From the Abyss
by Moonstone 04
***
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].
I thought this would be the final chapter, but I was wrong. There'll be one more chapter after this one. Took longer than I thought. ^^;
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.
***
Chapter Six
While the UMN broadcasts buzzed about gnosis attacks, life aboard the Elsa became quieter than usual. Looking to make distance between themselves and the gnosis, Captain Matthews set them on course towards a faraway star system. He spent much of his time in his cabin, planning the agenda of the long-term journey. Hammer had made a nervous habit out of checking on the status of the surrounding space as well as UMN broadcasts. When he wasn't at the helm, Tony found himself aimlessly wandering the empty depths of the Elsa.
In the days since fleeing the Dock Colony disaster, chaos had barely stepped out of the crew quarters. He slept all day and most of the night. When he awoke during the night, he would wander outside, but Tony could never find where he went. It was useless to try waking him during the day, chaos was the soundest sleeper Tony had ever seen.
"He's some kind of space vampire! It's the only explanation that makes sense!"
"Hammer, if he was a vampire, wouldn't he have tried to suck our blood? Isn't that how it works in those old movies?" Tony frowned. "C'mon, he doesn't have fangs or turn into a bat! And he eats those frozen pizzas, if he was a vampire, he'd be allergic to the garlic. Crash and burn another theory, Hammer."
"How would you know, you've never met a real vampire!"
"Neither have you!"
"Let's find a mirror and see if he has a reflection!"
"If you get near him with this stupid nonsense, I'll floor your ass!"
"I'd like to see you try, Vamp-lover!"
"Oh, that's it!" Tony raised his fist, but his wrist was grabbed from behind. He looked back to face an unamused Matthews.
"Knock it off!" The Captain let go of Tony. "What did I tell you about bothering him about that?"
"See?" Tony gave Hammer a triumphant smirk.
"If he really is a space vampire, and he knows that we know, we could all wind up lunchmeat. Have a little sense!" Matthews growled.
This time, it was Hammer who was smirking. Tony barely resisted the urge to deck the little rat, Captain or no Captain. "Yes, Sir." He gritted out.
"Anyway, one of you better find some way of getting him up. We'll be making planetfall on Vlenar in a few days, and it'd be nice if we could get him to help out a little once we get there." With that, he left the hangar.
"Wake up chaos?" Hammer frowned and scratched his head in thought. "What haven't we tried short of throwing him out the airlock?"
Loud noises, buckets of water, picking him up and dragging him around... Nothing but nothing woke up chaos. They had even locked the bathroom during the night hoping to force him to get up during the daytime to use it. That didn't work either, somehow he seemed to get in anyway.
Hammer laughed. "Maybe sleeping beauty needs a kiss from his handsome prince."
"Get serious." Tony shook his head. "The only thing left is to stay up all night and not fall asleep this time. I'll do it, there's no need for both us."
"Someone wants to be alooone..."
"Shaddup..."
***
Tony was half asleep when he heard the bedsprings creak. His head jerked up from his chest. Turning towards the sleeping nook from where he had been leaning against the wall, he found himself facing chaos. The other boy didn't look very surprised to see him.
"Evening, Tony."
It wasn't what he had intended to do, but he couldn't help himself. Instead of saying anything, he took chaos in a tight embrace. He needed to feel the familiar warmth, something to assure him that his chaos wasn't completely lost.
For a moment, he thought he felt the boy stiffen in his arms. But then the slender arms were around his back, and chaos nestled into him with a sigh. It wasn't the usual pleased sort of sigh, but Tony tried not to dwell on it.
"chaos..."
"We shouldn't talk here, we'll disturb Hammer."
***
Only distant starlight gave them illumination. Nothing had been switched on, even the familiar clatter of the bartender robot was absent. It was slumped behind the counter, its gleaming eyes staring at the floor. Sitting directly in front of it, chaos was in a similar position. Tony sat facing the windows, his elbows back on the counter. The silence was killing him.
"Have you been eating lately? Don't wanna get sick, y'know."
"Tony..."
He turned to look at chaos, but the face beneath the silvery locks was obscured in dark shadow. "...Yeah. I know, I'm skirting around what I really wanna say. The captain told us we shouldn't pry. But damn it..."
"It's okay. Perfectly understandable." chaos interrupted softly. "You deserve to know what's going on. But I'm afraid... There's nothing to tell."
The silence descended again.
Tony stared hard at chaos, trying to meet the eyes he couldn't see. He could almost imagine the boy flinching as he turned his gaze downwards. "Don't lie to me, chaos. This isn't like you."
At this, chaos turned to look at him again, and for a moment, for some unknown reason, Tony was suddenly grateful he couldn't see his face. Then chaos looked away and seemed to shrink down in his seat. "I didn't know I could do that either. It just happened. That's the truth, Tony."
With a sigh, Tony leaned forward onto his knees and let his head fall. "I'm sorry, I'm being a complete jackass. I wanted to talk, not accuse you like this."
"I know. It's my fault for putting you through this. I just needed to be alone for a while. I needed time to think."
"You aren't going to try leaving again, are you? The Captain wants you stay aboard. Everything's okay now... He wanted you to know before we reach our next destination."
chaos seemed to nod slightly. "I'm glad. I didn't want to leave... I just wish...it had been different."
"But everything's going to be okay now, right?" Tony wanted to hear some brightness in chaos' voice again. "We're all okay, right? And the others have agreed not to tell anybody about what happened. Everything's back to normal."
The damned silence again.
"chaos. If there's something... You can trust me." Tony turned and put a hand on his lover's shoulder. "That hasn't changed."
The other boy swallowed, but didn't say anything.
"Will I see you tomorrow then?" Tony asked hopefully.
"I've done enough sleeping. I'll talk to the Captain tomorrow."
"Terrific." Tony smiled. "You'll show the Captain what a great crewman he almost threw off his ship." He moved his hand from chaos' shoulder to caress the side of his face. Starlight cleared the shadows away as he tilted chaos' face towards him. Bright turquoise eyes closed at his touch.
At the familiar unspoken invitation, Tony leaned in and kissed him. Yes...the thrill still felt the same. Electric whispers passed between their lips, and a moan escaped the silver-haired boy. Then, unexpectedly, chaos broke away, his hand over his face.
"c-chaos?" Tony was shocked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." chaos breathed. "It isn't your fault. I just need a little more space... Just a while longer. Please understand."
"Sure." But even if he pretended to understand, the hurt still bit at him. What had happened to chaos to change him so much? Why couldn't he confide in him whatever he was going through? For a moment there, he had felt *his* chaos again. But he was gone again. "Well, if I'm going to be awake tomorrow, I'd better be getting to bed." He stood. "Are you coming back to the cabin?"
