There are a lot of adult themes in this. Death, blood, mentioned rape, a bad man who doesn't keep his hands to himself, and even poor Hiltz doesn't come through unscathed. Don't worry, he'll get even in the end. Anyway, I hope things aren't OOC, but anyway…warning yucky things ahead. Slugs! Woo!
Chapter 2: Out of the frying pan…
In the darkness he shifted, turned and fell, the undulating rhythms of life catching him and spinning him around and around the ripples of night.
I…
Hands reaching, trying to catch a hold of anything, anything at all-
I…am…
He couldn't breathe, he couldn't fight-
I am…
He broke the surface, and opened his eyes, air filling his cramped lungs.
Gone was the dark water that held him tightly, smothered him in its embrace. Nothing moved, his body felt as heavy as a stone. Was this…? He fumbled with his memories, the fear. Was this what was supposed to happen? Was it over? Had he lived to tell the tale?
Of course you're alive, you idiot. You're thinking.
Sobered up a little he looked around, his vision hazy. His eyes wanted to close, he needed to sleep. What? Willingly return to the darkness?
No, not darkness. Just warm security. Where…?
More memories-
"Sierra." Called a voice.
It was one he recognised. It brought back memories from a long, long time ago, when the world was so different, when he really did have a name. The Sierras were among the most respected handlers in the community…little Hiltz, his hair tied back, staff in hand, ready to beat the living daylights out of anyone or anything that dared disobey. He'd been a good boy, he'd learned from the best, his father.
Father didn't care he was a half-breed. That his mother was Delnia. Mixing blood was frowned upon by the aristocracy, but nonetheless…the Delnia were respected somewhat, for their abilities to survive.
But he, Hiltz Sierra, was not. He was a half-breed. He did not belong.
Yes…the crates, moving the subjects in, sensing their fear. Waiting for the inevitable breakaway, and that curious look they always gave him, a look of intense disbelief, hatred, something he did not understand until he was older, a look that said: You are one of us, but you are helping the enemy…
And the day that…
"Hiltz, please…"
Pleading. He remembered the frightened voice. Only it wasn't calling his name, it was calling out for its parents. The crate had dropped, the creature hadn't tried to escape, had just lain there, stunned. How pathetic it had looked, still clad in its teaching clothes, the soft linen tunic and pants, and a roughly hewn pendant of quartz, the symbol of the 'Rare Hertz'. How small and bedraggled…almost a babe in arms…the child had been.
And how stunned he was when the child had latched onto him for safety.
Pale of skin, with wide crimson eyes and white hair that hung to his shoulders and framed his sweet face, the infant Rare Hertz had been captured at great personal risk by the Reapers, the bounty hunters of sorts of the Zoidian race. Many had died; the Hertz, or Prozen in the language of the Zoidians, had defended the child with the kind of ruthlessness that was evident in the Reapers themselves. The memory of the blue haired Zoidian he had met later…name…Rhyss…yes…that was it…her look…
Don't get close to him…
But he couldn't help it. The helplessness gave him strength. He was attracted to the creature, as it lay defenceless at the bottom of its cage, always so weak and sick. He was protecting it. Something inside him had activated an irresistible tide of happiness. He was a child, but already, he knew. Something about this child was special…the child was his and nobody could do anything about it.
Hiltz…
Yes, tugging at his shirt on the days out. Hiltz can I see the sky? Please?
Prozen…why was that word so familiar?
Then came the day his mother and his little sisters had been taken away. The Reapers had come for him as well…bad blood they said…and he'd been so afraid. He'd run. He'd run to the holding bays, and stared into the cold dead eyes of the captives. Without their freedom, they were dead men walking, and they knew it. Every day, the numbers got smaller, and he never questioned why. Questions always led to bad things, and later, he would learn the truth. That the Prozen…that word again, it's a name, isn't it?…were instruments to create the cores of the Zoids themselves. Their bodies transformed into a pure energy form, they were sacrificed to create the power for the Zoids to run. And that the newest Zoid, the fearsome UltraSaurus was going to go to war with the remainder of Zi's native species to destroy them once and for all. It needed something else to make it run…Rare Hertz.
The child, yes, he remembered now…they had captured him to try and see what made them work, so they wouldn't have to hunt and die to find them. So they could make more. Such atrocities…the survivors of the experiments…frightened creatures…dying creatures…
Yes, yes, he remembered now…the DeathSaurer…yes, it was all coming back…
He'd run, run to the child. He'd hidden there until his father had come down and found him curled up in the arms of the other boy, and sat with them until the Reapers had left, weeping for his lost wife and children. His only surviving son, who was clever enough to hide where the captured lay.
Yes…
They'd left then…and he'd been so upset, he was leaving his Hertz behind. He was leaving the most important creature in his life behind, more than his mother, his siblings. How he'd cried and screamed for release. He knew, in his heart what was happening. The same day, that was it, yes, he'd gone running back from the desert train to find the facility burning. People he'd known, cared about, the scientists, they had died in front of him from the sheer power exhibited by the DeathSaurer. The two best pilots, a man and a woman, they were using the Skorns to keep it in check, and now their bodies lay in ruin and destruction. The DeathSaurer waited, watching the entrance…
The white light…
Charged particle beam
It had hit him. It had torn apart the people around him, and left him unscathed. How? Why?
