Chapter 22: Death Becomes Us: A New Light
Theros lifts Xen up with his tounge to face him, a sneer on his face as he looks at the weak invader.
"Do you really think that a puny Irken like you could defeat me?"
"I can try."
"But you will fail. Well, say goodbye, this is the end, Irken."
"Don't I get any last words?"
"Why not? They can't save you now anyway."
Xen started to chant something. Theros stared at him as he repeated the chant twice more. Before Xen could finish, Theros roared as he realized it was a reversal-containment spell. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in is chest. Xen had lodged his double blade once again into him, but deeper this time and continued with the rest of the spell, Theros dropped him and Xen brought out the jar. There was a rumbling sound from underneath Theros as Xen stood there backing away, holding the jar pointed towards Theros with a wry grin on his brusied and cut up face. Daft looked up, regaining hope as Theros started to fade away and become drawn into the jar. Theros, desterate to mortally injure his enemy or at least kill him as a last revenge for his undoing. In a last attempt, Theros let out his secret weapon. Opening his mouth, he shot out a blast of black light towards Xen, it hit him, going through him surprisingly. Xen, not feeling any pain looked around and grinned. He believed that the jar was taking his energy and he could no longer harm him. Just as Thero's head started to dissapear and be drawn into the jar, he smiled. Daft shouted to Xen, her words never reaching his ears.
The black light regrouped behind and above Xen, forming a long, shiny, black spear, tipped with the sharpest point Daft had ever seen. She screamed out agian and again, all her words becoming absorbed in the barrier. Just as Theros went into the jar and the spear hurteled itself downwards towards the unsuspecing Xen, the barrier broke as the world started to drain away into whiteness. Daft fell through the barrier as it dissapeared, her words finally reaching Xen. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the black spear drive into him. Daft cried out as the point of the spear slammed into his back, burrowing into his skin and through his body. It curved upwards and thrust through the other side in a mass rain of blood and tissues. Xen's eyes became wide as the spear slid through him, lifting him off the ground and dissapeared into white nothingness. Xen's body dropped as Daft ran to it, screaming out his name, tears stinging her cheeks. She fell on her knees by his side. He lay on the white ground staring up at her. Fear filled her as she looked down at his gaping wound.
Daft reached out her hand to touch him, her mouth agape as Xen moved his hand up and put it on her lips to silence her from further talk. Daft became filled with a strange feeling, staring at his broken and bleeding body laying in the whiteness. Xen looked up at her through eyes that were filled with the same emotion. He bagan to speak.
"Daft. We won. You're gonna be alright and the mission is too. You are free to honor the Tallest by finishing your mission. Kor will know what to do, now that I'm gone."
"But what about your planet? What about YOUR mission?"
"About that Daft...I did have a mission, a long time ago that is. I failed. I couldn't face the Tallest, for they thought I had died. I came here because I thought I could live alone and in peace, far away from my desertion and failure. Then you came to take over the planet. I thought I could try to scare you away, until I saw who it was. Daft, I....I think...I think I have feelings for you."
Daft stared deeply into his eyes, knowing.
"I became kind of obsessed with checking in on you. You're such a great invader, Daft, that I wanted to see how you did it. I guess that's why I hung around instead of fleeing to another planet. The shadow beast you saw was me, the smaller one you chased in your base was Kor. We had to adapt on the planet of Shadows, so we learned how to disguise ourselves as the shadows themselves and learned how to shadow travel, or move amung the shadows. It was really wonderful. I thought I could succeed. I guess I was wrong though."
"No Xen, one mistake isn't failing. Also, you saved the Irken Empire!"
"No Daft, you saved it. I was merely a Pawn."
"But, you were right here! You fought and destroyed it! You saved us all!"
"Yes, but when you report back, keep me out of it. Say it was you. They shall build a memorial to you. You'll be forever remembered as a great Invader. Don't you want that Daft? Why would you want a failure like me up in the memorials?"
"You aren't a failure Xen. You aren't."
Xen winced as he moved his head to look at her. He smiled weakly and looked at her deeply. His blood poured out of his body in great gushes, staining Daft's uniform as she knelt there beside him, holding onto his hand tightly.
"Daft, you can go on now. Finish your mission and become the great Invader that you've always wanted to be, always have been."
"But..."
