Chapter 15:: Zeke LeCross
"Uhnnn." Karina moaned and tried to sit up, her head dizzy and her eyes blurry. She fell back down to something soft and whispered, "Where am I?"
"You're on the Infinity." A voice said quietly.
"What?" Karina sat up and looked around, but no one was there. ".I could've sworn I heard someone." She looked around the almost empty room. There was a small bed in the corner, which she was laying on, and a few other pieces of furniture. She walked up to the door and attempted to open it, but it was sealed shut.
She sat down and shut her eyes. "What is going on?" She sighed, and then memories came back to her. Memories of Sierra attacking her, of the world going black a few moments afterwards.
"That traitor." She whispered, clenching her hands. She felt her anger rise as she thought of the many times Sierra had helped her, and how Sierra was probably trying to think up some plan to betray them.
Karina bit her bottom lip and choked down tears. Tears of being so stupid to trust her, tears of anger, tears of fear and tears of feeling like she wouldn't see the one person she wanted to see more than anything.
"No." Karina whimpered and fell back to the bed, tears falling down her face. "I've got to get out of here." She whispered.
"Let go of me!" Sierra snapped and twisted around, a few guards holding her tightly. "I said let me GO! If you don't." She growled.
"Let her go." A voice said from behind.
"But sir." One of the guards blinked and loosened his grip on her.
"I said.. Let her go." The young man's voice repeated.
The guards nodded and let her go, Sierra falling to the ground.
"Now, leave." He said and the guards slowly left the room.
Sierra looked up, and her heart stopped. Standing before her was a young man, looking to be around the age group of 15-18, with deep skin the color of amber and a pair of brilliant royal blue eyes, and wild gleaming silver hair. Her mouth gaped and she whispered, "Si-Sigurd.? It can't be. you're."
"Younger.?" The younger 'Sigurd' whispered, folding his arms.
"." Sierra stood up and squinted. "What.?"
"You see." He smiled. "Back when we were the Elements, our DNA was taken as well. Why shouldn't our powers be used to help as well?"
"So. Hyuga, Jessiah and Khar are all here as well.?" Sierra blinked.
"Of course." He smiled a little, turning away.
"After you left. there must have been other Elements, though. What happened to them?" Sierra sat down.
".Something went wrong." Sigurd walked up to her. "Their clones died soon afterwards. They wouldn't have been very useful, anyway."
"Hunh." Sierra folded her arms and sat down in the corner of the room.
"Anyway." The younger Sigurd walked up and moved very close to her. "Keep out of trouble, or you'll regret it." He hissed, before he left. He locked the door.
"Ugh." Sierra rolled her eyes.
"What am I going to do.?" Karina folded her arms around her legs and frowned. "." She looked down and clamped her eyes shut.
"Hello, Lady Karina. Long time no see." A voice said from behind her.
Karina looked up, her body suddenly going cold. The hair on the back of her neck rose and she shivered slightly. "No." She whispered, recognizing his voice.
"Did you miss me?" It said again and a hand rested on her shoulder. She slowly turned around and felt her heart stop at what she saw.
He leaned over and gave her a tiny peck on the forehead. A large scar ran down his face, his smile was cold but he was unmistakably the same person from before. ".Billy.?" She whispered.
"Hello." His eyes glinted with a cold gleam.
"You're the one. the one who hurt him." She whispered. "You're the clone."
"Give the girl a prize." Billy said gently and leaned closer, putting a hand on her face. "You're so pretty." He whispered, his eyes glinting.
"Please go." Karina stuttered and slipped back, but every time she slid back, he moved forward, pinning her against the wall.
"I'd love to be yours, little angel." He whispered, licking his lips. "Would you like to. say. launch my gear. I could pleasure you so much."
Karina's eyes widened and she tried to pull away.
"Let go of me!" She screeched, but he held her tight. "Please!!" Karina yelled and kicked, trying to get him away.
"Calm down, pretty angel." He muttered and pushed her down, pressing all his weight on her.
"N-no! I won't let you!!" Karina blushed and continued to struggle.
"Hey!" A voice said from behind them.
The clone of Billy growled and sat up. "Get out."
A young man walked up and folded his arms. "First of all, Black, you have instructions to report to the Med. Bay, and second. I think you oughta keep you tongue out of Karina's mouth."
Billy stood and walked up to the young man. "And are you going to be the one to try and stop me, soldier? Good luck." He hissed and walked by after looking back and saying, "I'll see you again, Miss Karina. You can be sure of that." And after that, he left.
Karina sat up and blinked. ".I don't believe it." She whispered.
The young man who had come in smiled. He wore a uniform, hunter green, like the ones the guards wore. His hair was wild, spiked and blonde, his eyes a shimmering emerald shade. He was taller than Bart at least, tanned and muscular. "Hello, Karina. It's nice to see you again."
Karina stood up. "Zeke!" She smiled.
"Did he hurt you." Zeke whispered and stepped forward.
"No." Karina replied and shook her head.
"I don't believe it. I thought you had managed to escape. but then. that bounty hunter brought you back." He hissed.
"I was saved by a group of the most wonderful people. And then she showed up. A while later she betrayed me and now I'm back here again." Karina said gently.
"I knew that they sent that freak to get you. And then he came back with a bullet wound in his gut and a bunch of scratches all over his body." Zeke looked back. "Who shot him?"
Karina looked down. "He is a clone."
"I know that, Karina. Of who, I don't know." He muttered.
"The person he was a clone of. Billy Lee Black. He was the one. He got hurt protecting me." She clenched her fist and looked down.
Zeke stepped closer and folded his arms. "You mean. One of the people who rescued you. is his original host?"
".Yes. And I miss him so much." She turned around.
Zeke put his hands on her shoulders and hugged her gently. "I'm happy to see you. But I'm not happy to see you stuck in here." He muttered.
"Zeke.?" Karina whispered.
He turned her around, took her chin in his hand and smiled. "I'm gonna get you out of here and back to that Billy kid."
Karina blinked. ".You don't know how much that would mean to me."
".Well damn that woman who took you from freedom, Karina." He hissed and stepped back.
"How are we going to get out.?" Karina sat down.
"Shh." Zeke whispered and walked up to a vase in the corner of the room. He picked it up and pulled something out, crushing it between his fingers. "I was on security earlier and this is the only surveillance camera in this room. Pretty dumb to only have one, though." He muttered.