Voices. Blood on the wreckage. Blood covering him, as red as his hair…Blood…
Another explosion, from the main labs, and he'd turned, watching the Rare Hertz come out of the smoke, a dazed look on his face. He had blood on his clothing, and, the frightened child in his mind recollected, blood on his face, blood from his eyes. He was crying.
Then…the DeathSaurer…
"Hiltz, you have to wake up now."
So much time…he'd slept in the capsules. His father had sealed him in one to protect him, but Ambient had gone. Ambient was elsewhere…The DeathSaurer…it had…
Diseased and corrupt, the newborn mind latched onto any sentient mind like a leech, draining free will, draining joy, happiness, love…the Reapers called it the Dark Kaiser…it was…
Reapers…followed them…Hertz and Dellnia, sleeping…
Something happened, something dark, I can see it…
Yes, yes, yes…Rhyss, Rhyss talking to him…he…worked for the Dark Kaiser, the shell of his Hertz…while the real creature waited for release, of course…Something…horrible…
The ground beneath him, metal by the feel of it, moved and he was swivelled upright to stare sleepily into the faces all around him. But not the faces of long ago, in his dreams, the faces of the captives he had hurt, the people he'd killed…and most of all, the many lives that had sacrificed themselves to make up the DeathSaurer's core. A willing sacrifice, and…they'd…he'd…
"Welcome back to the world, Mr Sierra." Drawled a quiet male voice. Hiltz' eyes focused on him for a moment, and he saw rich orange hair in sharp gelled quills. His staring eyes were cold and dark, a pale and cold blue. Familiar.
"Payne." Hiltz croaked.
"So you do remember where you came from. Well, well. This was…unexpected." He smiled cruelly. "And I must say, excellent and commendable work with the destruction of Zi thing you had going."
"…Wh…what?"
"Memory a little foggy? You were very strong, but in the end, you let us into your pretty little head. We had a lot of fun. Did you really think your boy Winter was still alive in that husk?"
"…Pr…Prozen?"
"Of course." Payne gave him a curt nod. "The Dark Kaiser program was a brilliant piece of ingenuity. And you clung to him, vowing to bring him back to the world, until you too, were a part of it. Anything to be rid of that damned Zoid." He muttered to himself.
"…You orchestrated everything." Hiltz whispered, getting stronger. He was tied down, he realised, bound to the table. "You've done everything from the start."
"Naturally. The Reapers are dedicated to their cause. If one Hertz escaped us, then we would sleep and wait to follow. Of course, some things were screwed up, but we still managed to piece it together. But, uh, what did you think of the finishing touch of Fine…oh yes, sorry, Fiona and that little organoid, what was it…Zeke? Brilliant. Sheer poetry."
"…Then Rhyss…"
"You are the most stupid and fucked up person I have ever met." Payne yawned. "And you know what the incredibly sad, and pathetic thing is? Your man sacrificed whatever energy he had left to purify you."
Impossible. It had already begun, I think, in the DeathStinger. But Prozen wasn't there, how…?
"So, should I bring you up to speed?" Payne asked, pressing his face close to Hiltz' ear. Shivers went down the red head's back, and he gasped as Payne's hand went to a certain part of his anatomy. "Shall I? I think I will. You've been stuck in a Zoid core for a week. You have no traces of the Kaiser program in your body, it's completely gone, thanks to your boyfriend.: He hissed disdainfully. "Rhyss has infiltrated the Guardian Force and is preparing Fiona for the next stage. Of course, she's also our eyes and ears. Oh yes, and everyone's rejoicing in the fact that you're dead."
Hiltz bit his lip. Payne was doing things he shouldn't with certain parts of his anatomy.
"Fact is, recent studies have suggested that our little friend is still alive, and we can't have that. Zi will be ruled again by the Zoidians, regardless of what the humans want. Regardless of what you want. They can have all the pissy democracy they want and fart around playing toy soldiers, but it doesn't matter. ZoidEVE is ours now." He grasped Hiltz by the balls and gave him a playful squeeze. "And your life means shit all. Pity, isn't it."
"Fuck you!"
"You're a pretty face. I may just let you do that if you push me too far." Payne looked down. "Come on. Even Stinger was a little hard after this sort of treatment. He wanted to run after we asked him to try and secure Emperor Rudolph, just to even the scores a little. Failed of course. I believe you killed him."
"…!!"
"You don't have that much of a recollection after you got the DeathStinger do you? Didn't think so. Everything becomes a blur when you're high." Payne's smile was filled with malice now. "You could have had everything, Hiltz, if only you'd taken what Rhyss could have offered you. You could have been one of us, the chosen few. One of the founding fathers of the new race of Zoidians. I'm pretty sure we could get some of that Delnia blood out of you." His free hand ruffled Hiltz' red curls. "Got that from yo' mama, didn't you?" His eyes darkened. "Well guess what? I fucked yo' mama!"
Hiltz snarled.