His hand still covering his face, chaos shook his head. "I think I'll stay here until everyone wakes up. Good night, Tony."
For a moment, Tony stood and looked down at him. He wanted to comfort him somehow. But he was afraid of seeing chaos recoil from him again. "Good night, chaos." He said softly as he turned away.
When he was at the doors, he paused briefly as he heard chaos say something under his breath. Then he continued on his way out. Tony wondered what he meant, but knew it was probably useless to ask who chaos thought he looked like.
***
Weeks passed. For the most part, life aboard the Elsa seemed to fall back into the usual routine. chaos had officially become the ship engineer, once proving to the Captain that he was more than capable of performing the necessary duties. Everybody laughed and acted like nothing strange had ever happened.
Tony couldn't stand it. chaos seemed to be more or less his old self again, except for a lingering sadness behind his cheerful facade. Whatever was eating at him, he seemed determined to pretend it didn't exist. It was as if he were trying to bury the past. Each day passed without more than friendly acknowledgement. It was as if they had never been lovers at all.
Feeling more than a little frustrated, Tony downed his drink. The Captain was supposedly seeing somebody about a job, leaving the crew free for the afternoon. chaos had suggested going out to a small cafe. Being planetside, he had wanted to enjoy the outdoors while they were there.
"Some things never change." Hammer said in a sing song voice.
"Oh?" chaos said.
Distracted from his brooding, Tony looked up to see what they were talking about. Over at a nearby table, a group of pretty girls was whispering and looking over at them. Or rather, at him. There was a time when he would have been over there in a heartbeat, all charm and smiles. Even now, there was a part of his mind deciding which girl would go on which arm. But...
"Tony has all the luck." Hammer pouted. "Hell, and I'm not even sure if he swings that way anymore. The gods are just so cruel."
Daring a glance towards chaos, Tony was surprised to find the boy giving the girls an oddly contemplative look.
"If they wanna say something, they can come over and say it to all of us." Tony mumbled. "I don't see what the big deal is."
"Oh c'mon, you can't have changed *that* much." Hammer sighed. "Or maybe you're just that stupid."
"Shaddup."
"Would it really hurt to go talk to them?" chaos said quietly.
"Huh?" Tony turned to stare at him.
For a moment, chaos seemed to hesitate, but he awkwardly held his gaze. "You've been in a bad mood lately, you should have some fun. Go on."
Tony couldn't believe his ears. "What!?"
"Go see what they want." chaos smiled.
What the hell was going on here!? "Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Tony nearly gritted through his teeth. How could chaos smile while he said that?
"Of course I do."
For a moment, Tony thought he saw chaos' eyes waver, but that damned smile seemed cemented to his face. Stop pretending, damn you! He opened his mouth, finally ready to tell it to his face, when chaos suddenly interrupted him.
"GO, Tony. You know you want to." chaos said gently. "Don't worry about us. Hammer and I will be fine by ourselves. We'll meet you back at the ship."
Tony stared blankly at him. Then he nodded, feeling a strange giddyness come over him. "Yeah... I guess you're right." He noticed that the smile had been wiped away from chaos' face, but it didn't seem important at the moment. It was as if chaos' smile had transplanted onto his own face. Later, guys..." Tony said as he pushed away from their table.
"chaos?" Hammer sounded hushed. "You're really okay with this?"
Tony didn't hear if chaos replied, by that time he was far too preoccupied with introducing himself to the babes. He didn't even notice when they left.
***
Only sometime after departing the planet did reality begin to seep back into Tony's senses. He sat at his post on the bridge, hunched over the controls with his head in his hands. He was beginning to wonder about his sanity.
"Would you stop that?" Hammer grouched. "I don't know what you've got to be depressed about. Getting laid by a hot girl, and you're still not happy! You disgust me, y'know that!?"
It wasn't only what Tony had done, but also the fact that he'd felt the need to brag to the world about it afterwards. What the hell was wrong with him!? It was like another person just like him, but without a care in the world, had been running around in his place for the past few days.
The bridge door swished open.
"-aren't legal."
Tony cringed slightly at chaos' voice.
"Don't fret the details." Captain Matthews replied, his heavy boots making his arrival obvious even if he hadn't spoken. "Hammer! I want you and chaos to look this over before we get to the colony."
Turning in his seat, Tony was just in time to see Hammer's eyes nearly bulge out of his face. Even chaos was staring at the holopad in Hammer's hands with a slight dazed look. Tony was afraid to ask what the Captain was up to this time.
"Captain, we can't afford an upgrade like this!" Hammer squeaked.
"Hey, we're getting a steep discount, how could I turn down prices like that?" Captain Matthews said.
"That's a discount!?"
"It appears to be black market equipment." chaos said with a hint of disapproval. "But even so, Hammer's right, we can't afford this, Captain."
"You two worry too much." Captain Matthews shook his head. "We'll just take on some extra jobs. And once we get the engine upgraded, we'll be able to make up for it in no time."
chaos and Hammer both wore doubtful looks.
"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I have a bad feeling about this." Tony sighed.
"Not you too," Captain Matthews grumbled. "Aw, what do you know about running a ship? Yer all a bunch of morons!"
***
"We really can't afford this." chaos said quietly. "Unless the Captain has some money we don't know about."
Tony looked up, surprised to find chaos standing beside him. He had been alone on the dock, watching the large crates being loaded into the Elsa. Upgrading the ship was going to be a big job. He still wasn't sure what exactly was being upgraded, but it sure seemed impressive, whatever it was.
"I doubt it." Tony looked down over the railing. "There isn't a G credit in the galaxy that could manage to stay in his pocket. He's always been like this, spending without any common sense. But I gotta admit, this is pretty extreme, even for him."
"Hm." chaos leaned over the railing.
"chaos, about what happened..."
chaos shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it!?" Tony almost shouted, straightening up. "Don't you care that I've been sleeping around!? Don't you care that I might be losing my mind!?"
"Of course I care. But I don't think you're losing your mind."
"You sure don't seem like you care. I remember when you did, before...before what happened. The old chaos would hate me."
"I'd never hate you, Tony." chaos turned to look at him with those sad eyes.
"Maybe it would be better if you hated me. At least then I'd know you felt *something* for me. You're the one who wanted me to go with those girls. You haven't wanted anything to do with me since..." He waved a hand in anger. "Whatever the hell happened that night. It's like you aren't even the same person anymore."
chaos said something quietly.
"What?" Tony asked more angrily than he had intended.
"I made a mistake." chaos said again, staring down at the docks. "Please, forgive me."
"A mistake? Is that what I am!?" Tony wondered why he was the one upset. He wanted chaos to be angry with him, not the other way around. He wanted something to make sense.
chaos had a weary look on his face. "No, that's not what I meant. I just... I just don't think I'm right for you. You'd be happier with someone else."
