by Moonstone 04
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Author's Notes: This fic contains XS2 spoilers as well as yaoi content, with Tony/chaos as the main focus. You've been warned. This fic is a sequel to "From the Abyss."
This is the R-rated edition (I guess that's M-rated now?) of this fic. The original, NC-17 version of this fic is only being posted at Xenoyaoi at yahoogroups.
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Chapter 3 - Twisting Threads
Threads of darkness spun around him, like a monstrous spiderweb come to life. His heart hammered in his chest as he tried to find a way out. This was a dream, he realized, so there had to be a way out. Knowing this didn't make it feel any less real. Nor did it take away the fear.
Somewhere beyond the threads, he saw a black figure standing with his back turned. The figure was familiar... chaos?
Tony tried to call out, but the webs were everywhere, choking him...
"Fool." A voice soft and silky, yet cold as ice. "One way or another, you are ensnared. You thought nothing would ever hold you down, did you not? To always fly free...but it is all an illusion. Would you like to see what it truly is to be free? Tony?"
It sounded like chaos...but no. Something was wrong.
"Or do you enjoy being a puppet dancing to his strings? It is your choice, of course. You burn so brightly...and yet you cling to his whims like a dog. Cut your leash, and I could show you skies without boundaries."
Couldn't see his face. Turn around...
"Consider it."
The webs grew tighter, and Tony panicked silently as it enveloped him.
---
Sweaty and flailing, Tony woke up tangled in his blanket. After a few moments of kicking around, he managed to get it off.
"Damn nightmare..." He mumbled to himself, wiping his face with his hand.
Sitting up, he realized chaos was gone. Again... Disappointment settled in his chest for a few still moments. Then the bed squeaked as he got up. Of course, chaos had said he would arrange the transport for the droids this morning.
Emerging from the cabin several minutes later, he was still troubled by his strange nightmare. It had felt so real, he could remember it as clearly as something that had really happened. He was so lost in thought, that he all but ran into Hammer as he headed towards the bridge.
"You awake?" Hammer grumbled as he pushed the pilot back.
"I will be." Tony knocked his old friend's hand away. "Where's chaos? We're supposed to be installing the new droids today."
"Yeah, that." Hammer held up a small holopad and lightly smacked it against Tony's shoulder. "chaos just gave this to me to give to you. It's the invoice for the transport ship. You'll have to go to the Kukai Foundation and hand over the verified copy at noon, Foundation time."
"What, they won't accept it over the UMN?"
"With the military buildup going on in local space, most UMN channels have been locked off." Hammer had an exasperated look. "Unless we wanna be charged extra for the encrypted channel, it has to be hand delivered."
"Terrific." Tony snatched the holopad away from Hammer. "Wait a minute, you said you just saw chaos? Where'd he go?"
Hammer paused for a moment, giving Tony a hard, annoyed stare.
"Well?"
Hammer gave a long suffering sigh. "You know I don't care what you and chaos do when the rest of us are trying to work, but I really wish you'd consider that I have to sleep in there too, and it's hard as hell to get any rest when you two are getting up throughout the night-"
"Hammer!" Tony resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. "I don't have time for this right now. Where's chaos?"
The navigator visibly gave up, slumping his shoulders. "Just left with Canaan. Something about some Vector equipment in a secret transport. Apparently we're not supposed to talk about it, if you get my drift." His disgruntled expression fell into intrigue. "Sounds kinda exciting..."
Tony gave a short laugh. "That's one way of putting it. The last time top secret Vector equipment came on-board, it hijacked the ship. And look where it's gotten us. Well, I only hope it's as nice to look at as KOS-MOS." He headed out to see if he could catch chaos. "Later, Hammer."
Leaving the Elsa, he didn't even reach the dock before running into a guy in a Vector uniform. The man blinked in surprise, then broke into a grin and put out his hand.
"Oh, hello! You're with the Elsa von Brabant, right? I'm Viano, from Vector's Second R&D division. I've been sent to prepare the Elsa."
Tony shook his hand, although Viano didn't seem in a hurry to let go. "Prepare, huh? What exactly is this top secret equipment?"
"I can't talk about it out in the open like this." Viano grinned, a little too widely. "Is there a more intimate place we could go and discuss this? It's very likely the Elsa will need some special outfitting."
