How Long Love
Chapter 9: Ants under my skin
Mellow-
Mellow was a fish, though she had never swam in any kind of liquid, unless you count that of her electronic world. Her creator had made to be a perfect fish, his image of absolute beauty. She lived not in the world of flesh and blood, water and earth, but in a world Jody had created for her. Later, after poor Jody's death, she had been adopted by Count D and lived in his petshop on the only computer he had. He was good to her, as good as he was to any of his pets. Still, sometimes, she felt that he didn't quite understand her. She wasn't 'alive' so how could he? He was like a god to all living things of Earth, but she wasn't alive and never had been. She was just electronic signals and little bits of cleverly built hardware.
Count D loaded her program into the computer as fast as he could and, after a brief rush she always felt after being introduced into a new system, Mellow went to work. Mellow nearly crowed with the glory of freedom when she realized how vast the system of the Enterprise was. Such space to explore. She loved the little home, unfortunately, the computer had no connection to the outside world and was quite limited. Mellow had become bored very quickly, though she never dared to complain. She was lucky enough that the Count was so generous as to give her a safe home. Now to have the whole computer system of the Enterprise to explore, Mellow was ecstatic.
First thing first, though. Rescue Ten-chan.
Mellow swam though the inner workings of the Enterprise, trying to stay focused, no matter how excited she was to see such beautiful things in this place. She could see like no other living creature, for she could see the beauty of information. It was her nature, as a computer program, to see such things. This ship held the most amazing bank of data and so many possibilities. She saw so much information about places and people and things she'd never imagined could exist. Even Jody hadn't...
Jody.
Mellow's mood darkened with the memory of her beloved creator. Poor Jody.
-Mellow, where are you now?- The Count's voice reminded Mellow of the urgency of the situation. Even traveling along the information lines of the ship's computer, Mellow was getting flashes of what was going on. Ten-chan needed her and there wasn't a moment to lose.
Luckily, it took less than a moment to get where she needed to be. -Nearly there, Count. Give me time, Count. Just a little more.- There were so many intricacies to work out and Mellow hadn't had time to properly explore the ship's system, yet. She didn't know all the variables such as how the crew of this ship would react. Would they try to kill Ten-chan outright or would they torture him with medical experiments and dissection? Would they try to communicate or would they think of Ten-chan as nothing but food? All things were possible where humans were concerned.
Mellow traveled along the lines of communication of the Enterprise until she found the main controls of the ship. It was quite simple to control the interior, especially when no one was paying any attention. She could 'see' what was happening all over the ship, but focused on the bridge. -I see him, Count. Ten-chan has been injured. His leg appears to be wounded, but I see no blood. He is standing, but favoring his left hind leg. He is surrounded and looks...anxious. This is bad, Count.- Mellow had sympathy for Ten-chan and, now that she had access to information banks, she knew everything she needed to know. -From what they say, I believe they see only Ten-chan's fox shape.-
-I agree.- The Count's voice rang in Mellow's mind like a soft bell. -A distraction would be greatly appreciated, dear Mellow.-
-Must I be subtle?- Mellow didn't know Ten-chan well when they'd first met, but they'd lived together for hundreds of years and had grown fond of him. To see him so frightened and surrounded by armed, dangerous humans, not to mention aliens, frightened her. The Enterprise was at her command and, if she wished, there was so much she could do.
The Count hesitated. -Yes. I do not wish them to know you exist.- His voice was as cool as always and Mellow had no idea what he was thinking.
She couldn't help her shock or hide it from her voice. -Yes, Count.-
-I have reasons for my decision.-
-I have faith, Count. You wouldn't let Ten-chan get hurt.- There was no point in arguing. The Count wouldn't listen. He didn't have to, he was Kami, after all. Still, that didn't mean Mellow had to like it. It seemed wrong, very wrong, that the Count was so unconcerned about Ten-chan. He should have let her go as far as she need to, let her do anything that would ensure Ten-chan's safety.
-Mellow, time is running out. Please, help him.-
-Easily done, Count.- She had access to such incredible power at the moment, it would have been very easy to operate the transporter and simply beam him off of the bridge and to somewhere safe. Still, subtle would work. All she had to do was make it look like just a malfunction. She looked over the systems that had been damaged, at least partly, when Ten-chan had blasted a hole in the ceiling of the bridge. 'Yes,' She thought, satisfied. 'Plenty of damage. I can use that.' -Count, please speak with Ten-chan and tell him to use the hole he just created in the ceiling to escape. I will put up a force field around him. Their weapons won't hurt him again.-
There was a moment of silence and Mellowed waited for Ten-chan to do as the Count told him.
Ten-chan-
At the Count's orders, despite the pain in his leg and the weapons aimed at him, Ten-chan tensed and jumped as high as he could, straight up to the opening he'd made in the ceiling. Someone fired at him, but the ray of light bounced away long before it had even come near him, like something invisible was protecting him. Ten-chan caught the jagged edge of the ceiling with his paws and pulled himself up. He was nearly crying in pain when he was safely in the inner workings of the Enterprise and paused only long enough to take a breath and then started running.
"Was that you, Mellow?" He was in a narrow shaft, only a few feet high and wide. If one of the crew had to move around in these things, they'd have had to do it on their hands and knees.
-Yes, Ten-chan. I am in control of the ship, for the moment.- A familiar electronic voice spoke to him, coming from the very walls around him. -Don't waste any time; the Count is waiting for you. I am not to let them know of my intrusion into their system, so I can't help you as much as I would like to. Stay in these crawlspaces. The shields were all I could manipulate, inconspicuously. They were damaged when you attacked the ship. Their sensors don't know what to look for you, so they can't track you at the moment.-
"Don't worry about me, beauty." Ten-chan kept running, his pace hobbled by his injury. "I've never yet been caught and I won't be this time! Can you show me how to get back to the boss?" Never before had Ten-chan had to deal with humans without his gift of disguise. Worse than the obvious danger, the disguise gift was one of Ten-chan's natural powers. To suddenly have it missing...he felt like he was half-blind. Not to mention that he wasn't exactly having fun running from humans, of all things!
-Yes. The Count is waiting for you in a part of this starship. He has asked me to guide you there instead of the petshop, least the crew manage to follow you home. Follow your current path. I'll light your way- True to her word, all the little lights of the control panels in the little tunnel suddenly lit up and all Ten-chan had to do was to follow them. Her voice was soft and gentle, but determined and confident. In this age of computers, Mellow was very powerful and she knew it. -I will keep them from you, Ten-chan.-
"Whatever you say." Ten-chan agreed, his breath becoming heavier with the pain in his hind leg. He was nothing if not resilient. "Lead the way, beauty."
Picard-
Picard's eyes narrowed. The many-tailed fox tilted it's head upward and Picard was almost certain he saw a gleam of intelligence in those eyes, despite what Deanna had told them. The fox creature made one tremendous jump and leapt up to the hole it had made in the ceiling, just as it had tried to do before. This time, instead of Mr. Worf's phasor stunning the creature, as it should have done, the beam connected harmlessly with a force field and dissipated, letting the fox creature escape into the interior of the ship.
"What the Hell's going on?!" Riker demanded, his voice raising angrily. "Q!"
"No, commander. That is extremely unlikely." Mr. Data answered at once, his eyes and fingers on his control panel, which could monitor the interior of the ship. "One of the areas damaged in the kitsune's attack was relating to the shield which protects the bridge during battle. It seems that the shield's control was damaged in just the right manner for it to project a shield just around the kitsune."
Picard turned his eyes from the hole in his bridge to Mr. Data who'd said all that so innocently. "Kitsune?" He asked, trying very hard to keep his voice under control. "You knew what that was and you said nothing?"
"You told me that you did not wish to hear about fairytales." Mr. Data swiveled around and looked at Picard with his artificial golden eyes. "Therefore, I said nothing."
"Tell me now."
"The kitsune is from Japanese folk lore, literally meaning fox, but also referring to the feared demon fox. They are said to have a magical talent for glamour, to hide their true appearance from humans and make themselves look anyway they please. Many tales tell of kitsune who take human shape and breed with unsuspecting humans. They are said to be very intelligent and more clever than any other creature on Earth. Most folk tales tell that the kitsune's power is revealed in the number of tails it has. The most powerful, most ancient, of all kitsune are the nine-tailed ones."
Picard didn't miss the point. The one that was now making its way though his ship had nine tails and was injured. "Can we track it?" Picard went back to his command chair and sat down, irritably. Unfortunately, he had no one to be irritable at except himself and, probably, Q. Data would have told him about the whole folk tale of the kitsune sooner, if Picard had let him. He really should know better than to dismiss Data's information. Not that it would have helped, really.