"No Buts Daft. I...I think it's time for me to go now. I just wanted to say that...that..."
Xen's body shuddred as Xen coughed, blood and mucas coming up his throat and out on the ground as he turned his head to avoid coughing on Daft.
"I love you, Invader Daft."
With that Xen shut his eyes and lay back against the white ground, stained with his blood. Daft started to cry again as she shouted out to him, thowing herself on his body, grasping him and holding him to her as he started to fade into the white nothingness. She cried out again and again, tears pouring down her cheecks, stinging and steaming. Daft became blind with tears as she screamed over and over again, wishing it wouldn't end this way. Xen's wieght slowly deterierated as he faded, leaving her alone in the own dark reaches of her mind. Daft fell to the stained ground, sobbing over Xen now that he was completley gone. His blood soaked her uniform as she lay there, tears streaming down like never-ending rivers.
~**~**~**~
I stood there watching the sun come up from my window. Xen's body had long since deterierated. Kor and Link sat around, staring blanklly ahead, not knowing what to do next. I had watched as half an hour ago, upon waking from my mind, as Xen started to crumple up and turn to dust. There appeared a large hole in his stomach, like in my mind. I watched silently as his body crumpled, sagged, and deterierorated, turning to dust before completley vanishing. Kor had been silent, saluting his master until he had completley gone. Link and I had stood in a silent salute as well. When he was gone, I had turned, walking to the window and looking out. I had been that way since then. I wanted to report, but knew I couldn't in this condition. He was gone. I loved him, and he had gone. I didn't know if I could go though with anymore. I shuddered as I felt new sobs coming on. I was acting so, In-Irken...it was scary. Emotions, we weren't generically produced with any emotions except that of anger and determination. We were only to experience hate towards other races and superiority to ourselves. We were the surpreame beings, nothing could harm us emotionally. Somehow I was able to feel emotions though and I wondered why. I wished that I could feel none, not even anger, then I wouldn't have been in such pain. After a while I sighed and turned towards the screen. It was time to report in and reaccount everything to reassure the Tallest.
Walking up to the screen seemed to take forever, but the Tallest appeared so quickly on the screen afterwards that it sort of blew my mind. I sucked in a deep breath and began.
Theros lifts Xen up with his tounge to face him, a sneer on his face as he looks at the weak invader.
"Do you really think that a puny Irken like you could defeat me?"
"I can try."
"But you will fail. Well, say goodbye, this is the end, Irken."
"Don't I get any last words?"
"Why not? They can't save you now anyway."
Xen started to chant something. Theros stared at him as he repeated the chant twice more. Before Xen could finish, Theros roared as he realized it was a reversal-containment spell. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in is chest. Xen had lodged his double blade once again into him, but deeper this time and continued with the rest of the spell, Theros dropped him and Xen brought out the jar. There was a rumbling sound from underneath Theros as Xen stood there backing away, holding the jar pointed towards Theros with a wry grin on his brusied and cut up face. Daft looked up, regaining hope as Theros started to fade away and become drawn into the jar. Theros, desterate to mortally injure his enemy or at least kill him as a last revenge for his undoing. In a last attempt, Theros let out his secret weapon. Opening his mouth, he shot out a blast of black light towards Xen, it hit him, going through him surprisingly. Xen, not feeling any pain looked around and grinned. He believed that the jar was taking his energy and he could no longer harm him. Just as Thero's head started to dissapear and be drawn into the jar, he smiled. Daft shouted to Xen, her words never reaching his ears.
The black light regrouped behind and above Xen, forming a long, shiny, black spear, tipped with the sharpest point Daft had ever seen. She screamed out agian and again, all her words becoming absorbed in the barrier. Just as Theros went into the jar and the spear hurteled itself downwards towards the unsuspecing Xen, the barrier broke as the world started to drain away into whiteness. Daft fell through the barrier as it dissapeared, her words finally reaching Xen. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the black spear drive into him. Daft cried out as the point of the spear slammed into his back, burrowing into his skin and through his body. It curved upwards and thrust through the other side in a mass rain of blood and tissues. Xen's eyes became wide as the spear slid through him, lifting him off the ground and dissapeared into white nothingness. Xen's body dropped as Daft ran to it, screaming out his name, tears stinging her cheeks. She fell on her knees by his side. He lay on the white ground staring up at her. Fear filled her as she looked down at his gaping wound.