"Oh, so now I'm not good enough for you."
"Tony..."
"Next you're going to tell me you suddenly woke up and decided you were straight. Don't give me that bullshit. I expect lame excuses from Hammer, not from you."
chaos was biting his lip. Maybe it was just Tony's imagination, but he thought there was a hint of anger in his eyes. There was a slight quiver to his body.
"Tony, I care about you. But it can't be the way it was."
"Why not?" Standing behind chaos, Tony took him into an embrace. The smaller boy gave a small, surprised gasp. Tony whispered into the back of his neck. "Why do you turn me away when you're trembling like this?"
chaos seemed to have momentarily lost his capability of speech.
"You want me as much as I want you. You can't deny it anymore." It was all Tony could do to keep himself from taking chaos right there on the dock. He was so warm and firm...
"I don't know if it's you I want." chaos breathed heavily.
Tony blinked. What the heck did that mean?
"You can do better." chaos was wobbling slightly on his feet. "Please Tony, let go."
With great reluctance, Tony did so.
***
Four years passed.
Whisps of smoke reflected in the window. When the smoke dissolved, Tony could see his own sober face in the dark glass. He looked tired. The Captain had been like a slave driver, working them to death for the past few weeks. The final deadline to pay off his debt was only a few days away, and there was no way they were going to meet it.
"There you are." chaos' reflection appeared in the window. There was a weariness to his face, but he was as cheerful as always.
Tony looked from his reflection to that of chaos. During the past four years, Tony had grown a lot. Thanks in part to all the hard labor the Captain inflicted on him, he had become much more muscular. And only in the past year, he grown his last couple of inches, and was beginning to lose his boyish features. chaos, on the other hand...
It was yet another one of those things that was a silent taboo. The crew never talked about it, somehow it just went without saying. No one outside the crew was ever around long enough to notice. To notice, that chaos still looked exactly as he did four years ago. He hadn't aged a day. Still small and slight, chaos appeared to be the youngest of the Elsa crew. But one look into those unfathomable turquoise eyes was enough to even make strangers stare in confusion. Not that they ever really understood what they were seeing.
Not that Tony had any better idea, even knowing what little he did. Even without knowing about chaos' ageless condition, people always noticed his strange silver hair. They assumed he was some kind of uberhuman, although they weren't always that polite in saying so. Tony supposed they were probably right.
But then he would remember what it was like to touch chaos. And he would wonder...
"Tony? You awake?"
Broken out of his thoughts, Tony turned to face chaos. Putting his cigarette to his lips again, he just nodded an acknowledgement. As he took another long draw, he knew chaos was watching him very closely. How chaos had managed to remain celibate for four years was beyond Tony's comprehension. He knew chaos wasn't that much of a saint. Countless times he had seen the silver-haired boy get that glazed look. And on occasion, Tony tried to take matters into his own hands. But chaos never acted on whatever he was feeling, and never allowed Tony either. Hammer often proclaimed that chaos would snap someday, and Tony didn't doubt it. But he didn't think it would be in a good way.
"Hammer wants us down in the cabin. I think he wants to talk about the situation."
With a slight scowl, Tony crushed his cigarette into an ashtray. "Again? I don't know what's to talk about, there's nothing we can do."
"I know, but it won't hurt to hear him out." chaos smiled weakly.
"Okay, alright, let's go hear ratboy out."
***
Hammer was pacing back and forth in the middle of the cabin like some ridiculous parody of a drill sargeant. Tony wondered if Hammer even realized he and chaos were still sitting at the table. This wasn't the first time Hammer had called them together like this, but during the past week it usually just ended with the navigator erupting into hysterics. chaos was nibbling on a small creme-filled pastry.
"Okay guys... So what're we gonna do!?" Hammer finally stopped pacing.
"Huh? I thought you had another brilliant plan, oh fearless leader." Tony put a hand to his forehead. "Another mutiny? A crazy treasure hunt?"
"Changing all our names to Bob, the Captain almost went with that one." chaos absently licked the cream from his gloved fingers.
Tony tried not to pay attention to the way chaos was eating. "Yeah, then he made all of us clean out the waste disposal unit. Manually!"
Hammer pouted. "Okay, so maybe the mutiny wasn't a good idea-"
"There's an understatement." Tony mumbled. Matthews had threatened to throw Hammer off the ship. While they were still in space.
"-and the treasure wasn't what it was cracked up to be-"
"Those earrings look nice on Tony." chaos smiled.
Tony shook his head grimly, hoping he wasn't blushing too much.
"-but if we don't figure out something right now, they're gonna kill us!" Hammer slammed his fists onto the table, making both chaos and Tony jump.
"We know, Hammer." chaos said softly, his face serious. "That's why the Captain's been working us so hard. And even if we don't make the deadline..."
"Deadline is right," Tony growled. "Unless the Captain can find someone else willing to loan him that much money."
"That's how we got into this mess to begin with." Hammer groaned. "Loan after loan to pay off all that work he did to the Elsa four years back. And then he wanted to upgrade the ship some more. And after that, he took that trip to Bunnieworld, just to see the galaxy's only planet-scale amusement park. And then he... chaos, that isn't funny!"
"Sorry." chaos took off a pair of fake souvenir bunny ears.
"The debt keeps piling on and on, we'll never pay it off!"
"So what are you bothering us for?" Tony rubbed his forehead. "If there's nothing we can do, maybe we should all just go on strike and wait for the Captain's friends?"
"I think we should just keep doing what we've been doing." chaos said firmly. "Worrying about it won't help us. But even if they don't give us more time, we won't go down without a fight."
Hammer froze. "Whoaaa...no, no, no, let's please not go there!"
"It's probably our only option." Tony said.
"We are so dead." Hammer whimpered.
The comm system suddenly roared Captain Matthews' voice through the cabin. "Get your asses to the bridge! Right now, all of you! We've got an emergency!"
***
When the three reached the bridge, they were met with the sight of three black ships gliding towards the Elsa. There were no lights or markings on the ships, they were nearly invisible, black patches in the starry sky. Tony was reminded of ancient videos of panthers stalking their prey. Matthews was sitting in his chair, snapping some kind of rifle together.
"What's going on?" Hammer looked from the rifle to the ships.
"Are they..." Tony frowned. "But we still have three days! They can't be coming to collect already!"
"It's them, alright." Matthews growled. "They just contacted us a minute ago. Apparently they've decided to swing around a little early. Probably wanted to make sure we wouldn't try to escape before the deadline."
"Which we should have." Hammer moaned.
"Captain, are you going to try talking to them first? Maybe..." chaos said.
"I tried that already." Matthews said. "They didn't want to talk. They're coming onboard in a few minutes. I suggest you three get to your posts and get ready. When they try to dock beside us, we'll make a break for it. It's our only chance."