"Negative, sir." Mr. Worf replied before Data could. His phasor was back in its holster and he was at his own control panel, looking over what the kitsune had done. "Internal sensors were also damaged in its attack. Not seriously, but it will take time to fix it." He was angry, but that wasn't unusual. Mr. Worf took his responsibilities very seriously and took it as a personal insult if anything uninvited got onto 'his' ship.
"What else was damaged?" Picard asked with a sinking feeling. God only knew what Q's game was this time.
"Nothing, sir."
"Nothing?" Now that was a surprise.
"Nothing. The bridge's shield were the only things affected."
"You're telling me this was all coincidence? It just happen to damage the part of the ship that would affect shields, just enough for a single shield to malfunction, protecting the kitsune from us?"
"It's a bit of a reach, isn't it?" Riker commented. He shook his head and went to where the kitsune had been. "The shield's down, now, sir. It lasted just long enough for the kitsune to escape. If the sensors aren't damaged, why can't we just track it?"
"The damaged sensors might have nothing to do with it." Mr. Data added. "The ship's computers detected nothing when Q warned us of an intruder. It is likely that the sensors are just unable to register a kitsune, as it is a mythical creature."
"But it wasn't imaginary." Deanna Troi said, thoughtfully. "It WAS there. Real and solid. It was frightened when it found itself among us. Whatever it is and however it came to be here, whether by Q or some other means, it is alive."
Picard thought about the situation for less than a second. "Find it, Mr. Worf. There's an intruder, possibly sent by Q, and with an unknown agenda. I want it found and put in the brig until we know what it is." It was entirely likely that the 'kitsune' was actually some kind of intelligent alien species. That sounded like something Q would do.
Worf nodded once before he ran to the lift, not the one near where the creature had been, now protected by the damaged force field, but the one opposite of it. As the doors closed behind him, Worf slapped the badge on his chest and spoke out loud. "Security, alert for one unidentified alien, possibly hostile and proven dangerous. Energy pulse of some kind emanating from two circular marks on it's forehead. Appearance: Small with white fur, four legs, and nine tails. Intelligence is unknown..." Then the doors closed and whatever he was telling his team on duty was lost.
If it was an alien creature, they couldn't take any risks. If it was a kitsune, as Mr. Data suggested, then it was dangerous and created by Q for his own amusement. It couldn't be a real kitsune. They didn't exist, after all. "Keep course heading, Mr. Data." There was no sense in losing time getting to Actura IV because of their unwanted guest. They had lives to save.
Ten-chan-
Ten-chan ran as fast as he could, but the pain was terrible. Whatever they'd shot him with hurt more than any bullet or even trap. Ten-chan had been injured more than once in his life, but never like this. Ten-chan found himself panting with exertion before ten minutes running. Mellow sealed off the passage ways that would have led Ten-chan astray, the blinking lights easily showing him the way.
After not too long, going through many winding passages and painfully working his way down narrow ladders, Ten-chan came to a dead end. "What's going on, Mellow?"
-This is the end of the passages, Ten-chan. I'm afraid you have to expose yourself to danger, now.- A little panel just at Ten-chan's left popped open and he could see a corridor just beyond. -The Count is four doors away. Get into the corridor and go left. Four doors on the right. It's a big garden room. He's waiting for you. Be careful.-
Ten-chan gave the panel a little push, just enough so he could see out into the corridor. There seemed to humans everywhere and Ten-chan had to be careful that he wasn't seen. Injured as he was, it would have been hard to escape if the crew of this ship got a lead on him. Ten-chan waited and waited, watching the humans and aliens walk by. When there was a lull in the traffic, Ten-chan scurried out of the little tunnel and landed nimbly on his feet.
Hope flared when it looked like he might make it to the Count without a hitch.
Hope died when two security officers strode around the corner and laid eyes on him. They drew their weapons at once and one muttered to the other. "That's it. That's what the commander said to look out for."
Ten-chan took off. He could'n't risk being captured. Perhaps even the Count wouldn't be able to rescue him. Both men fired their weapons and missed, badly. Ten-chan had faced more risk from many of the arrows shot at him by hunters in his youth. He counted doors, but had to go passed the fourth one when the security officers were too close. They would have seen him and that would have caused the Count trouble. Instead, Ten-chan kept running until he was just out of sight of the officers and found a tiny alcove with a little raised seat. He dashed under the seat and kept as still as he could. Just as he'd hoped, the security officers ran right passed Ten-chan's hiding place.
He spared them a laugh when he darted back down the hall and found the door he was looking for. It was a garden, just as Mellow had said, and the most beautiful place Ten-chan had seen on the entire ship. There was a little pond of water with some small fish and little trees and grass. It didn't even smell close to being like Earth, but at least it was close and that gave Ten-chan some small comfort. He spotted the Count at once and ran right for him, into the Count's safe arms.
"Sorry." Ten-chan panted, letting the Count pat his head and back. "Sorry. Forgive me. I don't know what happened, boss." Ten-chan was thoroughly embarrassed. He couldn't imagine any of the other pets failing so spectacularly. He was smart enough to understand how much he'd hurt the Count's plans. "Everything was fine, then my glamour vanished and they all saw me."
"Rest a moment." The Count wrapped his robes around Ten-chan, effectively hiding him, and sat very still on a bench. "Do not move, Ten-chan. We have visitors."
Ten-chan was obedient and kept as still and as silent as he could, even when he realized why the Count was doing this. There were footsteps and voices and, for a moment, Ten-chan feared that they'd followed him and he'd endangered the Count. It was possible, despite all of Mellow's precautions. Ten-chan felt his lips curl away from his sharp teeth, though he carefully swallowed his snarl. Glamour or not, he wouldn't let anyone hurt the Count. If it came to a fight, he could buy the Count enough time to get back to the safety of the petshop.
"Hello, sir. We're looking for a white animal, looks a bit like an Earth fox. Has anything like that come in here?"
"No." The Count answered, sounding completely innocent. "I have been here for hours, meditating. I have been alone. What is this creature you are looking for?"
"Nothing for you to worry about, sir. Just an animal escaped from the zoological labs. If you see it, please call security, at once."
"Of course."
There was, again, the sound of footsteps and Ten-chan knew the security officers had left again. Ten-chan breathed out a sigh of relief. Safe. While he was still shaking and nervous from the chase and his injury was in more pain than ever from having to run, he was elated. He hadn't had such a chase in many, many years and Ten-chan was the kind of soul who thrived on the chase.
The Count stood up, his hands carefully, but unassumingly holding Ten-chan so he wouldn't fall. "Shall we go home?" The Count asked.
Reggie-
Dream-
"Deirdre..."
"Oh, you're always so melodramatic. It's not that bad. Don't look at me like that." Deirdre was scratching at her arms. She'd been scratching for a long while and her arms were starting to bleed. Her shoulders were twitching spastically.
"Please, stop." Reggie had barely moved in the hours they'd been locked together in the room. There was no way to escape, only a single door that was locked and no even a single place to access the computer system in Mr. Goti's Home. So Reggie had spent hours sitting in one of the corners of the room, his body pulled as tightly into a ball as he could while still watching Deirdre. She hadn't been still or quiet, but had spent the first hours of their imprisonment screaming obscenities at the walls. As the hours passed, her screaming died down and she began showing signs that her medications were wearing off. Like scratching at her arms. Like pulling at her hair. Like twitching and licking her lips when ever she spoke.
"Why? It's not going to do any good and we both know it. It's too late, now." Deirdre licked her lips and Reggie cringed at the sight. Deirdre hated little things like that. She thought it was undignified. "Don't look at me like a kicked puppy, Reggie. I knew this was going to happen; you should have kept your mouth shut." She'd said the same thing at least six times in the last few minutes. "Shouldn't have said a damned thing." Deirdre began drawing blood with her fingernails and Reggie knew he had to do something.
"Come sit with me." He said. She was right, though. There was nothing they could do, but try to survive until Mr. Goti let them out. If he let them out.
"No. Not going to sit. Have to keep moving. I feel like I'm on the greatest sugar high of all time, Reggie. Like I could run a million miles and not get a bit tired." She gave out a little whimpering sound and looked down at her bleeding arms. "Ants under my skin." Her bloodied fingers traveled up to her neck and she started scratching again. "Ants. Shit, it feels..." She let out another pitiful whimper, so unlike the Deirdre Reggie knew.
Reggie jumped to his feet. He grabbed her before Deirdre even looked up at him and dragged her down to the floor. She didn't go down quietly, not that Reggie had thought that she would. Deirdre swung her arms and kicked her legs, trying to get free, but Reggie held her tightly against him.
"Reggie, let me go!"
