from me.
Mother. How was I going to get back? Suddenly, I had a rush of regret that came in situations like these. Regret, and lots of worries. When was I going to get back? How was I going to get back? What if the goo stained?
Baraki was rambling off next to me, about some detective work and such. I tuned him out and focused on my predicament.
Well, first of all, my arms hurt because my wrists were chained to a wall. After some initial twisting, I came to the conclusion that they were tight on my wrists; no way to squeeze out that way. Maybe if I looked up and zapped them…no, that won't work. My head couldn't get high enough to aim properly, and who knows what would happen if I zapped the goo?
What else was there? My abilities were exhausted already. Wonder if I could zap one of the alien-creatures.
"What's that?" A soft voice asked. I didn't recognize it, and nearly didn't hear it. It came from next to Baraki, I think. Which meant it was the mysterious Chara.
"What's what? I can't hear anything."
"Sounds like fighting."
"So?" Rigel asked. "They're always fighting. Remember?"
I think I missed something.
"This is with someone different. More then one someone." What was he, Andromedan? Wait, that actually made sense. But why didn't he use his super-strength to break out of the cuffs?
"Can you tell what they are?" Baraki asked.
"No."
"Well, can you at least tell who's winning?" Rigel asked, exasperated.
"Well, more are dying then there are surviving. I don't know if that's good or bad yet." Chara's voice was just getting softer and softer with each word. I barely managed to catch the last few words.
"Speak up a bit, would you? I can barely hear, and Rigel's further then me." I said.
"I'll try. They're getting closer." Better by a bit.
"Still fighting?" Baraki asked.
"No, no they're not. Seems like their trying to get where we are, but don't know the way."
"Which means their lost, right?"
"Not in the sense you mean. They know where we are, but not the way."
I gave up trying to understand. "Right. So, are we being rescued or kidnapped again by another group of aliens?"
"They're friends. Trust me."
"I'm sorry, Chara, but I don't really know what species you are yet. Can you understand why it would be difficult for me to trust you?"
"You can see me, can't you? You can trust Chara." Baraki said, smirking at me. I just scowled at him and neglected to answer.
"They found their way."
"Great." Rigel muttered. The door blasted open at the same time, some shrapnel barely missing my head. Four people filed in, each one odder then the last. The first one in was small, light, and winged. Though it was not weak; I easily saw the connection between him and ancient golden gargoyles. Behind him was a normal-looking girl, if normal was lacking the antennae and having a bronze and silver color theme.
The cuffs snapped open before I could properly see the other two. I slid down to the floor, surprisingly. My legs weren't responding to any orders I was giving them and my back was still numb. Rigel seemed to be in pretty much the same state, looking slightly dazed. Caine, the Mercurian, was still out like a lamp.
"Pick them up and bring them back to the Christa." The girl told the gargoyle look-alike. "There's enough room in the medbay now."
"Got it 'Ris. Yarani, grab the Mercurian. Podkayne and 'Ris, help the other three. I'll get the Andromedan." Gargoyle ordered. I was promptly pulled up by 'Ris, the bronze and silver girl. Rigel was on the other side, still looking dazed.
Podkayne, I think, was a feather being. All I could see was the back, but I had a feeling that was the best part. A long and glorious tail of blue, green, and gold trailed from butt-level to the floor, looking desperately out of place with all the sick green and black slime.
A cloud started to grow in front of her, purple and gray. It seemed familiar, somehow. But before I could analyze that, Podkayne jumped through with Baraki. 'Ris jumped in next, in one of the worse moments of my short life.
My nerves burned, feeling like all the electricity that ran through them suddenly turned to fire. Which, by itself, was very inconsiderate of my nervous system. Then my head decided to rebel with my system and bloat up five times its usual size. All I could see was red and gold haze, spiked with black and blue.
Just as suddenly as it began, it was over. I was on a warm floor, staring up at a purple-veined ceiling sparkled with silver. I think the silver was just in my eyes, rather then actually on the ceiling.
"They all passed out?"
"Just as we entered the Umbra. Well, except for the Uranusian. She's stunned but conscious."
A head moved into my view. When my eyes focused on him, I realized it was an Andromedan. Chara? No, he was probably out like a light.
"Can you here me?" The Andromedan said slowly and clearly. I nodded, too tired to roll my eyes. "Can you stand up?" I shook my head. "Can you talk?" I shook my head again. Everything was going fuzzy, yet I recognized this kind of fuzzy. This was the lack-of-food-going-to-pass-out kind. And, true to my biology, I passed out.