"Then. couldn't they already know.?" Karina whispered.
Zeke looked at the clock and shook his head. "Not right now. They're keeping their eyes on the testing area right now."
Karina looked down. "Only if you're sure."
"Sure I'm sure, Karina. Don't doubt me for one minute." He grinned. He stepped closer. "I'm gonna come and get you tonight. I'm supposed to go out in one of the small cargo planes to pick up some supplies from Cimerion. We can use that plane to get back to your precious little buddies."
"But I'm not even sure were this ship is in comparison to where the Yggdrasil is." Karina said gently.
"The Yggdrasil? You mean that airship docked outside of Cimerion.?"
"How did you know about that?" Karina blinked.
"A lot of the workers here won't stop talking about it. I'm pretty sure I know how to get to it." Zeke smiled. "Are you OK with it?"
Karina nodded and hugged Zeke. "Thank you so much." She whispered. "You don't know how much this means to me."
Zeke smiled. "Don't mention it." He said gently and left the room.
"How are the repairs going, Brad?" Bart asked and jumped down to the console Brad was working on.
"Almost done, patchie. I'm gonna wind that Sierra chick's Gear around one of the propellers and let it go from there." Brad said, not looking up.
"Don't worry dude, we'll get Karina back. My repairmen are almost done getting the Gears to operate again." Bart climbed back up.
"Good." Brad replied.
"She's going to pay for this." Fei said, leaning against a railing.
"I just hope Miss Karina is OK." Elly bit her lip and folded her arms.
"I just know she'll be much better when we get her back here." Maria nodded.
"But Billy isn't taking this too well." Rico muttered.
"How could he?" Elly whispered.
"It's so obvious that he's mad about her, Rico." Fei nodded.
"They're the perfect couple." Maria smiled. "I just wish people would let them be together without all of these. problems."
"Yeah, and maybe they'd be better off WITHOUT the butting in of certain people." Rico said and everyone glared at Bart.
"Fffffffffiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnneeee!" Bart sneered and exited the room.
"Damn it!" Billy snapped and slammed his fist against the wall. "Why are we just standing around?!" "Getting all flustered about it isn't going to help her any." Jessie replied.
"And us just standing around doing nothing is?!" Billy glared at his father, and then looked back at the window. "I promised to protect her and I failed."
"Billy, you can't be everywhere all the time! You couldn't have protected her forever!"
Billy gritted his teeth and choked back tears. "I could have! I would have if I weren't so pathetic to just tell her the truth!" He blurted and looked at Jessie. "I'm so afraid. I don't understand all the feelings I'm experiencing."
"Billy."
"I-I mean. I feel like I'm falling and flying and drowning and melting and freezing and dying and living all at once. And it gets worse when she smiles at me. I love feeling this way, but sometimes I just want it to stop. Sometimes I wish we had never met so that I wouldn't have to be afraid of hurting her, but then I feel like I wouldn't have been able to go on if I hadn't." Billy cried and looked back at the window. "And now Sierra took her away and I might not see her again!"
"Good lord, Billy!" Jessie snapped. "You're acting like the monkey woman done threw your wife into a black hole!"
Billy looked down. "You just don't understand."
"I understand just fine, boy!" Jessie folded his arms.
"No you don't, dad!" Billy looked back at him. "I'm going through hell just thinking about what's going to happen to her!"
Jessie sighed. "You're in love, boy. That's all."
"That's all?!" Billy snapped. "It sure doesn't feel like that's all!"
"You know, you sound kind of like your mother when you panic. All screechy." Jessie laughed a little.
".Weren't you ever afraid you were going to lose Mother?" Billy sighed.
".Because I wasn't there for her was why I lost her, boy." Jessie hissed. "I wanted to be there for her, I really did, for all of you."
"Well right now I'm not there for Karina. I'm not there for the woman I love!"
"I wouldn't exactly call Karina a woman." Jessie snorted.
"Shut up, dad!" Billy snapped. "Don't you get it?! You didn't think Mother would get killed while you were gone did you?! Answer me!"
Jessie looked away. "No, I didn't."
"Well, I can't take those chances! I need her, dad! I'm not going to stand by and let anything happen to her." Billy snapped.
"You have your mother's stubborn attitude too, Billy." Jessie whispered.
Billy looked down. "I just want to see Karina smile again. I just want her to be OK."
"You will, Billy." Jessie folded his arms.
"Do you think that she's thinking about me?" Billy sighed.
"I'd be willing to bet she is." Jessie smiled. "You know the first time you two looked at each other it was like the first time me and Racquel saw each other?"
Billy smiled a little. "Really?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if you two ended up getting married." Jessie smiled back.
"But not a shotgun wedding, right dad?" Billy said sarcastically.
"Hey, you would've been a sin if we hadn't gotten married before you popped out." Jessie chuckled.
Billy looked away. "I just hope she's OK."
"Your worry wart is going to explode if you don't ease up, William." Jessie laughed and left the room.
"Whatever." Billy whispered and looked back out the window. "Kari, please take care."
"I've gotta get out of here." Sierra growled and stood up. "They're gonna do God-knows-what and then kill me! Oh hell no, Sierra don't play that game!" She growled and kicked the door. "Whichever goon is guarding the door, get in here!" She yelled.
"Not falling for it, LeRage." The guard called back.
"Damn, their goons are getting smarter. I used to be able to trick people with the old 'my-leg-hurts-rub-it-then-hit-them-upside-the-head-with- a-frying-pan-trick'." Sierra scowled. "Hmn, seems I'm gonna have to use some of that old Sierra Era Ingenuity." She grinned, and then paused. "Thought I don't normally use ingenuity. I normally just bust my way out by tricking stupid guards with these babies!" She grinned and looked down at her chest.
Sierra rolled her eyes and fell to the ground. "This is SO MESSED UP!" She shouted and curled up. "Why did I even leave the Yggdrasil...? Now I got betrayed, though I should've seen it coming, and I'm gonna get killed! S-h-i-t!"
"Karina..." Zeke whispered and entered the room. "Ready?"
"Zeke, I'm not sure this is going to work..." Karina looked down.
"Karina, you DO want to get back to that Billy kid, don't you?" Zeke rolled his eyes.
"Of course I do..." Karina whispered.