"No. Sorry." Reggie, though not the biggest or strongest of boys was still stronger than Deirdre. He pulled her to the floor and sat her roughly between his legs, wrestling with her all the while until he managed to pin her legs with his and cross her arms over her chest, holding them tightly so she couldn't do herself anymore damage. Deirdre fought to free herself until she was exhausted and collapsed against Reggie. "Y-you'll hurt y-yourself." He wanted to say, 'Let me take care of you. You'll be alright if you just let me protect you.' But that would have been a lie and he didn't want to lie to her.
"I don't care." Deirdre began to shake. "I think I'll die today, Reggie. Wouldn't mind dying so much, but..." She coughed so hard, then, that her whole body convulsed and she had to wait for the coughing to stop. "Everything's messed up, now. I just...wanted..." Her head lolled to the side so that her cheek was on Reggie's arm. "I wanted to see the stars, just once."
"S-stars?" Reggie couldn't stop his stutter now, not without the medications. "But y-you can s-s-see them from your w-window."
"Not like that." Deirdre looked up at the white metal ceiling. "I wanted to see real stars. I wanted to go into space on one of the big starships and see the rest of the universe. I'd have been a great captain."
"The best."
Hours passed.
They'd been locked in the room together for a day and a half, as near as Reggie could guess, and she looked worse with each passing hour. Her hair, usually thick and shining, was dull and hung in bloody tangles. "It's only a little hair. I'm not crying over it, you shouldn't, either!" Reggie had made the mistake of falling asleep and his grip on Deirdre's hands had slacken. When he woke, he found her still sitting between his legs on the floor, but pulling ruthlessly at her own hair. On the floor around them and even on Reggie's legs were clumps of hair Deirdre had pulled from her own head. After that, Reggie was determined to not fall asleep again, so long as Deirdre needed him. He had her arms once again crossed over her chest and pinned with his own, holding Deirdre so she couldn't rip at her hair, again.
Normally, he would never have had the courage to do something like that, but he had very little choice. Shy or not, Deirdre needed him. Even as he tried his best to keep her still, Deirdre twitched and jerked uncontrollably and hadn't spoken for a very long time. If Reggie let go of her, Deirdre would start ripping out her hair again or scratching viciously at herself. It was a side effect of not having her medications anymore, Reggie was sure of it. He was feeling the effects, himself. His head hurt, but he wasn't certain if that was because of withdrawal or the dim lighting. They'd been locked up for so long that the room reeked of urine and sweat. Reggie and Deirdre were both sweating buckets, so much so that their clothes were soaked right through. Reggie's stomach hurt, too. It probably wasn't hunger. Every now and again, food and water were beamed in, just enough to keep them both alive.
"Deirdre, do you think we'll die?"
"Probably." Deirdre suddenly relaxed, fitting neatly into the curve of Reggie's chest. He could feel her breathing and her too rapid heartbeat. "Not much we can do about it in here, though, huh?" Reggie felt warm blood from Deirdre's head seeping though his shirt. "Thanks, Reggie."
"For what?"
"...just...thanks." Deirdre jerked violently, taking Reggie by surprise.
"Deirdre?"
She turned herself so she could look right up at him and smiled. "It was a good try." She jerked again, her eyes rolling into her head for a brief moment before she focused on him again. Her eyes were yellowish and her pupils dilated far beyond normal. "Not good enough." Her narrow shoulders stiffened and she inhaled sharply. "Reggie..." Deirdre's eyes widened like she'd just been punched in the stomach and her breathing became gasps. Wet-sounding, pathetic struggling for life and Reggie looked desperately up at the surveillance camera.
"Help her!" He yelled. "She's dying, help her!" Of course there was no answer and Reggie had known there wouldn't be one. This was the end and there was nothing Reggie could do to save her. Reggie held her close and began rocking her. She looked up at Reggie and she was crying. It was the first time he'd ever seen Deirdre cry. "Oh...Oh..."
Deirdre began to cough again, but it didn't let up this time. She coughed so violently that she managed to pull both herself and Reggie onto their sides and Reggie was hard pressed to catch her so her head didn't strike the floor. She kept coughing until it became a choking and then she threw up. For a moment it seemed that the worst was over, but then she started heaving and trembling again. The next time she threw up, there was blood in the vomit. After that, there was nothing but bile and blood.
"Don't d-d-die." Reggie felt so helpless. "I'll go see the s-stars with y-you. I...I...promise." It was such a strange thing to promise, but it made sense to Reggie. "Don't die a-a-and I'll take you to the s-s-stars."
Deirdre gave one last great shudder and then fell still.
"D-Deirdre?" It was hopeless. "Deirdre, p-please..." He turned her over, ignoring the vomit and its stench. Her eyes still wide and staring, warm tears still making their way down her face. Dead.
He cried for her and held her until they came and unlocked the cell's doors. Reggie was so lost in his pain that he barely noticed the light flood into the room and he didn't see Mr. Goti walk in with two of his thug's.
"I want the corpse for vivisection and dissection. Have it taken to the lab and put on ice until I can deal with it." Mr. Goti said, his voice as warm and loving as it always was.
It was only when the thugs tried to take Deirdre away from Reggie, that he registered what was going on and he fought to stay with her. He was too weak to put up much resistance, though, and they batted him away like he was a fly. Reggie was in so much physical pain that it hurt just to stand and his emotional pain was unspeakable. Still, he did and launched himself at the man who'd lifted up Deirdre's body. Again, Reggie was pushed away and this time he struck the wall, hard. His head spun and Reggie slumped to the floor, unable to stand.
"One more day, Reg." Mr. Goti said, his voice still jovial and gentle, even as he followed out the men who carried Deirdre. "One more day and your punishment will be over. You can come out and go back to your classes." He closed the door behind him and Reggie knew it would be locked.
He folded himself up, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his head under his arms, making himself as small as possible. With his eyes closed, Reggie could still see Deirdre, vibrant and whole. She was laughing and her eyes were so full of life.
Reggie hoped he would die before they opened the door.
End Dream-
Leon was staring at him. "You finally awake? Christ, you sleep like the dead."
Reggie sat bolt upright. "W-what are you doing here?" Hadn't they agreed to meet for dinner? There were dark circles under Leon's eyes and Reggie wondered when the last time Leon had any decent sleep was.
"Man," Leon sat on Reggie's bed as if it were his own and didn't even bother to turn up the lights. "I've got to talk."
Reggie was glad to see Leon, but he really didn't feel like talking. He never did, not after the dream. It wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of Deirdre's death. What he wanted was to be left alone for a while, but Leon had a panicky look that worried Reggie. Leon didn't often look so frightened. "Don't you ever sleep?" Reggie asked, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. It was better to look at Leon than to remember Deirdre's lifeless eyes. "Lights." He commanded, causing the room to brighten. Leon hadn't even changed his clothes and Reggie cast a look at his clock. Less than an hour had passed since he'd left Leon with Count D.
"Not lately." Leon grumbled. He put his hands on Reggie's bed and leaned back just enough so he could look at the ceiling. "The weirdest thing just happened. Look, you remember that guy I introduced you to? The Oriental guy in the dress? I told you he had my Jill?"
"Count D? Yeah, what about him?" From the atmosphere he'd felt between Leon and Count D, he'd rather expected Leon to spend the whole evening with him. Maybe even the whole night. Perhaps something had gone wrong and that was why Leon looked so upset.
"'What about him!?' Everything about him!" Leon nearly exploded and he slumped suddenly, catching his head with his hands and his elbows on his knees. "Where do I start? I can't even describe how it felt. Christ, I thought I was going to die in there! I couldn't stop sweating and everything he said seemed to have a double meaning. Every time he looked at me, it was like...like he was looking right though me. I couldn't think straight."
Reggie smiled and thought how cute Leon looked like that. "Oh? Really?" Reggie hoped he sounded innocent.
"Yeah. It felt real hot there, too. Hotter than anything I've ever felt. Not that he seemed to notice at all. He was wearing so much clothes and didn't even have a slight flush on his face. He was chalk white."
Reggie leaned back to watch the fireworks he was about to inspire. "Sounds like love to me." All right, he shouldn't have said it, but it was so tempting.
Leon's reaction was instant and spectacular. He stood up and slammed both hands down on the table, his face dark as a thundercloud, but also blushing like a schoolboy. "You've gotta be kidding me! What the Hell are you smokin' Reggie?! It's nothing like that! Nothing at all!"
"What was that phrase?" Reggie put a finger to his chin as he pretended to think. "Oh, yes. 'Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.' Yes, that was it. Shakespeare, I think."
Leon's blush deepened and his mouth dropped. "What are you talking about?" Leon demanded, angrily. He left the table and started pacing back and forth. "I only met the guy yesterday!"