"Yeah, when we found your little den, I had your mother so many times I made her bleed before I sent her down to one of the Stations. Delnia women are tight, real good. Curvy, not like Zoidian women at all. So are Hertz, sorry, let's be politically correct here, Prozen. Tastes good…'course, that's our little secret, okay? Can't have the others thinking I like stuff outside the species, that's plain sick."
"I'm going to kill y-UGH!" His body jerked at the sudden intrusion.
"You will talk to me with respect, boy. I'm Payne Janae. I'm head of this operation, and you are under our command now. I'm going to make you into a Reaper, and you're going to break that bastard once and for all. I know he's still alive. I can taste him, I can feel him. Feels good, huh? Did he ever do this to you? Yeah? Feel it bitch, 'cos next time it's going to be a lot bigger."
"…Fuck…you…"
"Nah, I'd rather slap you around. You're funner that way. No, I'm saving this" He grabbed his own crotch and gave it an affectionate fumble. "For our Hertz. Now, onto better business. How am I going to secure my source of power? Through you of course, as pathetic as you are, and don't give me that look. You won't have a choice." He turned away, patting his hands against the grubby overalls he was wearing. Hiltz watched, angry, but far from ashamed. He hadn't responded, that was good enough for him. Stinger was dead…sad because the guy had good points…but had he chained naked to a rack too?
"Say hello to my little friend." Payne sang. In his hands was a jar. In that jar was something that made Hilrz' insides curl up and wither away.
"Mern." He whispered, horrified.
It looked like a fat semi translucent slug, that could easily sit at on a saucer, shot through with lines of twinkling blue and red that sparkled as is moved. It was clearly excited, sliding up the glass, one end telescoping up to nudge the lid.
It could sense him.
"I'm going to ask nicely. Open wide and let him in."
"No."
"Open up, or I ask the others to open your mouth for you."
"No." Came the hiss.
"All right then. Khem! Ayla!"
The two Zoidians entered the room and with business like grace, pried Hiltz' mouth open and held him in that horrible position as he tried to twist free. Payne advanced, and he heard the horrible sound of the lid coming off…and then…
OhmyGOD-
Something cold, sliding into his mouth. Tried to scream, tried to block it out with his tongue, eyes screwing up at the taste of it, the slick gunk that now covered his lips, the suffocating feel of it sliding down his throat-
"Guh-UCK!!!"
-The sticky sensation did not leave his mouth as the other two let go and he could only scream as the coldness slid into his belly. They undid the straps and he fell forward, his body no longer under his control as his stomach cramped from the intrusion. His heart was pounding, as was his head, his mouth filled with glue-
"Take it like a man. Stop wailing like a girl."
-And waves of it came upwards, dull dark anger. Hatred, Reapers and Mern, intricately bound, both hating the same enemy, both parasites, both wanting the same thing, freedom-
"You know, if you were willing, it wouldn't be like this. It'd feel nice. Like the best orgasm you'd ever have. Of course, when you're unwilling, well, it hurts like hell right Hiltz?"
-More cramps, vicious ones. His body fought back though, and he gagged, trying to bring it back up again as it burrowed deeper into his body, spewing out it's foul fluids to cement it deeper. He managed to stick his fingers down his throat to try and bring it back up-
Yeah!
His back arched and he felt it move as his stomach twisted-
"Oh no you don't, you little turd." Laughed Payne, slamming a booted foot into Hiltz' side. He spasmed, too late, the feeling gone. All that came out was clear goop, nothing much at all.
Mouth a little freer though.
"Just relax."
The feeling dissipated and Hiltz lay on his stomach, trying to draw the cold of the concrete into his body and silence the pain. The Mern had found its place in him now, buried deep. Already, the new awareness filled him, dull hate of anything that was against it, dull hate that coloured his own temper. He panted, trying to still his thudding heart and the sick sense of dread.
And the strange sense of…
"Yeah, you're one of us now. Feels interesting, doesn't it. Keep in touch, that's our motto." Payne lost interest and gave Hiltz another booting as he left. "Take him to the Cells and let him sleep it off. We talk in the morning."
"Yes sir."
And into darkness Hiltz fell again, unable to claw his way out of it as strong hands lifted him up and forced him down a corridor. He barely registered the bed beneath him as he fell, but curled up under the harsh blanket thrown over him, tears sliding out from beneath tightly closed lids.
And in his dreams, his only comfort. Perhaps he was imagining the child that sat at his side, mopping his forehead with the kind of love that children should not have.
Hiltz, I'm so sorry…
~ to be continued.
Okay, author's notes time.
Loooooooooong chapter. The whole slug thing is not a rip off of Animorphs, in case anyone wants to know. I only read a few of the book because one of my friends was really into them. Besides, those slugs go into people's ears. Merns are ingested. In future you will see what they can really do…
I don't talk dirty very often. This is one such case, in this chapter, when the feral side of my nature that only rarely speaks in my mind opened up and poured it's poison onto the forefront of my mind. I am not in any way endorsing potty talk and the themes he suggested. However, it was kinda fun, and unfortunately came a little too easily. Yeah, I do keep it on a very short lead. It hardly ever comes out!
Plink has an overactive imagination…