"Then come ooooonnnnn!" Zeke hissed and grabbed her wrist. "I deactivated the security system, the guards around there and here are out cold and the others won't check their posts for a long time! We're practically in the clear already! So hurry up!"
"...Only if you're sure..." Karina whispered and followed Zeke out of the room and through the dorm block swiftly, avoiding guards here and there. "Zeke, when do you think we'll get back to the Yggdrasil...?"
"Well, it depends." Zeke hissed, pulling out his phaser pistol. He held it close to one of the locked doors and melted the lock, allowing the door to open.
"On what?" Karina asked.
"On how fast the ship can move, and whether or not we're followed." Zeke replied.
"Followed?" Karina blinked. "I thought you said-"
"I SAID that we were PRACTICALLY in the clear, not COMPLETELY!" Zeke looked back, winking.
"Oh man..." Karina groaned.
"Why do you feel so obligated to go back to these guys anyway? What makes you think that they'll protect you? That they'd guard you with everything they have rather than give you up to save their skins...?" Zeke muttered.
Karina blushed. "Because I trust them, and I don't intend to go back their and automatically assume that they'd do that, I just want to go home and be with the people I love..."
"Like that Billy kid?" Zeke murmured.
"He's not a kid, Zeke... He's one of the most responsible people I have ever met. You'd think that too if you met him. He lost his mother early on and had to raise his sister on his own. He then opened an orphanage and has to take care of many children, along with taking care of himself. And guess what, he's only seventeen. How many seventeen-year-olds do you know that could do that?" Karina hissed.
Zeke looked away. "Whatever, listen Karina, we have to get out of here, and we're almost there, now come on!"
"I think we should let them go..." A woman's voice murmured. "It will help add a little spice to our fun."
"My little angel is so much more radiant when her wings can fly free, instead of being clipped and her caged up." The clone of Billy added.
"And perhaps we could release LeRage... The pain she will suffer when she confronts Sigurd will be exquisite." The younger clone of Sigurd chuckled.
"The pain he will suffer as well." A gentle sounding male's voice added to the conversation.
"How will we allow them to be released without that bumbling oaf Lucious getting on our backs?" The first voice asked.
"Rangar is wrapped around our fingers like a puppet's strings." Another male's voice muttered.
"It is rather humorous how they all don't realize that we have this entire thing planned out, isn't it?" Billy's clone smiled. He turned away and exited the room.
Sierra opened her eyes at a sudden sharp cracking sound, sitting up. "Man... It's really quiet all of the sudden..." She yawned and looked at the door. It was opened just a crack. "Aw, hell, maybe the guards are still dumb asses!" She stood up, and suddenly paused. "What's that smell?" She blinked and stepped forward, pushing the door open slowly. "Smells like gunpowder and blood."
Sierra almost fell back into the cell at what she saw. "Oh my god..." She whispered. The once white walls were stained and the ground smeared in scarlet blood. There were markings in the bloods stained walls that looked to be like a hand was pressed against the wall, but it slid down, leaving a sliding hand print on the wall. She looked down and saw the bodies of the guards that stood watch at one point, their bodies seeped in scarlet blood, gunshot wounds in various places of their bodies.
"Who did this...?" Sierra whispered, stepping out and trying to avoid the puddles of blood. She turned away from the guards, covering her face in disgust. She looked at another wall and felt her stomach turn. On the wall opposite to the one she was just facing was a message written in smeared blood. "N-No..." She whispered as she read the message:
Mine forever, little angel, mine forever... I will see you dead before I see you with another. Your blood is sweeter than wine...
And below the message was another message, written in a language unknown to Sierra, bloody wing-like images and feathers surrounding it.
"What the hell...?" Sierra gasped and turned around.
"I see you've found something..." A voice whispered from behind her.
Sierra spun around. "You!" She snapped. "So I see that you're not only the sick little clone of Billy, you're also some sick little sadistic freak."
"Perhaps just a little." Billy's clone smiled evilly. "Not that these men were needed any... And it was worth it. I got to write my message to my sweet little angel."
"What the hell is your problem?!" Sierra yelled and lunged forward.
"Tut tut, LeRage." He warned and drew his pistol. "Don't try anything... And besides, I think you might want to hurry up and get back to the Yggdrasil, that is, before all of your friends find themselves dead." He smiled and turned away.
Sierra glanced back at the writing on the wall, the guard's dead bodies and the young Billy clone standing facing away from her, his arms tucked behind his back.
"God..." Sierra hissed and turned away, running from the room.
"Heh." Billy's clone laughed and looked at the message. "You'll be mine soon enough..." He whispered and smeared the wings. "Karina..."
Zeke walked swiftly up to the cargo ship and signaled for Karina to follow him. He peered around the corner and looked back. "It's weird... It's like nobody is even here... I haven't seen one single guard for the past three floors. It's like this place is suddenly a ghost ship..." He hissed.
"Well, I say we get out of here while we can and not take our chances worrying about why the guards aren't wandering around." Karina replied and looked over her shoulder.
"I'd say a little bit of me is rubbing off onto you, then." Zeke looked at her and grinned.
"Hopefully the good traits." Karina murmured and looked around. "Well, the coast is clear."
"Right. Let's go." Zeke whispered and grabbed her wrist. He climbed into the ship and helped Karina into the ship as well.
"So, let's get out of here." Karina smiled as Zeke pushed one of the ignition levers on the ship.
"Righto, sister." Zeke nodded and pulled back two of the levers. The ship pushed up off of the launching ramp. "Geeze, not even the clamps are activated anymore... What the hell is going on?" Zeke hissed.
"Zeke." Karina sat down behind him. "Please, just go."
Zeke nodded. "Hold on." He said and the ship lifted off. He pushed in a clearance code and the dock entrance opened slowly. "Okay." Zeke whispered, pulled the levers back, and the ship shot off into the dark night.
Karina blinked and looked over at him. "Going fast enough?" She smiled.
"I like doing this." Zeke replied and pulled the ship into a sharp side turn and flew through a rocky outcropping.
"THIS thing is a cargo ship?" Karina gritted her teeth, clinging to the seat.
"Well, maybe I took a different ship than I was supposed to, but oh well. It's not like I'm going back to that ship." Zeke smiled and leaned back, setting the ship on autopilot.
Sierra looked around the halls, noticing that no one was wandering the halls, and it almost seemed like the entire ship was empty.
