Riona grabbed Stan by the hand, and yanked him down a path behind Xev and Selk. They watched as Xev yanked her blade out up ahead of them, and chopped an insect in half as if she were hitting a flying baseball. "They're here, Stan!" she said.
"They've always been here!" said Selk, taking one out with his mace. "The Infected always has been tormenting us. Your dark friend is in danger. Come,"
Stan stuck close to Riona, watching as she speared them on the end of her weapon. He could get past the fact that she was a strong woman, in fact it was turning him on. "So," he said. "Do you like me, Riona?"
She giggled, watching as the blood spurted out of her latest victim. "Sure I do," she said. "You're cute,"
"Hey, you're cute too. You wanna...have a little fun with Captain Stan a little later? Ya know, when the crisis is over?"
"That'd be nice," said Riona.
"Stan, look out!" Xev called.
A particularly large spider-insect leapt out of a tree and landed on his head. It suddenly fell dead, and the brace retracted, with Kai on the end of it. Some insect muck had spattered him as well, but he was in one piece, as Xev hugged him quickly. "Good work, Kai!" she said.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," said Stan.
Kai turned to Selk. "You still have not answered my question," he said.
"When we return to the village, then I will. Now is not a good time, and this is a bad place," said Selk.
The hut that they had been supplied with was small, only two rooms, so that Xev had a room to herself, while the guys had to bunk together. She had offered to Kai yet again that he could stay with her, but he declined as always. Speaking of whom, he'd been gone since the little run-in with the bugs in the woods. Kai and Selk had gone into the large hut in the center of the village, and it had been hours since she'd last seen him. It wasn't that she was worried, yet when he wasn't around she still felt a bit unprotected in a strange place.
She got up off her bed, and headed into the front room, hoping to see that Stan was awake, or better, find Kai sleeping with his head on the table where he'd decided to stay, since it was either that or to share a single sleeping mat with Stan.
Xev smiled. He'd returned, and Kai was staring out the window. She couldn't understand what it was he knew about the skies that she didn't but wherever they seemed to go, he never rested, just stared up into the sky. "Hey," she said. "Aren't you tired?"
"The dead do not tire," said Kai. "And...you already informed me that I slept half the day,"
She laughed. At least he knew he was actually human now. "Are you still worried about what Selk said about your people?" she asked. "About how they destroyed this place once before,"
Kai looked almost apologetic as he nodded slightly. "It is true. The name of this planet is 7XZ. During the Insect Wars, the Brunnen-G were reluctant to fight near their own planet, so many battles were fought here. Thousands died, many of them innocent inhabitants," he said. "The leftover insects bred with the native ones here, and the result are the creatures that we fought with tonight. Selk has informed me that they still thrive here because of one being known as the Infected. The information about such a being is locked in that library hut underground, where only certain individuals can go. The only information that I have been given about the Infected is that it survives by absorbing any kind of energy,"
"Then why didn't you say anything before?" said Xev. "You had know where we were,"
"I did not," said Kai. "Having never seen the planet, I would not have been able to spot it. Selk and his peers have brought to my attention yet another flaw that I may have despised as a living man on Brunnis-2,"
In Xev's eyes, something was obviously wrong. She hoped that Kai was just coming to terms with everything that was slowly returning him to a human state, yet his words held some sort of remorse. They'd all relived the last moments of Kai's people, and how they weren't the great warriors they had been when they fought the war. She could plainly see that in life, Kai wasn't exactly pleased with parts of his heritage. That was seemingly coming back to him. He'd never had the ability to hate anything for as long as she'd known him. Now she could see he was grappling with his sub-concious not to.
The real question was, on the other hand, was for her to either comfort him, or to leave him alone. Xev was having a bit of angst herself on this subject. Of course he was having problems of sorts as he re-learned to be human, but she still hadn't forgotten what had happened before he'd gone off to die. He kissed her, right? If he had really meant that, then there was no reason to be thinking so much about what she should do, but then again, maybe the confusion inside him was too much for him to really consider any kind of relationship with her. She didn't want to force herself on him, but she really didn't like seeing him so troubled. Xev took a deep breath, and took a few wary steps toward him.