"So what?" Reggie was no expert in love. He'd only ever given his heart to one person and she was long dead. Still, he knew more than Leon who'd never been in love before. "He obviously likes your company." Leon took a deep breath, looking as if he'd yell again and Reggie spoke quickly to prevent it. "Look, why are you so upset? Is it the fact that he's a man that bothers you?" It was a very outdated concern, but one that some few people still had problems with.
Leon scowled. "Why are you doing this to me? You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I'm always on your side, whether you like it or not. I just don't know why you're so upset. Love is a great thing, you should be happy. Is he ugly?"
Leon snorted. "You saw him. You shouldn't even be able to ask that with a straight face. He was...perfect."
"Then what's he like? I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him. Is he crude or obnoxious?"
"No. He was polite enough to be Vulcan and...and he smiled a lot. No one can be that perfect." Leon declared, after a moment's thought. "There's got to be something wrong with him if he seems that perfect. Maybe he's a mass murderer or he tortures small children..."
"That's going too far."
"No. I'm serious. There's definitely something not right about him. But..."
"But?"
"But I could swear I've met him before. Everything was so familiar, right down to the smell. There was something in the air, a little sweet and a little something else. His eyes...his hands...even just walking around in that place seemed so natural. Like I'd done it a hundred times before."
"Leon, maybe you should talk to counselor Troi about this. She's very nice and a good listener." Reggie had never seen Leon so worked up about anyone. If anything, he normally dismissed people or barely tolerated them. This was verging on paranoia. Reggie understood that Leon had never been in love, but to be this frightened about it was surely unusual.
Leon answered with a snarl. "That mind reading bitch..."
"Leon!" Reggie was outraged for counselor Troi's sake. He might not always be fond of her, but she didn't deserve that kind of insult. "She's a good woman, you've got no reason to say that!"
"All right, all right!" Leon held his hands up defensively. "You know I don't like counselors or psychologists. I don't know how you can stand to be around one that can tell what you're thinking."
"She doesn't do that. Deanna might be able to help you, Leon."
"No. She can't." Leon stood up and strode out of Reggie's bedroom and Reggie jumped up, chasing after him. He caught Leon's arm before Leon got out of his quarters.
"Where are you going? You can't just wake me up in the middle of the night and then walk out. What's going on?"
Leon stopped, but didn't turn to face Reggie. "He's D."
"D?"
"You remember. My dreams? I told you I dreamed about D all the time. Well, he's D."
Reggie was stunned and dropped Leon's arm. "That's not possible."
"That's what I thought. In the dreams, I never saw his face. His voice is the same, though. No one else could have that voice." Leon turned to Reggie and his eyes were wide with confusion. "It was just a dream, wasn't it? D? My mom dying? Animals that could talk and looked very human? Those were all dreams."
Reggie nodded. "Yeah. Animals can't talk like humans and they don't look like us. You never knew your mom; you said she died in childbirth when you were born. Maybe it's not Count D you were dreaming about. Leon, I don't see how it could have been him. He can't be much older than you, so how could you have met him when you were a child?"
"D has a kid, Chris, who looks like me. Says he's taking care of the Chris for a friend. I think the kid's a telepath. He didn't talk, but I could hear him clear as day. D had another kid he called Tet-chan, said Tet-chan was one of his pets and the kid called him 'master'. That's just weird."
"The captain wouldn't let anyone involved in slavery onto the ship. I've served under him for a few years now and he's very strict about that sort of thing. Count D probably meant that Tet-chan was his servant or something. You've got security access, have you checked up on Count D, yet?"
"I don't want to get him in trouble." Then, Leon admitted his real fear. "What if...what if I'm dreaming again? What if none of this is real?"
Reggie almost choked. He knew Leon hadn't had any dreams since he was a child, the medications didn't let him dream. If the medications weren't working anymore, then it would be very bad. Someone would notice something about Leon's behavior and that would be the very best situation. At worst, Leon would die.
"What if he's not the D from my dreams, but just another dream." Leon continued. "What if he's not what I see when I look at him? What I saw couldn't have been real! He took me into his closet and led me down a fuckin' stair case into a huge room! That's not possible and he wasn't a bit impressed by it. He said he knew me before I was born. I couldn't contact the computer after I went down the stairs. The telepathic kid took me into the weird place when D had left for a moment and there were all kinds of weird hallways and rooms."
It had to be a dream. If what Leon said was true, then Captain Picard would have to know about it. After all, Reggie had seen much stranger things during his journeys on the Enterprise. It was possible that Count D wasn't human at all, but some kind of alien. It sometimes seemed like the Enterprise was a magnet for strangeness. This could be a terrible security hazard and Leon couldn't make the choice.
However, if Leon's story was nothing more than dreams, then...Reggie wasn't sure what he would do. This was worse than Reggie had thought. He'd never thought that the drugs would just stop working. Leon shouldn't be even near a phasor if his mind was going to be playing tricks on him, let alone be trusted as security. Reggie would have to betray Leon for everyone's sakes.
'I told you so' didn't seem like the right thing to say at the moment, not with Leon so shaken, so Reggie kept his mouth shut. He would press Leon about getting off the drugs, now, though. If they weren't working, Leon shouldn't have such a problem with rehabilitation. If Leon couldn't even decide to tell his superior what he'd seen, then he wasn't able to be a security officer.
"Let's get some sleep." Reggie gestured to his couch. "You can take my bed, I'll sleep there." If he'd be able to sleep at all, given this new worry and the still fresh memory of Deirdre. "In the morning, we'll go visit Count D and you can show me the stair case." Reggie hated talking to people, but he would make an exception in this case. "We'll know one way or the other."
Chris-
Chris had never been on a space ship before, so it was really no wonder that he was excited or that the moment Leon and the Count had both gone, he snuck out of his room.
"You can't!" Pon-chan pleaded. "The Count will be really angry! I don't think he wants you wandering around."
-I have to!- Chris insisted. -Leon's out there and I have to bring him back. He might get hurt again.- The memory was all too clear for Chris. To him, Leon had been murdered less than a day ago. To see him perfectly healthy and alive was a miracle and Chris wanted to see him again. -Besides, if I can talk to him again, I can make him remember. I know I can! He'll remember and he'll come back to live at home.- Chris couldn't imagine it being any other way. If he did, he'd cry.
By this time they were on the stairs leading up to the outside and Pon-chan was doing her best to hold Chris back without actually pulling him down the stairs. "You have to wait. The Count will bring your brother back, I know he will." Pon-chan was hardly the biggest or most threatening of the Count's pets, but she was a very good friend of Chris' and he liked her very much. He didn't want to listen, though.
-You come with me, then.- Chris suggested.
Pon-chan was aghast. "I can't! The Count told us we had to stay here, I can't disobey. He'd be so angry!"
-Then stay here. I'll be alright.-
"At least ask Tet-chan to go with you."
-If you won't disobey the Count, then he won't either.- Chris turned and ran. He was angry that she wouldn't go with him. Pon-chan always went with him on adventures, so why wouldn't she go this time? The Count wouldn't be all that angry. He never got really angry. Besides, the Count would approve this time, Chris was sure. He was going to find Leon, after all.
Chris stepped into the room at the top of the stairway. It was a very weird room. All white without any color at all. It was the windows that really got Chris' attention, though. 'We really are in space!' Chris smiled and ran to the windows. He pressed his hands against the glass and then his nose, as if that could give him a better view of the stars.
The view made him so happy that Chris was smiling like it was Christmas morning when he left the room. He jumped when the door slid open all by itself. He'd only ever seen supermarket doors open like that before. Still, it was nothing compared to what he saw outside the quarters, in the hallways. 'Pon-chan's going to wish she'd come with me.'
Tet-chan-
Tet-chan was busy on dinner. It took a lot to feed someone with as picky tastes as the Count's, but Tet-chan was up to the challenge. He always served a master piece to the Count and always made sure there was a delicious desert to follow after dinner. Actually, this was the first time in a long time that Tet-chan was able to cook in peace with an easy mind. Chris was awake, Leon was soon to rejoin the Count, then they'd all go home. All was right with the world.
"Tet-chan! Tet-chan!" Pon-chan ran screaming into the kitchen. "Chris! It's Chris!"
"What about Chris?" Tet-chan set down his skillet and readied himself for whatever the little raccoon would say. It couldn't be all that bad. Inside the petshop, everyone knew better than to hurt little Chris. They'd not only have Tet-chan to deal with, but the Count, himself.
Pon-chan was nearly crying. "He's gone! He went outside to find Leon!"
"What?!" How was he supposed to protect Chris outside? Tet-chan threw off his apron and tore towards the stairs. "Stay here," He shouted to Pon-chan over his shoulder. "Tell the Count what's happening when he gets back!"
to be continued...