".OK, this is creepy." Sierra hissed and looked around for the Gear Dock. "I think it's around here." She said and looked into one of the doors. The lock seemed to be melted, the door ajar. She cautiously pushed open the door and tiptoed in.
Behind the door was the huge Gear Dock, where she had left Blitzkrieg when she brought Karina back to the Infinity. She looked behind her, shuddering at the memory of the blood soaked room she had left earlier.
She looked over at the Gears, and right in the middle was Blitzkrieg. There were no clamps holding it, and the Dock's door was open.
Sierra shrugged, trying to just accept the good luck she had received. She continually tried to push the images of horror she had seen earlier. Sierra clambered up the side of her silver and slate blue Gear, opening up a command console outside of the cockpit door to Blitzkrieg. She pushed in a code, the door then easing open.
"I hope they didn't put a command virus on Blitzkrieg." She hissed, sitting back into the cockpit seat. The console lit up, illuminating the dark inside of the Gear. "Okay." She pressed in a command code, the console replying with a beep. "Alright, so it wasn't put on a lockdown code." She nodded and sat back. "OK, Blitz. Let's get outta here." Sierra whispered, the Gear beginning to move.
"There it is!" Karina cried, pointing forward.
"Wellity wellity wellity, so it's the great airship, Yggdrasil." Zeke smiled, pushing a few buttons. "Perhaps we should try to contact them before they take our approach the wrong way and blow our asses off."
"Zeke. don't be crude." Karina looked at him, furrowing her brow.
"What, are the big bad pirates afraid of a little language?" Zeke said, looking at Karina with an amused smile.
Karina sighed, remembering the many times she heard Bart and/or Fei and/or Jessie and/or Rico and/or Billy (on rare occasions) cursing when they tripped over something in the hall at night. "I don't assume that they would mind language all that much, but please."
"Fine." Zeke shrugged.
"I'm going." Billy said, stepping forward.
"Hold it, Black." Bart snapped, holding his arm out in front of Billy. Billy eyed him angrily.
"Move, Bart." Billy said slowly, his tone irritated.
"Billy, we've gotta think this out." Fei replied, folding his arms.
"We don't even know where she took Karina." Bart added.
Citan stepped forward. "Sierra mentioned something about a ship named the Infinity. That's where she was going to take her in the beginning; maybe that's where she took her this time. In fact." Citan stepped up to on of the modules in the bridge. "I am almost sure that the Infinity is where Miss Karina is right now."
"So let's find out where the thing is and go save her!" Billy snapped.
"Boy, you're getting a little too antsy." Jessie warned.
"Shut up, dad!" Billy replied, sitting down and folding his arms.
"So what are we going to do? Find a ship route and hope the Infinity is listed?" Brad asked, walking up to the group.
"I say we bust out the Gears and guns and cannons and whatnot and hunt down 'dis big ass ship and kaboom Karina out of there, mon." Ziggy put in, growling.
"I wouldn't give you a Gear if it were the end of the world and all the competent gear pilots were dead and we were on the brink of destruction, Zig." Brad hissed.
"I wouldn't let him look at a Gear much less think about one at any given time." Rico added.
"Well excuse me." Ziggy rolled his eyes.
"I like his idea, can we do his idea?" Bart grinned.
"No." Citan, Fei, Billy and Brad all said together.
"Oh, come on, boy." Jessie whooped and stepped forward. "We could always go bustin in, guns blazing, shootin first and askin questions later."
"How does one go in with their guns blazing, shooting all, then ask them questions?" Billy squinted at his father.
"You don't get my cowboy ways, do you boy?"
"I just don't understand how."
"What's wrong with that boy?" Jessie looked at Citan. "Tell me, Hyuga."
"But, dad, I just wanted to know."
"Honestly, Jesiah, you don't have to be rude to him." Citan put in.
"That boy ain't right." Jessie shook his head and left the room.
Billy sighed and Citan slapped his forehead.
Sigurd looked up, he had been sitting in silence away from the group for some time now, and looked at the main console. "There's a message coming through." He said, and everyone looked at him. Sigurd pushed off from where he was leaning and pushed a few buttons on the command module.
A screen came up, and a young man with wild blonde hair and shockingly green eyes appeared.
*Howdy, Yggdrasilians!* He yelled and everyone's jaw dropped.
Sigurd blinked and said slowly. "Um. Hello. Identify yourself, please."
*Oh YEAH, that thing! I'm here to kill you all!* He grinned happily, and then something that must have been sitting next to him knocked him upside the head and pushed him out of the seat. A large amount of bickering followed. *Ow! Hey! This is my intercom thingie, get your ow- OWOWOWOW! Not the hair not the hair! Oh fine you can talk to the just sto- OW! Jeeze, stop it woman!*
"Can we hang up on this crackpot?" Bart blinked.
"Wait a minute." Billy whispered, stepping closer to the console.
A young woman, who smiled immediately after seeing Billy, replaced the young blonde man, who had just been rudely knocked to the floor.
"Karina!" Billy whispered, his stomach turning, a lump growing in his throat.
She smiled. *Billy.*
Brad knocked Billy out of the way. "KARINA! Are you okay?! Did they hurt you?! Did that maniac with the blonde hair try anything?! Did you break any nails?!" He yelled.
Ziggy clamped onto Brad and grinned. "My pillow is back!" He sighed. "Oh, your divine luscious bosom has returned to daddy-o!"
All Karina saw from the console was Rico's arm snaking around, grabbing Ziggy, and then a dull thud and a muffled yell from the other side.
"Uh. Who is that with you, anyway?" Bart asked, stepping forward.
*A moron I picked up.* Karina replied at looked down. *He makes a good footrest anyway.*
"How did you.?" Billy whispered.
*I'll tell you later, Billy.* Karina replied, smiling.
Jessie walked in and blinked, and Billy turned to him.
Jessie smiled as Billy walked up to him, Brad beginning to talk to Karina again. "Your wife came back, I see."
"She's not my wife." Billy said gently and pleasantly, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders, a smile on his face as he left for the Gear dock to meet Karina.
Erich sat on a jutted outcropping near where the Yggdrasil was. He looked at the sky, now turning to morning, and out in the distance. He could see the blurry outline of a Gear approaching the Yggdrasil. He smiled slightly. "And now the fun begins." He whispered.