"Yeah!" Tony felt the adrenaline beginning to pump. "They'll never be able to catch the Elsa!" He ran to the pilot's seat, itching to get going.
"Those ships are armed, this is going to extremely risky." Hammer said nervously as he sat at his post.
"Tony can handle it." chaos said. Tony smiled to himself.
"He'd better, or we're already good as dead." Matthews muttered.
"Just leave it to me." Tony's hands clenched and unclenched on the controls.
"The ships are charging their weapons.... Captain!" chaos shouted.
"Damnit, they're trying to cripple us, go!" Matthews yelled, and the Elsa lunged forward. In an instant, they had bolted between the ships and were speeding beyond. They just missed being grazed by blazing red laser fire.
It wasn't long before the black ships were speeding after them. But they weren't fast enough to keep up with the likes of the Elsa. Tony laughed despite himself. They could chase them to the ends of the universe, for all he cared.
"What the hell are you laughin' about?" Matthews yelled. "Watch out!"
"They're firing again!" Hammer yelped.
The crimson lights streaked past as Tony dodged the Elsa around the laser fire. "They'll hafta do better than that! Bring it on, you bastards!"
"Damnit, Tony, don't get cocky on me!" Matthews warned.
"If we live through this, I demand a vacation..." Hammer hissed under his breath. His fingers flew over the navigation console.
The laser fire grew more insistant, red streamers threatened to overcome them if the Elsa made one wrong move. It was all Tony could do to keep them inches away from disaster, weaving and rocking the ship. He blinked to get the beads of sweat out of his eyes.
"We're being intercepted!" chaos cried out, but it was already too late.
Out of nowhere, three more black ships were in front of them. As Tony dodged the newcomers, the pursuing ships finally succeeded in hitting the Elsa. It was only one laser strike, unavoidable as the Elsa had manuevered past an intercepting ship. But the Elsa pitched and shuddered, telling of the damage. Then they came to a stop, and the lights went out with a deep rumbling within the ship. In the dark, the shadowy ships gathering around them seemed more ominous than ever.
"Switching to emergency lifesupport." chaos looked up from his console. "Captain, we're dead in the water."
"Aw, hell." Matthews sighed. Then jumped to his feet, rifle in hand. "Okay, this is it. We'll have to fight them off."
"Fight!?" Hammer looked terrified.
"It'll be okay." chaos said as he rose from his seat. But Tony didn't think he sounded very convinced of it himself.
After going into the first cabin, they picked up some weapons. Except for chaos. He could handle a gun, but he was deadlier without one. Tony knew this well. The engineer wore signs of anxiety, but other than that, chaos seemed calm. Tony felt like his stomach was twisting into knots. He wasn't a bad fighter himself, but they were outnumbered. There was a good chance this was the one tight spot they wouldn't be able to squeeze out of.
Suddenly there was what sounded like a small explosion from outside.
"They've forced the airlock open." Hammer whispered.
"Out towards the back." Matthews said quietly. "We'll try to surround them. No telling how many there are, so we have to move fast. Hammer, you come with me. chaos, Tony, you take the side opposite us."
In agreement, they exited the back of the cabin. Somehow, Tony knew it wasn't going to work. But still, he was surprised when the door opened to a line of nasty looking laser rifles. Holding the rifles were a group of men in black uniforms. Behind them, there were still more men with rifles. Only one stood out, a bald guy in a red three-piece suit.
"Please don't try my patience any further." The red-suited man said with an unusual accent. Tony realized it was Vlenarian. "Put down your weapons and step back inside. You have wasted enough of my time."
There was a long moment, where Tony could only hear the blood beating in his ears. Then the Captain dropped his gun with a loud clattering. Tony and Hammer immediately did the same. He heard chaos let out a breath. The riflemen edged them back into the cabin.
"Very good. Now put your hands into the air, and turn around."
As they did as they were ordered, there was the sound of the cabin door swishing shut.
"Look," Matthews started, "I just need a little more time, I-" One of the riflemen struck Matthews in the back of the head with the butt of his weapon. The Captain fell heavily to the cabin floor with a groan.
"I didn't give you permission to speak." Growled red-suited man. "If any of the rest of you want to live, I suggest you do as your told."
Glancing cautiously to the side, Tony saw Hammer shivering. Beside Hammer, one of the men was pointing his rifle down at the Captain's unconscious body. What the boss of these guys was saying... Maybe they would live through this somehow. But they couldn't let them kill the Captain...what could they do? Suddenly he was aware of the red-suited man close beside him. His blood ran cold.
"Well now... I do believe we've found ourselves a little mutant."
Mutant? Tony's eyes darted over. Immediately, his teeth clenched as he felt all the heat rush to his face. The bastard was running a finger down chaos' cheek and tracing his jawline. The red-suited man turned aside chaos' chin while he inspected the silvery locks...it was as if he were examining an animal. chaos' stance and expression was stony.
"I think I can find ways for you to work off the debt owed to me." Red-suit purred. The riflemen snickered among themselves. Tony's hands clenched reflexively.
The red-suit noticed Tony's anger, and turned towards him. "Am I upsetting you? Remember, you are the ones who have inconvienced me. But go ahead, and tell me whatever it is you are burning to say. You have my permission."
"Fuck off."
The red-suited man just smiled. But his eyes were livid. "I see." Then he turned aside and walked out of view behind them. Glancing over, Tony met chaos' eyes. There was a sound, and he saw the turquoise eyes suddenly widen in terror. Before Tony also understood the sound behind them, he heard another sound, the high pitched whistle of laser fire.
"TONY!"
Next thing Tony knew, he was hitting the floor face first. For some reason, he couldn't move. There was an uncomfortable warmth in his torso, but surprisingly no pain. He had always thought being shot by a laser rifle would hurt like hell. But somehow...everything seemed so fuzzy and far away... Echoing in his ears was even more guns firing... It sounded like a real massacre. Closing his eyes, he wondered if the others were okay...
Someone was touching him, and he felt moisture and breath on his face. A soft voice, whispering by his ear. "Please...please...unleash some of thy powers...unleash..." It sounded like chaos... Like he was begging a prayer, over and over...
The gunfire had finally died down, and Tony heard another much louder voice.
"Hey, you guys okay? ...Damnit... Get the medics in here, we've got an emergency!" It sounded like some kid. What was a kid doing here?
At last, everything went silent.
by Moonstone 04
***
Author's Notes: This is a chaos x Tony yaoi fic, so if you don't like the idea of them loving on each other, flee now. ^_^ Also, I originally started this fic before any ep2 information was announced, so I consider it to be dated in many ways. However, I expected this when I began. ^^; Like all my fics, this is heavily based on my personal theories on the series (tho I should point out that the yaoi is just in my fics, not my serious theories). For more information on the bizarre way my mind works, look to my site, chaos theory [chaostheory.50g.com].