Mellow-
Mellow was a fish, though she had never swam in any kind of liquid, unless you count that of her electronic world. Her creator had made to be a perfect fish, his image of absolute beauty. She lived not in the world of flesh and blood, water and earth, but in a world Jody had created for her. Later, after poor Jody's death, she had been adopted by Count D and lived in his petshop on the only computer he had. He was good to her, as good as he was to any of his pets. Still, sometimes, she felt that he didn't quite understand her. She wasn't 'alive' so how could he? He was like a god to all living things of Earth, but she wasn't alive and never had been. She was just electronic signals and little bits of cleverly built hardware.
Count D loaded her program into the computer as fast as he could and, after a brief rush she always felt after being introduced into a new system, Mellow went to work. Mellow nearly crowed with the glory of freedom when she realized how vast the system of the Enterprise was. Such space to explore. She loved the little home, unfortunately, the computer had no connection to the outside world and was quite limited. Mellow had become bored very quickly, though she never dared to complain. She was lucky enough that the Count was so generous as to give her a safe home. Now to have the whole computer system of the Enterprise to explore, Mellow was ecstatic.
First thing first, though. Rescue Ten-chan.
Mellow swam though the inner workings of the Enterprise, trying to stay focused, no matter how excited she was to see such beautiful things in this place. She could see like no other living creature, for she could see the beauty of information. It was her nature, as a computer program, to see such things. This ship held the most amazing bank of data and so many possibilities. She saw so much information about places and people and things she'd never imagined could exist. Even Jody hadn't...
Jody.
Mellow's mood darkened with the memory of her beloved creator. Poor Jody.
-Mellow, where are you now?- The Count's voice reminded Mellow of the urgency of the situation. Even traveling along the information lines of the ship's computer, Mellow was getting flashes of what was going on. Ten-chan needed her and there wasn't a moment to lose.
Luckily, it took less than a moment to get where she needed to be. -Nearly there, Count. Give me time, Count. Just a little more.- There were so many intricacies to work out and Mellow hadn't had time to properly explore the ship's system, yet. She didn't know all the variables such as how the crew of this ship would react. Would they try to kill Ten-chan outright or would they torture him with medical experiments and dissection? Would they try to communicate or would they think of Ten-chan as nothing but food? All things were possible where humans were concerned.
Mellow traveled along the lines of communication of the Enterprise until she found the main controls of the ship. It was quite simple to control the interior, especially when no one was paying any attention. She could 'see' what was happening all over the ship, but focused on the bridge. -I see him, Count. Ten-chan has been injured. His leg appears to be wounded, but I see no blood. He is standing, but favoring his left hind leg. He is surrounded and looks...anxious. This is bad, Count.- Mellow had sympathy for Ten-chan and, now that she had access to information banks, she knew everything she needed to know. -From what they say, I believe they see only Ten-chan's fox shape.-
-I agree.- The Count's voice rang in Mellow's mind like a soft bell. -A distraction would be greatly appreciated, dear Mellow.-
-Must I be subtle?- Mellow didn't know Ten-chan well when they'd first met, but they'd lived together for hundreds of years and had grown fond of him. To see him so frightened and surrounded by armed, dangerous humans, not to mention aliens, frightened her. The Enterprise was at her command and, if she wished, there was so much she could do.
The Count hesitated. -Yes. I do not wish them to know you exist.- His voice was as cool as always and Mellow had no idea what he was thinking.
She couldn't help her shock or hide it from her voice. -Yes, Count.-
-I have reasons for my decision.-
-I have faith, Count. You wouldn't let Ten-chan get hurt.- There was no point in arguing. The Count wouldn't listen. He didn't have to, he was Kami, after all. Still, that didn't mean Mellow had to like it. It seemed wrong, very wrong, that the Count was so unconcerned about Ten-chan. He should have let her go as far as she need to, let her do anything that would ensure Ten-chan's safety.
-Mellow, time is running out. Please, help him.-
-Easily done, Count.- She had access to such incredible power at the moment, it would have been very easy to operate the transporter and simply beam him off of the bridge and to somewhere safe. Still, subtle would work. All she had to do was make it look like just a malfunction. She looked over the systems that had been damaged, at least partly, when Ten-chan had blasted a hole in the ceiling of the bridge. 'Yes,' She thought, satisfied. 'Plenty of damage. I can use that.' -Count, please speak with Ten-chan and tell him to use the hole he just created in the ceiling to escape. I will put up a force field around him. Their weapons won't hurt him again.-
There was a moment of silence and Mellowed waited for Ten-chan to do as the Count told him.
Ten-chan-
At the Count's orders, despite the pain in his leg and the weapons aimed at him, Ten-chan tensed and jumped as high as he could, straight up to the opening he'd made in the ceiling. Someone fired at him, but the ray of light bounced away long before it had even come near him, like something invisible was protecting him. Ten-chan caught the jagged edge of the ceiling with his paws and pulled himself up. He was nearly crying in pain when he was safely in the inner workings of the Enterprise and paused only long enough to take a breath and then started running.
"Was that you, Mellow?" He was in a narrow shaft, only a few feet high and wide. If one of the crew had to move around in these things, they'd have had to do it on their hands and knees.
-Yes, Ten-chan. I am in control of the ship, for the moment.- A familiar electronic voice spoke to him, coming from the very walls around him. -Don't waste any time; the Count is waiting for you. I am not to let them know of my intrusion into their system, so I can't help you as much as I would like to. Stay in these crawlspaces. The shields were all I could manipulate, inconspicuously. They were damaged when you attacked the ship. Their sensors don't know what to look for you, so they can't track you at the moment.-
"Don't worry about me, beauty." Ten-chan kept running, his pace hobbled by his injury. "I've never yet been caught and I won't be this time! Can you show me how to get back to the boss?" Never before had Ten-chan had to deal with humans without his gift of disguise. Worse than the obvious danger, the disguise gift was one of Ten-chan's natural powers. To suddenly have it missing...he felt like he was half-blind. Not to mention that he wasn't exactly having fun running from humans, of all things!
-Yes. The Count is waiting for you in a part of this starship. He has asked me to guide you there instead of the petshop, least the crew manage to follow you home. Follow your current path. I'll light your way- True to her word, all the little lights of the control panels in the little tunnel suddenly lit up and all Ten-chan had to do was to follow them. Her voice was soft and gentle, but determined and confident. In this age of computers, Mellow was very powerful and she knew it. -I will keep them from you, Ten-chan.-
"Whatever you say." Ten-chan agreed, his breath becoming heavier with the pain in his hind leg. He was nothing if not resilient. "Lead the way, beauty."
Picard-
Picard's eyes narrowed. The many-tailed fox tilted it's head upward and Picard was almost certain he saw a gleam of intelligence in those eyes, despite what Deanna had told them. The fox creature made one tremendous jump and leapt up to the hole it had made in the ceiling, just as it had tried to do before. This time, instead of Mr. Worf's phasor stunning the creature, as it should have done, the beam connected harmlessly with a force field and dissipated, letting the fox creature escape into the interior of the ship.
"What the Hell's going on?!" Riker demanded, his voice raising angrily. "Q!"
"No, commander. That is extremely unlikely." Mr. Data answered at once, his eyes and fingers on his control panel, which could monitor the interior of the ship. "One of the areas damaged in the kitsune's attack was relating to the shield which protects the bridge during battle. It seems that the shield's control was damaged in just the right manner for it to project a shield just around the kitsune."
Picard turned his eyes from the hole in his bridge to Mr. Data who'd said all that so innocently. "Kitsune?" He asked, trying very hard to keep his voice under control. "You knew what that was and you said nothing?"
"You told me that you did not wish to hear about fairytales." Mr. Data swiveled around and looked at Picard with his artificial golden eyes. "Therefore, I said nothing."
"Tell me now."
"The kitsune is from Japanese folk lore, literally meaning fox, but also referring to the feared demon fox. They are said to have a magical talent for glamour, to hide their true appearance from humans and make themselves look anyway they please. Many tales tell of kitsune who take human shape and breed with unsuspecting humans. They are said to be very intelligent and more clever than any other creature on Earth. Most folk tales tell that the kitsune's power is revealed in the number of tails it has. The most powerful, most ancient, of all kitsune are the nine-tailed ones."
Picard didn't miss the point. The one that was now making its way though his ship had nine tails and was injured. "Can we track it?" Picard went back to his command chair and sat down, irritably. Unfortunately, he had no one to be irritable at except himself and, probably, Q. Data would have told him about the whole folk tale of the kitsune sooner, if Picard had let him. He really should know better than to dismiss Data's information. Not that it would have helped, really.