"Uhnnn." Karina moaned and tried to sit up, her head dizzy and her eyes blurry. She fell back down to something soft and whispered, "Where am I?"
"You're on the Infinity." A voice said quietly.
"What?" Karina sat up and looked around, but no one was there. ".I could've sworn I heard someone." She looked around the almost empty room. There was a small bed in the corner, which she was laying on, and a few other pieces of furniture. She walked up to the door and attempted to open it, but it was sealed shut.
She sat down and shut her eyes. "What is going on?" She sighed, and then memories came back to her. Memories of Sierra attacking her, of the world going black a few moments afterwards.
"That traitor." She whispered, clenching her hands. She felt her anger rise as she thought of the many times Sierra had helped her, and how Sierra was probably trying to think up some plan to betray them.
Karina bit her bottom lip and choked down tears. Tears of being so stupid to trust her, tears of anger, tears of fear and tears of feeling like she wouldn't see the one person she wanted to see more than anything.
"No." Karina whimpered and fell back to the bed, tears falling down her face. "I've got to get out of here." She whispered.
"Let go of me!" Sierra snapped and twisted around, a few guards holding her tightly. "I said let me GO! If you don't." She growled.
"Let her go." A voice said from behind.
"But sir." One of the guards blinked and loosened his grip on her.
"I said.. Let her go." The young man's voice repeated.
The guards nodded and let her go, Sierra falling to the ground.
"Now, leave." He said and the guards slowly left the room.
Sierra looked up, and her heart stopped. Standing before her was a young man, looking to be around the age group of 15-18, with deep skin the color of amber and a pair of brilliant royal blue eyes, and wild gleaming silver hair. Her mouth gaped and she whispered, "Si-Sigurd.? It can't be. you're."
"Younger.?" The younger 'Sigurd' whispered, folding his arms.
"." Sierra stood up and squinted. "What.?"
"You see." He smiled. "Back when we were the Elements, our DNA was taken as well. Why shouldn't our powers be used to help as well?"
"So. Hyuga, Jessiah and Khar are all here as well.?" Sierra blinked.
"Of course." He smiled a little, turning away.
"After you left. there must have been other Elements, though. What happened to them?" Sierra sat down.
".Something went wrong." Sigurd walked up to her. "Their clones died soon afterwards. They wouldn't have been very useful, anyway."
"Hunh." Sierra folded her arms and sat down in the corner of the room.
"Anyway." The younger Sigurd walked up and moved very close to her. "Keep out of trouble, or you'll regret it." He hissed, before he left. He locked the door.
"Ugh." Sierra rolled her eyes.
"What am I going to do.?" Karina folded her arms around her legs and frowned. "." She looked down and clamped her eyes shut.
"Hello, Lady Karina. Long time no see." A voice said from behind her.
Karina looked up, her body suddenly going cold. The hair on the back of her neck rose and she shivered slightly. "No." She whispered, recognizing his voice.
"Did you miss me?" It said again and a hand rested on her shoulder. She slowly turned around and felt her heart stop at what she saw.
He leaned over and gave her a tiny peck on the forehead. A large scar ran down his face, his smile was cold but he was unmistakably the same person from before. ".Billy.?" She whispered.
"Hello." His eyes glinted with a cold gleam.
"You're the one. the one who hurt him." She whispered. "You're the clone."
"Give the girl a prize." Billy said gently and leaned closer, putting a hand on her face. "You're so pretty." He whispered, his eyes glinting.
"Please go." Karina stuttered and slipped back, but every time she slid back, he moved forward, pinning her against the wall.
"I'd love to be yours, little angel." He whispered, licking his lips. "Would you like to. say. launch my gear. I could pleasure you so much."
Karina's eyes widened and she tried to pull away.
"Let go of me!" She screeched, but he held her tight. "Please!!" Karina yelled and kicked, trying to get him away.
"Calm down, pretty angel." He muttered and pushed her down, pressing all his weight on her.
"N-no! I won't let you!!" Karina blushed and continued to struggle.
"Hey!" A voice said from behind them.
The clone of Billy growled and sat up. "Get out."
A young man walked up and folded his arms. "First of all, Black, you have instructions to report to the Med. Bay, and second. I think you oughta keep you tongue out of Karina's mouth."
Billy stood and walked up to the young man. "And are you going to be the one to try and stop me, soldier? Good luck." He hissed and walked by after looking back and saying, "I'll see you again, Miss Karina. You can be sure of that." And after that, he left.
Karina sat up and blinked. ".I don't believe it." She whispered.
The young man who had come in smiled. He wore a uniform, hunter green, like the ones the guards wore. His hair was wild, spiked and blonde, his eyes a shimmering emerald shade. He was taller than Bart at least, tanned and muscular. "Hello, Karina. It's nice to see you again."
Karina stood up. "Zeke!" She smiled.
"Did he hurt you." Zeke whispered and stepped forward.
"No." Karina replied and shook her head.
"I don't believe it. I thought you had managed to escape. but then. that bounty hunter brought you back." He hissed.
"I was saved by a group of the most wonderful people. And then she showed up. A while later she betrayed me and now I'm back here again." Karina said gently.
"I knew that they sent that freak to get you. And then he came back with a bullet wound in his gut and a bunch of scratches all over his body." Zeke looked back. "Who shot him?"
Karina looked down. "He is a clone."
"I know that, Karina. Of who, I don't know." He muttered.
"The person he was a clone of. Billy Lee Black. He was the one. He got hurt protecting me." She clenched her fist and looked down.
Zeke stepped closer and folded his arms. "You mean. One of the people who rescued you. is his original host?"
".Yes. And I miss him so much." She turned around.
Zeke put his hands on her shoulders and hugged her gently. "I'm happy to see you. But I'm not happy to see you stuck in here." He muttered.
"Zeke.?" Karina whispered.
He turned her around, took her chin in his hand and smiled. "I'm gonna get you out of here and back to that Billy kid."
Karina blinked. ".You don't know how much that would mean to me."
".Well damn that woman who took you from freedom, Karina." He hissed and stepped back.
"How are we going to get out.?" Karina sat down.
"Shh." Zeke whispered and walked up to a vase in the corner of the room. He picked it up and pulled something out, crushing it between his fingers. "I was on security earlier and this is the only surveillance camera in this room. Pretty dumb to only have one, though." He muttered.
