Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.

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Being sick sucks. But I'm back.

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Familiar

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Two cages on wheels, and a huge beetle to pull each. The Danians who came to purchase were expecting a haul it seems. One of the cages is packed, Humans shoulder to shoulder, practically sitting on each other. Some of them are screaming, some are begging, and some are quiet and resigned. It's still getting loaded, and some Humans make a break for freedom when the door is opened to load the next purchase in. Nobody has managed to escape.

The other cage is almost empty. Just me in there, wrapped up in chains, muzzled and immobile. The Danians give me an odd stare, but leave me and the cage alone. Boss's orders, this Human rides alone.

"You should feel flattered," the boss Danian says. "A whole space, just for you. Go on, stretch your legs, plenty of room to walk around." He cackles to himself as he leers at me through the bars.

I glare at him. At the ring of keys hanging from a cord around his neck. So much I could say, not all of it smart, except for this damned muzzle.

The blue Danian laughs louder, and he reaches through the bars. "As glorious as the silence is, I want to hear you beg." He grabs the cage of metal around my mouth and pulls me closer with it, then pulls the keys off from around his neck and fiddles with the muzzle's lock. "Who knows, maybe I'm feeling merciful."

The muzzle comes off, and I jerk my head away. I open my mouth and stretch my aching cheek muscles.

The Danian loops the keyring's cord back around his head. "Better, right? Tell me how much you appreciate it, Michael. I might decide to take the chains off, too." He grins wide. A familiar grin.

I grin right back. "So, couldn't come up with a better alias than just Boss this time around? You usually have more imagination than that. Or do they know you're name is Elco, and they call you Boss just to stroke your ego?"

Elco blinks. His mouth opens and closes, and his mandibles click together. Finally, he manages to say, "What?"

I grin wider, showing my teeth. "Seriously, this is a step down from last time. That time was scary, but here, I'm just a defective Weeble Wobble."

Elco opens his mouth to speak again, but confusion has robbed him of his voice.

"You know." I lean over and fall heavily on my side. "Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down? Ah, that's a Human thing, you wouldn't understand."

Elco shakes his head, then glares at me and hisses, "You need to take your situation seriously."

I raise my eyebrows. "But I am. As seriously as the situation warrants, anyway."

The Danian's eyes narrow. "I'm warning you, stop this nonsense or-"

"Or what?" I interrupt. "You're a one-trick pony, it's all about your penis and shoving it either down my throat or up my butt." I put on a dramatic frown. "Seriously, it's like you lose a few brain cells every time you look at me."

Elco looks about ready to throttle me, but an underling interrupts his train of thought. "We've got everything loaded, Boss. Ready to head home."

Elco glances at his fellow Danian, then back at me. "Good." He moves around to the back of the cage, unlocks the door, and steps in.

"Sir?"

Elco locks the door and tosses the other Danian the keys. "Hold these and head for Mount Pillar. I have business here to attend to."

The Danian slowly nods, confusion still on his face as he heads for the beetles. Elco watches him for a moment, then turns his attention back to me.

"You speak as if you have the power in this situation." He steps forward, looming over me, a hateful glare in his eyes.

The cage jolts as the beetles start moving. I look up at Elco from my position on the floor. "Well, last I checked, I did."

Elco spits and folds all four of his arms, but I see worry creeping into his expression. "High words for a man lying helplessly before me."

"Oh, this is a temporary thing," I grin. "We both know that by the end of this day, I'll have you begging for mercy."

Elco's flabbergasted face is a delight to watch. My nerves are shot, though. It's taking all my focus to keep the fear and stress out of my voice. Fortunately, Elco seems to have withdrawn. He sits down and leans against the back of the cage, scowling at me silently.

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One of the wheels needs work. The cage has been jolting regularly for a while now. How long has it been, anyway? I've just been staring at Elco and counting the bumps. At least, I used to be. Stopped at three-hundred-something a while back. Also, I think my legs are starting to fall asleep.

Elco breaks the silence suddenly. "As seriously as the situation warrants?"

I paste my grin back on my face. "He speaks!"

The Danian's eyes harden. "And if you don't knock it off, you won't be able to anymore-"

I cut him off with a fit of forced laughter. "And here's the tongue-cutting threat! Which you've never followed through with, might I add."

I can see Elco's muscles tense, his hands clenching, the gritting of his teeth, the shaking of his mandibles and antennae.

"Because you know what happens if you hurt me," I mutter, low enough that he'll have to strain to hear me. "One screwup and you have to start all over again."

One of Elco's eyes twitch, and he is on top of me. A snap of metal, and some of the chains are broken. My legs scream as my veins fill with pins and needles, but I grit my teeth and continue to glare at the bug above me. I'm not close to free yet, my arms are still bound.

Elco tosses aside the broken chains and presses me to the floor of the cage, a hand on each shoulder and a third on my chest. "You talk big, but your heart is beating solans in seconds," he hisses. A smirk slowly creeps back onto his face. "You're frightened of me still. I'll break you in time."

He's right, my heart is hammering. My lungs are burning, begging me to breathe quickly, to give me the strength to fight this monster off. I watch Elco, though, the rise of his chest, the air from his mouth.

"Out of words, Michael?" Elco laughs and lowers his face to mine. "That suits me fine."

I cringe away from Elco's tongue as he starts to slide it against my face. Warm, rancid air pours from his mouth. I force myself to match its tempo. Breathe in. Breathe out.

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From an infinite sky to a bottomless void, strings of light are pulled taut. Each one the memories of a being. They're not important, though. I haven't come here to see anyone's past. I'm more interested in the void between.

I let go of Elco, pushing his mind away from mine, and he drifts away.

And does not come apart.

I hear him crying out in alarm and fear, yes, but he's... shielded. Protected. Buried in his mind is a pinprick of light, holding him together.

Intriguing. Also, very, very bad news.

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Elco's face is above mine, twisted with a mixture of a furious scowl and a triumphant grin. "Don't ever try that again, Human," he hisses before swiftly dropping his head to meet mine.

Stars flash in my vision, and a high note rings in my ears. Somewhere in my scattered senses, I feel a pressure build up inside me.

I blink away the colors and the dizziness. Elco is over me, a pair of hands on my shoulders and another pair lifting up my knees, hips rocking as he invades me. His tongue is hanging from his mouth, and his eyes are wide and wild.

"Cry my name," Elco orders.

As if. "You know that I'm going to kill you again, right?"

Elco narrows his eyes, and he gives a violent thrust. "I'll teach you to fear me properly."

The pain keeps me from speaking for a bit. It's taking all my focus to keep my eyes open. I can feel tears dripping down to my ears.

After a few moments, I manage to speak. "You have no idea what you're actually dealing with."

"I know enough," Elco hisses, as he removes his hands from my shoulders and wraps them around my neck.

He squeezes, not enough to hurt, but enough that my vision blurs and starts to fade. I grin at the crazed ant as I slip out of consciousness.

He's got something that belongs to me. That little point of light. And I'm going to... make him... give... it... back...

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Chaotic belongs to TCDigital.