"Negative, sir." Mr. Worf replied before Data could. His phasor was back in its holster and he was at his own control panel, looking over what the kitsune had done. "Internal sensors were also damaged in its attack. Not seriously, but it will take time to fix it." He was angry, but that wasn't unusual. Mr. Worf took his responsibilities very seriously and took it as a personal insult if anything uninvited got onto 'his' ship.
"What else was damaged?" Picard asked with a sinking feeling. God only knew what Q's game was this time.
"Nothing, sir."
"Nothing?" Now that was a surprise.
"Nothing. The bridge's shield were the only things affected."
"You're telling me this was all coincidence? It just happen to damage the part of the ship that would affect shields, just enough for a single shield to malfunction, protecting the kitsune from us?"
"It's a bit of a reach, isn't it?" Riker commented. He shook his head and went to where the kitsune had been. "The shield's down, now, sir. It lasted just long enough for the kitsune to escape. If the sensors aren't damaged, why can't we just track it?"
"The damaged sensors might have nothing to do with it." Mr. Data added. "The ship's computers detected nothing when Q warned us of an intruder. It is likely that the sensors are just unable to register a kitsune, as it is a mythical creature."
"But it wasn't imaginary." Deanna Troi said, thoughtfully. "It WAS there. Real and solid. It was frightened when it found itself among us. Whatever it is and however it came to be here, whether by Q or some other means, it is alive."
Picard thought about the situation for less than a second. "Find it, Mr. Worf. There's an intruder, possibly sent by Q, and with an unknown agenda. I want it found and put in the brig until we know what it is." It was entirely likely that the 'kitsune' was actually some kind of intelligent alien species. That sounded like something Q would do.
Worf nodded once before he ran to the lift, not the one near where the creature had been, now protected by the damaged force field, but the one opposite of it. As the doors closed behind him, Worf slapped the badge on his chest and spoke out loud. "Security, alert for one unidentified alien, possibly hostile and proven dangerous. Energy pulse of some kind emanating from two circular marks on it's forehead. Appearance: Small with white fur, four legs, and nine tails. Intelligence is unknown..." Then the doors closed and whatever he was telling his team on duty was lost.
If it was an alien creature, they couldn't take any risks. If it was a kitsune, as Mr. Data suggested, then it was dangerous and created by Q for his own amusement. It couldn't be a real kitsune. They didn't exist, after all. "Keep course heading, Mr. Data." There was no sense in losing time getting to Actura IV because of their unwanted guest. They had lives to save.
Ten-chan-
Ten-chan ran as fast as he could, but the pain was terrible. Whatever they'd shot him with hurt more than any bullet or even trap. Ten-chan had been injured more than once in his life, but never like this. Ten-chan found himself panting with exertion before ten minutes running. Mellow sealed off the passage ways that would have led Ten-chan astray, the blinking lights easily showing him the way.
After not too long, going through many winding passages and painfully working his way down narrow ladders, Ten-chan came to a dead end. "What's going on, Mellow?"
-This is the end of the passages, Ten-chan. I'm afraid you have to expose yourself to danger, now.- A little panel just at Ten-chan's left popped open and he could see a corridor just beyond. -The Count is four doors away. Get into the corridor and go left. Four doors on the right. It's a big garden room. He's waiting for you. Be careful.-
Ten-chan gave the panel a little push, just enough so he could see out into the corridor. There seemed to humans everywhere and Ten-chan had to be careful that he wasn't seen. Injured as he was, it would have been hard to escape if the crew of this ship got a lead on him. Ten-chan waited and waited, watching the humans and aliens walk by. When there was a lull in the traffic, Ten-chan scurried out of the little tunnel and landed nimbly on his feet.
Hope flared when it looked like he might make it to the Count without a hitch.
Hope died when two security officers strode around the corner and laid eyes on him. They drew their weapons at once and one muttered to the other. "That's it. That's what the commander said to look out for."
Ten-chan took off. He could'n't risk being captured. Perhaps even the Count wouldn't be able to rescue him. Both men fired their weapons and missed, badly. Ten-chan had faced more risk from many of the arrows shot at him by hunters in his youth. He counted doors, but had to go passed the fourth one when the security officers were too close. They would have seen him and that would have caused the Count trouble. Instead, Ten-chan kept running until he was just out of sight of the officers and found a tiny alcove with a little raised seat. He dashed under the seat and kept as still as he could. Just as he'd hoped, the security officers ran right passed Ten-chan's hiding place.
He spared them a laugh when he darted back down the hall and found the door he was looking for. It was a garden, just as Mellow had said, and the most beautiful place Ten-chan had seen on the entire ship. There was a little pond of water with some small fish and little trees and grass. It didn't even smell close to being like Earth, but at least it was close and that gave Ten-chan some small comfort. He spotted the Count at once and ran right for him, into the Count's safe arms.
"Sorry." Ten-chan panted, letting the Count pat his head and back. "Sorry. Forgive me. I don't know what happened, boss." Ten-chan was thoroughly embarrassed. He couldn't imagine any of the other pets failing so spectacularly. He was smart enough to understand how much he'd hurt the Count's plans. "Everything was fine, then my glamour vanished and they all saw me."
"Rest a moment." The Count wrapped his robes around Ten-chan, effectively hiding him, and sat very still on a bench. "Do not move, Ten-chan. We have visitors."
Ten-chan was obedient and kept as still and as silent as he could, even when he realized why the Count was doing this. There were footsteps and voices and, for a moment, Ten-chan feared that they'd followed him and he'd endangered the Count. It was possible, despite all of Mellow's precautions. Ten-chan felt his lips curl away from his sharp teeth, though he carefully swallowed his snarl. Glamour or not, he wouldn't let anyone hurt the Count. If it came to a fight, he could buy the Count enough time to get back to the safety of the petshop.
"Hello, sir. We're looking for a white animal, looks a bit like an Earth fox. Has anything like that come in here?"
"No." The Count answered, sounding completely innocent. "I have been here for hours, meditating. I have been alone. What is this creature you are looking for?"
"Nothing for you to worry about, sir. Just an animal escaped from the zoological labs. If you see it, please call security, at once."
"Of course."
There was, again, the sound of footsteps and Ten-chan knew the security officers had left again. Ten-chan breathed out a sigh of relief. Safe. While he was still shaking and nervous from the chase and his injury was in more pain than ever from having to run, he was elated. He hadn't had such a chase in many, many years and Ten-chan was the kind of soul who thrived on the chase.
The Count stood up, his hands carefully, but unassumingly holding Ten-chan so he wouldn't fall. "Shall we go home?" The Count asked.
Reggie-
Dream-
"Deirdre..."
"Oh, you're always so melodramatic. It's not that bad. Don't look at me like that." Deirdre was scratching at her arms. She'd been scratching for a long while and her arms were starting to bleed. Her shoulders were twitching spastically.
"Please, stop." Reggie had barely moved in the hours they'd been locked together in the room. There was no way to escape, only a single door that was locked and no even a single place to access the computer system in Mr. Goti's Home. So Reggie had spent hours sitting in one of the corners of the room, his body pulled as tightly into a ball as he could while still watching Deirdre. She hadn't been still or quiet, but had spent the first hours of their imprisonment screaming obscenities at the walls. As the hours passed, her screaming died down and she began showing signs that her medications were wearing off. Like scratching at her arms. Like pulling at her hair. Like twitching and licking her lips when ever she spoke.
"Why? It's not going to do any good and we both know it. It's too late, now." Deirdre licked her lips and Reggie cringed at the sight. Deirdre hated little things like that. She thought it was undignified. "Don't look at me like a kicked puppy, Reggie. I knew this was going to happen; you should have kept your mouth shut." She'd said the same thing at least six times in the last few minutes. "Shouldn't have said a damned thing." Deirdre began drawing blood with her fingernails and Reggie knew he had to do something.
"Come sit with me." He said. She was right, though. There was nothing they could do, but try to survive until Mr. Goti let them out. If he let them out.
"No. Not going to sit. Have to keep moving. I feel like I'm on the greatest sugar high of all time, Reggie. Like I could run a million miles and not get a bit tired." She gave out a little whimpering sound and looked down at her bleeding arms. "Ants under my skin." Her bloodied fingers traveled up to her neck and she started scratching again. "Ants. Shit, it feels..." She let out another pitiful whimper, so unlike the Deirdre Reggie knew.
Reggie jumped to his feet. He grabbed her before Deirdre even looked up at him and dragged her down to the floor. She didn't go down quietly, not that Reggie had thought that she would. Deirdre swung her arms and kicked her legs, trying to get free, but Reggie held her tightly against him.
"Reggie, let me go!"