"Then. couldn't they already know.?" Karina whispered.
Zeke looked at the clock and shook his head. "Not right now. They're keeping their eyes on the testing area right now."
Karina looked down. "Only if you're sure."
"Sure I'm sure, Karina. Don't doubt me for one minute." He grinned. He stepped closer. "I'm gonna come and get you tonight. I'm supposed to go out in one of the small cargo planes to pick up some supplies from Cimerion. We can use that plane to get back to your precious little buddies."
"But I'm not even sure were this ship is in comparison to where the Yggdrasil is." Karina said gently.
"The Yggdrasil? You mean that airship docked outside of Cimerion.?"
"How did you know about that?" Karina blinked.
"A lot of the workers here won't stop talking about it. I'm pretty sure I know how to get to it." Zeke smiled. "Are you OK with it?"
Karina nodded and hugged Zeke. "Thank you so much." She whispered. "You don't know how much this means to me."
Zeke smiled. "Don't mention it." He said gently and left the room.
"How are the repairs going, Brad?" Bart asked and jumped down to the console Brad was working on.
"Almost done, patchie. I'm gonna wind that Sierra chick's Gear around one of the propellers and let it go from there." Brad said, not looking up.
"Don't worry dude, we'll get Karina back. My repairmen are almost done getting the Gears to operate again." Bart climbed back up.
"Good." Brad replied.
"She's going to pay for this." Fei said, leaning against a railing.
"I just hope Miss Karina is OK." Elly bit her lip and folded her arms.
"I just know she'll be much better when we get her back here." Maria nodded.
"But Billy isn't taking this too well." Rico muttered.
"How could he?" Elly whispered.
"It's so obvious that he's mad about her, Rico." Fei nodded.
"They're the perfect couple." Maria smiled. "I just wish people would let them be together without all of these. problems."
"Yeah, and maybe they'd be better off WITHOUT the butting in of certain people." Rico said and everyone glared at Bart.
"Fffffffffiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnneeee!" Bart sneered and exited the room.
"Damn it!" Billy snapped and slammed his fist against the wall. "Why are we just standing around?!" "Getting all flustered about it isn't going to help her any." Jessie replied.
"And us just standing around doing nothing is?!" Billy glared at his father, and then looked back at the window. "I promised to protect her and I failed."
"Billy, you can't be everywhere all the time! You couldn't have protected her forever!"
Billy gritted his teeth and choked back tears. "I could have! I would have if I weren't so pathetic to just tell her the truth!" He blurted and looked at Jessie. "I'm so afraid. I don't understand all the feelings I'm experiencing."
"Billy."
"I-I mean. I feel like I'm falling and flying and drowning and melting and freezing and dying and living all at once. And it gets worse when she smiles at me. I love feeling this way, but sometimes I just want it to stop. Sometimes I wish we had never met so that I wouldn't have to be afraid of hurting her, but then I feel like I wouldn't have been able to go on if I hadn't." Billy cried and looked back at the window. "And now Sierra took her away and I might not see her again!"
"Good lord, Billy!" Jessie snapped. "You're acting like the monkey woman done threw your wife into a black hole!"
Billy looked down. "You just don't understand."
"I understand just fine, boy!" Jessie folded his arms.
"No you don't, dad!" Billy looked back at him. "I'm going through hell just thinking about what's going to happen to her!"
Jessie sighed. "You're in love, boy. That's all."
"That's all?!" Billy snapped. "It sure doesn't feel like that's all!"
"You know, you sound kind of like your mother when you panic. All screechy." Jessie laughed a little.
".Weren't you ever afraid you were going to lose Mother?" Billy sighed.
".Because I wasn't there for her was why I lost her, boy." Jessie hissed. "I wanted to be there for her, I really did, for all of you."
"Well right now I'm not there for Karina. I'm not there for the woman I love!"
"I wouldn't exactly call Karina a woman." Jessie snorted.
"Shut up, dad!" Billy snapped. "Don't you get it?! You didn't think Mother would get killed while you were gone did you?! Answer me!"
Jessie looked away. "No, I didn't."
"Well, I can't take those chances! I need her, dad! I'm not going to stand by and let anything happen to her." Billy snapped.
"You have your mother's stubborn attitude too, Billy." Jessie whispered.
Billy looked down. "I just want to see Karina smile again. I just want her to be OK."
"You will, Billy." Jessie folded his arms.
"Do you think that she's thinking about me?" Billy sighed.
"I'd be willing to bet she is." Jessie smiled. "You know the first time you two looked at each other it was like the first time me and Racquel saw each other?"
Billy smiled a little. "Really?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised if you two ended up getting married." Jessie smiled back.
"But not a shotgun wedding, right dad?" Billy said sarcastically.
"Hey, you would've been a sin if we hadn't gotten married before you popped out." Jessie chuckled.
Billy looked away. "I just hope she's OK."
"Your worry wart is going to explode if you don't ease up, William." Jessie laughed and left the room.
"Whatever." Billy whispered and looked back out the window. "Kari, please take care."
"I've gotta get out of here." Sierra growled and stood up. "They're gonna do God-knows-what and then kill me! Oh hell no, Sierra don't play that game!" She growled and kicked the door. "Whichever goon is guarding the door, get in here!" She yelled.
"Not falling for it, LeRage." The guard called back.
"Damn, their goons are getting smarter. I used to be able to trick people with the old 'my-leg-hurts-rub-it-then-hit-them-upside-the-head-with- a-frying-pan-trick'." Sierra scowled. "Hmn, seems I'm gonna have to use some of that old Sierra Era Ingenuity." She grinned, and then paused. "Thought I don't normally use ingenuity. I normally just bust my way out by tricking stupid guards with these babies!" She grinned and looked down at her chest.
Sierra rolled her eyes and fell to the ground. "This is SO MESSED UP!" She shouted and curled up. "Why did I even leave the Yggdrasil...? Now I got betrayed, though I should've seen it coming, and I'm gonna get killed! S-h-i-t!"
"Karina..." Zeke whispered and entered the room. "Ready?"
"Zeke, I'm not sure this is going to work..." Karina looked down.
"Karina, you DO want to get back to that Billy kid, don't you?" Zeke rolled his eyes.
"Of course I do..." Karina whispered.