I thought this would be the final chapter, but I was wrong. There'll be one more chapter after this one. Took longer than I thought. ^^;
This is the Fanfiction.net edition of this fic. Originally NC-17, it has been edited to fit an R rating. The original, un-cut version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi on yahoogroups.
***
Chapter Six
While the UMN broadcasts buzzed about gnosis attacks, life aboard the Elsa became quieter than usual. Looking to make distance between themselves and the gnosis, Captain Matthews set them on course towards a faraway star system. He spent much of his time in his cabin, planning the agenda of the long-term journey. Hammer had made a nervous habit out of checking on the status of the surrounding space as well as UMN broadcasts. When he wasn't at the helm, Tony found himself aimlessly wandering the empty depths of the Elsa.
In the days since fleeing the Dock Colony disaster, chaos had barely stepped out of the crew quarters. He slept all day and most of the night. When he awoke during the night, he would wander outside, but Tony could never find where he went. It was useless to try waking him during the day, chaos was the soundest sleeper Tony had ever seen.
"He's some kind of space vampire! It's the only explanation that makes sense!"
"Hammer, if he was a vampire, wouldn't he have tried to suck our blood? Isn't that how it works in those old movies?" Tony frowned. "C'mon, he doesn't have fangs or turn into a bat! And he eats those frozen pizzas, if he was a vampire, he'd be allergic to the garlic. Crash and burn another theory, Hammer."
"How would you know, you've never met a real vampire!"
"Neither have you!"
"Let's find a mirror and see if he has a reflection!"
"If you get near him with this stupid nonsense, I'll floor your ass!"
"I'd like to see you try, Vamp-lover!"
"Oh, that's it!" Tony raised his fist, but his wrist was grabbed from behind. He looked back to face an unamused Matthews.
"Knock it off!" The Captain let go of Tony. "What did I tell you about bothering him about that?"
"See?" Tony gave Hammer a triumphant smirk.
"If he really is a space vampire, and he knows that we know, we could all wind up lunchmeat. Have a little sense!" Matthews growled.
This time, it was Hammer who was smirking. Tony barely resisted the urge to deck the little rat, Captain or no Captain. "Yes, Sir." He gritted out.
"Anyway, one of you better find some way of getting him up. We'll be making planetfall on Vlenar in a few days, and it'd be nice if we could get him to help out a little once we get there." With that, he left the hangar.
"Wake up chaos?" Hammer frowned and scratched his head in thought. "What haven't we tried short of throwing him out the airlock?"
Loud noises, buckets of water, picking him up and dragging him around... Nothing but nothing woke up chaos. They had even locked the bathroom during the night hoping to force him to get up during the daytime to use it. That didn't work either, somehow he seemed to get in anyway.
Hammer laughed. "Maybe sleeping beauty needs a kiss from his handsome prince."
"Get serious." Tony shook his head. "The only thing left is to stay up all night and not fall asleep this time. I'll do it, there's no need for both us."
"Someone wants to be alooone..."
"Shaddup..."
***
Tony was half asleep when he heard the bedsprings creak. His head jerked up from his chest. Turning towards the sleeping nook from where he had been leaning against the wall, he found himself facing chaos. The other boy didn't look very surprised to see him.
"Evening, Tony."
It wasn't what he had intended to do, but he couldn't help himself. Instead of saying anything, he took chaos in a tight embrace. He needed to feel the familiar warmth, something to assure him that his chaos wasn't completely lost.
For a moment, he thought he felt the boy stiffen in his arms. But then the slender arms were around his back, and chaos nestled into him with a sigh. It wasn't the usual pleased sort of sigh, but Tony tried not to dwell on it.
"chaos..."
"We shouldn't talk here, we'll disturb Hammer."
***
Only distant starlight gave them illumination. Nothing had been switched on, even the familiar clatter of the bartender robot was absent. It was slumped behind the counter, its gleaming eyes staring at the floor. Sitting directly in front of it, chaos was in a similar position. Tony sat facing the windows, his elbows back on the counter. The silence was killing him.
"Have you been eating lately? Don't wanna get sick, y'know."
"Tony..."
He turned to look at chaos, but the face beneath the silvery locks was obscured in dark shadow. "...Yeah. I know, I'm skirting around what I really wanna say. The captain told us we shouldn't pry. But damn it..."
"It's okay. Perfectly understandable." chaos interrupted softly. "You deserve to know what's going on. But I'm afraid... There's nothing to tell."
The silence descended again.
Tony stared hard at chaos, trying to meet the eyes he couldn't see. He could almost imagine the boy flinching as he turned his gaze downwards. "Don't lie to me, chaos. This isn't like you."
At this, chaos turned to look at him again, and for a moment, for some unknown reason, Tony was suddenly grateful he couldn't see his face. Then chaos looked away and seemed to shrink down in his seat. "I didn't know I could do that either. It just happened. That's the truth, Tony."
With a sigh, Tony leaned forward onto his knees and let his head fall. "I'm sorry, I'm being a complete jackass. I wanted to talk, not accuse you like this."
"I know. It's my fault for putting you through this. I just needed to be alone for a while. I needed time to think."
"You aren't going to try leaving again, are you? The Captain wants you stay aboard. Everything's okay now... He wanted you to know before we reach our next destination."
chaos seemed to nod slightly. "I'm glad. I didn't want to leave... I just wish...it had been different."
"But everything's going to be okay now, right?" Tony wanted to hear some brightness in chaos' voice again. "We're all okay, right? And the others have agreed not to tell anybody about what happened. Everything's back to normal."
The damned silence again.
"chaos. If there's something... You can trust me." Tony turned and put a hand on his lover's shoulder. "That hasn't changed."
The other boy swallowed, but didn't say anything.
"Will I see you tomorrow then?" Tony asked hopefully.
"I've done enough sleeping. I'll talk to the Captain tomorrow."
"Terrific." Tony smiled. "You'll show the Captain what a great crewman he almost threw off his ship." He moved his hand from chaos' shoulder to caress the side of his face. Starlight cleared the shadows away as he tilted chaos' face towards him. Bright turquoise eyes closed at his touch.
At the familiar unspoken invitation, Tony leaned in and kissed him. Yes...the thrill still felt the same. Electric whispers passed between their lips, and a moan escaped the silver-haired boy. Then, unexpectedly, chaos broke away, his hand over his face.
"c-chaos?" Tony was shocked. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." chaos breathed. "It isn't your fault. I just need a little more space... Just a while longer. Please understand."
