Chapter 24: Dreams
I sighed and looked around. Everything was so pretty here. I wondered where I was as I walked through the Irken Countryside. A gentle breeze whispered over my skin as I walked through the grass. What was I doing back on Irk? Wasn't I supposed to be on my planet? What had happened. I heard footsteps come softly behind me. I turned to see Xen walk up to me. He seemed healed, whole, solid. What was going on? I stopped and waited for him. He walked over to me and stood there in front of me, staring into my eyes. I opened my mouth to say something but found no words to express my feelings. He smiled and I shut my mouth.
"Long time, no see."
It was true. It had been three months since the fight. I opened my mouth to speak but he went on.
"I heard what happened. I'm glad that you're done with this planet. I can't wait for you to head off the first volley of the Life Sweep. It's an honor."
"Yes, but I wish that you would be there too..."
"I heard that the Tallest have something in store for you..."
"How did you..."
"Well, I'll be seeing you there. Have fun and good luck."
"Wait! Don't leave me again!"
"Don't worry about it. I'm not really leaving you for good."
"But...I mean, you're..."
"Here."
He handed me something. It was small and had soft blue petals. The stem was green and fuzzy and the center was a golden yellow.
"Forget me not, Daft..."
With that he faded, leaving me by myself in the field, holding the flower and staring ahead painfully.
***~~~***
I awoke to the strange lights of the Restoration Chamber. When my eyes opened, I half expected to see Xen there, waiting for me to wake up, but I didn't. Only a dream. It was only a dream, much to my dispise. I stretched, getting up and leaving the Chamber to wander over to the 'living room' of my base. When I entered, I was faced with the rising sun through a one-way window of my base. I really didn't need the disguise anymore, but it was good to keep it on just in case. It had been three months since that fatefull battle and with the dawn of each day I felt more and more alone. Sometimes I felt half crazy, other times I felt so sick I wanted to die. I keep telling myself that there's only three more months before they arrive and I'm taken away to become a hero, but it rarely works to cheer my up any.
Link and Kor have been getting along just fine, keeping daily patrols about the planet, making sure things were secure. We have had a lot of time to relax, and even more time to think and miss Xen. The tallest have checked in on me twice every month to make arrangements and see if things were still ok. I tell them that everything is fine here, yet it feels as if I'm lying to them. It's not fine. Things here are so bad we're all going slowly crazy. The planet has been kind of quiet, unusually quiet. I figure it's because Theros is gone, but part of me insists it's because they're planning revenge upon me for the destruction of their leader. Link and Kor just shake their heads, salute and tell me that they're ready for anything. Only three months to go. Three month's isn't such a long time. No. That's a lie. Three months is a very long time when you're going crazy slowly...
***~~~***
The wind blew across the field as I stood there, holding the small blue flower. Our sun was so bright, and the field was so lushious that I started to doubt it was even and Irken field. Could it be that I have forgotten my own planet? Have I been away that long? No...now that I think of it, I haven't forgotten my planet. We don't have fields. My planet was filled with buildings and technical things. We have filled our planet to the brim with technical things, training skools, testing centers, labratories, mechanical workshops, the whole works. We didn't have the privilages of the timless beauties of trees and meadows and flowers. If this wasn't Irk...then where was this? I started to look around more closely, trying to identify the ground I was on.
The field went on for miles, the sky was a bright blue, white clouds passed over the blue, the wind moving them and mixing them with the sky. The grass was green and tall, littered with little flowers of all colors. In the distance there stood a small grove of trees. Beyond that? Who knew. I squinted my eyes against the sun and stared towards the grove of trees. There was someone standing there. If only I could make out who it was. If only I could distinguish enemy from friend. My feet started to walk, taking me towards the grove of trees. A strong magnetic force pulled upon my heart as I ran towards the grove, a deep pain in my heart as the figure became clearer. As I ran, the grove seemed to get farther and farther away, almost as if the more I ran forward, the farther it would go. Maybe if I ran backwards, it would come closer. But even as I tried to stop and go the otherway, I couldn't. My feet kept me running towards the always far away grove of trees and the mysterious figure. In my hand I clutched the blue flower Xen had given me. Suddenly, I felt a falling sensation as I triped over something invisable in my way. I fell towards the ground, waiting to feel the ground against my skin as I hit the surface.
***~~~***
I sat up suddenly as I smashed into the ground, not of the field, but of the base. Groaning, I picked myself up and looked around, eyes adjusting to the somewhat dim surroundings of the base. Shaking my head I realized the incoming transmission. Standing up and dusting myself off, I rushed over, holding my head and recived the transmission. The Tallest appeared on the screen, smiles upon their face, enjoying themselves and the new victory for them.
"Good Evening Sirs..." I said
"Yes. Good Evening Invader Daft. We'd just like to see how you're doing so far." Red said.