His back was still turned, so it was easy for her to wrap her arms around his middle, and rest her chin on his shoulder. He didn't pull away or return the embrace, which Xev figured was normal for him. It didn't bother her at all. "Hey," she said. "None of that is your fault. Just because your ancestors did a horrible thing doesn't mean everything they did was bad. If anything, you repented for everything they did when you killed His Shadow,"
"...Thank you, Xev," he said quietly. "But I must leave now. There is something I must resolve,"
"I get it," said Xev, trying to mask the dissapointment in her voice as he pulled away. "You wanna go to their library which is off-limits. You can't get in without getting killed, so...you need someone who's experienced,"
She went over to her sleeping mat and strapped her sword to her back. "Come on, let's go. Just don't wake Stan,"
"I cannot allow you to come," said Kai. "You may be killed,"
Xev scoffed and headed out the door in front of him. "Have you forgotten who's been getting rid of the little insect problem while you were gone? I'm not scared of a few men who might have tied up my sweaty aching body and tried to kill me in the past,"
Kai followed after her, knowing that trying to dissuade her would only cause more problems. He followed as she marched right up to the largest hut in the village, grabbed a torch suspended from the outer walls, and circled around the back. He was intrigued to find that something as primitive would have a back door to a room that led nowhere but down. The door wasn't held shut by rope and wood, but surprisingly enough, a control panel with several numbers on it. "We cannot enter through here. It requires a code," said Kai. "Allow me,"
He held up his brace, ready to break the lock, but Xev simply handed him the torch and stepped up to the controls. "The dead do not think things over either," she said. "Let me,"
"How?" he asked.
"You honestly think that I wouldn't have taught myself what I needed to know to survive without a live-in assassin? It's just like when 790 opened those bank machines on Earth," said Xev, smiling confidently.
"You choice of activities in the past have been...questionable,"
"Past activities," said Xev.
Kai stood stoically as she keyed in a complicated combination that was seemingly confusing the machine. Then it dawned on him. Where was 790? He found it a bit odd when he first entered the Lexx that he didn't see the pathetic machine zooming around the bridge on its transporter. "Where is 790?" he asked.
"As he would put it," said Xev, as the door suddenly slid open. "Don't know, don't care,"
She looked at him with a sweet smile, and gestured through the door. "After you," she said.
Stan tossed and turned on his sleeping mat. This place looked nice, but he didn't trust Selk at all, since he had such an interest in the key. There was no way he was falling asleep, especially, he had no clue as to where Kai and Xev were going, or as to why. He figured it was to work out six-thousand years of frustration, and he wanted absolutely no part of that. Some images were better kept out of the mind.
The little Riona woman seemed sweet enough, but she'd promised over an hour ago to meet with him, and now he was having hias doubts. It had been three months, and now that Kai was back, there was no chance on Fire that Xev would ever consider getting with him. Vlad was another option of course, but he figured that she would sooner cut off Little Stan and nail it to the ceiling when they found her rather than give him a chance at satisfying her new bodily desires. Besides, he was supposed to hate her. He shouldn't be analyzing her body. He should be more worried about being all by himself, in the dark, and on a strange planet!
"Hey, Stanley!" someone whispered sharply. "Are you awake?"
Stan sat up and smiled mischivously as Riona looked at him through the paneless window, wearing a low-cut white dress. "Hey, I am now!" said Stan.
"Well come on!" said Riona. "I need you now. I thought maybe we could be a little more...animalistic,"
Stan pulled on his hat and hurred out the door. Kai and Xev wouldn't notice when they came back, anyway. Kai rarely noticed anything that didn't seem malevolent, and Xev could be genuinely oblivious when her mind was taken over by her love slave side. They wouldn't miss him if he participated in a little sexual activity himself.