"Then come ooooonnnnn!" Zeke hissed and grabbed her wrist. "I deactivated the security system, the guards around there and here are out cold and the others won't check their posts for a long time! We're practically in the clear already! So hurry up!"
"...Only if you're sure..." Karina whispered and followed Zeke out of the room and through the dorm block swiftly, avoiding guards here and there. "Zeke, when do you think we'll get back to the Yggdrasil...?"
"Well, it depends." Zeke hissed, pulling out his phaser pistol. He held it close to one of the locked doors and melted the lock, allowing the door to open.
"On what?" Karina asked.
"On how fast the ship can move, and whether or not we're followed." Zeke replied.
"Followed?" Karina blinked. "I thought you said-"
"I SAID that we were PRACTICALLY in the clear, not COMPLETELY!" Zeke looked back, winking.
"Oh man..." Karina groaned.
"Why do you feel so obligated to go back to these guys anyway? What makes you think that they'll protect you? That they'd guard you with everything they have rather than give you up to save their skins...?" Zeke muttered.
Karina blushed. "Because I trust them, and I don't intend to go back their and automatically assume that they'd do that, I just want to go home and be with the people I love..."
"Like that Billy kid?" Zeke murmured.
"He's not a kid, Zeke... He's one of the most responsible people I have ever met. You'd think that too if you met him. He lost his mother early on and had to raise his sister on his own. He then opened an orphanage and has to take care of many children, along with taking care of himself. And guess what, he's only seventeen. How many seventeen-year-olds do you know that could do that?" Karina hissed.
Zeke looked away. "Whatever, listen Karina, we have to get out of here, and we're almost there, now come on!"
"I think we should let them go..." A woman's voice murmured. "It will help add a little spice to our fun."
"My little angel is so much more radiant when her wings can fly free, instead of being clipped and her caged up." The clone of Billy added.
"And perhaps we could release LeRage... The pain she will suffer when she confronts Sigurd will be exquisite." The younger clone of Sigurd chuckled.
"The pain he will suffer as well." A gentle sounding male's voice added to the conversation.
"How will we allow them to be released without that bumbling oaf Lucious getting on our backs?" The first voice asked.
"Rangar is wrapped around our fingers like a puppet's strings." Another male's voice muttered.
"It is rather humorous how they all don't realize that we have this entire thing planned out, isn't it?" Billy's clone smiled. He turned away and exited the room.
Sierra opened her eyes at a sudden sharp cracking sound, sitting up. "Man... It's really quiet all of the sudden..." She yawned and looked at the door. It was opened just a crack. "Aw, hell, maybe the guards are still dumb asses!" She stood up, and suddenly paused. "What's that smell?" She blinked and stepped forward, pushing the door open slowly. "Smells like gunpowder and blood."
Sierra almost fell back into the cell at what she saw. "Oh my god..." She whispered. The once white walls were stained and the ground smeared in scarlet blood. There were markings in the bloods stained walls that looked to be like a hand was pressed against the wall, but it slid down, leaving a sliding hand print on the wall. She looked down and saw the bodies of the guards that stood watch at one point, their bodies seeped in scarlet blood, gunshot wounds in various places of their bodies.
"Who did this...?" Sierra whispered, stepping out and trying to avoid the puddles of blood. She turned away from the guards, covering her face in disgust. She looked at another wall and felt her stomach turn. On the wall opposite to the one she was just facing was a message written in smeared blood. "N-No..." She whispered as she read the message:
Mine forever, little angel, mine forever... I will see you dead before I see you with another. Your blood is sweeter than wine...
And below the message was another message, written in a language unknown to Sierra, bloody wing-like images and feathers surrounding it.
"What the hell...?" Sierra gasped and turned around.
"I see you've found something..." A voice whispered from behind her.
Sierra spun around. "You!" She snapped. "So I see that you're not only the sick little clone of Billy, you're also some sick little sadistic freak."
"Perhaps just a little." Billy's clone smiled evilly. "Not that these men were needed any... And it was worth it. I got to write my message to my sweet little angel."
"What the hell is your problem?!" Sierra yelled and lunged forward.
"Tut tut, LeRage." He warned and drew his pistol. "Don't try anything... And besides, I think you might want to hurry up and get back to the Yggdrasil, that is, before all of your friends find themselves dead." He smiled and turned away.
Sierra glanced back at the writing on the wall, the guard's dead bodies and the young Billy clone standing facing away from her, his arms tucked behind his back.
"God..." Sierra hissed and turned away, running from the room.
"Heh." Billy's clone laughed and looked at the message. "You'll be mine soon enough..." He whispered and smeared the wings. "Karina..."
Zeke walked swiftly up to the cargo ship and signaled for Karina to follow him. He peered around the corner and looked back. "It's weird... It's like nobody is even here... I haven't seen one single guard for the past three floors. It's like this place is suddenly a ghost ship..." He hissed.
"Well, I say we get out of here while we can and not take our chances worrying about why the guards aren't wandering around." Karina replied and looked over her shoulder.
"I'd say a little bit of me is rubbing off onto you, then." Zeke looked at her and grinned.
"Hopefully the good traits." Karina murmured and looked around. "Well, the coast is clear."
"Right. Let's go." Zeke whispered and grabbed her wrist. He climbed into the ship and helped Karina into the ship as well.
"So, let's get out of here." Karina smiled as Zeke pushed one of the ignition levers on the ship.
"Righto, sister." Zeke nodded and pulled back two of the levers. The ship pushed up off of the launching ramp. "Geeze, not even the clamps are activated anymore... What the hell is going on?" Zeke hissed.
"Zeke." Karina sat down behind him. "Please, just go."
Zeke nodded. "Hold on." He said and the ship lifted off. He pushed in a clearance code and the dock entrance opened slowly. "Okay." Zeke whispered, pulled the levers back, and the ship shot off into the dark night.
Karina blinked and looked over at him. "Going fast enough?" She smiled.
"I like doing this." Zeke replied and pulled the ship into a sharp side turn and flew through a rocky outcropping.
"THIS thing is a cargo ship?" Karina gritted her teeth, clinging to the seat.
"Well, maybe I took a different ship than I was supposed to, but oh well. It's not like I'm going back to that ship." Zeke smiled and leaned back, setting the ship on autopilot.
Sierra looked around the halls, noticing that no one was wandering the halls, and it almost seemed like the entire ship was empty.