"Uhh..." Tony wasn't sure if he was just seeing things, or if Viano was really coming on to him. He pulled his hand free. "I really can't, there's something I have to see to. But Hammer's still inside, you can talk to him all you want."
"Oh." Viano's smile seemed frozen. "Thanks...um..."
"Tony."
"Tony! Been nice meeting you." The Vector employee nodded and continued past Tony towards the Elsa. For some reason, the guy's forced friendlyness gave Tony the chills. Eh, he would be Hammer's problem now.
Still hoping to catch chaos, he ran out onto the dock. But by now, there was no sign of chaos or Canaan. He stood for a moment, then scuffed his boot into the polished floor of the spaceport. Well, it wasn't like he had any good reason to see them this morning anyway...
---
Tapping his foot impatiently, Tony waited in the Durandal ferry boarding area. From ferry to ferry, this was so tedious. He couldn't wait until the Elsa was repaired; he much preferred doing his own flying. But this did take him back to his childhood. Back then, he could spend all day on the dock with Hammer, watching the ships fly in. He always knew that some day he would fly out in one and never look back...
"YOU!"
The loud, accusing voice startled him. He immediately recognized it, and turned to smile widely. There was nowhere to run, all he could do was put on the charm and pray she wasn't as angry as she sounded. "G-Ginevra! You're looking as lovely as ever! How've you been?"
A young, dark woman in a red Durandal uniform advanced on him so aggressively that she ran him back into a wall. "Cut the sweet talk! Where have you been the past two months? You haven't so much as called or returned any of my messages!"
"Well baby, that's a really long story..." Tony laughed nervously.
"Try me." Her voice was like ice cracking. "I'd also like to know what the hell you were doing last night with that pretty boy outside of the Elsa. I've been trying to wash it out of my memory...tell me I wasn't seeing what I think I saw."
"P-Pret-?" Tony's eyes were probably as big as saucers by this point. Damn, Ginevra had a fiery temper. That fiery side made her a firecracker in the sack, but wasn't pleasant to encounter outside of it. "T-That was just... That was just... Hey, what were you doing down on Second Militia anyway?"
"Don't change the subject!" Ginevra snapped. "But if you must know, Master Gaignun has been running back and forth between the Foundation and Second Miltia a lot these days. I'm a member of his private security escort, you know! Not that he appreciates it, he keeps evading us. He's getting as bad as the Little Master."
"You don't say..." Over her shoulder, Tony noticed that the ferry had finally arrived. Just another minute, and it would dock. C'mon, c'mon...!
Ginevra grabbed his face in her hand, so hard he knew he must be making a ridiculous fishface. "Now. I want some answers."
The ferry touched down in a rush of air and swung open. Chimes sang out as people departed the craft, and others jostled together impatiently as they waited to board.
Taking Ginevra's hand from his face, Tony clasped it in both hands. "Sweetheart, you're just on edge from all the excitement lately. You really should take a vacation. Believe me, I'd love to stay and catch up, but I'm kinda on the job right now."
"Tony, don't you dare...!"
"Mwah!" Tony kissed her and quickly scooted out from under her. "Take a raincheck? Catch ya later!" Ignoring the angry shouts that followed, he slipped through the crowd and was the first to board the ferry. The crate couldn't take off soon enough.
---
Walking down the streets of the Foundation, Tony couldn't help looking over his shoulder now and then. After arriving, he was nearly walking backwards for several blocks. Just to make sure Ginevra hadn't followed him down. She had been worse than the last time he'd seen her.
It was really too bad. She used to be a lot of fun. There had been a time when she seemed to understand his situation, and was really cool about it. Now he wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to hurt her, but she was getting way too aggressive, and not in a good way. Heaving a heavy sigh, he trudged onward.
Before reaching the Robot Academy, his path was blocked by a huge mess of technical-looking equipment strewn across the dock. It seemed vaguely familiar, but he didn't realize what it was until he heard the Professor arguing loudly with someone. Dodging around enough clutter to make Hammer proud, he found the Professor with a group of men in green jumpsuits.
"...take it easy old man, you had plenty of warning."
"I demand to speak to Mr. Kukai immediately!"
"What? Come on, don't give us trouble. Master Gaignun was the one who authorized this eviction in the first place. This is just a bunch of junk anyway."
"Junk?"
"Whoa, hold on," Tony broke into the conversation. "What's going on here? We only wanted the droids shipped to the Elsa, what's all this?"