"Sure." But even if he pretended to understand, the hurt still bit at him. What had happened to chaos to change him so much? Why couldn't he confide in him whatever he was going through? For a moment there, he had felt *his* chaos again. But he was gone again. "Well, if I'm going to be awake tomorrow, I'd better be getting to bed." He stood. "Are you coming back to the cabin?"
His hand still covering his face, chaos shook his head. "I think I'll stay here until everyone wakes up. Good night, Tony."
For a moment, Tony stood and looked down at him. He wanted to comfort him somehow. But he was afraid of seeing chaos recoil from him again. "Good night, chaos." He said softly as he turned away.
When he was at the doors, he paused briefly as he heard chaos say something under his breath. Then he continued on his way out. Tony wondered what he meant, but knew it was probably useless to ask who chaos thought he looked like.
***
Weeks passed. For the most part, life aboard the Elsa seemed to fall back into the usual routine. chaos had officially become the ship engineer, once proving to the Captain that he was more than capable of performing the necessary duties. Everybody laughed and acted like nothing strange had ever happened.
Tony couldn't stand it. chaos seemed to be more or less his old self again, except for a lingering sadness behind his cheerful facade. Whatever was eating at him, he seemed determined to pretend it didn't exist. It was as if he were trying to bury the past. Each day passed without more than friendly acknowledgement. It was as if they had never been lovers at all.
Feeling more than a little frustrated, Tony downed his drink. The Captain was supposedly seeing somebody about a job, leaving the crew free for the afternoon. chaos had suggested going out to a small cafe. Being planetside, he had wanted to enjoy the outdoors while they were there.
"Some things never change." Hammer said in a sing song voice.
"Oh?" chaos said.
Distracted from his brooding, Tony looked up to see what they were talking about. Over at a nearby table, a group of pretty girls was whispering and looking over at them. Or rather, at him. There was a time when he would have been over there in a heartbeat, all charm and smiles. Even now, there was a part of his mind deciding which girl would go on which arm. But...
"Tony has all the luck." Hammer pouted. "Hell, and I'm not even sure if he swings that way anymore. The gods are just so cruel."
Daring a glance towards chaos, Tony was surprised to find the boy giving the girls an oddly contemplative look.
"If they wanna say something, they can come over and say it to all of us." Tony mumbled. "I don't see what the big deal is."
"Oh c'mon, you can't have changed *that* much." Hammer sighed. "Or maybe you're just that stupid."
"Shaddup."
"Would it really hurt to go talk to them?" chaos said quietly.
"Huh?" Tony turned to stare at him.
For a moment, chaos seemed to hesitate, but he awkwardly held his gaze. "You've been in a bad mood lately, you should have some fun. Go on."
Tony couldn't believe his ears. "What!?"
"Go see what they want." chaos smiled.
What the hell was going on here!? "Do you have any idea what you're saying?" Tony nearly gritted through his teeth. How could chaos smile while he said that?
"Of course I do."
For a moment, Tony thought he saw chaos' eyes waver, but that damned smile seemed cemented to his face. Stop pretending, damn you! He opened his mouth, finally ready to tell it to his face, when chaos suddenly interrupted him.
"GO, Tony. You know you want to." chaos said gently. "Don't worry about us. Hammer and I will be fine by ourselves. We'll meet you back at the ship."
Tony stared blankly at him. Then he nodded, feeling a strange giddyness come over him. "Yeah... I guess you're right." He noticed that the smile had been wiped away from chaos' face, but it didn't seem important at the moment. It was as if chaos' smile had transplanted onto his own face. Later, guys..." Tony said as he pushed away from their table.
"chaos?" Hammer sounded hushed. "You're really okay with this?"
Tony didn't hear if chaos replied, by that time he was far too preoccupied with introducing himself to the babes. He didn't even notice when they left.
***
Only sometime after departing the planet did reality begin to seep back into Tony's senses. He sat at his post on the bridge, hunched over the controls with his head in his hands. He was beginning to wonder about his sanity.
"Would you stop that?" Hammer grouched. "I don't know what you've got to be depressed about. Getting laid by a hot girl, and you're still not happy! You disgust me, y'know that!?"
It wasn't only what Tony had done, but also the fact that he'd felt the need to brag to the world about it afterwards. What the hell was wrong with him!? It was like another person just like him, but without a care in the world, had been running around in his place for the past few days.
The bridge door swished open.
"-aren't legal."
Tony cringed slightly at chaos' voice.
"Don't fret the details." Captain Matthews replied, his heavy boots making his arrival obvious even if he hadn't spoken. "Hammer! I want you and chaos to look this over before we get to the colony."
Turning in his seat, Tony was just in time to see Hammer's eyes nearly bulge out of his face. Even chaos was staring at the holopad in Hammer's hands with a slight dazed look. Tony was afraid to ask what the Captain was up to this time.
"Captain, we can't afford an upgrade like this!" Hammer squeaked.
"Hey, we're getting a steep discount, how could I turn down prices like that?" Captain Matthews said.
"That's a discount!?"
"It appears to be black market equipment." chaos said with a hint of disapproval. "But even so, Hammer's right, we can't afford this, Captain."
"You two worry too much." Captain Matthews shook his head. "We'll just take on some extra jobs. And once we get the engine upgraded, we'll be able to make up for it in no time."
chaos and Hammer both wore doubtful looks.
"I don't know what you guys are talking about, but I have a bad feeling about this." Tony sighed.
"Not you too," Captain Matthews grumbled. "Aw, what do you know about running a ship? Yer all a bunch of morons!"
***
"We really can't afford this." chaos said quietly. "Unless the Captain has some money we don't know about."
Tony looked up, surprised to find chaos standing beside him. He had been alone on the dock, watching the large crates being loaded into the Elsa. Upgrading the ship was going to be a big job. He still wasn't sure what exactly was being upgraded, but it sure seemed impressive, whatever it was.
"I doubt it." Tony looked down over the railing. "There isn't a G credit in the galaxy that could manage to stay in his pocket. He's always been like this, spending without any common sense. But I gotta admit, this is pretty extreme, even for him."
"Hm." chaos leaned over the railing.
"chaos, about what happened..."
chaos shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it!?" Tony almost shouted, straightening up. "Don't you care that I've been sleeping around!? Don't you care that I might be losing my mind!?"
"Of course I care. But I don't think you're losing your mind."
"You sure don't seem like you care. I remember when you did, before...before what happened. The old chaos would hate me."
"I'd never hate you, Tony." chaos turned to look at him with those sad eyes.
"Maybe it would be better if you hated me. At least then I'd know you felt *something* for me. You're the one who wanted me to go with those girls. You haven't wanted anything to do with me since..." He waved a hand in anger. "Whatever the hell happened that night. It's like you aren't even the same person anymore."
chaos said something quietly.
"What?" Tony asked more angrily than he had intended.