Daft reached out her hand to touch him, her mouth agape as Xen moved his hand up and put it on her lips to silence her from further talk. Daft became filled with a strange feeling, staring at his broken and bleeding body laying in the whiteness. Xen looked up at her through eyes that were filled with the same emotion. He bagan to speak.
"Daft. We won. You're gonna be alright and the mission is too. You are free to honor the Tallest by finishing your mission. Kor will know what to do, now that I'm gone."
"But what about your planet? What about YOUR mission?"
"About that Daft...I did have a mission, a long time ago that is. I failed. I couldn't face the Tallest, for they thought I had died. I came here because I thought I could live alone and in peace, far away from my desertion and failure. Then you came to take over the planet. I thought I could try to scare you away, until I saw who it was. Daft, I....I think...I think I have feelings for you."
Daft stared deeply into his eyes, knowing.
"I became kind of obsessed with checking in on you. You're such a great invader, Daft, that I wanted to see how you did it. I guess that's why I hung around instead of fleeing to another planet. The shadow beast you saw was me, the smaller one you chased in your base was Kor. We had to adapt on the planet of Shadows, so we learned how to disguise ourselves as the shadows themselves and learned how to shadow travel, or move amung the shadows. It was really wonderful. I thought I could succeed. I guess I was wrong though."
"No Xen, one mistake isn't failing. Also, you saved the Irken Empire!"
"No Daft, you saved it. I was merely a Pawn."
"But, you were right here! You fought and destroyed it! You saved us all!"
"Yes, but when you report back, keep me out of it. Say it was you. They shall build a memorial to you. You'll be forever remembered as a great Invader. Don't you want that Daft? Why would you want a failure like me up in the memorials?"
"You aren't a failure Xen. You aren't."
Xen winced as he moved his head to look at her. He smiled weakly and looked at her deeply. His blood poured out of his body in great gushes, staining Daft's uniform as she knelt there beside him, holding onto his hand tightly.
"Daft, you can go on now. Finish your mission and become the great Invader that you've always wanted to be, always have been."
"But..."
"No Buts Daft. I...I think it's time for me to go now. I just wanted to say that...that..."
Xen's body shuddred as Xen coughed, blood and mucas coming up his throat and out on the ground as he turned his head to avoid coughing on Daft.
"I love you, Invader Daft."
With that Xen shut his eyes and lay back against the white ground, stained with his blood. Daft started to cry again as she shouted out to him, thowing herself on his body, grasping him and holding him to her as he started to fade into the white nothingness. She cried out again and again, tears pouring down her cheecks, stinging and steaming. Daft became blind with tears as she screamed over and over again, wishing it wouldn't end this way. Xen's wieght slowly deterierated as he faded, leaving her alone in the own dark reaches of her mind. Daft fell to the stained ground, sobbing over Xen now that he was completley gone. His blood soaked her uniform as she lay there, tears streaming down like never-ending rivers.
~**~**~**~
I stood there watching the sun come up from my window. Xen's body had long since deterierated. Kor and Link sat around, staring blanklly ahead, not knowing what to do next. I had watched as half an hour ago, upon waking from my mind, as Xen started to crumple up and turn to dust. There appeared a large hole in his stomach, like in my mind. I watched silently as his body crumpled, sagged, and deterierorated, turning to dust before completley vanishing. Kor had been silent, saluting his master until he had completley gone. Link and I had stood in a silent salute as well. When he was gone, I had turned, walking to the window and looking out. I had been that way since then. I wanted to report, but knew I couldn't in this condition. He was gone. I loved him, and he had gone. I didn't know if I could go though with anymore. I shuddered as I felt new sobs coming on. I was acting so, In-Irken...it was scary. Emotions, we weren't generically produced with any emotions except that of anger and determination. We were only to experience hate towards other races and superiority to ourselves. We were the surpreame beings, nothing could harm us emotionally. Somehow I was able to feel emotions though and I wondered why. I wished that I could feel none, not even anger, then I wouldn't have been in such pain. After a while I sighed and turned towards the screen. It was time to report in and reaccount everything to reassure the Tallest.
Walking up to the screen seemed to take forever, but the Tallest appeared so quickly on the screen afterwards that it sort of blew my mind. I sucked in a deep breath and began.