Disclaimer & stuff: I really don't see the use in repeating myself.
Note: I can't believe this…look on the front page and read the note from Nov. 21. We aren't allowed to respond to reviews in our fics. That just doesn't make sense to me. I don't see the harm…but don't worry, I'll think of something. Anyway, hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Oh yeah, and I'm playing around with the section spacers…so bear with me 'kay :D
Quick note: I also added more Klausian words. Oh how I love playing with words XD
Inside My Heart
Chapter 12
Sophia did her best to wiggle out of the man's grip, but his hands held her like iron. No matter what she did, he didn't move at all. The sounds of fighting around her seemed to seep into the background. The beating of her own heart was thunder in her ears and nearly drowned out everything else.
Then she heard Mirage shout. "Get ready guys! We need to get as far back as possible."
Sashia gave a hurried look at the group. Each warrior did as instructed and made their way – as fast as possible without injury – to the back near the wall. Her adrenaline was pumping at high speed.
Mirage made her way to the teenager. "I've got your back. Just try to make it quick."
"I'll try, but I can't use as much of my symbology as normally. These blasted bands…" Sashia trailed off as she focused her limited energy. She stopped herself from thinking of what was around her. A sense of urgency and panic were echoing in her mind, and she did her best to clear her thoughts of everything but what it was she needed to do.
Sophia watched as Sashia brought her hands together and clenched them. The fingers of one hand pressed against the fingers of her other hand, as she brought her hands up to her chest. Sashia bent her head down and closed her eyes. Energy gathered around her hands in a dull purple haze. The purple hue lightened as it swirled around her fist and intertwined itself around her upper torso.
In one graceful motion; Sashia opened her eyes, lifted her gaze straight ahead of her, and opened both palms as she pushed them from her body.
"Twin Retribution!" Sophia could have sworn she heard Sashia's words echoed behind her. There was someone else there she couldn't see.
The purple haze leapt from Sashia's palms and circled around the room. Another haze from behind Sophia, only this one was blue in color, tangled itself with the purple haze. Like a homing device, the energy sought out the seven men they had been trying desperately to fend off and surrounded them. Each man stopped stone cold and froze. It was almost like time had stopped completely for the men.
Then, in unison, the men dropped and disappeared.
Sophia let out a cry of pain when the hands holding her arms tightened. Her captor stepped back. Sophia didn't know what was going on, but a sudden sense of paranoia seeded in the pit of her stomach. The paranoia increased, along with confusion, when someone materialized in front of her.
This time instead of another soldier, she found herself looking at what appeared to be an android. The android was female, but completely void of any human featured besides her shape.
"Program Inhibitor001 is corrupting. It is recommended that you return at once for re-installment." Even her voice was nonhuman. It was mechanic with only enough texture to sound somewhat female.
"Damn it! You will all die. Mark my words. This is far from over." Luther hissed. His voice was thick and laced with pure hatred.
Mirage took a few steps toward him. She treaded carefully; all too aware that Luther still had a death grip on Sophia. As she moved closer, he turned his ice cold eyes to her and hissed. She almost stopped. His eyes…he was truly insane…his eyes told her the evil truth.
"Lab 4 now!"
Before she could register what he had said, he disappeared in a blue cloud.
"What? He transported…" Mirage was awestruck. She hadn't expected him to get away that easily. And he still had Sophia.
Cliff ran to her side. "Hey! Come back. Don't tell me he just ran away."
"Yeah, it seems he transported. Who was he holding anyway? I didn't get a good look."
Mirage looked up to see Gates approaching. The sight of him only increased her tension. "Sophia…he's got Sophia. And just what the hell are you doing here?" She couldn't help but to get angry at him. So far she had taken some comfort in the fact that he was safely away from the trouble.
Just like Cliff! He just can't stay out of trouble. Should have known he would have found someway here. After all Sashia's here…It's just like when Cliff would show up every time I need him back in our Quark days.
"Long story, Sensei. Maybe you should scold me later. Right now it seems we have a damsel in distress." Gates tried to force a smile.
"Yeah, and after that I get first shot at my idiot brother." Sashia was both relieved to see Gates and furious with him. It was enough that she was fighting for her life, but now she had to worry about him too.
The others approached. "Okay, sibling rivalry later…rescue now," Cliff said with a hint of urgency in his voice.
"Mirage?" Peppita called the blonde as she wiggled between Cliff and Gates. "I found this. It was on the floor where Luther and Sophia were before they transported."
Peppita handed Mirage the small metal box. It was the same box Sophia had taken earlier. Mirage nodded and took the item. She immediately passed it to Gates.
"We need to get going. This is a device that will release the restraining bands on Sashia, Peppita, Nel, Adray, Maria, and Sophia. See if you can't figure it out. But first we need to get moving."
Gates took the box. Before he could even explore the contours of the device, the group was heading out of the room.
Sashia turned back. "Come on, senecklen-hirle! You comin' or not?"
Gates held tight to the device as he chased after Sashia and the others.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Roger stood back and watched Fayt type away at the controls. "What can I do?"