"I made a mistake." chaos said again, staring down at the docks. "Please, forgive me."
"A mistake? Is that what I am!?" Tony wondered why he was the one upset. He wanted chaos to be angry with him, not the other way around. He wanted something to make sense.
chaos had a weary look on his face. "No, that's not what I meant. I just... I just don't think I'm right for you. You'd be happier with someone else."
"Oh, so now I'm not good enough for you."
"Tony..."
"Next you're going to tell me you suddenly woke up and decided you were straight. Don't give me that bullshit. I expect lame excuses from Hammer, not from you."
chaos was biting his lip. Maybe it was just Tony's imagination, but he thought there was a hint of anger in his eyes. There was a slight quiver to his body.
"Tony, I care about you. But it can't be the way it was."
"Why not?" Standing behind chaos, Tony took him into an embrace. The smaller boy gave a small, surprised gasp. Tony whispered into the back of his neck. "Why do you turn me away when you're trembling like this?"
chaos seemed to have momentarily lost his capability of speech.
"You want me as much as I want you. You can't deny it anymore." It was all Tony could do to keep himself from taking chaos right there on the dock. He was so warm and firm...
"I don't know if it's you I want." chaos breathed heavily.
Tony blinked. What the heck did that mean?
"You can do better." chaos was wobbling slightly on his feet. "Please Tony, let go."
With great reluctance, Tony did so.
***
Four years passed.
Whisps of smoke reflected in the window. When the smoke dissolved, Tony could see his own sober face in the dark glass. He looked tired. The Captain had been like a slave driver, working them to death for the past few weeks. The final deadline to pay off his debt was only a few days away, and there was no way they were going to meet it.
"There you are." chaos' reflection appeared in the window. There was a weariness to his face, but he was as cheerful as always.
Tony looked from his reflection to that of chaos. During the past four years, Tony had grown a lot. Thanks in part to all the hard labor the Captain inflicted on him, he had become much more muscular. And only in the past year, he grown his last couple of inches, and was beginning to lose his boyish features. chaos, on the other hand...
It was yet another one of those things that was a silent taboo. The crew never talked about it, somehow it just went without saying. No one outside the crew was ever around long enough to notice. To notice, that chaos still looked exactly as he did four years ago. He hadn't aged a day. Still small and slight, chaos appeared to be the youngest of the Elsa crew. But one look into those unfathomable turquoise eyes was enough to even make strangers stare in confusion. Not that they ever really understood what they were seeing.
Not that Tony had any better idea, even knowing what little he did. Even without knowing about chaos' ageless condition, people always noticed his strange silver hair. They assumed he was some kind of uberhuman, although they weren't always that polite in saying so. Tony supposed they were probably right.
But then he would remember what it was like to touch chaos. And he would wonder...
"Tony? You awake?"
Broken out of his thoughts, Tony turned to face chaos. Putting his cigarette to his lips again, he just nodded an acknowledgement. As he took another long draw, he knew chaos was watching him very closely. How chaos had managed to remain celibate for four years was beyond Tony's comprehension. He knew chaos wasn't that much of a saint. Countless times he had seen the silver-haired boy get that glazed look. And on occasion, Tony tried to take matters into his own hands. But chaos never acted on whatever he was feeling, and never allowed Tony either. Hammer often proclaimed that chaos would snap someday, and Tony didn't doubt it. But he didn't think it would be in a good way.
"Hammer wants us down in the cabin. I think he wants to talk about the situation."
With a slight scowl, Tony crushed his cigarette into an ashtray. "Again? I don't know what's to talk about, there's nothing we can do."
"I know, but it won't hurt to hear him out." chaos smiled weakly.
"Okay, alright, let's go hear ratboy out."
***
Hammer was pacing back and forth in the middle of the cabin like some ridiculous parody of a drill sargeant. Tony wondered if Hammer even realized he and chaos were still sitting at the table. This wasn't the first time Hammer had called them together like this, but during the past week it usually just ended with the navigator erupting into hysterics. chaos was nibbling on a small creme-filled pastry.
"Okay guys... So what're we gonna do!?" Hammer finally stopped pacing.
"Huh? I thought you had another brilliant plan, oh fearless leader." Tony put a hand to his forehead. "Another mutiny? A crazy treasure hunt?"
"Changing all our names to Bob, the Captain almost went with that one." chaos absently licked the cream from his gloved fingers.
Tony tried not to pay attention to the way chaos was eating. "Yeah, then he made all of us clean out the waste disposal unit. Manually!"
Hammer pouted. "Okay, so maybe the mutiny wasn't a good idea-"
"There's an understatement." Tony mumbled. Matthews had threatened to throw Hammer off the ship. While they were still in space.
"-and the treasure wasn't what it was cracked up to be-"
"Those earrings look nice on Tony." chaos smiled.
Tony shook his head grimly, hoping he wasn't blushing too much.
"-but if we don't figure out something right now, they're gonna kill us!" Hammer slammed his fists onto the table, making both chaos and Tony jump.
"We know, Hammer." chaos said softly, his face serious. "That's why the Captain's been working us so hard. And even if we don't make the deadline..."
"Deadline is right," Tony growled. "Unless the Captain can find someone else willing to loan him that much money."
"That's how we got into this mess to begin with." Hammer groaned. "Loan after loan to pay off all that work he did to the Elsa four years back. And then he wanted to upgrade the ship some more. And after that, he took that trip to Bunnieworld, just to see the galaxy's only planet-scale amusement park. And then he... chaos, that isn't funny!"
"Sorry." chaos took off a pair of fake souvenir bunny ears.
"The debt keeps piling on and on, we'll never pay it off!"
"So what are you bothering us for?" Tony rubbed his forehead. "If there's nothing we can do, maybe we should all just go on strike and wait for the Captain's friends?"
"I think we should just keep doing what we've been doing." chaos said firmly. "Worrying about it won't help us. But even if they don't give us more time, we won't go down without a fight."
Hammer froze. "Whoaaa...no, no, no, let's please not go there!"
"It's probably our only option." Tony said.
"We are so dead." Hammer whimpered.
The comm system suddenly roared Captain Matthews' voice through the cabin. "Get your asses to the bridge! Right now, all of you! We've got an emergency!"
***
When the three reached the bridge, they were met with the sight of three black ships gliding towards the Elsa. There were no lights or markings on the ships, they were nearly invisible, black patches in the starry sky. Tony was reminded of ancient videos of panthers stalking their prey. Matthews was sitting in his chair, snapping some kind of rifle together.
"What's going on?" Hammer looked from the rifle to the ships.
"Are they..." Tony frowned. "But we still have three days! They can't be coming to collect already!"
"It's them, alright." Matthews growled. "They just contacted us a minute ago. Apparently they've decided to swing around a little early. Probably wanted to make sure we wouldn't try to escape before the deadline."