The Professor literally spun around on his rollerblades. "Oh, it's you! Your people are down in the lab with Assistant Scott." He jabbed his finger at the uniformed men. "These scoundrels are evicting us! Evicting the Robot Academy, the defenders of friendship and love! It's a scandal!"
"That doesn't sound like Master Gaignun." Tony thought Gaignun was possibly the most patient man he'd ever known, next to chaos. Otherwise, Captain Matthews and the Elsa crew would have been locked up long ago. "The entire Foundation is still recovering from the gnosis attack. Isn't this a little harsh?"
"Look buddy, this doesn't involve you." Another man in uniform drawled. "We're just doing our jobs. Move along, this isn't a show."
When the the Professor went into another rambling outburst, Tony steered clear of the argument. The righteous words of the old man following him, he headed down into the former Robot Academy. It was still dark as night in there, but he could see shadowy figures inspecting a droid by flashlight. It was Assistant Scott and two men that had to be the transport workers hired by chaos.
As Tony went about the business of signing for the transport, a thought began tickling at the back of his mind. The harder he tried to ignore it, the more insistant it became. He was biting his lip as he shoved the documents back into the hands of one of the transport men.
"Aw, man, I don't know what we're going to do now." Assistant Scott sighed as the transport men went about their business. "I never thought it would get this bad. We can't even get a permit for a new lab on Second Miltia because of our current situation. I suppose there's other places I could go, but I just can't leave the Professor behind. There's no way out."
Tony shook his head, trying to rid himself of the pesky thought. He had done what he came to do, he really had to get back to the ship. Assistant Scott took it as sympathy, and clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about us," he said. "We'll get through this somehow."
"Yeah..." The pesky thought had become a dangerous idea, and it was swiftly growing in Tony's mind. He had to get out of there before it was too late. "Good luck, man. I know what it's like."
That Scott had to be crazy to stick around, Tony thought as he hurried up the stairs. The Professor was a real looney; there was no way he was going to be able to talk his way out of this. They were both going to go down together.
But then again, Tony would never abandon Matthews either. Even with that monster debt, and nearly losing his life to it, he wouldn't. So maybe he was crazy too.
The Professor's ranting voice grew louder as he reached the top of the stairs. Without giving them a look, Tony passed by.
Not his problem.
The shrill voice now arguing behind him was becoming more desperate by the moment.
None of his concern.
Now Assistant Scott was trying to intervene, but he only seemed to be making it worse. At this rate, they were going to get arrested.
Matthews would kill him...
One of the transport men was raising his voice now.
Oh God...
Tony's boot scudded to a stop on the pavement. His shoulders hunched, he tried to fight off the impulse that was dragging his feet around. It wasn't working.
"Damn it..." He muttered as he walked back towards the scene behind him.
"Now listen here, you old geezer," the transport guy yelled. "We're-" He suddenly stopped as Tony dropped a hand on his shoulder, hard enough to make his legs buckle. "Oof!"
"Excuse us, buddy, I'll get back to you in a sec." Tony said cheerfully. Then he took the Professor by the shoulder and rolled him aside.
"What is the meaning of this?" The Professor demanded.
Tony grinned, making himself look more confident than he felt. "Look, we're both in something of a situation. I think we can help each other. Just hear me out..."
---
"Slow down! Are you out of your mind?"
Ignoring the Professor's complaints, Tony went careening through the Spaceport. His eyes scanned the crowd, praying that Ginevra was no longer around. Even if she was, he wasn't stopping.
"Hey!" The Professor squawked as he was pulled along on his rollerblades.
If he could just get everything done without Matthews noticing...
"Enough of this!"
Tony stumbled a few steps as the Professor suddenly yanked out of his grip. He turned around to find the old man had fallen onto his butt, the wheels on his rollerblades still spinning furiously. His round glasses gleaming under the lights, he scowled up at him.
"I can move on my own," the Professor slapped Tony's hand away when he tried to help him up. "I will not be pulled along like a piece of luggage! Now, you'll walk, or I go no further."
"Fine, fine..." Tony agreed, leading the way. At least the Elsa was in sight now. "Just keep up and don't get lost."
Luckily, they boarded the Elsa without any mishap. Tony was feeling very smug by the time they reached the catapult deck. They had managed to get all the way down there without running into Matthews. Now they just had to wait for Assistant Scott and the transport to arrive with the lab equipment. If everything continued to go smoothly, they might actually get away with it.