Fayt gave him a hurried look. "Um…keep an eye out. Check the door and make sure no one's coming."
Before Roger could turn to the door, Fayt had already turned his attention back to the console. The room was filled with the rhythmic sounds of Fayt's continuous tapping and the occasional dialog between him and Marietta.
"Good," Marietta's voice came through the speakers. "Now all I need to do is tweak the directories, and modify the registry."
Roger shook his head. He had no idea what they were talking about and he wasn't going to ask. He was sure that any explanation would be just as confusing as the subcomas had been. Besides, it didn't look like Fayt had the time to talk right now anyway.
He jogged lightly to the door and opened it just a crack. It wasn't below a real man to take guard duty. He knew just how important the 'look out' could be and that he was given a big job that most saw as meaningless. But if danger came his way, he would be the first to face it. And that was where he wanted to be…on the front line.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Mirage led the group through the halls. Her pace had slowed when she started to doubt their current actions.
She stopped and in response everyone else stopped.
"Mirage?" Cliff looked at her with concern as she scanned the faces of the group.
She looked at him. "We know he's gone to Lab 4, but we don't know where that is. We need strategy or we don't stand a chance of getting to him before he…hurts Sophia."
Cliff nodded and was about to speak, but was cut off by Gates.
"Catch twenty-two all over again."
All eyes turned to him. Most with a questioning expression.
He put one hand behind his head and gave the group a nervous smile. "Well, the logical thing to do is split up and increase our odds of finding them, but in doing so we only make ourselves weaker. The strongest offense we have is sticking together but that would only slow down our progress." He looked around. "Either way…it doesn't look good."
"It doesn't look good even if we stay together," Sashia piped up. "What if we split into two groups? That way we'll only be decreasing our strength by half."
Mirage gave Cliff a questioning look. He responded with a simple nod. He was going to sit back and let her led this time. She nodded back, accepting her responsibility. She had been use to following orders for so long until it came her turn to take over the dojo. Even that experience wasn't a significant amount. But now wasn't the time to debate herself on this…she was being looked to for answers and she needed to provide them.
"Okay, then we'll split into groups. Cliff, Sashia and Gates – you come with me. We'll split up and try to find Luther. I only wish there was a way we could keep contact."
"Fear not Sensei," Gates said as he dug in the pouch at his side. He produced two communicators and handed them to Mirage. "I came prepared."
Mirage took one communicator and handed it to Maria. "Alright, contact me if you find anything."
Maria took the communicator and looked to 'her' group. "Everyone ready?"
There was a series of nods and other such confirmations. The two groups split at the next intersection they came to.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Feeling braver and braver, Roger had slowly eased the door to open wider. Occasionally he would stick his head out the door and peer down both directions of the hall. Then he would turn and look at Fayt. When he got tired of watching Fayt talking to Marietta and doing whatever it was he was doing with the subcomas, he would look back down the hall. It was an endless cycle.
He had just one word to describe 'guard duty'. Boring. Boring and dull. Okay, so it was two words but they meant the same thing. So he had one definition for his current task. Yes, that one definition described both his feelings and agony.
And he felt useless. Nothing had happened and he doubted anything would happen. He hadn't even heard a single noise come from outside the room. He yawned and stretched. Then he wagged his tail from side to side. After he got bored with that he checked the hallway again. Then he twitched his ears.
He had just turned to check on Fayt for the…well he had lost track of how many times, when he finally heard something. There was a noise coming from the hall. It was distant but approaching fast.
"Fayt, sounds like someone's coming."
Fayt immediately turned and glanced over the room. He couldn't see anything to use for a weapon. He sprinted to the door and glanced down the hall. Who ever it was, they were coming up fast. Fayt quickly closed the door and then froze. He had slammed the door and was sure that the sound wouldn't go unnoticed.
He pressed his back to the door while looking over his shoulder at the knob. He was searching for a lock, but the door provided no help. It was probably locked by computer if it could lock at all.
"Marietta, can you access the lock for this door?" His voice was rushed but calm.
"Sorry, we just lost contact with the ship. We're trying to get back on but the security program is slowing us down."
"Can…" Fayt was cut off when something, or someone, banged into the door. The door opened barely before it closed again under Fayt's pressure. Roger had also plastered himself to the door in an attempt to help.
Their combined strength wasn't enough. The door was knocked open, throwing both of them a few feet. The two spun around; ready to fight, just to be confronted by Albel and Adray.
Both men had drawn their weapons. The blades hung in the air only inches from Fayt and Roger.
"Fools. A stunt like that could have ended your lives."
Fayt put his hands up. "Well, it's good to see you too Albel. Now that that's out of the way, do you mind putting your sword somewhere a little less close to my face?"
Albel lowered his katana as Nel, Peppita and Maria entered the room.
"Maria!" Marietta shouted over the speakers. "Thank goodness you're okay."
Maria nodded and approached the screen. "Good to see you too, but how did you manage to access this ship?"