"All goes well, my Tallest. No new changes here."
"Good. Good. Now, we're reaching the final stages of the ceremony planning and we've made a few changes." Red said.
"Yes. Like we're going to be serving nachos too!" Purple commented.
"Yes. Yes. Nachos..." Red said, the two of them licking their lips.
"Nachos ARE good...but as you were saying my Tallest?" I said, waiting to hear what they were going to say.
"Oh, yes. Well, now that I think of it, those are the only things we've changed. Hmmm...So anyway...Good luck, we'll be there soon. Good job Invader Daft." Red and Purple ended.
"Thank you my Tallest. Invader Daft, Over and Out."
Ending the transmission, I slumped back in my chair and spun it back and forth as I had done the first time I had reported to the Tallest after the fight. The fight. Why can't I stop thinking about that dumb fight? Argh! I hate it when my mind keeps coming back to things. It's hard for me to get my mind off things once I start thinking about them. It was almost as if I felt as if I were responsible for Xen's death, and in some ways I was. If I hadn't of been overly confident when I first encountered him and had destroyed him then, maybe Xen would still be here. Thinking of Xen made my heart sink lower than it had been in the past months. From the doorway I heard a voice.
"Are you ok Master?" Link asked, coming over and looking up at me.
"Yes. I am Link. Thank you. That was the Tallest and they're on their way. They're serving nachos now instead of cocktail weenies..."
"Good choice! Will we be able to come to the party as well?" Kor asked, standing next to Link.
"I don't know. I want you guys to come."
"Daft?"
"Yes, Kor?"
"What'll happen to me when we get back? Will I be able to stay with you and Link?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but then shut it, beginning to think. What WOULD happen to Kor? Invaders are issued only one S.I.R unit, and they usually keep them for the rest of their missions until they retire or are destroyed. Then the S.I.R unit usually goes back into rotation if it's in good condition, and if not, they just put it in the junk pile. Would they take Kor from me and put him in the scrap heap or back in rotation with a new memory chip? Kor waited for my answer.
"I.....I don't really know Kor....I wish I could tell you, but I don't know." I responded.
"I see. That's ok. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Yes. We would all have to wait and see what would happen. Unknown to us at the time, we were all in for a long and perilous journey. What it would bring us, we could only find out later. We were unknowingly on the brink of the most heart wrenching and mind twisting journey of our existance. We can only hope for the best now.
I sighed and looked around. Everything was so pretty here. I wondered where I was as I walked through the Irken Countryside. A gentle breeze whispered over my skin as I walked through the grass. What was I doing back on Irk? Wasn't I supposed to be on my planet? What had happened. I heard footsteps come softly behind me. I turned to see Xen walk up to me. He seemed healed, whole, solid. What was going on? I stopped and waited for him. He walked over to me and stood there in front of me, staring into my eyes. I opened my mouth to say something but found no words to express my feelings. He smiled and I shut my mouth.
"Long time, no see."
It was true. It had been three months since the fight. I opened my mouth to speak but he went on.
"I heard what happened. I'm glad that you're done with this planet. I can't wait for you to head off the first volley of the Life Sweep. It's an honor."
"Yes, but I wish that you would be there too..."
"I heard that the Tallest have something in store for you..."
"How did you..."
"Well, I'll be seeing you there. Have fun and good luck."
"Wait! Don't leave me again!"
"Don't worry about it. I'm not really leaving you for good."
"But...I mean, you're..."
"Here."
He handed me something. It was small and had soft blue petals. The stem was green and fuzzy and the center was a golden yellow.
"Forget me not, Daft..."
With that he faded, leaving me by myself in the field, holding the flower and staring ahead painfully.
***~~~***
I awoke to the strange lights of the Restoration Chamber. When my eyes opened, I half expected to see Xen there, waiting for me to wake up, but I didn't. Only a dream. It was only a dream, much to my dispise. I stretched, getting up and leaving the Chamber to wander over to the 'living room' of my base. When I entered, I was faced with the rising sun through a one-way window of my base. I really didn't need the disguise anymore, but it was good to keep it on just in case. It had been three months since that fatefull battle and with the dawn of each day I felt more and more alone. Sometimes I felt half crazy, other times I felt so sick I wanted to die. I keep telling myself that there's only three more months before they arrive and I'm taken away to become a hero, but it rarely works to cheer my up any.
Link and Kor have been getting along just fine, keeping daily patrols about the planet, making sure things were secure. We have had a lot of time to relax, and even more time to think and miss Xen. The tallest have checked in on me twice every month to make arrangements and see if things were still ok. I tell them that everything is fine here, yet it feels as if I'm lying to them. It's not fine. Things here are so bad we're all going slowly crazy. The planet has been kind of quiet, unusually quiet. I figure it's because Theros is gone, but part of me insists it's because they're planning revenge upon me for the destruction of their leader. Link and Kor just shake their heads, salute and tell me that they're ready for anything. Only three months to go. Three month's isn't such a long time. No. That's a lie. Three months is a very long time when you're going crazy slowly...