"No. Sorry." Reggie, though not the biggest or strongest of boys was still stronger than Deirdre. He pulled her to the floor and sat her roughly between his legs, wrestling with her all the while until he managed to pin her legs with his and cross her arms over her chest, holding them tightly so she couldn't do herself anymore damage. Deirdre fought to free herself until she was exhausted and collapsed against Reggie. "Y-you'll hurt y-yourself." He wanted to say, 'Let me take care of you. You'll be alright if you just let me protect you.' But that would have been a lie and he didn't want to lie to her.
"I don't care." Deirdre began to shake. "I think I'll die today, Reggie. Wouldn't mind dying so much, but..." She coughed so hard, then, that her whole body convulsed and she had to wait for the coughing to stop. "Everything's messed up, now. I just...wanted..." Her head lolled to the side so that her cheek was on Reggie's arm. "I wanted to see the stars, just once."
"S-stars?" Reggie couldn't stop his stutter now, not without the medications. "But y-you can s-s-see them from your w-window."
"Not like that." Deirdre looked up at the white metal ceiling. "I wanted to see real stars. I wanted to go into space on one of the big starships and see the rest of the universe. I'd have been a great captain."
"The best."
Hours passed.
They'd been locked in the room together for a day and a half, as near as Reggie could guess, and she looked worse with each passing hour. Her hair, usually thick and shining, was dull and hung in bloody tangles. "It's only a little hair. I'm not crying over it, you shouldn't, either!" Reggie had made the mistake of falling asleep and his grip on Deirdre's hands had slacken. When he woke, he found her still sitting between his legs on the floor, but pulling ruthlessly at her own hair. On the floor around them and even on Reggie's legs were clumps of hair Deirdre had pulled from her own head. After that, Reggie was determined to not fall asleep again, so long as Deirdre needed him. He had her arms once again crossed over her chest and pinned with his own, holding Deirdre so she couldn't rip at her hair, again.
Normally, he would never have had the courage to do something like that, but he had very little choice. Shy or not, Deirdre needed him. Even as he tried his best to keep her still, Deirdre twitched and jerked uncontrollably and hadn't spoken for a very long time. If Reggie let go of her, Deirdre would start ripping out her hair again or scratching viciously at herself. It was a side effect of not having her medications anymore, Reggie was sure of it. He was feeling the effects, himself. His head hurt, but he wasn't certain if that was because of withdrawal or the dim lighting. They'd been locked up for so long that the room reeked of urine and sweat. Reggie and Deirdre were both sweating buckets, so much so that their clothes were soaked right through. Reggie's stomach hurt, too. It probably wasn't hunger. Every now and again, food and water were beamed in, just enough to keep them both alive.
"Deirdre, do you think we'll die?"
"Probably." Deirdre suddenly relaxed, fitting neatly into the curve of Reggie's chest. He could feel her breathing and her too rapid heartbeat. "Not much we can do about it in here, though, huh?" Reggie felt warm blood from Deirdre's head seeping though his shirt. "Thanks, Reggie."
"For what?"
"...just...thanks." Deirdre jerked violently, taking Reggie by surprise.
"Deirdre?"
She turned herself so she could look right up at him and smiled. "It was a good try." She jerked again, her eyes rolling into her head for a brief moment before she focused on him again. Her eyes were yellowish and her pupils dilated far beyond normal. "Not good enough." Her narrow shoulders stiffened and she inhaled sharply. "Reggie..." Deirdre's eyes widened like she'd just been punched in the stomach and her breathing became gasps. Wet-sounding, pathetic struggling for life and Reggie looked desperately up at the surveillance camera.
"Help her!" He yelled. "She's dying, help her!" Of course there was no answer and Reggie had known there wouldn't be one. This was the end and there was nothing Reggie could do to save her. Reggie held her close and began rocking her. She looked up at Reggie and she was crying. It was the first time he'd ever seen Deirdre cry. "Oh...Oh..."
Deirdre began to cough again, but it didn't let up this time. She coughed so violently that she managed to pull both herself and Reggie onto their sides and Reggie was hard pressed to catch her so her head didn't strike the floor. She kept coughing until it became a choking and then she threw up. For a moment it seemed that the worst was over, but then she started heaving and trembling again. The next time she threw up, there was blood in the vomit. After that, there was nothing but bile and blood.
"Don't d-d-die." Reggie felt so helpless. "I'll go see the s-stars with y-you. I...I...promise." It was such a strange thing to promise, but it made sense to Reggie. "Don't die a-a-and I'll take you to the s-s-stars."
Deirdre gave one last great shudder and then fell still.
"D-Deirdre?" It was hopeless. "Deirdre, p-please..." He turned her over, ignoring the vomit and its stench. Her eyes still wide and staring, warm tears still making their way down her face. Dead.
He cried for her and held her until they came and unlocked the cell's doors. Reggie was so lost in his pain that he barely noticed the light flood into the room and he didn't see Mr. Goti walk in with two of his thug's.
"I want the corpse for vivisection and dissection. Have it taken to the lab and put on ice until I can deal with it." Mr. Goti said, his voice as warm and loving as it always was.
It was only when the thugs tried to take Deirdre away from Reggie, that he registered what was going on and he fought to stay with her. He was too weak to put up much resistance, though, and they batted him away like he was a fly. Reggie was in so much physical pain that it hurt just to stand and his emotional pain was unspeakable. Still, he did and launched himself at the man who'd lifted up Deirdre's body. Again, Reggie was pushed away and this time he struck the wall, hard. His head spun and Reggie slumped to the floor, unable to stand.
"One more day, Reg." Mr. Goti said, his voice still jovial and gentle, even as he followed out the men who carried Deirdre. "One more day and your punishment will be over. You can come out and go back to your classes." He closed the door behind him and Reggie knew it would be locked.
He folded himself up, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his head under his arms, making himself as small as possible. With his eyes closed, Reggie could still see Deirdre, vibrant and whole. She was laughing and her eyes were so full of life.
Reggie hoped he would die before they opened the door.
End Dream-
Leon was staring at him. "You finally awake? Christ, you sleep like the dead."
Reggie sat bolt upright. "W-what are you doing here?" Hadn't they agreed to meet for dinner? There were dark circles under Leon's eyes and Reggie wondered when the last time Leon had any decent sleep was.
"Man," Leon sat on Reggie's bed as if it were his own and didn't even bother to turn up the lights. "I've got to talk."
Reggie was glad to see Leon, but he really didn't feel like talking. He never did, not after the dream. It wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of Deirdre's death. What he wanted was to be left alone for a while, but Leon had a panicky look that worried Reggie. Leon didn't often look so frightened. "Don't you ever sleep?" Reggie asked, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. It was better to look at Leon than to remember Deirdre's lifeless eyes. "Lights." He commanded, causing the room to brighten. Leon hadn't even changed his clothes and Reggie cast a look at his clock. Less than an hour had passed since he'd left Leon with Count D.
"Not lately." Leon grumbled. He put his hands on Reggie's bed and leaned back just enough so he could look at the ceiling. "The weirdest thing just happened. Look, you remember that guy I introduced you to? The Oriental guy in the dress? I told you he had my Jill?"
"Count D? Yeah, what about him?" From the atmosphere he'd felt between Leon and Count D, he'd rather expected Leon to spend the whole evening with him. Maybe even the whole night. Perhaps something had gone wrong and that was why Leon looked so upset.
"'What about him!?' Everything about him!" Leon nearly exploded and he slumped suddenly, catching his head with his hands and his elbows on his knees. "Where do I start? I can't even describe how it felt. Christ, I thought I was going to die in there! I couldn't stop sweating and everything he said seemed to have a double meaning. Every time he looked at me, it was like...like he was looking right though me. I couldn't think straight."
Reggie smiled and thought how cute Leon looked like that. "Oh? Really?" Reggie hoped he sounded innocent.
"Yeah. It felt real hot there, too. Hotter than anything I've ever felt. Not that he seemed to notice at all. He was wearing so much clothes and didn't even have a slight flush on his face. He was chalk white."
Reggie leaned back to watch the fireworks he was about to inspire. "Sounds like love to me." All right, he shouldn't have said it, but it was so tempting.
Leon's reaction was instant and spectacular. He stood up and slammed both hands down on the table, his face dark as a thundercloud, but also blushing like a schoolboy. "You've gotta be kidding me! What the Hell are you smokin' Reggie?! It's nothing like that! Nothing at all!"
"What was that phrase?" Reggie put a finger to his chin as he pretended to think. "Oh, yes. 'Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.' Yes, that was it. Shakespeare, I think."
Leon's blush deepened and his mouth dropped. "What are you talking about?" Leon demanded, angrily. He left the table and started pacing back and forth. "I only met the guy yesterday!"