"Oh, I did that!" Roger exclaimed with beaming pride.
Everyone ignored him except for Peppita who said, "Way to go Rog."
Marietta took a quick look at everyone and turned her attention back to Maria. "Maria, do you think you can help us hack into the security program."
Maria turned to Fayt and handed him the communicator. "Here, tell Mirage what's going on." Once the communicator had exchanged hands, she went to work on the console.
Fayt opened the communicator and was almost immediately patched through to Mirage.
"Fayt! Good to see you. What's your status?"
Fayt could tell that Mirage was running. She gave the communicator hurried looks and the scene behind her never stopped moving. "Right now we're trying to help Marietta hack into the security system."
"Can you access a map for me? I need to find Lab 4."
Fayt paled. He remembered reading Lab 4 on the door he had just escaped from. That was the place Luther had him locked up in. He lifted his head to the screen. "Maria?"
"Yeah, I heard." Maria's fingers moved lightning fast over the keys.
Fayt turned back to the scene. "Why do you need to go there?"
He was afraid to hear the answer. That place already held unpleasant memories and the mere mention of the place made him feel cold. He could also tell that the question was unsettling to Mirage and that she didn't want to answer him.
"Look, Fayt, just get me a map." Her voice pleaded with him to leave it at that.
But he couldn't. "Someone, tell me exactly what's going on here!"
"Fayt, calm down," Nel said, resting her hand on his shoulder. "We need to keep our heads."
Fayt looked at her. She seemed just as reluctant as Mirage to fill him in.
"What?" he whispered.
Nel gently took the communicator from him and handed it to Peppita. "Fayt…Luther's got Sophia."
For a second, Fayt simply froze – unable to even comprehend what he had just heard.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Sophia had no choice but to allow herself to be guided by Luther. She was first transported and then drug to an empty table. The table had metal clasp shaped to hold down a person. The sight of the cold metal table sent shivers down her spine. She had to fight her nausea as her head throbbed with panic.
"LEINGOD!" Luther yelled in her ear. She almost lost control, but managed to barley keep herself from being sick. She continued to pace her breathing, but found it hard to restrain from matching Luther's hurried breaths. She could feel his chest rise and fall against her back and she could hear his breaths exit his nose, which was right above her head.
"Damn, damn, damn. The little prick got away." Luther gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the girl. She squealed involuntarily in response.
He shot a glance at the back of her head. For a moment he had forgotten all about his prize. If one could call one prisoner a prize that is. At one time he had all but the Klausians. All of them! But now he was reduced to just this one girl.
"Fine," he mumbled to himself. "I guess I'll just have to start with you."
He tossed her, like she was nothing more then a rag doll, on the table that had once held Leingod. She struggled but it had no effect as he closed the metal clasp around her wrist. After her hands were down, she could do nothing but watch as he closed the clasps around her ankles and waist. It seemed like the metal responded to his touch and closed at his command.
He straightened himself and looked down at her. He gave her a smile that shone of pure evil. "Don't worry my dear…this will only hurt until you die."
He let out a laugh filled with lunacy as he walked away from her and sat at the computer. He looked back at her one last time. "Now, let me hear you scream as loud as you possible can. No need to be shy around me."
With that he turned his chair away from her and tapped the keys on the console. The whole time he laughed under his breath.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Blue Afterthoughts: Yes, I took another German phrase and twisted it to form Klausian. Sashia calls Gates a senecklen-hirle. This is taken from the German words 'schnecke hirn' which loosely translates to Snail-Brain. And yes, I'm using an English to German dictionary for help so if I didn't quite use the correct German words then I do apologize. I took the language in high school, but I'm no where fluent in it.
Blue's Facts, Q&A: (Currently known as Blue Reviews.)
The Keen-Hood Style 'technique' has been revealed (along with corrected in the previous chapter – thanks for the correction BT). And now Roger is still acting silly – I'm trying to use him to relieve the tension and suspense in a some-what comic manner. As for the Inhibitor001, I guess the incomplete transfer of Luther's consciousness into the Eternal Sphere flawed his program writing skills – the guy's just not quite 'well'.
As for a AlNel sequel, I will do that…but I hate to leave this story unfinished so I'll start on that once this is over.
Luther is most certainly loony in this fic. My theory on this is that when his consciousness was being downloaded the Eternal Sphere was experiencing 'high traffic' (much like the internet) because of all the other inhabitants trying to hold on to their own consciousness. Since his was an outside force, he didn't complete the 'download' before the Eternal Sphere was reset. Sorta like turning the computer off without shutting down first. Sometimes there are side effects. That and I needed a villain. XD
Now, let me take this little space to thank all my reviewers, and those who might read this but not review – yes I can see you on the hits counter (which frustratingly keeps getting reset). Anyway, this is chapter 12 and I still haven't finished it…I'm getting there…but the fact that you all have stuck with me this long means I'm doing something right –hugs everyone-
See you in chapter 13, in reviews for your fics, or in chapter 6 of my other story…which ever comes first.