".OK, this is creepy." Sierra hissed and looked around for the Gear Dock. "I think it's around here." She said and looked into one of the doors. The lock seemed to be melted, the door ajar. She cautiously pushed open the door and tiptoed in.
Behind the door was the huge Gear Dock, where she had left Blitzkrieg when she brought Karina back to the Infinity. She looked behind her, shuddering at the memory of the blood soaked room she had left earlier.
She looked over at the Gears, and right in the middle was Blitzkrieg. There were no clamps holding it, and the Dock's door was open.
Sierra shrugged, trying to just accept the good luck she had received. She continually tried to push the images of horror she had seen earlier. Sierra clambered up the side of her silver and slate blue Gear, opening up a command console outside of the cockpit door to Blitzkrieg. She pushed in a code, the door then easing open.
"I hope they didn't put a command virus on Blitzkrieg." She hissed, sitting back into the cockpit seat. The console lit up, illuminating the dark inside of the Gear. "Okay." She pressed in a command code, the console replying with a beep. "Alright, so it wasn't put on a lockdown code." She nodded and sat back. "OK, Blitz. Let's get outta here." Sierra whispered, the Gear beginning to move.
"There it is!" Karina cried, pointing forward.
"Wellity wellity wellity, so it's the great airship, Yggdrasil." Zeke smiled, pushing a few buttons. "Perhaps we should try to contact them before they take our approach the wrong way and blow our asses off."
"Zeke. don't be crude." Karina looked at him, furrowing her brow.
"What, are the big bad pirates afraid of a little language?" Zeke said, looking at Karina with an amused smile.
Karina sighed, remembering the many times she heard Bart and/or Fei and/or Jessie and/or Rico and/or Billy (on rare occasions) cursing when they tripped over something in the hall at night. "I don't assume that they would mind language all that much, but please."
"Fine." Zeke shrugged.
"I'm going." Billy said, stepping forward.
"Hold it, Black." Bart snapped, holding his arm out in front of Billy. Billy eyed him angrily.
"Move, Bart." Billy said slowly, his tone irritated.
"Billy, we've gotta think this out." Fei replied, folding his arms.
"We don't even know where she took Karina." Bart added.
Citan stepped forward. "Sierra mentioned something about a ship named the Infinity. That's where she was going to take her in the beginning; maybe that's where she took her this time. In fact." Citan stepped up to on of the modules in the bridge. "I am almost sure that the Infinity is where Miss Karina is right now."
"So let's find out where the thing is and go save her!" Billy snapped.
"Boy, you're getting a little too antsy." Jessie warned.
"Shut up, dad!" Billy replied, sitting down and folding his arms.
"So what are we going to do? Find a ship route and hope the Infinity is listed?" Brad asked, walking up to the group.
"I say we bust out the Gears and guns and cannons and whatnot and hunt down 'dis big ass ship and kaboom Karina out of there, mon." Ziggy put in, growling.
"I wouldn't give you a Gear if it were the end of the world and all the competent gear pilots were dead and we were on the brink of destruction, Zig." Brad hissed.
"I wouldn't let him look at a Gear much less think about one at any given time." Rico added.
"Well excuse me." Ziggy rolled his eyes.
"I like his idea, can we do his idea?" Bart grinned.
"No." Citan, Fei, Billy and Brad all said together.
"Oh, come on, boy." Jessie whooped and stepped forward. "We could always go bustin in, guns blazing, shootin first and askin questions later."
"How does one go in with their guns blazing, shooting all, then ask them questions?" Billy squinted at his father.
"You don't get my cowboy ways, do you boy?"
"I just don't understand how."
"What's wrong with that boy?" Jessie looked at Citan. "Tell me, Hyuga."
"But, dad, I just wanted to know."
"Honestly, Jesiah, you don't have to be rude to him." Citan put in.
"That boy ain't right." Jessie shook his head and left the room.
Billy sighed and Citan slapped his forehead.
Sigurd looked up, he had been sitting in silence away from the group for some time now, and looked at the main console. "There's a message coming through." He said, and everyone looked at him. Sigurd pushed off from where he was leaning and pushed a few buttons on the command module.
A screen came up, and a young man with wild blonde hair and shockingly green eyes appeared.
*Howdy, Yggdrasilians!* He yelled and everyone's jaw dropped.
Sigurd blinked and said slowly. "Um. Hello. Identify yourself, please."
*Oh YEAH, that thing! I'm here to kill you all!* He grinned happily, and then something that must have been sitting next to him knocked him upside the head and pushed him out of the seat. A large amount of bickering followed. *Ow! Hey! This is my intercom thingie, get your ow- OWOWOWOW! Not the hair not the hair! Oh fine you can talk to the just sto- OW! Jeeze, stop it woman!*
"Can we hang up on this crackpot?" Bart blinked.
"Wait a minute." Billy whispered, stepping closer to the console.
A young woman, who smiled immediately after seeing Billy, replaced the young blonde man, who had just been rudely knocked to the floor.
"Karina!" Billy whispered, his stomach turning, a lump growing in his throat.
She smiled. *Billy.*
Brad knocked Billy out of the way. "KARINA! Are you okay?! Did they hurt you?! Did that maniac with the blonde hair try anything?! Did you break any nails?!" He yelled.
Ziggy clamped onto Brad and grinned. "My pillow is back!" He sighed. "Oh, your divine luscious bosom has returned to daddy-o!"
All Karina saw from the console was Rico's arm snaking around, grabbing Ziggy, and then a dull thud and a muffled yell from the other side.
"Uh. Who is that with you, anyway?" Bart asked, stepping forward.
*A moron I picked up.* Karina replied at looked down. *He makes a good footrest anyway.*
"How did you.?" Billy whispered.
*I'll tell you later, Billy.* Karina replied, smiling.
Jessie walked in and blinked, and Billy turned to him.
Jessie smiled as Billy walked up to him, Brad beginning to talk to Karina again. "Your wife came back, I see."
"She's not my wife." Billy said gently and pleasantly, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders, a smile on his face as he left for the Gear dock to meet Karina.
Erich sat on a jutted outcropping near where the Yggdrasil was. He looked at the sky, now turning to morning, and out in the distance. He could see the blurry outline of a Gear approaching the Yggdrasil. He smiled slightly. "And now the fun begins." He whispered.