"So what?" Reggie was no expert in love. He'd only ever given his heart to one person and she was long dead. Still, he knew more than Leon who'd never been in love before. "He obviously likes your company." Leon took a deep breath, looking as if he'd yell again and Reggie spoke quickly to prevent it. "Look, why are you so upset? Is it the fact that he's a man that bothers you?" It was a very outdated concern, but one that some few people still had problems with.
Leon scowled. "Why are you doing this to me? You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I'm always on your side, whether you like it or not. I just don't know why you're so upset. Love is a great thing, you should be happy. Is he ugly?"
Leon snorted. "You saw him. You shouldn't even be able to ask that with a straight face. He was...perfect."
"Then what's he like? I didn't get much of a chance to talk to him. Is he crude or obnoxious?"
"No. He was polite enough to be Vulcan and...and he smiled a lot. No one can be that perfect." Leon declared, after a moment's thought. "There's got to be something wrong with him if he seems that perfect. Maybe he's a mass murderer or he tortures small children..."
"That's going too far."
"No. I'm serious. There's definitely something not right about him. But..."
"But?"
"But I could swear I've met him before. Everything was so familiar, right down to the smell. There was something in the air, a little sweet and a little something else. His eyes...his hands...even just walking around in that place seemed so natural. Like I'd done it a hundred times before."
"Leon, maybe you should talk to counselor Troi about this. She's very nice and a good listener." Reggie had never seen Leon so worked up about anyone. If anything, he normally dismissed people or barely tolerated them. This was verging on paranoia. Reggie understood that Leon had never been in love, but to be this frightened about it was surely unusual.
Leon answered with a snarl. "That mind reading bitch..."
"Leon!" Reggie was outraged for counselor Troi's sake. He might not always be fond of her, but she didn't deserve that kind of insult. "She's a good woman, you've got no reason to say that!"
"All right, all right!" Leon held his hands up defensively. "You know I don't like counselors or psychologists. I don't know how you can stand to be around one that can tell what you're thinking."
"She doesn't do that. Deanna might be able to help you, Leon."
"No. She can't." Leon stood up and strode out of Reggie's bedroom and Reggie jumped up, chasing after him. He caught Leon's arm before Leon got out of his quarters.
"Where are you going? You can't just wake me up in the middle of the night and then walk out. What's going on?"
Leon stopped, but didn't turn to face Reggie. "He's D."
"D?"
"You remember. My dreams? I told you I dreamed about D all the time. Well, he's D."
Reggie was stunned and dropped Leon's arm. "That's not possible."
"That's what I thought. In the dreams, I never saw his face. His voice is the same, though. No one else could have that voice." Leon turned to Reggie and his eyes were wide with confusion. "It was just a dream, wasn't it? D? My mom dying? Animals that could talk and looked very human? Those were all dreams."
Reggie nodded. "Yeah. Animals can't talk like humans and they don't look like us. You never knew your mom; you said she died in childbirth when you were born. Maybe it's not Count D you were dreaming about. Leon, I don't see how it could have been him. He can't be much older than you, so how could you have met him when you were a child?"
"D has a kid, Chris, who looks like me. Says he's taking care of the Chris for a friend. I think the kid's a telepath. He didn't talk, but I could hear him clear as day. D had another kid he called Tet-chan, said Tet-chan was one of his pets and the kid called him 'master'. That's just weird."
"The captain wouldn't let anyone involved in slavery onto the ship. I've served under him for a few years now and he's very strict about that sort of thing. Count D probably meant that Tet-chan was his servant or something. You've got security access, have you checked up on Count D, yet?"
"I don't want to get him in trouble." Then, Leon admitted his real fear. "What if...what if I'm dreaming again? What if none of this is real?"
Reggie almost choked. He knew Leon hadn't had any dreams since he was a child, the medications didn't let him dream. If the medications weren't working anymore, then it would be very bad. Someone would notice something about Leon's behavior and that would be the very best situation. At worst, Leon would die.
"What if he's not the D from my dreams, but just another dream." Leon continued. "What if he's not what I see when I look at him? What I saw couldn't have been real! He took me into his closet and led me down a fuckin' stair case into a huge room! That's not possible and he wasn't a bit impressed by it. He said he knew me before I was born. I couldn't contact the computer after I went down the stairs. The telepathic kid took me into the weird place when D had left for a moment and there were all kinds of weird hallways and rooms."
It had to be a dream. If what Leon said was true, then Captain Picard would have to know about it. After all, Reggie had seen much stranger things during his journeys on the Enterprise. It was possible that Count D wasn't human at all, but some kind of alien. It sometimes seemed like the Enterprise was a magnet for strangeness. This could be a terrible security hazard and Leon couldn't make the choice.
However, if Leon's story was nothing more than dreams, then...Reggie wasn't sure what he would do. This was worse than Reggie had thought. He'd never thought that the drugs would just stop working. Leon shouldn't be even near a phasor if his mind was going to be playing tricks on him, let alone be trusted as security. Reggie would have to betray Leon for everyone's sakes.
'I told you so' didn't seem like the right thing to say at the moment, not with Leon so shaken, so Reggie kept his mouth shut. He would press Leon about getting off the drugs, now, though. If they weren't working, Leon shouldn't have such a problem with rehabilitation. If Leon couldn't even decide to tell his superior what he'd seen, then he wasn't able to be a security officer.
"Let's get some sleep." Reggie gestured to his couch. "You can take my bed, I'll sleep there." If he'd be able to sleep at all, given this new worry and the still fresh memory of Deirdre. "In the morning, we'll go visit Count D and you can show me the stair case." Reggie hated talking to people, but he would make an exception in this case. "We'll know one way or the other."
Chris-
Chris had never been on a space ship before, so it was really no wonder that he was excited or that the moment Leon and the Count had both gone, he snuck out of his room.
"You can't!" Pon-chan pleaded. "The Count will be really angry! I don't think he wants you wandering around."
-I have to!- Chris insisted. -Leon's out there and I have to bring him back. He might get hurt again.- The memory was all too clear for Chris. To him, Leon had been murdered less than a day ago. To see him perfectly healthy and alive was a miracle and Chris wanted to see him again. -Besides, if I can talk to him again, I can make him remember. I know I can! He'll remember and he'll come back to live at home.- Chris couldn't imagine it being any other way. If he did, he'd cry.
By this time they were on the stairs leading up to the outside and Pon-chan was doing her best to hold Chris back without actually pulling him down the stairs. "You have to wait. The Count will bring your brother back, I know he will." Pon-chan was hardly the biggest or most threatening of the Count's pets, but she was a very good friend of Chris' and he liked her very much. He didn't want to listen, though.
-You come with me, then.- Chris suggested.
Pon-chan was aghast. "I can't! The Count told us we had to stay here, I can't disobey. He'd be so angry!"
-Then stay here. I'll be alright.-
"At least ask Tet-chan to go with you."
-If you won't disobey the Count, then he won't either.- Chris turned and ran. He was angry that she wouldn't go with him. Pon-chan always went with him on adventures, so why wouldn't she go this time? The Count wouldn't be all that angry. He never got really angry. Besides, the Count would approve this time, Chris was sure. He was going to find Leon, after all.
Chris stepped into the room at the top of the stairway. It was a very weird room. All white without any color at all. It was the windows that really got Chris' attention, though. 'We really are in space!' Chris smiled and ran to the windows. He pressed his hands against the glass and then his nose, as if that could give him a better view of the stars.
The view made him so happy that Chris was smiling like it was Christmas morning when he left the room. He jumped when the door slid open all by itself. He'd only ever seen supermarket doors open like that before. Still, it was nothing compared to what he saw outside the quarters, in the hallways. 'Pon-chan's going to wish she'd come with me.'
Tet-chan-
Tet-chan was busy on dinner. It took a lot to feed someone with as picky tastes as the Count's, but Tet-chan was up to the challenge. He always served a master piece to the Count and always made sure there was a delicious desert to follow after dinner. Actually, this was the first time in a long time that Tet-chan was able to cook in peace with an easy mind. Chris was awake, Leon was soon to rejoin the Count, then they'd all go home. All was right with the world.
"Tet-chan! Tet-chan!" Pon-chan ran screaming into the kitchen. "Chris! It's Chris!"
"What about Chris?" Tet-chan set down his skillet and readied himself for whatever the little raccoon would say. It couldn't be all that bad. Inside the petshop, everyone knew better than to hurt little Chris. They'd not only have Tet-chan to deal with, but the Count, himself.
Pon-chan was nearly crying. "He's gone! He went outside to find Leon!"
"What?!" How was he supposed to protect Chris outside? Tet-chan threw off his apron and tore towards the stairs. "Stay here," He shouted to Pon-chan over his shoulder. "Tell the Count what's happening when he gets back!"
to be continued...