"Which we should have." Hammer moaned.
"Captain, are you going to try talking to them first? Maybe..." chaos said.
"I tried that already." Matthews said. "They didn't want to talk. They're coming onboard in a few minutes. I suggest you three get to your posts and get ready. When they try to dock beside us, we'll make a break for it. It's our only chance."
"Yeah!" Tony felt the adrenaline beginning to pump. "They'll never be able to catch the Elsa!" He ran to the pilot's seat, itching to get going.
"Those ships are armed, this is going to extremely risky." Hammer said nervously as he sat at his post.
"Tony can handle it." chaos said. Tony smiled to himself.
"He'd better, or we're already good as dead." Matthews muttered.
"Just leave it to me." Tony's hands clenched and unclenched on the controls.
"The ships are charging their weapons.... Captain!" chaos shouted.
"Damnit, they're trying to cripple us, go!" Matthews yelled, and the Elsa lunged forward. In an instant, they had bolted between the ships and were speeding beyond. They just missed being grazed by blazing red laser fire.
It wasn't long before the black ships were speeding after them. But they weren't fast enough to keep up with the likes of the Elsa. Tony laughed despite himself. They could chase them to the ends of the universe, for all he cared.
"What the hell are you laughin' about?" Matthews yelled. "Watch out!"
"They're firing again!" Hammer yelped.
The crimson lights streaked past as Tony dodged the Elsa around the laser fire. "They'll hafta do better than that! Bring it on, you bastards!"
"Damnit, Tony, don't get cocky on me!" Matthews warned.
"If we live through this, I demand a vacation..." Hammer hissed under his breath. His fingers flew over the navigation console.
The laser fire grew more insistant, red streamers threatened to overcome them if the Elsa made one wrong move. It was all Tony could do to keep them inches away from disaster, weaving and rocking the ship. He blinked to get the beads of sweat out of his eyes.
"We're being intercepted!" chaos cried out, but it was already too late.
Out of nowhere, three more black ships were in front of them. As Tony dodged the newcomers, the pursuing ships finally succeeded in hitting the Elsa. It was only one laser strike, unavoidable as the Elsa had manuevered past an intercepting ship. But the Elsa pitched and shuddered, telling of the damage. Then they came to a stop, and the lights went out with a deep rumbling within the ship. In the dark, the shadowy ships gathering around them seemed more ominous than ever.
"Switching to emergency lifesupport." chaos looked up from his console. "Captain, we're dead in the water."
"Aw, hell." Matthews sighed. Then jumped to his feet, rifle in hand. "Okay, this is it. We'll have to fight them off."
"Fight!?" Hammer looked terrified.
"It'll be okay." chaos said as he rose from his seat. But Tony didn't think he sounded very convinced of it himself.
After going into the first cabin, they picked up some weapons. Except for chaos. He could handle a gun, but he was deadlier without one. Tony knew this well. The engineer wore signs of anxiety, but other than that, chaos seemed calm. Tony felt like his stomach was twisting into knots. He wasn't a bad fighter himself, but they were outnumbered. There was a good chance this was the one tight spot they wouldn't be able to squeeze out of.
Suddenly there was what sounded like a small explosion from outside.
"They've forced the airlock open." Hammer whispered.
"Out towards the back." Matthews said quietly. "We'll try to surround them. No telling how many there are, so we have to move fast. Hammer, you come with me. chaos, Tony, you take the side opposite us."
In agreement, they exited the back of the cabin. Somehow, Tony knew it wasn't going to work. But still, he was surprised when the door opened to a line of nasty looking laser rifles. Holding the rifles were a group of men in black uniforms. Behind them, there were still more men with rifles. Only one stood out, a bald guy in a red three-piece suit.
"Please don't try my patience any further." The red-suited man said with an unusual accent. Tony realized it was Vlenarian. "Put down your weapons and step back inside. You have wasted enough of my time."
There was a long moment, where Tony could only hear the blood beating in his ears. Then the Captain dropped his gun with a loud clattering. Tony and Hammer immediately did the same. He heard chaos let out a breath. The riflemen edged them back into the cabin.
"Very good. Now put your hands into the air, and turn around."
As they did as they were ordered, there was the sound of the cabin door swishing shut.
"Look," Matthews started, "I just need a little more time, I-" One of the riflemen struck Matthews in the back of the head with the butt of his weapon. The Captain fell heavily to the cabin floor with a groan.
"I didn't give you permission to speak." Growled red-suited man. "If any of the rest of you want to live, I suggest you do as your told."
Glancing cautiously to the side, Tony saw Hammer shivering. Beside Hammer, one of the men was pointing his rifle down at the Captain's unconscious body. What the boss of these guys was saying... Maybe they would live through this somehow. But they couldn't let them kill the Captain...what could they do? Suddenly he was aware of the red-suited man close beside him. His blood ran cold.
"Well now... I do believe we've found ourselves a little mutant."
Mutant? Tony's eyes darted over. Immediately, his teeth clenched as he felt all the heat rush to his face. The bastard was running a finger down chaos' cheek and tracing his jawline. The red-suited man turned aside chaos' chin while he inspected the silvery locks...it was as if he were examining an animal. chaos' stance and expression was stony.
"I think I can find ways for you to work off the debt owed to me." Red-suit purred. The riflemen snickered among themselves. Tony's hands clenched reflexively.
The red-suit noticed Tony's anger, and turned towards him. "Am I upsetting you? Remember, you are the ones who have inconvienced me. But go ahead, and tell me whatever it is you are burning to say. You have my permission."
"Fuck off."
The red-suited man just smiled. But his eyes were livid. "I see." Then he turned aside and walked out of view behind them. Glancing over, Tony met chaos' eyes. There was a sound, and he saw the turquoise eyes suddenly widen in terror. Before Tony also understood the sound behind them, he heard another sound, the high pitched whistle of laser fire.
"TONY!"
Next thing Tony knew, he was hitting the floor face first. For some reason, he couldn't move. There was an uncomfortable warmth in his torso, but surprisingly no pain. He had always thought being shot by a laser rifle would hurt like hell. But somehow...everything seemed so fuzzy and far away... Echoing in his ears was even more guns firing... It sounded like a real massacre. Closing his eyes, he wondered if the others were okay...
Someone was touching him, and he felt moisture and breath on his face. A soft voice, whispering by his ear. "Please...please...unleash some of thy powers...unleash..." It sounded like chaos... Like he was begging a prayer, over and over...
The gunfire had finally died down, and Tony heard another much louder voice.
"Hey, you guys okay? ...Damnit... Get the medics in here, we've got an emergency!" It sounded like some kid. What was a kid doing here?
At last, everything went silent.