***~~~***
The wind blew across the field as I stood there, holding the small blue flower. Our sun was so bright, and the field was so lushious that I started to doubt it was even and Irken field. Could it be that I have forgotten my own planet? Have I been away that long? No...now that I think of it, I haven't forgotten my planet. We don't have fields. My planet was filled with buildings and technical things. We have filled our planet to the brim with technical things, training skools, testing centers, labratories, mechanical workshops, the whole works. We didn't have the privilages of the timless beauties of trees and meadows and flowers. If this wasn't Irk...then where was this? I started to look around more closely, trying to identify the ground I was on.
The field went on for miles, the sky was a bright blue, white clouds passed over the blue, the wind moving them and mixing them with the sky. The grass was green and tall, littered with little flowers of all colors. In the distance there stood a small grove of trees. Beyond that? Who knew. I squinted my eyes against the sun and stared towards the grove of trees. There was someone standing there. If only I could make out who it was. If only I could distinguish enemy from friend. My feet started to walk, taking me towards the grove of trees. A strong magnetic force pulled upon my heart as I ran towards the grove, a deep pain in my heart as the figure became clearer. As I ran, the grove seemed to get farther and farther away, almost as if the more I ran forward, the farther it would go. Maybe if I ran backwards, it would come closer. But even as I tried to stop and go the otherway, I couldn't. My feet kept me running towards the always far away grove of trees and the mysterious figure. In my hand I clutched the blue flower Xen had given me. Suddenly, I felt a falling sensation as I triped over something invisable in my way. I fell towards the ground, waiting to feel the ground against my skin as I hit the surface.
***~~~***
I sat up suddenly as I smashed into the ground, not of the field, but of the base. Groaning, I picked myself up and looked around, eyes adjusting to the somewhat dim surroundings of the base. Shaking my head I realized the incoming transmission. Standing up and dusting myself off, I rushed over, holding my head and recived the transmission. The Tallest appeared on the screen, smiles upon their face, enjoying themselves and the new victory for them.
"Good Evening Sirs..." I said
"Yes. Good Evening Invader Daft. We'd just like to see how you're doing so far." Red said.
"All goes well, my Tallest. No new changes here."
"Good. Good. Now, we're reaching the final stages of the ceremony planning and we've made a few changes." Red said.
"Yes. Like we're going to be serving nachos too!" Purple commented.
"Yes. Yes. Nachos..." Red said, the two of them licking their lips.
"Nachos ARE good...but as you were saying my Tallest?" I said, waiting to hear what they were going to say.
"Oh, yes. Well, now that I think of it, those are the only things we've changed. Hmmm...So anyway...Good luck, we'll be there soon. Good job Invader Daft." Red and Purple ended.
"Thank you my Tallest. Invader Daft, Over and Out."
Ending the transmission, I slumped back in my chair and spun it back and forth as I had done the first time I had reported to the Tallest after the fight. The fight. Why can't I stop thinking about that dumb fight? Argh! I hate it when my mind keeps coming back to things. It's hard for me to get my mind off things once I start thinking about them. It was almost as if I felt as if I were responsible for Xen's death, and in some ways I was. If I hadn't of been overly confident when I first encountered him and had destroyed him then, maybe Xen would still be here. Thinking of Xen made my heart sink lower than it had been in the past months. From the doorway I heard a voice.
"Are you ok Master?" Link asked, coming over and looking up at me.
"Yes. I am Link. Thank you. That was the Tallest and they're on their way. They're serving nachos now instead of cocktail weenies..."
"Good choice! Will we be able to come to the party as well?" Kor asked, standing next to Link.
"I don't know. I want you guys to come."
"Daft?"
"Yes, Kor?"
"What'll happen to me when we get back? Will I be able to stay with you and Link?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but then shut it, beginning to think. What WOULD happen to Kor? Invaders are issued only one S.I.R unit, and they usually keep them for the rest of their missions until they retire or are destroyed. Then the S.I.R unit usually goes back into rotation if it's in good condition, and if not, they just put it in the junk pile. Would they take Kor from me and put him in the scrap heap or back in rotation with a new memory chip? Kor waited for my answer.
"I.....I don't really know Kor....I wish I could tell you, but I don't know." I responded.
"I see. That's ok. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Yes. We would all have to wait and see what would happen. Unknown to us at the time, we were all in for a long and perilous journey. What it would bring us, we could only find out later. We were unknowingly on the brink of the most heart wrenching and mind twisting journey of our existance. We can only hope for the best now.