Riona led him into the woods, holding his hand and smiling naughtily at everything he said. They arrived at a clearing, and stopped. She kissed him quickly on the nose, and then backed away from him. "What's this for?" he asked.
"Isn't it kinky?" Riona asked. "Now close your eyes,"
"Ooh, okay," said Stan, shivering slightly. "Now, come on, what are you gonna do?"
"This," said Riona.
He didn't see it coming but when it did, he felt something slam him hard in the head, and all conciousness left him. His body made a thump as he hit the ground, and Grux stepped out of the shadows. "What took you so long?!" said Riona. "I thought I was going to actually have sex with him,"
"Sorry," said Grux. "Wanted to see how far you'd go,"
She slapped him across the face. "Come on, we gotta get him to Selk now. We need that energy,"
Xev paced around the poorly-lit library chamber, as Kai looked over the yellowing texts. One thing she hadn't taught herself to do yet was read alien texts. Becoming self-contained was a long road, anyway. "Find anything yet?" she asked impatiently.
"Yes," said Kai, shutting one of the books. "The Infected is a human, infected by the toxins produced from the insects stingers. It has grown large over the millenia, and the villagers here feed its enduring hunger with any kind of man-made energy they can find, in turn the Infected leaves this village alone, yet allows its spwan to feed in the forest around this place. Three priests perform a ceremony at the edge of the Infected's hiding place, and should one of the three die at any time, the remaining will lose their powers and have to die as well so three new ones can be selected. If the creature's needs are not fufilled, then this creature will consume everything around it, including the flesh of these people. All this..because of my ancestors,"
"You don't mean-"
"Yes," said Kai. "I recommend that we return to Stanley now, and leave this place as soon as possible. The key must not be given to the Infected, or it could mean the end of this Dark Universe as well,"
Selk looked over the human on the stone alter, over looking a deep pit. Stan lay on it, inaudably muttering in his unconciousness. Riona and Grux stood at Selk's sides. Grux took a knife, and cut Stan's arm the slightest bit. He winced, and then Riona took a vile of green liquid. She held up his right hand, and poured the chemical into the wound. Stan shuddered, and Selk held out a mirror. The key came flowing forth from Stan's palm, and bounced off the mirror, heading nowhere, but down to the pit. A loud screech came from the depths of the pit again, and the rustling of the insects could be heard throughout the woods.
The village elder smiled, seeing that his work was complete, until Riona and Grux suddenly dropped to the ground, bloody gaping holes in their torsos. Kai and Xev came forth out of the trees, Kai with his weapon raised. "I request that you return Stanley to us now," he said.
"Take him," said Selk. "It has been done. Now the Infected can rest another day,"
"The key is no longer with Stan?" said Kai.
Selk shook his head. "The insects on this planet are coming to feed, and the Infected is happy with that. As long as we feed him with energy, then our village has nothing to worry about. But you...you have killed these poor children,"
"They have endangered Stan's life," said Kai.
"We must apologize for this, but now that they are dead, I have no reason to continue. Without three priests to perform an energy transfer, the remaining one loses his power. Three new ones must be selected." said Selk, with Grux's knife raised.
"Selk, no!" said Xev, but no avail.
The knife made contact with Selk's sternum, and he was dead in a matter of seconds. Kai knelt, and yanked the weapon from the elder's chest. The ex-assassin re-holstered his brace, and looked over the side of the pit as he slid the knife into his belt. There were steep stone stairs leading down to the bottom. "Xev," he said. "Return to the moth with Stan and wait for me,"
"But where are you going?!" she said. "You heard Selk, the insects are coming to feed on the animals in this forest, we gotta leave now!"
"We will leave," said Kai. "But first, I must retrieve the key from the Infected,"
"Kai, let's do this in daylight hours when it's safe. You don't have to go down there now," Xev begged.
"Yes I do," said Kai. "Tomorrow morning, they will find that their elder is dead. They will believe that we killed him. It is best we leave when none are awake. I trust you to leave without me should I not return in an hour,"