"Hey, Tony! What's going on?"
His heart nearly flying out of his chest, Tony saw his life flash before his eyes. Then he realized it was only Hammer. He clutched his chest as he turned to see the navigator coming down the steps after them. "Don't do that!"
"Don't do what?" Hammer frowned in confusion, looking from Tony to the Professor. "Who's this?"
"Yeah, we gotta talk about that." Tony looked over at the old man, who was squinting around at ship. "Professor, wait here, the transports should be arriving soon."
The Professor wasn't even paying attention, his beady eyes were too busy examining the catapult deck. Spinning slowly in circles, he was muttering to himself in a voice too low to hear.
"Transports?" Hammer asked, before Tony grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back up into the stairwell. "E-Eh!"
Tony looked up and down the stairwell before meeting Hammer's questioning face. "Yeah, there's two transports coming. I kinda agreed to let the Professor build his lab here on the Elsa. So his assistant is going to be arriving soon with the transport bringing all his equipment from the old lab."
"Kinda?" Hammer hissed. "You did... What?"
"Hey, these guys were gonna be tossed out on the street! I know it was stupid, but I couldn't just watch it happen an' walk away!"
Hammer stammered in disbelief, raising his hands a few times as if to speak, finally just giving up and clutching at his hair.
"Look, it isn't that bad, chaos says this guy is a genius. I got him to agree to modify the ship a little. It'll almost be for free, so that's a good thing, right?" Tony spread his hands out.
This didn't seem to comfort Hammer any. "Y-Y-You're going to let some nutbar you found on the streets modify the Elsa? And what do you mean by 'almost free?'"
"Well, he said we might have to cover some of the expenses, but I don't think it could be too bad." Tony waved a hand in front of Hammer's glazed eyes. "Hey man, you still in there?"
"The Captain is going to KILL you." Hammer said, suddenly very quiet and calm. "You do know that, right? He's going to chop you up, and feed you to the galley fish."
"Don't be ridiculous." Tony crossed his arms, sounding much, much more assured than he felt. "Besides, the Captain doesn't have to find out yet."
"Dead man." Hammer said in that same cold, calm voice.
"Oh shut up!" Tony yelled, losing his cool in a bluster. "Where is the Captain anyway? I don't want him to find out until we get this all underway. It'll be easier that way."
"Lucky for you, he's not even onboard right now. He ran out an hour ago with that creepy Viano guy to discuss some Vector policies of something or other. It's about those new E.S. units chaos and Canaan brought in awhile ago."
Tony nodded. "Good, good. I'd better go tell chaos about this too. Keep an eye on the Professor for me. If some guy named Assistant Scott or the droid transport arrives, get them in here as quickly as you can."
"W-What? Hey, don't get me involved in this!" Hammer yelped as Tony ran up the stairs. His aggravated voice shouted out afterwards, "Damnit, Tony, you're getting to be as bad as the Captain!"
---
When Tony reached the hangar, he boggled at the enormous size of the E.S. units. These things had to be mad powerful, because they sure as hell weren't built for stealth. Beyond the awe, however, he felt a resurgence of fear concerning what they were heading into. Helmer and Vector clearly expected them to need machines of this magnitude.
Finally, he stopped craning his neck, and looked around for chaos. He had thought they would be here with the E.S., but they didn't seem to be anywhere in the front hangar.
"chaos! Canaan?" Tony called out, but for some reason the E.S. were humming loudly, drowning him out. Definitely not stealth weapons.
It was possible they had already headed out to another part of the ship, but Tony decided to check the aft hangar. When he went in, he noticed immediately that it was darker than usual inside, but at least it was quieter. Usually the portholes near the back were open. He assumed it was an extra measure of security for the E.S. Walking further in, he was about to call out again, since he couldn't see much of anything. But at that moment, he finally saw something that left him speechless.
For a few, endless minutes, Tony was sure his eyes were playing tricks on him. His mind refused to accept that he was actually seeing chaos and Canaan kissing in the shadows of the salvage machinery. They were so close together, that they appeared as one sinuous shape in the darkness.
The terrible spell was broken when chaos gave a soft moan. A new, strange fear beating through his veins, Tony slowly edged away from the two that were oblivious to everything but each other. Spinning around, he walked out, moving faster with each passing heartbeat. By the time he reached the elevator, he was running as fast as he could go.
It still wasn't fast enough.